In this section, we draw together inspection and review evidence from all sectors to provide an overview of the progress made in the areas highlighted as priorities for improvement in the first Improving Scottish Education report, published in 2006.
In the first Improving Scottish Education report, we highlighted the need to bring together those aspects of education which are described as attainment and those that are called broader achievement in ways which provide a challenging, worthwhile and satisfying experience for all learners. That means continuing to raise standards of attainment for all learners, promoting, developing and recognising broader achievement more explicitly and ensuring that the ways in which we recognise achievement, including formal qualifications, reinforce the purposes of the curriculum.
Areas of continuing strength → and notable improvement ↑
→ The good start made by most children in pre-school settings has been maintained. They continue to progress well across almost all the key aspects of learning and development and are making increasing progress in developing skills in early reading and writing. There is good practice in developing children’s literacy skills through meaningful play contexts. Children respond well to opportunities to gain independence and to be creative in their play. They are developing their physical skills through more regular energetic activities.
↑ In primary schools, personal achievements and personal and social development are increasingly strong at all stages. Gaelic classes successfully celebrate children’s wider achievements through drama, music and taking part in National Gaelic festivals. Attainment in listening, talking and reading continues as a strength. The achievements of the lowest attaining children in P1-P5 have improved in recent years. Attainment in writing is improving at the early stages.
→ In secondary schools, the performance of young people in national examinations has remained good. Secondary schools are also enabling young people to gain a wider range of accreditation, with increases in, for example, ASDAN,4 youth achievement awards, Prince’s Trust and community sport and dance leadership awards, as well as a wide range of other awards gained through school-college partnerships.
↑ In special schools, pupils progress well in their personal and social skills, and substantial numbers gain awards and qualifications. In residential special schools, care staff and teachers share a better understanding of young people’s learning targets and are supporting improvements in achievement.
↑ In colleges, the student success rates on further education programmes have improved. Learners on both higher and further education programmes are developing a wider range of essential skills in addition to vocational skills. Success in award schemes and competitions and participation in college and community projects is recognised and widely celebrated in colleges. Programmes specifically developed for learners with additional needs continue to be delivered particularly well in most colleges and learners make very good progress.
↑ Community learning providers increasingly enable adult and young learners to develop confidence, core skills, including literacy, and citizenship, making a strong contribution to mental wellbeing and promoting engagement in community activities. Within the youth work sector, there has been considerable progress in developing awards for young people that recognise their wider achievements. Some awards have been levelled and credit rated against the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). In this way, young people are able to see the value of their learning from project work against the same criteria as formal qualifications. In many areas, youth workers and schools are working together productively to promote and deliver wider achievement activities, and to recognise these achievements.
→ In prisons, a well-structured approach to vocational training generally enables those learners who have access to it to develop relevant skills and gain appropriate certification, including nationally accredited qualifications.
ACHIEVEMENT
PRE-SCHOOL
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING FOUR-POINT SCALE, APRIL 2005-MARCH 2007
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING SIX-POINT SCALE, APRIL-DECEMBER 2007
SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND SPECIAL SCHOOL SECTORS 2005-2007 AND COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT 2006-2008
COLLEGE
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY ELEMENT EVALUATIONS IN COLLEGE SECTOR SUBJECT AREAS 2005-2008
What needs to continue to improve?
In the first Improving Scottish Education report, we stressed the need to ensure that the curriculum provides deep, sustained and valuable learning for all learners, including the following.
These points are being addressed as Curriculum for Excellence and Scotland’s lifelong skills strategy develop and they are reflected in the published guidance, including Building the Curriculum 3.
We also highlighted the need for learning and teaching of the highest quality, to reduce the unacceptable variability in the quality of learning and teaching and in order to promote the development of learners’ knowledge, understanding, skills and capacities as described in Curriculum for Excellence and Scotland’s lifelong skills strategy.
Areas of continuing strength → and notable improvement ↑
→ There are continuing strengths in the quality of the curriculum in pre-school settings and in the breadth of the curriculum in primary and secondary schools.
↑ There have been improvements in approaches to developing children’s literacy and numeracy in primary schools.
↑ Areas of notable improvement include successful and creative approaches to broadening the range of opportunities for learners. More have opportunities to experience high-quality work-related learning, often through partnerships between schools and colleges and/or community learning and development, but also through activities in their own schools. Skills for Work courses have provided substantial numbers of young people with relevant learning experiences. Some schools are moving towards a greater emphasis on planning for learning which takes place beyond the classroom, as part of their broad view of the curriculum. ICT (information and communications technology) is increasingly being used to improve access to opportunities for learning by bringing together teachers and learners ‘virtually’. There have been other promising examples of curriculum innovations, but where it is too early to see their longer-term impact on learners. Most schools are making progress towards providing a more substantial experience of quality physical education each week.
