Learning community inspection
Continuing engagement
A report by HM Inspectors
Inspection of the learning community
surrounding Dalbeattie High School
Dumfries and Galloway Council
19 May 2015
We published a report on the learning community surrounding Dalbeattie High School in
December 2012. That report set out key strengths of the learning community and areas
for improvement. We carried out a continuing engagement inspection in December 2013
and published a report on that visit in February 2014.
This continuing engagement report is based on an inspection visit which was carried out
in March 2015. It tells you about improvement since the original inspection in the quality
of learning opportunities provided. It also comments on how providers are getting on
with the main points for action. We describe how learners are doing and how good the
learning community is at helping them to learn. We comment on how well staff, learners
and groups work together and the difference they are making in the learning community.
Finally, we focus on how well the learning community is led and how leaders help the
learning community achieve its aims.
If you would like to learn more about our original inspection of the learning community,
please visit:
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/reports/othersectors/index.asp
You will also find a report on the secondary school.
Contents
1.
How well are partners improving learning, increasing life chances,
promoting and securing wellbeing?
2.
How well are partners working together and improving the quality of
services and provision?
3.
Does the learning community have a clear sense of direction?
4.
What happens next?
In December 2012, HM Inspectors published a report on the learning community
surrounding Dalbeattie High school. We visited the learning community in late
2013 and again in March 2015. During this visit we met with a range of staff,
volunteers, partners and learners. We focussed on the areas for improvement
identified in the original inspection and in the follow-through in 2013. As a result
we were able to find out how well partners across the learning community are now
working together to support learners and communities to improve life chances.
1. How well are partners improving learning, increasing life chances,
promoting and securing wellbeing?
Partners are beginning to develop an approach to improving health and wellbeing.
There is an emerging focus on work with young people with additional support
needs through the Peer Project. Dalbeattie Community Initiative supports a range
of good health and wellbeing activities. An annual walking festival attracts good
numbers of participants. Funding has recently been secured for a community
gym. Increasing numbers are participating in a local jogging group. The
Dalbeattie Initiative, CLD and third sector staff are working towards the production
of a People Powered Health and Well-Being Programme with the support of the
Scottish Community Development Centre. This is in the early stages of identifying
community assets and assessing community strength.
An effective partnership with Dalbeattie High School is starting to deliver
programmes that are impacting positively on young people’s learning. The
Da Vinci Challenge and Mission X programmes provide learning and life
challenges. However, formalising the partnership arrangements will ensure a
clearer contribution of CLD staff to the Broad General Education and the Senior
Phase of Curriculum for Excellence. There are small increases in the number of
young people gaining awards such as the Saltire award for volunteering. This
could now be built on and developed further. The Employability and Work Club is
now having a positive impact on adult learners. Numbers attending are increasing
and a few are progressing, for example by becoming volunteer tutors. There is
scope to better link the employability and health and wellbeing approaches into
the work with Dalbeattie High School. More effective sharing of outcomes across
partners would help to develop a clearer strategy for learning across Dalbeattie.
2. How well are partners working together and improving the quality of
services and provision?
Dalbeattie is a busy community with a wide range of community groups and
organisations. Partners are at the early stages of working better together to
improve the quality of services across the learning community. CLD staff have
recently developed a useful Area Profile in conjunction with a local university. It
helpfully identifies core priority areas in terms of health, education and economic
development. However, it is not yet driving the work of the CLD team. There is
not yet a systematic approach to gathering data. Individual CLD team members
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are doing this on their own initiative but it is not yet feeding into reporting
structures in the council. There is some promising work in relation to health and
wellbeing. Partnership working between the secondary school and the
Community Initiative is leading to the development of the outdoor gym. Dalbeattie
High School and CLD staff work well together and programmes are delivering
good outcomes. There is more to do to ensure that partnership working is
embedded. Impact of the work of CLD and their partners is not being collected
and shared sufficiently. This is a major weakness. No progress has been made
with the development of a Workforce Development Plan. As a result there is
insufficient gathering and sharing of practice. Whilst there is good individual work
being delivered by CLD staff, team morale is low. Individual work is not
sufficiently recognised and staff are not routinely receiving support and
supervision.
3. Does the learning community have a clear sense of direction?
There is not yet a clear sense of direction across the learning community. More
needs to be done to clarify and embed the ‘learning offer’ provided by CLD staff.
CLD staff are not yet linking their work to the priorities of the council. This
requires strong leadership from managers and needs to be addressed as a matter
of priority.
4. What happens next?
As there is a lack of progress in several of the key areas for improvement
identified in the original inspection, HM Inspectors will re-visit the learning
community within one year of publication.
Sheila Brown
HM Inspector
19 May 2015
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Additional inspection evidence, such as details of the quality indicator evaluations,
for this learning community can be found on the Education Scotland website at
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/reports/othersectors/co
mmunitylearninganddevelopment/DalbeattieHighSchoolLearningCommunity.asp.
If you would like to receive this report in a different format, for example, in a
translation you can contact the administration team on 01506 600381.
If you want to give us feedback or make a complaint about our work, please
contact us by telephone on 0141 282 5000, or e-mail:
complaints@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to us, addressing your letter to
The Complaints Manager, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park,
Livingston, EH54 6GA.
Text phone users can contact us on 01506 600 236. This is a service for deaf
users. Please do not use this number for voice calls as the line will not connect
you to a member of staff.
Crown Copyright 2015
Education Scotland