Standards and Quality in Schools, Learning Communities and Pre-School Centres/Day Care of Children
Perth and Kinross Council · 22 April 2024
Back to Executive Sub-Committee of the Learning and Families Committee — 22 April 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL EXECUTIVE SUB-COMMITTEE OF LEARNING & FAMILIES COMMITTEE 22 APRIL 2024 STANDARDS AND QUALITY IN SCHOOLS, LEARNING COMMUNITIES AND PRE-SCHOOL CENTRES/DAY CARE OF CHILDREN Report by Strategic Lead – Education and Learning (Report No. 24/119 (REVISED)) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report sets out the key findings following inspections of schools and nurseries by Education Scotland/His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) and of early learning and childcare (ELC) settings undertaken by the Care Inspectorate in the day care of children. Reporting is of inspections reported since the Executive Sub-Committee of Learning & Families Committee on 28 August 2023. 2. RECOMMENDATION 2.1 It is recommended that the 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 Education Scotland/HMIE Inspections 4.1.1 As required for the National Improvement Framework, HMIE will report on and provide grades for the following Quality Indicators (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 focus on QIs 2.3 and 3.2.
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4.2 ELC Inspections 4.2.1 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. 4.2.2 An updated quality framework for day care of children, childminding and school aged childcare, February 2022 was published by the Care Inspectorate in July 2021 and was used in test inspections, without published grades, before full implementation. This framework is now in place for inspections carried out since 1 June 2022. 4.2.3 The framework is framed around four key questions. Each of these include a number of QIs for actual inspection which are: • How good is our care, play and learning? • How good is our setting? • How good is our leadership? • How good is our staff team? The final key question is: What is our overall capacity for improvement? This requires a global judgement based on evidence and evaluations from all the other key areas but is not evaluated specifically. 4.2.4 Each QI is graded on a 6-point scale in which 1 = unsatisfactory, 2 = weak, 3 = adequate, 4 = good, 5 = very good and 6 = excellent, and the overall key question evaluation is based on the lowest QI rating if more than one is completed. 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. 4.2.5 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. 4.2.6 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.
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5. RECENTLY PUBLISHED REPORTS 5.1 Education Scotland/HMIE Inspections 5.1.1 Since the Executive Sub-Committee of Learning & Families Committee on 28 August 2023, the following reports have been published by Education Scotland1: • Perth Academy Perth Academy was inspected in November 2023 by Education Scotland. Education Scotland will make a further visit in connection with this inspection due to two ‘weak’ evaluations. The evaluations against the QIs are shown in Appendix 1. At the time of the 2023 pupil census, the school had 1011 secondary school children enrolled. The secondary school had a staffing complement of 82.68 FTE teachers. The detailed Summarised Inspection Findings for Perth Academy is available online. • Abernyte Primary School Abernyte Primary School was inspected in October 2023 by Education Scotland. Education Scotland will make no further visits in connection with this inspection. The evaluations against the QIs are shown in Appendix 2. At the time of the 2023 pupil census, the school had 27 primary school children enrolled. The primary school had a staffing complement of 2.72 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers. The detailed Summarised Inspection Findings for Abernyte Primary School is available online. • Collace Primary School Collace Primary School was inspected in November 2023 by Education Scotland. Education Scotland will make no further visits in connection with this inspection. The evaluations against the QIs are shown in Appendix 3. At the time of the 2023 pupil census, the school had 25 primary school children enrolled. The primary school had a staffing complement of 3.25 FTE teachers. The detailed Summarised Inspection Findings for Collace Primary School is available online. • Craigie Primary School Craigie Primary School and Nursery was inspected in June 2023 by Education Scotland. Education Scotland will make no further visits in connection with this inspection. The evaluations against the QIs are shown in Appendix 4. At the time of the 2023 pupil census, the school had 186 primary school children and 28 nursery children enrolled. The primary school had a staffing complement of 11.29 FTE teachers. The detailed Summarised Inspection Findings for Craigie Primary School and the Summarised Inspection Findings for Craigie Primary School Nursery Class are available online. 1 As at 31 Jan 2024
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5.2 Care Inspectorate Inspections - Day Care of Children 5.2.1 A total of 16 inspections have been undertaken and published2 by the Care Inspectorate since the Executive Sub-Committee of Learning & Families Committee on 28 August 2023. 5.2.2 Of these reports, none were reported as an exception (where any grading has been awarded an evaluation of unsatisfactory, weak, or excellent). 5.2.3 For the 16 published inspections; of the 64 indicators inspected; 9 received ‘adequate’, 29 received ‘good’ and 26 received ‘very good’. 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 using the updated quality framework for day care of children, childminding and school aged childcare, February 2022. 5 childminder inspections have been undertaken and published3 by the Care Inspectorate since the Executive Sub-Committee of Learning & Families Committee on 28 August 2023. 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 for other childcare settings. No inspections require reporting in this way to date. Performance/benchmarking information will be developed as numbers of these increase. For the 5 published inspections; of the 20 indicators inspected; 19 received a ‘very good’ grading evaluation and 1 received a ‘good’ grading evaluation. 6. PERFORMANCE SUMMARY 6.1 Inspections: Education Scotland/HMIE 6.1.1 This section provides a summary of the performance of ELC settings and schools since August 2016 in inspections undertaken by Education Scotland. Since August 2016, the inspection model has changed with QI 1.1 Self- evaluation for self-improvement is no longer being evaluated. 6.1.2 28 ELC providers and 35 primary schools have been inspected since the beginning of academic session 2016/17. There have been 3 secondary school inspections carried out in the same period. 6.1.3 Table 1 below gives a summary of the evaluations for each QI for all ELC, primary & secondary school inspections. 2 As at 31 Jan 2024 3 As at 31 Jan 2024
