DOCUMENT PACK (Agenda and Reports) (Bookmarked) ESC 28 May 2025
West Dunbartonshire Council · 28 May 2025
Back to Educational Services Committee — 28 May 2025 and its agenda
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Agenda Educational Services Committee Date: Wednesday, 28 May 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Time: 10:00 ___________________________________________________________________ Format: Hybrid Meeting ___________________________________________________________________ Contact: Scott Kelly, Committee Officer Tel: 01389 737220. Email: scott.kelly@west-dunbarton.gov.uk committee.admin@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Dear Member Please attend a meeting of the Educational Services Committee as detailed above. Members will have the option to attend the meeting remotely or in person at the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton. The business is shown on the attached agenda. Yours faithfully PETER HESSETT Chief Executive Page 1
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Distribution: Councillor Clare Steel (Chair) Councillor Hazel Sorrell Councillor Fiona Hennebry Councillor Sophie Traynor Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal Mrs Barbara Barnes Councillor David McBride Miss Faith Bhardwaj MSYP Councillor Michelle McGinty Ms Kirsty Connolly Councillor John Millar (Vice Chair) Mr Gavin Corrigan Provost Karen Murray Conaghan Miss Ellen McBride Councillor Lawrence O’Neill Ms Joanne McLaren Councillor Lauren Oxley Reverend Ian Miller Councillor Martin Rooney Ms Hannah Redford Councillor William Rooney Miss Rebecca Ross MSYP Councillor Gordon Scanlan Ms Julia Strang All other Councillors for information Chief Education Officer Date of Issue: 15 May 2025 Audio Streaming Audio recordings of the meeting (including the attendance or contribution of any party participating or making a contribution) will be published on the Council’s website and the Council’s host’s webcast/audio stream platform. You should be aware that the Council is a Data Controller under the General Data Protection Regulation. Data collected during this audio stream will be retained in accordance with the Council’s Privacy Notice and Retention Schedules including, but not limited to, for the purpose of keeping historical records and making those records available via the Council’s internet site. Page 2
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EDUCATIONAL SERVICES COMMITTEE WEDNESDAY, 28 MAY 2025 AGENDA 1 STATEMENT BY CHAIR – AUDIO STREAMING The Chair will be heard in connection with the above. 2 APOLOGIES 3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Members are invited to declare if they have an interest in any of the items of business on this agenda and the reasons for such declarations. 4 RECORDING OF VOTES The Committee is asked to agree that all votes taken during the meeting will be carried out by roll call vote to ensure an accurate record. 5 MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING 5 – 9 Submit, for approval as a correct record, the Minutes of Meeting of the Educational Services Committee held on 19 March 2025. 6 LOCAL NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR TEACHERS 11 – 12 Submit for information, and where necessary ratification, the Minutes of Meeting of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers held on 18 March 2025. 7 OPEN FORUM The Committee is asked to note that no open forum questions have been submitted by members of the public. 8/ Page 3
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8 INCREASE SUSTAINABLE RATE PAID TO FUNDED EARLY 13 – 17 LEARNING AND CHILDCARE PROVIDERS Submit report by the Chief Education Officer outlining a proposal to increase the hourly rate paid by West Dunbartonshire Council to contracted private providers for funded Early Learning and Childcare. 9 PROCUREMENT OF VEHICLES FOR SCHOOL TRANSPORT 19 – 22 Submit report by the Chief Education Officer:- (a) providing an update on plans to transport pupils with Additional Support Needs to and from school from the beginning of school session 2025/26; and (b) seeking approval to proceed with the procurement of six vehicles as part of the fleet to transport children to and from school. 10 EDUCATION DELIVERY PLAN 2025/26 23 – 43 Submit report by the Chief Education Officer setting out the Education Delivery Plan for 2026/26. 11 NATIONAL THEMATIC INSPECTION REPORT 45 – 117 Submit report by the Chief Education Officer presenting the West Dunbartonshire National Thematic Summarised Inspection Findings (March 2025), conducted by His Majesty’s Inspectors of Education (HMIE), along with the National Thematic Inspection Report (March 2025). 12 EARLY LEARNING AND CHILDCARE UPDATE 119 – 123 Submit report by the Chief Education Officer informing of progress made to provide high quality Early Learning and Childcare in West Dunbartonshire Council. 13 SERVICES FOR CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND 125 – 203 FAMILIES UPDATE REPORT Submit report by the Chief Education Officer informing of progress on supports to children, young people and families. Page 4
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EDUCATIONAL SERVICES COMMITTEE At a Hybrid Meeting of the Educational Services Committee held in the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton on Wednesday, 19 March 2025 at 10.00 a.m. Present: Provost Karen Murray Conaghan and Councillors Fiona Hennebry, Gurpreet Singh Johal, David McBride, Michelle McGinty, John Millar, Lawrence O’Neill, Lauren Oxley, Martin Rooney, William Rooney, Gordon Scanlan, Hazel Sorrell and Sophie Traynor, and Mr Gavin Corrigan*, Miss Ellen McBride, Ms Joanne McLaren and Ms Julia Strang. *Arrived later in the meeting. Attending: Peter Hessett, Chief Executive; Laura Mason, Chief Education Officer; Alison Bowers, Senior Education Officer – Early Learning and Childcare; Andrew Brown, Senior Education Officer – Policy, Performance and Resources; Claire Cusick, Senior Education Officer – Services for Children and Young People; Julie McGrogan, Senior Education Officer – Raising Attainment/Improving Learning; Michelle Lynn, Asset Manager; Carol Alderson, Finance Manager – Resources; Alan Douglas, Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration (Legal Officer); and Scott Kelly, Committee Officer. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillor Clare Steel, Mrs Barbara Barnes and Reverend Ian Miller. Councillor John Millar in the Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR – AUDIO STREAMING Councillor Millar, Chair, advised that the meeting was being audio streamed and broadcast live to the internet and would be available for playback. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest in any of the items of business on the agenda. ITEM 5 Page 5
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RECORDING OF VOTES The Committee agreed that all votes taken during the meeting would be carried out by roll call vote to ensure an accurate record. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of Meeting of the Educational Services Committee held on 27 November 2024 were submitted and approved as a correct record. LOCAL NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR TEACHERS The Minutes of Meeting of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers held on 3 December 2024 were submitted for information and, where necessary, ratification. After discussion and having heard the Chief Education Officer in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the Minutes and all decisions contained therein were approved. OPEN FORUM The Committee noted that no open forum questions had been submitted by members of the public. PROCUREMENT OF ONLINE PAYMENTS SYSTEM AND CASHLESS CATERING SYSTEM A report was submitted by the Chief Education Officer seeking approval:- (a) to tender for an online payments system for all establishments to allow parents and carers to make online payments to their children’s school; and (b) for a cashless catering system for use in the Authority’s secondary schools which would work in conjunction with the online payments system. After discussion and having heard the Senior Education Officer – Policy, Performance and Resources in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the plan for the replacement of the online payment system for all establishments and the replacement of the existing cashless catering system in use within West Dunbartonshire’s secondary schools utilising the Scot Excel Framework for Online School Payments, Cashless Catering and Kitchen Management Systems; Page 6
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(2) to note that the cost of both new systems would come from the existing budget for the current systems being used in schools; and (3) to approve the proposal to tender for the provision of an online payments system and cashless catering system and to note that the award recommendation would be reported to a future meeting of the Tendering Committee. Note: Mr Corrigan entered the meeting during consideration of this item. SCHOOL TRANSPORT A report was submitted by the Chief Education Officer detailing the proposed timetable for the processing of tenders for mainstream home-to-school contracts and for the transportation of pupils with Additional Support Needs (ASN). After discussion and having heard the Senior Education Officer – Policy, Performance and Resources in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) that the Chief Education Officer be given approval to proceed, in consultation with the Corporate Procurement Unit, with the necessary arrangements to secure tenders for the transport of children with Additional Support Needs for session 2025/26 and beyond for contracts of up to 3 years duration with the option to extend for a further 12 months; (2) that the Chief Education Officer be authorised to make the necessary arrangements, in liaison with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), to renew any mainstream contracts for session 2025/26 to 2030/31; and (3) to note that following the completion of the tendering process, the proposed preferred tenderers would be submitted to the Educational Services Committee for approval to award the Contract, Framework Agreement or Dynamic Purchasing System. STRATEGY FOR EXCELLENCE AND EQUITY A report was submitted by the Chief Education Officer providing an update on the progress of implementing the service plan for excellence and equity, and highlighting future challenges and risks that could impact further progress. After discussion and having heard the Senior Education Officer – Raising Attainment/Improving Learning and the Chief Education Officer in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note:- (1) the positive attainment and equity performance of West Dunbartonshire in the Broad General Education compared to the national performance; Page 7
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(2) the national statutory expectations and outcomes for education; (3) the additional funding provision ending in 2026; and (4) the range of improvement and development work delivered to support improved attainment and a narrowing of the attainment gap. SENIOR PHASE CURRICULUM UPDATE Reports were submitted by the Chief Education Officer providing updates on:- (a) the offer of courses and awards to young people through the Senior Phase curriculum for session 2025/26; and (b) progress with plans to ensure an equitable offer across all establishments. After discussion and having heard the Senior Education Officer – Policy, Performance and Resources in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note:- (1) the breadth of the offer to young people by our partner providers; and (2) the progress of a common Senior Phase timetable across all of our secondary schools. EARLY LEARNING AND CHILDCARE PROGRESS UPDATE A report was submitted by the Chief Education Officer informing of progress made to provide high quality Early Learning and Childcare in West Dunbartonshire Council. After discussion and having heard the Senior Education Officer – Early Learning and Childcare in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the progress to deliver the statutory entitlement of 1,140 hours of high quality Early Learning and Childcare. SERVICES FOR CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES UPDATE REPORT A report was submitted by the Chief Education Officer informing of progress on supports to children, young people and families. After discussion and having heard the Senior Education Officer – Services for Children and Young People in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note progress on plans to continue developing and improving supports. Page 8
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EDUCATION DELIVERY PLAN 2023/24 – YEAR-END PROGRESS AND EDUCATION DELIVERY PLAN 2024/25 – MID-YEAR PROGRESS A report was submitted by the Chief Education Officer setting out the year-end progress of the 2023/24 Delivery Plan and the mid-year progress of the 2024/25 Delivery Plan. After discussion and having heard the Senior Education Officer – Policy, Performance and Resources in further explanation of the report, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved at year-end 2023/24 and mid-year 2024/25. EDUCATIONAL SERVICES REVENUE BUDGETARY CONTROL REPORT 2024/25 TO 31 JANUARY 2025 (PERIOD 10) A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update on the Educational Services revenue budget to 31 January 2025 (Period 10) and the forecast position at 31 March 2025. After discussion and having heard the Finance Manager – Resources and the Senior Education Officer – Services for Children and Young People in answer to a Member’s question, the Committee agreed to note that the 2024/25 revenue account had a projected adverse revenue variance of £0.311m which became a favourable variance of £0.006m after use of earmarked reserves (as detailed in paragraph 6.2 of the report). EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CAPITAL BUDGETARY CONTROL REPORT 2024/25 TO 31 JANUARY 2025 (PERIOD 10) A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update on the Educational Services capital programme to 31 January 2025 (Period 10). After discussion and having heard the Finance Manager – Resources and the Asset Manager in answer to a Member’s questions, the Committee agreed to note:- (1) the current position of the 2024/25 Educational Services capital budget; (2) that the project life total was currently on track; and (3) that one project, Free School Meals had moved from Citizen, Culture and Facilities (CCF) to Educational Services. The meeting closed at 12.20 p.m. Page 9
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LOCAL NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR TEACHERS At a Hybrid Annual General Meeting of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers held in the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton on Tuesday, 18 March 2025 at 10.00 a.m. Present: Laura Mason, Chief Education Officer; Andrew Brown, Senior Education Officer; Julie Reilly, Head Teacher, Bonhill Primary School; Alison Boyles, Head Teacher, Dumbarton Academy; Gavin Corrigan, Michael Dolan, Laura Minto and Caroline Yates (all EIS); and Claire Mackenzie (SSTA). Attending: Louise Hastings, People and Change Partner; Kirsty Connor, Education Support Officer – Staffing; and Scott Kelly, Committee Officer. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillors Lauren Oxley and Sophie Traynor. Gavin Corrigan in the Chair DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest in any of the items of business on the agenda. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers held on 3 December 2024 were submitted and approved as a correct record. SCHOOL TERM DATES/ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2026-2027 A report was submitted by Joint Secretaries to the LNCT seeking agreement of the setting of the academic calendar for Teachers and Associated Professionals for the academic session 2026-2027. After discussion and having heard the Education Support Officer – Staffing, the Committee agreed:- ITEM 6 Page 11
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(1) to note that a consultation process had commenced to seek views from educational establishments on the proposed school terms dates for 2026- 2027 (as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report); and (1) that the final decision on the academic calendar for 2026-2027 be delegated to management representatives, in consultation with Trades Union Convenors, based on the outcome of the consultation survey, with the final decision sitting with the Chief Education Officer. The meeting closed at 10.09.a.m. Page 12
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Education Officer Education Services Committee: Wednesday 28 May 2025 _______________________________________________________________ Subject: Increase Sustainable Rate paid to Funded Early Learning and Childcare Providers 1. Purpose 1.1 This report proposes an increase in the hourly rate paid by West Dunbartonshire Council to contracted private providers for funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC). 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that Committee: (a) Refer to the guidance for setting sustainable rates contained in the ‘Funding Follows the Child and the National Standard for Early Learning and Childcare Providers – Guidance for setting sustainable rates for the delivery of funded early learning and childcare (ELC) in 2025-26’, published in February 2025, which recommends a minimal increase of 3.75% (b) Agree one of the percentage uplift options outlined as an increase in the hourly rate paid to Early Learning and Childcare private providers, including childminders, for the provision of funded ELC, with 3.75% being the minimum. Age Current Rate 3.75% 4.00% 4.50% 5.00% 2-3 £6.42 £6.66 £6.68 £6.71 £6.74 3-5 £6.28 £6.52 £6.53 £6.56 £6.59 (c) Note the external factors influencing the sustainability of the hourly rates paid to contracted providers of funded ELC in West Dunbartonshire, including rising costs and to enable payment of the real Living Wage to those childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement. ITEM 8 Page 13
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3. Background 3.1 Approximately one quarter of children eligible for a funded Early Learning and Childcare place, access their place in the private sector in West Dunbartonshire Council. The Council is dependent on these places to fulfil its statutory duty. Therefore, settings in this sector need to remain financially viable and the Scottish Government requires Councils to establish and pay a rate that ensures this sustainability. 3.2 If a sustainable rate is not paid, there is a risk of services in the private sector closing which would incur capital and revenue costs for the Council and, would reduce choice and local provision for parents. The closure of services who also provide childcare which is paid for by the parents would have a negative impact on the local economy, with parents not being able to access work or training. 3.3 As a result of continuing concerns regarding financial sustainability by funded providers, the Scottish Government issued the Sustainable Rates Guidance, published in April 2019. The report highlighted that the rate should support delivery of a high quality ELC experience and should allow for investment in the setting in terms of staff, resources and the physical environment. It should also enable the payment of the real Living Wage for those childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement. 3.4 The guidance issued in February 2025, advises that councils should, ‘apply a minimum 3.75% uplift to 2024-25 rates to reflect the estimated increase in the average staff cost element of the sustainable rate required to meet the £12.60 per hour (real Living Wage) pay commitment in 2025-26’. The uplift reflects the estimated increase in the average staff cost element of the sustainable rate required to meet the real Living Wage uplift from April 2025. This reflects staffing costs accounting for, on average, 75% of the sustainable rate. It also noted that, ‘if sustainable rates for 2025-26 are set after April 2025, any payments that reflect the increased real Living Wage should be backdated to 1 April 2025’. 4. Current Position 4.1 The hourly rate paid by West Dunbartonshire Council to our funded private ELC providers, including childminders, to deliver an hour of funded ELC to Eligible 2 year olds is currently £6.42 per hour and for all children aged from 3 years old to pre school age it is currently £6.28 per hour. Last session the rate for children aged 3 and above was increased by 7.6% from £5.84 to £6.28 and the rate for eligible 2 year olds was increased by 10% from £5.84 to £6.42. Page 14
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4.2 Across the West Partnership, as of January 2025, the hourly rates are as undermentioned: Local Authority 2 year old hourly rate 3 year old hourly rate East Dunbartonshire £7.63 £6.34 East Renfrewshire £6.32 £6.32 Glasgow £7.65 £6.46 Inverclyde £6.32 £6.32 North Lanarkshire £6.76 £6.46 Renfrewshire £8.50 £6.45 South Lanarkshire £6.54 £6.53 West Dunbartonshire £6.42 £6.28 4.3 The current hourly rate that West Dunbartonshire Council pay does not represent all of the other benefits of the partnership arrangement which we have with funded providers. These benefits include free access to all professional learning, involvement in working groups and annual mandatory training, leaders’ meetings, partner provider meetings, early stages teacher support, inclusion in the related educational psychology support meetings, guidance from the central Early Years team, including pre inspection support, and access to workforce development funding. 4.4 Improving outcomes for children and reducing the attainment gap is at the heart of ELC provision. Therefore, as well as meeting the requirements of the National Standard to pay staff the real Living Wage, settings in the private sector need to be able to recruit and retain staff, support staff training and invest in their services. Commitment to an increase would provide reassurance to providers, protect jobs and enable providers to invest in their services and to put effective business plans into place. The Scottish Government requires Councils to establish and pay a rate that ensures this sustainability. 5. People Implications 5.1 A significant number of families in West Dunbartonshire Council access ELC at private providers. At the moment, this equates to approximately one quarter of children accessing ELC across West Dunbartonshire Council. Parents and carers rely on funded providers of their choice; to provide flexible childcare at funded provision to enable them to access work and training. If providers cease to be sustainable, there would be significant work and resource required to increase the number of local authority places to ensure that the Council meets its statutory duty. 6. Financial Implications 6.1 The hourly rate paid has increased over time to achieve the current rate of £6.42 for all eligible 2 year olds and £6.28 for all other eligible children. Page 15
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6.2 The increase in the hourly rate paid to childcare providers can be increased by 3.75% covered from existing budgets and the funding from Scottish Government of £125,000. Any percentage uplift above will cost as undermentioned: 2-3 3-5 Total 3.75% £16,000 £110,000 £126,000 4.00% £17,000 £119,000 £136,000 4.50% £19,000 £134,000 £153,000 5.00% £21,000 £149,000 £170,000 6.3 The hourly increase does not include the £3.00 allocated per day, per child, for food and the £0.58 paid for each child, per session, as part of the Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme. 6.4 This hourly rate proposal captures an increase in the Scottish Living Wage. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 The Key Risks: If the Council does not increase the hourly rate to a level that enables providers in the private and voluntary sectors to be sustainable, there is the risk that: • There will be insufficient places in West Dunbartonshire Council to enable parents to access their children’s funded ELC entitlement which will incur additional cost for the Council as it will need to expand existing services and/or open new services; • There will be a risk to the policy of Funding Follows the Child which is part of the National Standard and fulfilling the statutory duty; • There may be reputational damage to the Council if services close due to not being sustainable, leading to loss of local provision, choice and flexibility for families, loss of employment and community based services; • Providers in the private and voluntary sector may not be able to recruit and retain staff or meet the National Standard, if they are not able to pay the Real Living Wage; • Potential reduction in the quality of service provided if qualified and experienced staff cannot be recruited. 8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 8.1 An Equalities Impact Assessment has not been undertaken for this report. The proposal to increase the hourly rates for funded ELC has no negative impact on people with protected characteristics but has the potential to impact positively on the ELC workforce, which is predominantly female. Page 16
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9. Consultation 9.1 Regular consultation with funded providers. 9.2 Legal Services and the Section 95 Officer have been consulted in relation to the content of this report. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 This report reflects the Council’s aspiration that all West Dunbartonshire children have the best start in life and are ready to succeed. Families are supported in accessing education, learning and attainment opportunities and improved life chances for all children, young people and families. Laura Mason Chief Education Officer ___________________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Alison Bowers, Senior Education Officer, Education, Learning and Attainment Email: Alison.bowers@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Background Papers: Sustainable Rates Guidance Financial Sustainability Health Check Funding Follows the Child and the National Standard for ELC Providers: Interim Guidance Ipsos National Cost Collection Report Wards Affected: All Page 17
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Education Officer Committee: Educational Services Committee 28 March 2025 Subject: Procurement of Vehicles for School Transport 1 Purpose 1.1 This report provides an update on plans to transport pupils with Additional Support Needs (ASN) to and from school from the beginning of school session 2025/26. 1.2 This report seeks approval from Members to proceed with the procurement of six vehicles as part of the fleet to transport children to and from school. 2 Recommendations 2.1 To meet statutory requirements and Council policy, it is necessary to secure provision of transportation for children to and from school. 2.2 It is recommended that Committee: i) Note the progress made securing arrangements for home to school transport for children with Additional Support Needs (ASN); ii) Authorise the Chief Officer - Regulatory and Regeneration to conclude on behalf of West Dunbartonshire Council (the Council), a direct award via ‘The Procurement Partnership Limited’ (TPPL) framework ‘Bath and North East Somerset Council & TPPL’, to Ford Motor Company Limited, Lot 1 Vehicle Chassis with Ford nominating ‘Trust Ford’ as the supplying dealership; and iii) Note that the award shall be for the supply & delivery of six minibuses (17 seat), including a five year warranty at a value of £307,336.26 inclusive of VAT. Delivered to Richmond Street Depot, Fleet and Waste Services, Richmond Street, Clydebank, G811RF in time for the commencement of the new school session in August 2025. 3 Background 3.1 The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 requires Education Authorities to provide appropriate provision to assist pupils with accessing education. The Act requires that free transport be provided for all pupils up to the age of eight who live more than two miles from their local school and pupils over the age of eight who live more than three miles from their local school. 3.2 The policy presently operated by West Dunbartonshire Council provides free home-to-school transport for primary school children who live more than one ITEM 9 Page 19