↑ There have been some effective joint developments which span sectors. As well as leading directly to improvements for learners, these development activities have provided valuable opportunities for professional discussion and shared learning about the curriculum and pedagogy.
→ Many members of teaching staff continue to inspire learners and the quality of learning continues to be good across all sectors, with overall high quality in the college sector.
→ Learning through play in pre-school continues to be a successful feature of practice, leading to good progress in children’s development and learning. Children in pre-school and in primary schools continue to be well motivated and keen to learn.
↑ Teachers have enhanced their repertoire of learning and teaching approaches, by taking part in the Assessment is for Learning initiative. Successful approaches include sharing learning intentions, skilled interaction with learners to probe and deepen understanding, providing frequent and effective feedback, and securing learners’ active engagement in and responsibility for their learning.
→ Colleges continue to provide vocationally-relevant curricula which include the contextualisation of core skills that prepare learners well for progression to employment or higher-level study. In partnership with others, they make valuable contributions to the delivery of adult literacy and numeracy.
↑ Increasingly, colleges have included a broader range of essential skills in the curriculum, especially at further education level. These include essential skills for lifelong learning, employability and citizenship.
LEARNING
PRE-SCHOOL
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING FOUR-POINT SCALE, APRIL 2005-MARCH 2007
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING SIX-POINT SCALE, APRIL-DECEMBER 2007
SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND SPECIAL SCHOOL SECTORS 2005-2007 AND COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT 2006-2008
COLLEGE
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY ELEMENT EVALUATIONS IN COLLEGE SECTOR SUBJECT AREAS 2005-2008
What needs to continue to improve?
In the first Improving Scottish Education report, we highlighted the need to promote creative and aspirational leadership which is unstinting in the pursuit of quality, and the need to build capacity for leadership at all levels.
Areas of continuing strength → and notable improvement ↑
→ Leadership continues to be mainly strong, providing a good base for the challenges ahead. In almost all local authority-run nursery schools and classes and in most primary and secondary schools, leadership remains a strength.
↑ In pre-school settings, there has been national recognition of the need to improve leadership qualifications and skills. Improvements in leadership in the private and voluntary sector reflect the increased number of staff gaining additional qualifications.
↑ In most colleges, effective strategic educational leadership creates a clear vision with aims and objectives determined following robust analysis of local and national requirements. Operational leadership at all levels continues to be effective and results in innovative improvements to the curriculum, learning and teaching and services for learners.
↑ The extent to which all members of staff in schools take on leadership roles is growing. The introduction of the principal teacher post in primary schools and business managers in secondary schools has significantly increased leadership capacity. In secondary schools, the introduction of curriculum leader posts is helping to improve quality assurance and is leading to a clearer focus on key issues relating to learning and teaching. There is increasing evidence of the concept of ‘leadership for learning’ being applied as a key driver for improvement and innovation.
↑ The flexible route to the Scottish Qualification for Headship has been introduced. Some local authorities are beginning to put planned systems in place to prepare staff for formal leadership roles, including fixed term secondments to leadership posts, opportunities for work shadowing and support for leadership programmes for middle managers. More systematic approaches to succession planning are becoming more evident.
↑ A number of authorities with sufficient numbers of staff on the Chartered Teacher programme use it as a vehicle that successfully promotes leadership at all levels.
↑ There are examples of strong leadership in special schools, including residential special schools, with a clear focus on improving learning.
LEADERSHIP
PRE-SCHOOL
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING FOUR-POINT SCALE, APRIL 2005-MARCH 2007
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING SIX-POINT SCALE, APRIL – DECEMBER 2007
SCHOOLS, CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES AND COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND SPECIAL SCHOOL SECTORS 2005-2007 AND CHILD PROTECTION INSPECTION REPORTS JANUARY 2007 – MARCH 2008
COLLEGE
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY ELEMENT EVALUATIONS IN THE COLLEGE SECTOR 2005-2008
What needs to continue to improve?