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Table 1: Number of QI Evaluations - 2016/17 to date. ELC QI Grading 1.3 Leadership of change 2.3 Learning, teaching & assessment 3.2 Securing children’s progress 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality & inclusion 1.1 Self-evaluation for self- improvement All QIs Excellent - - - - - - Very Good 5 6 7 7 - 25 Good 8 10 13 10 1 42 Satisfactory 5 7 3 1 1 17 Weak - 1 3 - - 4 Unsatisfactory - - - - - - Total 18 23 25 18 2 88 Primary Schools QI Grading 1.3 Leadership of change 2.3 Learning, teaching & assessment 3.2 Raising attainment & achievement 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality & inclusion 1.1 Self-evaluation for self- improvement All QIs Excellent 1 - - 1 - 2 Very Good 8 7 11 8 3 33 Good 6 13 13 10 - 36 Satisfactory 4 7 6 - 1 18 Weak - 1 2 - - 3 Unsatisfactory - - - - - - Total 17 25 29 17 4 102 Secondary Schools QI Grading 1.3 Leadership of change 2.3 Learning, teaching & assessment 3.2 Raising attainment & achievement 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality & inclusion 1.1 Self-evaluation for self- improvement All QIs Excellent - - - - - - Very Good - - - - - - Good - - 1 1 - 2 Satisfactory 3 3 2 1 - 9 Weak - 1 1 1 - 3 Unsatisfactory - - - - - - Total 3 4 4 3 0 14 6.1.4 In Perth and Kinross, there is an expectation that ELC provision and schools meet “good” evaluations in all QIs. This is higher than the national “satisfactory” expectation. Therefore, where a school or ELC setting receives less than a “good” evaluation, the Quality Improvement Officer for the school/setting works with the Headteacher/Manager to develop an action plan which will secure improvement in the areas of identified need. 6.1.5 Benchmarking data for ELC, primary and secondary inspections up to February 2024, using national and comparator authority information, is shown in Appendix 5.
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6.1.6 For all ELC QIs evaluated from 2016/17 to date, 76% were graded as Good or better. 6.1.7 For all primary school QIs evaluated from 2016/17 to date, 79% were graded as Good or better. 6.2 Inspections: Day Care of Children 6.2.1 This section provides a summary of the performance of ELC settings in inspections carried out by the Care Inspectorate. A total of 28 Day Care services across Perth and Kinross have been inspected by the Care Inspectorate since the beginning of the financial year 2023/24. 6.2.2 Table 2 below gives a summary of the evaluations for each Key Question. A summary list of inspections as well as benchmarking over a longer time period (since financial year 2022/23) against national and comparator data can be found in Appendix 6. This also includes an analysis of overall evaluation statistics to give the current position of inspections. Table 2: Number of Day Care of Children Evaluations Received in PKC 2023/24 to Date. QI Grading How good is our care, play and learning How good is our setting How good is our staff team How good is our leadership All QIs Excellent 0 0 0 0 0 Very Good 10 14 19 13 56 Good 15 12 6 10 43 Satisfactory 2 2 3 4 11 Weak 1 0 0 0 1 Unsatisfactory 0 0 0 1 1 Total 28 28 28 28 112 6.2.3 There is an expectation that ELC providers meet “good” evaluations in all QIs. 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 PKC schools, nurseries and funded partners providing ELC. This report sets out the outcomes of Education Scotland and Care Inspectorate reports of schools and ELC settings inspected and published since 28 August 2023. The overall performance of schools and ELC settings in inspections is strong, and where necessary, action plans put in place provide evidence of continuous improvement.
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Author Name Designation Contact Details James Chiles Performance Officer ECSCommittee@pkc.gov.uk 01738 475000 Approved Name Designation Date Sheena Devlin Strategic Lead – Education and Learning 26 March 2024
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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; (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)
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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. The 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. 3.2.1 The proposals have been considered under the Act; 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 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Under the Climate Change
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(Scotland) Act 2009 the Council also has a duty relating to climate change and, in exercising its functions must act: • In the way best calculated to delivery of the Act’s emissions reduction targets. • In the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaption programmes. • In a way that it considers most sustainable. 3.3.1 N/A Legal and Governance 3.4 N/A 3.5 N/A Risk 3.6 N/A 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 Service Managers within Education and Learning. 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 – Perth Academy Inspection Report Appendix 2 – Abernyte Primary School Inspection Report Appendix 3 – Collace Primary School Inspection Report Appendix 4 – Craigie Primary School and Nursery Class Inspection Report Appendix 5 – Summary of Education Scotland HMIE Inspections Appendix 6 – Summary of Care Inspectorate Day Care of Children Inspections