Education S&Q Report & EIP ECSPB
Renfrewshire Council · 27 October 2022
Back to Education and Children's Services Policy Board — 27 October 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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To: Education and Children’s Services Policy Board On: 27 October 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Children’s Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Education Standards & Quality Report September 2022 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Renfrewshire’s annual Education Standards & Quality Report (September 2022) and Education Improvement Plan (2022/23) have been developed through consultation with a variety of stakeholders. 1.2 Both the report and plan align to the National Improvement Framework (NIF) for Scottish education. Self-evaluation information, a wide range of data and feedback from external partners was used to report on the progress and impact of our improvement priorities during session 2021/22 and to identify our priorities for recovery and improvement for the period 2022/23. 1.3 Due to the pandemic, schools faced significant disruption again during session 2021/22 mainly due to Covid-related pupil and staff absences. This resulted in progress being hindered in some priority areas. Despite the challenges, significant progress was made as outlined in the Standards and Quality Report. The report sets out the progress made in achieving our improvement priorities for 2021/22 and focuses on the impact we have had. 1.4 Our Education Improvement Plan sets out where we want to improve further and how we want to do that, based on the evidence we have gathered on our current performance. Our plan focuses on five main priority areas: • Protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities • Family supports and early intervention • Mental health and wellbeing • Learning and teaching • Inclusion As well as the five main priorities, there are overarching features of highly effective practice which will continue and evolve to support achievement of the priorities. These include our leadership programme, data analysis, quality improvement, professional learning, partnership working and the school estate management plan.
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1.5 Delivery of the improvement plan priorities will be through a portfolio planning approach. Three portfolio plans have been developed by teams, each led by a Head of Service, and are detailed within the Education Improvement Plan. Curriculum, learning, teaching and assessment Inclusion Families and Communities 2. Recommendations 2.1 Members of the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board are asked to note the content of the Education Standards & Quality Report (September 2022) Appendix 1 and Education Improvement Plan (2022/23) Appendix 2. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1. The ‘Statutory Guidance: Standards in Scotland etc. Act 2000’ covers a series of local authority planning and reporting duties which took effect from 1 August 2017. 3.2. This places a duty on education authorities to prepare and publish annual plans outlining the steps they intend to take during the planning period. In addition, education authorities are required to prepare and publish an annual report evaluating the progress and impact of the steps taken. 3.3. The guidance states that both the plan and the report must seek to reduce inequalities of outcome experienced by pupils as a result of socio-economic disadvantage, in pursuance of the National Improvement Framework (NIF) for Scottish education. 3.4. Copies of the plan and report are required to be submitted to Scottish Government. _________________________________________________________________ Implications of this report 1. Financial Implications None. 2. HR and Organisational Development Implications None. 3. Community Plan/Council Plan Implications The priorities within the Education Improvement Plan support delivery of the priorities contained within Renfrewshire’s Community Plan, Council Plan and the Children’s Services Improvement Plan. 4. Legal Implications None. 5. Property/Assets Implications None. 6. Information Technology Implications None.
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7. Equality and Human Rights Implications The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because for example it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health and Safety Implications None. 9. Procurement Implications None. 10. Risk Implications None. 11. Privacy Impact None. 12. Cosla Policy Position None. 13. Climate Risk None. List of Background Papers None ___________________________________________________________________ Children’s Services SQ/MT/KO 21 September 2022 Author: Mairi Thomas, Education Manager, 0141 618 3994, mairi.thomas@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Achieving Equity and Excellence in Renfrewshire Appendix 1
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3 Contents Introduction ..........................................................................4 About this report ..................................................................5 Our priorities ........................................................................7 Local Context ........................................................................8 Successes and Achievements ............................................10 Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) ................................................14 How well did we do?...........................................................16 NIF Key Drivers for Improvement School Leadership ..............................................................18 Teacher Professionalism ....................................................24 Parental Engagement .........................................................36 Assessment of Children’s Progress ....................................40 School Improvement .........................................................54 Performance Information ..................................................64 Our Values We are fair, we treat each other and everyone we deal with respectfully and work hard to build trust in Renfrewshire Council. We are helpful, we care about getting things right and are always approachable. We are great collaborators; we work as one team and with people who care about this place. We value learning to help us innovate, improve and deliver better services. Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022
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4 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 5 We are delighted to present to you our annual Standards and Quality report which summarises the progress, successes and achievements of all our staff, children and young people in the last academic session. Once again it has been a year of challenge, managing the effects of the pandemic and being able to flex and respond to the impact of unprecedented levels of absence of both staff and our children and young people, while maintaining care and support to those who rely on us for their learning, wellbeing and safety. We do not underestimate the impact this has had on our workforce and would like to thank all of our parents/carers and partners for your patience and support. This enabled us, as a service, to maintain our determination and resilience to continue to provide the best possible service for our children, young people and families. Clearly, some of our plans were adjusted to take account of the very real ongoing impacts of the pandemic, however all who work to support the education of our children and young people are incredibly proud of what has Standards and Quality report This report sets out the progress made towards outcomes set out in our Education Improvement Plan for 2021/22 and focuses on the impact we have had. How have we gathered evidence for the Standards and Quality report? A range of evidence, and consultation with stakeholders including external partners, was used to measure our progress. This included: • Analysis of Attainment and Achievement Data • Establishment Standards and Quality reports and annual improvement plans been achieved despite this. Part of our strength is our collaboration and teamwork. The collective efforts across schools, early years settings and the wider Children’s Services has enabled us to deliver quality learning experiences for our children and young people and has ensured the continued safety and welfare of our most vulnerable children and families. Through this teamwork, very good progress has been made. Our continued focus on high quality learning and teaching, leadership development, health and wellbeing and digital technologies is ensuring that our young people have the best possible chance of leaving school and progressing to positive and sustained destinations. We are confident that we can continue to progress and improve to ensure that we get it right for our children, young people and families. • Establishment self-evaluation returns on How Good Is Our School (HGIOS)/How Good Is Our Early Learning and Childcare (HGIOELC) Quality Indicators 1.3, 2.3, 3.1 and 3.2 • Quality Improvement Visits to establishments and Education Manager reports • Local authority thematic review— digital learning • Development Officers’ project impact reports • Scottish Attainment Challenge impact reports • Academic partner impact reports • Survey information including Parental Involvement and Engagement and Health and Wellbeing • Care Inspectorate reports and feedback from Education Scotland on recovery visits • Professional learning evaluations • Consultation on a variety of topics with Heads of establishment, staff, children and young people and partners • Numbers of aspiring leaders at all levels of the programme and analysis of their career progression • Accredited and internal award statistics Through our rigorous self-evaluation, we identify where we are performing well and areas that require further improvement. In this way we can target our priorities for improvement over the coming year. Councillor Emma Rodden Convener Education and Children’s Services Steven Quinn Director Children’s Services Introduction About this report
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Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 76 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2019 Our priorities Our priorities align to those outlined in the National Improvement Framework (NIF). The evaluative statements, contained within this report, are organised under the NIF Key Drivers for Improvement. This report describes the progress made in taking forward our 4 strategic priorities below and the positive impact of this work on our children and young people. Develop high quality learning and teaching that leads to improved levels of attainment and achievement in all of our establishments Reduce inequalities and deliver improved health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people Develop high quality leadership to promote empowerment at all levels Improve employability skills and support all of our young people to enter positive and sustained destinations NIF Key Drivers for ImprovementNIF Priorities Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy Place the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school-leaver destinations for all young people School Leadership Teacher Professionalism Parental Engagement Assessment of Children’s Progress School Improvement Performance Information Working together to get it right for children, families and communities—protecting, learning, achieving and nurturing. Renfrewshire Children’s Services Vision 6 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Improvement Priorities
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8 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 9 Local Context 26,803 47 primary schools schools for children and young people with additional support needs children’s houses and supported accommodation for young people leaving care. secondary schools early learning and childcare classes 9 of which are extended day and year provision and 1 class for children with additional support needs early learning and childcare centres 11 2 4 23 15 children and young people in early years, primary, secondary and additional support needs schools and centres early learning and childcare funded providers; 37 nurseries and 10 childminders 50 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) Across Renfrewshire, of the 225 data zones, just under one quarter are in the 20% most deprived areas. 28 datazones are within the 20% most deprived areas in the health domain; 53 datazones are within the 20% most deprived areas in the income domain 50 datazones are within the 20% most deprived areas in the employment domain.
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10 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 11 Despite the ongoing pandemic challenges that all of our schools and early learning and childcare centres faced this year, there were many successes and achievements to celebrate across Renfrewshire of which we are very proud. Successes and Achievements Successes and Achievements Place2Be Wellbeing in Schools Awards 2022 Finalists and highly commended for their work in supporting the social and emotional needs of children. • St. Paul’s Primary School • Glenburn Early Learning and Childcare Centre Scottish Book Trust ‘Reading Schools’ This accreditation programme was made available to all schools in Renfrewshire for the first time in session 21/22 and 24 schools were successful in achieving accreditation. • Core Level— 12 Primary and 2 Secondary Schools • Silver Level— 7 Primary and 1 Secondary School • Gold Level— St. Anthony’s Primary School and Bridge of Weir Primary School Renfrewshire’s Nurturing Relationships Approach (RNRA) Schools’ Accreditation Awards • Jade (level 1) 42 • Ruby (level 2) 20 • Amethyst (level 3) 10 • Gold (level 4) 3 RNRA was used as an exemplar of good practice of an education community for Barnardo’s. Staff led a workshop at national conference ‘Poverty to Flourishing’ National Improvement Hub—publication of practitioner wellbeing research piece Scottish Education Awards 2022 Winner in the Making a Difference (ELCC) Award Glenburn Early Learning and Childcare Centre for demonstrating effectiveness in transforming the life chances of children Finalist in the Parent and Family Engagement Award Spateston Early Learning and Childcare Centre Successful Approaches to Learning Outdoors Rashielea Primary school were visited by HM Inspectors and as a result a Case Study highlighting their effective practice in outdoor learning featured in the Education Scotland publication ‘Successful Approaches to Learning Outdoors’ February 2022. Eco Schools Scotland Green Flag Award • 9 Early Learning and Childcare Centres/providers • 15 Primary Schools • 1 Secondary School SCQF (Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework) School Ambassadors Programme Recognising wider achievement, developing Senior Phase learning pathways in line with the Developing the Young Workforce strategy and giving equality between vocational and academic qualifications. • Silver Award—Gleniffer High School • Bronze Award—Johnstone High School General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) Excellence in Professional Learning Award • Renfrewshire Attainment Team • Gleniffer High School LGBT Charter Mark Award • Bridge of Weir Primary School (Silver) • Johnstone High School (Silver) • Gryffe High School (Silver) • Glencoats Primary School (Bronze) • Castlehead High School (Bronze) • Renfrew High School (Bronze) • Paisley Grammar School (Bronze) • Kilbarchan PS, Gleniffer High & Linwood High (working towards Bronze) St Benedict’s High School The school’s effective approaches to supporting pupils on return from lockdown featured in a segment for the BBC news. This involved a number of staff and young people and over 5 million viewers tuned in! Euroquiz Regional Heat Winners Kilbarchan Primary School represented Renfrewshire at the Scottish final at the Scottish Parliament in June. UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Awards Gold • Arkleston Primary School • Bargarran Primary School • Gryffe High School Silver • Thorn Primary School
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12 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 13 Successes and Achievements STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) Numeracy and Maths In June 2022, we were visited by Professor Jo Boaler from Stanford University and her Youcubed co-founder Cathy Williams to help us evaluate our progress in learning and teaching in numeracy since our visit to Stanford in 2019. They spent time observing lessons and meeting with groups of teachers, school leaders and learners. Jo and Cathy were highly positive about what they saw and heard, giving the following feedback. “ It’s absolutely brilliant to see teachers challenging their own beliefs about maths and sharing those messages with children. The quality of lessons we saw were excellent and the children were so eager to share their thinking.” Science and Engineering 5 Renfrewshire Primary schools participated in the First Lego League Explore STEM programme where they developed their teamwork, design, coding and communication skills. Children from Rashielea PS and Todholm PS were winners in their categories in the nationwide Primary Leaders Award “If You were an Engineer What Would You Do?”. Children were challenged to find an engineered design solution to everyday problems. Children from 6 Renfrewshire primary schools took part in a project with Glasgow Caledonian University to design a luge ramp for the Royal Navy luge team. Youth Assembly In June 2022, Children’s Services in partnership with Youth Services held our first Young and Equally Safe in Renfrewshire Youth Assembly as part of the Equally Safe funding. 80 MVP (Mentors in Violence Prevention) mentors from across 10 of our secondary schools participated in the event which focused on leadership, skills development, community awareness and campaigning. SEL Worldwide Model School Status (PATHS awards) Six schools and one early learning and childcare class have now achieved this status in recognition of their outstanding commitment to social and emotional learning in their school. Digital Schools Award 20 primary schools, 2 secondary schools and 1 ASN (ELC) Cyber Resilience and Internet Safety Award 3 primary schools and 1 secondary school
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14 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 15 Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) is allocated directly to schools and targeted at closing the poverty related attainment gap, helping to achieve equity. In line with national guidance and in response to the pandemic, there was enhanced flexibility in the use of PEF and schools continued to plan based on the needs of children and young people. As part of a national review conducted by Education Scotland, effective practice from within the authority was collected. This included case studies from primary and secondary schools. Common themes of effective practice included: • the use of effective toolkits to support planning such as the Scanning and Scoping Cycle and Engaging Families toolkit from the National Improvement Hub and the Education Endowment Fund (EEF) Equity for Interventions; • ongoing consultation with school communities and participatory budgeting approaches; • school self-evaluation processes and engagement with the Attainment Advisor to strengthen PEF planning and evaluation; and • use of central support resources such as the PEF coordinator and PEF principles checklist. Schools can demonstrate the impact of Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) and their contribution to closing the poverty related attainment gap. PEF interventions have supported an increase in attainment and achievement and this is demonstrated through the interrogation of attainment data in literacy and numeracy. Data also demonstrates improvements in health and wellbeing. Schools have used PEF to support and embed approaches initially developed through the Scottish Attainment Challenge such as the Renfrewshire Nurturing Relationships Approach. In one secondary school, this work has had a particular focus on young people at risk of disengaging from education. Young people are identified via the cluster transition programme with the nurture intervention beginning in S1 and continuing through to S3. The young people who have participated in this programme have all gone on to positive and sustained destinations. There are many examples of interventions and projects which have had a positive impact. For example, PEF has been used to fund reading cafes for parents which have strengthened parental engagement and family learning. Consultation with parents about the impact of this project has led to further development and fresh focus on different reading genres including reading for information in the school. Partnership working through PEF is also having a positive impact on our learners. For example, some schools have partnered with Active Schools to deliver a range of after school or lunch time clubs. This has led to almost all children participating in a club and schools reporting increased confidence in children and further opportunities for wider achievement in the local community. The school can also demonstrate impact resulting from its focus on developing cultural capital via provision of life experiences for its young people. These experiences have led to a change of mindset in targeted young people which in turn has led to these young people staying on in school for fifth and sixth year. Following the national refreshed Scottish Equity Fund (SEF) guidance, multi-year funding has been announced allowing schools to plan longer- term in relation to PEF. At local authority level, stretch aims have also been set to demonstrate the impact of SEF. There is an opportunity to link these stretch aims to school improvement plans and, in particular, PEF plans. Going forward, PEF will be directed at achieving targets at school level with strengthened approaches to reporting and evaluation, outlined below. Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) LA sets stretch aims. Schools set targets (multi-year) linked to LA aims with annual increments towards stretch aim. PEF targeted at achieving stretch aims. This to be clearly articulated in School Improvement Plans. Progress towards stretch aims built into Quality Improvement Framework with supporting LA reporting processes.