In the first Improving Scottish Education report, we highlighted the need to establish effective partnership working across children’s services. Working in partnership with others is a fundamental way for educational establishments and services to help practitioners act in ways that make positive differences for children, young people and adult learners. A coherent curriculum requires close collaboration across transitions. This means that educational providers must work with each other, with parents and with other services for children and adults to ease learners’ transitions between stages and educational sectors. Such joint working ensures a continuous lifelong learning experience where barriers to learning are successfully identified and tackled.
Since the publication of the first Improving Scottish Education report in 2006, new legislation and key national initiatives, including Curriculum for Excellence and Scotland’s lifelong skills strategy, have emphasised the importance of continuing to improve partnership working in order to meet the needs of each individual learner.
The Early Years Framework requires professionals from a range of backgrounds to continue to strengthen partnership working with the aim of improving outcomes for the youngest children and their families. It involves a shift of resources from dealing with failure to building resilience and dealing with the root causes of current social problems. This partnership approach is also reflected in GIRFEC which aims to ensure that all children get the help they need when they need it.
The Scottish School (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 sets out to modernise and strengthen the framework for supporting parental involvement in school education. It aims to help schools, education authorities and others to engage parents meaningfully in the education of their children and in the wider school community by: involving them with their child’s education and learning; welcoming them as active participants in the life of the school; and encouraging them to express their views on school education generally and to work in partnership with the school.
Areas of continuing strength → and notable improvement ↑
↑ Pre-school centres are developing productive links with support services, other professionals and schools to improve joint working and to ensure the needs of every individual child are met.
↑ A large number of adults have improved their basic literacy and numeracy through local partnerships involving community learning and development, colleges and the voluntary sector.
→ In pre-school and primary school settings, and through outreach work, staff have maintained positive partnership working with parents and carers supporting the pastoral needs of children and families.
→ Many primary and secondary schools are good at involving parents in school activities. Many parents provide invaluable support for primary and secondary schools.
→ Strengths in joint working across many primary/secondary school groups include effective targeting of support to the most vulnerable learners. This approach is supported by productive relationships with a range of partner agencies, including educational establishments and services, the police, social work, health, housing and leisure services, the Children’s Reporter and voluntary and independent organisations, with a focus on ‘closing the gap’.
→ In colleges, managers and staff work effectively with bodies such as local authorities, local enterprise companies, employers, community organisations, schools and universities to improve progression routes for learners into and out of college programmes. This partnership working is based on sound strategic and operational planning that takes good account of partner needs as well as local and national government priorities.
PARTNERSHIPS
PRE-SCHOOL
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING FOUR-POINT SCALE, APRIL 2005-MARCH 2007
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING SIX-POINT SCALE, APRIL-DECEMBER 2007
SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND SPECIAL SCHOOL SECTORS 2005-2007 AND COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT 2006-2008
What needs to continue to improve?
In the first Improving Scottish Education report, we stressed the need to give individual establishments and their staff greater scope to exercise their professional roles. Scotland is fortunate in having a highly professional teaching force. It is essential that this professionalism includes team working and sharing good practice, embracing innovation, taking responsibility for personal performance and development, and encouraging and supporting each learner as an individual.
In 2000, an Act of the Scottish Parliament7 set out the duty of each education authority to secure education that was directed to the development of every child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. Curriculum for Excellence reflects this aspiration and is about fostering achievement for all. To achieve these aims, learners need to benefit from a confident and professional education service which has a strong and lasting impact on their learning – a world class service for the 21st century.
Areas of continuing strength → and notable improvement ↑
→ The professionalism of Scottish teachers was recognised in the 2007 OECD report.8 The report also described the arrangements for induction of new teachers as ‘world class’. Support for new teachers, and the energetic contribution and the freshness which many of them bring to schools, continue to be strengths of the system. In general, the commitment and competence of teachers in many aspects of their work continue to be features of which we can be proud.
↑ There are signs of increasing collegiality in some schools where, for example, staff are involved in working groups and are responsible for taking and implementing decisions about key aspects of the school’s work. Some teachers have excellent opportunities to show leadership by chairing these forums.
↑ The Teachers’ Agreement has helped to promote widening of opportunities for continuing professional development (CPD), and an understanding that CPD might include a broader set of activities such as personal research, online resources, shadowing and peer learning, mentoring and coaching, secondments and other activities to complement more routine courses and in-service meetings. Staff in many pre-school settings and schools are beginning to benefit from the increased focus on relevant training and qualifications and notable improvements in the range and quality of opportunities. Many local authorities are providing good opportunities for their teachers to consider the implications of Curriculum for Excellence and are giving greater attention to developing leadership capacity in staff. ICT-based developments and initiatives such as Assessment is for Learning have brought greater emphasis on the craft of teaching. Access to CPD in Gaelic language and better networking are reducing the sense of isolation felt by teachers in Gaelic language classes and schools.
