Scottish Attainment Challenge and Pupil Equity Fund Update
North Lanarkshire Council · 22 November 2022
Back to Education, Children and Families Committee — 22 November 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Education, Children and Families Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref JON / TS Date 22/11/22 PO39 Scottish Attainment Challenge and Pupil Equity Fund Update From Janie O’Neill, Head of Education (South) E-mail oneillja@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302534 Executive Summary This report provides Education and Families Committee with an update on progress within the Scottish Attainment Challenge programme within North Lanarkshire and the Pupil Equity Fund which is a part of the national Attainment Challenge programme. The report specifically updates members on 3 key areas: • Progress made in North Lanarkshire’s Scottish Attainment Challenge Plan during session 2021-2022. The complete SAC End of Year report for 2021-2022 is provided in Appendix 1 • The Strategic Equity Fund (SEF) Plan incorporating Stretch Aims for session 2022- 2023 • Information relating to the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) for session 2021-2022 The SAC programme within North Lanarkshire has evolved significantly over the past three years. The fundamental changes and the consequential re-positioning of the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) agenda has allowed the programme to reflect the new operating model of Education, Children and Families and the need to build stronger linkages between services to support children and young people, not only in literacy and numeracy but also around wellbeing. Session 2021-2022 was the last year of Attainment Challenge programme incorporating the nine Challenge Authorities, of which North Lanarkshire was one. This has been replaced by the Strategic Equity Fund (SEF) model which now incorporates all local authorities. The next phase of SAC, implemented through the SEF, was set in motion for session 2022- 2023 and will continue until 2025-2026. This policy’s mission is to use education to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty, with a focus on tackling the poverty-related attainment gap. Increased emphasis on partnerships with Social Care, Community Learning and Development, Police and Fire Services are evident throughout End of Year Report and are reflected in many of the interventions contained within Health and Wellbeing. Furthermore, the work set in motion by the SAC through a wider reaching and more sustainable approach of building capacity, will support all schools in their planning for building back better and supporting the integrated Cluster model for Education, Children and Families.
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1. Background 1.1 The Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) is a major Scottish Government initiative designed to achieve equity in educational outcomes by closing the poverty related attainment gap for children and young people. The previous phase of SAC finished at the end of session 2021–2022, with the next phase being implemented from 2022- 2026. 1.2 The SAC focuses on accelerated, targeted improvement activity in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing in specific areas of Scotland. It supports and complements the broader range of initiatives and programmes to ensure that all of Scotland’s children and young people reach their full potential. 1.3 Education, Children and Families officers submitted a costed plan to Scottish Government for session 2021–2022, which delineates our approach to closing the poverty related attainment gap across a number of workstreams. The plan is updated and amended, in agreement with Scottish Government colleagues, to take account of lessons learned from planned interventions and pedagogical approaches in previous years. 1.4 In addition to the above, officers also submitted a mid-year report in March, and a final end of year report in September to the Scottish Government, indicating progress within each of the interventions outlined in the Plan for that year. 1.5 This paper gives highlights of the accompanying lengthy End Year Report 2021-2022, including key messages from the recently uplifted ACEL data. 1.6 ACEL data is a national measure used by the Scottish Government to measure pupil achievement of a level within literacy and numeracy, based on teacher professional judgement, at four key stages within the Broad General Education (BGE). These stages are P1, P4, P7 and S3. 1.7 We continue to work with all schools to strengthen the assessment and moderation process which leads towards teacher professional judgement. As we progress through the recovery phase new approaches to digital moderation will allow schools to It is important to note that the work of the Attainment Challenge articulates with The Plan for North Lanarkshire and references key local policy drivers as outlined in the Review of Additional Support Needs Update and Progress Update on Digital Learning and Tackling the Digital Divide, both approved by Education and Families Committee. Recommendations It is recommended that the Education, Children and Families Committee: (1) Endorse the contents of this report and the accompanying appendices. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Support all children and young people to realise their full potential Ambition statement (6) Raise attainment and skills for learning, life, and work to enhance opportunities and choices
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moderate across schools and clusters, thereby further ensuring consistency of standards and validity of assessments. 1.8 Session 2022–2023 saw the introduction of the Strategic Equity Fund. This new approach replaced the previous Attainment Challenge programme which included North Lanarkshire as one of the nine Challenge Authorities. The SEF model incorporates stretch aims, which are targets set around key priorities and submitted to Scottish Government. 1.9 The 2022–2023 SEF overview, outlined in section 2.2, reflects the need to build strong linkages between services to support children and young people and builds on the work of strengthening clusters and supporting cluster locality-based integration and improvement teams. 1.10 This model, which offers strong support around the development and implementation of the empowering clusters model, will accelerate the cultural transformation needed to support all schools across North Lanarkshire. 1.11 The Service continues to strengthen a number of existing interventions which enact our strategic approach to improvement. Whilst these are partially or wholly funded through SAC, work is being done to evaluate how best to sustain these going forward. These include: • The Statutory Leavers’ Pathways Programme • The Virtual School for Care experienced Young People • The Digital School • The Cluster Based Improvement and Innovation Leads • The Pedagogy Team • The Literacy and Numeracy Hubs 1.12 Pupil Equity Funding is additional funding allocated directly to schools and targeted at closing the poverty related attainment gap. The Scottish Government has committed to this funding as part of the new phase of the Scottish Attainment Challenge programme from 2022-2026. 1.13 Although the Pupil Equity Funding forms part of the overall £1 billion Attainment Challenge Fund, the governance arrangements are significantly different, with funding delegated to the individual establishments and Head Teachers responsible for controlling and monitoring PEF spend (in accordance with the Scottish Government guidance). Schools provide detail of their rationale and approaches through the improvement planning process and the authority provide detail to the Scottish Government through the Standards and Quality Report. 2. Report 2.1 Scottish Attainment Challenge 2020-2021 End of Year Report 2.1.1 Appendix 1 provides a full copy of North Lanarkshire Council’s End of Year SAC Progress Report for session 2021-2022. The submission gives detail and evidence to date of the success of the various interventions and programmes of work, as well as highlighting areas for improvement. It is important to note that the format and word limits are set by Scottish Government.
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2.1.2 The text in the mid-year section outlines the immense efforts from all workstreams to keep as many aspects of the original Plan going and the adaptations we have made to ensure delivery for the vast majority of individual elements. 2.1.3 The period April–June 2022, to which this section of the report refers to, has not seen many significant changes to that outlined at the end of March. However, the table below reinforces those commitments and gives an overview of the current situation with regards to the various workstreams, with greater detail available in the body of the report. Project Title Continued - perhaps with adaptations Paused due to Covid Progress & Comment 1. Learning and Teaching – Literacy / Numeracy ✓ Online training continued with a focus on NL Digital and Virtual Classroom, New P1 Literacy Programme, LTA training and Nursery SEAL. 2a. Learner Journeys Developing Family Hubs ✓ Continued focus on development of Home Learning. 2b. Learner Journeys Cluster Improvement and Integration ✓ Supporting the cluster model and active role in wellbeing meetings to support vulnerable children and families. 2c. Learner Journeys Secondary programme ✓ Some individual school programmes were disrupted due to staffing absences 2d. Learner Journeys Learner pathways ✓ 2e. Learner Journeys Leadership ✓ Successful move to a completely digital delivery model. 3a. Health & Wellbeing Continued partnership working with psychological services, NHS, CLD, third sector organisations ✓ Majority still online training however face to face engagements are beginning to resume 3b. Improving physical activity (secondary girls and ASN) ✓ Some engagements, however this has been impacted by staff absence. 3c. Health and Wellbeing Police and Scottish Fire and Rescue ✓ Continued support from Police partners. SFRS had some digital delivery with some elements of face to face now resuming. 2.1.4 The main addition to this end of year report is the inclusion of ACEL data alongside some information learned as part of the whole population survey of children’s health and wellbeing, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (as reported to Education and Families Committee in September 2021). 2.1.5 Looking at the ACEL data through both short and long-term lenses gives two different perspectives. Incorporating 2018 ACEL data into the table below gives a historical outlook and illustrates the progress that SAC has made in supporting schools through strategic direction within both literacy and numeracy. More detail is given in the individual workstream sections of the full SAC End of Year Report (Appendix 1).
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2.1.6 The table below outlines ACEL data as of June 2022, and indicates an overall increase in attainment at P1, P4 and P7 in all organisers against session 2020-2021. 2.1.7 Encouragingly, this year’s data not only indicates a positive upward trend from last year’s data, but also indicates that we have surpassed levels previously identified in 2018 at P1, P4 and P7 stages for all organisers. This is a positive sign and reflects the shift in focus to a cluster model which allows for a more bespoke package of support for individual schools and pupils. 2.1.8 One of the successes in our recovery programme has been through the work of the Digital School which now has a sharp focus on sustainability. Digital Pathfinder staff continue to contribute to North Lanarkshire’s approaches to building back a better curriculum for all children and young people and support the digital development in line with national policy and guidance, learning the lessons from the recent OECD report. 2.1.9 The virtual classroom was originally created in response to remote learning and periods of lockdown. This space has now evolved to incorporate thematic events and virtual 360 spaces that has given all learners the opportunity to engage in a STEM Careers Fair conference, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) events and global issues like COP26. 2018 2019 2021 2022 P1 Listening and Talking 84.1% 84.6% 81.1% 85.7% Reading 76.7% 80.1% 75.0% 77.6% Writing 74.1% 78.6% 74.0% 76.5% Numeracy 83.4% 85.0% 82.6% 84.6% P4 Listening and Talking 81.6% 81.9% 80.1% 83.7% Reading 73.6% 74.0% 72.6% 75.3% Writing 68.6% 70.3% 67.2% 70.9% Numeracy 73.1% 75.7% 72.2% 76.8% P7 Listening and Talking 79.5% 83.2% 81.4% 85.0% Reading 75.8% 78.2% 76.2% 80.8% Writing 71.9% 74.0% 71.3% 75.7% Numeracy 71.4% 75.8% 74.0% 77.1% S3 Listening and Talking 91.1% 90.8% 88.6% Reading 88.7% 90.1% 87.9% Writing 88.3% 89.1% 87.1% Numeracy 90.1% 84.8% 85.4%
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2.1.10 SAC End of Year Report - Workstream Highlights Learning and Teaching This workstream is essentially numeracy and literacy alongside assessment and moderation, however ongoing collaborative working between the Pedagogy Team and Learning Hub has enhanced links across the curriculum in numeracy by NLC’s partnership with the Wood Foundation and Education Scotland through the RAiSE programme (Raising Aspirations in Science Education). 2.1.11 As ACEL data has now been collected for five years, tracking and comparing the same cohort of children from P1-P4 and P4-P7 is now possible. Tables 1.2 in both numeracy and literacy, show the same cohort of pupils’ ACEL data in 2019 at P1 and then again in 2022 at P4. This is also compared with P4 in 2019, now in P7 2022. Table 1.2 NUM: Cohort comparison – attainment data for all schools P1 2019 P4 2022 Change P4 2019 P7 2022 Change Numeracy 85.0% 76.8% -8.2% 75.7% 77.1% 1.4% Table 1.2 LIT: Cohort Comparison P1 2019 P4 2022 Change P4 2019 P7 2022 Change L & T 84.6% 83.7% -0.9% 81.9% 85.0% 3.1% Reading 80.1% 75.3% -4.8% 74.0% 80.9% 6.9% Writing 78.6% 70.9% -7.7% 70.3% 75.7% 5.4% 2.1.12 Table 1.2 NUM shows that although there has been a significant dip in attainment from P1-P4, the gap between the P4-P7 cohort shows that there has been, on average, an increase for this cohort across the authority. 2.1.13 Table 1.2 LIT indicates that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the P1-P4 group of children, particularly in writing. This is not unexpected, due to the effect that the pandemic would have had on our youngest learners. However, between P4- P7, there has been an increase in attainment in all Literacy organisers with the largest increase of 6.9% in reading. 2.1.14 Undoubtedly, Covid-19 has exacerbated the poverty related gap, and this can be seen in results for session 2020-2021. However, the substantial efforts as part of the recovery programme are showing dividends as outlined by the chart below.
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Table 1.3 LIT: Gap for all schools comparing SIMD 1-2 and 9-10 by stage Gap Between Q1 (SIMD 1-2) and Q5 (SIMD 9-10) 2017-2018 2018-2019 2020-2021 2021-2022 Q1 Q5 Gap Q1 Q5 Gap Q1 Q5 Gap Q1 Q5 Gap P1 L & T 78.8% 94.0% 15.2% 80.2% 91.2% 11.0% 72.1% 91.8% 19.7% 77.6% 92.6% 15.0% Reading 70.2% 90.2% 20.0% 73.2% 90.1% 16.9% 64.2% 88.2% 24.0% 68.9% 88.1% 19.2% Writing 67.0% 87.4% 20.4% 70.9% 87.6% 16.7% 63.3% 89.4% 26.1% 67.1% 86.4% 19.3% P4 L & T 77.0% 92.7% 15.7% 77.1% 86.5% 9.4% 74.3% 89.6% 15.3% 76.5% 91.7% 15.2% Reading 66.0% 86.3% 20.3% 67.0% 80.5% 13.5% 66.5% 85.1% 18.6% 68.0% 84.6% 16.6% Writing 60.5% 81.7% 21.2% 61.4% 78.5% 17.1% 59.8% 78.6% 18.8% 62.4% 82.2% 19.8% P7 L & T 71.0% 90.3% 19.3% 79.0% 89.1% 10.1% 73.3% 90.1% 16.8% 80.0% 92.8% 12.8% Reading 66.1% 88.1% 22.0% 70.7% 86.8% 16.1% 67.3% 88.5% 21.2% 75.2% 89.9% 14.7% Writing 62.2% 82.8% 20.6% 66.0% 83.5% 17.5% 61.7% 85.4% 23.7% 69.2% 86.2% 17.0% S3 L & T 87.0% 98.5% 11.5% 87.5% 95.5% 8.0% 83.3% 95.0% 11.7% Reading 84.1% 96.9% 12.8% 86.9% 95.8% 8.9% 82.2% 94.8% 12.6% Writing 83.2% 97.2% 14.0% 85.9% 95.0% 9.1% 81.0% 94.5% 13.5% 2.1.15 The above table clearly indicates that between 2021-2022 there is a narrowing of the gap in almost all primary stages for Literacy. This is particularly noticeable at P7, with the largest narrowing in reading (6.5%). More detail for numeracy is also available in the full End of Year Report. 2.1.16 End Year Report - Learner Journey Workstream 23 Family Learning Centres (FLCs) received funding through SAC to develop, enhance and target support for the youngest learners to bridge gaps that have been identified in core areas of literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. This has also included wider areas of outdoor learning, parental engagement and continuous staff training given the significant increase in staffing in this sector with the 1140hrs implementation. 2.1.17 Focussed training, facilitated by the Attainment Advisor, supported effective reporting and measuring of impact of SAC funding. This was attended by almost all establishments, with feedback being very positive. This area of continuous development and improvement is ongoing with joint working between the SAC team and ELC Quality Officers within NLC. 2.1.18 Funding was allocated to all Family Learning Centres (FLCs) to ensure children’s development and attainment is being targeted at the earliest stages. This is to assist with targeting support for the youngest learners to bridge gaps in learning or progress that have been identified. The types of interventions used to target this support are shown in FLC 1.1.