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mile from their local school and for secondary school children who live more than two miles from their local school. 3.3 During the school day, the Council transport young people between our secondary schools to allow them to access courses provided in another school. 3.4 The Education Authority is also required to make provision for pupils with Additional Support Needs to attend a school to meet their requirements. Presently, our approach is following the outcome of a ‘Team Around the Child’ meeting, transport may be requested for a child to attend school. Depending on the needs of the child, this could take the form of shared transportation or individual transportation with or without an escort. 3.5 Further to the paper presented to committee in March 2025, Education staff have worked with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), and colleagues in the Corporate Procurement Unit, Fleet Services and Drivers Services to scope out requirements for transportation of children with Additional Support Needs. 4 Main Issues 4.1 Our approach which we plan to commence in August 2025 will involve the majority of pupils being transported by Internal Transport to our ASN bases (the Rainbow Base in St, Joseph’s, Leven Base in Renton Campus, Lomond Base in Balloch Campus and the new Riverside School), similar to the existing approach to transporting pupils to Kilpatrick, Vale of Leven Communication Base and Cunard School. To meet this provision, we will need to procure six additional vehicles for the fleet, and recruit additional drivers. Out with the runs taking place at the start and end of the school day, this will increase capacity for transportation during the school day for senior pupils. 4.2 Where the needs of specific individual young people would not be met with shared transportation, we will work with SPT to procure individual contracts using their Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) for Additional Support Needs (ASN). This is presently being used as the preferred route to the market by both Glasgow City Council and Inverclyde Council. Our existing taxi contractors have been made aware of this change, and we have requested that they join SPTs DPS to bid for new contracts from session 2025/26 onwards. Existing contracts that are still required that are already in place from our existing framework will be unaffected. 4.3 Pursuing this approach will generate a saving for the Council but will require Education to make a capital purchase from a revenue budget in 2025/26 for the cost of the vehicles. Savings will be realised from year two and beyond and will be presented as part of future budget saving work. 4.4 This procurement exercise has been conducted in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders and Financial Regulations and the Public Procurement Regulations. Page 20
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4.5 This paper seeks authorisation for the Chief Officer - Regulatory and Regeneration to conclude on behalf of West Dunbartonshire Council (the Council), a direct award via ‘The Procurement Partnership Limited’ (TPPL) framework ‘Bath and North East Somerset Council & TPPL’, to Ford Motor Company Limited, Lot 1 Vehicle Chassis with Ford nominating ‘Trust Ford’ as the supplying dealership for the supply & delivery of six minibuses (17 seat), including a five year warranty at a value of £307,336.26 inclusive of VAT. 4.6 The six minibuses will be delivered to Richmond Street Depot, Fleet and Waste Services, Richmond Street, Clydebank, G811RF in time for the commencement of the new school session in August 2025. The cost of these vehicles would be met from the existing revenue budget for Additional Support Needs (ASN) school transport budget of £1.016M. 4.7 Work continues with Roads and Fleet Management to develop a Service Level Agreement ensuring clarity of roles and responsibilities between Fleet, Drivers Services and Education for the provision of this service. The School Transport policy will be updated to reflect this change, with a review of communications to parents and carers reflecting this change in approach to ensure a smooth transition to a new operating model of delivery. 5 People Implications 5.1 There are no direct people implications arising from this report. 6 Financial & Procurement Implications 6.1 Financial costs in respect of this Contract will be met from the approved budget for ASN school on the current transport service requirements, the anticipated spend will be contained within draft budget. 6.2 All procurement activity carried out by the Council in excess of £50,000 is subject to contract strategy. The contract strategy for Additional Support Needs Contracts was produced by the Corporate Procurement Unit in close consultation with Education Learning and Attainment. The contract strategy included but was not limited to; contract scope, service forward plan, the market, procurement model and routes – including existing delivery vehicles, roles and responsibilities, risks, issues and opportunities and on-going contract management. The contract strategy was approved on 7 May 2025. 6.3 Further opportunities to maximise the positive social, economic and environmental impact for West Dunbartonshire Council through the contract will also be explored, via the use of Community Benefit Clauses included within the tender. 7 Risk Analysis 7.1 If timescales for tendering are met, there is no identified risk to the service in relation to this issue. Page 21
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8 Equalities Impact Assessment 8.1 An equalities impact assessment screening was undertaken which determined a full equalities impact assessment was not required. 9 Consultation 9.1 Procurement, Legal, Education, Learning & Attainment and Section 95 Officer have been consulted on the content of this paper. 10 Strategic Assessment 10.1 High quality school transport contracts contribute to the Council’s strategic priority of our residents being supported to increase life and learning skills, as part of communities that are resilient and thriving. Chief Officer: Laura Mason Service Area: Education Date: 07 May 2025 _____________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Andrew Brown andrew.brown@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: None Background Papers: Item 9 – School Transport, Education Services, 19th March 2025 (link) Wards Affected: All Page 22
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Education Officer Committee: Educational Services Committee 28 May 2025 Subject: Education Delivery Plan 2025/26 1 Purpose 1.1 This report sets out the Education Delivery Plan for 2025/26. 2 Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that Committee notes the new Plan. 3 Background 3.1 In line with the Strategic Planning & Performance Framework, each Chief Officer develops an annual Delivery Plan which sets out actions to help deliver the Strategic Plan and address the performance challenges and service priorities identified in the planning process. The Plan also provides an overview of services and resources, including employees and budgets, sets out the performance indicators (PIs) for monitoring progress and considers the relevant risks. 3.2 In the last few months of 2024/25, several services and teams across the Council were realigned to other Chief Officer areas. Leisure Services is no longer within Education Services and this is reflected in the new Plan. 4 Main Issues 4.1 The new Plan is set out at Appendix 1. 4.2 It outlines the key achievements and challenges over the past year, as well as the priorities for the year ahead. These include: • placing the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education • improving children and young people’s health and wellbeing • closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people • improving skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people • improving achievement, particularly in literacy and numeracy • developing and implement wellbeing, employee engagement, equality and training plans to enable capabilities, improve resilience and promote a diverse workforce. • developing and implement employee life cycle plans in line with the People First Strategy to attract and retain the workforce. ITEM 10 Page 23
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• implementing the service review process including role design, use of new technology and new ways of working to add resilience, address gaps, and establish opportunities for efficiencies • developing and implementing training plans and development opportunities to improve capabilities and resilience within the workforce. 4.3 Implementation of the Plan will be monitored by the management team with mid-year and year-end progress reported to Educational Services Committee around March 2026 and September 2026 respectively, based on an academic year. 5 People Implications 5.1 There are no direct people implications arising from this report. 6 Financial & Procurement Implications 6.1 There are no direct financial or procurement implications arising from this report. 7 Risk Analysis 7.1 Failure to deliver on the actions assigned to Education may have a direct impact on the delivery of the Council’s Strategic Plan. It is essential that remedial action is taken to ensure strategic delivery plans achieve the commitments detailed 8 Equalities Impact Assessment 8.1 Screening and impact assessments will be carried out on specific activities as required. 9 Consultation 9.1 The delivery plans were developed through consultation with officers from the strategic service areas. 10 Strategic Assessment 10.1 The delivery plans set out actions to support the successful delivery of the strategic priorities and objectives of the Council. Chief Officer: Laura Mason Service Area: Education Date: 2 May 2025 _____________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Andrew Brown andrew.brown@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Page 24
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Appendices: Appendix 1: Education Delivery Plan 2025/26 Background Papers: Strategic Planning & Performance Framework 2022/27 Wards Affected: All Page 25
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2025/26 EDUCATION Appendix 1: Education Delivery Plan 2025/26 Page 27
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1 Contents` 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 2. Performance Review ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 3. Strategic Assessment .................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 4. Resources ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Appendix 1: Action Plan .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Page 28
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2 1. Introduction Education comprises a wide range of services covering: 29 Early Learning & Childcare Centres; 34 Primary Schools; 5 Secondary Schools; 7 Specialist Settings; Policy, Performance and Resources; Services for Children and Young People; Raising Attainment; Early Learning and Childcare; and Educational Psychology Service. It is one of seven strategic areas responsible for delivering the Council’s Strategic Plan. Key actions to help achieve that are set out in this Delivery Plan, together with actions to address any performance issues and service priorities identified in the planning process. The progress of this Plan will be monitored and managed by the Education Leadership Team and reported to Educational Services Committee twice yearly, at the mid-point and end of the academic year. 2. Performance Review The Education Leadership Team completed a detailed review of 2024/25 performance, focusing on the following: • 2024/25 Delivery Plan mid-year progress; • National Improvement Framework report; • Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) comparative data; • Citizens’ Panel feedback; • Telephone Survey feedback; • Complaints; • Continuous Improvement; and • West Partnership Critical Indicators. This review highlighted our key achievements in 2024/25 as well as the challenges to be addressed in 2025/26. These are summarised below. Key Achievements • Implementation of Health and Wellbeing trackers in ELC settings, receiving positive feedback from inspection bodies. • ELC Leaders have benefitted from Pedagogical Leadership training, aiding reflection and supporting them in their improvement journey • All settings have received training to support inclusive practice and have engaged well with the revised Inclusion Support model. Page 29
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3 • Settings involved in Validation and ESCA reviews have valued this support and challenge to help them identify clear priorities for improvement. • We have narrowed the attainment gap in the Broad General Education, and maintained strong attainment performance • We have maintained our 100% positive Inspection record, with Dumbarton Academy, Choices School, St. Mary’s (Duntocher) Primary School, Bonhill Primary School and Kilbowie Primary school all receiving positive feedback from HMIE. • In a national thematic review of approaches to school improvement, we received positive feedback on our approaches to supporting and challenging schools. • 15 of our schools achieved Rights Respecting Schools awards at bronze level, with a further two schools achieving Silver level. • Two of our establishments achieved The Promise Award • All Specialist settings embedded SCERTS to support pupil planning and family engagement • 11 children have been identified as the first cohort of pupils to learn in the new Riverside School which will open in August 2025. • West Dunbartonshire has a strong record of progress and performance against National Benchmarks and Quality Indicators for excellence and equity. We rank 9th out of the 32 local authorities for performance with narrowing the attainment gap in the Broad General Education; and in Senior Phase national qualifications rank 5th out of the 32 local authorities for the attainment of our young people versus deprivation. • Achieved a record high of 96.1% of our young people leaving school and entering a positive destination. Key Challenges • Continue to improve and embed inclusive practice within all our ELC settings • Further develop supports to close the poverty related attainment gap for our most disadvantaged children and young people • Embed the use of WDC Competencies and the Skills for Life, Learning & Work to support the attainment of these skills in our children and young people • Improve attendance levels for our children and young people • Support establishments with the Improvement Framework to ensure high standards of provision • Review our Digital Strategy for learning • Develop Faifley Campus and Riverside School in line with our Learning Estate Strategy • Implement Year 5 of ASN Strategy to enhance the capacity of all educational settings to effectively identify, understand, and respond to diverse additional support needs, fostering a culture of inclusion and equitable outcomes for all learners • Implement Year 3 of Whole Family Wellbeing Strategy to develop family support • Support our Care Experienced Children and Young People through our commitment to The Promise Page 30
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4 • Embed the use of the Leadership Pathways Model at all levels through Professional Development Processes and Leadership development • Implement Phase 3 Exit Strategy Strategic Equity Fund/ Pupil Equity Fund • Extend Networked Learning System through Local Learning Communities • Build capacity for curriculum change aligned to refreshed national programme • Develop and promote universal and targeted approaches to support bereavement and loss • Undertake statutory consultation on a change to the secondary school day. • Develop change programme for Senior Phase provision. 3. Strategic Assessment The Education management team completed a strategic assessment to determine the major influences on service delivery and priorities in 2025/26 and beyond. These are summarised below. Financial Challenges The entire public sector is continuing to face significant financial challenges due to a range of factors including inflationary cost increases, pay awards not being fully funded by the Scottish Government and insufficient overall funding to support the delivery of front line and back-office services. The Council are currently faced with an estimated cumulative funding gap 2026/27 of £9.24m rising to £42.77m by 2029/30. We will continue to monitor the overall financial position of the Council and updates on estimated future budget gaps will be reported to Elected Members throughout 2025/26. These challenges require further action to balance our budget and protect services for residents. This will mean available funding will be reduced over time and we will need to reconfigure how we work, what we do, where we work, and potentially reduce the number of people employed. In this context, we will aim to continue to provide a sustainable, quality service to internal clients and the public. In Education, this is always a significant area of challenge, as we are tasked with maintaining teacher numbers, which accounts for 57% of our annual spend. Page 31
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5 Budget Sensitivity Analysis In reviewing the service budget projections, consideration has been given to the sensitivity of these budgets, in particular for higher risk/ higher value budgets which may have a significant impact on budgetary control and future budget projections. The analysis has considered sensitivity around demand, costs and charges, and income levels. Two particular areas were identified as set out in the table below: Budget Sensitivity Area Rational Staff costs Uncertainty at time of reporting of the pay increase for teaching staff (assumed 5% but could be higher). Re-evaluation of support staff roles could impact costs / number of posts that funding can support. Additional Support Needs residential placements Given the high annual cost for such placements (an average £250k per annum) a small increase in the number of external placements can lead to a considerable overspend National Improvement Framework (NIF) Scottish Government revised the National Improvement Framework in 2022, to be formed around five priorities. To aid delivery and reporting, our Delivery Plan will continue to be structured according to these priorities. In 2025/26 we will: • Place the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education; • Improve children and young people's health and wellbeing; • Narrow the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people; • Improve skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people; and • Improve attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy. Meeting Staffing Conditions Established by Scottish Government Scottish Government expect local authorities to maintain teacher numbers at the pre-determined level held in 2023. This is particularly challenging within the context of school roll reductions, reduction in the number of probationer teachers being allocated to West Dunbartonshire, and budget savings. Uncertainty remains around the introduction of reduced class contact time, as additional funding would be required to increase staffing levels to accommodate a reduction in class contact time. In 2025/26 we will: • Develop and implement employee life cycle plans in line with the People First Strategy to attract and retain the workforce. Rise in the Number of Children with Additional Support Needs Page 32
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6 The number of children with additional support needs increases each year. In 2025/26 we will: • Place the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education; • Improve children and young people's health and wellbeing; and • Develop and implement learning and development plans and development opportunities to improve capabilities and resilience within the workforce. Continuous Improvement Continuous improvement is central to all that we do. The actions set out in this section, as well as those at an operational level not included in this Delivery Plan, demonstrate our commitment to continuous improvement and take account of the wider Best Value focus on vision and leadership; governance and accountability; effective use of resources; partnerships and collaborative working; working with communities; sustainability; and fairness and equality. Action Plan The challenges identified in Section 2 and the key factors identified in Section 3 have informed Education priorities for 2025/26. Appendix 1 sets out the action plan to address them. While this shows the top-level actions, there are a significant number of sub-actions sitting below each, that are tracked at Education Management Team level. The Plan also includes: • performance indicators that will enable progress to be monitored and reported to stakeholders; • strategic workforce actions to address workforce issues identified in the planning process; • strategic and/or service risks. In relation to the latter, strategic risks represent the potential for the Council to take advantage of opportunities or fail to meet stated strategic objectives and those that require strategic leadership. Service risks relate to service delivery and represent the potential for impact on individual services, or the experience of those who work within the services, i.e. employees, partners, contractors and volunteers or service users and clients in receipt of the services provided. In identifying the relevant risks for 2025/26 and actions to mitigate them, we aim to improve or maintain the current position (i.e. the current risk score) set out in the appendix. Page 33
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7 4. Resources Finance Education has a net revenue budget of £137.586m and a capital budget of £11.664m in 2025/26. A breakdown by service area is set out below. We will make the best use of the resources available to deliver our key priorities. Service Area Gross Expenditure 2025/26 (£m) Gross Income 2025/26 (£m) Net Expenditure 2025/26 (£m) Capital Budget 2025/26 (£m) (Figures subject to ongoing verification) Primary 34.266 0.342 33.924 11.614 Secondary 37.196 0.980 36.216 0.050 Special 23.635 0.329 23.305 0.000 Psychological 0.780 0.100 0.681 0.000 Sports Development/Active 0.627 0.000 0.627 0.000 Pre 5s 19.523 0.057 19.466 0.000 Cultural Services 0.789 0.123 0.666 0.000 PPP 18.395 0.000 18.395 0.000 Curriculum for Excellences 0.078 0.000 0.078 0.000 Central Admin 1.014 0.061 0.954 0.000 Workforce CPD 0.285 0.000 0.285 0.000 Performance & improvement 0.519 0.037 0.482 0.000 Education Development 2.740 0.233 2.507 0.000 Scottish Attainment Challenge 0.852 0.852 0.000 0.000 Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) 3.381 3.381 0.000 0.000 Total 144.080 6.495 137.586 11.664 Page 34
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8 Employees Employee Numbers The headcount and full-time equivalent staff in each service area (as of 31st March 2025) are as follows: Service Area – Support Staff Headcount FTE Central ASN Support Service 31 21.23 Children and Young People 5 4.60 Early Years 462 373.58 Education Central Management 5 5 Education Development 24 21.17 Music Service 19 12.80 Performance and Improvement 4 4 Primary Schools 226 172.48 Psychological Services 11 9.20 Schools - Peripatetic 1 0 Secondary Schools 102 85.19 Special Schools and Units 129 98.24 Technician Services 21 18.60 Workforce CPD 9 8.20 Total – Support Staff 1049 834.29 Page 35
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9 Employee Absence The 2024/25 quarterly absence figures for Education are shown below, together with the Council average for the same periods for comparison. 2024/25 Absence Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Annual FTE days lost per FTE employee Education – Support Staff 3.9 2.55 5.38 5.41 15.1 Teachers 2.49 1.27 2.52 2.59 7.94 Council wide Total 4.19 3.72 4.61 4.14 14.24 Service Area – Teachers Headcount FTE Central ASN Support Service 38 34.40 Primary Schools 455 405.70 Schools – Peripatetic 2 0 Secondary Schools 445 410.40 Special Schools and Units 86 80.60 Total – Teachers 1026 931.10 Grand Total 2075 1765.39 Page 36
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10 Appendix 1: Action Plan Please note, all 2025/26 targets are indicative until year-end data for 2024/25 is available. Our communities Our neighbourhoods are safe, resilient and inclusive Performance Indicator 2025/26 Owner Target Cases of exclusion per 1,000 school pupils 20 Claire Cusick School Attendance Rates per 100 pupils 90.0% Claire Cusick School Attendance Rates for Looked After Children per 100 Looked After Children 85.0% Claire Cusick School Exclusion Rates per 1000 pupils 20.5 Claire Cusick School Exclusion Rates for Looked After Children per 1000 looked after children 75.5 Claire Cusick Action Due Date Owner Place the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education 30-Jun-2026 Claire Cusick Page 37
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11 Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Owner Failure to place the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education This risk concerns the delivery of UNCRC and ensuring these are integral to the planning, experiences and supports we offer children, young people and their families. Claire Cusick Our residents’ health and wellbeing remains a priority Action Due Date Owner Improve children and young people's health and well being 30-Jun-2026 Claire Cusick Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Owner Failure to improve children and young people's health and wellbeing This risk concerns our ability to develop curriculum, opportunities and supports in collaboration with key stakeholders which will meet the wellbeing needs of our children, young people and families. Claire Cusick; Steve Rivers Page 38
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12 Our residents are supported to increase life and learning skills Performance Indicator 2025/26 Owner Target Percentage of children and young people achieving Curriculum for Excellence levels in literacy 74% Julie McGrogan Percentage of children and young people achieving Curriculum for Excellence levels in numeracy 81% Julie McGrogan Percentage of establishments delivering good or very good high-quality learning & teaching (Outcome of Improvement Framework) 93% Julie McGrogan Percentage of school attendance 90.0% Andrew Brown Percentage of 3 & 4 year old children at ELC achieving the benchmark in literacy 59% Steve Rivers Percentage of 3 & 4 year old children at ELC achieving the benchmark in numeracy 59% Steve Rivers Percentage of ELC settings meeting the National Standard Criteria of good and above 100% Steve Rivers Percentage of pupils gaining 1 + awards at SCQF level 5 85.0% Andrew Brown Percentage of pupils gaining 1 + awards at SCQF level 6 60.0% Andrew Brown Percentage of S3 pupils achieving ACEL Third level+ in Literacy 88% Julie McGrogan Percentage of S3 pupils achieving ACEL Third level+ in Numeracy 90% Julie McGrogan Percentage of S3 pupils achieving ACEL Fourth level+ in Literacy 52% Julie McGrogan Percentage of S3 pupils achieving ACEL Fourth level+ in Numeracy 62% Julie McGrogan Percentage of educational establishments receiving positive inspection reports 100% Julie McGrogan Percentage of pupils gaining 5 + awards at level 5 60% Andrew Brown Page 39
