Standard and Quality in Schools,Learning Communities and Pre-School Centres,Day Care of Ch
Perth and Kinross Council · 29 August 2022
Back to Executive Sub-Committee of the Learning and Families Committee — 29 August 2022 and its agenda
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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL EXECUTIVE SUB-COMMITTEE OF LEARNING & FAMILIES COMMITTEE 29 AUGUST 2022 STANDARDS AND QUALITY IN SCHOOLS, LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND PRE-SCHOOL CENTRES/DAY CARE OF CHILDREN Report by Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) (Report No 22/194) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report sets out the key findings following inspections and evaluations of early learning and childcare (ELC) settings undertaken by the Care Inspectorate on the day care of children since the Executive Sub-Committee of Lifelong Learning Committee on 20 January 2022. There are no Education Scotland/Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) inspections of schools or learning communities to report at this time. 2. RECOMMENDATION 2.1 It is recommended that the Executive Sub-Committee of the Learning & Families Committee: • Considers and comments as appropriate on the contents of the report. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background • Section 5: Recently Published Reports • Section 6: Performance Summary • Section 7: Conclusion • Appendices 4. BACKGROUND 4.1 This report sets out the key findings and areas for improvement following inspections or evaluations of Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) ELC settings (including funded providers) by the Care Inspectorate. 4.2 Specifically, the report sets out the findings of inspections which have been published by the Care Inspectorate since the Executive Sub-Committee of Lifelong Learning Committee on 20 January 2022.
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4.3 Early Learning and Childcare Inspections 4.3.1 ELC settings are subject to inspections from the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland and can experience joint inspections where both scrutiny bodies evaluate the quality of the provision. 4.3.2 For ELC inspections conducted by Education Scotland, the following How Good Is Our Early Learning and Childcare (HGIOELC) Quality Indicators (QI) are evaluated on a six-point scale: How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare (HGIOELC) Quality Indicators (QI) ELC Full Model ELC Short Model Evaluated 1.3 Leadership of change √ √ 2.3 Learning, teaching and assessment √ √ √ 3.2 Securing children’s progress √ √ √ 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion √ √ 2.2 Curriculum √ 2.7 Partnerships √ Additional QI chosen by ELC setting √ 4.3.3 Regulated care services in Scotland have been inspected using a framework of quality themes, quality statements and the Health and Social Care Standards. Services are visited on an unannounced basis at least every three years. Services are given evaluations based on the findings at each inspection and these are made public via the Care Inspectorate’s website. 4.3.4 Services are measured against the National Care Standards and quality themes: • Quality of Care and Support; • Quality of Environment; • Quality of Staffing; and • Quality of Management and Leadership. 4.3.5 Each quality theme is graded on a 6-point scale in which 1 = unsatisfactory, 2 = weak, 3 = adequate, 4 = good, 5 = very good and 6 = excellent. Following the publication of Funding Follows the Child and the National Standard for Early Learning and Childcare Providers: Principles and Practice, all ELC settings must gain evaluations of good or better to be able to provide funded ELC in partnership with the local authority. 4.3.6 Recommendations and requirements may follow an inspection. • Recommendations: Statements that set out actions the care service provider should take to improve or develop the quality of the service; and • Requirements: Statements which set out what is required of the care service provider to comply with relevant legislation.
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4.3.7 Care service providers must submit an action plan to the Care Inspectorate addressing any requirements and recommendations identified. Progress against the action plan is monitored by the Care Inspectorate through annual return and self-assessment forms submitted by the care service provider, and through subsequent inspection. 4.3.8 An updated quality framework for day care of children, childminding and school aged childcare was published by the Care Inspectorate in July 2021 and has been used in test inspections, without published grades, before full implementation. This framework is now in place for inspections carried out since 1 June 2022 and will be evident in future versions of this report. 4.4 HM Inspectors of Education (HMIE) Inspections 4.4.1 Education Scotland’s programme of routine inspections was paused in March 2020 in response to COVID-19. Inspections will resume from 5 September 2022 across all local authorities, selecting settings and schools for inspection on a proportionate basis as previously, using a sampling approach. As required for the National Improvement Framework, HMIE will report on and provide grades for the following QIs as part of full model inspections: • QI 1.3 – Leadership of change; • QI 2.3 – Learning, teaching and assessment; • QI 3.1 – Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion; and • QI 3.2 – Raising attainment and achievement. Short model inspections will continue to focus on QIs 2.3 and 3.2. 5. RECENTLY PUBLISHED REPORTS 5.1 Education Scotland/HMIE Inspections 5.1.1 Since the Executive Sub-Committee of Lifelong Learning Committee on 20 January 2022, there have been no reports published by Education Scotland. 5.1.2 From December 2021, Education Scotland invited schools and ELC settings to take part in ‘Recovery Visits’. In Perth and Kinross, three primary schools (Kinnoull, Auchtergaven and Longforgan) completed the self-selection process to put their schools forward to take part. Also, four ELC settings were visited in June 2022 – FossoPLAY, Morrisons Academy, Bright Starts and Doodlebugs. 5.1.3 At ELC settings, feedback was informal and positive with further areas for development shared with the managers which related to the work which the Early Years Team are currently working on within these settings. All providers who have been visited have felt that the HMIE team have been supportive and have given them further areas of development which they found helpful. Staff had opportunities to engage in professional dialogue which has built on their confidence.