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FLC 1.1: Types of Interventions Implemented in FLC 2.1.19 As reported previously, changes in our operational approach and the move to the cluster model within a more interconnected Education and Families structure have allowed us to develop a more consistent and holistic approach in supporting children. The Cluster Improvement and Integration Lead (CIIL) continues to support clusters around closing the poverty related attainment gap and to support clusters and individual establishments with interventions and resources. 2.1.20 CIILS play a key role in developing a strategic approach to cluster improvement by coordinating effective and strategic planning to develop and embed improvement capacity within the system. The CIIL Team (15 officers) works towards raising attainment and tackling the poverty related attainment gap across the 23 clusters. They work closely with Cluster Chairs to identify priorities and are involved in workstreams that directly or indirectly support cluster needs. 2.1.21 All schools have had the opportunity to engage with the SAC/PEF team with regards to planning for the session ahead. Schools have developed clear rationales for SAC/PEF spends via robust self-evaluation, utilising a range of data, with a particular focus on closing the poverty related attainment gap, and are now linking the two much more coherently. 2.1.22 The third evolution of the North Lanarkshire Council Pathways programme was launched in August 2021, funded by Scottish Attainment Challenge and the Pupil Equity Fund. This supports young people most at risk of entering a negative post school destination due to a range of factors including attendance, engagement and winter leavers. 2.1.23 The programme currently supports up to 380 young people, much more than in previous years. A new 5-week programme is now delivered in all secondary schools as part of North Lanarkshire Councils Future Friday’s programme. These sessions target pupils who are further removed from the world of work and require additional support in preparing to leave school into employment or further education.
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2.1.24 The table below outlines the initial leaver destinations of the 78 young people who fully engaged in the Pathways cohort 1 between August and December 2021. 2.1.25 Work has continued over the last session to strengthen leadership via a new and sustainable Leadership Framework. Cohort 3 of the Principal Teacher, Depute Head Teacher and Head Teacher programmes are now complete and recruitment for Cohort 4 has now closed. Evaluations from programmes continue to be overwhelmingly positive and additional sessions on a range of topics including budget, working time agreements and interview skills were offered in response to requests from cohorts. 2.1.26 The table below gives an outline of the courses offered during session 2021-2022, delivered by North Lanarkshire staff. It is worth noting that the four existing courses (Principal Teacher, Depute Head Teacher, Head Teacher and Digital Champions) are now endorsed by Education Scotland, following a rigorous process.
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2.1.27 Participation and interest in the programmes remain high with 83 Principal Teachers, 38 Depute Head Teachers and 12 Head Teachers registered during session 2021- 2022. Of the 38 Depute Head Teachers registered, 24% of the cohort are from Local Authorities out with North Lanarkshire Council. This represents a 2% increase in uptake from other Local Authorities from the previous session. 2.1.28 The SAC programme will continue to support the Innovation and Improvement Hub (the Hub) which was launched in September 2020 as part of the wider North Lanarkshire Learning Management System. The Hub is multi-functional. Firstly, it hosts a ‘repository’, where practitioners and leaders across the service can engage and/or contribute evidence informed practice. Secondly, it is as an e-learning platform, with a performance driven focus in line with organisational objectives. Finally, it aligns Education and Families by having a ‘one stop shop’ platform for all users, with bespoke staff learner journeys within it. 2.1.29 The Innovation and Improvement Hub continues to be a central focal point for a variety of users across Education and Families. The table below illustrates current levels of staff engagement per month across the period of February 2022-June 2022. Hub site visits have remained relatively high with the exception of April (potentially due to school holidays during that month). Further data is available in the full End of Year report. 2.1.30 End of Year Report - Health and Wellbeing (HWB) Workstream. In the second half of 2021-2022, work has concentrated on moving forward the Health and Wellbeing (HWB) approaches as part of the Covid-19 recovery. The service has consulted on and launched a new HWB Plan – The Roadmap to Recovery, and developments consistent with this plan have started with some services and will continue into 2022-2023. 2.1.31 The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) continues to play an integral part within the Health and Wellbeing (HWB) element of SAC. The focus for Health and Wellbeing during session 2021-2022 arose from the priorities in the Education and Families Mental Health, Wellbeing and Resilience Delivery Plan (see North Lanarkshire Educational Psychology Service Standards and Quality 2020-2021). These priorities focussed on reconnecting and recovery from Covid-19 and involved four workstreams: • Nurture and resilience • Promoting positive mental health and suicide prevention • Mental health curriculum • Staff wellbeing: mental health and emotional resilience
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2.1.32 The Active Schools service provides programmes for secondary school aged girls and ASN pupils. The ASN programme is developing a range of sustainable sport and physical activity programmes for pupils in ASN schools across the authority, with the primary aim of improving health and wellbeing of the pupils involved. Funding has been utilised to provide a range of delivery from specialist local providers, provide staff training and to purchase bespoke resources to support programme delivery. 2.1.33 The CLD team continued to build on Covid-19 recovery. There has been a strong commitment to delivering group learning programmes and face to face work within communities. On average 43% of the participants came from SIMD 1-2 backgrounds. 2.1.34 The chart below indicates the development of the CLD offering, into a proactive and responsive service to families affected by poverty and disadvantage in the recovery from the pandemic restrictions.
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2.2 Strategic Equity Fund Plan and Stretch Aims The Strategic Equity Funding is the part of the refreshed Scottish Attainment Challenge with a revised mission statement “to use education to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty, with a focus on tackling the poverty related attainment gap.” 2.2.1 Local Authorities are asked to provide an overview of their approach and include stretch aims for various measures which should be informed by, and inform, school plans for progress. The stretch aims should set specific local authority targets for improving outcomes and should articulate ambitions for progress for all pupils in narrowing the poverty-related attainment gap in 2022-2023. 2.2.2 Our Plan will continue to drive forward the key area outlined in previous SAC Plans whilst integrating this work within our own service improvement plan and the NL Programme of Work. 2.2.3 The key workstreams will continue to evolve and support the overall ambition outlined in the NL programme of Work whilst ensuring the efficacy of approach around using education to improve outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty. 2.2.4 The stretch aims broadly fall in to two categories: Core and Core Plus. The Core elements are part of a requisite package of measures identified by Scottish Government and which all local authorities have to complete. The benchmark for all stretch aims is data from 2020-2021. Our Core stretch aims are indicated below:
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2.2.5 A substantial amount of additional research and data has been analysed alongside various modelling scenarios to determine what percentages will be both aspirational as well as realistic and what effect this will have on narrowing the gap between the least and most disadvantaged. 2.2.6 The Core Plus aims outlined below reflect the exceptional work that the Virtual School team has been working towards over the past 2 years. Their work in ensuring Care Experienced Children and Young People are engaged and supported in education has been outstanding and this is reflected in their achievements in reducing exclusions over the past 2 years and the ambitious targets set for 2023. 2.2.7 Key overarching statements within the 3 workstreams are given in the table below. The various elements build on previous work within North Lanarkshire’s Attainment Challenge programme and provide a strategic direction of the programme alongside its assimilation within the wider vision and integrated approach across Education, Children and Families.
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2.3 Pupil Equity Funding 2021-2022 The following sections give some detail around the use, guidance and reporting for the Pupil Equity Fund for financial year 202-2022. The narrative will also form part of the Standards and Quality Report for 2021-2022. 2.3.1 During 202-2022, Pupil Equity Funds of £10,926,497 were distributed to primary, secondary and additional support needs (ASN) schools across North Lanarkshire. In accordance with previous practice, all funds were downloaded directly to establishments and the individual allocations ranged from £7,045 to £180,350. In accordance with PEF grant conditions, establishments were also able to utilise unspent resources from the previous financial year. 2.3.2 North Lanarkshire continues to use a robust financial framework for Pupil Equity Funding, which separates all Pupil Equity Fund awards/expenditure from core school budgets. Historically a separate cost centre was created for every school receiving Pupil Equity Funding and this practice continues and ensures that relevant expenditure at a school level is not subsumed within the wider school budgets and can be easily tracked and monitored. 2.3.3 Schools are being encouraged to develop greater synergies between SAC and PEF programmes and associated spends, and a Procurement Framework has been established to support schools with this. 2.3.4 PEF Guidance and Support National guidance is issued to help schools plan how they will most effectively invest their Pupil Equity Funding allocation to improve the educational outcomes of children affected by poverty. All guidance is now located in the Improvement and Innovation Hub and is accessible by all staff. 2.3.5 We continue to use the SAC and PEF Procurement Framework that was developed in 2018. The Framework supports headteachers in ensuring best value, gives direction in terms of possible areas of focus, whilst also providing a mechanism to support their
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decisions in terms of financial accountability. A revised Framework for 2023-2027, with annual entry points, is being developed and will be submitted to committee for approval. 2.3.6 There are specific procedures in place to support headteachers in engaging with both Framework and non-Framework suppliers and the Finance and SAC Team continue to work together to monitor the amount of spend and support schools in further documentation. 2.3.7 Reporting for PEF Headteachers submit their plans for PEF as part of their school improvement planning and reporting processes. The SAC and PEF Team has been involved in discussions with schools to ensure there is a focussed and individual approach for each establishment and, in conjunction with Education and Families Managers, further discussions have taken place as part of the continued quality assurance process to ensure progression. 2.3.8 A large percentage of schools have again used their PEF money in 2021-2022 to appoint additionality within their staffing complement in order to focus and take forward various measures and interventions. Nurture continues to be a major focus along with literacy and numeracy. 2.3.9 The following three tables give an indication of the number of schools within each sector, primary, secondary and ASN, who have indicated a PEF intervention within a particular category. All information was taken from school improvement plans (SIPs) and school improvement reports (SIRs). 2.3.10 The table below shows a similar picture to session 2020-2021, although the number of schools using PEF to appoint additional staff has risen from 89 in session 2020-2021 to 95 this year, which is 80% of all primary schools. Schools using PEF to support digital skills featured for the first-time last year although this number has dropped slightly for session 2021-2022. 2.3.11 The table below illustrates spends for secondary schools and shows a different picture to the primary sector, with the largest number of schools investing in Nurture and Numeracy skills. Table 1: NLC Primary schools PEF Priorities 2021/22
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2.3.12 The table below illustrates the importance that Additional Support Needs schools place on Literacy, Numeracy and Nurture. This is in contrast to last year where the highest involvement was around parental engagement/family learning. Table 2: NLC Secondary schools PEF Priorities 2021/22 Table 3: NLC ASN schools PEF Priorities 2021/22
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3. Measures of success 3.1 Improved outcomes for children, young people and families and increased attainment and reduction in the poverty related attainment gap. 3.2 Contribution to a more empowered and collaborative system and to further close the attainment gap in order to address the impact the Covid-19 emergency has had on some of the most vulnerable children and families. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 - SAC End of Year Report 2021-2022 Janie O’Neill Head of Education (South)
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Scottish Attainment Challenge programme is grant funded by the Scottish Government. The approved North Lanarkshire plan for 2021/22 had a ceiling grant value of £7,478,859. The total grant recovered for the session 2021-2022 was £7,478,859, equivalent to the full maximum ceiling value. The recovery of 100% grant funding partly reflects the in-year decision by the Scottish Government to offer authorities additional scope and flexibility through the SAC programme to mitigate against the negative impact of Covid-19 on education provision. Following confirmation from Scottish Government that funding will be shared between all 32 Councils rather than the current 9 Challenge Authorities, the result for North Lanarkshire’s grant is a tapered reduction in comparison to the current award value. This means a reduction from £7.5 million in 2021 – 2022 to £3.5 million in 2025 – 2026. Future SAC plans will reflect this change in budget envelope. During financial year 2021/22 Pupil Equity Funding totalling £10,926,497 was distributed to primary, secondary and special schools across North Lanarkshire. In addition, establishments carried forward PEF funding of £3,985,797 from 2020/21 into the new financial year. During financial year 2021/22 PEF expenditure totalled £9,788,907 with a resultant carry forward of £5,123,388. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒
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If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Digital delivery continues to be developed across all SAC workstreams and in some cases this model has completely replaced face to face engagement. Although this continues to be a mixed model, all workstreams are now using some form of technology to support and facilitate their engagements Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The risk associated with the implementation of SAC is regularly reviewed in line with Council arrangements. The most recent internal Audit report gave assurance as to the efficacy of our planning arrangements and actions contained with that report are
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being progressed. In addition, and due to the tapered nature of current funding, there are some programmes that are risk beyond March 2023. Current planning within the Strategic Equity Fund is being managed with a view to potentially having to conclude some of this activity.