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16 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 17 How well did we do? How well did we do? The national key drivers of improvement continue to provide a focus and structure for gathering evidence to identify where further improvements can be made. They all remain equally important and the links and connections across these key areas are essential to enable continuous improvement. The following sections summarise how well we are doing under each of these drivers as well as outlining our next steps. NIF Key Drivers for Improvement School Leadership Our priorities Teacher Professionalism Parental Engagement Assessment of Children’s Progress School Improvement Performance Information
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Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 19 School Leadership 18 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 School Leadership Strong strategic leadership in Renfrewshire Council ensures that all decision-making and improvement planning is underpinned by the principles of empowerment and the very good use of research and data. Our highly effective leadership programme continues to build resilience and supports succession planning. Renfrewshire’s current leaders, and those aspiring to be leaders of the future, are very well supported through high quality professional learning programmes. Qualitative research was carried out to evaluate the short and long-term impact of Renfrewshire Leadership Programmes. The short-term immediate benefits were identified as: development of networks; dedicated time to reflect and self-evaluate; learning from others in similar situations; and better understanding of the demands of the role. Considering the longer term impact, the following themes were identified: distributed leadership – cascading skills to the team; embedding a culture of collaboration through networks; sustainable professional development; and enhanced decision making and positive impact on school communities. All new Head Teachers (HTs) to Renfrewshire felt welcomed and supported through the HT induction programme. Furthermore, participation in 9 learning sessions resulted in almost all having enhanced knowledge and understanding of how other council departments can support them in their role. Supporting the wellbeing and professional development of our senior leaders has been a priority. All senior leaders attending the ‘Step Back…From Recovery to Ambition’ workshops valued the time, space and reconnection with colleagues during one of the most challenging periods of their career. Almost all left feeling hopeful and re-energised to be able to re- embrace other aspects of the job beyond the daily operational demands of Covid. Ten senior leaders participated in the revised 3-day Aspiring Heads programme. All participants reported feeling much better equipped for the next phase of their careers following the course. Two primary participants are now in substantive HT positions and one in an acting post. One secondary participant has secured a post as Inspector with Education Scotland. Twenty two participants took part in the Aspiring Primary Principal Teacher (PT) programme with 100% of respondents either agreeing or strongly agreeing that the course increased their knowledge of aspects of effective leadership and the requirements of the role. 80% either agreed or strongly agreed that the course had encouraged them to apply for future posts and that they felt ready to take on the role. A group of secondary Deputes revised the content of the Aspiring Principal Teacher course resulting in a new Aspiring to Middle Leadership course for secondary staff for session 2022-23. Learning Sets continue to be a very effective model to promote learning and collaboration. 18 senior leaders participated in 3 learning sets which were delivered either online or face to face when this was possible. 100% of respondents strongly agreed that participation had supported their professional development and allowed them to learn collectively with their peers. 85% strongly agreed that they were able to apply their learning back in their own school and focus more on their strategic leadership. To build capacity, training was provided for senior leaders on learning set facilitation. 18 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2021 This has led to the establishment of 5 learning sets for PTs from across sectors facilitated by our own senior leaders; these will run into session 2022-23. We also have a bank of trained staff who are able to take this approach forward in their own context. One to one coaching was also provided for 4 newly appointed HTs throughout the session. All participants were extremely positive about the experience in terms of the approach taken, the contribution of the facilitator, and the value of the professional reflection and learning. All would recommend the experience to HT colleagues. A working group revised the local authority Leadership Strategy ‘Learning & Leading Together’ which will be launched early in session 2022- 23. The strategy will be far more supportive for staff planning and preparing for the Professional Review and Development (PRD) process. Children and Young People’s Leadership and Voice 5 secondary schools participated in the CANI Coaching residential pupil leadership programme. On average 79% of pupils reported an increase in confidence, 66% an improvement in their relationships, 83% improved their communication with others, 73% reported an increase in aspiration and 70% improved their understanding of how to deal with conflict following participation. In all schools, plans are in place for these pupils to lead an aspect of school improvement next session. The voice of children and young people is shaping improvement across Renfrewshire through, for example, the Youth Symposium, Champions Board, and the Youth Commission. Young people are empowered and are given opportunities to influence decision-making on issues affecting their lives. Participatory Budgeting (PB) has also provided another opportunity for children and young people to be involved in deciding how to spend part of the school budget. In Renfrewshire, schools interested in PB were invited to apply for funding. Nine schools applied covering a range of topics such as outdoor learning, tackling food poverty through sustainable food growing, peer leadership, family learning and improving pupil wellbeing. There were some very good examples of community projects where 2 schools worked in partnership to address a community need. ‘ It will help me massively as I have not left school yet and I have already had real world working experience.’ Young person ‘ Confidence at the start was challenging as it’s a bit nerve wracking standing up in front of a group people we’ve never met however, over time our relationship grew and so did our confidence.’ Young Person
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20 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 21 School LeadershipSchool Leadership Supported by Youth Services, young people from 6 schools are engaged in the Duke of Edinburgh Award to equip them with the skills, experience and confidence to navigate adult life. Progress through the award is at different stages depending on when the school engagement started and formal evaluation of impact has yet to take place. Groups are successfully working on skills sections and achieving additional awards such as John Muir, Go Mountain Biking and Bikeability. Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) 165 newly qualified teachers participated in the Teacher Induction Scheme in Renfrewshire during 2021-22. Our enhanced support programme included the opportunity for NQTs and their mentors to take part in action learning sets, greater opportunity for in-class support and enhanced input on behaviour management and differentiation. As a result of the excellent support package provided, 96% of NQTs had a satisfactory recommendation made upon final profile submission. West Partnership Collaboration We have continued to participate in West Partnership leadership programmes this session, including Hexagon coaching and Executive coaching. Anecdotally, participants have hugely valued these opportunities and have made connections across the West, however we have still to receive the partnership’s formal evaluation of all programmes. Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) Our ‘Grow Your Own’ workforce development plan was updated to ensure the continuation of a broad range of professional learning and training opportunities for early years practitioners and leaders. The professional learning programme continues to build a solid knowledge base for practitioners and leaders to gain new knowledge and skills and apply their learning to improve outcomes for children. Funded support also continues to be provided for staff to access certificated training to meet Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) registration requirements. The leadership programme continued for ELC Heads, Deputes and middle leaders, offering a range of professional learning and qualification opportunities, enhancing the skills and knowledge of our leaders. Twenty two Deputes attended the learning sets which has had a positive impact on their confidence levels in leading and developing others. There was very positive feedback from all of the participants involved. ‘ The learning set supported me through some challenging times within my new role and gave me confidence to tackle challenges more effectively. It gave me the opportunity to discuss real issues and consider solutions.’ ELC Depute A further cohort of just under 60 participants successfully completed the Froebel training, which is delivered in partnership with Edinburgh University, with a new cohort of 60 practitioners underway. The confidence of practitioners in linking theory to practice continues to grow and benefit the quality of learning and teaching for children in almost all settings. The Early Years teachers and graduates have effectively supported establishments to implement central priorities; this is having a positive impact on children’s development across core areas of the curriculum.
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22 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 23 School Leadership Next Steps • Continue to provide Aspiring Leadership courses to middle and senior leaders using an external provider • Establish a working group of senior leaders to develop and deliver our own Aspiring Heads and Deputes courses • Provide the opportunity to participate in 1:1 bespoke coaching programme to a group of newly appointed Head Teachers • Continue with our established PT learning sets and provide this opportunity to a further group of PTs from across primary & secondary sectors • Continue to support schools to develop leadership skills in children and young people and ensure that their voice is at the heart of improvement planning Students, newly qualified teachers and early career teachers • Provide termly welcome and information sessions to new students and those new to mentoring them • Develop a network of Early Career Teachers (those in the first 4 years of teaching) and design a programme of professional learning based on need • Continue to provide a package of high-quality professional learning and support for our NQTs • Provide enhanced support to those mentoring our NQTs including provision of their own professional learning programme Early Learning and Childcare • Provide Learning Sets for Early Years Heads to continue to empower them to work in more collegiate and collaborative ways • Continue to develop and implement the ‘Grow Your Own’ professional learning and training programme for early years practitioners and leaders • Continue to roll out the leadership programme for ELC Heads, Deputes and middle leaders, including professional learning and qualification opportunities, to meet the staffing requirements • Continue to provide high quality professional learning to staff at all levels to raise attainment in literacy and close identified gaps in attainment
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Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 25 Teacher ProfessionalismSchool Leadership We have created a collaborative culture where all staff are empowered to fully participate in career long professional learning (CLPL). Approaches to improving literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing are effective in providing universal, targeted and individual interventions. Our Development Officer team continue to provide very effective professional learning and bespoke support to establishments in their areas of expertise. Literacy Evidence-based approaches to the teaching of reading and writing continue to be successfully embedded and extended. Our partnership with the University of Strathclyde and use of their 3 Domain Model has led to extensive professional learning for staff and the delivery of a consistent and high-quality literacy curriculum for all children. The 3 Domain Model, a tool for thinking about literacy and learning, supports staff to navigate a broader range of evidence under the 3 domains of cognitive skills and abilities; cultural and social capital; and identity and agency. Twenty two Classroom Assistants completed a comprehensive programme of CLPL, delivered in partnership with the University of Strathclyde, incorporating aspects of literacy and numeracy. Evaluations demonstrated that all participants would recommend this programme of professional learning to colleagues and almost all agreed that this CLPL opportunity has increased their knowledge of classroom practice and confidence in supporting learning within the classroom. We continue to be the first and only local authority in Scotland to offer Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (DPIL) as part of a universal programme for all children aged 2-5. Some highlights of our progress this session: • Over the past 16 months, nearly 4000 children aged 2-5 have benefitted from our universal programme alongside care experienced children who continue to receive books from Imagination Library from birth. • At present, 2801 children across Renfrewshire receive books from Imagination Library on a monthly basis. High quality bespoke support has been provided to 35 schools and early years centres/classes across all 4 socio-economic quartiles. This has spanned a wide range of areas including: • in-service and collegiate training; • guidance on the purchase of new reading schemes, novels and literacy resources; • advice on school improvement planning and PEF spending; and • individual school evaluation of implementation of the Renfrewshire Literacy Approach. A targeted approach identified 17 schools who had experienced the biggest decreases in pupil attainment in reading and/or writing. Effective support was provided to these schools and was tailored to the needs and attainment of each school. This included: • in-service, collegiate training and support staff training; • guidance on the purchase of new literacy resources and resource organisation; • advice on whole school approaches and evidence-based literacy pedagogies; and • We hosted our first ‘Dolly-bration’ in May 2020 —a celebration of the first year of Imagination Library in Renfrewshire, our achievements to date and an opportunity for establishments to share good practice. • Early years centres and classes from across Renfrewshire have organised a range of events to promote Imagination Library, encourage registration and engage children in books and a love of reading. Some examples include the ‘Houston Hoedown’ at Houston ELCC and Imagination Library playing a key role in World Book Day at St Charles’ ELCC. • A number of early years classes and centres have achieved 100% registration of their children to Imagination Library in session 21/22 including Spateston, Douglas Street, Glenfield, Heriot, Houston, West and Ferguslie. • We were invited to share our work in developing DPIL in Renfrewshire to a full workshop at The Gathering at the SECC and showcased the work of Heriot, St Catherine’s and the Early Years teacher team. Our school library service continue to provide very good universal and targeted support to schools. All new S1 pupils were issued with a library card • individual school support with implementation of the Renfrewshire Literacy Approach. Over 400 teachers and school leaders from 21 primary schools and peripatetic services across Renfrewshire attended CLPL on the Talk for Writing approach focussing on fiction writing. Participating schools represented 10 cluster groups and all 4 socio-economic quartiles. 57 Project Leads - school leaders or Literacy Champions - were also identified and undertook bespoke training on the leadership of the Talk for Writing approach. While most participating schools plan to implement the approach fully in session 22/23, evaluations have shown that almost all respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the training gave them practical ideas and strategies to use in their classroom and that when fully implemented the approach has the potential to raise attainment in writing. Most respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the training had increased their knowledge of effective writing pedagogy and would recommend the training to a colleague. providing access to school library and public library services, including free online books and study support. A pilot, undertaken in June 2022 with 7 primary schools, provided automated library membership in order to increase participation in the Summer Reading Challenge. This pilot negated the need for paper forms to be returned by parents/carers and increases the number of pupils able to take part in library initiatives. In Secondary school libraries, Covid recovery continued through building up physical library usage again as restrictions were eased whilst also continuing digital support. There were 157,470 visits to school libraries over the 21-22 academic year with 32,016 physical books issued and 5452 e-books issued. School librarians successfully supported and organised author events including: the Paisley Book Festival schools programme; ran events to promote literacy and promote reading for pleasure; supported information literacy sessions; as well as looking at new and emerging ways to engage pupils and teachers with library services including the very popular Football Shorts videos with footballer author Matt Oldfield. Teacher Professionalism 24 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022
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26 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 27 Teacher ProfessionalismTeacher Professionalism Transition activities took place across a number of schools with pupils welcomed into the school libraries to visit. More intensive transition work took place in Renfrew High with the continuation of the Diary of a School Year comic book workshops which create a comic guide to school for new P7 pupils written by 40 S1-3 pupils and then distributed to all P7 pupils in the Renfrew cluster. Paisley Grammar also undertook summer transition activities including a successful visit by a graphic novelist to support enhanced transition activities. The Scottish Book Trust Reading Schools Silver award was awarded to Castlehead High School. Reading schools Core awards were given to Gryffe and St Andrew’s Academy due in large part to the work of the librarians in promoting reading and gathering significant amounts of evidence to support work being undertaken. The Primary outreach librarian effectively supported 24 primary schools in developing and managing their school libraries, including working with pupil volunteers in the PALS programme (Pupil Ambassador Library Services). The Librarian led various projects to increase literacy and increase reading cultures as well as providing overall support to all primary schools with Our successful partnership with Winning Scotland continued with the delivery of Limitless Learning for our second cohort. 75 teachers from 13 establishments completed the course, which aimed to equip them with the knowledge, skills and resources to deliver mathematics in an open, rich and collaborative way. The course also aimed to support teachers with differentiation, encouraging them to scrutinise traditional beliefs about ability labels. Almost all participants reported that the course strengthened their professional knowledge and that it was having a positive impact on children and young people. This was supported by our teacher and learner focus groups: “ It’s made me question my own beliefs about maths. I used to think I wasn’t a maths person and felt more comfortable teaching literacy. I now see the creative side of the subject and that really affects how I talk about it and teach it to my classes.” P4 Class Teacher monthly newsletters, social media feeds, CLPL sessions and enquiries. Projects included RIOT (Read It Out Teacher) to share books aloud and FAB lollies (Find a book) project in collaboration with the Pizza Reading programme to increase parental engagement with libraries and digital promotion of library resources. An authority wide read of ‘The Highland Falcon Thief’ by M.G. Leonard, available as an e-book and audio book on the Borrowbox platform, was supported especially by St. Fergus Primary which made the front page of the Paisley Daily Express. A successful transition project called COP Conversations took place in the St Andrew’s Academy cluster primary schools during COP26 which led to pupils visiting the school library in St Andrew’s, taking part in an online session with author Lindsay Littleson, and creating posters to highlight the climate crisis. Numeracy and Mathematics Building on our successful pilot with Education Scotland in 21/22, we developed the Renfrewshire Numeracy Intervention Programme and delivered it to over 70 teachers from 17 establishments across all sectors. This course was designed to help teachers identify and close gaps in attainment in numeracy using the Maths Recovery “ I was always in the bottom group and I really didn’t enjoy maths. My teacher didn’t put us in groups this year. She started giving us open middle problems and telling us that mistakes and being stuck were important and nothing to be scared of. By the end of P7 I liked maths and did really well on my assessment.” P7 learner Four Modelling and Coaching Officers (MCOs) supported 12 target schools. A bespoke plan was created in collaboration with the senior leadership team in each school to ensure that support was allocated in a way that would maximise impact; identifying the key stages and type of training required to increase staff’s professional knowledge and skills, with the ultimate goal of raising attainment in numeracy and mathematics. All respondents strongly agreed that engaging with an MCO increased staff’s knowledge of effective pedagogy in numeracy and mathematics. All respondents agreed or strongly agreed that staff framework. Most teachers who took part reported that the training increased their professional knowledge and that it would have a positive impact on learners in their classes. Baseline and follow-up assessment scores were analysed to help evaluate the impact of the programme on children and young people. This showed that all participating children and young people made measurable progress, with an average increase of 28 percentage points from baseline to follow-up. “ I found that the assessments gave such a depth of understanding of where specific gaps were in pupils’ learning. The advice on teaching strategies helped me to understand how to support learners in plugging these gaps.” P4/5 Class Teacher “ I am already seeing the benefits of this in the discussions and number talks with my class.” P3 Class Teacher are regularly implementing their professional learning beyond the cooperative sessions with MCOs. The majority of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that engaging with an MCO has had a positive impact on children’s attainment in numeracy and mathematics. ‘ Teachers are already seeing a positive impact on the children’s confidence in Numeracy. They have developed a better understanding of number processes and also how to use resources to help them. This can be seen through our attainment data and also teacher observations.’ Primary Head Teacher In June 2022, we were visited by Professor Jo Boaler from Stanford University and her ‘Youcubed’ co-founder Cathy Williams to help us evaluate our progress since our visit to Stanford in 2019. They spent time observing lessons and meeting with groups of teachers, school leaders and learners. Jo and Cathy were highly positive about what they saw and heard, giving the following feedback.