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13 Performance Indicator 2025/26 Owner Target Percentage of pupils gaining 5+ awards at level 6 30% Andrew Brown Percentage pupils in 20% most deprived areas getting 5+ awards at level 5 50% Andrew Brown Percentage pupils in 20% most deprived areas getting 5+ awards at level 6 22% Andrew Brown Overall Average Total Tariff 790.0 Derek McGlynn Percentage of P1, P4 and P7 pupils combined achieving expected CFE Level in Literacy 73.5% Julie McGrogan Percentage of P1, P4 and P7 pupils combined achieving expected CFE Level in Numeracy 80.2% Julie McGrogan Literacy Attainment Gap (P1,4,7 Combined) - percentage point gap between the least deprived and most deprived pupils 11.5 Julie McGrogan Numeracy Attainment Gap (P1,4,7 Combined) - percentage point gap between the least deprived and most deprived pupils 13.8 Julie McGrogan Percentage of pupils achieving expected levels in Writing by P7 75% Julie McGrogan Percentage of funded Early Years Provision which is graded good or better 100% Steve Rivers Action Due Date Owner Close the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people 30-Jun-2026 Julie McGrogan Improve attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy 30-Jun-2026 Julie McGrogan Page 40
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14 Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Owner Failure to narrow the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people This risk concerns the delivery of the key areas within the Scottish Government Strategic Equity Fund. This risk concerns the delivery of approaches to address the equalities gap and those with protected characteristics. This risk concerns the delivery of approaches to address the poverty related equity gap in all sectors. This risk concerns our ability to work successfully to collaboratively plan with a range of partners for successful delivery. Claire Cusick Failure to improve attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy This risk concerns the successful implementation of the four dimensions of the revised West Dunbartonshire Improvement Framework; 1. Collaborative Improvement 2. Enhanced Support 3. Enhanced Scrutiny and Support 4. Leadership Development. This risk concerns our ability to develop of the literacy and numeracy curriculum, opportunities and supports in collaboration with key stakeholders which will meet the needs of our children, young people and families. Julie McGrogan Challenges in implementing broad-ranging school improvement to raise attainment and achievement This risk concerns delivering excellence and equity for children and young people. National and local indicators have been set to monitor progress with outcomes relating to attainment and achievement with a key focus on making progress to narrow the poverty related attainment gap. Scottish Equity funding devolved to local authorities aims to deliver on priorities between 2023-26. This funding will end in 2026. Julie McGrogan Page 41
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15 Our Economy Our residents are supported to access employment and training opportunities Performance Indicator 2025/26 Owner Target Percentage of young people entering a positive destination 97.0% Andrew Brown Participation Rate for 16-19 year olds per 100 91.5 Andrew Brown Action Due Date Owner Improve skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people 30-Jun-2026 Andrew Brown Risk Description Current Assessment Target Assessment Owner Failure to improve skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people This risk concerns the ability to expand course provision and revised learner pathways in the Senior Phase leading including for those young people with Additional Support Needs. This risk concerns our ability to work successfully to collaboratively plan with a range of partners for successful delivery. This risk concerns the development of a skills based approach to the curriculum within the BGE and Senior Phase. Andrew Brown; Julie McGrogan Page 42
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16 Our Council Our workforce is resilient and skilled where digital technology supports service delivery for our residents Action Due Date Owner Develop and implement wellbeing, employee engagement, equality and learning and development plans to enable capabilities, improve resilience and promotion of a diverse workforce 30-Jun-2026 Claire Cusick Develop and implement employee life cycle plans in line with the People First Strategy to attract and retain the workforce 30-Jun-2026 Andrew Brown Implement service review process including role design, use of new technology and new ways of working to add resilience, address gaps, and establish opportunities for efficiencies 30-Jun-2026 Andrew Brown Develop and implement learning and development plans and development opportunities to improve capabilities and resilience within the workforce 30-Jun-2026 Claire Cusick Page 43
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Laura Mason, Chief Education Officer Educational Services Committee: 28 May 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: National Thematic Inspection Report 1. Purpose 1.1 To present to Education Committee the West Dunbartonshire National Thematic Summarised Inspection Findings (March 2025), conducted by His Majesty’s Inspectors of Education (HMIE), along with the National Thematic Inspection Report (March 2025). 1.2 This report is for noting. 2. Recommendations 2.1 The Educational Services Committee is asked to note: (a) the very positive findings relating to West Dunbartonshire in the inspection reports; and (b) the stakeholder feedback, concerns and report conclusions in the national report. 3. Background 3.1 As reported to the Committee in November 2024, His Majesty’s Inspectors visited West Dunbartonshire in September 2024 to inspect the local authority’s approach to school improvement. This inspection formed part of a national review of how all local authorities support school improvement. 3.2 Inspectors reviewed a range of information on the local authority’s approach and programme for school improvement. During the visit, the inspectors talked to senior leaders, local authority officers, parents/carers, headteachers, teachers, representatives from professional associations and elected members. 3.3 The inspection gathered evidence about how West Dunbartonshire Council supports school improvement, with a focus on how the local authority supports schools to improve the quality of education through: • the implementation of effective improvement planning and standards and quality reporting • self- evaluation and quality assurance • professional learning • universal and targeted support and challenge. ITEM 11 Page 45
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3.4 The local authority report detailing findings from the inspection was published in March 2025 (Appendix 1). Key positive findings are summarised at 4.1. 4.0 Main Issues 4.1 West Dunbartonshire Summarised Inspection Report March 2025 The local authority report in Appendix 1 provides detailed findings from His Majesty's Inspectors of Education following their engagement with West Dunbartonshire. The Committee is provided with a summary of the quality practice within the Education Service, as identified in the report. 4.1.1 Theme 1: Improvement Planning and Standards and Quality Reporting West Dunbartonshire provides clear and effective guidance to school leaders, collaborating with central officers to develop and deliver the Improvement Framework, supported by the Excellence and Equity Board. School leaders value this structure for maintaining a strong focus on improvement within their communities. The revised approach to improvement planning is widely regarded as a success by headteachers and teachers, who feel empowered to streamline priorities and focus on key areas effectively. Officers in central teams undertake regular, purposeful school visits focused on improvement. School leaders appreciate these visits and the professional dialogue with central team officers, who provide valuable support, challenge, and guidance. Local authority officers have introduced a user-friendly, technology-driven approach to standards and quality reporting, which has been positively received by headteachers, parents, staff, and learners. Parent Council chairs highlight school leaders' inclusive and responsive engagement with Parent Council feedback. Central team officers play a crucial role in supporting school leaders in refining their strategies and identifying areas for further development. 4.1.2 Theme 2: Self-Evaluation and Quality Assurance The local authority employs effective methods to evaluate school performance within West Dunbartonshire Council’s Improvement Framework. These approaches ensure rigorous and accurate self-evaluation through reliable data, fostering a culture of support, challenge, and collaboration across all sectors. Education officers’ work is quality assured through the Improvement Board, ensuring reports to elected members accurately reflect the impact of education initiatives. Professional association representatives commend the authority’s commitment to understanding its schools. Their collaboration with education Page 46
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officers has led to improved incident reporting and the development of a new health and safety reporting format, enhancing staff wellbeing and working conditions 4.1.3 Theme 3: Professional Learning The local authority’s professional learning approach is rooted in a strong culture of collaboration and capacity-building. The Professional Learning Team oversees the development of a comprehensive programme aligned with national and local priorities. Headteachers and teachers highly value its quality and impact on school improvement. In recent years, the local authority has significantly invested in long-term professional learning for teachers, focusing on improving learning, teaching, and assessment. School leaders praise its quality and high participation rates, recognising its role in strengthening attainment, curriculum, and consistency across departments and schools. The well-developed Leadership Pathways model provides leadership and learning opportunities for all school and early years staff. The Professional Learning Team collaborates with education officers, school leaders, teachers, practitioners, and support staff to ensure the programme meets school and community needs. Unpromoted teachers benefit from leadership opportunities such as data leads, champions, and ambassadors. Central officers provide ongoing support through training, forums, networks, and communities of practice, fostering collaboration across schools and the wider authority. The local authority strategically utilises Associate Assessors, peer leaders, and peer teachers to provide targeted support and collaborative learning. This collective approach reinforces a strong ethos of shared responsibility, ensuring positive outcomes for West Dunbartonshire’s children and young people. 4.1.4 Theme 4: Universal and Targeted Support and Challenge The local authority has a clear programme of universal and targeted support and challenge for its schools. The ‘Pathways’ model is a key part of the Improvement Framework. It was introduced in academic session 2023/2024. All schools and early years establishments are allocated to a pathway based on capacity for improvement, performance data and contextual local knowledge. Headteachers and senior leaders are very positive about the pathways model of support and challenge. They feel it is transparent and proportionate. They state that the ethos and approach is supportive and helpful, promoting honest and open dialogue between school leaders and central officers about strengths and challenges. They feel that the core and enhanced scrutiny helps to sharpen their focus on own their school improvement journey. Page 47
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4.1.5 Other Relevant Information and Challenges: The report highlighted that stakeholders expressed concerns about financial constraints and the impact of budget reductions on schools and the local authority, affecting ICT infrastructure, staffing levels, curriculum delivery, and the ability to support a growing number of children with Additional Support Needs (ASN). 4.2 National Thematic Report March 2025 A national report of the findings from all local authority inspections was also published in March 2025 and is attached at Appendix 2. West Dunbartonshire Council received positive recognition in the national report. The national report recognised there is much to commend across local authorities with strong improvement and strategic leadership at all levels emerging as powerful drivers for sustainable improvement. However, the report also identifies where improvement is needed to reduce variability across local authorities in terms of the quality of support provided to schools. The fiscal challenges facing local authorities are reported as significant with the report recognising the need to retain in local authorities high quality staff and consistent in-person engagement with schools. The national report highlights West Dunbartonshire’s strong partnership between officers and schools, alongside the work of the Excellence and Equity Improvement Board, which has been recognised for supporting school leaders in meeting quality standards and expectations. Headteachers commend the quality of West Dunbartonshire’s approach, stating: ‘A key strength is the extent to which we know our schools and work in partnership to support improvement…..Headteachers are fortunate to work with a great team of senior managers who truly understand their schools. There is a constant drive for improvement.’ The report also features West Dunbartonshire’s Enhanced Scrutiny and Collaborative Action (ESCA) visits, which involve in-depth evaluations of specific areas of a school’s work. These visits offer an objective perspective and constructive feedback on school self-evaluations. Headteachers find these visits extremely valuable, as they provide insights that inform decision- making and guide the next steps for improvement. 5. People Implications 5.1 The Thematic Inspection Report highlighted stakeholder concerns regarding the impact of reduced teacher and support staff numbers on schools' ability to meet the needs of children and young people. This challenge is particularly pressing given the increasing number of children requiring Additional Support Needs. Furthermore, as the Council experiences higher-than-average poverty levels, any reduction in personnel places additional strain on support services for children and families. Page 48
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5.2 As referenced in section 4.2, inspectors have highlighted the importance of local authorities retaining high-quality staff and ensuring consistent in-person engagement with schools. Maintaining this engagement requires the continued provision of officers and peer staff to conduct in-person improvement visits 6. Financial and Procurement Implications 6.1 Funding from Scottish Government supports the delivery of work referenced in the Thematic Inspection Report through the Strategy for Excellence and Equity. The Education Committee will be aware that a tapered reduction of Strategic Equity Funding was announced in 2022 reducing the annual income to West Dunbartonshire; and reducing the capacity of the service to deliver strategic priorities for school improvement. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 Current budget constraints and the reduced funding model could impact negatively on sustained improvement in future academic sessions. However, we will continue to monitor this closely to inform future planning. 8. Equalities Impact Assessment 8.1 A full Equality Impact Assessment was submitted to Committee in March 2022 and identified that the decrease in funding will reduce capacity. Scope exists to mitigate impact with the development of the Strategy for Excellence and Equity 2023-2027. 9. Consultation a. Legal Services and the Section 95 Officer have been consulted in relation to the content of this report. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 This report reflects the Council’s overarching priority to support our communities to thrive. Laura Mason Chief Education Officer April 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Julie McGrogan, Senior Education Officer, Department of Education, Learning and Attainment, Council Offices, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton, G82 1QL Telephone No: 01389 737316 Email: julie.mcgrogan@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Page 49
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Appendix: 1. National Thematic Summarised Inspection Findings on West Dunbartonshire (March 2025) 2. National Thematic Inspection Report (March 2025) Background Papers: Equality Impact Assessment – March 2022 Wards Affected: All wards Page 50
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1 National Thematic Inspection: Local authority approaches to supporting school improvement Summarised Findings Local Authority West Dunbartonshire Council Lead inspector David McKellar In September/ October 2024, a team of inspectors from Education Scotland visited West Dunbartonshire Council. During our visit, we talked to senior leaders, local authority officers, parents/carers, headteachers, teachers, representatives from professional associations and elected members. Purpose and themes The purpose of the visit was to gather evidence about how West Dunbartonshire Council supports school improvement, with a focus on how they support schools to improve the quality of education through: • the implementation of effective improvement planning and standards and quality reporting • self- evaluation and quality assurance • professional learning • universal and targeted support and challenge Context of the local authority The population of West Dunbartonshire largely lives in urban geographical areas to the west and north of Glasgow. Seventy one percent of children and young people in primary and secondary schools live within deciles 1-2 of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Approximately 47% of children in primary and 50% of young people in secondary have been assessed as requiring additional support with their learning. The average attendance in 2022/2023 was 88.4%. The national average is 90.2%. Across West Dunbartonshire there are five secondary schools, 32 primary schools, seven special schools, and four schools with a special unit. There are 29 Early Learning and Childcare Centres. The Chief Education Officer leads a team of four Senior Education Officers and a Principal Psychologist. Appendix 1 Page 51
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2 Theme 1 - How do local authorities support schools to improve the quality of education through implementing effective improvement planning and standards and quality reporting? • How clear and effective is the local authority’s arrangements and advice to schools on self-evaluation, improvement planning and standards and quality reporting? • How does the local authority ensure that schools’ self-evaluation is accurate, rigorous and robust, based on reliable and comprehensive data and information? • In what ways does the local authority promote collaboration with all stakeholders, especially learners, as essential to effective self-evaluation and identification of priorities? • What is the role of central teams in providing critical feedback to school leaders on the quality/robustness of their self-evaluation and school improvement planning processes? • To what extent does the local authority use the data from individual school or cluster improvement plans and standards and quality reports, to direct their officers’ work? West Dunbartonshire local authority provides clear and effective guidance and advice to school leaders on self-evaluation, improvement planning and standards and quality reporting. The local authority has established clear service outcomes and expectations. These help school leaders develop consistent standards in school improvement planning. They demonstrate through improvement planning the connection between school priorities and local and national priorities. Officers have worked well with school leaders to develop the West Dunbartonshire Council Improvement Framework. The framework sets out successfully the education authority’s expectations on self-evaluation, quality assurance and improvement. An Excellence and Equity Board, which includes officers in central teams and school leaders, provides governance to school leaders. School leaders shared that the framework and governance has been valuable in helping them maintain a focus on improvement within the context of their school community. Furthermore, the strong partnership between officers and schools, combined with the work of the Excellence and Equity Board, helps school leaders meet the standards and expectations outlined by the framework. The local authority’s revised approach to improvement planning is viewed as a particular success by headteachers and teachers. School leaders plan for improvement over a three-year cycle. Each year, they identify priorities as areas to ‘engage, embed, evaluate or extend.’ The emphasis on planning for improvement has a clear focus on identifying the intended outcomes for school leaders, teachers, learners, families and communities. School leaders report that this helps their staff teams to focus more on the impact of planned professional learning and development work. School leaders report that they feel empowered to streamline improvement priorities to focus on a few areas and do these well. Across the last two academic sessions, the local authority has revised its approach to quality assurance and monitoring outcomes. This is linked closely to building capacity for improvement and resilience across the system. The local authority prioritised time for officers to present to schools about the refreshed approaches. These were delivered through service-wide forums and other meetings. This work ensured that the refreshed approaches were understood by all at school level. School leaders shared that this helped them enhance and improve approaches to quality assurance and school improvement planning. Page 52
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3 Local authority officers have developed a new and user-friendly approach to reporting on standards and quality, using interactive technology rather than a document-based approach. Headteachers report that this more dynamic and inclusive reporting style has been welcomed by parents, staff and learners. They gave many examples of teachers and learners contributing to the standards and quality report through videos, podcasts and photographs. As a result, whole school communities are now actively engaged in school improvement planning processes. They are involved in identifying and celebrating successes and highlighting next steps. Headteachers and staff in schools report that this new approach is helping to develop a clear cycle of improvement planning and reporting on standards. The local authority prioritises developing school leader and staff capacity to use data effectively to improve outcomes for children and young people. This includes appointing ‘data leads’ who support schools to interpret and use data. Officers meet school leaders regularly across the school year to discuss what data and information is telling them about school performance and how well the school is improving. For example, an officer from a central team tracks school level attendance data across the year. They expect school leaders to analyse school level data each month with an agreed focus group or cohort. Examples of focus groups and cohorts include those with additional support needs; less than 80% attendance, free school meals entitlement, and care experienced children. This regular focus on attendance is helping school leaders to identify where improvement is required and why. Now that they have this rich data, school leaders working in partnership with officers aim to improve attendance for groups and individual children and young people. Officers undertake regular visits to schools which have clear and agreed purposes. They use visits to focus directly on school improvement using appropriate self-evaluation, data and other information. School leaders report that these visits support them very well to ensure improvement priorities are manageable, accurate and relevant to the school’s needs. School leaders are enthusiastic about the opportunities to frequently engage in professional discussion with officers. They agree that senior education officers are effective in providing support, challenge and guidance on how they plan for improvement. School leaders feel confident to approach officers when they identify a potential area that requires specific focus. School leaders work well in partnership with parent bodies to agree strategic priorities and operational priorities for their school community. Of the Parent Council chairs that contributed to focus groups, all shared that they find school leaders consistently inclusive and responsive to challenge provided by Parent Councils. They all agreed that senior education officers, including the Chief Education Officer, welcome discussions around school performance. They see this as a very positive aspect of the work of the local authority. Officers play a crucial role in ensuring school leaders receive timeous feedback on the quality and robustness of their self-evaluation and improvement planning process. They have agreed times across the school year where officers meet with school leaders to quality assure standards and quality reports. Officers work with Page 53
