I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it be forward. (David Livingstone)
The boxes on these pages contain snapshots from schools.
Learners with visual impairments are fully integrated and confident learners. Where appropriate, they work in mainstream classes without support or supervision. Their time in the Resource Location is devoted to acquiring skills for coping with mainstream classes, for example in Braille, information and communications technology, mobility, the use of tactile diagrams and large print and taped materials. Reinforcement of class lessons is also done in the Resource Location using differentiated and adapted materials. Located at the centre of the building it is seen as an integral part of the school. |
Support is targeted to S1/S2 pupils across the school. Additional Support for Learning staff provide emotional, curricular, behavioural, administrative, physical and language support. Some staff support specific individuals for the whole day. Others support a number of young people in classes. Two primary teachers are working within the English and mathematics departments. They support the learning of S1 pupils and work with P7 pupils in the associated primaries. To raise attainment in S1/S2, every department has to include primary links and S1/S2 curriculum development within its development plan. They also have to identify young people who need support, develop a curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils and support them more effectively within their classes. S1/S2 pupils are able to access the curriculum better. They remain motivated within the class, work more productively with their peers and achieve success in their learning. This, in turn, has led to less disruption in class, more time on task, and fewer behaviour referrals. All staff, teaching and non-teaching, have very positive roles in supporting every child. |
Ideas are encouraged and risk taking is OK! (acting headteacher)
Key features
Dimension 10: Develops a culture of ambition and achievement
In building an excellent school, as with the ten dimensions, focusing on learning and successful outcomes are both starting and endpoints. Nurturing and rewarding success, therefore, are among the most important activities of an excellent school.
Why should it be OK in socially challenged areas to have lower expectations? (headteacher)
It’s teaching the children about not being happy with less than the best. (teacher)
All the children learn how to make an impression and be confident in the real world. I demand the best and I always get it. If you don’t — you’re doing the child a disservice. (headteacher)
The habits we form from childhood make no small difference, but rather they make all the difference. (Aristotle)
There is a strong commitment to giving children all the opportunities possible. Children have as many different experiences as the school can provide, ‘so they can find what they are good at and become the best young people they can’. Staff believe that this not only improves children’s self-esteem, but encourages them to see learning as lifelong and to be healthy and fit. Children become more open to trying things, more positive and gain wider experience and, hence, confidence to meet any challenges. There is a huge menu of both after-school clubs and enrichment opportunities within the curriculum. All staff and other community members are involved. The school’s work with minority language groups helps children and young people to develop an understanding of their responsibility for inclusion. |
The school works closely with a local denominational school and a special school to hold joint religious observance and excursions. Parents build up strong relationships with each other and so do children. The school tries to promote empathy. |
The ethos of achievement extends to staff as well as pupils. A feature of the school is that so many of the teachers aspire to be headteachers. |
One young person who attended a residential special school was working on his Standard Grade art folio. He was very well supported by his key worker who arranged for him to visit art galleries for research in evenings and at the weekend. He had benefited from this experience and talked very positively about it. This activity also enhanced the pupil’s level of knowledge about the local environment and facilities. |
Aiming high
Recognising, rewarding and communicating the successes of all children and staff; developing a culture of achievement; a ‘can-do’ attitude; opportunities for every individual to be successful and to attain to his or her fullest potential; seeking and building upon the views and evaluations of partner professionals.
A school is good to the extent that… |
A school is excellent to the extent that… |
All children, young people and their parents are aware of the school’s expectations. The criteria for rewards are fair and clear. |
Rewards for learning and for social and behavioural achievements are attainable by everyone, reinforcing a "can-do" culture. |
Staff recognise the links between relationships, good behaviour and learning. |
All staff share a common understanding of their collective responsibility for promoting positive relationships and behaviour, so that all children can learn. Teachers anticipate and manage problems to avoid disruption to learning. Momentum is maintained through clear rules and procedures. Staff have a range of strategies and are successful in maintaining and raising pupils’ motivation. |
Staff are conscious of the need to encourage young people by praising them, and do this frequently. |
The use of praise is well judged and discriminating. It targets the personal achievements of individual children and groups of children. Children value this well-earned praise and are motivated by it. |
Staff expect young people to do well. Pupils have goals and ambitions, often derived from parents or friends. Most young people want to do well. The school learns from examples of good practice in other schools in developing ambition and high aspirations amongst learners. It regularly liaises with the local media to support the reporting of the successes of members of the school community. |
Staff have the highest expectations of learners. Learners have high aspirations and concrete goals and are clear about what they have to do to improve. The school is outward looking and staff are continually seeking examples of the very best practice to help it to improve further. It uses a wide range of imaginative approaches for reporting on and celebrating the success of individuals, groups of young people, staff and the school community as a whole. |
I like to make the teacher and my Mum and Dad proud of me. (P3 child) |
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A school is good to the extent that… |
A school is excellent to the extent that… |
Staff refer to a range of evidence of young people’s achievements in school to come to a balanced judgement of their potential and what they should aim for. |
Staff take on board the views of partners working in other settings and agencies who observe young people in contexts away from school and who believe that they can succeed beyond the school’s expectations. |
Staff have a broad understanding of the strengths and needs of individual pupils. They review their progress at regular intervals, usually when they report to parents. |
Staff are alert to any unexpected slowing of the progress of individual pupils. Well-developed approaches to tracking enable them to identify dips in pupils’ performance as soon as they occur so that they can intervene promptly. |
Specialist provision, where available, is used to develop learners’ talents and interests. Staff expect most children to find something to be ‘good at’. A programme of additional activities, drawing upon skills available locally, encourages them to develop new skills and interests. They celebrate their achievements outwith school. |
Staff selectively deploy opportunities for curriculum enrichment to develop the learning of individuals and to enable all children to find and develop their own talents and interests. Young people are confident that their own skills are being identified and optimised. They are keen to succeed. Expectations of the performance of all staff and learners are very high. |
We are constantly trying to improve the school. It would be easy to sit back ... We finish a job and say ‘now what?’. (teacher) I want to do really well so I can be an actress. (P2 child) |
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Enabling all children and young people to achieve
Involving children in deciding what success is; caring for one another and supporting all learners; providing individualised support to all children and young people; consistent and fair approaches to behaviour; promoting positive attitudes; commitment to turning around the disaffected.