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28 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 29 Teacher ProfessionalismTeacher Professionalism ‘ It’s absolutely brilliant to see teachers challenging their own beliefs about maths and sharing those messages with children. The quality of lessons we saw were excellent and the children were so eager to share their thinking.’ Professor Jo Boaler Health and Wellbeing (HWB) Supporting mental and emotional wellbeing has been a key feature of our recovery support for schools and settings. Led by Renfrewshire’s Educational Psychology Service (REPS), Renfrewshire’s Nurturing Relationships Approach (RNRA) continues to make excellent progress impacting positively on staff’s practice and having a positive effect on the social, emotional and behavioural development of children and young people across all sectors. Almost all Renfrewshire establishments have now participated in RNRA leadership training. We have continued to embed RNRA and build sustainability across all engaged establishments through development of leadership training, training for trainers and ilearn modules. Individual establishments are able to provide evidence of impact through their RNRA Action Plans and accreditation submissions. 85 representatives from all sectors (including funded provider nurseries) attended RNRA leadership training in June 2021 and September 2021. Nine new establishments and the Active Schools coordinator team have participated in core RNRA training. 24 establishments have successfully participated in nurture principle training. Feedback from training evaluations has been very positive. ‘ I aim to be more open in conversations with my students and by using language patterns, aim to defuse situations quicker to allow attention to be back on targets quicker and with less whole class disruption.’ Primary Teacher ‘ Remember that resilience can be built at any age/stage. Look out for colleagues more as staff wellbeing directly impacts the pupils.’ Secondary Teacher ‘ As a key worker who works on the floor, this training has helped me be able to improve nurturing approaches on the floor and when developing my self-regulation area of the nursery.’ ELC Key Worker 23 establishments submitted for RNRA accreditation in June 2022; this is an increase of 48% compared with the number of submissions in 2021. The total number of Renfrewshire establishments that have submitted for, and been awarded, RNRA accreditation between the start of the award scheme in June 2020 and June 2022 is 42. The table below shows the total numbers of establishments at each accreditation level as of June 2022 (note establishments are counted at each level so where a higher award is made, the establishment is still counted at the lower award level) Accreditation year Jade Ruby Amethyst Gold 2020 25 12 4 2 2021 31 14 6 3 2022 42 20 10 3 Information from accreditation submissions evidenced that in terms of our RNRA priority areas: the majority of establishments have included staff wellbeing approaches within their action plans; most have included parental engagement; and most have included information about pupil voice. There is a wide variety of very good examples of practice particularly in relation to pupil voice. Let’s Introduce Anxiety Management (LIAM) is a training and intervention package based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). LIAM is designed to help children and young people who are experiencing milder difficulties with anxiety. In Renfrewshire, there are currently 21 trainers to deliver LIAM and 28 children and young people are benefitting from engagement in the sessions. This intervention is supporting them to learn more about anxiety, including how anxiety is linked with thoughts, physical sensations and actions. It also helps children and young people find ways to cope with feelings of anxiety. This is of particular relevance as anxiety is the top referral theme for school counselling in Renfrewshire. As such, we plan to pilot a whole-school LIAM model in 2 secondary schools next session. In partnership with Barnardo’s, the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS®) programme continued to be successfully implemented in 36 primary schools and early years settings. Despite the challenges of staff absences due to Covid, evaluation data, including case studies, provides evidence that the programme is impacting positively on children’s self-regulation, emotional awareness and interpersonal problem-solving skills. Highly skilled coaches provided professional learning for teachers, support staff and parents. This whole-school approach is helping to ensure that the programme is sustainable. Six schools and one early learning and childcare class have now achieved Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Worldwide Model School status in recognition of their outstanding commitment to social and emotional learning in their school. Our Health and Wellbeing Development Officer chairs the West Partnership Strategic Personal and Social Education (PSE) group and ensures there is effective planning and collaboration across local authorities in meeting the recommendation of the Scottish Government’s PSE Review. A variety of targeted training and information sharing sessions were provided to improve staff knowledge, understanding and confidence. Our data shows, using pre and post session skills and confidence scales, that almost all staff have found the online information sessions useful in their delivery of PSE. Sessions were delivered in response to staff feedback and included topics such as consent and the law, approaches to bullying, gambling, self- harm and mindfulness. Evaluations have been used to develop a training programme for session 2022/23.
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30 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 31 Teacher ProfessionalismTeacher Professionalism ‘ CEOP training has provided staff with a wealth of knowledge and increased awareness of the risk factors affecting children’s capacity to stay safe whilst online. We recognise that whilst the internet opens up a world of opportunity and new learning, it also means that we need to equip our children with the information that they need to ensure that they maintain a safe and healthy online presence.’ Primary Teacher This has been an exciting year for our Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) programme in Renfrewshire which goes from strength to strength. To build capacity and a shared language around relationships within our secondary schools, we have adopted a whole school training model. 170 school staff were trained across the session. Almost all of our secondary schools are now implementing the programme with another secondary and 2 ASN schools coming on board next session. Our successful bid for funding The Mental Health and Wellbeing (MHWB) Action Group have focussed on promoting the use of our digital policy and signposting resources across education establishments. The purpose of the resources is to ensure that all staff working across our education establishments can direct any member of the school community to local, national and online supports via a web link or QR code. We have been piloting a whole-school approach whereby the resources can be readily shared via a QR code on the back of staff ID badges. ‘ The MHWB policy has helped us set out our aims as a school around our approaches and to communicate our strategy clearly to our school community. It has helped us identify our training needs and signpost effectively to improve outcomes for children and young people.’ Secondary Depute Head through the Scottish Government’s Equally Safe Fund is allowing us to see the work we do in schools move into our youth work settings in the community. Partners who have been trained include St Mirren FC, Active Schools, Education Scotland staff, Sports Scotland and West of Scotland Scouts. It is vital that our young people are at the heart of decision-making and planning. As such, a pupil steering group comprising 2 young people from each participating secondary school met with the MVP training team to plan future developments. This will include our young people leading a campaign to raise awareness of healthy/ unhealthy relationships. This work began at our very successful Young and Equally Safe in Renfrewshire Youth Assembly in June 2022. 80 MVP mentors from across 10 of our secondary schools participated in the event which focused on leadership, skills, community awareness and campaigning. In addition, a group of past and present MVP mentors met with Stand Agency to discuss male attitudes for the new Police Scotland campaign ‘Don’t Be That Guy’. Very rich discussion took place with the young people who were very keen participants. High quality professional learning was provided to ensure that staff with a pastoral role have the skills and knowledge required to support young people at difficult times. In total, eighty secondary school staff took part in ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and What’s the Harm (Self-Harm) training during May and June 2022. Feedback showed that all staff who completed the evaluation felt they had improved knowledge in both areas and that they felt better equipped to support young people in distress. ‘ The trainers were very clear and knowledgeable. It was good to have discussions with others who have different roles in education. The training gave me an understanding that self-harm can be expressed in many ways.’ Secondary Teacher In line with Scottish Government’s commitment to LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) Inclusive Education, schools have been supported to build on existing practice through provision of professional learning from LGBT Scotland on tackling homophobic, bi-phobic and transphobic bullying. Currently 10 schools are working towards the LGBT Scotland Charter award. To date, 3 of our schools have achieved the Silver Award and 4 schools have achieved Bronze. ‘ Reaching this milestone (Bronze Award) has had a significant impact on our school’s ethos, in particular the health and wellbeing of our LGBT+ pupils.’ Secondary Teacher Establishment staff have been kept abreast of a wide range of local and national HWB resources and services through the informative HWB blog, high quality monthly Sway newsletters and our Twitter page (@RenEdHWB). Pupil voice has been at the heart of the development of our exciting new interactive and progressive Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drug Education Resource which will be launched in September 2022. Children and young people from six primary schools and two secondary schools contributed to planning and reviewing of materials and provided voiceovers for animations and video biteables. This ensured that our resources are relevant, age appropriate and that they focus on the issues that are relevant to children and young people. The resource has been developed in response to the findings of Renfrewshire’s Alcohol and Drug Commission. It is being produced in partnership with the charity ‘I am me Scotland’ and has involved partners from Police Scotland, Health and those with lived experience. Using data such as counselling referral themes, we have identified and delivered a range of high quality professional learning across a wide range of topics for teachers and support staff. These have included anxiety, self-harm, suicide, relationships, sexual health and parenthood and child exploitation online prevention (CEOP).
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32 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 33 Teacher ProfessionalismTeacher Professionalism Exploring Pedagogy 25 teachers from across 18 primary schools participated in the online ‘Inquiry Based Learning in Primary 3’ programme delivered by Deirdre Grogan, Principal Knowledge Exchange Fellow from Strathclyde University. Participants were encouraged to reflect in depth on the organisation for learning, implementation of the inquiry cycle and the design of the learning environment and make small changes in line with pandemic guidance at that time. Small scale change occurred in most participating schools, with almost all stating that further relaxation of Covid mitigations would allow them to make substantial change to practice and the environment. Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach Schools across Renfrewshire benefitted from funding to support the implementation of the 1+2 languages policy in a variety of ways including the purchase of resources, cluster languages activities and opportunities to support languages across transitions. An audit of Modern Foreign Language (MFL) provision and the implementation of the Scottish Government’s 1+2 policy was undertaken in November 2021. This provided an overview of MFL across the authority and the information will be used to inform future planning and enable us to direct funding to the areas in which it is required most including staff training. Eleven MFL cluster leads have been appointed representing each cluster in Renfrewshire. These cluster leads have worked with key contacts across their schools to re-establish relationships and develop plans for greater cluster working in session 22/23 to take forward the 1+2 agenda. Next Steps • Continue to provide high quality professional learning to staff at all levels using evidence- based approaches to raise attainment in reading and writing and closing identified gaps in pupil attainment • Introduce programmes of CLPL in relation to high quality teaching of phonics linked to the Renfrewshire Literacy Approach and development of early reading skills • Develop an in-house programme of professional learning in Literacy for classroom assistants based on local and national priorities and areas identified via staff consultation • Continue to provide bespoke support to establishments, teams within Children’s Services, and our partners to ensure all relevant staff have a clear understanding of the Renfrewshire Literacy Approach • Continue to work with colleagues across the West Partnership and through the National Literacy Network to provide a wide variety of professional learning and networking opportunities for teachers and school leaders • Support targeted groups of children and young people to improve digital literacy and information literacy skills via the school libraries attainment team • Using attainment data, identify schools who would most benefit from MCO support, focusing particularly on schools in SIMD quartiles 1 & 2 • Review Numeracy Progression Pathways and Assessments to provide guidance for teachers about how they can embed their professional learning in daily classroom practice • Deliver an extended training programme on using the Maths Recovery framework, which upskills practitioners in identifying and addressing gaps in numeracy and mathematics • Deliver an in-house programme of professional learning in effective numeracy and maths pedagogy for Early, First and Second level • Deliver a programme of secondary-specific numeracy and mathematics CLPL; Promoting Deeper Understanding
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34 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 35 Teacher ProfessionalismTeacher Professionalism Next Steps (contd.) • Deliver a programme of Numeracy CLPL to NQTs to ensure consistency of message about the Renfrewshire approach to numeracy and mathematics • Publish our case study alongside the Winning Scotland Impact Report to showcase the actions of teachers in previous cohorts that had a direct positive impact on children and young people. Recruit up to 100 practitioners from primary and secondary sectors to take part in cohort 3 • Work in partnership with Early Years Scotland and Winning Scotland to deliver a programme of CLPL on ‘Mindset in Early Years’, to build staff confidence in the use of growth mindset principles to support the health and wellbeing of children • Establish an RNRA Steering Group and gather information about how RNRA is embedded in establishments. Capture practitioner good practice, specifically on parental engagement and pupil voice and hold a conference to disseminate this good practice • Pilot a school-based LIAM model in 2 secondary schools to provide another layer of support to young people experiencing anxiety • Continue to lead the West Partnership Strategic PSE group, our MHWB Action Group and involve young people, regarding ongoing development of PSE/HWB resources and self- evaluation materials • Launch Alcohol and Drugs progressive digital resource, support implementation and evaluate impact • In collaboration with the West Partnership, partners in health and the voluntary sector, develop and deliver a wide range of high quality professional learning and resources to support effective implementation of the mental, social and emotional strands of HWB • Host our first PSE Conference for secondary teachers within Pupil Support to focus on skills and confidence of staff developing and delivering programmes within the HWB curricular areas, self-evaluation and pupil voice • Develop supervision structures as wellbeing interventions to support staff (Pupil Support Coordinators) in pilot establishments • Provide the training and resources to extend MVP programme across the remaining secondary schools and ASN schools. Pilot the Education Scotland partnership programme between Mental Health Foundation Ambassador Training and MVP • Support the development of languages learning, teaching and assessment through provision of high quality professional learning for staff at all levels • In partnership with University of Strathclyde, and building on previous work, deliver ‘Inquiry Based Learning in Primary 3’ training to a further cohort of teachers and provide establishment follow up visits to support the implementation • Deliver the ‘Exploring Pedagogy in Primary 1’ training course to a further cohort • Introduce the ‘Being Me’ course to early years practitioners which aims to smooth transition from early years to school and build on prior learning to support raising of attainment in Primary 1
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Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 37 Parental Engagement Education Standards and Quality Report September 2019 36 Building on the creative and innovative ways that establishments engaged with parents during lockdown and in periods of remote learning, almost all of our establishments have retained the most efficient and effective aspects of this practice particularly in relation to the use of digital platforms. We recognise that research shows that when parents/carers are involved in and engage with their children’s learning, and when children and young people live in a supportive home learning environment, it improves children and young people’s attainment and achievement. It is important that we gather the opinions and feedback of parents to evaluate the progress we are making and to identify areas for improvement. We also aim to increase the voice of parents/carers in leading improvement within schools and early years settings. One way of achieving this is through encouraging parents/ carers to participate in the national Parental Involvement and Engagement (PIE) Census which has generated a rich data set at school and local authority level. Over 3000 Renfrewshire parents/carers provided responses in the 2022 PIE census. The majority were satisfied with how the school engaged with them and were satisfied with the number of communications on general information about the school. However, approximately half of primary and ASN and a majority of secondary parents/carers did not think communication about their child’s learning was frequent enough. The majority reported that they are able to contact schools and find them approachable, but a lower proportion felt that the school sought their views and opinions. The majority of parents/carers that are on a Parent Council reported that the senior management teams take on board their views and they identified fundraising and representing the views of parents as their main activities. Due to the Covid restrictions, it was to be expected that parents/carers had fewer opportunities to engage in family learning and this is reflected in the survey responses. Across all sectors, over half would like to be more involved in the life of the school. At local authority and school/centre level, we will use these results to identify areas for improvement and to inform planning. Throughout the past year we have continued to develop ‘Non-Violent Resistance’ (NVR) approaches to support children, young people and families. Engagement in the programme has been high with 48 families supported through 10 NVR Parent Groups. The streamlining of data collection methods and analysis of parent group data to assess the longer-term impact and outcomes, is ongoing. However, anecdotally, parents highlighted: the positive impact of de-escalation strategies; their increased understanding of the importance of self-care in helping them to build positive relationships with their child; and the supportive nature of the group. As part of our implementation plan to support whole-school NVR, 6 schools have started on the exploration of NVR through their RNRA implementation pathway with more planning to develop this in the next academic year. Almost all respondents reported improvements in confidence in managing and de-escalating distressed and distressing behaviour. 116 staff from across all sectors were successfully trained at NVR Level One. Following training, almost all respondents reported increased knowledge and understanding of anxiety/trauma responses, Parental Engagement practical strategies for de-escalation and practical strategies for rebuilding/repairing relationships. In collaboration with Professor Janet Goodall from Swansea University, Phase 1 of our parental engagement research project was completed. This project is helping us meet the priorities and goals of ‘Learning Together’ (Scottish Government 2018), and our own strategic goals, by providing targeted training and support for senior leaders and school staff, bringing senior leaders and practitioners together to share good practice, led by an acknowledged expert in the field. It will provide evidence of current good practice within Renfrewshire, as a basis from which to build future plans in phase two of the project. The research project combined qualitative and quantitative research methods and methodologies and included case studies of good practice around parental engagement in learning. These methods allowed the project to capture not only a wide range of views from school practitioners (in open questions in surveys and case studies) but also provided a firm grounding for recommendations moving forward, based on data derived from the surveys. Of the 12 schools who participated, 3 were identified as Case Study schools who shared their good practice with others. This, in addition to the interim report findings from Professor Goodall, supported all participating schools to develop their plans for engaging and involving parents in their child’s learning for school session 2022-23. The Pizza Learning programme delivered an innovative combination of online and outdoor sessions before finally returning to face-to-face groups in April 2022 in targeted schools. Of the 188 participating families, almost all identified the major benefits as being an increase in their child’s motivation to read and engage with books; a growth in children’s self-confidence though taking part in the activities; and the whole family having an opportunity to learn together and make connections within the school community. ‘ Pizza reading has been great for us as a family to have time to interact, have fun and be creative. J’s reading skills have come on since attending and his confidence has grown.’ Parent ‘ My kids are a testament to the effectiveness of this programme. Teaching a child to read is a part of the foundation for a good education, however helping a child develop the love for books can unlock great potential in that child.’ Parent This year the family learning team worked in partnership with Renfrewshire Libraries in piloting the FAB (Find A Book) project. The main outcomes are promoting reading for pleasure, improving access to learning opportunities and materials, and closing the attainment gap. Families signed up for library tickets, were encouraged to explore local library resources, and local authors visited their Pizza Reading sessions. Inclusion Support Assistants (ISAs) have worked collaboratively with pupil support teams and external partners to provide very good support to 97 vulnerable learners in school and at home. ISAs work with pupils and their wider families to develop strategies to overcome a range of difficulties. One element of this work is in developing positive communication channels 36 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022