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4 school leaders to ensure they have time to prepare for meetings. Officers and school leaders work effectively to analyse progress being made towards outcomes in improvement plans. Where officers identify areas that require improvement or more focus, they agree with headteachers how this can take place with support from the local authority. They ensure that this follows agreed processes as outlined in the West Dunbartonshire Council Improvement Framework. The local authority has an established proportionate model of improvement using data to inform central support to schools. Very recently, (2023/2024), this was relaunched as ‘The Pathways Model’. This model supports officers and schools agree the level of support a school will receive each session. Officers provide all schools with a ‘core’ offer of support across the school year. This includes 4 in- person visits, sharing of school data, support and challenge. Schools that are performing well remain on this pathway. Schools that require some support on agreed identified areas but continue to perform well overall, may move to the ‘enhanced’ pathway. Although in the early stages of application, ‘The Pathways Model’ has been welcomed by school leaders. They see this as a positive and transparent approach to using self-evaluation data and information to bring about meaningful improvement in schools. They appreciate the collaborative approach and feel strongly that they benefit professionally from participating in peer review visits. Enhanced Scrutiny, Collaborative Action (ESCA) visits are ‘deep dives’ into one of the core quality indicators from ‘How Good is Our School? 4th edition’. School leaders identify an area for focused attention. A team of education officers and school leaders from other schools visit the school for one day. They provide an objective view and critical feedback on the school’s own self-evaluation. School leaders often choose an area of practice that they feel needs further development. They report that the supportive, but robust, dialogue is extremely helpful in deciding next steps for improvement and identifying areas that require focussed attention. Examples of areas of practice that school leaders have chosen for an ESCA include: safeguarding, additional support needs (ASN) provision, moderation of Curriculum for Excellence levels, use of data to inform improvement, the quality of learning environments, and the use of Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) to close the poverty-related attainment gap. All schools undergo a validated self-evaluation (VSE) visit every three years. A team of officers and school leaders carry out a range of evaluative activities, such as lesson observations, meetings with focus groups, and scrutinising data. These three-day visits cover the same quality indicators that HM Inspectors evaluate and grade during school inspections. The visiting VSE team aims to validate the school’s own self-evaluation of their performance. Theme 2: How do local authorities support schools to improve the quality of education through self-evaluation and quality assurance? • What methods does the local authority use to evaluate school performance (review the quality of education) for example, gathering evidence from stakeholders, review/validated self-evaluation visits, attainment analysis)? How effective are these methods? How often does this take place? Page 54
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5 • To what extent do officers carry out regular and rigorous evaluation of the quality of school provision? How is this work quality assured? • How does the local authority evaluate the quality of learning, teaching and assessment? • How clear and effective is the advice and support for schools on approaches to self-evaluation and their quality assurance? How effectively does the local authority moderate this at strategic and school levels? • How does the local authority identify and share effective practice through quality assurance? Is this making a difference across the authority? The local authority uses a range of effective methods to evaluate school performance. These approaches sit firmly within West Dunbartonshire Council’s Improvement Framework. The first of two strands in the improvement framework, ‘Quality Assurance and Monitoring Outcomes’ expects officers to regularly monitor standards and expectations in each school. As a result, officers provide schools with a consistent and purposeful approach to evaluating school performance. For example, all schools receive regular feedback on standards and quality support, feedback on its school improvement plans and in person meetings to ensure schools are meeting the expected standards set out by the local authority. Officers protect time for school leaders across the year. This protected time is valued highly by school leaders who shared that being given the time to reflect properly improves the quality of improvement and attainment meetings. The local authority has a range of effective approaches which ensure school’s self-evaluation is accurate, rigorous and robust based on reliable and comprehensive data and information. Through the range of approaches used by the local authority to engage with school leaders and staff, there is a well-developed culture of support, challenge and professional regard across all sectors. This ensures that the use of data and information is strong and comprehensive. The work of officers is quality assured through the local authority Improvement Board. This provides senior education officers and the Chief Education Officer with assurance that reports to elected members accurately reflect the work and impact of education. The local authority evaluates the impact of the Improvement Framework annually. It refreshes its approaches to evaluate the quality of education provided in each of its schools. Officers and school leaders work very closely to regularly and frequently review and use data and information. Officers analyse data, refer to school improvement plans, standards and quality reports and quality indicator evaluations, self-evaluation or inspection reports. They use this to agree how much support is required beyond ‘core’ supports. They then work with school leaders to agree what level of support is required within the Local Authority ‘Pathways Model’ of support. These ‘pathways’ are known locally as ‘core,’ ‘enhanced’ and ‘supported improvement’ models. Each pathway has a focus on monitoring and improving outcomes for children and young people. Local Authority ‘pathways’ are regarded as a positive step for school empowerment as school leaders are able to use their self-evaluation evidence to determine which pathway they should be on. Officers support schools with identifying the correct pathway. School leaders use clear and transparent criteria Page 55
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6 to ensure that the pathway agreed matches the level of support required by the school. School leaders are working more effectively in gathering the right data and information at the right time. They are well supported by officers to gather data across the year. This fits in well with the timings of education officer visits. School leaders shared that it is having a positive impact on self-evaluation and early identification of areas of strength and areas that require improvement. They feel that this is supporting them and their education officer to be more responsive to improvement and adapt school improvement plans accordingly. School leaders speak highly of the ‘milestone planning approach.’ They gave examples of how milestone planning, and the regular quality assurance helps them ensure progression towards intended outcomes remains on track. Officers, along with a partner headteacher, use data and information to have robust conversations with school leaders. These conversations are framed and structured well within Broad General Education Attainment Reviews and Senior Phase Attainment Reviews. During these reviews, school leaders and officers identify areas that have evidence of strong performance and areas that are a cause for concern. Where appropriate, schools and officers agree areas around attainment that require more focused attention. Officers ensure that focused attention support meetings do not solely rely on schools’ own interim Attainment of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL). They sample children and young people’s work and observe learning. They use the samples of work to moderate the school’s ACEL data and to provide assurance that data is robust. Thereafter, school leaders have to demonstrate clearly how they aim to improve attainment outcomes for children and young people in the school. School leaders shared that they feel the use of data for self-evaluation and quality assurance is as strong as it has ever been in their school, across the learning community and across the local authority. The local authority has a strong commitment to supporting peer school leaders to contribute to its collaborative improvement approaches. School leaders maintain a high profile across all aspects of the improvement work undertaken by the local authority. For example, the local authority provides each school with a validated self-evaluation (VSE) visit on a three-year rolling programme. They use information provided from VSEs, along with recent inspection evidence, school self-evaluation information, the quality and standards report, and a range of data. This helps them build up and sustain a thorough knowledge of each school. Peer school leaders join the VSE team visiting a school. Additionally, this approach is helping them develop their own approaches to self-evaluation and quality assurance for their own school. Overall, the VSE approach is impacting positively on the identification of improvement priorities across the local authority. This approach is strengthening school level reporting on outcomes for children, young people and families. Professional association representatives spoke highly of the importance the local authority places on knowing its schools well. For example, professional association representatives are working with officers to improve reporting on incidents in schools. They are working toward developing a new health and safety Page 56
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7 reporting format that aims to provide accurate data and information to the local authority. They feel this exemplifies the commitment of the local authority to improve working conditions for school staff and increase wellbeing at work. They are confident that any areas identified will be acted upon by the local authority and used to improve behaviour and relationships in schools for learners and staff which will lead to improved outcomes. Theme 3: How do local authorities support schools to improve the quality of education through professional learning? • What professional learning does the local authority currently provide to support school improvement? • What is the impact of this on developing the skills and knowledge of school leaders and staff on school improvement? • What support systems (e.g., mentoring, networks of practice, peer support groups, cluster support) are available for school leaders and staff? How are these approaches improving school performance and outcomes for learners? • To what extent do senior leaders have opportunities to support improvement beyond their own establishment? What difference is this making? • How effectively does the local authority utilise Associate Assessors (if applicable) to support school improvement across establishments. • Does the local authority’s professional learning strategy draw on support from national organisations? The local authority’s approach to professional learning is founded on an embedded culture of collaboration and has a clear focus on capacity-building. Officers in the authority’s Professional Learning Team are responsible for the development of a professional learning programme. The programme covers a blend of professional learning opportunities for staff at all levels in schools, including support and ancillary staff. Professional learning opportunities include short and long-term courses, mentoring and coaching opportunities, buddying/shadowing arrangements, and an extensive range of networks and forums. The Professional Learning Team ensures that the professional learning on offer is aligned fully to national and local priorities. They consult headteachers and staff at all levels regularly on the content and delivery methods that are most successful. They make changes to the programme as a result of the feedback they receive. Headteachers and teachers feel strongly that the local authority provides a very helpful programme of professional learning that is of high quality and helps them to drive forward improvements in their schools. The authority’s model of professional learning is based firmly on the Education Scotland National Model. It supports staff to identify, participate in and reflect on the impact of professional learning on themselves as learners, and importantly on the children, young people and families they work with. In recent years, the local authority has invested in long-term professional learning for teachers, with a focus on improving learning, teaching and assessment in Page 57
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8 classrooms. School leaders speak very highly of the quality of this professional learning, and state that take-up amongst teachers is high. One example is ‘Improving Our Classrooms’ (IOC), a year-long General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) accredited programme for class teachers in primary, secondary and ASN schools. Teachers and school leaders state that their participation in this programme is improving staff’s confidence and ability in using data and self-evaluation for improvement. They are confident that is helping to raise attainment, improve the quality of the curriculum and ensure a better consistency of learning and teaching across departments and schools. Staff appreciate the in-person and webinar approaches to delivery and opportunities to work with colleagues in different local authorities. This type of highly effective professional learning aligns very well with the outward-looking approach of the local authority as a whole. Almost all West Dunbartonshire primary school teachers are engaged in the ‘Visible Learning + Improvement Programme.’ This three-year programme, developed by Professor John Hattie, is based on international research from over 96,000 studies into what works best in schools to accelerate learning and achievement. Primary headteachers state that their staff’s engagement in this high-quality training is leading to consistently better learning and teaching across schools. In adopting this approach, the local authority is improving its understanding of what practice works well in meeting learners’ needs within its schools. This is part of its planning to reduce the impact of the changes to Strategic Equity Funding. The authority has a well-developed Leadership Pathways model that provides a continuum of leadership and learning opportunities for all school and early years staff. The Professional Learning Team liaises with officers, school leaders, teachers, practitioners and support staff to ensure that the content and delivery style of the Leadership Pathways meets the needs of schools and communities. The Leadership Pathways model is based on the principles of the Education Scotland National Model of Professional Learning, which promotes the undertaking of a wide range of high-quality, sustained professional learning experiences. The pathway is based on GTCS Professional Standards, the Framework for Education Leadership and for early years staff, Scottish Social Services Council National Occupational Standards and the national Step into Leadership programme. The authority provides a range of worthwhile leadership opportunities for unpromoted teachers in schools, such as data leads, champions, and ambassadors. Officers support teachers to undertake each of these roles through training, monthly forums, networks and communities of practice. For example, the authority’s data officer is responsible for leading a new and innovative digital literacy professional learning programme for unpromoted teachers. Each school has a nominated teacher who will act as a ‘data lead’ for two years. They each receive training and ongoing support from the data officer to build their skills and confidence in analysing a wide range of school and authority-wide data. They meet termly to share practice and build their knowledge and skills in using data to improve outcomes for learners. In their second year as ‘data lead,’ they will Page 58
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9 mentor another colleague in their school to take on the role. In this way, over time increasing numbers of teachers will benefit from in-depth training in using and analysing data. This provides staff with valuable opportunities to develop leadership skills and helps school leaders with planning for continuity of knowledge and experience within schools, as teachers move on. Teachers who are current ‘data leads’ speak with enthusiasm and passion about their leadership roles. They feel strongly that their more focused use of data is improving learning and teaching, and in particular, how they plan to meet the needs of all learners. They appreciate the opportunities to work collaboratively and share their expertise in their own schools, and more widely across the authority. The local authority uses the expertise of Associate Assessors (AA) in planned and effective ways. For example, AAs support headteacher colleagues who are new in post, or new to the authority. They provide support to headteacher colleagues in ensuring accurate and robust self-evaluation, using their national perspective of standards. They also provide practical support and guidance for school leaders, whose schools may be due for inspection. School leaders are open to support and challenge from colleagues. This is achieved through the local authority approach to involving school leaders in the Improvement Framework activity for example Attainment Reviews, VSE, ESCA. School leaders report that the positive and supportive culture within the local authority allows for high-quality and robust professional dialogue during quality assurance visits. They value this form of very well-established peer-to-peer support and feel confident to provide critical feedback and challenge to one another. This is enhancing the strategic leadership capacity within the local authority. It also contributes to the positive and tangible ethos of collective responsibility of all for West Dunbartonshire’s children and young people. Theme 4: How do local authorities deliver universal support and challenge for all schools, and/or targeted support for specific schools to improve the quality of education? • What is the universal offer of support and challenge for all schools? • How does the local authority use the data from individual school or cluster improvement plans and standards and quality reports, to provide targeted support? • What measures are used to identify the need for targeted support? • Is there targeted support for specific schools? What might that look like? (examples?) What action is taken if a review of a school concludes that a school is not performing satisfactorily and requires targeted support? • What support systems (for example: mentoring, networks of practice, peer support groups) are available for school leaders and staff? • What is the role of central staff in facilitating/contributing to collaborative approaches, which improve school performance and outcomes for learners? Page 59
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10 The local authority has a clear programme of universal and targeted support and challenge for its schools. The ‘Pathways’ model is a key part of the Improvement Framework. It was introduced in academic session 2023/2024. All schools and early years establishments are allocated to a pathway based on capacity for improvement, performance data and contextual local knowledge. The three pathways are: • Core – universal offer for schools that do not require additional support, • Enhanced – additional support for a specific purpose, such as a school due to be inspected, or where a new headteacher has been appointed, School leaders that evaluate an aspect of their practice as ‘satisfactory’ in their standards and quality report will be allocated to this pathway, • Supported - supported improvement model where a school requires extra help to secure improvement. Schools on this pathway are identified through evaluations of ‘satisfactory’ or below in standards and quality reports; VSEs; local contextual information; and following external inspections where weaknesses in provision are identified. Schools on the core pathway receive a quality assurance visit at least once each term from a local authority officer or senior officer. Each visit has a clear focus on improvement. This includes: • monitoring standards and expectations - standards and quality validation visits, • Broad General Education and Senior Phase attainment reviews , • impact reviews – focus on learning, teaching and assessment, • PEF reviews. Schools on the enhanced pathway receive the same four core visits across the year, and extra, focused support as part of the local authority improvement framework. Associate Assessors and peer headteachers often help to provide this additional support and guidance through coaching and mentoring. Schools on the supported pathway receive additional scrutiny and extra support to help school leaders and staff to secure improvements. This targeted support may include: • a co-produced action plan setting clear objectives and timescales for required improvement, • allocated officers to support improvement in each identified aspect of practice, • leadership support by allocating a peer headteacher as a mentor and critical friend, • ongoing support from the link officer to boost the school leadership team’s capacity to drive change and improvement, • support from the central team to plan a collegiate in-service programme for staff, focused on improving areas of identified weakness, and • the link officer monitors progress and provides weekly updates to senior education officers. Headteachers and senior leaders are very positive about the pathways model of support and challenge. They feel it is transparent and proportionate. They state Page 60
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11 that the ethos and approach is supportive and helpful, promoting honest and open dialogue between school leaders and officers about strengths and challenges. They feel that the core and enhanced scrutiny helps to sharpen their focus on their own school improvement journey. 5. Any other relevant information All focus groups stated that they were concerned about current and future financial implications of a reducing budget for schools and the local authority. Common areas identified by focus groups and in questionnaire comments related to how a reducing budget impacts on: • ICT infrastructure, • school and local authority capacity to meet the needs of a growing number of children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), • staffing levels, and • the need to ensure they are appropriate to levels of need, and curriculum delivery. Across a number of focus groups there was: • concern surrounding ringfencing of teacher numbers, particularly for local authorities with reducing pupil numbers. Other challenges identified by the local authority during the visit include: • with limited resources, headteachers feel that they are at, or reaching, capacity regarding how they meet needs effectively. ASN trajectory in the local authority is of concern. This raises concerns about reducing attainment gaps for cohorts of children and young people, • high levels of poverty in the council area, which is above national averages, resulting on strain on services who are not fully able to provide support for children and families, and • concern regarding the loss of the Regional Improvement Collaborative after developing positive collaborative working. 6. Effective practice worth sharing • Innovative approaches to improvement planning and standards and quality reporting that actively involve whole school communities. • The governance of school improvement through the Excellence and Equity Board and the Improvement Board. The education authority’s approaches to building capacity and leadership across school staff teams, for example, peer reviews in VSE and ESCA visits, coaching and mentoring, lead roles for non-promoted teachers. Page 61
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1 Local authority approaches to supporting school improvement A national thematic inspection report from His Majesty’s Inspectors of Education 12 March 2025 Appendix 2 Page 63
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2 Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................ 3 Overview ................................................................................................................................ 5 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 6 Main findings and summary messages .................................................................................. 8 Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 10 Supporting effective improvement planning and standards and quality reporting ................ 11 Supporting improvement through self-evaluation and quality assurance ............................. 15 Supporting schools to improve the quality of education through professional learning ........ 20 Delivering universal support and challenge for all schools, and/or targeted support for specific schools to improve the quality of education ............................................................ 26 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 32 Appendix: Questionnaire analysis ........................................................................................ 34 Page 64
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3 Foreword I am pleased to present this national thematic inspection report on how local authorities in Scotland support school improvement. This report reflects insights gathered from all 32 local authorities, offering a comprehensive overview of the strengths, challenges, and opportunities within our education system. Local authorities play a pivotal role in supporting schools to improve the quality of education. This report highlights how they undertake this critical work, focusing on self-evaluation, improvement planning, quality assurance, professional learning, and the delivery of both universal and targeted support to schools. Across Scotland, there is much to commend. We have seen strong examples of strategic leadership, robust data-driven self-evaluation, and collaborative cultures where schools and local authorities work together to improve outcomes for children and young people. Positive relationships, grounded in professional trust and respect, underpin many of these successes. In particular, effective leadership at all levels – central officers, school leaders, and middle leaders – emerges as a powerful driver for sustainable improvement. However, the report also identifies areas where improvement is needed. There is notable variability in the consistency and quality of support provided to schools, both within and across local authorities. The effectiveness of self-evaluation processes requires strengthening, to maximise the progress of children and young people. Strengthening leadership development at all levels is essential for building capacity for continuous improvement. The fiscal challenges facing all local authorities are significant. Financial constraints and the geographical realities of rural and island communities create barriers to consistent support and professional learning opportunities. The rural and remote contexts of a third of Scotland’s local authorities present unique challenges, including attracting and retaining high-quality staff and ensuring consistent in-person engagement with schools. Addressing these challenges requires system-wide collaboration. Despite these pressures, many local authorities are cultivating a culture of excellence and enhanced accountability. Where this culture thrives, there is a strong, collective responsibility to support every child and young person to achieve, regardless of which school they attend. This should be our shared ambition. Another notable strength is the high-quality professional learning available to teachers, supported through a variety of courses, programmes, networks, and coaching approaches. However, there is a gap in comprehensive professional learning for central officers in local authorities – an area that must be addressed to ensure that they are equipped to lead and support improvement effectively. I would like to acknowledge the work of the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) in developing a framework for self-evaluation. This represents an important step towards strengthening the capacity of local authorities to reflect on their performance and secure improvement. Complementing this, our work to develop a framework for inspecting local authorities will provide an essential external perspective. It offers opportunities to strengthen partnerships and support continuous improvement to ensure that efforts are delivering the best outcomes for Scotland’s learners. The learning from this national thematic inspection will directly inform the development of that framework. Page 65