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Scottish Attainment Challenge Challenge Authorities Programme 2021/22 MID-YEAR Academic Report – August 2021 to March 2022 Impact of Covid-19 Given the challenges presented by Covid-19, we do not anticipate that all activities planned for the delivery of Challenge Authority plans will have been undertaken. Please provide a summary (up to 500 words) of the impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of your plans between August 2021 and March 2022. Please include an overview of how many interventions / approaches had to be paused or adjusted as a result of Covid-19 between August and March detailing any changes in funding allocation. End-Year The text in the mid-year section outlines the immense efforts from all workstreams to keep as many sections as possible of the original Plan going and the adaptations we have made to ensure delivery for the vast majority of individual elements. The period April – June, to which this section of the report refers to, has not seen many significant changes to that outlined at the end of March. Mid-Year Whilst the period to which this report refers to did not encounter any lockdowns or school closures, this was still a difficult time in terms of the ongoing challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. The effect on staffing in schools and consequential absences affected our ability to progress some areas at a pace we normally have been able to do, however the SAC team continue to play a key role in supporting the educational recovery process. Styles of delivery and engagement have been adapted to ensure that almost all of work outlined the 2021/2022 SAC Plan has continued to some degree. The table below gives an overview of the current situation with regards to the various workstreams, and greater detail is available in the body of the report. Project Title Continued - perhaps with adaptations Paused due to Covid Progress & Comment 1. Learning and Teaching – Literacy / Numeracy ✓ Online training continued with a focus on NL Digital and Virtual Classroom, New P1 Literacy Programme, LTA training and Nursery SEAL. 2a. Learner Journeys Developing Family Hubs ✓ Continued focus on development of Home Learning. 2b. Learner Journeys Cluster Improvement and Integration ✓ Supporting the cluster model and active role in wellbeing meetings to support vulnerable children and families. 2c. Learner Journeys Secondary programme ✓ Some individual school programmes were disrupted due to staffing absences 2d. Learner Journeys Learner pathways ✓ Local Authority North Lanarkshire Project Lead/Contact Tim Sharpe Appendix 1
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2e. Learner Journeys Leadership ✓ Successful move to a completely digital delivery model. 3a. Health & Wellbeing Continued partnership working with psychological services, NHS, CLD, third sector organisations ✓ Majority still online training however face to face engagements are beginning to resume 3b. Improving physical activity (secondary girls and ASN) ✓ Some engagements, however this has been impacted by staff absence. 3c. Health and Wellbeing Police and Scottish Fire and Rescue ✓ Continued support from Police partners. SFRS had some digital delivery with some elements of face to face now resuming. Number of schools supported by this funding? 119 Primary 23 Secondary 13 ASN 23 FLC 178 total How many pupils are benefiting from this funding? Category Total ASN 1063 Nursery / FLC 5026 Primary 27120 Secondary 20863 Total 54072 What progress are you making towards being able to report on the extent to which you are achieving your short, medium and long-term outcomes taking into account the impact of Covid-19; are there any challenges? OVERALL PROGRESS AND REFLECTIONS TO DATE Overall progress towards long-term outcomes and reflections Long –term outcomes The long-term outcomes of the Attainment Scotland Fund are to: a. Improve literacy and numeracy attainment b. Improve health and wellbeing c. Close the attainment gap between pupils from the most and least deprived areas. What evidence are you collecting to measure these long-term outcomes in your authority? Please specify the type of evidence you are collecting. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) The mid-year text gives the context of our change of approach and is important in that there has been a conscious move to realign SAC with the Plan for North Lanarkshire and to integrate how the SAC programme supports the move within the Council to a more inclusive and wraparound approach signalled by the creation of Education and
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Families. That realignment is now paying dividends in terms of our holistic approach to supporting children and families. As intimated in the mid-year report this rationale is detailed in previous SAC Plan introductions and therefore doesn’t need further elaboration in this report. The main addition to this end of year report is the inclusion of Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Level (ACEL) data. Bearing in mind the eclectic nature of the audience for this report we have incorporated a standard format of various tables for both numeracy and literacy, alongside explanations, which give a national perspective as well as greater detail on a localised context. The tables, which reflect current ACEL data in both these sections, are as follows: ACEL Tables: 1. Overall Attainment in P1, P4 and P7 2. Cohort Comparison – All Schools 3. Gap for all schools comparing SIMD 1-2 and 9-10 We also continue to use measures such as York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension (YARC), and Maths Assessment for Learning and Teaching (MaLT) to gather evidence of progress in specific interventions. Mid-Year As outlined in previous reports, the repositioning of SAC within North Lanarkshire so that it sits within and supports the overall Programme of Work under PO39 SAC and PEF, has continued to develop in a coherent an integrated manner with a strategic focus on enabling effective collaboration. Integrative practice is now a key feature of discussion, planning and implementation alongside a continued focus on sustainability and developing capacity. As we continue to work through the challenges presented by the Covid-19 emergency we are sharpening our focus on attainment and looking for ways in which to further track progress in order to ensure that the long-term vision of raising attainment stays clear. Alongside engaging schools and encouraging staff to think about ACEL data and support on how to apply these judgements, a mid-term checkpoint of ACEL data was requested from all primary schools to analyse progress since the 2021 data was submitted. The data is an early indicator of progress and although this is tentative, it allows a level of comparison with 2021 data, reflecting a national picture which indicates ACEL has data dipped across all stages within core curricular areas of literacy and numeracy. The data is also useful for beginning to identify trends in attainment and to support improvement discussions with head teachers. Establishments still have the final term to target and provide support to identified learners to increase attainment levels. Support from SAC and the wider improvement team is being provided to head teachers to ensure a consistent understanding of recording processes to ensure appropriate recording of attainment. Additional measures such as York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension (YARC) and Mathematics Assessment for Learning and Teaching (MALT continue to be used to support and inform progress. We continue to use the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to further identify and support groups requiring additional health and wellbeing support. This has identified Care Experienced Children and Young People living at home and those with previous
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Care Experience support, as a distinct group who would benefit from additional and intensive support. What did this evidence show so far? Please highlight key findings only – both positive and negative. As part of the evaluation, we may request further details on your evidence for particularly interesting findings. If you did not collect evidence for these outcome(s) or results are not yet available at this stage in the year, just leave blank. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated learning loss, as evidenced by the 2021 data, this year’s ACEL data reflects an upturn in attainment in all organisers at primary level. Some challenges still remain in ensuring that this positive improvement continues into the secondary phase. The table below outlines ACEL data as of June 2022 and indicates: • An overall increase in attainment at P1, P4 and P7 in all organisers against session 2020-2021 • An overall dip in attainment in S3 across all organisers against session 2018-2019 (It should be noted that S3 data was not uplifted for session 2019-2020) 2018 2019 2021 2022 P1 Listening and Talking 84.1% 84.6% 81.1% 85.7% Reading 76.7% 80.1% 75.0% 77.6% Writing 74.1% 78.6% 74.0% 76.5% Numeracy 83.4% 85.0% 82.6% 84.6% P4 Listening and Talking 81.6% 81.9% 80.1% 83.7% Reading 73.6% 74.0% 72.6% 75.3% Writing 68.6% 70.3% 67.2% 70.9% Numeracy 73.1% 75.7% 72.2% 76.8% P7 Listening and Talking 79.5% 83.2% 81.4% 85.0% Reading 75.8% 78.2% 76.2% 80.8% Writing 71.9% 74.0% 71.3% 75.7% Numeracy 71.4% 75.8% 74.0% 77.1% S3 Listening and Talking 91.1% 90.8% 88.6% Reading 88.7% 90.1% 87.9% Writing 88.3% 89.1% 87.1% Numeracy 90.1% 84.8% 85.4% Previous end of year reports looked at ACEL data through both short- and long-term lenses, giving both a historical and short-term analysis of improvement. Encouragingly, this year’s data not only indicates a positive upward trend from last
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year’s data, but also indicates that we have surpassed levels previously identified in 2018 at P1, P4 and P7 stages for all organisers. This is a positive sign and reflects the shift in focus to a cluster model which allows for a more bespoke package of support for individual schools and pupils. Mid-Year As indicated above the current data is tentative, with establishments continuing to progress learners’ attainment in literacy and numeracy and submitting predictions on potential achievements of a level. However, emerging data indicates early signs of potential recovery and highlights key challenges which need to be addressed. Tables 1.1 to 1.5 below reflect information received from establishments on predictions of pupils’ progression and percentages of those on track in comparison to data submitted at this time in 2021. It is important to note that data for literacy in this table is an average of reading, writing, talking and listening combined, whereas national data is collated in literacy for children who achieve all 3 aspects of this core area. SAC 1.1: P1, P4 and P7 ACEL Data from 2021 and Early Predicted Progress in Attainment in Literacy and Numeracy for 2022 Table SAC 1.1 above shows that: • There are marginal gains in 4 of the comparisons between last year and current predictions • The biggest variance is at P1 numeracy with a drop from 83% to 80%. In addition to having a focus on attainment, school predictions also include percentages of pupils not on track and those on individual milestones. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Literacy P1 Numeracy P1 Literacy P4 Numeracy P4 Literacy P7 Numeracy P7 P1, P4 and P7 2021 ACEL and 2022 Early Predictions 2021 % On Track 2022 early predicted % on track
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SAC 1.2: P1, P4 and P7 Predicted Progress in Attainment in Literacy and Numeracy SAC 1.2 indicates that: • There is work to be done to address those children not currently on track. • The largest percentage of children not on track are in P4 in literacy. This is similar to the national dip at P4 literacy in 2021 (in particular writing). To allow us to support recovery, we have continued to monitor attainment levels for pupils who did not achieve expected CfE levels at the end of May 2021. By collecting this data in January 2022, we can monitor learners’ progress and identify pupils who still require support. The results are collated in tables SAC 1.3 and 1.4 below. SAC 1.3: Primary 2 Pupil Progress in February 2022 Towards Achieving Early Level. 72% 80% 68% 73% 73% 74% 25% 18% 31% 25% 26% 25% 3% 2% 1% 2% 1% 1% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Literacy P1 Numeracy P1 Literacy P4 Numeracy P4 Literacy P7 Numeracy P7 P1, P4 and P7 Predicted Progress in Attainment % on track % not on track Individual Milestones 28% 29% 29% 23% 20%16% 12% 12% 7% 8% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% Literacy Reading Writing Talking and Listening Numeracy Primary 2 Pupil Progress Towards Achieving Early Level % of pupils who did not achieve expected level at end of P1. (June 2021) % of pupils who have yet to achieve expected level (early in P2) Feb. 2022
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The table SAC 1.3 above clearly shows the progress made in reducing the number of pupils who have yet to achieve Early level. The same exercise was repeated for those pupils who were in P4 in June 2021 who did not achieve their expected level. SAC 1.4: Primary 5 Pupil Progress in February 2022 Towards Achieving First Level Table SAC 1.4 above clearly shows there has been progress made in reducing the number of pupils who have yet to achieve First level. Can you share any learning on what has worked well in your overall strategy to achieve impact? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Previous end of year reports have made references to the strategic shift away from a small number of schools to a wider, universal offer, coupled with additional and intensive programmes of support. The cluster support mechanism is now showing real benefits, and this is illustrated in many of the individual ACEL tables. DIGITAL One of the successes of the Digital School has been the focus on sustainability. During the second half of 2021 an investment was made in intensive training for Digital Pathfinder staff. This has allowed the Digital School to provide almost all of the Digital CLPL, Virtual Classroom Content and Leadership sessions using North Lanarkshire Teachers. Digital Pathfinder staff continue to contribute to North Lanarkshire’s approaches to building back a better curriculum for all children and young people and support the digital development in line with national policy and guidance, learning the lessons from the recent OECD report. Since August 2021 the Digital School continued to provide an extensive programme of CLPL for staff across North Lanarkshire. CLPL has focused on a range of digital priorities and has followed the North Lanarkshire model of Universal, Additional and Intensive offer. 28% 31% 35% 23% 29% 10% 21% 25% 3% 21% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Literacy Reading Writing Talking and Listening Numeracy Primary 5 Pupil Progress Towards Achieving First Level % of pupils who did not achieve expected level (1st) at end of P4. (June 2021) % of pupils who have yet to achieve expected level (First in P4) Feb. 2022
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27 practitioners completed the Digital Leadership course and feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. 93% of staff either agreed or strongly agreed that they would use the content delivered in their role across the school and 96% believed that the content met their needs as a learner. The virtual classroom was originally created in response to remote learning and periods of lockdown. This space has now evolved to incorporate thematic events and virtual 360 spaces that has given all learners the opportunity to engage in a STEM Careers Fair conference, DYW events and global issues like COP26. It is the aim of the Digital School to further explore the use of immersive spaces (building on the success of last year’s virtual careers fair and DYW Apprenticeships event) and to also utilise the ‘live’ capabilities of the O365 package fully. It is envisaged that all future educational events such as live Code-Alongs will be accessed via the NL Virtual Classroom. STEM Links with Learning Hub RAiSE Project The Raising Aspirations in Science Education (RAiSE) programme was officially completed in January 2022 however this workstream was able to continue until June 2022. Summary of impact:
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Education Scotland STEM Grant North Lanarkshire successfully made a bid for the 2021-23 Enhancing Professional Learning in STEM Grant. The initial focus of this grant was to develop and deliver STEM CLPL for early years practitioners. This course consisted of three CLPL sessions which aimed to develop knowledge and confidence and highlight opportunities for STEM across the early years’ curriculum. It is intended that this CLPL will be delivered again in the 2022-23 session. Summary of establishment engagements: • 40 Local Authority Early Years Establishments • 5 Partner Early Years Establishments • 88 Early Years Practitioners Mid-Year Engagement with the leadership framework remains high and the move to digital has allowed colleagues from different local authorities to participate in the sessions. In addition to the facilitation of a wider audience, the conscious move to using talent within our own local authority as the cornerstone of delivery has helped to develop capacity and shape a more cost-effective, sustainable model. The ongoing development of the cluster model and the various levels of support offered through SAC, in order to accelerate implementation, are beginning to show impact in a wider universal and integrated approach to supporting vulnerable children and their families. This model will also be fundamental to our approach for incorporating the tackling poverty element outlined in the revised SAC mission statements. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Due to ongoing staffing issues, digital content focus was directed towards the NL Virtual Classroom and themed planning. Mid-Year We continue to evaluate the use of outside providers and partners across all areas, most notably within the HWB workstream, and whilst there has been some success, notably in the
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partnership working with the Educational Psychology Service, there have been some challenges in delivery, associated staffing and evidencing progress in areas out with our control. If we are to have a coordinated response, then further investment and commitment from our partners will be crucial in realising a common goal.
