What key outcomes have we achieved?

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

Questions you might ask

What measures of outcomes do we have?
What trends do they reveal?
What targets have we achieved or not achieved?
How do we compare with other similar authorities?
What evidence do we have that our work complies with statutory requirements?

How well do we meet the needs of our stakeholders?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

What evidence do we have that learners are:

• included and participating
• achieving and attaining
• progressing?

How do we know that participants’ educational experiences are contributing to them becoming:

• successful learners
• confident individuals
• responsible citizens
• effective contributors?

How do we know that our provision is helping participants to be:

• safe
• nurtured
• healthy
• achieving
• active
• respected and responsible
• included?

How do we know that learners are progressing in the core skills of:

• communication
• number
• ICT
• working with others
• problem solving?

To what extent can we state that learners are:

• satisfied with the quality of their education and care
• confident in expressing their opinions and views
• included in all aspects of education and care
• positive about meeting or exceeding their learning potential
• satisfied that they have opportunities to contribute both in school and community
• aware of the health-promoting values of their school and of the importance of developing healthy lifestyles
• aware of how to access information/advice on a range of health-related matters?

What do these things tell us about the impact of our provision?

What does the data tell us about under-participating and under-performing groups?

Some ways of Finding out

• Completed questionnaires, surveys, satisfaction surveys
• Focus groups of young people in school outwith school and in the evenings
• Availability of independent advice, support and/or advocacy to young people and adults on health and others areas
• Arrangements to provide support, information and advice to excluded young people and adults
• Accessibility of specialist services
• Management of pastoral care and pupil guidance
• Staff training programmes related to supporting all young people but especially the more vulnerable
• Breadth and flexibility within the school curriculum to meet the needs of all pupils and the availability of activities and experiences outwith the formal school curriculum

How well do we meet the needs of our stakeholders?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

What evidence do we have that parents/carers and families are:

• treated equally and fairly
• satisfied with the quality of education provided by the authority
• involved and engaged in their children’s development and learning?

To what extent can we state that parents/carers and families are:

• confident that they will be treated equally and fairly by the school and the authority
• aware of any complaints procedures
• satisfied with the way the school or the authority dealt with complaints or queries
• satisfied with the quality of education provided by the authority
• involved and engaged in their children’s development and learning?

Some ways of finding out

• Parents/carers focus groups
• Parents’ forums
• Availability of advice and support to parents and carers
• Completed questionnaires, surveys, satisfaction surveys
• Survey of complaints and satisfactory outcomes
• Survey of establishments on parental involvement
• Survey of parents/carers views on particular aspects, e.g. homework

How well do we meet the needs of our stakeholders?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

To what extent can we state that staff:

• are motivated and committed
• feel confident and valued?

What range of mechanisms is in place to evaluate staff perceptions, experience and satisfaction?

What evidence to we have that staff:

• improve the impact of their practice through training and development activities
• are aware of the authority’s policy and programme for CPD
• are confident that they can access CPD opportunities as appropriate
• are supported by central services and the work of partner agencies
• work well in teams
• are meaningfully involved in service development?

Some ways of finding out

• Staff focus groups
• Formal agendas, minutes and other relevant documentation
• Survey of staff views
• Procedures for dealing with staff suggestions and complaints
• Programmes of visits to educational establishments, by senior authority managers, to engage with staff

How well do we meet the needs of our stakeholders?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

How do we know that we help members of the community to develop their skills, abilities and confidence?
To what extent does our provision empower members of the community to shape developments in their local area?
To what extent has our provision resulted in communities developing self-help and social enterprise initiatives?
To what extent has our provision resulted in increased civic involvement?
How do we know that attitudes and behaviour in relation to social and cultural diversity are improving?
To what extent has our provision resulted in increased networking and learning amongst members of the local community?

How well do we meet the needs of our stakeholders?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

To what extent do we encourage and support innovation in the wider community?

To what extent do we learn from and adopt leading-edge practice?