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4 I am grateful to all those who contributed to this thematic inspection, including local authority officers, school leaders, elected members, teachers, professional associations, and parents. Their openness and commitment to improvement are evident throughout this report. Ultimately, this report reinforces a shared ambition: to ensure that all of Scotland’s children and young people benefit from an education system that is inclusive, equitable, and of the highest quality. Together, through continuous reflection, leadership, and collaborative practice, we can achieve this goal – ensuring that every learner thrives in a system committed to their success. Janie McManus His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education Page 66
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5 Overview In June 2024, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education announced a national thematic inspection of local authorities in Scotland. The focus of this thematic inspection was how local authorities support schools to improve. This inspection provides a timely opportunity to reflect on strengths, challenges, and opportunities for ensuring high-quality education for all learners. This national thematic inspection enabled HM Inspectors to explore current priorities for improving school performance across all 32 local authorities in Scotland. We learned what is working well and heard about challenges that local authorities encounter and improvements that need to be addressed to ensure effectiveness across Scotland. Through the national thematic, HM Inspectors gathered evidence on the following themes: • How local authorities support schools to improve the quality of education through implementing effective improvement planning and standards and quality reporting • How local authorities support schools to improve the quality of education through self- evaluation and quality assurance • How local authorities support schools to improve the quality of education through professional learning • How local authorities deliver universal support and challenge for all schools, and targeted support for specific schools to improve the quality of education. Terms of quantity The following standard terms of quantity are used: All 100% Almost all 91%-99% Most 75%-90% Majority 50%-74% Minority/less than half 15%-49% A few less than 15% Page 67
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6 Methodology Visits to local authorities took place between September and November 2024. During the visits, inspection teams met with senior officers and central teams in local authorities to hear about local priorities and approaches to quality assurance and school improvement. HM Inspectors also met with focus groups of headteachers and school leaders, teachers, representatives of professional associations, elected members and chairs of Parent Councils. At the planning stages of these inspections, HM Inspectors recognised the need for flexibility in our approach to meetings so that we could engage with a range of stakeholders who might not be able to travel to a central venue due to location and/or other commitments. We therefore held some meetings and focus groups using a hybrid approach, with some participants joining online and some in person. Who we spoke to As part of our approaches to gathering a range of evidence, we captured the views of headteachers and local authority staff who support improvement through a pre-inspection online questionnaire. Questionnaire responses We received responses from: • 1,328 headteachers • 485 local authority staff The responses to these questionnaires can be found in the appendix. Local authority senior leaders Local authority officers Headteachers Teachers Trade union representatives Parents Elected members Total 150 436 635 479 111 144 126 Page 68
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7 Methodology key facts graphic Page 69
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8 Main findings and summary messages This summary highlights the overarching strengths and areas for further improvement. More detail is contained in the subsequent sections of the report. Supporting effective improvement planning and standards and quality reporting All local authorities provide guidance for self-evaluation, improvement planning, and standards and quality reporting, often using standard templates, exemplars, and timelines. This is most effective when local authorities’ strategic frameworks align school improvement approaches with broader visions for quality improvement in education. In a few local authorities, more work is needed to ensure rigorous evaluation and alignment between local authority and school priorities. Most authorities equip headteachers with a range of useful data (e.g. on attendance and attainment) for self-evaluation and benchmarking. A majority of local authorities should moderate the work of central teams to ensure consistent quality. Some school leaders perceive inequity in the support levels they receive. In most authorities, headteachers are engaged in worthwhile processes to collaborate and share practice, often within clusters. They help to improve quality assurance and self- evaluation approaches. For many authorities, a next step is to fully evaluate the impact of cluster improvement initiatives. Most authorities analyse school self-evaluation and improvement planning processes to inform local priorities, professional learning needs, and to identify targeted support for individual schools. Across authorities, school leaders, including middle leaders, need more support with evaluative writing and evidence-based self-evaluation. For a minority of authorities, challenges exist in demonstrating how self-evaluation informs broader strategic decisions. In a few authorities, collaborative governance structures help some headteachers shape local policies and enhance partnerships. This is practice worthy of sharing more widely. Most authorities actively involve their key stakeholders in aspects of improving policy and planning. Hybrid engagement methods developed during the pandemic continue in many areas, while some forums are being reinstated. Budget cuts and fiscal challenges are a shared concern among all local authorities and school leaders. Supporting schools to improve the quality of education through self-evaluation and quality assurance Most local authorities have well established and well understood systems in place to evaluate and monitor the performance and quality of education in schools, but they are not always effective. The majority of authorities should continue to develop robust ways to evaluate the effectiveness of their school improvement strategies. A minority of local authorities need to moderate more closely the input of central teams to ensure consistency of approach. Page 70
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9 A few local authorities have identified the need to strengthen their systems and approaches to evaluating school performance. This is important to ensure that local authority leaders and officers have an accurate overview of the strengths and areas for improvement across their schools. This will help to ensure there is equitable, targeted support for those schools that need to improve, and that effective practice can be shared more widely. In a minority of local authorities, strategic approaches are demonstrably improving attainment and standards in learning, teaching, and assessment in primary schools, but much less so in secondary schools. In most authorities, there is a need to revisit the principles of self-evaluation for improvement, so that this is well understood by school leaders and staff at all levels, particularly in secondary schools. A few local authorities have developed an effective system leadership approach across their schools. Many more local authorities are working towards this. Where this approach is effective, school leaders and their staff teams provide robust challenge and support to one another. They collaborate and share practice and feel empowered to lead and drive educational change. Building capacity within school teams in using robust, data-driven self- evaluation, strengthened by peer moderation, can help all local authorities to continue to raise standards and produce better outcomes for all children and young people, despite diminishing budgets and numbers of officers in central teams. Supporting schools to improve the quality of education through professional learning All local authorities provide a programme of universally accessible professional learning opportunities for leaders and staff in schools. In a few local authorities, the variability in uptake and engagement in professional learning across schools should be addressed. Most local authorities have well-established or improving professional learning strategies in place. These professional learning programmes are comprehensive and well-informed by national policy, and school and local priorities. Central teams use the expertise available from national organisations and a range of partners to enhance their professional learning offer. This includes, in a few authorities, the strong contribution being made by Educational Psychological Services teams. Almost all local authorities actively encourage and promote the sharing of effective practice among schools and build opportunities for this into meetings and networks. Collaborative working, based on positive relationships and mutual trust, is central to developing the skills and knowledge of staff at all levels. Staff engagement in network groups is customary practice in almost all local authorities. Most local authorities provide well established leadership learning programmes for current and aspiring school leaders. This includes national leadership programmes and locally developed offers. Local authority leaders use this strategy increasingly effectively to improve their ability to recruit and retain school leaders from within their own workforce. Across Scotland, there is a need to continue to develop high-quality leadership learning approaches, focused on self-evaluation, for middle leaders. A quarter of local authorities need to develop more rigorous and consistent approaches to evaluating the impact of their professional learning strategies. This should include monitoring the effectiveness of professional learning on improving the quality of learning and teaching and raising attainment, particularly in the secondary sector. In rural local authorities, geographical context and financial pressures make staff engagement in a broad range of professional learning activities challenging. Central teams Page 71
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10 and staff in schools welcome and devise creative digital solutions to address these barriers. Teachers of Gàidhlig contribute significantly to the work of central teams in a few local authorities. They often have enhanced roles for Gàidhlig Medium Education, beyond their own school. Delivering universal support and challenge for all schools, and/or targeted support for specific schools to improve the quality of education All local authorities have a framework in place to support improvement in their schools. In most local authorities, these frameworks are clear, well-established, and embedded in practice. A few local authorities have recently reviewed their frameworks to make improvements or are in the process of doing so. Almost all local authorities have effective systems and processes in place to identify and organise appropriate levels of support and challenge to individual schools. Most local authorities provide clear advice and strong support to all schools to help them make improvements. In a few local authorities, these processes lack the rigour and consistency to secure improvement. Local authority officers play a key role in the monitoring of school performance, identifying risk and supporting change and improvement. Most local authorities have an accurate understanding of the individual performance of all schools. Almost all local authorities use an evidence-based approach to identify schools that require targeted support. In the majority of local authorities, these approaches are well-established and effective. A few local authorities recognise the need to increase the robustness of the procedures they use to identify schools requiring targeted support. In around half of local authorities, schools receiving targeted or intensive support have clear action plans against which progress can be robustly measured. This is a common area for further development across local authorities. Local authorities with a high number of rural, remote and island schools face significant challenges in maintaining regular, in-person contact between all schools and central officers. Recommendations • Ensure that all schools receive high-quality, consistent support through robust universal provision. This should reduce variability within and across local authorities and secure equitable outcomes for learners. • For schools requiring targeted support, implement robust action planning, monitoring and accountability. This is essential to ensure that necessary improvements for learners are secured at pace. • Prioritise leadership development for middle leaders, particularly in secondary schools, where improvement outcomes are less consistent, with a focus on the principles of self- evaluation for self-improvement. Page 72
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11 • Establish a national professional learning programme for local authority central officers. This will help to build capacity and professional knowledge in school improvement and effective support and challenge practices. • Develop flexible models of support that address the specific needs of rural, remote, and island schools. • Embed local authority collaborative approaches to foster collective accountability for school improvement, ensuring these are consistently grounded in robust self-evaluation, and lead to accurate understanding of individual and collective improvement priorities. • Improve the strategic use of data at both local authority and school levels. This includes developing staff capacity to interpret data effectively and use data-driven insights to inform self-evaluation, improvement planning, and resource allocation. Supporting effective improvement planning and standards and quality reporting All local authorities provide schools with guidance on self-evaluation, improvement planning and standards and quality reporting. This usually includes standardised templates for school leaders to use, exemplars of good practice and timescales for completion. Most local authorities provide comprehensive guidance and advice that is embedded in a strategic quality improvement framework, which sets out a wider vision for school improvement. In these authorities, central officers know their schools very well and have a clear understanding of each school’s strengths, challenges, and improvement needs. In improvement plans, headteachers are required to highlight how they will address local priorities as well as their own school’s needs. In most local authorities, officers provide headteachers with a range of data and performance information to inform their self-evaluation processes. This includes data on attendance, attainment and positive destinations at local authority, cluster, and school levels and for virtual comparators. Headteachers report that this data helps them to evaluate and benchmark their own school’s performance and to identify appropriate improvement priorities for their school. In a minority of local authorities, officers recognise that school leaders would benefit from further support in evaluating school performance more rigorously against national standards and local frameworks. At school level, improvement planning processes do not always lead to better outcomes quickly enough. School staff are not always clear about how local authority priorities align with individual school priorities. Education officers provide all headteachers with evaluative written feedback on draft school improvement plans and standards and quality reports in most local authorities. Where practice is most effective, central teams moderate the quality of this feedback to ensure consistency in the approach they are taking. This is a next step for a minority of local authorities. Some school leaders do not always feel that there is equity and the same level of rigour across central teams. A few local authorities take a digital approach to reporting to stakeholders on standards and quality. All the schools in these local authorities produce standards and quality reports as interactive, digital publications, rather than paper-based documents. Headteachers report that parents, staff, and learners have welcomed this more dynamic and inclusive reporting Page 73
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12 style. Teachers and learners contribute to the standards and quality report through videos, podcasts, and photographs. As a result, wider school communities are now actively engaged in school improvement planning processes. They are involved in identifying and celebrating successes and in highlighting next steps. Headteachers and staff report that this consistent approach is helping to develop a clear cycle of improvement planning and reporting on standards across school teams. Involvement of school leaders Almost all local authorities involve headteachers in reviewing and refreshing approaches to improvement planning and standards and quality reporting. This includes through surveys, working groups and through regular headteacher meetings. Almost all local authorities support their headteachers to work collaboratively in clusters, trios, or quads to lead common areas of improvement. Local authorities share attainment and other data across cluster schools. Headteachers use this data to make comparisons and reflect on their own school’s performance. In a minority of authorities, work has still to be done to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach on individual school improvement. In most local authorities, school leaders are encouraged to be involved in improvement activities beyond their own establishments. These opportunities include being members of validated self-evaluation teams and school reviews and engaging in peer moderation of school improvement plans and standards and quality reports. In a very few authorities, they also include school leaders working across the primary and secondary sectors. Using data from school improvement plans and standards and quality reports to inform strategic decision-making and local authority support In the majority of local authorities, officers collate information from individual school improvement plans and standards and quality reports to identify common areas of good practice, priority and need. They use this information very effectively to inform strategic decisions about local authority priorities, requirements for professional learning and targeted support for schools. This is helping leaders and officers in these authorities to maintain existing high standards, and to secure further improvement in the quality of school education for children and young people. For the minority of local authorities, central staff should consider ways to share with school leaders how school improvement planning and the accuracy of their self-evaluation contributes directly to the wider service improvement plan. There is scope for local authorities to make this process more explicit for school leaders. Most local authorities have identified the need to work with school leaders to support them in the use of evaluative writing. They are also challenging headteachers more about the evidence they use to support their own evaluations of the quality of education. In a few authorities, school leaders are core members of governance boards and provide advice and guidance on the effectiveness of local authority policy and practice, including school improvement approaches. These types of collaborative approaches help to build the capacity of headteachers to evaluate the impact of planned outcomes on school improvement. This contributes to a sense of genuine partnership working and mutual respect between local authority senior leaders and school leaders. Page 74
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13 Stakeholder involvement The majority of local authorities have well embedded approaches to involving parents, learners, Elected Members and professional associations in informing policy and the work of central teams. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the ways that all local authorities engaged with stakeholder groups, and many forums were paused. In more recent years, some authorities have opted to maintain hybrid ways of engagement that were established during periods of lockdown. A few local authorities plan to now reinstate some forums and stakeholder groups. In almost all local authorities, Central Officers and Elected Members reported to have productive and positive working relationships. Elected Members value the timely information and professional advice they receive from senior leaders. In a few local authorities, officers provide training sessions for Elected Members, for example on interpreting attainment data and on Gàidhlig. Elected Members appreciate this approach, and they feel better informed about school performance and statutory duties. During our visits to local authorities, Elected Members in all local authorities raised their concerns about the very challenging fiscal landscape and the resulting cuts to education budgets and some services. Central teams and school leaders across Scotland share these concerns. Where practice is effective, local authority leaders hold regular meetings with the chairs of Parent Councils. Together, they discuss information about educational priorities and strategies to increase parental engagement in decision-making. In other examples, parental engagement officers work with Parent Councils to promote sharing practice across schools. In a few local authorities, parents are invited to help to shape policy and practice, for example for reviewing approaches to inclusion and equity. In a minority of local authorities, there is an embedded approach to stakeholder engagement. Local authority senior leaders make time to listen to the views of learners. Education officers gather the views of children and young people through their quality assurance activities, including during school visits and thematic reviews. Engagement with learners is sometimes promoted through community learning and development (CLD) and third sector partners. In a few local authorities, children and young people’s views have informed the implementation of council-wide priorities, such as tackling poverty and The Promise. Practice examples East Renfrewshire The local authority promotes the collaboration of all stakeholders, especially learners, as essential to self-evaluation. The Director of Education engages regularly with children and young people from all schools to seek their views on a range of themes. The local authority gathers information from surveys completed by children and young people in schools. Through the Young Leaders of Learning approach, children and young people are developing an understanding of how to evaluate aspects of their own and other schools. Pupil and parent-friendly versions of school improvement plans are available in all schools. This is supporting children, young people, and parents to have a better understanding about school improvement. Parents welcome these school improvement plans and standards and quality reports that avoid educational jargon. Page 75
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14 Inverclyde Council Education Service senior leaders meet regularly with focus groups of learners from across the local authority. As a result, there are clear examples of improvements to learners’ experiences that are informed and driven by children and young people. These include learners’ roles in shaping approaches to building racial literacy in schools. Local authority leaders also have a strong working relationship with teachers’ professional associations. Professional associations worked with the authority to improve incident recording and reporting. These improvements mean that more effective actions can be taken to monitor and deal with incidents. These constructive relationships are supporting the local authority and its schools to move forward with change and improvements effectively Renfrewshire Council As part of the local authority’s target to build on inclusive approaches, parents of children with additional support needs (ASN) are invited to volunteer as Parent Ambassadors. Renfrewshire’s Parent Ambassadors play a significant role in advising education officers during the creation or review of local authority policy and practices in relation to inclusion and ASN. They meet four times per year to discuss emerging issues and to consider local authority initiatives. An example of this consultation and collaboration is the development of the local authority’s policy for transitions. Parent Ambassadors feel that they have a genuine voice in representing the families of children with ASN, and in informing the bespoke arrangements and approaches that are frequently required. The City of Edinburgh Council The Director and Heads of Education work very closely with Elected Members. They have established positive, constructive relationships. Education officers deliver a series of workshops for Elected Members, to support them in understanding school improvement systems and policy. For example, education officers have held sessions for Elected Members on interpreting data on Insight (the professional benchmarking tool for analysing attainment data in the senior phase), on Gàidhlig Medium Education, and the local authority’s statutory plan for Gàidhlig. Elected Members speak very highly of this support in helping them make informed decisions to further improve outcomes for children and young people. West Dunbartonshire Council Officers have collaborated with school leaders to develop the West Dunbartonshire Council Improvement Framework. The framework sets out successfully the local authority’s expectations for self-evaluation, quality assurance and improvement. The Excellence and Equity Board, which includes officers in central teams and school leaders, provides important governance to headteachers, central education leaders and elected members. School leaders agree that the framework and governance approach has been valuable in helping them maintain a focus on improvement within the context of their school community. The strong partnership between officers and schools, combined with the work of the Excellence and Equity Board, helps school leaders meet the standards and expectations outlined in the framework. Page 76