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WORK STREAMS – HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES LEARNING AND TEACHING (LITERACY AND NUMERACY) Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/2022 End-Year ACEL data is a national measure used by the Scottish Government to measure pupil achievement of a level at four key stages within the BGE. These stages are P1, P4, P7 and S3, however, S3 data was not collected in 2021 by the Scottish Government. ACEL data collected from P1, P4 and P7 this session shows that there is an increase in overall attainment for numeracy across all schools on average in comparison to 2021 data as shown in Table 1.1 NUM. Table 1.1 NUM: Overall attainment for all schools in P1, P4 and P7 2018 2019 2021 2022 P1 Numeracy 83.4% 85.0% 82.6% 84.6% P4 Numeracy 73.1% 75.7% 72.2% 76.8% P7 Numeracy 71.4% 75.8% 74.0% 77.1% S3 Numeracy 90.1% 84.8% 85.4% Table 1.1 NUM shows the following: • The period 2019-2021 shows the effects of Covid-19 and the subsequent dip in attainment for all stages. • The period 2021-2022 indicates an increase in attainment for P1, P4 and P7, with the largest increase of 4.6% overall at P4 stage. • For S3 the comparator period is 2019 and 2022 due to ACEL data not being uplifted nationally with a focus on senior phase qualification moderation processes. Between these two periods, levels in numeracy have increased marginally. As ACEL data has now been collected for five years, comparing the same cohort of children from P1-P4 and P4-P7 is now possible. Table 1.2 NUM shows the same cohort of pupils’ ACEL data in 2019 at P1 and then again in 2022 at P4. This is also compared with P4 in 2019, now in P7 2022. Table 1.2 NUM: Cohort comparison – attainment data for all schools P1 2019 P4 2022 Change P4 2019 P7 2022 Change Numeracy 85.0% 76.8% -8.2% 75.7% 77.1% 1.4%
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Table 1.2 NUM shows that although there has been a significant dip in attainment from P1- P4, the gap between the P4-P7 cohort shows that there has been, on average, an increase for this cohort across the authority. SIMD is broken in to 10 distinct deciles with groups of 2 adjacent deciles being referred to as quintiles. i.e., SIMD 1-2 = Quintile 1 and SIMD 9-10 = Quintile 5. Q=quintile. The figures in Table 1.3 NUM below indicate the percentage of children and young people who have achieved the expected level for numeracy by stage, based on ACEL data over four data sets spanning a five-year period. As ACEL data for 2019-2020 was not uplifted due to the Covid-19 pandemic it was important to compare trends over time with data sets out with the academic years affected by Covid-19 to give a true comparison of the positive impact of SAC up to 2019, compared with the learning loss in session 2020-2021. The figure for each stage (P1, P4 and P7) within Table 1.4 NUM indicates the averages for Q1 and Q5 across all North Lanarkshire schools and also indicates the gap between the most and least deprived. Table 1.3 NUM: Gap for all schools comparing SIMD 1-2 and 9-10 by stage Gap Between Q1 (SIMD 1-2) and Q5 (SIMD 9-10) 2017-2018 2018-2019 2020-2021 2021-2022 Q1 Q5 Gap Q1 Q5 Gap Q1 Q5 Gap Q1 Q5 Gap P1 78.3% 92.5% 14.2% 79.0% 92.3% 13.3% 73.5% 94.0% 20.5% 78.0% 91.4% 13.4% P4 66.3% 85.6% 19.3% 68.9% 83.5% 14.6% 65.0% 82.6% 17.6% 68.4% 87.8% 19.4% P7 61.9% 83.9% 22.0% 68.3% 86.3% 18.0% 63.7% 89.0% 25.3% 71.8% 88.6% 16.8% S3 85.5% 96.6% 11.1% 76.4% 93.6% 17.2% 76.2% 95.9% 19.7% Considering the averages across all schools in North Lanarkshire, the ACEL data in Table 1.3 NUM indicates that: • prior to the Covid-19 pandemic there was a narrowing of the gap at all stages in numeracy (2018-2019 comparisons) • as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, comparisons between 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 indicates that there is a widening of the gap at all stages, particularly at P1 (7.2%) and P7 (7.3%). • The gap at P1 for session 2021-2022 highlights a reduction of 7.1% from the previous session • The gap at P7 for session 2021-2022 has narrowed from the previous session by 8.5%. This is the smallest gap in the past 5 years. • The gap at P4 has widened by 1.9%. This is not unexpected, due to the effect that the pandemic would have had on our youngest learners.
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Mid-Year Career Long Professional Learning (CLPL) Since August 2021, the numeracy team has continued to deliver online training with staff, and this universal offering has been supplemented with bespoke training and in-school modelling. Continuous lifelong professional learning (CLPL) opportunities have been delivered on a range of active numeracy approaches across early learning and childcare (ELC), Additional Support Needs (ASN), and primary and secondary settings. Immediate post training evaluations were completed by delegates on confidence and knowledge on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest level. NUM 1.1 – Professional Knowledge and Confidence Before and After CLPL The table above evidences an increase in staff knowledge and confidence following training. Post training evaluations (3–6 months) have been completed by delegates. Most attendees have indicated that the training is having an impact on their practice and attainment within their establishments. NUM 1.2: Post Evaluation (3-6 months) of Impact Following Implementation *CPA – Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract *DNK – Developing Number Knowledge *SEAL – Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning 9 8.8 8 6.7 8 8.3 9.7 8.3 IMPACT ON PRACTICE & ATTAINMENT Impact (Out of 10)
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Two new CLPL opportunities have also been developed and delivered - Understanding Progression and Subject Surgeries. Post training evaluations in NUM 1.3 show that all staff rated these sessions as useful and noted they had an impact on their confidence and knowledge. NUM 1.3: Post Training Evaluation (Subject Surgeries and Understanding Progression) Early Years Stages of Arithmetic Learning (SEAL) Post training data was gathered for SEAL on how this has impacted practice and children’s progress. Responses from these two key areas are summarised in NUM 1.4 and NUM 1.5 below. NUM 1.4: How SEAL Has Been Used NUM 1.5: Impact of SEAL on Children’s Progress 9 9 8.98.5 8.5 8.1 Usefulness Confidence in Implementing Predicted Impact Evaluation Of CLPL Subject Surgeries Understanding Progression 0 2 4 6 8 10 Subject Surgeries Understanding Progression Staff Knowledge and Confidence Before After
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The tables above indicate that SEAL had a positive impact on learning confidence and attainment. Early Years Understanding Progression Summary Evaluation from the Early Years Understanding Progression session is noted below. M 1.6: Early Years Understanding Progression Post Training Evaluation Data This indicates that all attendees found the training useful and reported an increase in knowledge and confidence. Numeracy Coaches and Secondary Maths Principal Teachers Numeracy coach meetings continue with most primary schools being represented. These meetings have continued to develop professional learning and communication. NUM 1.7: Numeracy Coaches Meeting Evaluations The evaluations indicate that coaches continue to find the meetings useful. Mathematical Growth Mindset Cohort 2 training for Mathematical Growth Mindset has recently concluded and the final report from Winning Scotland will be available in the SAC final report at the end of this academic session.
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Numicon Online In March 2021, the SAC team funded Numicon training and subscription for Numicon online for 20 pilot schools (18 primary, 1 secondary and 1 ASN). Numicon is a multi-sensory resource and approach to teaching maths which supports learners to make connections with numbers. NUM 1.11: Numicon Online Post Implementation Data Post implementation data indicates that Numicon was used mainly as a teaching tool as well as providing elements of support and differentiation. NUM 1.12: Impact of Numicon / Numicon Online on Children Evaluation data was gathered, and this indicates positive impact in several areas as noted above. Data will be gathered for the final report on how this has impacted children’s progress and attainment. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year No further updates. Mid-Year Any current slippage is being tracked and alternative implementation methods are being explored and will be noted in the final report. Staff absence due to Covid-19 continues to have the biggest impact on implementation of interventions. Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. Views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress.
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End-Year Mathematical Growth Mindset Cohort 2 training for Mathematical Growth Mindset has recently concluded and the final report from Winning Scotland outlined the professional learning delivery of mindset content in North Lanarkshire during 2021-22. Post course responses show growth mindset interventions (complemented with other good practice) have a positive impact on the attitudes of pupils and in turn the learning environment. The report also indicates encouraging results and points to positive shifts in attitudes, all of which support the theories of growth mindset teaching. Numicon A further research project with a focus on physical Numicon resources, rather than online, will be undertaken in 2022 – 2023 and data will be gathered to measure the progress and attainment of children involved. Numeracy Interventions Establishments tracked the impact of numeracy interventions using MaLT (Mathematics Assessment for Learning and Teaching). A summary of the data provided, and the post intervention impact data is shown in 1.4 NUM below. Table1.4 NUM Summary of Interventions and Impact Intervention Number of Pupils % of pupils in SIMD 1 – 3 Gains (measured in age/months) Number Box 141 69 6 months SEAL 169 55 7 months Catch Up Numeracy 92 65 9 months Maths Recovery 29 89 5 months Parental Guides and Parent Workshops Parental guides on key aspects of number were written and shared with colleagues. Two face- to-face parent workshops were delivered. Feedback on the impact of parents’ confidence levels in terms of supporting their child at home with numeracy is shown in in Table 1.5 NUM below. Table 1.5 NUM: Parental confidence level pre and post workshop. Mid-Year
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Numeracy Coaches and the Coaching Model Numeracy coaches continue to have a pivotal role in improving attainment and closing the gap. Feedback from numeracy coaches indicate that they value regular meetings and updates, and that these ultimately impact on school practice. In February 2022, the Learning Hub (Literacy and Numeracy) were notified that they were awarded the GTCS Excellence in Professional Learning 2020 for this coaching model. Subject Surgeries and Understanding Progression CLPL Subject Surgeries have been the highest attended courses this year so far. Anecdotal evidence indicates that these short, focused sessions are particularly suited to digital online delivery. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year No further updates. Mid-Year Parental Guides and Parent Workshops Due to ongoing restrictions, it has not been possible to facilitate face to face Parent Workshops. Parents’ Guides are currently being developed. Post (3-6 months) Evaluations on CLPL Follow-up evaluations were introduced this session to measure impact in classroom implementation following a gap between training and staff introducing concepts back in schools. Science, Technologies, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Links with Numeracy STEM activities and tasks linked with maths and numeracy are currently being developed. Training is also being developed and evidence of impact will be available for the final report. This training will initially be offered to the 70 current STEM Leaders, to embed STEM within primary establishments. The 70 leaders represent 21 out of 23 clusters across the authority, with 65% having 2 or more STEM leaders. As part of the Raising Aspirations in Science Education (RAiSE) programme, there has been significant ongoing work to increase confidence in delivering STEM across primary establishments. Staff are being supported to make links and develop networks with colleagues across clusters. To date, 742 staff have participated in STEM CLPL with improvements in staff confidence reported and shown in NUM 2.1 below. NUM 2.1: Average STEM CLPL Evaluations
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Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 Learning, Teaching and Assessment (Moderation) End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year Learning, Teaching and Assessment (LTA) Training has been offered, and in response to the pandemic, a digital moderation course was developed. This supports schools to moderate digitally and continues to build capacity and consistency in Teacher Professional Judgement (TPJ). 23 teaching staff participated in the first round of training in November 2021 and respondents all reported that the input had had a positive impact on their professional knowledge and understanding. LIT 1.1: Staff Confidence Following Digital Moderation Training Staff indicated that the training had a positive impact on their own learning, and that they feel more confident in using an online tool to moderate across departments/clusters. This training is supporting the professional dialogue and moderation of ACEL, and pre and post training evaluations continue to highlight improvements in staff confidence in LTA approaches. 0 2 4 6 8 10 Knowledge and Understanding of the LTA Cycle Moderating Digitally Overall Digital Moderation Training Pre Post
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LIT 1.2: Staff Confidence Before and After LTA Training Sessions Embedding Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and effective questioning are areas with the largest increase of staff confidence following training. Literacy End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) ACEL data is a national measure used by the Scottish Government to measure pupil achievement of a level at four key stages within the Broad General Education (BGE). These stages are P1, P4, P7 and S3, however, S3 data was not collected in 2021 by the Scottish Government. ACEL data collected from P1, P4 and P7 this session shows that there is an increase in overall attainment for literacy across all schools on average in comparison to 2021 data as shown in Table 1.1 LIT. Table 1.1 LIT: Overall Attainment in P1, P4 and P7 2018 2019 2021 2022 P1 L & T 84.1% 84.6% 81.1% 85.7% Reading 76.7% 80.1% 75.0% 77.6% Writing 74.1% 78.6% 74.0% 76.5% P4 L & T 81.6% 81.9% 80.1% 83.7% Reading 73.6% 74.0% 72.6% 75.3% Writing 68.6% 70.3% 67.2% 70.9% P7 L & T 79.5% 83.2% 81.4% 85.0% Reading 75.8% 78.2% 76.2% 80.8% Writing 71.9% 74.0% 71.3% 75.7%
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S3 L & T 91.1% 90.8% 88.6% Reading 88.7% 90.1% 87.9% Writing 88.3% 89.1% 87.1% L&T = listening and talking Table 1.1 LIT evidences the following: • The period 2019-2021 shows the effects of Covid-19 and the subsequent dip in attainment for all primary stages. • The period 2021-2022 indicates an increase in attainment for P1, P4 and P7, with the largest increase of 4.6% in P1 L & T and P7 Reading. • For S3 the comparator period is 2019 and 2022 due to ACEL data not being uplifted nationally, with a focus on senior phase qualification moderation processes. Between these two periods levels in literacy have decreased in all organisers. As ACEL data has now been collected for five years, comparing the same cohort of children from P1-P4 and P4-P7 is now possible. Table 1.2 LIT shows the same cohort of pupils’ ACEL data in 2019 at P1 and then again in 2022 at P4. This is also compared with P4 in 2019, now in P7 2022. Table 1.2 LIT: Cohort Comparison P1 2019 P4 2022 Change P4 2019 P7 2022 Change L & T 84.6% 83.7% -0.9% 81.9% 85.0% 3.1% Reading 80.1% 75.3% -4.8% 74.0% 80.9% 6.9% Writing 78.6% 70.9% -7.7% 70.3% 75.7% 5.4% The figures between the P4-P7 cohort indicates that: • the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the P1-P4 group of children, particularly in writing. This is not unexpected, due to the effect that the pandemic would have had on our youngest learners. • between P4-P7 there has been an increase in attainment in all organisers with the largest increase of 6.9% in reading. SIMD is broken in to 10 distinct deciles with groups of 2 adjacent deciles being referred to as quintiles, i.e., SIMD 1-2 = Quintile 1 and SIMD 9-10 = Quintile 5. Q = quintile. The figures in Table 1.3 LIT indicate the percentage of children and young people who have achieved the expected level for literacy at their stage based on ACEL data over four data sets, spanning a five-year period. ACEL data for 2019-2020 was not uplifted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, therefore it was important to compare data trends over time out with the academic years affected by Covid-19 to give a true comparison of the positive impact of SAC up to 2019, compared with the learning loss in 2020-2021.