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38 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 39 Parental EngagementParental Engagement between home and school. The home-school relationship has improved in just under three- quarters of our pupils with 68% of families being engaged or very engaged with the school. ISAs use the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators to identify areas for improvement which can be targeted with specific interventions. ‘ [Pupil] is becoming better at regulating his emotions and is able to identify when he needs a sensory break. This has made a huge difference to his learning, allowing him to achieve within the school setting.’ Inclusion Support Assistant Since August 2021, the Language Bank has been used to effectively to support families through 50 face to face/telephone interpreting tasks and 30 written translation tasks. As a result of the support provided by the interpreters, families and schools have been able to: ensure letters from school were sent to families in their own language; ensure families welfare and education needs were supported through the ongoing effects of Covid; communicate on the progress of their children ‘Wakes me up, talking to my friends, activities, healthy breakfast, gets me ready for the day.’ Child Next Steps • Audit, update and unify NVR materials for parent groups, Level 1 delivery and whole- school training. Review and audit existing NVR evaluative measures and data collection methods. Build capacity and the experience of NVR trained staff to increase number of groups • Continue collaboration with Janet Goodall Swansea University to deliver Phase 2 of the Parental Engagement Research Project • Working in partnership, the HWB Development Officer and the Educational Psychology and receive support where required; apply for vital benefits with support; and progress their own English language and communication skills. In addition, children and families were supported in meetings involving their children including ‘Team around the Child’ and home link meetings. Parent Council Chairs from across Renfrewshire are regularly briefed and consulted on progress in taking forward improvement priorities by Children’s Services’ Directorate. During school closures, the Director of Children’s Services continued to meet virtually with Parent Council Chairs and this approach has continued throughout the last academic session. Parent Council Chairs from secondary schools were invited to be part of the consultation exercise to gather views on the national Health and Wellbeing Census. Their views helped to shape the final questionnaire. Breakfast clubs were set up as part of the Tackling Poverty action plan with the aim of providing children and young people with a nutritional breakfast to support learning in targeted schools. To understand the impact in a holistic way, data was collected from children, parents/carers and a range of practitioners involved in the delivery of the clubs. Service will deliver online information sessions on resilience, coping strategies, self-harm and suicide to support the knowledge and confidence of parents/carers regarding the wellbeing of their children and young people • Work with Community Learning and Development colleagues and Education Scotland to deliver training for school leaders and class teachers to develop an enhanced understanding of parents and families and cultivate a whole school ethos towards parental engagement • Further develop methods to support families with English as an Additional Language particularly families from Ukraine and surrounding areas • Provide bespoke support to schools around co-evaluation, co-creation and improvement planning in the area of parental engagement, making use of the West Partnership Self- Evaluation Toolkit • Use the Parental Involvement and Engagement census data set to inform improvement priorities at local authority and school/centre level Almost all respondents agreed that attendance at the club had improved the child’s readiness to learn. Almost all parents responded that they felt comfortable leaving their child at the club. Almost all children stated that attendance at the breakfast club improved their concentration throughout the day. ‘ Children are more awake and ready to learn as they have had a positive start to the day. They focus much better from when the bell rings at 9’ Practitioner ‘ Breakfast club has helped my family massively. It helps with my starting time at work and ensures my child has a safe place to be which she enjoys thoroughly. Especially all of the sporty activities!’ Parent
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Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 41 Assessment of Children’s Progress 40 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2020 Assessment of Children’s Progress Assessment and Moderation A range of effective formative and summative assessment approaches have been used across early years establishments and primary schools to assess children’s progress in literacy and numeracy. This has been particularly important as we recover from the effects of the pandemic. Our focus has been on identifying any gaps in learning and attainment and planning effective interventions to close those gaps. All teachers continue to develop confidence in making effective judgements about children’s progress. Despite moderation activity across schools being hindered due to Covid restrictions, creative online solutions were found to enable teachers and practitioners to work together and share standards. Schools and local authority Subject Networks have continued to build on the effective practice developed during the Alternative Certification Model to ensure that assessments and teacher judgments are robust and meet the National Standard. Assessing the wellbeing needs of children and young people has also been a priority in all establishments. A variety of different approaches have been used across centres cohort. The percentage of Renfrewshire leavers entering Higher Education is above the national figure but slightly behind the virtual comparator. Within further education, Renfrewshire is slightly above the virtual comparator but below the national figure. Attainment in literacy and numeracy continues to be strong. Over the last 5 years, Literacy has increased by 5pp and Numeracy has increased by 4pp with both being ahead of the virtual comparator. The percentage of young people achieving SCQF Level 4 and SCQF Level 5 is ahead of both virtual comparator and national figures. Average total tariff points continue to increase year on year. The average total tariff points of SIMD 20% most deprived leavers has increased by 106 points in the last 3 years. The positive destinations figure for leavers from SIMD Quintile 1 has returned to the 2019 figure after a small dip in 2020. Average total tariff points have increased across all attainment cohorts since 2018/19 but Renfrewshire remains slightly behind the virtual comparator in the middle attainment cohort. The gap between SIMD 30% most and 70% least deprived pupils has narrowed slightly in 2019/20 but there is a flat trend over the previous 4 years. and schools including use of the ‘Glasgow Motivation and Profiling Wellbeing’ tool, Pupil Attitude to Self and School (PASS) and the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators to measure a child and young person’s motivation and sense of wellbeing. All Renfrewshire pupils in P5 – S6 were invited to participate in the Scottish Government Health and Wellbeing Census 2022. Over 10,600 children and young people responded to questions covering 28 thematic areas including mental health, general activities, relationships, sexual health, substance use and school attitudes and experiences. The data has been collated and analysed at individual school level and local authority level. Results will be used to inform planning for improvement to ensure universal and targeted interventions are in place to support children and young people. Through our ‘Children and Young People Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2021/2022’, we ensure that children and young people and their families get the right help at the right time to prevent small issues that affect wellbeing escalating into bigger problems. We strive to deliver a system-wide provision of mental health and wellbeing supports for all, at the level of early Achievement of a Level Data— P1,4,7 and S3 (Provisional) Prior to the pandemic, very good progress had been made in improving levels of attainment in literacy and numeracy and in closing the poverty related attainment gap. Data from the Achievement of a CfE Level (ACEL) returns indicated that increases in attainment in literacy and numeracy had been maintained or surpassed. The attainment gap between children living in the most deprived areas and those living in the least deprived areas had continued to decrease across most measures since 2016/17. Lockdown, school closures and increased absence rates have significantly impacted on the attainment and achievement of our children living in the most deprived areas; this caused the attainment gaps to widen. We have been very proactive from the outset in supporting establishments to recover and improve. Visiting every establishment with a focus on attainment and achievement, allowed us to provide targeted support where it was needed most. Local authority and school level interventions are already proving to be successful. In June 2022, ACEL data in P1,4 and 7 combined intervention. A coordinated approach to delivering supports, training and programmes through ‘Ren10’ is ensuring that we are working towards the strategy aims: to ensure children and young people get help when they need it; hear their voice about what is needed; provide help from a skilled network with appropriate training and supervision; and their relationships to make them stronger, protect their wellbeing, and build ‘belonging’. School Leavers The percentage of 2020/21 Renfrewshire school leavers in a positive destination is 96.5%. This represents an increase of 2.5 percentage points (pp) since 2019/20 and the highest figure achieved in the last 5 years. Renfrewshire is slightly ahead of the virtual comparator and national positive destinations figures. The percentage of leavers going into employment has rebounded to 22.2% after a dip to 16.8% in 2020. The percentage of Renfrewshire leavers entering employment is above the virtual comparator but slightly behind the national figure. The percentage of leavers entering Higher Education continues to grow with a record 48.9% entering university from this shows that the attainment gap between Quintile 1 (20% most deprived) and Q5 (20% least deprived) has decreased for both literacy and numeracy in comparison to the last academic year. In S3, the percentage of pupils achieving third level for Literacy and Numeracy has fallen in comparison to pre-pandemic cohorts. At fourth level progress has been made in Numeracy whilst the percentage of pupils achieving fourth level Literacy has remained the same. We are confident that our planned improvement priorities will support us to achieve our stretch aims and return to pre pandemic attainment levels by June 2023. Due to the pandemic there was no national collection of ACEL data in 2020. In 2021, the data was collected nationally for P1, 4 and 7 only. 40 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022
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42 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 43 Literacy (SIMD Quintiles) 60 50 70 90 80 100 2017 2018 2019 2020 2012 75 74 73 75 75 76 76 76 78 80 Assessment of Children’s Progress Renfrewshire attainment School Leavers S4–S6 Percentage of leavers achieving level 5 literacy Literacy up 5 percentage points over the last 5 years Percentage of leavers achieving level 5 numeracy Numeracy up 4 percentage points over the last 5 yearsr 96.5% of school leavers went on to positive destinations Assessment of Children’s Progress Assessment of Children’s Progress Quintile 1 42 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 43 Virtual ComparatorRenfrewshie Renfrewshie Renfrewshie National National Quintile 5 2019 2020 2021 923 989 1114 1006950 889 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 655 720 761 721673632 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 92 90 92 99.897.296.9 Average Total Tariff— All Leavers Average Total Tariff— SIMD 20% Most Deprived Leavers Percentage of Leavers in Positive Destinations by Quintile SIMD Quintile 1 (20% Most Deprived) & SIMD Quintile 5 (20% Least Deprived) Average Total Tariff’s continue to increase year on year. The average total tariff points of SIMD 20% Most Deprived leavers has increased by 106 points in the last 3 years. The positive destinations figure for leavers from SIMD Quintile 1 has returned to the 2019 figure after a small dip in 2020. Literacy (SIMD Quintiles) 60 50 70 90 80 100 2017 2018 2019 2020 2012 86 85 86 86 86 88 87 87 88 90
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44 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2020 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2020 45 Assessment of Children’s Progress Assessment of Children’s Progress Assessment of Children’s Progress Attainment in most areas has rebounded after a decrease in the 2020/21 academic year 44 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 45 BGE Attainment Percentage Achieving Expected Level S3 Attainment Percentage of pupils achieving expected levels for literacy and numeracy (S3) The percentage of pupils achieving the third level for Literacy and Numeracy has fallen in comparison to pre-pandemic cohorts. At the fourth level progress has been made in Numeracy whilst the percentage of pupils achieving fourth level Literacy has remained the same. 2017 2018 2019 2020 Listening & Talking % 91909293 88868988 90879089 25 50 75 P1 100 P4 P7 25 50 75 Reading % P1 100 P4 P7 8380 8686 77788182 83808382 25 50 75 Writing % P1 100 P4 P7 81788383 6970 7677 7370 7676 Numeracy % 88879090 74768081 79798177 25 50 75 P1 100 P4 P7 Literacy % 92 48 94 54 95 60 85 60 25 50 75 100 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2021/22 Numeracy % 93 56 93 67 95 68 91 73 25 50 75 100 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2021/22 Literacy 3rd Level Literacy 4th Level
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46 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 47 Assessment of Children’s Progress Assessment of Children’s Progress Assessment of Children’s Progress 46 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 The percentage of pupils achieving expected levels for literacy and numeracy has increased slightly from the 20/21 academic year but remains behind pre-pandemic levels across all quintiles. Attainment Gaps Percentage achieving expected levels for literacy and numeracy (P1/P4/P7 combined) The attainment gap between Q1 and Q5 has decreased for both literacy and numeracy in comparison to the last academic year. Quintile 1 (20% Most Deprived) Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5 (20% least Deprived) Literacy (SIMD Quintiles) 60 50 70 90 80 100 17/18 18/19 20/21 21/22 Numeracy (SIMD Quintiles) 60 50 70 90 80 100 17/18 18/19 20/21 21/22 Since August 2021, Place2Be have supported nearly 600 children and young people in targeted schools; 90 children and young people participated in 1-1 therapeutic counselling and a further 509 children and young people were supported through Place2Talk drop-in sessions. In addition, 62 parents benefitted from parent partnership support and over 200 school staff were supported in Place2Think sessions. In the last academic session, The Exchange have supported over 1770 children and young people through 1-1 therapeutic counselling. This represents an increase in referrals of more than 55% since the same time period last year. The service was expanded to include children under 10 years of age as well as the facility to provide counselling for parents where appropriate. In addition to 1-1 counselling, 4 online groups were successful in supporting targeted P7 children with transition through the Adventure Programme. Participation was high and feedback from children and staff very positive. The new resilience programme for children under 7, Caterpillar Butterfly, has been successfully delivered to individuals and small groups in some Renfrewshire schools. Transition Support We continue to support establishments to narrow the gap for disadvantaged groups and give support to targeted children, young people and families at key transitions. Transition teachers continued to work successfully across primary and secondary schools to support curricular transitions for targeted children and young people. Both P7 and S1 young people have been supported with literacy and numeracy learning universally through team teaching and in a targeted way to meet individual needs. 90 young people in S1 from 7 Renfrewshire secondary schools completed an evaluation survey on the experience of working with Transition teachers. Most respondents strongly agreed or agreed that Transition teachers had helped them settle into high school learning, provided help when needed and supported them to identify skills they needed to work on. Pedagogical differences between primary and secondary sectors can pose difficulties for pupils. Overcoming these differences by making links between previous learning experiences is another key element in positive transitions. 72% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that transition teachers had helped them make links between primary and secondary learning and improve their confidence in literacy and numeracy skill. Counselling services Both The Exchange and Place2Be continue to provide very good school-based counselling services to support children and young people across our primary, secondary and ASN schools. Quarterly reports provide information on referral numbers and themes, impact data, case studies and analysis by gender and year groups. This evidence shows that the counselling services are supporting improvements in the emotional wellbeing of children, young people, staff and families. In addition, the services have been flexible and responsive in providing emotional support to groups of children, young people and staff to cope with critical incidents in school communities. The top referral theme each quarter continues to be ‘anxiety’. Professional learning, information sessions and video support has been provided for school staff and children and young people in coping with anxiety.
