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Count Us In: We're still here: Successful Transitions from Secondary School

Vision and leadership

Dimension 3: Develops a common vision among young people, parents and staff
Dimension 4: Fosters high quality leadership at all levels

Effective support for transitions, whether between school and part-time placements or to post-school destinations, needs to be led and managed, in the same way as other key aspects of the school’s work. This means that the vision and direction of schools and their partners relate explicitly to the needs of young people at transition and to their preparation for their future lives. The delivery of key processes which derive from this vision, for example, curriculum, learning and teaching, support for learners, improvement through self-evaluation and professional development, must also be responsive to these needs.

From vision to direction

The educational aims and objectives of Reid Kerr College related directly to the communities served by the college. The college sought to ‘make a difference’ to the lives of individuals. The principal provided enthusiastic and inspirational leadership, aided by the Board of Management and a dynamic senior management team. They had a clear vision of the role of the college in responding proactively to stakeholders’ needs and helping learners develop citizenship and employability skills. The college had developed effective school-college partnerships. Renfrewshire Council had aligned the timetabling of senior pupils across all schools to facilitate attendance at college. Provision for local school pupils had been developed across most subject areas in the college, with over 1200 pupils attending the college each week. Senior staff with responsibility for school and community learners had been very successful in ensuring that the college provided successful progression routes for learners. The college had enhanced the skills of staff teaching vocational programmes to secondary school pupils. Evaluation of the impact of the training had confirmed an increase in staff confidence and expertise leading to an increase in effective learning by pupils. Staff morale had improved and learning and teaching approaches and classroom practice were more effective.

Hollybrook School, Glasgow, a school for secondary-aged pupils with additional support needs arising from learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorder, focused on developing young people’s employability skills through a broad range of approaches. Through excellent leadership and a very clear vision for young people, the school had improved the curriculum to meet learners’ needs and increased their success in national qualifications. Programmes for personal and social education, citizenship and enterprise were given high priority. Friday afternoons were used to further develop personal and social skills through a range of events and activities. A wide range of awards was used to accredit achievement of pupils from S3 to S6, including ASDAN and SQA. Pupils benefited from well-organised work placement programmes such as the Prince’s Trust Xlerate programme, supported by local businesses and the wider business community. As part of the focus on personal responsibility, pupils chose their own tutorial groups as well as their subjects, at the end of S2. They led focus groups for school improvement and were producing their own Standards and Quality report. Links with local colleges and the wider community enabled pupils to extend their skills and apply them in different contexts. Confidence and citizenship skills were developed through residential trips, including a European project on the environment supported through Comenius. Numeracy skills were developed in everyday contexts, for example, visiting local supermarkets and working with a local bank on savings and accounts. Pupils followed Towards Independence units, certificated through ASDAN, as well as courses at the local college. Half of S4 pupils had achieved units in ICT at Intermediate 1 or 2. Transition arrangements from school to college were very good. Almost all leavers had entered employment, education or training.

Signposts to excellence

• The school, college or placement has a vision and values which are broad and explicitly inclusive. School leaders demonstrate a strong commitment to equality and fairness in promoting a culture of ambition and achievement.
• Leaders ensure that the vision for the curriculum is underpinned by timetabling and planning arrangements which enable vocational experiences to be delivered effectively and with the best possible outcomes for young people.
• Leaders actively promote the worth of a wide range of curricular programmes, including vocational programmes, within the school. They stress the importance of all programmes meeting the needs of individual young people and developing their capacities and attitudes.
• Leaders explore with, and define clearly for all staff, parents and young people what the term ‘successful outcomes’ actually means in practice.
• Leaders take care to ensure that all staff involved in the planning and delivery of programmes, especially at key transition stages, are clearly aware of their aims and objectives.

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