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The figures for each stage (P1, P4 and P7) within Table 1.3 LIT indicates the averages across North Lanarkshire within particular stages. Table 1.3 LIT: Gap for all schools comparing SIMD 1-2 and 9-10 by stage Gap Between Q1 (SIMD 1-2) and Q5 (SIMD 9-10) 2017-2018 2018-2019 2020-2021 2021-2022 Q1 Q5 Gap Q1 Q5 Gap Q1 Q5 Gap Q1 Q5 Gap P1 L & T 78.8% 94.0% 15.2% 80.2% 91.2% 11.0% 72.1% 91.8% 19.7% 77.6% 92.6% 15.0% Reading 70.2% 90.2% 20.0% 73.2% 90.1% 16.9% 64.2% 88.2% 24.0% 68.9% 88.1% 19.2% Writing 67.0% 87.4% 20.4% 70.9% 87.6% 16.7% 63.3% 89.4% 26.1% 67.1% 86.4% 19.3% P4 L & T 77.0% 92.7% 15.7% 77.1% 86.5% 9.4% 74.3% 89.6% 15.3% 76.5% 91.7% 15.2% Reading 66.0% 86.3% 20.3% 67.0% 80.5% 13.5% 66.5% 85.1% 18.6% 68.0% 84.6% 16.6% Writing 60.5% 81.7% 21.2% 61.4% 78.5% 17.1% 59.8% 78.6% 18.8% 62.4% 82.2% 19.8% P7 L & T 71.0% 90.3% 19.3% 79.0% 89.1% 10.1% 73.3% 90.1% 16.8% 80.0% 92.8% 12.8% Reading 66.1% 88.1% 22.0% 70.7% 86.8% 16.1% 67.3% 88.5% 21.2% 75.2% 89.9% 14.7% Writing 62.2% 82.8% 20.6% 66.0% 83.5% 17.5% 61.7% 85.4% 23.7% 69.2% 86.2% 17.0% S3 L & T 87.0% 98.5% 11.5% 87.5% 95.5% 8.0% 83.3% 95.0% 11.7% Reading 84.1% 96.9% 12.8% 86.9% 95.8% 8.9% 82.2% 94.8% 12.6% Writing 83.2% 97.2% 14.0% 85.9% 95.0% 9.1% 81.0% 94.5% 13.5% Considering the averages across all primary schools in North Lanarkshire, the ACEL data in Table 1.3 LIT indicates that: • prior to the Covid-19 pandemic there was a narrowing of the gap at all stages in literacy (2018-2019 comparisons) • between 2021 and 2022 data indicates that there is a narrowing of the gap in almost all primary stages. This is particularly noticeable at P7, with the largest narrowing in reading (6.5%) Core Active Literacy CLPL The literacy team has continued to deliver high-quality online CLPL to staff across the Local Authority during the recovery phase of the pandemic. Courses have been refreshed to include the most recent evidence-based research from the Education Scotland Literacy Network and Education Endowment Foundation. The universal offer has been supplemented by bespoke training and in-school modelling to ensure consistency of approach beyond initial training sessions. Newly Revised P1 Programme The P1 Active Literacy Programme has been refreshed to include research-based components to reflect the current needs of pupils entering P1, particularly in this acute period of recovery. Support sessions were offered to supplement the new programme to highlight key changes.
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LIT 1.3 highlights the key focus areas covered through CLPL sessions. It indicates that staff professional knowledge and understanding has increased through CLPL sessions offered. LIT 1.3: Professional Knowledge and Understanding of Revised P1 Programme Before and After CLPL Active Literacy CLPL (Primary) Active literacy CLPL continues to be offered at all stages and for all literacy organisers. Pre and post knowledge and understanding levels were measured for each session and can be viewed in the tables below. Programmes continue to be updated to reflect the latest research and pedagogical thinking. LIT 1.4: Professional Knowledge and Understanding Before and After P2/3 CLPL LIT 1.5: Professional Knowledge and Understanding Before and After P4-7 CLPL For all sessions, post-course knowledge and understanding levels are higher than pre-course levels.
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Literacy Interventions Language and literacy intervention training continues to be offered to teaching staff and support staff, where appropriate, to ensure all establishments are equipped with a suite of approaches to meet the different learning needs and gaps of pupils. Training continues with the following interventions: Reading and Talking to Improve Comprehension (RTIC), Read, Write Inc. Fresh Start (RWI), Rainbow Reading and Fischer Family Trust (FFT) Wave 3. Speech, Language and Communication (SLC) Interventions CLPL in Speech, Language and Communication interventions has also continued. As SLC approaches are now incorporated into reviewed literacy programmes, the need for specific SLC training has reduced. Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) CLPL Three Read training was offered to ELC staff to ensure they have an increased knowledge in introducing young learners to early concepts of print and books using a structured interactive, shared reading approach. Mid-Year Core Active Literacy CLPL The literacy team has continued to deliver high-quality online CLPL to staff across the Local Authority during the recovery phase of the pandemic. Courses have been refreshed to include the most recent evidence-based research from the Education Scotland Literacy Network and Education Endowment Foundation. The universal offer has been supplemented by bespoke training and in-school modelling to ensure consistency of approach beyond initial training sessions. Newly Revised P1 Programme The P1 Active Literacy Programme has been refreshed to include research-based components to reflect the current needs of pupils entering P1, particularly in this acute period of recovery. Support sessions were offered to supplement the new programme to highlight key changes. LIT 1.3 highlights the key focus areas covered through CLPL sessions. It indicates that staff professional knowledge and understanding has increased through CLPL sessions offered. LIT 1.3: Professional Knowledge and Understanding of Revised P1 Programme Before and After CLPL
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Active Literacy CLPL (Primary) Active literacy CLPL continues to be offered at all stages and for all literacy organisers. Pre and post knowledge and understanding levels were measured for each session and can be viewed in the tables below. Programmes continue to be updated to reflect the latest research and pedagogical thinking. LIT 1.4: Professional Knowledge and Understanding Before and After P2/3 CLPL LIT 1.5: Professional Knowledge and Understanding Before and After P4-7 CLPL For all sessions, post-course knowledge and understanding levels are higher than pre-course levels. Literacy Interventions 0 2 4 6 8 10 P4-7 Reading and Writing CLPL Fiction and Non-Fiction Pre Post 0 2 4 6 8 10 P4 - 7 Spelling CLPL Pre Post
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Language and literacy intervention training continues to be offered to teaching staff and support staff, where appropriate, to ensure all establishments are equipped with a suite of approaches to meet the different learning needs and gaps of pupils. Training continues with the following interventions: Reading and Talking to Improve Comprehension (RTIC), Read, Write Inc. Fresh Start (RWI), Rainbow Reading and Fischer Family Trust (FFT) Wave 3. Speech, Language and Communication (SLC) Interventions CLPL in Speech, Language and Communication interventions has also continued. As SLC approaches are now incorporated into reviewed literacy programmes, the need for specific SLC training has reduced. Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) CLPL Three Read training was offered to ELC staff to ensure they have an increased knowledge in introducing young learners to early concepts of print and books using a structured interactive, shared reading approach. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year Any current slippage is being tracked and alternative implementation methods are being explored and will be noted in the final report. Staff absence due to Covid-19 continues to have the biggest impact on implementation of interventions. Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. Views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Read to Succeed According to parents surveyed before the Read to Succeed initiative, the majority of children read for pleasure either daily, weekly or monthly. The survey carried out after the RtS author visits and book-gifting showed that this figure had improved to most children reading for pleasure regularly. Furthermore, the percentage of children who ‘loved’ or ‘liked’ reading had increased from 64% to 66% after the initiative. Although this is a small gain, the percentage of children who ‘disliked’ or ‘hated’ reading also reduced from 22% to 16% which demonstrates improved attitudes to reading for pleasure. Language and Literacy Interventions 1873 (43% SIMD 1 & 2) pupils from 93 establishments were supported to close the gap in their attainment through targeted Language and Literacy Interventions during the academic year 2021–22. However, not all pupils have yet completed work on their programmes, therefore pre and post data has been analysed for 578 pupils. Table 1.4 LIT: Pie chart showing SIMD Information for pupils who took part in Languageland
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Table 1.5 LIT: Languageland average pre and post scores As evidenced above, this intervention has resulted in improved language and communication skills for the pupils who completed the programme. Pre and post mean scores can be seen in the table above. When scores were compared overall, there was an average increase of 9.5%. Literacy Interventions A number of literacy interventions have been implemented this session, including Rainbow Reading, Read, Write, Inc. Fresh Start, Reading to Improve Comprehension and Wave Three. Data is held for each intervention around SIMD breakdown of pupils involved in the interventions and reading months gained and an example of this can be viewed in the tables below: Table 1.6 LIT: SIMD Breakdown of pupils on Rainbow Reading intervention Table 1.7 LIT: Rainbow Reading average pre and post scores in months
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As is evidenced above, this particular intervention has resulted in improved reading fluency and reading comprehension for the pupils who participated in the programme. Pre and post scores in months shown above, demonstrate gains in Reading Rate (9 months), Reading Accuracy (29 months) and Reading Comprehension (11 months). Mid-Year Universal Offer – Core Active Literacy CLPL P4–7: STEM and Literacy Feedback from the STEM and literacy session for STEM Leaders indicated that professional knowledge and understanding of improving STEM learning via literacy teaching has been enhanced by participating in the CLPL. Staff reported that the session provided practical and transferable skills. Literacy Coaching Sessions CLPL for literacy coaches has continued this academic session and staff continue to benefit from the support offered to ensure that pupils who are not on track to achieve their expected ACEL literacy levels are assessed timeously, supported appropriately, and tracked regularly to help meet their needs. Literacy Interventions Participants in literacy intervention training reported that the input had had a positive impact on their professional knowledge and understanding of delivering the relevant intervention as noted in LIT 2.1 below. LIT 2.1: Professional Knowledge and Understanding Before and After Literacy Interventions CLPL Speech, Language and Communication Interventions (SLC) SLC Intervention CLPL also had a positive impact on attendees’ professional knowledge and confidence to deliver the programmes, as demonstrated in LIT 2.2. LIT 2.2: Staff Confidence Before and After SLC Interventions CLPL 0 2 4 6 8 10 RTIC Rainbow Reading FFT Wave 3 RWI Fresh Start Overall Professional Knowledge & Understanding of Literacy Interventions Before and After CLPL Pre Post
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Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) CLPL Feedback from the ELC Three Read training course indicates a positive impact on pupils following the intervention, as noted in LIT 2.3 below. LIT 2.3: Indications from Staff on Impact on Learners Before and After Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year Attendance at training, with the exception of the new P1 programme, remains lower than in previous years. This may be as a result of staffing challenges throughout the pandemic. 0 2 4 6 8 10 Language Land Sunnybank Colour Coding Colourful Semantics Lego Therapy Overall SLC Interventions Pre Post 6 7 8 Attention and Listening Skills Language and Communication Skills Three Read - Impact on Learners Before and After Pre Post
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WORKSTREAM – HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES LEARNER JOURNEY DEVELOPING FAMILY HUBS Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Developing a Family Hub Provision to Enhance Transition and Curricular Pathways 23 Family Learning Centres (FLCs) received funding through SAC to develop, enhance and target support for the youngest learners to bridge gaps that have been identified in core areas of literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. This has also included wider areas of outdoor learning, parental engagement and continuous staff training given the significant increase in staffing in this sector with the 1140hrs implementation. Various interventions were implemented across centres to take forward the aims of SAC funding, and these were reported on within the interim report. There was a slight decrease in the number of interventions implemented across FLCs due to staffing issues/absences, as well as the number of families and children targeted. Focussed training, facilitated by the Attainment Advisor, supported effective reporting and measuring of impact of SAC funding. This was attended by almost all establishments, with feedback being very positive. This area of continuous development and improvement is ongoing with joint working between the SAC team and ELC Quality Officers within NLC. Leadership training was offered to all ELC centres, and all FLCs had at least one member of their leadership team taking part in the programme, with several including their full management teams. This remained a key feature in all FLC plans and supported improvements and understanding of the links between self-evaluation, improvement planning and reporting on impact with a more targeted and focused approach. Mid-Year Developing a Family Hub Provision to Enhance Transition and Curricular Pathways Funding was allocated to all Family Learning Centres (FLCs) to ensure children’s development and attainment is being targeted at the earliest stages. This is to assist with targeting support for the youngest learners to bridge gaps in learning or progress that have been identified. The types of interventions used to target this support are shown in FLC 1.1. FLC 1.1: Types of Interventions Implemented in FLC
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Interventions have been identified via a range of methods, including direct observations, tracking, assessments and questionnaires. FLC 1.2: Focus of Interventions Linked to Key Themes/Core Areas Through the recovery phase, FLCs have adapted their approaches to engage with families. Digital engagement has continued via SWAY presentations or Learning Journals. Many FLCs are now in year 2 of using these engagement methods and are tracking not only family logins from home, but also the types of learning experiences recorded by staff. This shows the impact of different types of interventions in core areas. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Staffing issues continued to result in short-term reduction of ELC services having an impact on capacity to implement interventions and priority areas outlined in SAC plans. Almost all FLC included reference to staffing issues within their SAC final report. Mid-Year Staffing issues resulting in short-term reduction of ELC services have impacted FLCs’ capacities to implement interventions and take forward priority areas outlined in SAC plans.
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Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. Views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Following the 2020-2021 end of year report, there has been a more targeted approach in a smaller number of interventions. Interventions were targeted to groups of children identified through baseline information, observations by staff or specific assessments in areas to support improvements literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. Parental engagement was also targeted via training sessions and resources to support at home or Stay and Play Sessions to share experiences. Some key highlights from individual FLCs are noted below within themed areas. Literacy One FLC saw improvements with a target group of 20 children’s listening and talking skills. Digital literacy resources such as walkie talkies, story headphones and LED writing boards enhanced children’s engagement and motivation in literacy as well as Language Land attention and listening focus group with staff. Pre and Post assessment were carried out and FLC 1.1 shows an increased number of children moving from emerging to developing, with into skilled between November 2021 and June 2022. FLC 1.1: Pre and Post Assessment in Language Land Intervention Numeracy Increased staff confidence in numeracy knowledge and understanding following numeracy CLPL and professional reading is shown in FLC 1.2 for one FLC. Assessment in children's progress in numeracy highlighted gaps in different organisers. Following planned blocks of learning, staff training and new resources to address gaps in organisers, 80% of identified children made progress in numeracy. FLC 1.2: Staff Numeracy Knowledge and Understanding
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Health and Wellbeing The Do-Be Mindful programme was implemented with an identified group of 12 children in an FLC to support them to manage their emotions and self-regulate. FLC 1.3 highlights the different emotions targeted through the programme, with staff working with children to develop strategies to recognise and regulate these. It shows that the greatest increase pre and post programme is with calmness and anger. Parents of the focus group also reported that children were using the techniques introduced at home. FLC 1.3: Focus Group Ability to Express and Regulate Emotions Family Engagement A Food Matters Initiative was implemented in an FLC following staff observations. Different food was purchased and explored during sessions within the centre and food was also sent home. A consistent lunch time routine was established for the group of 9 children, supported by visuals which were replicated for home use. All 9 children now have an established routine, sit at the table, serve themselves, pour their own drink and use cutlery. This has transferred into the home for 3 children, with 6 other children now making choices from different types of food. Mid-Year Sessions have been delivered to new Heads of Centres (HOCs) around improvement planning and reporting. This is an area of ongoing support as part of improving self-evaluation and leading change and improvement. These sessions focused on writing quality, measurable aims and reporting on impact, and were supplemented by visits to establishments, enabling professional discussions around improvement. This work will continue to ensure high quality improvement planning and reporting is measured and outcome-focused in future plans and reports.