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15 “Headteachers are fortunate to work with a great team of senior managers, who know their schools. There is a constant drive for improvement, Collaboration is encouraged, and good practice is shared.” Headteacher “A key strength is the extent to which we know our schools and we work in partnership to support improvement. The balance of support and challenge is not formulaic. We meet schools ‘where they are’ and support is tailored to individual schools’ needs.” Education manager “Being a member of the Excellence and Equity Improvement Board has given me real insight into the local authority's improvement strategies. Their drive to have headteacher colleagues representing each local learning community is having a positive impact, enabling school leaders to work together on improvement initiatives thereby building collective efficacy.” Headteacher Supporting improvement through self-evaluation and quality assurance Methods to evaluate school performance and review the quality of education Most local authorities have well established systems in place to monitor and evaluate the quality of education provision in their schools, but the effectiveness of these systems varies. Common features of effective and embedded practice include: • programmes of formal visits by officers to every school across the year • regular discussions between officers and school leaders about attainment and other data • school reviews, often including peer school leaders We found practice to be highly effective in just over half of local authorities. In these authorities, local authority officers know their schools very well and have a clear understanding of each school’s strengths, challenges and improvement needs. School leaders feel well supported as well as challenged robustly by local authority officers. Their involvement in quality assurance reviews in other schools is helping to build professional capacity and contribute to the creation of a shared understanding of national standards across local authority and school teams. Overall, the majority of local authorities should continue to develop comprehensive approaches to evaluate the effectiveness of their quality improvement strategies. This includes implementing more robust approaches to moderate the work of central teams, such as how accurately officers evaluate school performance, and the quality of feedback they provide to headteachers. This is necessary to ensure better consistency, a shared understanding, and equity of approach across central teams. In a few authorities, a minority of headteachers feel that the quality of support and challenge they received from central officers is inconsistent or not sufficiently robust or frequent enough to help them to improve. Page 77
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16 A few local authorities have identified the need to strengthen their systems for evaluating and reviewing school performance. In these authorities, there are some early signs of positive new approaches being implemented. For example, refreshed frameworks for improvement provide clearer guidance and expectations, including clarity on the roles and responsibilities of central officers and school leaders. These approaches have the potential to support a more effective cycle of continuous improvement. Evaluating and improving the quality of learning, teaching, and assessment A minority of local authorities can demonstrate through robust data that their quality assurance strategy is directly supporting schools to improve the quality of learning, teaching, and assessment. Many more local authorities are developing and improving their systems to achieve this. Where practice is well established, embedded and leading to positive impact, there is a shared understanding between central officers and school leaders that the quality of learning, teaching and assessment is directly linked to outcomes for learners. There is a clear focus on improving the quality of learning, teaching, and assessment in the work of central officers. For example, during quality assurance visits to schools, outwith cyclical programmes of ‘deep dive’ school review, officers will routinely: • observe learning and teaching • speak with focus groups of children and young people • meet with groups of staff to discuss improvements in pedagogy • importantly, share messages about their findings with school teams. In a minority of local authorities, there are clear and embedded approaches on using robust and reliable data to inform decision-making, policy, and practice. Many other local authorities are developing and improving their processes in this area. In local authorities where this is working particularly well, central teams prioritise developing school leader and staff capacity to use data effectively to improve outcomes for children and young people. For example, ‘data leads’ or ‘data champions’ in each school are trained and supported to interpret and use data and to disseminate practice. Officers in central teams meet school leaders regularly across the school year to discuss a range of attainment, attendance, and exclusion data to determine school performance and how well the school is improving. In a minority of local authorities, headteachers have access to and use data for their locality and authority, as well as their own school. This is helping to support an ethos of collective efficacy and shared self-evaluation for improvement. A minority of local authorities have identified the need to continue to develop the use of data across their central and school teams. In a minority of local authorities, evidence demonstrates that strategic approaches are improving standards in learning, teaching, and assessment in primary schools, but less so in secondary schools. There is a need to ensure that practice in effective and robust self- evaluation for improvement is shared across, and between, primary and secondary schools. Professional learning for school leaders, including middle leaders in secondary schools, will help to achieve this. Page 78
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17 Local authorities that have higher proportions of speakers and learners of Gàidhlig have substantial, bespoke support for schools that offer Gàidhlig Medium Education. In the most effective practice, central teams give schools feedback on the distinctive features of Gàidhlig Medium Education and on pedagogy. They use a range of evaluative strategies, such as visiting classes, analysing learners’ work and assessing learners’ progress through focus groups. System leadership A few local authorities have undertaken significant work over recent years to develop system leadership approaches. In these authorities, positive and effective relationships underpin the work of all staff. This arises from strong, strategic leadership, driving forward a well-understood, shared vision for collective improvement. Local authority senior leaders, officers and headteachers feel strongly that a culture of trust, respect and empowerment is central to effective system leadership. Reasons for local authorities adopting this approach include developing a vision for shared commitment for raising standards. However, they also include the fact that financial constraints mean that the numbers of staff in central teams, in almost all geographical areas, are diminishing. Therefore, building capacity within school teams in using robust, data driven self-evaluation, strengthened by peer collaboration, is helping these local authorities to continue to raise standards and produce better outcomes for children and young people. Key principles for the successful implementation of collective endeavours like these to improve all schools include ensuring that there is a shared understanding across all schools on the purpose and rationale for collaborative improvement and collective accountability. Building on this shared understanding, school leaders need to be skilled in robust and accurate self-evaluation, based on sound judgements and reliable data. Relationships need to be strong enough for school leaders to be able to benefit from providing, receiving, and acting on constructive feedback from their peers. Most local authorities are undertaking positive work towards achieving these aims. Practice examples East Lothian Council The local authority’s Self-improving Schools (SIS) model is creating a culture where school leaders feel empowered to drive their own school’s improvement journey and play a key role in supporting the improvement of others. This approach is having a positive impact on developing a strong culture of professional collaboration. Headteachers welcome the opportunities to work in partnership with staff in other schools, and with their link quality improvement officer, to support improvement. Whilst the SIS model represents significant time investment, headteachers value this approach and the difference it is making to outcomes for children and young people. Falkirk Council The development of ‘quality associates’ enhances the local authority’s universal and targeted support for schools. Headteachers who take on the role as ‘quality associates’ use their skills, experience, and professional knowledge to provide support and challenge to peer school leaders. Within a challenging financial climate, this approach is helping to increase the capacity across the local authority, with a particular focus on effective self-evaluation for school improvement. Page 79
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18 Fife Council The local authority’s ‘Self-Improving Networked Learning System’ promotes continuous self-evaluation for improvement. All headteachers benefit from a comprehensive network of support and challenge at local authority, locality, cluster, and school levels. This systematic framework builds on a culture of ongoing improvement in the quality of education. The system aims to use the wealth of skills and expertise that exist at all levels of the local authority, supporting the empowerment of school leaders through strong partnership working and outcomes- focused collaboration. Local authority officers participate within targeted groups and networks to provide universal support and challenge. Renfrewshire Council The local authority has a clear and highly effective data strategy that underpins the work of all. The strategy is successful in ensuring that robust data is accessible for practitioners, teachers, school leaders and education officers alike. A data dashboard for each school provides a wealth of data that can be interrogated in different ways. The data strategy provides a comprehensive programme of skills development for practitioners, teachers, school leaders and education officers. As a result, the use of data is firmly embedded in the work of all. Decisions, refinement to practice and interventions at school and local authority levels are based on robust data evidence. This is leading to strong educational outcomes for children and young people. South Ayrshire Council Local authority officers work effectively with a range of colleagues including headteachers and teachers to co-design approaches to evaluate the quality of learning, teaching, and assessment in schools. This is helping to bring about improvement in this area across schools. In the secondary sector, the local authority has strengthened subject networks for subject leaders and teachers. These are regular, planned forums for subject leaders and teachers to share good practice and develop consistency around approaches to learning, teaching, and assessment. The recent development of well-planned subject department quality assurance visits is helping to generate a culture of sharing effective practice across schools and maintain a shared understanding about expected high standards. West Dunbartonshire Council Enhanced Scrutiny, Collaborative Action (ESCA) visits are an important feature of the local authority’s quality assurance framework and complement a wide programme of school review. ESCA visits are ‘deep dives’ into one area of a school’s work. School leaders identify an area for focused attention. A team of education officers and senior leaders from other schools visit the school for one day. They provide an objective view and constructive feedback on the school’s self-evaluation. School leaders often choose an area of practice that they feel needs further development. They report that participating in the supportive and robust dialogue is extremely helpful in deciding next steps for improvement. Examples of areas of practice that school leaders have chosen for an ESCA visit include: • safeguarding • ASN provision Page 80
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19 • moderation of Curriculum for Excellence levels • use of data to inform improvement • the quality of learning environments • the use of Pupil Equity Funding to close the poverty-related attainment gap. West Lothian Council The local authority’s evaluation and review of ASN across its schools led to a strategic approach to supporting learning, teaching, and assessment in classrooms. Additional support needs are prioritised as a quality improvement driver in all schools. There is a clear focus on embedding the principles of inclusion and equity within mainstream classrooms across West Lothian schools. An ‘inclusion ambassador’ network connects teachers with an interest and skills in ASN pedagogy across the local authority. Courses, training events and coaching and mentoring sessions, run by the central ASN team, help to upskill school staff’s knowledge in five priority areas: autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, behaviour as communication, inclusive classrooms, and sensory needs. These professional learning opportunities, which are linked to the local authority’s clear strategic lead, are having a positive impact on the learning experiences of children and young people with ASN. “There has been a notable shift in how we work with the central team. Schools have clear objectives identified through service level agreements. This means we are clear on our objectives and how we will measure and report back on progress.” Headteacher “Our authority has a very strong quality improvement framework which has been developed and improved in recent years. We are empowering schools to grow as a self-sustaining network.” Quality improvement officer “There appears to be an inconsistency in the standard of improvement plans and quality reports across the authority. Some schools appear to have more scrutiny or expectation placed on them than others. The level of support and challenge is very much dependent on who your Quality Improvement Officer is.” Headteacher “Sometimes it can feel that data is all that matters, rather than discussion about how it helps children's learning move forwards.” Headteacher “The introduction of self-evaluation trios has allowed school leaders to become part of the central quality assurance offer and provides leadership opportunities for staff in schools.” Head of Education Page 81
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20 Supporting schools to improve the quality of education through professional learning Professional learning strategy to drive school improvement The majority of local authorities have in place established and effective professional learning strategies, with the remainder taking steps to strengthen their professional learning provision. In a few local authorities, this is at a very early stage of development. All local authorities believe that professional learning plays a critical part in improvement and embed the importance of this role within their quality improvement frameworks. Increasingly, professional learning strategies are tailored to align closely with the local authorities’ learning, teaching, and assessment strategies. However, the rationale for the professional learning offer and the decision-making process that informs it are not yet fully understood by school leaders and staff in a few local authorities. Most professional learning strategies are well-informed by national policy and the needs of service and school improvement priorities. This is most effective when central officers undertake regular, robust data analysis, using a wide range of local data and intelligence, including external inspection outcomes. They ensure that this supports career-long professional development, reflecting the needs of staff at all levels. A few local authorities could use their professional review and development process more effectively to inform their professional learning programme. Most local authorities’ strategies are based on the national model of professional learning. This supports staff to identify, participate in and reflect on the impact of professional learning on themselves as learners, and importantly on the children, young people. They provide a balance of self-directed, online professional learning and opportunities for collaborative learning. The range of learning opportunities is generally comprehensive and wide ranging. Geographical and budgetary constraints make the provision of in-person professional learning opportunities much more challenging for some. Increasingly, creative approaches are employed to mitigate these barriers. All local authorities provide professional learning that is available universally, in addition to more targeted approaches. Nationally, improving the quality of learning and teaching to raise attainment, data-literacy, inclusion, equality and building positive relationships are common priority areas for development. Bespoke training is delivered in individual schools, learning communities, localities or across sectors, as appropriate to local context. In the few local authorities where professional learning is very well-embedded, their approach to targeted support is responsive, varied, and agile. This enables them to adapt the delivery of professional learning programmes to meet the specific needs of individual schools or staff groups. As a result, professional learning is highly effective in improving staff skills and knowledge and, crucially, improving outcomes for children and young people. More rigorous, consistent evaluation of the impact of professional learning is required in almost a quarter of local authorities. Officers should use the increasing rigour of quality assurance activities to inform the design and delivery of their professional learning offer. These local authorities should give greater consideration to how they can meet the needs of both local and school improvement plans, and the professional development needs of staff identified through annual professional review and development meetings. Page 82
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21 Collaborative practice All local authorities support staff to work collaboratively in a range of ways, for a range of purposes. Often, this is informed by strategic priorities and data analysis. Increasingly, local authorities use collaboration to build capacity to support the development of a self- supporting school system. Most local authorities use a wide range of collaborative approaches. These include the creation of networks, working parties, think-tank groups and the development of online hubs. A few local authorities have a highly developed culture of effective collaborative working. They view collaboration as the main universal support for improvement. In these authorities, the vision for and promotion of this collaborative culture is strongly led by directors and senior leaders. In these local authorities, collaboration is creating the conditions through which supportive and empowered approaches to system-wide professional learning is being delivered. The strong culture of collaboration between school leaders and central officers is based on mutual trust and respect. In almost all local authorities, the effective use of dedicated networks to support professional learning is common practice. In only a very few local authorities, headteachers identified a need for more opportunities to work together. Formal networks provide forums for practitioners to discuss priorities, share practice and engage in collaborative improvement activity. They are designed to provide tailored support and development relevant to specific job roles, reflecting a commitment to career-long professional development. Typical networks include provision for newly qualified teachers, newly appointed teachers and aspiring middle leaders through to school leaders. A few local authorities are expanding network provision further to meet the needs of support staff and newly appointed or acting headteachers. In addition to role-specific networks, a range of more subject-specific and cross-sectoral approaches are also used, for example for staff working in Gàidhlig Medium Education or with a specific focus on additional support needs. Secondary subject networks involve curriculum leaders and teachers in development work centred on subject specific professional learning and moderation. These provide opportunities to share more specific approaches to school improvement and learn about effective practice from peers. Where well-established, this encourages effective cross-cluster collaboration and is making a positive difference to the practice of those who attend. A minority of authorities have identified the need to re-establish or strengthen further secondary subject specific networks. Smaller local authorities find collaborative working with other local authorities particularly beneficial. It allows staff to work with a wider range of partners, to share expertise and practice and develop resources together. They cite Regional Improvement Collaborative partnerships as having been instrumental in facilitating connections and partnerships with other local authorities. Actively involving school leaders in working beyond their own school contributes positively to their own learning and development. Most local authorities operate a well-established cluster, trio, or quad approach, where school leaders work with cluster colleagues or are matched with schools with similar contexts and profiles. These groups have important roles in supporting accurate, rigorous, and robust peer self-evaluation. School leaders consider participation in school reviews, such as validated self-evaluation, to be highly effective forms of professional learning. Headteachers grouped across learning communities gain a broader perspective of school standards and performance across the local authority. Page 83
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22 The ability to recruit school leaders with the necessary skills and expertise is particularly challenging in some parts of the country. Increasingly, local authorities are strengthening their approaches to leadership development to enable them to recruit to promoted posts from within their existing workforce. Aspiring leadership programmes are successful in encouraging participants to apply for promoted posts and undertake accredited learning. Local authorities value the contribution of staff participation in more formal national leadership development programmes, such as Into Headship and Excellence in Headship, working in partnership with Education Scotland and universities. Most local authorities provide opportunities for staff to develop leadership skills through specific roles, such as curriculum champion, data lead or quality assurance and support officer. Teachers appreciate these opportunities to work collaboratively and share their expertise in their own schools, and more widely across the authority. A few local authorities recognise the need to monitor more closely the impact that participation in professional learning has on the quality of leadership in their schools. The use of coaching and mentoring to support leadership development is common practice across all local authorities, particularly to support newly appointed or acting headteachers. Where practice is strongest, mentors feel well-equipped to carry out this responsibility due to the provision of training in advance of taking up the role. Those in receipt of mentoring speak highly of this approach and the high-quality coaching conversations on which the mentoring is based. Headteachers comment positively on its impact on their confidence and practice. The ongoing need to ensure that all school leaders undertake robust quality assurance and accurate self-evaluation remains a priority across the country. Professional learning is increasing school leaders’ confidence in using qualitative and quantitative data, evaluative writing, and improvement planning. A few local authorities are seeing increasing alignment with school self-evaluation, local authority evaluation of schools and outcomes from school inspection as a result. Impact of professional learning High-quality professional learning builds the capacity and increases the confidence of staff, impacting positively on their practice. The number of staff participating in professional learning programmes impacts positively on staff expertise and pedagogical practice. A few local authorities are aware of the variability of uptake in professional learning across their schools and are taking steps to address this. Staff engagement is particularly challenging for island-based and predominantly rural authorities, where travel and budgets are significant barriers to participation. As a result, some teachers have not participated in subject-specific professional development for a considerable period. Restricted access to central digital professional learning platforms, although intended for general use, can also make accessibility difficult. A lack of permanency of employment for newly qualified teachers is also a challenge. This is leading to some inconsistencies in the level of teacher skills. There is a need to strengthen approaches to systematically evaluating the quality and impact of professional learning in a minority of local authorities. In a few authorities, this is particularly the case in relation to determining improvement in the quality of learning and teaching in secondary schools. Robust self-evaluation shows that high-quality professional learning is contributing positively to improving outcomes for children and young people in a minority of local authorities. In these authorities, officers gather data to monitor the impact of Page 84