To what extent do we influence wider policy and practice?

To what extent do we anticipate and respond rapidly and flexibility to change?

How good is our delivery of education?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

To what extent can we show that we have a clear strategy for the delivery of education services?
To what extent do we provide clear guidance on the curriculum and programmes to schools and centres?
To what extent do we provide clear guidance on learning and teaching to schools and centres?
To what extent do we provide clear guidance on support for learners to schools and centres?
How effectively do we review and revise our guidance in these areas?
To what extent do we have clear systems in place for implementing our policies?
To what extent do we ensure health and safety, security and the well-being of learners?
How well do we ensure that we provide effective transition between units and establishments?
What systems do we have to ensure that we engage with learners and stakeholders to identify and meet the specific needs of learners?
How do we celebrate learners’ achievements and successes?

How good is our delivery of education processes?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

What evidence do we have that :

• staff at all levels and key stakeholders have a clear understanding policies relating to equality and inclusion and their own responsibilities in this regard
• we have a range of written guidance for staff
• we promote learning opportunities for all learners
• we provide effective services for vulnerable learners?

How effective are our systems for:

• tracking and monitoring the achievements of vulnerable learners and those requiring additional support
• recording, analysing and addressing any under representation or under achievement of groups of learners?

How good is our delivery of education processes?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

How effective are our methods for evaluating our services and establishments?
How clear and effective is our advice to services and establishments on self-evaluation, quality improvement and standards and quality reporting?
How effectively do we gather and use information from learners, participants and other stakeholders to improve our services and establishments?
How do we ensure that the roles and responsibilities of key staff ensure quality improvement in our services and establishments?
To what extent do we carry out regular and rigorous audits of our services?
How effectively do we moderate establishments’ and services self-evaluation?
How effectively do we use information from self-evaluation to plan for improvements?
To what extent do we have a clear strategy for recording and reporting on our standards to our stakeholders?

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

What evidence do we have that:

• our policy framework guides our activities and is relevant, comprehensive and appropriate
• our policy framework is clearly presented and able to be understood at all levels
• our policies are linked to our strategic vision, values and aims
• the policy framework and the range of policies cohere with corporate and broader policies?

To what extent are our policies well implemented, evaluated and updated?

Some ways of finding Out

• service plan
• local improvement plan
• establishments’ plans
• statement of vision, values and aims
• policy framework
• planning cycle
• interrogation of policies
• key corporate documents
• audit information
• minutes of meetings
• reports on visits to establishments

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

To what extent can we state that:

• we communicate and consult effectively with learners and stakeholders about our aims, provision and performance
• learners and stakeholders are involved in shaping the development of policies
• learners and stakeholders actively participate in the work of the service
• we work in partnership with other services in the local authority and with partner agencies, for example NHS services?

To what extent are our policies well implemented, evaluated and updated?

Some ways of finding out

• focus group, working groups, targeted consultation groups
• area and local forums
• joint working groups
• service level agreements
• consultation framework, policy and procedures
• communication framework, policy and procedures
• agendas and minutes of meetings
• questionnaires and feedback from service users
• policy and procedures for complaints
• policy and procedures for inter-agency working

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

What evidence do we have that:

• we have effective mechanisms for developing, implementing and evaluating plans
• the service plan fits and inputs to local planning
• the service operational plan articulates with the service strategy and community plan
• the work of the service is systematically monitored and evaluated by senior officers
• we use management information effectively to inform planning
• senior officers plan jointly
• staff at all levels are involved effectively in planning and evaluation
• that plans are sustainable?

Some ways of finding out

• Best Value reviews
• performance management and planning audits
• education service website
• minutes of meetings
• membership of groups
• questionnaires to stakeholders on the quality of provision
• quality assurance policy
• outcomes of self-evaluation processes
• outcomes from a range of audits (internal and external)
• performance monitoring strategy

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

Are there sufficient staff to deliver agreed outcomes?
How effective are our procedures for ensuring that we have suitably qualified and skilled staff?
How effective are our arrangements for ensuring the care and welfare of staff?
How effective are our procedures for ensuring equality and fairness in staff recruitment and promotion?
How well do we recognise and celebrate the achievements of our staff and volunteers?