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Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? WORKSTREAM – HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES LEARNER JOURNEY CLUSTER IMPROVEMENT Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year Cluster Improvement and Integration Leads (CIILS) CIILS play a key role in developing a strategic approach to cluster improvement by coordinating effective and strategic planning to develop and embed improvement capacity within the system. The CIIL Team (15 officers) works towards raising attainment and tackling the poverty related attainment gap across the 23 clusters. They work closely with Cluster Chairs to identify priorities and are involved in workstreams that directly or indirectly support cluster needs. CIILs have been proactive in supporting Integrated Health and Wellbeing Teams and Bases; this has promoted a collaborative, multi-agency support system for children and young people, in line with the GIRFEC pathway. This approach is supported by existing work undertaken by the Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change (ROC) and builds capacity for improvement across the authority. CIILs work alongside CLD partners who continue to support the empowering cluster model at the universal level, as well as more targeted support in 20 primary and ASN establishments and ASN schools. CLD continue to work with other partners to ensure there are clearer referral routes and timeous access to appropriate support. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. Views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates.
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Mid-Year Integrated Wellbeing Meetings/ Wellbeing Bases The Integrated Wellbeing Team were able to effectively mobilise the planned collaborative approach into practice, thus supporting the most at risk/vulnerable children and families. Meetings allowed strong professional networks to be built, thus creating strong multi-agency teams to support children and young people. Effective use of the wellbeing bases within the cluster has allowed for greater integrated working and support for the most vulnerable children and families. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year Consistency in data analysis across all clusters is a focus for next session. Additionally, Integrated Wellbeing Meetings will be scheduled in advance to allow for representation from all agencies. Moving forward, a stronger focus will be placed on pedagogical practice and collaborative working to ensure maximum impact and sustainability. The sharing of good practice across clusters will be encouraged in relation to PEF spends and subsequent impacts. SAC/PEF INTEGRATIVE PRACTICE Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year SAC Focus Schools, Planning and Reporting This session, 80 primary schools and all secondary schools have been supported via SAC funding. In primaries, 0.5FTE allocation was assigned across the 80 schools, with secondaries being allocated 2 FTE per school. Prior to checkpoint dates, sessions were offered around planning, good practice and universal/addition offerings. These sessions focussed specifically on targets, measures and outcomes and this has resulted in a greater level of consistency and clarity in SAC/PEF plans. Schools are now better able to identify clear rationales for their use of SAC additionality or funding, alongside rationales for PEF spends. Schools have developed clear rationales for SAC/PEF spends via robust self-evaluation, utilising a range of data, with a particular focus on closing the poverty related attainment gap, and are now linking the two much more coherently.
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Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. Views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Support has continued with focus schools through in-person and online meetings with HTs and those leading the equity agenda at school level. During term 3 there was a particular focus on equity within our secondary estate. The SAC/PEF Improvement and Equity lead officer met with a number of school senior teams to discuss progress and practice. At secondary level a number of initiatives were highlighted, for example: • Pupil Support Team and School Equity Team working in partnership to ensure progress being made in tackling barriers to learning and closing the gap • Reading initiatives (including a book vending machine) to support those living in poverty to access reading books and create interest in reading • Teacher mentors for pupils living in poverty – regular check-ins and one-to-one support for pupils at risk of not achieving Mid-Year Some key messages and examples of good practice arising from checkpoint returns have been noted. Examples of these include the appointment of a P7/S1 Transition Teacher, full staff nurture training and enhanced counselling provision. SAC/PEF Engagement Events and Support Sessions SAC Focus Schools are offered support by way of online sessions and individual meetings. These support sessions have focussed on the following: • The need for robust self-evaluation, leading to a clear rationale for SAC/PEF spends • Sharing good practice on current offers and interventions • The need for clear measurable targets and outcomes within plans • The use of evaluative language in terms of impact in reports. Schools have also been reminded that the landscape has changed post-Covid, and that situational poverty should feature in SAC/PEF plans, where appropriate. The types of data schools have been asked to focus on are: • School Processes • Demographics • Pupil Learning • Perceptions The NL Natter Series was utilised as a platform to share good practice around SAC/PEF spends and subsequent impact. These sessions were hosted by Head Teachers from all sectors and feedback was exceptionally positive. A Microsoft Team has been set up for practitioners leading on the equity agenda. This is a good vehicle for creating a support network, where colleagues can share good practice from
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their establishments. This professional learning platform was set up in response to feedback from colleagues from previous sessions and is a means to support their CLPL. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Schools continue to share good practice through the dedicated Microsoft Team for those leading on the equity agenda. ‘Improvement Planning’ drop-in sessions took place over the course of May/June. At the beginning of these sessions there was a short presentation on equity planning. After the presentation, HTs and school leaders took the opportunity to work one-to-one in developing and analysing their plan with a member of the SAC/PEF Team. PATHWAYS PROGRAMME Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) The text in the mid-year report provides the background and general direction of travel and support offered to young people who took part in the programme. The table below outlines the combined leaver destinations from cohort 1 (June 2022) and cohort 2 (August 2022). Those classed as being on continued support include: • young people who moved into college courses or training provision from January to July and have completed the course but decided against progressing to the next level • those who completed the Pathways programme in June and are work ready but have not secured employment or a modern apprenticeship • those who are not work ready due to a range of barriers to learning and employment and require additional support to take the next step toward employment All young people on continued support will continue to work with the Pathways Team, Routes to Work and Skills Development Scotland to secure a positive destination
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Young people classed as not engaging have completed the Pathways Programme, finished college or training provision from January to June and are not currently engaging with the Pathways Coordinators, Routes to Work and Skills Development Scotland despite the best efforts of the team. Mid-Year The third evolution of the North Lanarkshire Council Pathways programme was launched in August 2021, funded by Scottish Attainment Challenge and the Pupil Equity Fund. This supports young people most at risk of entering a negative post school destination due to a range of factors including attendance, engagement and winter leavers. The funding allows the Learner Journey Pathways Coordinators and support workers to coordinate and deliver a full-time bespoke curriculum away from school. This curriculum incorporates employability and life skills, personal development, industry recognised qualifications and work-based learning opportunities with support from key partners. This all serves to enhance our young people’s ability to achieve and sustain a positive post school destination in this difficult post-pandemic phase. The programme currently supports up to 380 young people, much more than in previous years. A new 5-week programme is now delivered in all secondary schools as part of North Lanarkshire Councils Future Friday’s programme. These sessions target pupils who are further removed from the world of work and require additional support in preparing to leave school into employment or further education. Sessions focus on identifying skills and qualities and how these relate to the world of work, what employability support is available to them and where to find it and how to develop a CV or college application to prepare for the next step in their employability journey. This table outlines the initial leaver destinations of the 78 young people who fully engaged in the Pathways cohort 1 between August and December 2021. Those identified as on continued support include young people who are work ready but have not yet secured employment or a modern apprenticeship and will continue to work with the Learner Pathways Coordinators, Routes to Work and Skills Development Scotland to secure employment. For those who are not work ready, a personal
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development plan is in place which includes work experience, post school SDS and Routes to Work support. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year Covid-19 has affected the number and range of employment, college and training opportunities available to young people on the Pathways Programme than in previous years. Small to medium enterprises who provide most modern apprenticeships and employment opportunities for young people with limited national qualifications have not recruited to the levels of previous years. College courses and Employability Fund programmes in practical subjects have moved to fully online or blended learning approaches, and some young people are unable or unwilling to participate in this delivery format, which has further limited opportunities. Work continues with these young people to identify appropriate opportunities as they become available. Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. Views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year Young people being referred have faced increased challenges relating to their education, mental health, family life, motivation and aspirations as a result of the pandemic. More time has been spent with those most vulnerable, developing confidence and self-esteem, providing mentoring and guidance and identifying additional resources and support services to meet their individual needs. Feedback provided by young people and family members has identified this additional support being a major influence in their development. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year A huge part of the Pathways programme has been the ability to create an environment that doesn’t feel like school to help engage young people who have disengaged and have not attended formal education in recent years. Covid restrictions have made this more challenging, however, work is continuing with partners to adapt the delivery model for cohort 2, thus promoting more engagement. LEADERSHIP
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Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Leadership Cohort 3 of the Principal Teacher, Depute Head Teacher and Head Teacher programmes are now complete and recruitment for Cohort 4 has now closed. Evaluations from programmes continue to be overwhelmingly positive and additional sessions on a range of topics including budget, working time agreements and interview skills were offered in response to requests from cohorts. New leadership programmes were launched last session with mixed success; the Early Years’ programmes and Pastoral Responsibility programmes proved very successful, whilst the Class Teacher Programme had more muted success ( the reasons for this are noted within the ‘Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved?’ section). Education Scotland endorsement is currently being sought for the Pastoral Responsibility programme. Innovation and Improvement Hub The Innovation and Improvement Hub has continued to grow and develop and is now the only platform used for continuous lifelong professional learning (CLPL) opportunities for Education staff. Self-Improving Schools (Family Groups) The Robert Owen Centre (ROC) Team continues to offer support to family groups and engaged with one family group last session around health and well-being. Their offer of support will be extended to Clusters next session. Mid-Year Leadership The revised and refreshed leadership framework has now completed the first full two cohorts and is currently halfway through cohort three for the Principal Teacher, Depute Head Teacher and Head Teacher programmes. The programmes continue to be delivered digitally, as this has attracted colleagues from across Scotland. The leadership framework continues to grow and evolve. Several new leadership programmes were launched this session, including a Class Teacher Leadership programme, a Leadership Programme for Principal Teachers with Pastoral Care responsibilities, and three bespoke Early Years’ Leadership programmes. Four of the leadership programmes have successfully received endorsement from Education Scotland (Principal Teacher, Depute Head Teacher, Head Teacher and Digital Champions Leadership programmes). Innovation and Improvement Hub The Innovation and Improvement Hub (the Hub) was launched in September 2020 as part of the wider North Lanarkshire Learning Management System. All professional learning opportunities and activities are now hosted on the Hub, including mandatory e-Learning.
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This learning platform is continuing to be promoted via Teams, weekly newsletters and general communications with Education and Families’ staff. Self-Improving Schools (SIS) Due to the ongoing challenging nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, a reduced number of family groups were able to meet during the period August 2021 - February 2022. Despite this, family groups were still able to meet virtually and have meaningful discussions around a range of topics. Topic discussions included sharing practice, sharing of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) data and the Covid-19 pandemic. The Robert Owen Centre has continued to offer support to SIS HTs, however, there has been no engagement this session as other actions associated with the recovery response have taken priority. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further update. Mid-Year The planned leadership programme for senior officers was launched in October 2021, however, this was subsequently paused in December 2021 due to the impact that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was having on the service. Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. Views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Leadership Evaluations were gathered following completion of the leadership programmes, and as is evidenced in Table L1 below, almost all participants stated that the programme was directly linked to their own Professional Review and Development needs (PRDs). L1 Additionally, combined evaluations across the leadership programmes showed that most attendees either agreed or strongly agreed with the four evaluative statements asked: L2
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Participants were also asked if they felt the programme had a positive impact on them as a leader. As is evidenced in Table L3 and L4 below, 95% of participants indicated that it had. L3 L4 Table L3 – percentage for ratings of happiness across all courses for content of the overall course Table L4 – percentage impact of course on participants Qualitative feedback was collated across all programmes. Participants indicated that they would benefit from additional sessions including budget, working time agreement and interview skills. Sessions were planned and delivered on these topics in response to feedback. Key summary of feedback and evaluations across all four courses: • Across the four courses combined, 95% of attendees felt that the course had a positive impact on them as a leader • Additionally, 64% of attendees scored the highest rating of happiness with the content of the course • 100% of HTs wouldn’t change anything about the course • More than half of CTs (63%) wouldn’t change anything about the course • 90% of DHTs and 80% of PTs enjoyed all sessions of the course • Feedback provided from one PT highlighted “All the sessions were enjoyable in different ways. Whether it was the content of some, the way it was presented or the interactions with other participants, all had their good points, and most were so good the time passed very quickly making me anticipate the next.” • Some specified sessions of enjoyment include ‘overcoming resistance’, ‘evaluative writing’ and ‘self-evaluation and use of data’ As restrictions have now eased, a hybrid delivery model is planned for session 2022-2023. This will involve a mix of some entirely virtual sessions via Microsoft Teams and in-person
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sessions. The in-person delivery will take place in North Lanarkshire’s Digital Classroom; therefore, these sessions can be simultaneously live-streamed so that colleagues from across Scotland can continue to participate in the programmes. This pilot delivery model will be carefully evaluated to ensure it continues to meet the needs of all participants. As noted in the next section, the Classroom Leadership Programme was less successful than other programmes. Following evaluations and discussions, a ‘Leadership of Highly Effective Learning, Teaching and Assessment’ programme has been planned for session 2022-2023. Innovation and Improvement Hub The Innovation and Improvement Hub continues to be a central focal point for a variety of users across Education and Families. The table below illustrates current levels of staff engagement per month across the period of February 2022-June 2022. Hub site visits have remained relatively high with the exception of April (potentially due to school holidays during that month). Further analysis of data indicates visits to each section on a monthly basis. CPD Courses and Early Learning and Childcare Training Programme are the most visited sections. As is evidenced in the tables below, usage of the most visited sections peaked in May, potentially coinciding with PRDs. Self-Improving Schools (Family Groups) The Robert Owen Centre (ROC) at the University of Glasgow continued to offer support to Family Groups last session. Similar to previous years, the ROC programme of work focused on delivering a series of inputs to family groups on evidence-based collaborative action research (CAR). One family group (consisting of five primary schools) engaged with the ROC team. The agreed that the focus was on improving attendance for identified families, using the CAR approach. Two meetings have taken place and further meetings are scheduled for next session. It is too early to measure the impact of this coloration.