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23 professional learning on staff’s ability to adapt to the changing needs of education. This in turn is improving outcomes for children and young people. A few local authorities have successfully overcome barriers of limited contractual hours, to enable support for learning assistants to engage in dedicated professional learning programmes. The provision of additional paid hours enables support for learning assistants to work more collaboratively within and across schools. In some instances, this has led to them gaining advanced qualifications. As a result, children and young people benefit from an improved level of support. Almost all local authorities have a range of effective induction programmes in place for new staff. In almost all cases, these are targeted to meet the specific needs of identified groups of staff, such as newly qualified teachers, middle leaders, senior leaders and headteachers. These induction programmes support staff to feel increasingly confident in their role. Most local authorities are strengthening their focus on improving the quality of learning, teaching, and raising attainment. Those local authorities that are in the process of introducing new learning and teaching frameworks are doing this effectively through a comprehensive programme of professional learning, guidance, and support. This is having a positive impact on learning and teaching approaches, improving the curriculum, and developing data literacy skills. A few local authorities are committed to ensuring that all teachers across a specific sector, or at specific stages, engage with high-quality professional learning over a sustained period. These authorities report this leading to consistently better learning and teaching, particularly in primary schools. An increasing culture of professional enquiry is supporting staff to use quality improvement methodology to improve outcomes for children and young people. Most local authorities provide a universal offer with a clear focus on raising attainment in literacy and numeracy. Nationally, an increased focus on the teaching of writing in primary schools is increasing teacher confidence in teaching and assessing writing. This is having a positive impact on levels of attainment. Partnership working Across the country, local authority officers engage partners and national organisations who can contribute to the provision and quality of their professional learning programme. Frequent use is made of the professional learning offers from organisations such as Education Scotland and universities. Increased collaboration and looking outwards are creating a more consistent approach to developing highly effective practice in line with national standards. The positive impact of the professional learning provided by educational psychological services is evident in a few local authorities. They offer bespoke professional learning inputs, for example, in relation to understanding anxiety and cognitive behavioural approaches. This supports improved wellbeing for children and young people and the development of more inclusive practices across schools. All local authorities have senior leaders or central officers who work in partnership with HM Inspectors as Associate Assessors (AAs). Local authorities and AAs themselves value highly the quality of professional learning that inspection experience provides. All local authorities use the skills and experience of AAs to enhance their understanding of national standards and expectations, but to varying degrees. AAs work in partnership with local authority officers and headteachers to build capacity and support improvement. This Page 85
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24 includes providing support for Gàidhlig. A few local authorities have sought to increase the number of AAs across their service to enable them to utilise their skills more strategically. In almost all local authorities, AAs are becoming integral to the improvement work of central teams, in evaluating and validating the quality of education provided in schools. They support the development of increased confidence in applying national standards to self- evaluative professional activity. Practice examples Falkirk Council The Leadership Development Pathway is successfully increasing leadership capacity across the authority. School leaders are confident to support improvements beyond their own establishments. The Leadership Empowerment Strategy enables school leaders to take greater responsibility and accountability for leadership in their own school and across the authority. School leaders are viewed by the director and heads of education as part of the collective leadership of the local authority. School leaders collaborate successfully across sectors and establishments to support continuous improvement. This includes participation in thematic reviews and involvement in strategic decision making. School leaders influence strategic direction and contribute to a shared understanding of standards. Fife Council The secondary headteacher collaborative is a well-established network of headteachers and central officers that meets regularly to discuss self-evaluation and quality assurance approaches. Quality improvement packs provided by the central team support secondary school leaders to develop and embed quality improvement and self-evaluation processes and expectations across their individual schools and across the sector. This professional learning approach supports secondary school leaders in benchmarking performance, planning next steps, and linking evidence directly to school improvement planning and standards and quality reporting. Secondary school leaders are very positive about this collaborative. They feel that it is an integral part of ensuring a shared understanding of expectations across secondary schools. It supports them to evaluate robustly their schools’ strengths, identify areas for improvement and to access good practice examples within the authority. Glasgow City Council The Executive Director has a clear vision to develop Glasgow City Council as a ‘networked learning city.’ He has placed collaborative working at the centre of developments. Staff share this drive to work together across the city to identify priorities, find solutions and improve outcomes for all children and young people. This vision is articulated by staff at all levels. Headteachers report an increase in autonomy and feel empowered to work with others to lead and manage change and improvement. All staff acknowledge and value the role of professional learning and networking in improving the quality of education. North Ayrshire Council North Ayrshire Council has a very well-established and embedded Professional Learning Academy (PLA) that focuses on supporting improvement. The PLA, which is comprised of a team of seconded teachers, offers a range of supports to staff and Page 86
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25 schools within North Ayrshire. This includes a programme of courses, targeted visits, and in-residence programmes. The PLA in-residence programme is an important lever for success in the local authority’s quality improvement framework. The approach involves a PLA teacher joining a school team for nine weeks, working alongside teachers in classes to team teach, observe and plan learning experiences and create resources. The role of the PLA and aims of the programme are planned by headteachers, working with senior local authority managers. A contract is drawn up that sets out the agreed nature of the support to be delivered, its aims and how success and impact will be evaluated. Local authority staff and school leaders carry out reviews of the PLA in-residence programme to evaluate the impact and sustainability of the work. Renfrewshire Council Approaches such as a ‘train the trainer’ model, supports professional learning within schools and across clusters. This promotes an ethos of strong collaboration and is helping to build capacity for leading improvement at authority level, beyond the central team. Collaboration through subject networks is working very well across the secondary sector to support this work. Development officers provide universal professional learning and targeted, practical support to class teachers and support staff through modelling and coaching practice. The local authority is developing the role of ‘modelling and coaching’ officers within school staff teams in a consistent and universal ways through the development of a ‘grow your own’ approach. This approach supports the local authority’s aim to embed practitioner inquiry in professional learning. Stirling Council The local authority has a motivating way of recognising and capitalising on the skills, expertise and professional knowledge of staff in schools. It provides secondment opportunities for school staff to join the central team, to take forward priorities that support equity and excellence in education. This is contributing very successfully to the local authority’s approach to developing leadership capacity. Senior leaders’ sharing of their practice through creative conversations and at learning festivals supports the local authority’s mission for high-quality learning, teaching, and attainment across its schools. The City of Edinburgh Council The Edinburgh Learns for Life strategy is based on strong collaboration across schools, partners, and other stakeholders, with high accountability and support as required. The Professional Learning Charters for all teachers and practitioners are drivers for success. They highlight the local authority’s commitment to expanding and improving the workforce. The suite of professional learning opportunities sets out clearly an offer to teaching staff. The highly effective model for delivery of professional learning clearly aligns with identified priorities within the service strategic plans, as well as being responsive to emerging themes at local and national levels. Education officers ensure that they monitor the impact of professional learning effectively using a variety of methods. These robust evaluation approaches are supporting education officers to review, adapt, and improve professional learning on an ongoing basis. This helps to ensure that the professional learning offer continues to align with the progressive local authority strategic improvement plan. Page 87
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26 “We have invested in a Pedagogy Team to build capacity in schools in order to help raise achievement. This involves providing both targeted and universal professional learning and support to schools across the local authority.” Education manager “Headteacher collaborative sessions are not tokenistic information sharing sessions. They are meaningful opportunities to work with colleagues, finding solutions to the real challenges we face.” Headteacher “Professional learning programmes could be shaped more with headteachers. It can often feel delivered to us. There is not a lot of consultation on what would be helpful to us.” Headteacher “As a new Acting Headteacher, I have greatly appreciated the unwavering support from my local authority. Their guidance has not only been readily available but has also instilled in me the confidence to make informed decisions and to lead with purpose.” Acting headteacher Delivering universal support and challenge for all schools, and/or targeted support for specific schools to improve the quality of education Frameworks to support and challenge all schools All local authorities have a framework in place to support improvement in schools. In most local authorities, improvement frameworks are clear, well-established, and embedded in practice. All local authorities provide a tiered approach to support and challenge, recognising the need for universal, targeted, and intensive categories of support for schools, as necessary. The set of criteria used by central officers to determine the level of support for each school is generally well defined in almost all local authorities and is reviewed annually. A few local authorities have reviewed and refreshed their improvement frameworks recently or are rightly in the process of doing so. Authority staff have initiated these reviews due to a range of factors, including changes to the leadership and structure of central teams; quality assurance and self-evaluation evidence, including external inspections; and the impact of budget cuts. Almost all local authorities ensure that their improvement frameworks are founded on principles of self-evaluation, taking appropriate account of local and national priorities. Improvement frameworks are effective in securing continuous improvement in most local authorities. In these authorities, approaches are developed and refined collaboratively by local authority officers and school leaders. In most local authorities, there is an established culture of collaborative working. Positive, trusting relationships between school leaders and local authority officers are evident. These relationships are important in facilitating the effective development, implementation, and Page 88
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27 review of local authorities’ improvement frameworks. This supports central officers to ensure that improvement processes are clearly understood, transparent and responsive to need. School leaders value the visibility of local authority officers in their schools and welcome the feedback and challenge they provide. It is very important to recognise that maintaining in-person relationships is a significant extra challenge for those local authorities with a high number of rural, remote and island schools. This can restrict the full implementation of improvement frameworks that require a balance of in-person and online activity. Barriers include significant journeys for central officers to remote schools, transport difficulties and challenges in the recruitment and retention of central officers and school leaders. In a few rural authorities, hybrid approaches to engagement between officers and schools are often hindered due to poor broadband or digital infrastructure. Processes to identify support and challenge for all schools Most local authorities have effective processes in place to identify and organise appropriate levels of support and challenge for all schools. In a few local authorities, these processes lack consistency and rigour and are less effective. Senior leaders in these authorities recognise the need for a more strategic approach to developing the capacity of their central teams. This has the potential to support an increased pace of change in schools where improvement is required. Senior leaders should ensure that they have clear oversight of which schools are receiving universal, targeted, or intensive support. This will enable them to monitor more effectively the impact of support delivered by central teams. Across all local authorities, link officers play a key role in gathering intelligence and data about school performance. In a few local authorities, this role is also undertaken by a cluster lead or an experienced school leader who has been seconded for this purpose. The implementation of an agreed calendar of engagement between individual school leaders and their link officer is common practice across all local authorities. The frequency, nature and impact of this engagement is more variable across the country. There is a need to ensure a more consistent approach across teams, with a clear focus on improvement. In a minority of local authorities, officers could strengthen further the quality of their feedback to school leaders, for example on improvement plans and standards and quality reports. Most local authorities have an accurate understanding of the performance, capacity, and context of each of their schools. In these authorities, officers ensure that their understanding of school performance is accurately informed by a wide range of qualitative and quantitative evidence. This enables them to monitor and maintain a strong understanding of each school’s capacity for improvement and areas of risk. Officers interrogate attainment, attendance, and exclusion data regularly, looking for patterns or dips in performance. They review the impact of the school’s use of Pupil Equity Fund on attainment. Staff absence, recruitment challenges and recent appointments, particularly of headteachers, is also monitored carefully. In addition, they review the number of complaints received and consider the views of parents following local authority-wide surveys. Where practice is most effective, they use regular discussions with school leaders to triangulate data to ensure its accuracy and rigour, making comparison against local and national benchmarks where appropriate. In the minority of local authorities where practice is particularly strong, it is this breadth of understanding that most accurately informs the local authority’s identification of schools requiring enhanced or intensive support. Page 89
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28 A few local authorities offer headteachers a higher level of support. Headteachers recognise and value the enhanced level of guidance and resource associated with this and are keen to secure this for their school. As a result, these authorities are giving an increasing proportion of schools enhanced support. However, this can lead to an over-reliance on enhanced and targeted support in some schools, and an imbalance in resource provision overall. To redress this, local authorities should consider the effectiveness of their universal support provision. In authorities where universal provision is working very well, there is a more proportionate and targeted balance of central support across the schools. All authorities make effective use of the outcomes of school inspections within their own authority. They use these to benchmark the accuracy of their schools’ self-evaluation activity. Occasionally, in a few authorities, the emphasis on engagement and quality assurance is placed most often on preparing for inspection. This can be at the expense of other effective, ongoing quality assurance activity that would be based on a range of measures. Provision of advice and support Most local authorities have effective systems in place to provide advice and support to schools. They use data in increasingly strategic ways to inform and determine the approaches to be used. This includes support to address both performance and pastoral needs. Headteachers value highly the pastoral support provided by link officers, reflecting that relationships are built on trust and respect. A few local authorities find the provision of advice and support more challenging. This can be due to school-based staff’s lack of awareness of improvement frameworks, the cycle of self-evaluation for self-improvement, or the support provision available to schools. In a few local authorities, the central team do not have capacity to support high numbers of schools requiring targeted or intensive support. Increasingly, peer headteachers are being given a more prominent role in quality assurance activities, working in partnership with other schools to help address this. Almost all local authorities make increasing use of a range of networks to provide support and challenge to schools. This includes peer and multi-agency support. A few local authorities take a ‘team around the school’ approach to strengthen and inform multi-agency planning. Informed by their careful monitoring and tracking of school performance, they identify common themes. Guidance, such as improving attendance, is then issued to all schools, making best use of time and resource. Headteacher meetings and cluster improvement approaches are being used increasingly to provide universal support. A few local authorities have redesigned their headteacher meetings to incorporate regular evaluative activity. There is now a much stronger emphasis on strategic improvement in these authorities. They actively promote collaboration among headteachers, encouraging them to engage in open and honest dialogue. The sharing of effective practice is encouraged and facilitated. Most local authorities share effective practice to support learning in a variety of ways. Local authority officers direct staff at all levels to identified areas of strong practice across schools. Authority-led conferences, seminars and headteacher-led forums provide beneficial opportunities to develop knowledge and share effective practice. Staff value these opportunities to hear about the implementation and impact of new initiatives and effective and embedded practice. Page 90
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29 A few local authorities have a relatively high number of newly appointed headteachers. They understand the importance of providing enhanced support to build the capacity of new school leaders. Experienced headteachers are often paired with a new colleague to provide mentor support. In almost all authorities, officers and headteachers have engaged in coaching and mentoring training that has strengthened their skills in delivering this support. This approach to leadership development contributes to the success of improvement frameworks. All local authorities recognise the importance of having reliable and robust data for effective self-evaluation and quality assurance activity. Most local authorities provide advice and support about the use of data to build staff capacity and improve the accuracy of schools’ self-evaluation. This includes the provision of comprehensive data packs for each of their schools. A few local authorities implement effective support that links well with the national Pupil Equity Fund guidance. They use the expertise of their link attainment advisor to increase staff skills in using data to demonstrate impact. Identifying schools requiring targeted support The majority of local authorities have well-established systems and processes in place to identify schools requiring targeted support. They ensure that performance data for each school is maintained and updated regularly on a central database. This provides local authority officers and leaders with access to current performance information and intelligence. A minority of local authorities need to use data and intelligence more strategically. Doing so would help them to develop and maintain a clearer profile of risk, set within a structured risk matrix. This will enable them to provide a more equitable response to support provision, prioritising finite resources to where this is most needed. A few local authorities use data very well to provide targeted support to raise attainment in literacy and numeracy, including closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Their use of a central database enables officers to share information with support providers such as a central pedagogy team, enabling them to prioritise bespoke support accordingly for individual or groups of schools. Action planning, monitoring, and reviewing progress Around half of local authorities that have identified schools requiring targeted or intensive support ensure that a clear action plan is in place to support improvement. The quality and effectiveness of these actions plans varies across the country. Local authorities find action plans to be most effective when priorities and the nature of the support to be provided are agreed in partnership with the headteacher. These set out clear goals, responsibilities, time limits and measures for success. Around half of local authorities monitor the impact of action plans closely. A minority of local authorities need to strengthen further their approach to ensuring that targeted support leads to desired improvement. Where monitoring supports improvement most effectively, officers review progress in partnership with headteachers regularly and provide valuable feedback. Together, they agree next steps to ensure continuing improvement. The establishment of baseline measures by the staff involved help inform the rate of progress. Headteachers value this intensive support and challenge. Link officers take time to review data about their link schools and with each other. Working within an environment of professional trust, they feel able to challenge the quality and effectiveness of improvement actions and learn from each other. This provides opportunities for them to moderate the quality of their work. Page 91
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30 A few local authorities need to develop further the skills of the central team to ensure a consistent approach in developing, implementing, and monitoring the progress of school improvement. Officers need to be more precise about what will make the biggest difference to secure school performance. They need to ensure that headteachers act on the feedback and guidance provided more effectively. Practice examples Falkirk Council Education officers provide targeted support and challenge for schools in areas of high deprivation. They are reducing the attainment gap for children and young people living in the most deprived areas of the local authority. Central officers work with school leaders and staff to support those children and young people who are not on track to achieve expected Curriculum for Excellence levels. They moderate teachers’ professional judgements and analyse children and young people’s progress. Education officers have clear evidence that children and young people living in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation quintile one make significant progress because of successful, planned interventions by staff and partners. The local authority has a well-established ‘team around the school’ approach to provide enhanced support and challenge when necessary. This is helping to address challenges in identified schools, particularly around strengthening leadership and improving outcomes for children and young children. This approach provides a sustained focus for schools to improve and involves a range of officers from the authority’s central team. The progress that schools make is very carefully tracked, monitored, and evaluated by the ‘team around the school.’ The City of Edinburgh Council The local authority has very effective systems and processes in place to address any concerns about school provision. It takes swift action to ensure that improvements are made and that outcomes for children and young people are not diminished. In addition to universal quality assurance visits to all schools, identified schools benefit from a range of bespoke support and challenge approaches, whenever necessary. These can include meetings with a Head of Education to agree targets for an action plan. The authority takes a ‘team around the school’ approach, with relevant partners and specialist officers supporting individual schools to improve. This includes bespoke professional learning packages delivered by the ‘Edinburgh Learns’ team and coaching in context approaches to bring about improvement. Headteachers are very positive about the proportionate model of support and challenge taken by officers. They feel it is transparent, fair, and well understood by all. South Ayrshire Council The local authority’s very effective three-tiered approach to quality improvement visits is ensuring that support and challenge is targeted to promoting improvement. The model and criteria at each level was co-designed with school leaders and LA Officers and is shared with school staff. Schools in tiers two and three receive enhanced or targeted support. Targeted support for specific schools arises because of a range of potential circumstances. This may include a drop in attainment, a high frequency of parental complaints or staff absences. Each school’s agreed allocation to a tier is flexible. Schools may move between tiers during a session as circumstances, needs, and staffing change. School self-evaluation evidence and local authority officers’ Page 92
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31 professional judgement is discussed with the headteacher and is pivotal when determining a school’s current ‘live’ tier. Targeted offers of support are determined collaboratively between headteachers and local authority officers. This approach helps to ensure that proportionate support is provided where most needed, within the scope of finite resourcing. “We have high ambitions for our schools. Our focus is both about support and challenge, but ultimately, it’s about improving outcomes for learners. Effective local knowledge means that support and challenge can be tailored to specific needs and/or context, ensuring the support and strategies we adopt are relevant and have impact.” Head of Education “Central staffing levels in the local authority have greatly reduced recently, making direct personal support for all schools more difficult. This does, though, empower schools to be self-evaluative and to problem solve effectively without over-reliance on officer input.” Quality Improvement Officer “Before an inspection, there is an increase in involvement from the local authority. It would be more helpful for central staff to have an ongoing and updated sense of what is happening in my school to inform their engagement with us.” Headteacher “The central team has been hugely reduced in number, so their ability to support schools has been greatly reduced. There are increased efforts to improve opportunities for headteachers to work collaboratively as a Learning Community and to reduce duplication and workload.” Headteacher “As a relatively new headteacher, I have found the support from the authority integral to receiving a positive school inspection. The collaborative nature of quality improvement processes, and the approachability of the Senior Leaders within the authority, have made all the difference. I felt confident and supported going into the inspection, due to the robust nature of quality improvement visits and discussions.” Headteacher “The quality improvement framework has changed from being largely universal in approach, to moving to more targeted and bespoke approaches over the last couple of years, to meet the needs of individual schools.” Education manager “Our capacity to engage in supporting wider school improvement, such as taking part in peer reviews, is greatly restricted by staffing challenges, including a recent reduction in teacher numbers. We are wholly committed to collaborative improvement, but its increasingly difficult to say ‘Yes’ right way to these opportunities, as the capacity within our own schools is reduced.” Headteacher Page 93