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48 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 49 Assessment of Children’s Progress Assessment of Children’s Progress • Staff from an early years assessment and development base were successful in working on an outreach basis with early years establishments which meant that children could be supported within their own communities. • A PT was seconded to work with secondary schools to build on good practice in support for learning, working on an outreach basis from Mary Russell ASN school to share specialist knowledge and experience, resulting in a more skilled and supported Support for Learning workforce in mainstream. • A programme of ASN professional learning was put in place for identified staff. This included: a series of 3 session inputs on autism awareness to support P1/S1 where there was identified need; all Education Psychologists trained in Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support (SCERTS) with a view to rolling out to address need; staff trained in Renfrewshire Inclusive Communication Environment (RICE) and Video Interactive Guidance (VIG) to support schools with P1 entrants with ASN; and The CIRCLE framework training to improve inclusive classroom practice was rolled out to all secondary schools. ‘ My daughter built a trusting relationship with [the counsellor] which helped her open up and learn how to talk about her feelings’ Parent Supporting Inclusion of vulnerable Children and Young People Since the inception of the Additional Support Needs (ASN) review in Renfrewshire, important work has taken place across our specialist provision to ensure that more children can be supported within their own communities. This has included re-aligning of staff resources where appropriate and staff professional development. This work will be built on during session 2022-23. One of the key messages from the national review of additional support for learning, “Support for learning: all our children and all their potential” was that children and young people want to be included in their schools and communities. This view was echoed within our ASN review engagement with children and young people which took place at the beginning of the review and again more recently in June 2022. The lessons learned from our ASN Review have paved the way forward for inclusion in Renfrewshire and will ensure that our resources are aligned in the best way possible to meet the needs of all children and young people. We will also build on our excellent leadership and professional learning commitments to ensure that we build capacity across our workforce. There are very good examples in Renfrewshire where schools are adapting their culture and environments to the benefit of all children and young people as well as providing responsive personalised adjustments for individual children and young people. A number of small tests of change took place to operationalise aspects of the Additional Support Needs (ASN) locality inclusion model prior to full implementation. • A locality manager was engaged in the primary sector Johnstone/Linwood locality and progressed inclusive approaches to supporting children within their own locality. This involved working with staff in mainstream schools, engaging with parents and children and providing training and support. Ultimately several children were maintained in their mainstream schools who previously would have been placed in specialist provision. All involved felt supported by the process and engagement. • A specialist Principal Teacher (PT) was placed part time within a mainstream secondary school to support the secondary schools within the Paisley locality. This resulted in successful P7-S1 transition to mainstream school for several children. The PT worked with staff in mainstream secondaries to mentor and support staff in Social Emotional and Behavioural Needs (SEBN) interventions and approaches and this resulted in increased confidence of staff in dealing with distressed behaviour. • A specialist PT was placed within a mainstream secondary school to create a secondary locality support team and this initiative was successful in supporting children with a range of needs within the Johnstone/Linwood locality on both an inreach and an outreach basis. ‘ I was able to talk to my teacher and tell her that I was feeling sad, you helped me understand that when I talk about my feelings, I can get help.’ Primary Pupil ‘ Having someone to talk with and not feel what I’m thinking is stupid has helped me understand me.’ Secondary Pupil ‘ The communication from the Counsellor is outstanding and we love her. We are 100% confident when referring a YP because we know what a difference that support is making.’ Secondary Pupil Support Teacher
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50 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 51 Assessment of Children’s Progress Assessment of Children’s Progress Care Experienced Children and Young People—The Promise A wide range of effective supports have been established and implemented for care experienced children and young people across Renfrewshire. Excellent progress has been made in supporting the implementation of The Promise in Renfrewshire and raising its profile throughout the Children’s Services Partnership. Learning and development sessions have been delivered to staff to help them understand the relevance of the Promise to their work and the wider service. A Promise self-evaluation tool has been created to help professionals self- evaluate against aspects of The Promise, focusing on learning and development and values. A Promise Ambassador was recruited in July 2021 to support the implementation of the Promise across the local authority and drive forward the key recommendations of The Independent Care Review. A large component of this role has been to raise the profile of the Promise through engaging with a wide range of staff teams and partners. Through awareness raising sessions, points of interest and relevance are highlighted to ensure all partners understand what role they play in ensuring that care experienced children and young people are appropriately supported. To support this work further, a set of values have been developed for professionals who wish to #KeepthePromise. These individuals are our Promise Keepers in Renfrewshire and are from a range of services and organisations. Promise Keepers are formally recruited and are responsible for acting as a champion for The Promise, ensuring that the recommendations and priorities remain at the forefront of discussions around service delivery and design. SPACE The Supporting Attendance and Attainment of Care Experienced children and young people (SPACE) team are effectively supporting over 50 care experienced children and young people. Staff are supporting learning, particularly around the transitions between primary school to secondary and working jointly with Home School links on “Circle of friends”, a support programme within the school. Work takes place in smaller groups to look at “facing my fear” to help address anxiety and build confidence. Building relationships with children and their families and being able to gain their trust has been a strength of the SPACE team. Staff have been working on increasing confidence and supporting parents/carers to value the educational experience of their children. Some of the families have taken part in Non-Violent Resistance (NVR) interventions where staff work with the whole family on how they interact with each other as well as offering behavioural strategies. The SPACE team also support parents/carers by offering a wide range of practical support including housing support, school grants, accessing free bus travel, attendance at children’s hearings and advocating on families’ behalf with agencies. In October 2021, following discussions with the climbing charity ‘Urban Uprising’, 10 young people from the SPACE Project took part in climbing sessions for ten weeks. The children and young people came from schools across Renfrewshire and were aged between 7 -15 yrs. Over the ten sessions the children participated in various team building activities, developing their confidence and self-esteem as well as focussing on other transferable skills such as communication, trust and empathy. Aberlour Attain Our Aberlour Attain mentoring service is providing bespoke mentoring support to help raise attainment and improve the life chances of 58 care experienced young people. Aberlour staff and volunteers continued their contact with young people throughout the pandemic. This occurred at a time when some other services withdrew and when families were experiencing particular vulnerability. Aberlour diverted activities’ budgets to the provision of food parcels, electricity cards and educational and leisure resources to families in need during the pandemic. The consistency of relationships between staff and volunteers and young people has allowed the development of strong relationships with the family as a group, and enabled a better understanding of the individual young person’s needs. Aberlour are now delivering weekly youth groups engaging with our young people to participate within their local community to help reduce their social isolation. Children and young people in supported accommodation were given the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities to support their interests, build relationships and develop confidence in areas such as Art and Drumming. The feedback from those who participated was positive. ‘ I can’t believe how much more confident I feel now about asking the teacher for help when I’m struggling in class, this is because my mentor has helped me believe in myself.’ Young person ‘ When I first met with Aberlour I didn’t think I would be able to meet a mentor as I had no confidence and felt socially awkward/isolated, I am now at college and have a part-time job on the local radio station.’ Young person ‘ I don’t know what I would do without you, you are always on the other end of the phone or available to come to school meeting with me for the boys. I don’t have anyone else to help me and you have never let me down.’ Parent United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Awareness raising of UNCRC legislation was undertaken with all Heads of establishments in January 2022. Following this an audit was carried out to establish current position in relation to compliance in order to agree priority areas. The audit established that almost all Renfrewshire schools and early years centres were either already on the UNCRC journey or would focus on it as part of their improvement plan for the coming session. Renfrewshire youth services engaged young people in strategic planning at West Partnership level and with Scottish Government on an animation project to raise awareness of children’s rights.
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52 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 53 Assessment of Children’s Progress Assessment of Children’s Progress Next Steps • Using Achievement of a Level data collected in June 2022, provide targeted bespoke support in literacy, numeracy, health & wellbeing and digital learning • Improve employability skills and support all of our young people to enter positive and sustained post-school destinations • Increase knowledge, and consistency of planning and delivering high quality learning, teaching, assessment and moderation across all sectors. Establish a Renfrewshire Assessment and Moderation Strategy Group (RAMG) to carry out a needs analysis and lead on authority-wide activities • Support establishments to utilise the West Partnership Portal to self-evaluate schools’ and ELCC approaches to moderation • Provide opportunities for establishments to participate in relevant professional learning in assessment and moderation • In partnership with Educational Psychology colleagues, revise our current procedures for the identification of young people with specific literacy difficulties and provide a range of CLPL and resources to support practitioners • Support schools to use the HWB Census data to identify HWB priorities and inform improvement planning. Work with partners in health and beyond to identify, and develop plans to address, local authority areas for improvement • Support schools to plan collaboratively with Transition teachers, parents and partners to support seamless literacy and numeracy learning transition for targeted young people from P7-S1 • Continue to provide counselling services available to all children P1 – S6. Expand the service to provide supervision support for Pupil Support staff • Implement our Inclusion Strategy which is grounded in Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), the UNCRC, the Promise Plan 21-24 and the ASL Review (2020) • Update and refresh the staged intervention framework through a shared vision and improved integrated working across all services • Supported by the Education Psychology Service (EPS), implement an Assessment Framework that will enable practitioners to better identify barriers to learning and strengthen decision making around staged intervention • Create a suite of interventions to ensure children and families are supported appropriately and equitably through a Request for Assistance mechanism • Working with all stakeholders, including professional associations, design a locality model to provide a framework for inclusion • Map workforce roles and responsibilities across locality including specialist resources • Led through the EPS, support establishments to better understand the rights and policies that underpin inclusion • In partnership with EPS, identify professional learning needs in each locality to inform service delivery, targeted training and enhance collaborative working practices across establishments • Further develop the Locality Inclusion Support Network (LISN) • Use lessons learned from our ASN Review to ensure that our resources are aligned in the best way possible to meet the needs of all children and young people • Review practice and procedures within ASN schools to ensure quality of service and to provide aspects of learning for mainstream schools • Deliver on ‘The Promise’, supporting care experienced children and young people, through a range of programmes and approaches • Identify and share areas of best practice using data from The Promise Self-Evaluation tool • Establish a support network of Promise Keepers and provide appropriate training and development opportunities to further encourage joint working and collaboration • Ensure the rights laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) are embedded in policy in line with legislation
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Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 55 School Improvement 54 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Assessment of Children’s ProgressSchool Improvement We continue to maintain and build upon key strengths that were identified in our Scottish Attainment Challenge Summary of Progress 2015-20. Current key strengths include: • A sector-leading approach to professional learning including a highly effective leadership programme. • A skilled Development Officer team who provide bespoke, targeted and universal support to establishments. • Well-structured programme management ensuring clearly defined approaches. • Evidence-based approaches to the teaching of literacy and numeracy leading to delivery of a high-quality literacy curriculum. • Evidence-based approaches to the teaching of numeracy and mathematics and impact of the Modelling and Coaching Officers leading to improved pedagogy. • A clear 5 year Digital plan that is bringing about improvements in infrastructure, resources and digital pedagogy. • Staff that are skilled at recognising and addressing the impact of poverty on families. The poverty related attainment gap is narrowing as schools recover. • Support for schools to deliver a Senior Phase which ensures appropriate pathways for young people and provides them with the opportunity to achieve a range of qualifications. • An increase in positive destinations for leavers from areas of highest deprivation. • The views and voices of children and young people are shaping improvements across the authority. • The roles of Inclusion Support Assistants and Transition teachers have supported improved attendance, reduction in exclusions and transitions among targeted groups. • A wide range of high-quality services, supports and resources are available to support the mental and emotional wellbeing of all children, young people and families. • Almost all establishments are fully engaged in Renfrewshire’s Nurturing Relationships Approach and there is a wide range of high- quality services and resources available to support the health and wellbeing of all children, young people and families. • The authority’s approach to the use of data to inform all aspects of its work leading to the development of a positive data culture. • Partnerships with a range of academic partners to ensure programmes and approaches are evidence-based and that impact evaluation is rigorous. During the last academic session, our planned Quality Improvement programme adapted and evolved to meet the needs of school and early years communities and to assist the recovery process in our aim to achieve equity and excellence across all establishments. Education Managers/ELC Officers and Heads of Service visited all establishments twice during the session to provide support and challenge in relation to improvement planning and attainment. To promote empowerment, collaboration and sharing of effective practice, Heads were organised into trios of mixed experience and met on 2 occasions to focus 54 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 on Quality Indicator (QI) 3.1 and to discuss improvement planning. Feedback gathered from the first round of trios was overwhelmingly positive with almost all Heads agreeing that the opportunity to collaborate with peers in this way was helpful in supporting improvement. Almost all establishment reviews and digital thematic reviews were postponed due to widespread school staff absences throughout the session. These will be incorporated into our Quality Improvement Framework next session. In line with Scottish Government advice, establishments have been issued with clear guidance and advice on improvement planning and reporting on standards and quality. In addition, Education Managers visited all schools to discuss the rationale for improvement plan priorities and the impact/outcomes and measures. Our Attainment Advisor provided valuable bespoke support for schools in relation to PEF planning. To ensure leaders felt supported, Education Managers/ELC Officers chaired regular online small group meetings with their link Heads of establishment to provide information updates, share practice on what was working particularly well, and provide time for open discussion on issues arising. Feedback from Heads indicated that they very much valued these opportunities to collaborate in small groups with colleagues who were experiencing similar challenges. Facilitated by the Head of Scrutiny at Education Scotland, and to build capacity across the central team and schools, Education Managers and Senior leaders from one high school participated in professional learning sessions to explore QI 2.3 Learning, Teaching and Assessment. A mix of professional discussion and class visits enabled participants to challenge their thinking, agree standards and expectations, and support the establishment’s own self-evaluation. The enhanced skills of participants will be used to support others as part of establishment review teams next session. High quality professional learning on ‘Self- evaluation for Continuous Improvement’ was provided by our Attainment Adviser and colleagues from Education Scotland to Heads and Deputes across all sectors. All Early Years and Primary Deputes and almost all Secondary Deputes agreed/strongly agreed that the professional learning increased their knowledge and understanding and confidence in applying their learning in practice. ‘ This has been extremely useful training and I feel this will increase my knowledge and skill in collecting data and evaluative writing. Sessions were highly engaging and a great opportunity to network.’ Early Years Depute ‘ Excellent relatable examples of how aspects of the training can positively impact on practice within establishment. I particularly found the up levelling task for evaluative writing very useful. This training was presented very effectively and was very pertinent.’ Primary Depute
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56 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 57 School ImprovementSchool Improvement Renfrewshire schools’ self-evaluation gradings of the 4 core Quality Indicators as of June 2022 Quality Indicator % schools’ self-evaluation grading ‘Good’ or better QI 1.3 Leadership of Change 93% QI 2.3 Learning, Teaching & Assessment 96% QI 3.1 Improving wellbeing, equality and inclusion 95% QI 3.2 Raising attainment and achievement 89% Digital Learning Very good progress has been made in implementing Year 2 of our 5-year Digital Plan – Assess, Build, Innovate. Our strategy is underpinned by the aim to develop high quality learning and teaching that leads to improved levels of attainment and achievement in all of our establishments. Infrastructure To improve our infrastructure and ensure that all children, young people and schools have access to hardware, wifi and well-researched digital platforms/software to ensure equity and improve outcomes: • Comms World connections have been made to almost all establishments, with the remainder hoping to be complete by August 2022. • a business case for wi-fi completed and ready for Digital Board. Following approval of this, surveys will be carried out across all establishments. Resources—Capacity and Capability To ensure all practitioners have improved skills and increased confidence in using digital tools to enhance learning, teaching and parental engagement: • a pilot Digital Learning Thematic Visit was carried out. This allowed the model to be tested and approved and will be used to inform the Thematic Visits and school reviews moving forward. • a Digital Needs survey was carried out across Secondary Departments, Primary Schools and Early Learning and Childcare Centres (ELCC). The results allowed us to pinpoint what existing support was available, including pre-recorded videos and collections of curated materials, and sign-post schools to this. In addition, further professional learning was identified for next session. • our rolling refresh programme for digital devices and peripherals is underway. An additional £800K has been invested in replacements and repairs, including Windows 10 laptops for teaching staff and projectors being replaced with Promethean Panels. • the Digital Manager and Digital Schools Award team worked with schools to develop their understanding of the DSAS and to progress their Digital Schools Award journey. A further 5 schools gained their Digital Schools Award Scotland (DSAS) this session meaning that just over 37% of schools in Renfrewshire have achieved this nationally recognised award, with another 25% now registered for the award. Schools who gained their award this session have agreed to support other schools on this journey throughout next session. Engagement, Coordination and Communication Creative use of various digital platforms has strengthened family learning in almost all establishments. • During Cyber Scotland Week we held 2 Get Safe Online sessions – one for staff in schools and one for parents to provide an overview of what children and young people may experience online. All staff attendees felt their confidence, knowledge and skills had increased and said they would implement what they have learned and share with colleagues. Parents rated the session 4.81 out of 5. Nine schools successfully participated in Get Safe Online Ambassador Training to schools. ‘It was very informative. There’s so much to learn. It was honestly mind blowing….”“Very helpful - actually watched it with my child and it generated good conversations around internet safety.’ Parent ‘ I felt the session was very informative and covered lots of areas regarding online safety. It was well delivered!’ Teacher • In order to support the Scottish Government’s promise of 1-2-1 devices for all learners from P1 – S6, the National Digital Discovery Survey was completed at the end of February. Within this, we considered our existing infrastructure plans (including our current Wi-Fi provision), how devices are shared across learners and the support we are currently offering to schools. Learning, Teaching and Assessment • We provided professional learning on digital learning pedagogy to promote a shared understanding and provision of high quality learning online. Almost all establishments have engaged with either bespoke or tailored support and/or CLPL There were 34 CLPL sessions with over 880 staff taking part and 47 establishments accessing bespoke or tailored support. Each CLPL session was rated 4 or more out of 5 and almost all staff reported that confidence, knowledge and skills had increased as a result of the session, with 80% of attendees intending to implement or share what they learned with colleagues. ‘ I found it really helpful to see a variety of ways Sway can be used especially as I am a beginner. The variations included from the presenters was brilliant!’ Teacher • For our Teach Meet in June, we had 9 staff from Early Years, Primary and Secondary volunteering to share their practice. Participants rated the session 5 out of 5 and all said they would share what they had learned with colleagues. • 10 establishments were provided with bespoke Glow blogs support, ranging from the creation of new sites to updating and redesigning existing sites. This included support time for planning and access to our Glow Blogs Wakelet.