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Mid-Year Leadership The implementation of the revised leadership framework has promoted empowerment at a local level and has enabled new or aspiring leaders to benefit from greater development opportunities. The programme was extended to Class Teachers for session 2021-2022, allowing for deeper understanding of leading of learning, and the importance of high-quality learning and teaching. The pandemic may have instigated a shift to digital delivery of leadership programmes; however, it has facilitated the opportunity for colleagues across Scotland to participate in them. This has therefore allowed for greater networking across Scotland. Participation and interest in the programmes remain high with 83 Principal Teachers, 38 Depute Head Teachers and 12 Head Teachers registered this session. Of the 38 Depute Head Teachers registered, 24% of the cohort are from Local Authorities out with North Lanarkshire Council. This represents a 2% increase in uptake from other Local Authorities from last session. The other Local Authorities represented on the DHT programme can be viewed below: NB* - One independent registered attendee is from Robert Gordon’s College and one from an independent school in Perth Attendee feedback continues to be positive and highlights the positive impact that participation has on the attendee and their establishment. Feedback at the mid-way point indicates that almost all attendees either strongly agreed or agreed with the four evaluative statements in the post-session evaluations, as evidenced below: 29 North Lanarkshire DHTs 9 DHTs from other Local Authorities across Scotland Aberdeen - 3 Glasgow - 2 West Lothian - 1 South Lanarkshire - 1 Independent - 2
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Additionally, attendees are asked after each session if the content linked directly to their own Professional Review and Development (PRD). At the mid-way point, almost all attendees noted that the sessions were directly linked, emphasising the value of the sessions to attendees’ own professional learning. Next session, there will be additional leadership opportunities for third tier officers and experienced head teachers, ensuring opportunities at every level. Innovation and Improvement Hub In September 2019, Education and Families Committee launched North Lanarkshire’s Innovation and Improvement Hub. North Lanarkshire’s new Learning Management System (LMS) is the dashboard for all North Lanarkshire staff, and the Innovation and Improvement Hub for Education and Families staff is situated within this.
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The Innovation and Improvement Hub is designed to be a central focal point for a variety of users across Education and Families. The table below illustrates current levels of staff engagement per month across the period of September 2021 – February 2022. Hub site visits have remained relatively high with the exception of October and December 2021 (potentially due to school holiday periods within those months). Further analysis of data indicates visits to each section on a monthly and quarterly basis. The Early Learning and Childcare Training Programme is the most visited section, followed by CPD Courses and ASN. As is evidenced in the tables below, usage of the most visited sections peaked in November and January. 816 389 735 328 828 725 0 200 400 600 800 1000 September October November December January February Number of visits Total site visits per month across all topics
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A breakdown by sector of course completion within the Hub is highlighted in the table below for the period August 2021 - February 2022. As is evidenced, the primary sector has the highest number of users completing courses within this period. 133 different courses have been completed across all sectors during the period August 2021 – February 2022. The table below shows the top 10 courses that have been accessed across all sectors. Hub usage will continue to be monitored and content reviewed and updated regularly to encourage regular visits by staff. Self-Improving Schools (SIS) Family groups have continued to meet virtually this session, however, due to conflicting priorities, there has been a noticeable reduction in meetings and in the reporting of feedback from meetings. 1625 645 261 231 0 1000 2000 Primary Secondary FLC ASN Total users Total users completing courses by Sector
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Family groups were asked to set three priorities for the year ahead that would help set targets and form the structure of future sessions. To date, seven family groups have indicated what their priorities for the year are. The most common priorities were: • Raising attainment • Supporting children’s health and wellbeing • Monitoring and tracking of data and data analysis Initial confidence ratings were identified (prior to meetings starting) and can be seen in the table below. These ratings will be compared at the end of the academic session to measure impact. Mean pre confidence level for the three most common priorities identified Feedback from Family Group Leads indicates that the SIS programme encourages members of each family group to work collaboratively and highlights the value the meetings have in creating meaningful discussions. It has been noted that SIS meetings have encouraged staff to embrace co-operation in order to support each other and improve practice. Additionally, some family groups have set up shared folders to share progression pathways and examples of curriculum rationales, to share ideas and good practice. The ASN Family Group, consisting of ASN HTs from North Lanarkshire Council, South Lanarkshire Council and Highland Council, has not managed to meet this session due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on staffing levels. There is still an appetite and enthusiasm amongst them to re-establish this group, when staffing levels allow. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) The Class Teacher Leadership Programme was less successful than the other leadership programmes. This was due to a number of reasons: • Digital delivery for this particular cohort did not engage participants as much as other cohorts • Some of the cohort were offered the opportunity to participate due to their particular role (i.e., Building Back Better Teachers), therefore there wasn’t the same ‘buy-in’ • Branding of the programme did not attract the desired audience; the courses was aimed at experienced teachers, however, experienced teachers didn’t engage as there was a perception that this meant they needed ‘trained’ in classroom practice
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Next session, we are launching a ‘Leadership of Highly Effective Learning, Teaching and Assessment Programme’. This programme is more in keeping with the other leadership programmes and includes 10 sessions. The branding and target audience is more explicit, and this will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. Mid-Year Due to conflicting priorities and pressures on schools, the frequency of SIS meetings and feedback from meetings continues to be lower than pre-pandemic. The relationship between the cluster approach and family groups is continuing to be monitored to measure the viability of continuing with formal family groups. Due to conflicting priorities and pressures on schools, the frequency of SIS meetings and feedback from meetings continues to be lower than pre-pandemic. The relationship between the cluster approach and family groups is continuing to be monitored to measure the viability of continuing with formal family groups. WORK STREAMS – HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES HEALTH AND WELLBEING Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) In the second half of 2021-2022, work has concentrated on moving forward the Health and Wellbeing (HWB) approaches as part of the Covid-19 recovery. The service has consulted on and launched a new HWB Plan – The Roadmap to Recovery, and developments consistent with this plan have started with some services and will continue into 2022-2023. Developments have concentrated on the following services: Community Learning and Development (CLD) Between April and June, the CLD team continued to build on Covid-19 recovery. There has been a strong commitment to delivering group learning programmes and face to face work within communities. There were 528 unique participants on family learning programmes and
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345 unique participants on parent support programmes. On average 43% of the participants came from SIMD 1-2 backgrounds. CLD has also focused on Welfare support, which helps to alleviate poverty through referrals to welfare agencies such as Food Banks and Women’s Aid. Since beginning to record this measure in March, over 34 individual referrals have been made. The last quarter of the year also saw the introduction of new HWB outcomes which fall under 6 themes, Engagement, Health and Wellbeing, Parenting, Family Learning, Core Skills and Wider Community. Under each theme are several specific learning outcomes that can be achieved in line with CLD interventions. As a result, 1195 outcomes were successfully achieved by 209 distinct clients. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service - Fire Reach As of April, Fire Reach was able to return to its traditional delivery with students attending Coatbridge Fire Station for their training. Between April and June, weekly training took place, resulting in 75 young people attending the programme. In addition, a 6-week programme also took place supporting our young carers in which over 50 people attended. The graph below shows the average findings of the pupils who attended between April and June. Information was gathered on how they felt about four areas pre-programme and post-programme. Active Schools Active schools continue to provide a programme for S1-3 girls as mentioned in the mid-year report. The participant numbers for the 2021-2022 full year Active Girls programme are: • 6283 participant sessions involving 682 girls • 5627 participant sessions for S1-3 girls, involving 563 girls from SIMD 1-2 • On average 9 visits per participant • 403 activity sessions carried out • 50 club links with schools Police Partnership Some work has been undertaken with Police Scotland to further develop this partnership and focus the resource on the areas of greatest need. This development work will continue into 2022-2023. Educational Psychology Health and Wellbeing Focus – 2021-2022
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The focus for Health and Wellbeing during session 2021-2022 arose from the priorities in the Education and Families Mental Health, Wellbeing and Resilience Delivery Plan (see North Lanarkshire Educational Psychology Service Standards and Quality 2020-2021). These priorities focussed on reconnecting and recovery from Covid-19 and involved four workstreams: • Nurture and resilience • Promoting positive mental health and suicide prevention • Mental health curriculum • Staff wellbeing: mental health and emotional resilience. These priorities emerged from data gathered as part of HGIOS 4 (3.1) survey of schools and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) survey of children and young people. Stress and Anxiety North Lanarkshire Education Psychology Service (NLEPS) resources were delivered through sessions to children and young people to help them gain an understanding of stress and anxiety and learn strategies to manage these feelings. Between August 2021 and June 2022, over 800 pupils from 5 establishments (1 primary, 4 secondary) participated in Anxiety and Wellbeing sessions around understanding anxiety and stress and strategies to manage these feelings. Pupils’ knowledge of the processes of stress and anxiety, as well as how to cope and manage these, increased. Pupils’ knowledge of how the body and brain respond to anxiety showed a 34% increase (pre- test mean 5.3, port-test mean 7.1). Similarly, pupils showed a 32% (pre-test mean 5.4, post- test mean 7.1) Pupils also reported a good understanding of strategies to help them cope with feelings of stress and anxiety. Key themes included talking to someone, breathing exercises, and grounding techniques. Secondary Nurture A Secondary Nurture Sharing Practice Event was held online in May 2022 that was attended by 23 staff from 12 secondary schools across the authority. Three secondary schools – St Aidan’s High School, Taylor High School and Brannock High School - presented their journey so far and all staff discussed next steps with staff. Evaluations from 10 staff who attended the session indicated that all staff found the session to be effective. Resilience Planning Tool Kit From September 2021 to June 2022, just over 400 staff in 33 establishments received training on the use of the Resilience Planning Toolkit to support GIRFEC assessment and planning.
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Evaluations revealed that practitioners increased both their confidence and knowledge and identified ways to develop their current practice. To date, 87 establishments have undertaken Resilience Planning Toolkit training. Of these 70 are primary, 7 are secondary, 6 are early years, 3 are ASN establishments, 1 is a SEBN establishment and additionally the Virtual School team have also undertaken training. Nurture Self-Evaluation (NSE) Fifteen new schools completed the NL NSE (77 in total), and 3 establishments revisited their NSE. A total of 4 establishments completed a follow up NSE this session following a period of focussed nurture work. In session 2021-2022, a total of 22 establishments completed the nurture self-evaluation framework and 16 establishments participated in training of 1 or more nurture principles. Training in nurture and the nurture principles this session has increased practitioners’ knowledge and confidence in nurture from a mean rating of 6 pre-training to a mean rating of 8.1 at post. This is a 35% increase in knowledge. Additionally, staff gave a high average rating of 8.3 out of 10 for usefulness of the sessions. Nurture Building universal capacity around nurture continues to be a priority for establishments. Over a third of establishments agreed training and ongoing support for this, although some of this work will carry over to session 2022-2023 (60 of the 175 Practice Level Agreements for 2021- 2022 show requests for nurture principles training at a universal level, and 29 show requests for nurture self-evaluation framework). Seasons for Growth Seasons for Growth is an evidence-based programme that supports children and young people, parents and adults who have experienced a significant change or loss in their lives.