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

How clear are all our staff, both those employed centrally and those employed in schools, centres and services, about their roles, responsibilities and authority?
How clear are staff about lines of communication and accountability?
How well do we deploy staff to meet planned priorities?
How well do staff teams work collaboratively with other teams to achieve common aims?
How good is our communication with staff and how well do we involve them in decision making?

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

How well do our induction procedures support all new staff to become effective as soon as possible?
To what extent do our arrangements for staff review and development result in enthusiastic, well motivated, confident and competent staff?
How well do our training and development activities equip our staff and volunteers to work effectively and meet new challenges?
To what extent do shared training and development opportunities result in improved inter-disciplinary relationships and work practices?

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

How clearly have the purposes and aims of the partnership been communicated?
How useful and clear are partnership documents such as service level agreements, protocols and other forms of agreement?
How effectively do we work together across agencies and disciplines?
How well do our staff work with others in partnerships?

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

How comprehensive and effective are our financial procedures and controls?
How well equipped are budget holders to implement financial procedures and controls?
How well do we allocate budgets in line with planned priorities?
How enterprising are we in securing additional funding?
How consistent are our budget allocations with local and national priorities?
How well do we work with finance and other services to ensure effective budget management?
How effective are our procedures to ensure Best Value?

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

How well does accommodation in the school and CLD estates meet the needs of learners?
How appropriate are our plans to manage and develop the school and CLD estates?
To what extent do we know that resources and facilities meet the needs of all learners?
How do we ensure that resources are allocated to meet local and national needs?
How do we know that all staff are applying health and safety and risk management procedures effectively?

How good is our management?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

How effective are our arrangements for collecting, storing and retrieving data?

How effective are our processes for analysing and evaluating data?

To what extent do our protocols and procedures meet legislative requirements and service needs?

How good is our leadership?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

How do we ensure that vision, values and aims are reflected in our key strategic documents?
How effectively have leaders established a shared vision for the authority?
What actions do we take to demonstrate our understanding of and commitment to equality and diversity?

How good is our leadership?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

To what extent do leaders:

• develop effective and strategic business plans
• identify key actions, intended outcomes and major targets?

How effectively do leaders communicate with stakeholders and staff at all levels?
How well do we ensure effective and efficient deployment of resources?

How good is our leadership?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

To what extent do our leaders model a wide range of effective leadership skills and motivate others to give of their best?
To what extent is there a balanced range of skills and personal qualities evident in our leadership team?
How effectively have we developed a supportive work environment in which staff share a sense of responsibility to improve the quality of services?
How effectively do we identify and promote talent?
How effectively do we develop working relationships which are built on trust and reflect a genuine concern for staff and relevant partners?
To what extent are systems in place to help people tackle challenging problems, share information and deal with difficulties?
To what extent do leaders proactively establish strong links with establishments, stakeholders, partner agencies and other council services and lead joint improvement activities?

How good is our leadership?

INDICATORS

Questions you might ask

To what extent have senior managers embedded challenge and support of staff as a means of securing continuous improvement?
To what extent have senior managers encouraged and supported innovative and effective practices which result in a qualitative step change in learners’ experiences?
How have senior managers succeeded in building a strong capacity for improvement within the organization?

Some ways of finding out

• Quality assurance policy
• Protocols for annual/triennial reviews
• CPD online database
• Attainment data analysis
• National Data performance targets and measures
• Reports to council
• Standards and quality reports
• Stakeholder questionnaires
• HMIE inspection reports
• Protocols for follow-through
• Education service improvement objectives
• Education service progress reports on improvement objectives
• All sector and sector meetings – agendas and minutes
• Liaison group agenda and minutes