Education Scotland
Foghlam Alba
Learning community inspection
A report by HM Inspectors
Inspection of the learning community
surrounding
Grantown Grammar School
The Highland Council
24 April 2012
We inspect learning communities in order to let those who use services and the
local community know whether learning communities provide appropriate learning
opportunities and help learners in their development. We are also interested in
how community and voluntary groups are helped to contribute to making
communities better places to live and work. At the end of inspections, we agree
ways in which staff and volunteers can improve the quality of learning for young
people and adults and how the impact of community and voluntary groups can be
further developed.
At the beginning of the inspection, we ask managers and staff about the strengths
of the learning community, what needs to improve, and how they know. We use
the information they give us to help us plan what we are going to look at. During
the inspection, we join other activities which young people, adults and community
groups are involved in. We also gather the views of learners, active community
members and staff. We find their views very helpful and use them together with
the other information we have collected to arrive at our view of the quality of
provision locally.
This report tells you what we found during the inspection and the quality of
learning and development provided. We describe how well 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 inspection of the learning community,
please visit www.educationscotland.gov.uk.
Contents
1.
The learning community
2.
Particular strengths of the learning community
3.
How well do participants learn and achieve?
4.
How well are communities developing and achieving?
5.
How effective are providers in improving the quality of services?
6.
Does the learning community have a clear sense of direction?
7.
What happens next?
1. The learning community
The Grantown Grammar School learning community serves the Strathspey area
of the Highlands and sits within the boundary of Cairngorms National Park
Authority. Grantown-on-Spey is the main town. The learning community also
includes the villages of Nethybridge, Carrbridge, Cromdale, Dulnain Bridge and
Boat of Garten. Employment is mainly in the hospitality and tourism industry. The
area has a higher than average number of self-employed businesses. The Craig
McLean Leisure Centre, a community sport and leisure complex with swimming
pool is integral to Grantown Grammar School.
2. Particular strengths of the learning community
•
Positive relationships between learners and staff.
•
The use of the local environment, outdoor learning and partnerships to
enhance learning experiences.
•
Wide range of high quality sports and leisure provision, progression in sports
learning and impact on health and wellbeing.
•
The volunteering by children, young people and adults which is making a
significant difference in their local communities.
•
Cohesive and inclusive local communities led by highly skilled activists.
•
Impact of Cairngorms National Park Authority on driving improvement.
3. How well do participants learn and achieve?
Community learning and development (CLD) partner providers work closely with
the school to target post-school transitions effectively. Across the learning
community, the percentage of young people moving to a positive destination has
increased and is now above both the local and national average. Transition work
to support young people with additional support needs is both imaginative and
highly successful. The number of young people and adults with sports coaching
qualifications which lead to employment opportunities has been sustained over
several years. Almost one third of all young people register for The Duke of
Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and considerable and increasing numbers are
successful in achieving them. Provision for adult learners shows a decrease over
time. The Learning and Resource Centre closed over the last year with a
consequent notable reduction in opportunities. The number of adult learners is
low and work is not well targeted to meet the needs of vulnerable and harder to
reach learners. Some community groups measure outcomes and impacts.
1
However, this is generally to comply with external funders condition of grant
requirements and is not widespread practice. Most services provided by
community groups which contribute to both local and national priorities and
outcomes are not systematically recorded, or included by community planning
partners. Overall, the learning community lacks enough high quality data to
demonstrate performance trends over time or against key targets.
Young people
Notable numbers of young people participate in the high quality sports and leisure
provision. Staff plan progression in sports development well from beginner levels
to local and national levels of competition. The Fit for Girls programme funded by
Sports Scotland is making a quantifiable impact on levels of health and fitness.
Many young people have successfully gained employment through achieving
Community Sports Leadership Awards and sports coaching qualifications.
Partner providers working in partnership with the school very effectively target
learners who are in danger of missing out. As a result of this work all young
people have either moved on to a positive post-school destination or have
returned to school. However, the learning environment for these young people
requires improvement. The Skills for Work programme demonstrates strong
partnership working between the school, leisure centre and Active Schools. The
leisure facility provides experiential learning in a real life context which reflects the
day to day demands and rewards of a recreational facility. Young people are
gaining important knowledge and understanding of all the main practical activities
required for employment in a leisure centre. They achieve first aid certificates and
an understanding of safeguarding. They are developing a greater sense of
responsibility, organisational and planning skills and improved leadership
qualities. Staff would benefit from a greater shared understanding of Curriculum
for Excellence. Youth work programmes are not yet well linked to the experiences
and outcomes.
Adults
Adult learning programmes are having a positive impact on the majority of
individual’s lives, with a strong emphasis on health and wellbeing opportunities,
particularly Fit Plus, Health Walks and Move It to Lose It. As a result, learners are
more confident and have increased mobility and emotional wellbeing. They feel
included and enjoy expanded social networks. Creative approaches to learning
using the natural environment and social networks are increasing learner
numbers. Peer support through social media enables learners to achieve more.
English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) learners have successfully
completed SQA units, resulting in increased language skills, employability and
reduced isolation, while progressing to further accredited learning. Bookbugs,
Rhymetime and Minis programmes support parents and their children to
participate and learn together effectively, with a clear focus on child development.