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58 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 59 School ImprovementSchool Improvement • Our DigiLearnRen blog provides updates on all things digital with new posts being shared at least 3 times a week. It is a one-stop shop for all that is happening! This year our number of unique visitors has increased from 50 to over 300.The content includes resources such as Acceptable Use Policy, Video Conferencing Guidance, PL Calendar and useful links. The CLPL Wakelets have been viewed more than 200 times. Linked to the blog is the DigiLearnRen YouTube Channel where over 75 new videos have been published this session with over 1560 views in total. • Support on where to access all of this information was collated and shared in the Digital Needs Survey response in April 2022. • Throughout this session, groups of interested staff have been supported on their digital journeys via a Team and regular meetings with the Digital Manager. Following these meetings, 2 teachers have earned their Apple Teacher award, most have gained their Microsoft Innovative Educator badge and most of the teachers are undertaking their Google Certified Trainer, Level 1 exam. The Computing Science (CS) group evaluated the Primary resources available from Barefoot Computing and will be creating a Primary CS Pathway in the new session. Five Primary School teachers volunteered to create a Renfrewshire Progression Pathway for Primary Schools which provides suggested activities and resources to ensure progression from P1 to P7 alongside professional learning for staff. Regional Improvement Collaborative— West Partnership (WP) Renfrewshire Council education staff continue to be active leaders and participants in taking forward the actions for improvement within the 3 workstreams of the West Partnership Plan 2020-23. 18 primary teachers completed the Improving our Classrooms project in June 2022. Through attendance at a number of webinars, check-in days and participation in trio visits, all staff have further developed their knowledge and understanding of what makes highly effective classroom practice. All participants have submitted their 5000 word case study of improvement and are awaiting their results. We are confident that 100% of Renfrewshire participants will be awarded the 30 Masters Level credits for all their hard work. were supported to make appropriate curricular choices and pathways. Consortium arrangements continued to support the delivery of Advanced Highers for all young people who wished to undertake them. A bespoke work experience model was rolled out across schools, with an additional 100 work placements being available across a range of sectors. Almost all placements were filled. CLPL sessions were successfully delivered to staff across schools by Skills Development Scotland on the Career Education Standard 3-18. Evaluations evidenced that staff were becoming more confident in equipping young people with the skills required for the world of work. The target for young people moving into positive and sustained destinations was successfully overtaken and was 96.5%. The appointment of Developing the Young Workforce schools coordinators across all secondaries and ASN schools has positively impacted on earlier identification and interventions for young people at risk of not moving into a positive destination. The Renfrewshire Community Benefits Forum continues to provide an extensive range of potential employers and work placements across industry areas such as construction, hospitality and engineering, amongst others. The Development Officer for Engaging Learners continues to work closely with all secondary schools, providing support for young people identified as being at risk of not moving onto a positive destination. Earlier identification and intervention than was previously in place, including home visits where necessary, has brought about an increase in the number of young people moving into a positive destination post school. Regular meetings with key partners, including Skills Development Scotland, Invest in Renfrewshire, Developing the Young Workforce West and West College Scotland, ensure that the best possible supports and opportunities are provided for all young people, particularly the most vulnerable. During session 2021/22, there was an increase in the number of work placements available which allowed an additional 80 young people to access bespoke placements linked to future pathways. Renfrewshire’s expansion of early learning and childcare from 600 hours to 1140 All eligible children continue to access 1140 hours of high quality early learning and childcare. Highly skilled staff and high quality and stimulating learning environments are effectively supporting children to experience deeper and extended learning opportunities. Just over 95% of early years establishments in Renfrewshire have had a good or very good evaluation in their most recent Care Inspectorate Inspection report. All establishments continue to be flexible in their models of delivery to respond to the needs of children and families. Improve employability skills and support all of our young people to enter positive and sustained post- school destinations A Renfrewshire refreshed senior phase curriculum offer was launched and shared with all key stakeholders, providing information via a SWAY on all senior phase pathways and opportunities available. All young people in the senior phase
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60 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 61 School ImprovementSchool Improvement The My Future Pathway online employability resource has been updated and continues to provide helpful information and support to young people. Employability workshops were again successful, providing support to young people preparing for the world of work. The My Future Pathway construction programme was able to be delivered in person and saw 12 young people complete the course and gain industry based qualifications. Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM) In 2021/22 Renfrewshire Council became established as a partnership local authority with the RAiSE (Raising Attainment in Science Education) programme, a partnership of Education Scotland, The Wood Foundation, Scottish Government and participating local authorities which aims to enhance the confidence and skills of primary school practitioners to improve learning and teaching in STEM education. Renfrewshire Council appointed a Primary Science Development Officer to support teachers with the development of learning, teaching The primary schools that participated in the First Lego League projects provided opportunities for pupils to work collaboratively to problem solve whilst developing STEM skills including engineering and coding. The Young STEM Leader award has been successfully introduced to Renfrewshire Primaries. Following teacher professional learning which allows their school to be awarding centres, some Renfrewshire primaries are now able to offer Young STEM Leader Programme in their settings. Children and young people taking part in Young STEM Leader Programme have the chance to inspire, lead and mentor their peers by creating and leading STEM activities and events within their schools. and assessment in science and STEM across the authority. This year has seen a focus on supporting our primary schools in meeting the aspirations of the National Improvement Framework, developing and promoting opportunities for learners to increase their experiences, engagement, enthusiasm and achievement in STEM and supporting the development of skills progression in STEM through real-life, contextualised learning opportunities linked to STEM careers. Almost all Renfrewshire primary schools have engaged with at least one science and STEM CLPL event or learning programme in the 2021/22 session. Opportunities with external partners for schools and learners to engage in science and STEM learning have included Primary Engineer Leaders Award, YESC Climate Smarter project, SSERC, STEM Ambassadors, Royal Navy, Rolls-Royce, First Lego League, Global Underwater Hub, The Rail Project with Network Rail, Royal Society of Chemistry and The Luge Project with Glasgow Caledonia University. Through Renfrewshire Council’s partnership with Glasgow Science Centre (GSC), almost all primary schools across the authority (over 4000 teachers and pupils) have taken part in at least one GSC Learning Lab during 2021/22. The Learning Lab programmes aim to support teachers to inspire and empower learners through relevant and varied learning experiences that take place online and in the classroom over several weeks, and include Professional Learning for teachers, chances for children to interact with scientists and opportunities for family learning. A STEM Champions network has been established to facilitate the sharing of excellent and innovative practice in science teaching and learning. The majority of Renfrewshire primary schools now have a teacher as a named STEM champion or point of contact. Almost all 2021/22 Primary NQTs took part in high quality, relevant CLPL to support them in planning and delivering high quality science and STEM learning and teaching. School Estate Management Plan The school estate management plan (SEMP) identifies the actions required to improve the condition, sufficiency and suitability of the school and early years learning estate. During 2021/22 significant works have been undertaken to deliver on the Council’s aspiration to provide a learning estate which is fit for purpose and conducive to high quality learning and teaching. • Early Years expansion programme. This infrastructure expansion programme supported the delivery of 1140 hours for all entitled children. The programme delivered 4 new build early learning and childcare centres which are now complete and operational; 6 extensions to existing facilities; and 16 refurbishments. • Paisley Grammar School Community Campus (PGSCC). Work has commenced to design a new “re-imagined” learning environment for the school and its wider community, at an estimated cost of £72m. The new community campus will provide facilities for the full breadth of the curriculum, accommodating approximately 1200 pupils. It will incorporate a flexible learning resource for young people with additional support needs and a variety of facilities to support community learning and enterprise activity for the wider community. A multi-disciplinary design team (MDDT) and a principal construction partner have been appointed and a wide range of consultation has been undertaken to support and inform the design process. • Thorn Primary School. Provisional development work (feasibility stage) has been undertaken and a bid for Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) funding is being developed to supplement the Council investment already identified.
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62 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 63 School ImprovementSchool Improvement Next Steps • Implement our refreshed QIF, to promote empowerment and greater collaboration between establishments • Implement Year 3 of our 5-year Digital Plan – Assess, Build, Innovate to promote a flexible, layered and empowered approach to digital learning • Deliver the Improving our Classrooms project to a second group of primary staff • Implement pilot work placement model in 4 secondary schools to allow all young people to engage in relevant work experience • Ensure early engagement between schools and University of the West of Scotland to identify and support more young people into further and higher education • Strengthen the framework of support between Children’s Services, SDS and Invest in Renfrewshire to ensure all young people who may be at risk are identified and supported thus increasing the numbers of young people moving onto positive and sustained destinations • Further roll out of the Career Education Scotland 3-18 in partnership with SDS. Undertake focus groups of staff and young people to gauge progress and impact • Review and update senior phase offer. Work with West College Scotland on in-school Foundation Apprenticeship delivery model • Implement a programme of high quality CLPL in STEM content and effective pedagogy, reflecting practitioner needs identified in the RAiSE baseline survey. Harness resources and local support which will help develop real-life context for STEM across schools and the wider school community • Implement a quality in-house leadership development programme for primary STEM Leads/Science co-ordinators • Extend partnership working with Glasgow Science Centre to include primary children and teachers working at Early Level in addition to First and Second level • Develop opportunities for family engagement with STEM within schools and work with schools to support and implement this • Extend the Young STEM Leader Programme (YSLP) through practitioner training, increasing the number of schools delivering YSLP and celebrating achievements and successes • Implement the SEMP and, through continual assessment, consider all emerging issues impacting the efficiency and operation of the learning estate
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Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 65 Performance Information 64 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 School Improvement Across the service, a wide range of accurate data is used very well, centrally and within establishments, to monitor and track the impact on learning, raising attainment and closing the poverty related attainment gap. The Data team are highly effective in providing a range of analysis and support to the central team and schools and Early Years settings. The availability of analysis has improved through the use of interactive data dashboards, created using PowerBI data visualisation software. These dashboards include school and local authority level analysis of attainment, attendance, exclusions and demographics as well as additional data sets such as the Parental Involvement and Engagement Census and Health and Wellbeing Census. Staff are now able to produce their own analysis using report filters, can visualise key trends, and have easy access to all information provided by the team. It also improves the turnaround speed from the team receiving data and being able to share it with schools. In addition to the activities above, data team support was also provided to a range of projects including early years transitions, community health and wellbeing, active schools, and the national parental and health and wellbeing censuses. Head Teachers and teachers are becoming more skilled at understanding what the ‘gap’ means in their context. High quality support is provided through the data team as well as through the Quality Improvement Framework visits. Heads of Service and link Education Managers/ELC Officers continue to make focussed quality improvement visits to establishments with a specific focus on Quality Indicator 3.2 Raising attainment and achievement. This involves in-depth professional dialogue on key data sets and performance information used by the establishment to support improvement. Information from visits is used to: identify authority priorities for improvement; share effective practice; and provide individual support to establishments where required. School improvement plans are responsive to the data and needs of the school. Through this interrogation of data, bespoke and targeted support is provided by the team of Development Officers where appropriate. High quality online training sessions were delivered covering a variety of topics including excel skills, data management, analysis and evaluation. Feedback from these sessions was positive with almost all respondents reporting an increase in knowledge and confidence as well as ability to apply what they had learned within their roles. Additional comments within the feedback survey indicated that staff valued the interactive nature of the sessions and found the associated resources beneficial for follow up support and sharing with others. Respondents were also asked to provide information on additional training needs which will be used to inform future sessions and resources. ‘ Really high quality as always and great resources provided to use with my team’ Primary Head Teacher ‘ The practical element was very effective and relevant to what I will be using my skills for in my daily practice.’ Secondary Depute Head In December 2021, the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) team were invited to showcase our Effective Use of Data and Programme Management approaches at the SAC national event. Following the event, many new local authorities to the programme have requested support from the Renfrewshire central team in relation to data analysis and the overall management of the Attainment Challenge. A consistent and robust tracking system for Early Years settings has been developed to provide information on key developmental milestones for pre-school children. All local authority early learning and childcare establishments and funded provider nurseries have tracked and gathered the data during the current session. This has highlighted strengths and gaps in children’s development and learning and supported with the planning of next steps. Furthermore the data has been used to support children’s transition and continuity in their learning in their move to primary school. The data has been gathered centrally at the end of the school term and will be analysed to develop attainment trends and identification of training needs across the service. In addition to training, one-to-one bespoke support was provided to schools on request. This predominately focused on managing data within schools. 96% of primary schools received support to update their tracking files to improve the availability of summary figures. These changes allow schools to monitor attainment throughout the school year and provide improved presentation of cohort tracking figures. ASN schools also received support in this period to improve the availability of data. This involved analysis of SQA data, collation of leavers cohorts and creating tracking systems for school analysis. A data snapshot was gathered from all primary schools in December 2021 to assess attainment levels at that time. The data was collated and quality assured, before being analysed and shared with the central team and schools. This analysis was used to assess the continued impact of the pandemic and allowed for comparison to the Achievement of a CfE Level Return in June 2021. The findings from this analysis were shared to support planning and to identify target schools that required additional support in literacy and numeracy. Our Education Scotland Attainment Advisor makes effective use of performance information to identify schools that require support with improvement planning particularly in relation to use of PEF. He has provided very good bespoke support to 24 schools in developing a clear rationale for improvement priorities and specific outcomes to ensure that impact can be clearly measured. The use and application of local, national, and international educational research and evidence continues to be a strength in Renfrewshire and underpins authority strategies for improving learning and teaching. We work very effectively with academic partners, including the University of Strathclyde, Stanford University, University of Glasgow and Swansea University. Together we deliver and evaluate evidence-based targeted programmes and interventions to close the poverty-related attainment gap. All approaches have a strong evidence base and demonstrable impact across our schools and are available via our Strategic Equity Fund offer next session. Performance Information 6564 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022
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66 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 Education Standards and Quality Report September 2022 67 Performance Information Performance Information A core component of Renfrewshire Children’s Services Partnership (RCSP) work has been engaging with service users and stakeholders in co-design. In partnership with Barnardo’s, an analysis identified important gaps in the system- wide provision of mental health and wellbeing supports at the level of early intervention (tiers 2 and 3). In response, a ‘partnership hub’ model was developed called ‘Ren10’ which is being led by the Depute Principal Psychologist. Through our ‘Children and Young People Community Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2021/2022’, we ensure that children and young people and their families get the right help at the right time to prevent small issues that affect wellbeing escalating into bigger problems. We strive to deliver a system-wide provision of mental health and wellbeing supports for all, at the level of early intervention. ‘Ren 10’ brings together a selection of psychologically led and peer-led approaches, implementation support and monitoring to support capacity- building. This coordinated approach to delivering supports, training and programmes through ‘Ren10’ is ensuring that we are working towards the strategy aims. Next Steps • Support schools to use the HWB Census data to inform improvement planning priorities. Use the national and LA-wide census data to identify strategic priorities and develop ambitious but achievable stretch aims • Data team and Attainment Advisor to provide support to schools in setting ACEL school targets in the context of Renfrewshire’s stretch aims • Work with practitioners and leaders across early learning and childcare establishments to moderate and develop a shared and consistent understanding of the milestones and their assessments and judgements of children’s developments • Analyse the ELCC milestones data at a local authority level to begin to identify attainment trends and identify training needs • Support senior leaders to embed a data literacy culture to inform improvement planning • Implement the Children and Young People Community Health and Wellbeing Strategy through the Ren10 model • Collaborate with the West Partnership to analyse and extract relevant data from the national HWB and PIE census to identify improvement priorities
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For further information, please contact Steven Quinn Director Children’s Services Children’s Services Renfrewshire Council Tel: 0141 618 6839 Email: steven.quinn@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Appendix 2
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2 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 3 Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Renfrewshire’s Education Improvement Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Our Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Children’s Services Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Portfolio Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Strategic Portfolio Plan: Curriculum, Learning, Teaching and Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Strategic Portfolio Plan: Inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Strategic Portfolio Plan: Families and Communities . . . . . . .23 Renfrewshire’s annual Education Improvement Plan for session 2022/23 is underpinned by the Council’s values; Fair, Helpful, Collaborative, Learning and reflects our own vision within Children’s Services; Working together to get it right for children, families and communities— protecting, learning, achieving, nurturing. It ensures the delivery of the locally agreed priorities of the Council Plan and the nationally agreed priorities of the National Improvement Framework. Our Education Improvement Plan sets out where we want to improve and how we want to do that, based on the evidence we have gathered on our current performance . This range of evidence includes our Standards and Quality report on the improvements we set out to achieve in our previous plan, a wealth of self-evaluation activity across the service, attainment and achievement data, our Quality Improvement visits and feedback from stakeholders and external agencies including academic partners and Education Scotland . This process has ensured that our plan reflects where our schools and stakeholders wish to see improvement, is based on evaluation of current performance, and is focussed on building on our culture of empowerment and collaboration . Our plan focuses on five main priority areas: • Protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities • Family supports and early intervention • Mental health and wellbeing • Learning and teaching • Inclusion As well as the five main priorities, there are overarching features of highly effective practice which will continue and evolve to support achievement of the priorities . These include our leadership programme, data analysis, quality improvement, professional learning, partnership working and the school estate management plan . We will continue to put children, families and communities at the centre of our plans, activities and improvements, and have a relentless focus on inclusion . Implementation of our Inclusion Strategy, which is grounded in Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the Promise Plan 21-24 which was produced nationally in response to the findings of the Independent Care Review and the Additional Support for Learning Review (2020), will ensure that we can meet the needs of children in their own communities . Universal approaches will be used to raise attainment for all, alongside targeted interventions with a continued focus on narrowing of the poverty-related attainment gap and addressing any widening of inequalities of outcome for children and young people . High numbers of young people in Renfrewshire move on to post-school positive and sustained destinations but we will continue to strive to do better . We are confident that the strategic priorities and interventions outlined in our plan will enable us to progress and improve to ensure that we get it right for our children, young people and families . Introduction Councillor Emma Rodden Convener Education and Children’s Services Steven Quinn Director Children’s Services