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Consistent themes of positive practice include: • Frequent, helpful communication between management, practitioners and families that kept everyone well informed; • Quality mealtime experiences that develop children’s independence and social skills; • Effective collaboration with a range of partner agencies that enable children and families to access appropriate support; • Support for children, families and staff that had a positive impact on their health and wellbeing; and • Many opportunities for physical activity in the outdoors that were of benefit to children. 5.1.4 In schools, the Recovery Visits focused on the ways in which schools responded to the impact of COVID-19, with a particular focus on continuity of learning, the wellbeing of children, young people and staff and their safeguarding and child protection approaches. 5.1.5 No formal reports were published, and no formal evaluations were given, but key areas of strength were discussed with each school, these included: • Strong consultative leadership; • Children being well supported to improve their health and wellbeing; • Empowered teachers who undertook professional learning to ensure they were better placed to meet the needs of all children; • Positive ethos and strong sense of teamwork; • Interventions having a positive impact on closing gaps in learning; and • Children engaged in their learning and able to talk about it. During all three visits the inspection team discussed next steps with each school, in line with their improvement priorities. 5.2 Care Inspectorate Inspections - Day Care of Children 5.2.1 A total of four inspections have been undertaken and published by the Care Inspectorate since the Executive Sub-Committee of Lifelong Learning Committee on 20 January 2022. These are: • Balhousie and North Muirton ELC; • Luncarty Nursery Class and Wrap Around Care; • Milnathort Primary School; and • St. Ninians Episcopal Primary School Nursery. 5.2.2 Of these reports, one required to be reported as an exception (where any grading has been awarded an evaluation of unsatisfactory, weak, or excellent). Balhousie and North Muirton ELC was inspected in March 2022 and awarded ‘excellent’ and ‘very good’ quality gradings. The inspection report is included as Appendix 1.
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5.2.3 For the four published inspections in total, of the 16 indicators inspected, 1 received an ‘adequate’ grading, 6 received ‘good’ evaluations, 8 received ‘very good’ evaluations and 1 received an ‘excellent’ evaluation. 5.3 Care Inspectorate Inspections - Childminding Services 5.3.1 From academic year 2019/20, childminders commenced providing funded hours within the Councils ELC expansion plan for 1140 hours. All registered childminders are inspected by the Care Inspectorate and graded on four quality themes: • Quality of Care and Support; • Quality of Environment; • Quality of Staffing; and • Quality of Management and Leadership. 5.3.2 Inspections of those childminders that have funded places in partnership with the Council will be included in this report by exception, as is the case for other childcare settings. No inspections require reporting in this way to date. Performance/benchmarking information will be developed as numbers of these increase. 6. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY 6.1 Inspections: Day Care of Children 6.1.1 This section provides a summary of the performance of ELC settings in inspections carried out by the Care Inspectorate. A total of four, day care services across Perth and Kinross have been inspected by the Care Inspectorate since the Executive Sub-Committee of Lifelong Learning Committee on 20 January 2022. 6.1.2 Table 1 below gives a summary of the evaluations for each quality theme. A summary list of inspections as well as benchmarking over a longer time period (since 2017/18) against national and comparator data can be found in Appendix 2. This also includes an analysis of overall evaluation statistics to give the current position of inspections. Table 1: Number of Day Care of Children evaluations received in PKC from 2022/23 to date. QI Grading Quality of Care & Support Quality of Environment Quality of Staffing Quality of Management & Leadership All QIs Excellent 1 0 0 0 1 Very Good 2 2 3 1 8 Good 1 2 1 2 6 Satisfactory 0 0 0 1 1 Weak 0 0 0 0 0 Unsatisfactory 0 0 0 0 0 Total 4 4 4 4 16
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6.1.3 There is an expectation that ELC providers meet “good” evaluations in all quality indicators. Therefore, where an ELC provider receives less than a “good” evaluation, the Service Manager and Quality Improvement Officer for the ELC establishment works with the Headteacher/Manager/Leader to develop an action plan which will secure improvement in the areas of identified need. 7. CONCLUSION Inspection reports provide further information on the standards and quality in our nurseries. This report sets out the outcomes of Care Inspectorate reports of ELC settings inspected and published since 20 January 2022. Author Name Designation Contact Details Sharon Johnston Head of Education and Learning ECSCommittee@pkc.gov.uk 01738 475000 Approved Name Designation Date Sheena Devlin Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services) 29 July 2022
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes/None Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement None Corporate Plan None Resource Implications Financial None Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment None Strategic Environmental Assessment None Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) None Legal and Governance None Risk None Consultation Internal None External None Communication Communications Plan None 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the delivery of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement in terms of the following priorities: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy; (iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations. This report relates to Objective No. (i). Corporate Plan 1.2 This section sets out how the proposals relate to the achievement of the Council’s Corporate Plan Objectives: (i) Giving every child the best start in life; (ii) Developing educated, responsible and informed citizens; (iii) Promoting a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable economy;
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(iv) Supporting people to lead independent, healthy and active lives; and (v) Creating a safe and sustainable place for future generations. This report relates to Objective No. (i). 1.3 The report also links to the Education & Children’s Services Vision, Values and Priorities in respect of the following key Priority area: • Best Start 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 N/A Workforce 2.2 N/A Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 N/A 3. Assessments Equality Impact Assessment 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. These proposals have been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome: (i) Assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. However, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. This is because the Committee are requested to note the contents of the report only and the Committee are not being requested to approve, adopt or agree to an action or to set the framework for future decisions. Sustainability 3.3 N/A Legal and Governance
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3.4 N/A 3.5 N/A Risk 3.6 N/A 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 Service Managers within Education and Children’s Services have been consulted in the preparation of this report. External 4.2 N/A 5. Communication 5.1 N/A 2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 No background papers, as defined by Section 50D of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (and not containing confidential or exempt information) were relied on to a material extent in preparing the above report. 3. APPENDICES 3.1 Appendix 1 - Balhousie and North Muirton ELC - Care Inspectorate Report Appendix 2 - Summary of Care Inspectorate Day Care of Children Inspections