These high quality programmes are delivered by able, experienced staff. A few
vulnerable learners are effectively supported by Training and Guidance Highland
to participate in a training and employability programme. However, group or
individual learning plans for ESOL and Adult Basic Education learners are not
used consistently to plan and review learning. Learners would benefit from
2
support to identify their next steps in learning and some learners would benefit
from increased challenge and pace. Learning environments and increased
access to resources, including e-technology requires considerable improvement.
Committed volunteers who contribute to the delivery of services receive nationally
recognised and accredited training. However, they would benefit from more
regular support and guidance. Barriers to learning such as childcare are affecting
participation. Overall, learner numbers are low and recruitment is not well
targeted.
4. How well are communities developing and achieving?
Active community groups developed and managed by highly skilled volunteers are
delivering some very effective services that are having a very positive impact on
the lives of people in the local community. This has created a high level of social
capital in the local area. Community groups are self-reliant, independent and
successfully fundraise to support their activities and provide a wide range of
services. Considerable external funding has been levered into the local
community which is making an impact on the local economy. Successful social
enterprises raise considerable funds to subsidise their core charitable purpose.
They are highly ambitious to become less reliant on grant funding. Strathspey
and Badenoch Community Transport Association addresses transport needs in an
area with limited accessible public transport. Members’ benefit from increased
social interactions and reduced isolation. A Big Lottery grant has enabled older
people to meet regularly to play music, sing and tell stories which are having a
positive impact on their emotional health and wellbeing. Through engagement
with Our Community…A Way Forward, community groups confidently engage in
local and wider decision making processes about priorities in their communities.
They make significant contributions to action planning and next steps. Young
people are confident that their views are listened to by the local community and
that they are able to influence local decision making. Community group concerns
over long term sustainability are limiting their medium to long term strategic
planning. The establishment of local forums to share practice, discuss joint
issues, avoid duplication and establish communities of interest and support would
be beneficial.
5. How effective are providers in improving the quality of services?
Our Community…A Way Forward is a local approach to bringing residents and
agencies together to agree priorities for action to improve the quality of life in
communities. This work and the approach is an example of very strong practice.
The National Standards of Community Engagement are embedded within this
work. Clear action plans for each theme have been developed including when
and by whom. These have been rigorously implemented and followed up.
However, across the learning community providers do not gather sufficient high
quality feedback from participants or stakeholders. Information from learners is
not yet being used effectively to inform planning for improvement. Overall,
arrangements for monitoring and evaluating work are inconsistent. Other than
those required by external funding partners, self-evaluation processes are not
3
applied either rigorously or robustly. While local informal partnership working is
strong, partners do not meet together formally and jointly agree intended
outcomes and targets. External funding partners often require output data and
too little consideration is being given to the difference the work is actually making
to the lives of participants.
6. Does the learning community have a clear sense of direction?
Within the learning community, strong informal networks exist. Partners respect
and value each others contribution. Teachers from Grantown Grammar School
engage well on an individual basis with a very wide range of partners in delivering
effective programmes. Cairngorms National Park Authority has been instrumental
in driving improvements through Our Community…A Way Forward. However, it is
not sufficiently clear who has a strategic overview of direction and planning which
includes all learning community partners. This is limiting overall improvement.
7. What happens next?
There are significant improvements needed and CLD providers do not yet have a
good understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement. Our District
Inspector/CLD Link Inspector along with the education authority will discuss the
most appropriate support in order to build capacity for improvement and will
maintain contact to monitor progress. We will revisit the learning community to
check on progress within one year of publication of this report.
We have agreed the following areas for improvement with the local authority and
its partners.
•
Increase knowledge and understanding of Curriculum for Excellence
experiences and outcomes across all partners.
•
Develop further a strategic and operational overview of partnership working.
•
Improve evaluation, planning, coordination and strategic direction which
involves all learning community partners and includes the analysis of
performance data and information.
4
Quality indicators help CLD providers and inspectors to judge what is good and
what needs to be improved in the learning community. You can find these quality
indicators in the HMIE publication “How good is our community learning and
development? 2”.
Education Scotland evaluates five important quality indicators to help monitor the
quality of learning communities across Scotland. Here are the results for the
learning community surrounding Grantown Grammar School.
Improvements in performance
Impact on young people
Impact on adults
Impact of capacity building on communities
Improving services
Managing Inspector: Elizabeth Morrison
24 April 2012
5
weak
very good
satisfactory
very good
satisfactory
This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by
inspectors.
excellent
very good
good
satisfactory
weak
unsatisfactory
outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths with some areas for improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
major weaknesses
If you would like to find out more about our inspections or get an electronic copy
of this report, please go to www.educationscotland.gov.uk
Please contact us if you want to know how to get the report in a different format,
for example, in a translation, or if you wish to comment about any aspect of our
inspections. You can contact us at enquiries@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or
write to us at BMCT, Education Scotland, Denholm House, Almondvale Business
Park, Almondvale Way, 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.
You can find our complaints procedure on our website or alternatively you can
contact www.educationscotland.gov.uk to our Complaints Manager, at the
address above or by telephoning 01506 600259.
Crown Copyright 2012
Education Scotland