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4 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 5 Renfrewshire’s Education Improvement Plan This Education Improvement Plan supports delivery of the priorities contained within key plans such as Renfrewshire’s Council Plan, Children’s Services Partnership Plan and the Children’s Services Improvement Plan. It also allows us to deliver on the National Improvement Priorities for education as well as other relevant strategic and policy drivers such as: • ‘Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education: A Delivery Plan for Scotland’ • Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) • The Promise Scotland—findings of the Independent Care Review • Putting Learners at the Centre: Towards a Future Vision for Scottish Education—Professor Ken Muir • Additional Support for Learning Review— ‘Support for learning: all our children and all their potential’ • United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill • General Teaching Council for Scotland Professional Standards 2021 • Developing the Young Workforce • The Expansion of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland • OECD report on ‘Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence’ • Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan Vision Excellence through raising attainment: ensuring that every child achieves the highest standards in literacy and numeracy, set out within Curriculum for Excellence levels, and the right range of skills, qualifications and achievements to allow them to succeed; and Achieving equity: ensuring every child has the same opportunity to succeed, with a particular focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap . Five Priorities • Place the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education • Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy • Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people • Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing • I mprovement in employability skills and sustained, positive school-leaver destinations for all young people Six Drivers of Improvement • School Leadership • Teacher Professionalism • Parental Engagement • Assessment of children’s progress • School Improvement • Performance Information
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Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 7 Place Economy Fair Green Living our values Renfrewshire Council Plan Strategic Outcomes Cross cutting theme: Improving outcomes for children and families We will encourage kind and connected communities— where our citizens take pride in their place, attracting others to move here and share in the opportunities Renfrewshire has to offer. Children’s Services Vision Working together to get it right for children, families and communities—protecting, learning, achieving and nurturing We will support a strong and flexible local economy—with Renfrewshire able to adapt after the pandemic, building up resilience to support good green jobs and skills for all local people to enjoy the benefits of both living and working here. We want Renfrewshire to be a fair place—where all our people have the best chances to live happy, healthy and fulfilled lives, to feel safe, supported and empowered to unlock the strength of our collective potential. We are working towards a greener future—taking responsibility for our impact on the planet and taking brave, bold steps to protect the natural environment that supports and benefits us all. We want our employees to feel proud to work for Renfrewshire Council becasue we are a values driven organisation, where we all understand and value our contributions, and we are passionate about making a difference for Renfrewshire. Protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities including children and young people who are at risk. Work will progress to ensure Renfrewshire keeps the Promise and delivers improved outcomes for individuals who are care experienced. Where possible children will be kept within their families and priority given to securing provision for kinship care. Family supports and focussing on early intervention, by equipping parents and carers with the information, skills and support they need to ensure positive outcomes for children and young people in their care, whilst providing opportunities for parents and carers to shape the services that impact them. Enhancing supports around mental health and wellbeing, including the school-based mental health and wellbeing programme and the Ren10 network of staff and volunteers who provide early help services to those in need. Enhance learning and teaching, delivering a meaningful, relevant and progressive curriculum that supports a wide range of learner pathways by placing the rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education. Efforts will focus on raising attainment while ensuring equity for all. There will be a sustained focus on delivering a curriculum that equips all children and young people to achieve success in life. Through a shared vision and understanding of inclusion, children and young people will experience inclusive learning experiences and supportive relationships which lead to positive life outcomes. Our Values 6 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 We are fair, we treat each other and everyone we deal with respectfully and work hard to build trust in Renfrewshire Council . We are helpful, we care about getting things right and are always approachable . We are great collaborators; we work as one team and with people who care about this place . We value learning to help us innovate, improve and deliver better services . Children’s Services Improvement Priorities
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8 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 9 Portfolio Planning Children’s Services is developing a portfolio management approach to service improvement planning to support with balancing new priorities, core business and moving beyond recovery. A portfolio is a collection of thematic projects and programmes which are defined by an organisation or service. From a process perspective, this approach will support prioritisation, integration and joint planning, reducing duplication and over-reporting. The intended impact is to strengthen our service planning processes enabling children and young people to thrive, learn and achieve. We have identified three portfolios in Children’s Services, each led by a Head of Service . These are: Curriculum, Learning, Teaching and Assessment Inclusion Families and Communities Julie Calder Tracy McGillivray John Trainer Features of highly effective practice that underpin all portfolios include: • Leadership Strong strategic leadership in Renfrewshire Council ensures that all decision- making and improvement planning is underpinned by the principles of empowerment . Current leaders and aspiring leaders are very well supported through high quality professional learning programmes • Data Analysis Decision making and planning is centred around high-quality data and evidence . A data for improvement culture is embedded at all levels • Career Long Professional Learning (CLPL) Creating a collaborative culture where all staff are empowered to fully participate in career long professional learning • Quality Improvement Framework (QIF) Supporting and challenging establishments to improve standards and quality; collaborate, empower, improve • Workforce Planning Maximising the potential of new and existing staff to build capacity and improve outcomes for children and young people • School Estate Management Planning Providing innovative and creative learning environments which are welcoming to all; learner focused; supportive and inclusive; sustainable; and agile enough to support the needs and aspirations of all users • Partnership working Capitalising on partnership working to achieve collective impact and added value Directorate Management Team: Director and 3 Heads of Service Senior Leadership Team: Education and Social Work Managers CLPL: Career-long professional learning QIF: Quality Improvement Framework Directorate Management Team Development Curriculum, Learning, Teaching and Assessment Delivery Families and Communities Senior Leadership Team Inclusion Evaluation Portfolio governance Data Analysis Supporting functions Porfolios Leadership Data CLPL EstateQIF Workforce planning Partnerships Each portfolio is tasked with developing their own portfolio plan to deliver on our agreed service priorities . Portfolios are unique, delivering on clear actions related to their context however they are also linked by cross-cutting actions and this is evident in each plan . Portfolio planning teams have been established to support with the development and delivery of the portfolio plan . Teams are also responsible for evaluating and reporting at regular intervals throughout the year .
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10 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 11 What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Deliver a comprehensive core programme of professional learning and targeted interventions across all sectors linked to professional standards and informed by local/national priorities: • Talk for writing • Phonics • Maths Recovery • Growth Mindset • Play Pedagogy • Digital Pedagogies • Modern Foreign Languages To maximise the impact of professional learning, develop a framework which will clearly outline: • deliverables from the central team • expectations of participation in professional learning; • a criteria for successful implementation of approach/intervention; and • an evaluation framework and process that enables practitioners to measure the impact of approach to learner progress By June 2023: Our strengthened approach to professional learning better equips leaders and practitioners with the knowledge, skills and confidence to effect positive change for all learners. Almost all leaders and participants in professional learning have a greater understanding of conditions required for successful implementation of learning and teaching approaches/interventions. A strengthened approach to implementing approaches /targeted interventions in literacy and numeracy contributes to improvements in almost all learners’ experiences and progress. Stronger evaluation of the impact of professional learning on pupil progress supports practitioners in planning next steps for learners. Professional learning and targeted interventions contribute to restoring attainment in literacy and numeracy to pre pandemic levels. Professional learning in digital pedagogy contributes to a 3% increase in number of schools achieving digital schools award. Evaluations post training and at 3 monthly intervals with a target group will demonstrate that for almost all participants the training has: • Increased confidence in how to successfully apply their new skills, knowledge and understanding in their teaching. • Increased confidence in evaluating the impact of this teaching on pupil progress and using this to inform next steps in learning. Attainment and tracking data shows that almost all targeted children and young people (CYP) are making progress in literacy and numeracy with a trend towards closing identified attainment gaps. Stretch aim: 76% of children and young people will achieve expected CfE level in Literacy. Stretch aim: 84% of children and young people will achieve expected CfE level in Numeracy. Strategic Portfolio Plan Curriculum, Learning, Teaching and Assessment National Improvement Priorities • Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people • Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy Council Plan Cross-Cutting Theme: Improving Outcomes for Children and Families Children’s Service Improvement Priority Enhance learning and teaching delivering a meaningful, relevant, progressive curriculum that supports a wide range of learner pathways by placing the rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education. Efforts will focus on raising attainment while ensuring equity for all. There will be a sustained focus on delivering a curriculum that equips all children and young peopleto achieve success in life.
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12 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 13 What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Work with school leaders to develop a learning, teaching and assessment strategy that clearly articulates the vision for planning and delivering high quality learning, teaching and assessment. Plan and deliver Renfrewshire’s first learning festival. Develop a teach/meet model to enable teachers to come together to share effective practice and innovation. Increase knowledge and improve the consistency of planning to support the delivery of high quality learning, teaching, assessment and moderation across all sectors. By February 2023 - All staff are aware of the Renfrewshire Vision for learning, teaching and assessment and features of highly effective practice and begin to use them in their practice. All practitioners are provided with the opportunity to learn from and share highly effective practice. By June 2023 - All staff are empowered and supported to strengthen their practice through collaboration and professional learning. Learners’ experiences improve as the vision for highly effective practice is realised in each establishment. By Sep 2024—Features of highly effective learning, teaching and assessment are evident in almost all classes visited as part of the Quality Improvement Framework. By June 2023—All schools evaluate themselves as Good or better for Quality indicator 2.3: learning teaching and assessment . By June 2023—Most schools evaluate themselves as very good or better. By June 2023—ACEL data accurately reflects pupil progress in all schools demonstrating confidence in teacher judgements. By June 2023—The Early Years progression tool provides accurate judgements of children’s progress as they transition to P1. Evaluation of learning festival will highlight awareness and understanding of vision for Learning, teaching and assessment and how they will take this forward in their playroom/classroom. School standard and quality reports highlight that professional learning has led to sustained change and positive impact in the classroom. Learning visits as part of the QIF. Establishment self-evaluation statements ( QI 2.3). The vision and features of effective practice will be tested with a focus group of learners from across schools and a cross-sector group of senior leaders. What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Provide opportunities for senior leaders to work collaboratively to explore the implications of the national review and strengthen their curriculum. By November 2022 - Improved awareness in all secondary schools of renewed national expectations for the curriculum. Senior leaders are in a stronger position to develop and implement the recommendations of the national curriculum review. School curriculum rationales are ambitious and reflect emerging national expectations. Secondary curriculum & rationale deep dive. Implement refreshed work placement model in pilot schools. Work with University of the West of Scotland (UWS) to increase the number of opportunities available to young people. Develop a strengthened framework of support with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and Invest Renfrewshire to ensure pupils are supported to enter and sustain positive destinations. Work with school leaders and SDS to support schools in embedding the Career Education Standard. Strengthen Senior Phase offer, to widen the range of opportunities available to young people. By February 2023 - A strengthened senior phase curriculum, developed with key partners, equips all young people with the confidence, knowledge, skills and experience to secure and sustain a positive destination. By June 2023: • 8% increase in the number of young people from quintile 1 entering in to a positive destination. • 14% increase of the number of care experienced young people entering in to a positive destination. • All young people in schools involved in work placement pilot experience a work placement linked to chosen pathway. 98% of young people will enter a positive destination. 98% of young people from quintile 1 will achieve a positive destination. 100% of care experienced young people will achieve a positive destination. 16–19 participation measure—96% of young people will sustain positive destination. Focus groups of learners across all secondary schools. Analysis of school curricula as part of the curriculum deep dive will evidence an increase in the range and number of qualifications which young people are achieving. Improved levels of scrutiny and support is demonstrated in the quality of tracking and monitoring data related to school leavers. Monthly SDS data checks and use of the SDS 16+ Data Hub evidence the supports/interventions in place for senior phase young people and their intended post school pathway. Work placement data will evidence the range of relevant opportunities provided for young people.
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14 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 15 Strategic Portfolio Plan Inclusion National Improvement Priorities • Place the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education • Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy • Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people • Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing • Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school-leaver destinations for all young people Council Plan Cross-Cutting Theme: Improving Outcomes for Children and Families Children’s Services Improvement Priority: Through promotion of a shared vision and refreshed understanding of inclusion, our children and young people will experience inclusive learning environments and supportive relationships which lead to improved positive and sustained outcomes.
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16 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 17 What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Update and refresh the staged intervention framework through a shared vision & improved integrated working across all services including education, health, social work, voluntary sector & employment, and training. By Dec 2022, a refreshed clear agreed policy is in place which is mirrored across all agencies. The policy is robust, simplified, and has connecting processes in place across all services. (Education, Health and Social Work and other partners e.g., Police Scotland) The language of the policy is grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and The Promise. Agreed policy and procedures will be in place and used by all agencies. This will be demonstrated through adoption of policy and procedures by Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) Steering Group and the Children’s Service Partnership. By Sep 2022, the school tracking system is used consistently alongside SEEMIS to provide a local authority overview. This allows for improved monitoring of the stages of intervention and Additional Support Needs (ASN) for all children and young people (CYP). Baseline user data will be gathered and reviewed throughout the year starting with early adopters. Supported by the Education Psychologist Service (EPS) we will implement an Assessment Framework that will enable practitioners to better identify barriers to learning and to strengthen decision making around staged intervention. EPs are included at the right time and place to influence discussions, decisions and planning. There is greater clarity in the role of the Team Around the Child which will ensure that practitioner involvement is appropriate, timely and leads to improved outcomes for CYP. All practice is more consistent across establishments. All staff involved in the use of the assessment framework have increased skill and confidence in collaborative assessment, analysis & planning to remove barriers to learning. Stakeholder reference group feedback on clarity of roles, impact on outcomes for young people and consistency of EP practice, will provide baseline for improvement. Survey feedback on confidence in roles and implementation of the assessment framework will be baselined and then reviewed for improvement termly. All assessment framework paperwork will demonstrate clarity around: roles in the case, identification of barriers to learning, analysis of information and actions for all involved. These will be sampled from early adopter schools initially. All assessment framework paperwork will include impact statements. What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? The creation of a suite of interventions to ensure children and families are supported appropriately and equitably through a Request for Assistance mechanism. From Sep 22 onwards, Team Around the Child process is used to support CYP where appropriate. CYP benefit from access to appropriate needs-based supports and are more involved in decisions that affect them. Parents/carers are more involved in clear and transparent decision making. Early and effective interventions are planned and supported by the staged intervention framework and professional learning. Initial offer of interventions will be in place for schools to utilise for Stage 1 and Stage 2 intervention levels. Tracking of self-referrals and outcomes will be introduced to create usage baseline. Focus on improving early and effective interventions and targeted transitions at all levels. Planning to meet the needs of CYP, is influenced by regular analysis of robust data and knowledge of CYP. Schools are responsible for robust data tracking and monitoring around the number of children and young people on part-time timetables and those accessing alternative education placements. By Dec 2022, transition at all levels, including key stages and between establishments, is informed by the staged intervention framework. Plans are in place to support and ensure care experienced young people go on to genuinely positive destinations, such as further education or employment. Engagement with boards including Child Protection/ Promise Board/Alcohol and Drugs is aligned and there are clear feedback loops in place to ensure sharing of knowledge and development. Data will be collected from local authority tracking systems and the local authority data dashboard for CYP with ASN including those CYP that are in and around the edges of care: • Attendance levels • Attainment at staged intervention levels • Transition supports at key stages • Participation/achievement Auditing systems will be improved to track allocation and effectiveness of resources. By Sep 22, baseline information around transition and current resource allocation process will be created, and confidence surveys will be carried out with all stakeholders. Formal and informal exclusion of care experienced young people will be reduced significantly.