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With the ongoing challenges presented by Covid-19 this session (2021-2022), Seasons for Growth companion training to practitioners has continued within the authority through digital platforms. In total, 28 practitioners attended Seasons for Growth companion training; furthermore, a total of 75 trained practitioners attended reconnector sessions to share practice and reinforce their knowledge surrounding Seasons for Growth. Attendance at reconnector sessions has significantly increased since the pandemic began, reflecting the current climate and the increased demand for supports on grief and loss. The positive feedback captured from the pupils, parents and school staff has emphasised that Seasons for Growth has been extremely beneficial for improving outcomes for these young people. Mid-Year Throughout session 2021-2022, North Lanarkshire has continued to implement and embed its evidence informed, holistic approach, providing a range of offers designed to develop an ethos and culture of nurture as the cornerstone of promotion of emotional wellbeing. This has been set against the backdrop of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restricting some approaches but creating opportunities within others. The pandemic has created a focus on vulnerable families which has led to the development of our GIRFEC pathway, ensuring that every cluster has strong data to support intervention, targeted where it is needed most. This allows better targeting at the additional and intensive stages, aimed at ensuring equity for the most vulnerable. Cluster Improvement and Integration Leads (CIILs) play an important role in collating this GIRFEC planning data and use this to target children and families in need of Health and Wellbeing Interventions. A key focus has been the continued offer of high-quality Career Long Professional Learning (CLPL) that enhances staff skills in delivering relational approaches, e.g., Video Enhanced Reflective Practice, 6 Principles of Nurture). Partnership work continues to be developed through the ongoing work of Community Learning and Development (CLD), Community Police Officers and Active Schools Coordinators. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) survey carried out by the service in early 2021 has provided useful data around vulnerable groups of children and their health and wellbeing. This will be used for future planning and targeting of services. Specific activities carried out through partners are as follows: Educational Psychology Previous reports have documented the benefits of Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) for parents and carers. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing pandemic, VIG could only be offered in a limited way. Psychological Service have therefore focused on the following pieces of work: • Low Intensity Anxiety Management (LIAM) – for children and young people • Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) • Video Enhanced Reflective Practice (VERP) • The planning and analysis of an Authority-wide health and wellbeing measure (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) • Early Years Staff Development Programme
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• Solihull Approach Reflective Supervision • Health and Wellbeing initiatives e.g., nurture principles and nurture self-evaluation, resilience planning toolkit, grief and loss (Season for Growth), sleep and wellbeing/anxiety and stress support for children (see Health and Wellbeing workstream report) Low Intensity Anxiety Management (LIAM) During the pandemic, LIAM training was offered instead of VIG, as this could be delivered in line with restrictions at the time. This Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) informed approach is targeted at children and young people with mild to moderate difficulties with anxiety. Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) Ongoing restrictions have made it more challenging to offer VIG as an intervention. Despite this, it has been possible to engage with 9 new families, and provision of this will continue in coming months. Video Enhanced Reflective Practice (VERP) A key element of VERP is the provision of peer support through video sharing in small groups. COVID related restrictions have therefore had an impact on the ability to offer VERP as an intervention. Nonetheless there continues to be an appetite for VERP and establishments continue to engage. At authority level, VERP training remains a priority for our Early Learning and Childcare (ELCC) Development Officers. Health and Wellbeing Measure - Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Educational Psychology and the SAC team worked together on the implementation of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Between January and June 2021, a population wide survey of the health and wellbeing of school aged children in North Lanarkshire was conducted. Overall, 85% of pupils (n = 41, 324) across North Lanarkshire either have a self- reported (secondary) or a teacher-reported (primary) completed Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire. Observations for ASN pupils are context dependent, and due to population sizes, cannot be generalised. In the initial phase, North Lanarkshire primary teachers reported that between 81% to 88% of children are in the ‘close to average’ range in key SDQ areas (i.e., total difficulty, impact, externalising, internalising and prosocial skills). It was also noted that the average total difficulty score remains relatively stable across the 5-11 years age range. The majority of secondary pupils scored themselves as ‘close to average’ across all key SDQ areas (between 55% to 68%). Total difficulties and internalising had the lowest proportion of pupils in the ‘close to average’ category (with 59% and 55% respectively). Gender differences were also examined across both primary and secondary sectors. A second phase of analysis was undertaken to consider ASN status (mainstream schools and specialist provisions), Care Experienced, Child Protection Register, SIMD, Free School Meal (FSM) and Clothing Grant Entitlement. Data was also compared with the Children Realigning Children’s Service data (see NLC SDQ report for full details). Early Years Development Programme – ‘Nurturing Brain Development’
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33 practitioners have engaged in ‘Nurturing Brain Development’ since August 2021. In total 118, early years colleagues have accessed this training. Solihull Approach Reflective Supervision Two educational psychologists have been working closely with colleagues in one of North Lanarkshire’s Children’s Houses. Guided by the principles of the Solihull Reflective Supervision model, the psychologists have: • carried out a full needs analysis with nine staff members and their manager • provided a written report summarising this analysis • used this analysis collaboratively to support staff health and wellbeing. Staff from the Children’s House will be invited to join one of two half day sessions a month. These sessions will focus on: • supporting the development and embedding of practitioners’ knowledge, skills and understanding of trauma-informed practice through themed content • supporting colleagues to identify, recognise and celebrate elements of practice that are working well • acknowledging and understanding the impact of practitioners’ work on their wellbeing • allowing space for collaborative problem solving in understanding and meeting the needs and presentations of young people. Community Learning and Development (CLD) The CLD Team have continued to support vulnerable young people, parents and families throughout the pandemic and have worked in-person with individuals or small groups when restrictions allowed. A total of 727 adults and children attended Family Learning and Parental Engagement programmes over the last six months. As evidenced in the table below, 181 of this group live in SIMD 1, 159 in SIMD 2 and 122 in SIMD 3. This evidences the successful targeting of our most vulnerable families. Outdoor Learning Programmes
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To reduce the risk of transmission of the Covid-19 virus, outdoor learning has featured more prominently throughout the pandemic. Outdoor programmes were planned and delivered to meet the needs of individual parent /carers and families, making best use of local green and urban spaces. Programmes focussed on play, games and walking, and this supported families to come back into their local community, to mix safely with others and become more active. All programmes had health and wellbeing outcomes and data evidenced the positive outcomes parents/carers achieved in supporting their children. Learning Bags continue to be distributed to ensure families have the necessary materials and equipment to participate in programmes. Over 150 Learning Bags have been gifted to families to support outdoor learning. Let’s Introduce Anxiety Management (LIAM) LIAM is a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) informed intervention for children and young people experiencing mild levels of anxiety. This is delivered within a Family Learning context where the child and parent work together throughout the sessions. As this programme relies on face-to-face delivery, the numbers completing the full course are smaller than anticipated. However, 4 full programmes and 8 partial programmes have been delivered during this session. On average, children’s goals scores (using the Revised Child Anxiety and Depressions Scale (RCADS)) rose from an average of 2-3 on the first week, to 10 on the final week, indicating significant progression. Following the programme, children’s responses included having increased confidence, less worries, less signs and symptoms of anxiety and parents and children reported being better equipped to deal with anxiety should it arise again. Living Life to The Full The Living Life to The Full training programme, which supports mental health and wellbeing, has been rolled out across North Lanarkshire with a further 12 young people successfully completing this programme within the time scale of this report. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service The Fire Reach programme was adapted due to ongoing restrictions associated with the pandemic. A ‘mini–Fire Reach’ was delivered in one of the highest areas of secondary fires in the authority. This programme was classroom based, with the addition of new Virtual Reality (VR) headsets for road safety. Practical elements were replaced with team building and confidence building exercises within the class environment. In addition to the above activity, engagement has mainly focused on fire safety presentations. 16 Fire Safety courses were delivered, and 4 community Safety Events took place in community settings. A further event for young people was delivered at Motherwell football stadium. The presentation included sections on pyrotechnics, alcohol and ASB. Police Partnership Officers The partnership arrangement with Police Scotland continues up to the end of March 2022. Currently it facilitates 8 police officers working with 12 secondary schools. Active Schools
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The Active Schools service provides programmes for secondary school aged girls and ASN pupils. The ASN programme is developing a range of sustainable sport and physical activity programmes for pupils in ASN schools across the authority, with the primary aim of improving health and wellbeing of the pupils involved. Funding has been utilised to provide a range of delivery from specialist local providers, provide staff training and purchasing bespoke resources to support programme delivery. By utilising a range of local sport and physical activity providers, the programme is creating pathways for pupils to continue engaging in these activities in a community setting. Staff training has included swim teacher qualifications, outdoor learning qualifications and sport specific disability training. Key to the success of this has been the ability for active school coordinators to design bespoke plans in partnership with key school partners (PE staff, senior management, sports council/ambassadors). These partners were critical in helping shape programmes that meet individual school needs, maximising possible impact. For Inactive Secondary School Age Girls, delivery programmes to aid physical activity engagement have been delivered to this hard-to-reach group utilising partners such as Melanie Soares Fitness, Netball Scotland, and various NLC accredited clubs. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) With the recovery from Covid-19 now fully underway, all work identified in the plan has been taken forward. Slippage in Fire Reach has now ended with the new, in-person programme now in place. Mid-Year The Fire Reach programme has not been delivered as planned due to continuing restrictions around COVID-19. However, the Scottish Fire and Rescue service has provided alternative engagements with young people where possible. The police partnership was disrupted during this period due to the COP 26 event in Glasgow, with officers withdrawn for a time to support the event. Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. Views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Work to move forward into a full recovery from Covid-19 restrictions has come to fruition in the second half of 2021-2022. In particular this is borne out in the successful relaunch of Fire Reach and the development of the CLD Family Learning interventions. The chart below indicates the development of the CLD offering, into a proactive and responsive service to families affected by poverty and disadvantage in the recovery from the pandemic restrictions.
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Mid-Year Low Intensity Anxiety Management (LIAM) Pre and post outcome data for 25 young people shows a reduction in self-reported anxiety (measured using the RCADS questionnaire: mean pre intervention total anxiety = 53, mean post intervention total anxiety score = 40). Paired t-tests were conducted indicating that this reduction in anxiety post LIAM intervention was significant (p<0.05).
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Results also indicate a reduction in total anxiety and low mood scores post intervention as measured by the RCADS (mean pre intervention score = 65 and mean post intervention score = 50). Paired t-tests also indicate that this was also a significant reduction post LIAM intervention in total low mood and anxiety self-reported ratings (p <0.05). Young people also rated themselves as closer to achieving their individually set goals (mean confidence score in achieving goals (0-10 scale, where 0 indicates not being confident or not achieving a goal and 10 indicates having achieved or being confident in achieving goals) mean pre intervention score = 2.6, mean post intervention score = 8. Again, paired t-test indicate that this change is significant (p<0.005) and therefore young people post LIAM intervention rated themselves as closer to achieving their own individually set goals (e.g., “to speak out in class” etc). See graph 3. Data has still to be collected for 36 young people. Data collection for the remaining young people is ongoing and will be available in the final report. Video Interaction Guidance 0 20 40 60 Pre LIAM Post LIAM Mean Total Anxiety Score 0 20 40 60 80 Pre LIAM Post LIAM Mean Total Anxiety and Low Mood 0 2 4 6 8 10 First Session Final Session Goal Based Outcomes
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VIG practitioners are embracing opportunities to be able to offer this valuable intervention to families as restrictions gradually reduce. In line with previous evaluation processes, outcomes will be measured after the final cycle has been completed. Input from our colleagues from AVIG will further support engagement and ensure provision of the highest possible quality intervention, therefore supporting positive outcomes for children and families. Feedback from participants on the impact of development sessions will be sought. Video Enhanced Reflective Practice Evidence of impact and outcomes of the current training will be investigated and reported back in the final report. Work will continue with partners to provide access to VERP training where a need is identified, and it is considered safe to do so. Health and Wellbeing measure (Strengths and Difficulties) The second analysis of the SDQ data focused on vulnerable groups; the key findings of this are outlined below: SDQ total difficulties scores for ASN pupils in mainstream primary The average total difficulties scores for pupils with additional support needs in mainstream primary (9.4) (n=3,354) was higher than that of the general school population (5.7) (n=23,238). Although a difference was observed in these scores, they remained within the ‘close to average’ range. When considering gender differences in ASN pupils in mainstream, male pupils with additional support reported a higher total difficulties score (10.7) (n = 2,067) than female pupils with an additional support need (7.2) (n = 1,287). SDQ total difficulties scores based on SIMD – primary The average total difficulties scores reduced slightly when moving up the SIMD quintiles (e.g., mean total difficulty score of 6.8 (n=7,988) and 4.4 (n=4,107) for SIMD quintiles 1-2 and 7-8 respectively). However, all scores were within the ‘close to average’ range. When considering gender differences, mean total difficulties scores for males (n=11,699) are higher than females (n=11,444) across all SIMD areas in mainstream primary but remain within the ‘close to average’ range. SDQ total difficulties scores based on Care Experience – primary The average total difficulties scores were higher for children who have care experience (n=606) compared with those who do not (n=22,632), however all averages fell within the 0 2 4 6 8 SIMD1-2 SIMD3-4 SIMD5-6 SIMD7-8 SIMD9-10 6.8 5.9 5.1 4.4 4 Total Difficulties Scores SDQ Total Difficulties Scores and SIMD data Mainstream Primary
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‘close to average’ range. The percentage of primary pupils with care experience in the ‘very high range’ were: ‘away from home’ (21%), ‘at home’ (17.5%), previously care experienced (16%), no care experience (6%). SDQ total difficulties score on Child Protection Register – primary For children on the Child Protection Register, mean total difficulties scores were higher than that of the general population but remained within the ‘close to average’ range. Secondary Mainstream Analysis - Phase 2 SDQ total difficulties scores for ASN pupils in mainstream secondary The average total difficulties scores for pupils with additional support needs in mainstream secondary (14.2) (n=2,331) was higher than that of the general school population (13.2) (n=11,683). Although a difference was observed in these scores, they remained within the ‘close to average’ range. When considering gender differences, female pupils with an additional support needs reported a higher total difficulties score (15.6) (n=952) than male pupils with an additional support need (13.2) (n=1,379). Female scores fell within the ‘slightly raised’ category, with males in the ‘close to average’ category. SDQ total difficulties scores based on SIMD – secondary: The average total difficulties scores reduced slightly when moving up the SIMD quintiles, however, all scores fell within the ‘close to average’ range. When considering gender differences, mean total difficulties scores for females are higher than males across all SIMD quintiles. Total difficulties scores remain in the ‘close to average’ range, except for females in SIMD quintile 1-2 (n=1,641) who score in the ‘slightly raised’ score range. SDQ total difficulties scores based on Care Experience – secondary: The average total difficulties scores for children who are care experienced away from home fell within the ‘close to average’ range. Average total difficulties scores for pupils with care experience at home and previous care experience fell within the ‘slightly raised’ range. Pupils with previous care experience and those cared for at home have the highest percentages of scores in the ‘very high’ range for total difficulties (22% and 35% respectively). When considering gender differences, mean total difficulties scores for females are higher than males across each of the categories of care experience. Females with previous care experience and those currently cared for at home fall within the ‘slightly raised’ range of total difficulties scores. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Male Female 13.2 15.6 Total Difficulties Scores SDQ Total Difficulties Scores and Pupils with Additional Support Needs in Mainstream Secondary -Gender Split
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SDQ total difficulties score on Child Protection Register – secondary: The average total difficulties scores were higher overall for pupils on the child protection register than that of the general population. When considering gender differences, females scored higher than males on total difficulties scores and fell within the ‘high’ range, with males scoring in the ‘close to average’ range. Secondary school data: comparison with realigning children’s services (RSC2017) and North Lanarskhire’s 2021 SDQ data The proportion of S1-S4 pupils scoring within the ‘close to average’ range increases when moving from the most deprived areas (SIMD 1-2) to the least deprived (SIMD 9-10). This is the case for both the 2017 and 2021 data. Average total difficulties scores for pupils in receipt of free school meals were the same as for those who don’t (both 13.8). Similarly, average scores for pupils who are entitled to clothing grants (13.7) are in the same range as those who are not (13.6). All of these scores fall within the ‘slightly raised’ category. Next steps Individual schools are using the SDQ data to inform support at an individual and whole school level. Education and Families is using the data to identify and respond to trends. Early Years (EY) Staff Development Programme All participants reported that they found the sessions valuable (88% said the session was ‘very helpful’ and 12% found it ‘helpful’. Feedback suggests that the sessions successfully increased participant understanding of the importance of relationships in supporting brain development. 88% of participants indicated that they would be more aware of the quality of their interactions with children as a result of the training. In addition, 55% of respondents went on to detail specific adjustments they planned to make in their individual interactions with children. Solihull Approach Reflective Supervision As part of the needs analysis, each practitioner completed the Reflective Practice Questionnaire (RPQ) (Piriddis and Rodgers, 2018) to inform a baseline of reflective practice within the team. This questionnaire will be readministered following three sessions. Immediate evaluation at the end of each session will also be carried out using routine Educational Psychology Service CLPL evaluations. Initial feedback highlighted that 0246810121416 None Home Away Previously 13.1 15.7 13.8 15.3 Total Difficulties Scores SDQ Total Difficulties Scores and Care Experience Mainstream Secondary
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colleagues appreciated the opportunity to come together as a wider team to share experiences. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service The Fire Reach programme is about to restart, targeting efforts on children and families experiencing poverty and related issues. The pandemic restrictions have impacted significantly on the running of this programme; therefore it is difficult to evidence impact over the last year. Police Partnership Officers The Police Partnership Programme has continued and is now coming up for review of the arrangement. As schools utilise the programme to meet their own individual needs, it has been difficult to gather reliable data on impact of the partnership. This is being considered in setting the direction of the partnership arrangement over the next period. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No further updates. Mid-Year The data from the SDQ questionnaire presented above has given a rich source of information both at authority and school level that can be used to aid future planning. This will allow more focused approaches from health and wellbeing services. In particular, our approach to children with previous care experience, who are looked after at home or have been on the child protection register, will be developed to target those high need groups. In addition, schools have individual SDQ data sets and a new health and wellbeing plan across the authority is being developed, asking schools to consider their data and target children and young people according to local needs. The developing empowering clusters approach and robust GIRFEC planning will be key to the success of this. The police partnership arrangement is currently being reviewed and, as part of this, the options for targeting the approach more effectively and measuring outcomes are being considered. It is expected that the fire reach programme will fully restart following the spring break and will offer courses to all schools. In addition, courses will be offered to the virtual school who work with looked after children. As part of a more targeted approach, schools will be asked to prioritise children who have been identified as being impacted by poverty or other related issues for these courses.