↑ In Scotland’s colleges, teaching staff are well qualified professionally and the proportion with a teaching qualification has risen steadily to its current high level.
→ Teaching staff in colleges also have relevant up-to-date vocational experience. Staff review processes in colleges identify individual professional development needs well and the professional development that staff undertake generally meets these needs. College staff are strongly committed to teamwork, demonstrate good levels of knowledge of quality procedures and are committed to improving the quality of the learner experience. They are appropriately involved in self-evaluation and internal review activities in almost all colleges.
→ In primary and secondary schools, self-evaluation is well established as a process. The best schools continue to use peer observation and to share good practice in teaching to improve their work. The influence of The Journey to Excellence, including the third edition of How good is our school?, have provided additional focus and drive for improvement. There is increasing sophistication in the gathering and analysis of performance data in secondary schools.
↑ Within the community learning and development sector, considerable attention has been given to promoting improvement through self-evaluation. This has been supported at national level by development projects to help staff focus more clearly on the outcomes and impact of their work.
What needs to continue to improve?
In order to achieve success for all learners, educational establishments and services need to ensure positive relationships at all levels. They need to seek and build upon the views and evaluations of learners, parents and partner professionals. They need to promote a culture of achievement and provide opportunities for every individual to be successful and to attain to his or her fullest potential. In the first Improving Scottish Education report, we highlighted the need to enhance the achievement of our most vulnerable learners, to address purposefully issues of equality and diversity and to tackle with greater determination underperformance in meeting the needs of each individual learner.
Since then, key pieces of legislation and initiatives by the Scottish Government such as GIRFEC, Early Years Framework and More Choices, More Chances (MCMC) have been aimed at improving outcomes for vulnerable groups. The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 brought in a broader definition of additional support needs, and an emphasis on inclusive practices and the need to involve parents and pupils in discussions of how learning needs should be met.
Areas of continuing strength → and notable improvement ↑
→ Positive and constructive relationships between learners and teachers are characteristic of almost all pre-school centres, schools and colleges in Scotland. There has been a continuing commitment to the principles of inclusion across all establishments and services which play a role in Scottish education. The OECD report of 20079 confirmed that Scottish schools are highly equitable in respect of both learner outcomes and school quality. The overarching aim is to develop and fulfil the potential of every individual learner and overcome any barriers to progress.
↑ Increasingly, schools and education authorities are taking a more proactive approach towards the involvement of children and young people in school decision making. Pupil councils play a key role in efforts to increase learner participation in planning and decision making. Colleges are successful at taking account of learner’s views and are increasingly involving them in evaluating their own programmes and other services provided by the college.
→ Scotland’s colleges target under-represented groups and hard-to-reach learners, including those from areas of multiple deprivation and in remote rural locations. They have worked hard to make buildings, the curriculum and learning resources accessible to all sectors of society. Effective partnerships and links with stakeholders help to widen the range of diverse learners taking part in college programmes. Colleges work well with schools and other agencies to plan provision for their most vulnerable learners. Programmes increasingly promote positive attitudes to social and cultural diversity.
↑ Many establishments in all sectors and many education authorities have strengthened their policies in relation to diversity, equality and fairness. More flexible and imaginative teaching approaches in pre-school, primary and secondary schools, and special schools, are helping to meet all children’s learning needs better. While the overall aim is to support each individual learner, much of the recent focus in school improvement has been on improving outcomes for specific groups of children and young people with additional needs or who may be particularly vulnerable for a range of reasons.
↑ In CLD, a strong trend has been the importance of work with parents to enable them to support their children’s learning. Adult learning and community involvement activities build the confidence and wellbeing of parents and carers. This has a beneficial effect on their relationships and support for their children.
MEETING LEARNING NEEDS
PRE-SCHOOL
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING FOUR-POINT SCALE, APRIL 2005-MARCH 2007
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRE-SCHOOL SECTOR, USING SIX-POINT SCALE, APRIL – DECEMBER 2007
SCHOOLS
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY INDICATOR EVALUATIONS IN THE PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND SPECIAL SCHOOL SECTORS 2005-2007
COLLEGE
DISTRIBUTION OF QUALITY ELEMENT EVALUATIONS IN THE COLLEGE SECTOR 2005-2008
What needs to continue to improve?