A school is good to the extent that… |
A school is excellent to the extent that… |
Staff take account of the social and environmental backgrounds of learners. |
All staff believe that all young people can learn and improve and that it is possible to improve the performance of the lowest attaining learners. They demonstrate this belief in their attitudes and work. They do all they can to ensure that young people are not at risk of missing out on educational opportunities. |
The performance of young people who are "looked after" or from particular ethnic and language backgrounds is monitored. |
Staff take prompt and well-focused action to address any under-achievement identified, drawing on advice and expertise from outwith the school as appropriate. |
Staff recognise that some children have additional needs that require to be supported at times. |
Staff recognise that ability and achievement are not pre-determined. They monitor young people’s readiness to be included in more challenging tasks continuously. Staff use flexible approaches to the curriculum and teaching to meet the needs and learning styles of all learners. |
Staff take steps to prevent exclusion and reintegrate learners who have experienced difficulties accessing the curriculum, because of their learning or their behaviour. |
Staff provide specific support, and nurturing, for vulnerable learners and those at risk of exclusion or under-achievement. Exclusion from school is rare and seen as a measure of last resort. Staff work to avoid any gaps whatsoever in support and provision, particularly of education for all pupils. Relationships between staff and challenging children are characterised by patient and determined professionalism. |
All pupils are different and if teachers recognise this then they will adapt their teaching styles to meet different needs. (parent) |
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Encouraging enterprising attitudes and behaviour
Nurturing and encouraging creative, innovative and enterprising behaviour and action in all areas of the work of the school; creating successful learners, effective contributors, responsible citizens and confident individuals through enterprise in education; exploiting the relationships between enterprise, creativity and citizenship.
A school is good to the extent that… |
A school is excellent to the extent that… |
The curriculum provides a range of opportunities for all children to undertake enterprise activities. Staff regularly discuss, implement and evaluate new approaches to learning, teaching and meeting needs. |
Staff are enterprising and think creatively about ways of achieving the school’s aims. They are willing and have the ability to work in fluid and flexible teams that cut across stages and curricular areas. Staff are innovative in their approaches to learning, teaching and meeting needs. They take calculated risks and monitor and evaluate and improve on developments. They model a culture of enterprise. |
Enterprising behaviour is evident in important aspects of the school’s work. Some staff are innovative in their teaching. Technological solutions are applied in situations where other schools have shown them to be successful. |
Enterprise and flexibility are evident in all areas of the school’s work, including its management, the structure of the curriculum, quality assurance and processes of continuous improvement. Staff carefully and critically consider the contributions of technology and alternative approaches to learning. Strong links with local businesses, Careers Scotland and further and higher education help to develop a spirit and the practice of enterprise among both staff and learners. |
Pupils have opportunities to take responsibility and to build their leadership and team-working skills through the formal curriculum and out-of-school hours learning. |
All pupils engage in enterprise in education that extends their confidence as learners and contributors to society. The vocational and enterprise curriculum meets the needs of learners and the community. It is progressive and continuous, motivates learners, promotes a sense of achievement and adds relevance to learning. Creativity, experimentation and imagination are nurtured through open-ended learning experiences. |
Staff tend to be more flexible, less defensive, more willing to tackle what is new. (nursery teacher) |
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A school is good to the extent that… |
A school is excellent to the extent that… |
Staff recognise enterprise as an important purpose and outcome. The school provides pupils with positive experiences in enterprise in education, both in terms of the curriculum and learning and teaching. Pupils have a range of opportunities for expressive activity and performance. Situations are created that allow pupils to develop and practise a range of citizenship skills and abilities. |
A coherent relationship between enterprise, creativity and citizenship has been established and is being fully exploited. Citizenship and creativity are embedded in school, stage and departmental development/improvement plans. Learning and teaching approaches are creative and creativity can be observed in all areas of the curriculum. School organisation and curriculum structure reflect creative thinking at all levels including the provision of a wide range of artistic and cultural opportunities. |
Staff and pupils work in high quality teaching areas and have access to a range of resources appropriate to their stage and needs. |
Staff and pupils access, use and evaluate a range of resources to support innovative approaches to teaching and learning. |
Creativity is built in. We’re never satisfied. We are ambitious; we always want to do better. (headteacher) |
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