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18 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 19 What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Work with all stakeholders including professional associations to design a locality model to provide a framework for inclusion. By Aug 2023 onwards, governance systems are clear, open, and transparent and ensure equity of approach, effective, efficient, and sustainable use of resources including the workforce, maximising funding across all localities. Inclusion offer through schools and specialist resources provides bespoke interventions to support CYP from Early Years to Senior Phase. Consultation responses. “You said, we did” reports/Impact reports. Clear governance and 100% understanding from HTs/ Pupil Support coordinator and other stakeholders of the process for accessing resources. Clear and transparent policy on deployment of staff to support CYP with ASN. Map workforce roles and responsibilities across locality including specialist resources. By Aug 2023, roles and responsibilities of support staff to support the delivery of staged interventions are clear. Support staff are devolved to locality and are deployed equitably to support CYP. Audit of permanency of support staff. Audit of roles and responsibilities of support staff. Staff confidence survey. Feedback from stakeholder groups. We will better support establishments in understanding the rights and policies that underpin inclusion with relevant supports e.g. capturing the young person’s voice, transition planning and parental engagement. On an ongoing basis with annual review, in partnership with EPS, all establishments deliver on the Renfrewshire inclusion vision and agenda, so children and young people have equity of provision. Almost all staff working in educational establishments feel confident in implementing policies and processes that support inclusion. All staff working in educational establishments know how to access professional learning to support their understanding and confidence in this area. We link ‘trauma-informed approaches’ with key relationships and invest in the confidence of adults working with affected young people. The evidence-based approach ‘Non-violence Resistance Approaches’ (NVR) shows a decrease in exclusion and placement moves where CYP exhibit distressed behaviour in the form of violence or aggression. Joint working plan includes all staff confidence rating in specific areas relating to inclusion (i.e. capturing the young person’s voice, transition planning and parental engagement). Staff training evaluations (including pre and post confidence rating). Staff focus group themes. Local authority data on exclusions and use of part time timetables will be reviewed termly. Numbers of young people accessing support to meet their learning needs from within their locality area. What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Through the implementation of a locality and staged intervention model, EPS along with the GIRFEC team will gather data and local information to develop a greater understanding of the professional learning needs in each locality which will inform service delivery, targeted professional learning and enhance collaborative working practices across establishments. By Aug 2023, all staff working in educational establishments know how to access professional learning to support their understanding and confidence in this area. Professional learning is more responsive to the needs of each locality. Our strengthened approach to professional learning equips leaders and practitioners with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to effect positive change for all learners. Delivery of a robust, accessible professional learning offer for all teaching staff, support staff, partners and families ensures a shared understanding and clarity of approach to supporting CYP. EPS along with the central team have a greater understanding of the needs in each locality which leads to improved joined up working and an efficient and informed delivery of service. There is a clear overview of all ASN training and whole school training from each establishment across the local authority. Networking opportunities across all services are built into professional learning calendar. Impact of professional learning is evident across all services. There is an improvement in the quality and consistency of assessing, planning, recording, reporting, and reviewing processes. Audit of all staff will provide us with information to inform future professional learning designs. Monitoring of key staff attending professional learning across all services. Pre/post survey will show an improved confidence scale following professional learning . Locality Senior EPs will gather locality specific information in relation to needs and data and record numbers of joint professional learning sessions delivered. Stakeholder reference group will feedback on service delivery. Evaluations from networking opportunities. Improved links with West Partnership. Streamline attendance at groups. More opportunities will emerge for establishments to work together within localities. There will be an increase in joint working of EPs within each locality, which will give establishments increased access to the range of skills and experiences within EPS. The local authority quality assurance framework will be aligned to allow Education Managers to sample pupil support processes and procedures. Case studies will showcase and celebrate good practice across the local authority. Monitoring of key staff attending professional learning across all services.
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20 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 21 What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Review practice and procedures within Mary Russell and Riverbrae to ensure quality of service and to provide aspects of learning for mainstream schools. By Aug 2023, the expertise of the ASN workforce is utilised to model and coach in schools to upskill staff, improve the confidence of staff and support delivery of effective interventions. Decision making to support interventions will be improved. Utilisation of staff within Mary Russell and Riverbrae has improved and there is reduction in staff turnover and absence in both schools. Where mainstream resources need augmentation, explore and develop responses to the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people with disabilities, engaging with local and national staff who have knowledge and expertise in this area. Number of staff members trained in the CIRCLE framework. Quality Indicator 3.1 good to very good with a focus on the environment. Increase in the numbers of schools gaining gold for Renfrewshire Nurturing Approaches ‘inclusion environments’ in mainstream schools that build on the knowledge and ‘belonging’ of children in their local community. Secondary schools awarded SCQF Ambassador status Bronze and above. Improved application of curriculum in Secondary school at SCQF Level 2 and above. Staff confidence over the course of an intervention and HTs comments about being able to meet needs. Evidence of multi-agency working where appropriate. Family feedback that measures feelings of ‘belonging’.
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22 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 23 Strategic Portfolio Plan Families and Communities National Improvement Priorities • Place the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education • Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy • Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people • Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing • Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school-leaver destinations for all young people Council Plan Cross-Cutting Theme: Improving Outcomes for Children and Families Children’s Services Improvement Priorities • Protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities including children and young people who are at risk. Work will progress to ensure Renfrewshire keeps the Promise and delivers improved outcomes for individuals who are care experienced. Where possible children will be kept within their families and priority given to securing provision for kinship care. • Family supports and focussing on early intervention, by equipping parents and carers with the information, skills and support they need to ensure positive outcomes for children and young people in their care, whilst providing opportunities for parents and carers to shape the services that impact them. • Enhancing supports around mental health and wellbeing, including the school-based mental health and wellbeing programme and the Ren10 network of staff and volunteers who provide early help services to those in need.
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24 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 25 What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Support Early Years’ (EY) establishments to identify and implement evidence-based emotional literacy programmes. Support primary and EY establishments to ensure that delivery of PATHs (Promoting Alternative Thinking Skills) programme is sustainable when coaching support is withdrawn. Work with secondary and ASN schools to evaluate the impact of emotional literacy programme Living Life to the Full (LLTTF) and decide on next steps. Explore alternatives to LLTTF in collaboration with teachers and partners e.g. promotion of national Esgoil materials and collaboration with Headstrong. By June 2024, evidence-based programmes/resources are in place to support the teaching of emotional literacy across all establishments EY—Senior Phase. Audit of emotional literacy programmes across all establishments. Review mental health policies of all establishments and identify those that require support from link EP with policy development and/or implementation. By June 2023, all education establishments are implementing and using an effective Mental Health and Wellbeing (MHWB) policy. Audit of MHWB policies across all establishments. Sway engagement statistics. What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Develop and deliver a comprehensive programme of professional learning and targeted interventions across all sectors informed by local and national priorities to support effective implementation of the mental, social and emotional strands of Health and Wellbeing • Understanding self-harm and suicide. • Relationships and sexual health including LGBTI education. • Substance misuse. • Online safety. • National framework Children & Young People’s Mental Health—Professional Learning Resource and NHS GCC 6 box as a model for self-evaluation. • Themes emerging from counselling and feedback from schools/centres. By June 2023, almost all CYP in sample group (S3 cohort) have increased knowledge and understanding of the mental and emotional wellbeing supports available to them and access these as required to improve mental health and wellbeing. Almost all participants have improved knowledge, confidence and practice. Almost all participants understand and are clear about how to respond to the distressed behaviour of CYP. By June 2023, almost all practitioners access resources and up to date and relevant information around policy, training and developments in the area of wellbeing as required. Qualitative feedback from sample group of young people (S3 cohort) will be gathered via Forms and focus groups to evaluate effectiveness of MHWB programmes and supports. Views of practitioners will be gathered through focus groups and professional learning pre and post evaluations at 3 monthly intervals with a target group. A target group of practitioners will provide feedback on longer-term impact of their professional learning on CYP and case studies will be developed to evidence this. Professional learning attendance statistics. Case Studies evidence the longer-term impact of professional learning on the wellbeing of CYP.
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26 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 27 What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Develop progressive Personal and Social Education (PSE) courses. In October 2022 host our first PSE Conference for secondary teachers within Pupil Support. By Oct 2022, all participants in the PSE Conference have improved knowledge and understanding of what is required to meet the Scottish Government recommendations. They have increased confidence in supporting their schools to develop relevant and progressive PSE programmes. By Dec 2023, all schools’ PSE programmes are progressive and contain relevant content which responds to local and national data around mental health and wellbeing. Almost all practitioners involved in focus groups report that they are confident in delivering an effective PSE programme and have the resources required to do so. Almost all CYP participating in focus groups tell us that the school PSE programme is relevant and meets their needs. An audit of secondary/ASN school PSE programmes evidences progressive and relevant content. Focus groups of practitioners and CYP across primary, secondary and ASN schools to capture their views. LGBT Charter award quantitative and qualitative information demonstrates the inclusivity of participating establishments. Increase in number of establishments achieving an LGBT Charter award. (Target - 3 Gold, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze). PSE Conference evaluations and Pupil Support Teachers focus groups. Create and deliver online information sessions for parents/carers on resilience, coping strategies, self-harm and suicide. By June 2023, targeted parents/carers are more confident in supporting their child’s wellbeing. Pre and post evaluation data from parent/ carers demonstrates improvement in knowledge, understanding and confidence. What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Support schools to use the HWB Census data to inform improvement planning priorities. Use the national & LA-wide census data to identify strategic priorities and develop ambitious but achievable stretch aims. By June 2023, most schools have engaged with the school HWB census data and used this to inform improvement planning. By June 2023, 100% schools evaluate QI 3.1 as ‘Good’ or better (an increase of 5% from the June 2022 baseline). An increase in the number of schools evaluating QI 3.1 as VG or better from the June 2022 baseline. HWB stretch aims using HWB census data. Schools’ self-evaluation gradings for QI 3.1 at June 2023 compared to the baseline at June 22. June 2022 Baseline: • 1 school Excellent • 49% (31 schools) VG • 46% (29 schools) Good • 2 schools Satisfactory HWB blog and engagement statistics related to Sway resources. Quality Improvement Visits and School Improvement Plans. Coordinate implementation of The Exchange counselling service available to all establishments and Place2Be counselling service in targeted schools. Scrutinise termly reports from The Exchange and Place2Be and liaise with Area Managers and individual schools to ensure best value is achieved. Identify common referral themes across schools and plan ways to address these through staff professional learning. Develop supervision structures as wellbeing interventions to support staff (Pupil Support Coordinators) in pilot establishments. By June 2023, all CYP requiring specialist Counselling, receive timeous support to cope with issues and build resilience. 100% CYP access counselling screening appointment within 5 days of referral. 85% CYP show improvement post counselling Staff benefit from consultancy support in relation to targeted CYP as required. Pupil Support Coordinators in pilot schools are supported through clinical supervision to focus on self- care and avoid burnout. Counselling service termly reports provide referral data and qualitative information (including CYP views, case studies and referral themes) to highlight the positive impact of the service on CYP’s mental health and wellbeing. Focus groups of Pupil Support Coordinators will evaluate the effectiveness of the supervision structures.
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28 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 29 What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Provide the training and resources to extend Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) programme across the remaining secondary schools and ASN schools. Through capacity building training, schools already implementing the programme will be encouraged to adopt a whole school approach and become an ‘Equally Safe’ school. Pilot the Education Scotland partnership between the Mental Health Foundation Ambassador Training and MVP. An MVP ‘red flag’ campaign will be designed by pupils with a focus on identifying unhealthy behaviours and our responses to them. This will be funded through the Equally Safe fund. By June 2023, all participating practitioners have an enhanced knowledge and understanding of the MVP programme and are better prepared for conversations relating to gender-based violence. Staff confidently support young people in delivery of the programme. By June 2023, almost all participating young people have the skills to speak out against issues which affect relationships within our schools and communities by adopting an active ‘bystander’ approach. By June 2023, all secondary and ASN schools are implementing the MVP programme. By June 2024, all secondary and ASN schools are implementing ‘Equally Safe at Schools’ (ESAS) as an integral part of the MVP programme. Pre and post professional learning questionnaires will demonstrate that all staff have increased knowledge and confidence. Focus groups of mentors and mentees evidence that young people confidently deliver lessons to their peers. Observation of MVP in action in a sample of schools by Renfrewshire training team at agreed points in the academic year. A pupil steering day provides a forum for young people to provide feedback on the short and longer term impact of their MVP mentor role. A summary paper will be produced. Number of MVP schools. Number of ESAS schools. What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Finalise Children’s Services Parenting Strategy and identify key actions that can be delivered via the Families and Communities portfolio. Ensure there is integration of the Parenting Strategy and Parental Engagement strategy within Education. There is one consistent Renfrewshire multi-agency approach to parenting and parental engagement with clear support and approaches mapped out at each stage. Parents/carers have access to range of high-quality evidence-based approaches and interventions to support their parenting when required. Practitioners have increased awareness, knowledge and confidence of the range of supports available to support parents / carers and can signpost appropriately. Schools continue to develop and implement approaches to enhance parental engagement and family learning and be able to demonstrate the impact on attainment and achievement. Parenting strategy document and action plan. Clear parental engagement operational plan. Up to date landscape map of supports and approaches. Parental Involvement & Engagement (PIE) Survey data. Pre and post parental engagement survey. Evaluations from professional learning. Evaluations of parenting support approaches/ interventions. Establish a referral pathway in relation to parenting support and ensure this aligns to the wider inclusion agenda and in particular staged intervention. Parents/carers access appropriate support at the right time through an easily accessible referral process/ request for assistance. Parent/carers report improved access to parenting approaches. Parents/carers report improvements in their parenting knowledge, confidence and skills as a result of being able to access the range of supports available. Development of a referral / request for assistance process. Referral data. Evaluations and outcome data from parenting support approaches/interventions. Review and revise the coordinated and shared approach to Child Protection training and procedures. All Children’s Services staff are knowledgeable and confident in delivering a shared and consistent approach to child protection. Engagement with Council Boards, including Child Protection/ Promise Board/Alcohol and Drugs, is aligned and there are clear feedback loops in place to ensure sharing of knowledge and development. Survey feedback on confidence in roles and responsibilities relating to Child Protection will be baselined and then reviewed for improvement termly.
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30 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 Education Improvement Plan 2022/23 31 What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Explore existing gaps in relation to community mental health and wellbeing based on evidence and needs analysis data. Review and amend approaches within our partnership hub model ‘Ren10’ (a coordinated approach to delivering programmes, interventions and supports) to ensure impact is achieved. Ensure ‘Ren10’ interventions and approaches are included in the ‘Request for Assistance’ process developed as part of the Inclusion portfolio. Governance systems are clear, open, transparent and ensure there is equity of approach. Systems ensure effective, efficient, and sustainable use of resources including the workforce, maximising funding across all localities. Funding is allocated to embed existing approaches that are having a positive impact on children and families or will be used to respond to gaps. Targeted children and young people from Early Years to Senior Phase are supported through bespoke interventions and specialist resources and are more involved in the decisions that affect them. Parents/carers are more involved in clear and transparent decision making. Early and effective interventions are planned and supported by the staged intervention framework and professional learning. Interventions are in place for schools to utilise for Stage 1 and Stage 2 intervention levels. Baseline data will be re-established for each intervention and stretch aims and targets developed and reviewed every three months. Consultation responses. “You said, we did” reports/Impact reports. Feedback from Heads/Pupil Support coordinators and other stakeholders of the process for accessing resources. Joint working plan includes staff confidence rating in specific areas relating to inclusion (capturing the young person’s voice, transition planning and parental engagement). Staff training evaluations (including pre and post confidence rating) and focus group feedback. ‘Request for Assistance’ tracking of self-referrals and outcomes will be introduced to create usage baseline. What will we do collectively? What difference will we make? How will we measure success? Host a range of engagement opportunities for parents/carers, children and young people to better understand what is important to them in relation to tackling poverty. Children and Families are at the heart of decision making and planning when addressing poverty and inequalities ensuring that their needs are being met. Funding is targeted toward priorities identified by families and communities. Communities take a more active approach in budgeting and planning developing new skills as they participate. Numbers of Participatory Budgeting processes and projects being established in communities. Development of a scoreboard identifying priorities. Number of poverty-proofing school policies. Feedback from parents / carers. Feedback from children and young people. School Pupil Equity Fund plans and evaluations. Engage with the Children’s Services Partnership to develop a proposal under the Scottish Government whole family wellbeing fund ensuring it links with the development of wider community hubs across the council and the Promise. Support for families is maximised through the family wellbeing fund demonstrating positive outcomes. There is a partnership approach to the development of proposals ensuring that families receive preventative wrap-around support. Whole family wellbeing fund proposal. Service specification. Initial feedback and evaluations from service users demonstrating impact of service. Reduction in numbers of families requiring crisis intervention.
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For further information, please contact Steven Quinn Director Children’s Services Children’s Services Renfrewshire Council Tel: 0141 618 6839 Email: steven.quinn@renfrewshire.gov.uk