Many Scottish schools provide good personal support for their pupils. In primary schools, class teachers have played the key role while in special schools, teams of staff have worked together to promote the personal and social development of pupils. In secondary schools, an approach built around specialist guidance teachers was created some 30 years ago and, since then, has been a distinctive and important means of support for generations of young people. This report by HM Inspectorate of Education highlights significant strengths in our current approaches but also identifies some important areas where improvement is clearly needed.
The social context within which young people live has been changing significantly in recent years. All young people are subject to new, sometimes insidious pressures; many may experience temporary difficulties as they grow up; some suffer from real deprivation and do not enjoy the kind of supportive relationships which they need to feel safe and to benefit fully from their education. In this changing context it is vital that we continue to re-appraise established practices and find new ways of providing effective support to all pupils.
Our key aim must be to ensure that all Scottish young people are fully supported in ways which allow them to benefit fully from their education. Achieving that aim will require strong and effective partnership working between parents and carers and the various agencies which support young people and their families. It will also need a clearer understanding of the respective roles of teachers and other professionals; good quality personal and social education; smooth transitions as young people progress through and between schools; and high quality leadership, not just in schools but also at the national and local authority levels.
This report draws directly from evidence gathered from our inspection programme. It highlights encouraging developments in practice and provides an important point of reference for all those involved in designing and taking forward new models of pupil support.
GRAHAM DONALDSON
HM Senior Chief Inspector