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32 Conclusion Local authorities in Scotland play a crucial role in supporting schools to deliver high-quality education, ensuring that all children and young people can achieve their potential. This thematic inspection has highlighted both the strengths and challenges in how local authorities fulfil this role, particularly through self-evaluation, improvement planning, quality assurance, and professional learning. Across the country, most local authorities have established clear frameworks and processes embedded within strategic quality improvement plans. These frameworks are often underpinned by strong leadership, robust data use, and a commitment to continuous improvement. While most authorities have established frameworks and processes to support schools, there remains room for improvement in areas such as the consistency of support across schools, the effectiveness of school performance monitoring, and the evaluation of professional learning programmes. Collaborative practices are a notable strength, with positive relationships between central officers and school leaders fostering a culture of mutual trust, professional learning, and shared accountability. Innovative approaches, such as digital reporting and hybrid stakeholder engagement, have also expanded the reach and effectiveness of local improvement efforts. Given the often-limited resources available to local authorities, it is critical that support is prioritised for those schools with the greatest need. This requires a careful balance - ensuring strong, universal provision for all schools while also directing targeted support where it will have the most impact. Leadership development remains a key area for focus. While many local authorities offer well-structured leadership programmes, there is a need to strengthen pathways for middle leaders, particularly in secondary schools. Central officers play a crucial role in driving improvement, and their professional development should reflect this responsibility, to ensure consistency in the quality of support and challenge provided to schools. Fiscal constraints and the geographical challenges faced by rural and island authorities present significant barriers to the consistent delivery of support. Financial pressures affect not only the capacity of central teams but also the ability to provide in-person support to more remote schools. These challenges highlight the need for flexible, innovative solutions that ensure equity of access to high-quality support for all schools. Variability persists in the consistency and quality of universal support provided to schools, both within and across local authorities. This extends to the effectiveness of self-evaluation processes, particularly in the secondary sector, where strategic improvements in learning, teaching, and attainment are less evident compared to the primary sector. A recurring theme throughout this inspection is the importance of self-evaluation as a driver for improvement. Where self-evaluation is rigorous and embedded in practice, it leads to a clear understanding of strengths and areas for development, informing targeted action that improves outcomes for learners. The use of data to inform decision-making is inconsistent, with some authorities demonstrating strong practices while others require further development to ensure data-driven improvement planning. Despite the challenges, local authorities remain committed to improving the quality of education for all learners. By building on existing strengths, addressing areas for improvement, and fostering a culture of continuous reflection, strong leadership, and Page 94
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33 collaborative practice, local authorities can help schools to overcome challenges and ensure that all children and young people access to high-quality education. Page 95
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34 Appendix: Questionnaire analysis Local authority central staff 460 responses The questionnaire results presented reflect the aggregated views of responding local authority staff members. These findings should not be interpreted as fully representative of all local authority staff across Scotland. Percentages have been rounded and may not add to 100. Question 1 The education authority’s strategic plan for education is clearly focused on raising attainment and achievement for all learners. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 344 75% Agree 108 24% Disagree 4 1% Strongly disagree 0 0 Don’t know 3 1% Question 2 The education authority’s stretch aims to measure its progress in raising attainment and towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap, were developed in collaboration with headteachers. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 205 45% Agree 187 41% Disagree 25 6% Strongly disagree 1 0% Don’t know 40 9% Page 96
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35 Question 3: The education authority’s stretch aims have been made clear to senior leaders. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 270 59% Agree 161 35% Disagree 4 1% Strongly disagree 0 0% Don’t know 24 5% Question 4: The education authority’s leadership structure is clear. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 282 62% Agree 144 31% Disagree 26 6% Strongly disagree 3 1% Don’t know 3 1% Question 5: The education authority provides opportunities for children and young people to be involved and influence decision-making within the education authority. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 124 27% Agree 263 58% Disagree 37 8% Strongly disagree 5 1% Don’t know 28 6% Page 97
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36 Question 6: The education authority provides opportunities for parents and carers to be involved and influence decision-making within the education authority. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 124 27% Agree 278 60% Disagree 26 6% Strongly disagree 3 1% Don’t know 29 6% Question 7: The education authority’s arrangements and advice on self-evaluation is used effectively to help headteachers when planning for school improvement. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 254 55% Agree 181 40% Disagree 3 1% Strongly disagree 0 0% Don’t know 21 5% Question 8: The education authority’s guidance and advice on reporting on education standards and quality is used effectively by schools when writing their school standards and quality report. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 189 41% Agree 230 50% Disagree 12 3% Strongly disagree 0 0% Don’t know 29 6% Page 98
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37 Question 9: The education authority’s guidance and advice on planning for improvement is used effectively by schools when writing school improvement plans. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 184 40% Agree 242 53% Disagree 8 2% Strongly disagree 0 0% Don’t know 26 6% Question 10: The education authority provides constructive feedback to every headteacher on the quality of their improvement plan and standards and quality report. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 200 44% Agree 190 41% Disagree 27 6% Strongly disagree 1 0% Don’t know 42 9% Question 11: Between education authority staff and headteachers, there is a shared understanding of the purpose of its quality assurance activities. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 245 53% Agree 195 43% Disagree 9 2% Strongly disagree 0 0% Don’t know 10 2% Page 99
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38 Question 12: The education authority adopts a systematic approach to its quality assurance activities. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 245 53% Agree 186 40% Disagree 8 2% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 19 4% Question 13: The education authority invests in capacity building activities for its central education team to ensure that all schools experience a consistent application of the education authority’s program for quality improvement. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 190 42% Agree 200 44% Disagree 27 6% Strongly disagree 7 2% Don’t know 34 7% Question 14: The education authority’s quality assurance activities are making a positive difference to improving the quality of education in all its schools. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 182 40% Agree 230 51% Disagree 11 2% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 35 8% Page 100
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39 Question 15: The education authority promotes and supports schools’ effective use of data to evaluate impact and outcomes on children and young people. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 309 67% Agree 140 30% Disagree 7 2% Strongly disagree 0 0% Don’t know 4 1% Question 16: The education authority uses data effectively to demonstrate its progress in raising attainment and achievement for all children and young people in its schools. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 282 62% Agree 159 35% Disagree 6 1% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 8 2% Question 17: The education authority uses data effectively to demonstrate its progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 261 57% Agree 172 38% Disagree 11 2% Strongly disagree 1 0% Don’t know 14 3% Page 101
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40 Question 18: The education authority communicates its rationale for the professional learning activities that are offered to headteachers and their staff. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 209 45% Agree 212 46% Disagree 23 5% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 14 3% Question 19: The education authority offers professional learning opportunities that develop the capacity and capability of headteachers to lead their schools. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 233 51% Agree 193 42% Disagree 9 2% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 23 5% Question 20: The education authority’s strategy for raising attainment in literacy is clearly embedded in its programme of professional learning for teachers. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 277 49% Agree 193 42% Disagree 17 4% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 21 5% Page 102
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41 Question 21: The education authority’s strategy for raising attainment in numeracy is clearly embedded in its programme of professional learning for teachers. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 213 46% Agree 197 43% Disagree 24 5% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 24 5% Question 22: The education authority’s professional learning strategy draws on support from national organisations. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 216 47% Agree 207 45% Disagree 4 1% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 29 6% Question 23: The education authority’s professional learning strategy provides opportunities to work with other education authorities to achieve common goals. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 140 30% Agree 257 56% Disagree 27 6% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 34 7% Page 103
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42 Question 24: The education authority invests in capacity building activities for its central education team to ensure that the competences and knowledge to lead school improvement activities are developed. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 165 36% Agree 212 46% Disagree 35 8% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 46 10% Question 25: There is a well-developed culture of support and challenge across the education authority. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 241 52% Agree 191 42% Disagree 20 4% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 6 1% Question 26: The education authority knows its schools well. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 305 67% Agree 133 29% Disagree 12 3% Strongly disagree 1 0% Don’t know 4 1% Page 104
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43 Question 27: The education authority ensures that there is a named officer who is linked to each school. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 396 86% Agree 59 13% Disagree 1 0% Strongly disagree 1 0% Don’t know 3 1% Question 28: The local authority routinely discusses the performance of schools with headteachers to help identify strengths and areas of development. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 293 64% Agree 149 33% Disagree 2 0% Strongly disagree 0 0% Don’t know 15 3% Question 29: The education authority recognises the successes of its schools. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 262 57% Agree 174 38% Disagree 14 3% Strongly disagree 1 0% Don’t know 9 2% Page 105
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44 Question 30: The education authority provides constructive feedback on schools’ self- evaluation processes. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 204 45% Agree 203 45% Disagree 15 3% Strongly disagree 1 0% Don’t know 33 7% Question 31: The education authority supports headteachers to lead effectively. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 227 49% Agree 207 45% Disagree 12 3% Strongly disagree 0 0% Don’t know 14 3% Question 32: Headteachers have opportunities to work collaboratively with other school leaders within the education authority. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 300 66% Agree 143 31% Disagree 7 2% Strongly disagree 0 0% Don’t know 7 2% Page 106
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45 Question 33: Headteachers are supported to exercise their autonomy to make key decisions relating to school improvement and education quality. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 252 55% Agree 188 41% Disagree 5 1% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 13 3% Page 107
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46 Headteachers 1,328 responses The questionnaire results presented reflect the aggregated views of responding headteachers. These findings should not be interpreted as fully representative of all headteachers across Scotland. Percentages have been rounded and may not add to 100. Question 1: I have a good understanding of how decisions about education are made by the education authority. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 455 34% Agree 748 56% Disagree 82 6% Strongly disagree 19 1% Don’t know 21 2% Question 2: The education authority’s strategic [improvement] plan for education is clearly focused on raising attainment and achievement for all learners. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 795 60% Agree 488 37% Disagree 29 2% Strongly disagree 4 0% Don’t know 11 1% Question 3: The education authority’s stretch aims to measure its progress in raising attainment and towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap have been made clear to me. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 696 52% Agree 534 40% Disagree 55 4% Strongly disagree 14 1% Don’t know 27 2% Page 108
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47 Question 4: The education authority’s leadership structure is clear to me. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 716 54% Agree 504 38% Disagree 72 5% Strongly disagree 23 2% Don’t know 12 1% Question 5: I have opportunities to be involved in and influence decision-making within the education authority. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 396 30% Agree 723 54% Disagree 144 11% Strongly disagree 29 2% Don’t know 35 3% Question 6: The education authority’s arrangements and advice on self-evaluation help me when planning for my school’s improvement. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 571 43% Agree 665 50% Disagree 55 4% Strongly disagree 11 1% Don’t know 23 2% Page 109
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48 Question 7: The education authority’s guidance and advice on reporting on education standards and quality is useful to me when writing my school’s standards and quality report. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 582 44% Agree 645 49% Disagree 59 4% Strongly disagree 12 1% Don’t know 28 2% Question 8: The education authority’s guidance and advice on planning for improvement is useful to me when writing my school’s improvement plan. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 580 44% Agree 647 49% Disagree 61 5% Strongly disagree 12 1% Don’t know 24 2% Question 9: The education authority provides constructive feedback to me on the quality of my school’s school improvement plan and standards and quality report. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 453 34% Agree 602 44% Disagree 178 13% Strongly disagree 49 4% Don’t know 42 3% Page 110
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49 Question 10: Between education authority staff and headteachers, there is a shared understanding of the purpose of its quality assurance activities. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 558 42% Agree 642 48% Disagree 74 6% Strongly disagree 12 1% Don’t know 38 3% Question 11: The education authority adopts a systematic approach to its quality assurance activities. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 465 35% Agree 639 48% Disagree 113 9% Strongly disagree 22 2% Don’t know 84 6% Question 12: The education authority’s quality assurance activities are making a positive difference to improving the quality of education in my school. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 371 28% Agree 690 52% Disagree 139 10% Strongly disagree 32 2% Don’t know 92 7% Page 111
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50 Question 13: The education authority has supported me to develop a systematic approach to self-evaluation in my school. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 377 28% Agree 719 54% Disagree 158 12% Strongly disagree 17 1% Don’t know 51 4% Question 14: The education authority promotes and supports effective use of data to evaluate impact and outcomes on children and young people. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 711 54% Agree 568 43% Disagree 28 2% Strongly disagree 7 1% Don’t know 11 1% Question 15: The education authority uses data effectively to demonstrate my school’s progress in raising attainment and achievement. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 567 43% Agree 617 47% Disagree 85 6% Strongly disagree 12 1% Don’t know 38 3% Page 112
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51 Question 16: The education authority uses data effectively to demonstrate its progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 528 40% Agree 623 47% Disagree 70 5% Strongly disagree 10 1% Don’t know 93 7% Question 17: I regularly participate in professional learning that develops my capacity and capability to lead my school. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 690 52% Agree 595 45% Disagree 35 3% Strongly disagree 1 1% Don’t know 2 2% Question 18: The education authority’s rationale for the professional learning activities it offers to headteachers is clear to me. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 347 26% Agree 688 52% Disagree 165 12% Strongly disagree 32 2% Don’t know 93 7% Page 113
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52 Question 19: The education authority’s strategy for raising attainment in literacy is clearly embedded in its programme of professional learning for teachers. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 445 34% Agree 701 53% Disagree 97 7% Strongly disagree 12 1% Don’t know 67 5% Question 20: The education authority’s strategy for raising attainment in numeracy is clearly embedded in its programme of professional learning for teachers. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 407 31% Agree 711 54% Disagree 106 8% Strongly disagree 13 1% Don’t know 80 6% Question 21: The education authority’s professional learning strategy draws on support from national organisations. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 397 30% Agree 727 55% Disagree 35 3% Strongly disagree 7 1% Don’t know 157 12% Question 22: The education authority’s professional learning strategy provides opportunities to work with other education authorities to achieve common goals. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 264 20% Agree 644 49% Page 114
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53 Disagree 183 14% Strongly disagree 29 2% Don’t know 199 15% Question 23: There is a well-developed culture of support and challenge in the education authority. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 425 32% Agree 661 50% Disagree 158 12% Strongly disagree 35 3% Don’t know 45 3% Question 24: The education authority knows my school well. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 454 34% Agree 620 47% Disagree 134 10% Strongly disagree 33 2% Don’t know 83 6% Question 25: When I need advice or support, I am able to contact a named education authority officer who is linked to my school. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 867 65% Agree 432 33% Disagree 16 1% Strongly disagree 5 0% Don’t know 5 0% Page 115
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54 Question 26: The education authority routinely discusses the performance of my school with me, to help identify strengths and areas of development. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 523 39% Agree 632 48% Disagree 138 10% Strongly disagree 20 2% Don’t know 13 1% Question 27: The education authority recognises my school’s successes. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 422 32% Agree 634 48% Disagree 151 11% Strongly disagree 26 2% Don’t know 7 7% Question 28: The education authority provides constructive feedback on my school’s self- evaluation processes. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 367 28% Agree 670 51% Disagree 190 14% Strongly disagree 27 2% Don’t know 66 5% Page 116
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55 Question 29: The education authority supports me to lead effectively. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 415 31% Agree 734 56% Disagree 110 8% Strongly disagree 21 2% Don’t know 41 3% Question 30: I have opportunities to work collaboratively with other school leaders within my local authority. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 746 56% Agree 549 42% Disagree 19 1% Strongly disagree 2 0% Don’t know 5 0% Question 31: I feel I can exercise my autonomy to make key decisions relating to school improvement and education quality. Response Number of responses Percentage of total responses Strongly agree 607 46% Agree 632 48% Disagree 54 4% Strongly disagree 12 1% Don’t know 16 1% Page 117
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Education Officer Educational Services Committee: Wednesday 28 May 2025 _______________________________________________________________ Subject: Early Learning and Childcare Update 1. Purpose 1.1 This report provides progress made to provide high quality Early Learning and Childcare in West Dunbartonshire Council. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that Committee notes: (i) progress to deliver high quality Early Learning and Childcare. 3. Background 3.1 Early Learning and Childcare Within Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) we now deliver, across all our settings, up to 1140 hours to eligible 2 year olds, and children aged from 3 to those not yet attending primary school. Places for children under the age of 2 are available in our partner settings for working families and for eligible children, and, in our council settings for vulnerable and eligible children. Overall children are very well supported, provided with exciting learning opportunities, and are nurtured by well trained staff. 3.2 Training There continues to be a wide range of training available to all our ELC providers through our Professional Learning Framework and our framework for this session aims to support the actions identified in our delivery plan, staff development needs and to support all children. 4. Main Issues 4.1 Inspection Update Our services are regulated by the Care Inspectorate and as a result are subject to inspection by them. Our settings that are registered for 3 year olds and above are also subject to inspection from Education Scotland. Of recent we have been pleased to note some good and very good gradings for some of our settings. Feedback from inspections is always shared with all ELC settings to support them in their improvement journey. ITEM 12 Page 119
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4.2 Deferral Information Between session 20/21 and 25/26, there has been a 64.3% increase in deferrals. Actual numbers are listed below. We have the capacity to accommodate this increase in deferment, alongside other eligible children, within our existing provision. Year Total No of school deferrals accessing another year of ELCC No of Jan – Feb school deferrals accessing another year of ELCC No of Aug – Dec school deferrals accessing another year of ELCC 2020 - 2021 84 60 24 2021 - 2022 84 60 24 2022 - 2023 92 55 37 2023 - 2024 126 81 45 2024 - 2025 156 94 62 2025 - 2026 138 59 79 4.3 Children’s Progress Attendance continues to be robustly monitored on a monthly basis within our early years settings and training to staff has been provided to develop a more consistent approach. The average rolling attendance across West Dunbartonshire Council settings this session to date is 86.98%. We will continue to work on the importance of good attendance to ensure the best outcomes for children. 4.4 Assessment Data Assessment data gathered in March 2025 shows that children continue to make good progress in literacy and numeracy outcome measures. Percentage of Children Achieving Literacy Benchmark (Concepts of Print) – March 2025 & December 2024 29% 50% 21% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Mar-25 Concepts of Print - March 2025 11% 50% 39% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Dec-24 Concepts of Print - December 2024 Page 120
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Through the teaching of concepts of print children develop their early understanding of reading and the written word. March 2025 data compared against the data we have from December 2024 shows an increase in children attaining the benchmark by 18%. Those children in the green section have already achieved this early level and we would anticipate that the children who are in the amber section are on track to achieve the early level by the end of Primary 1. In all other areas that we measure attainment in literacy, excluding 1 area, current progress is either equal to or better than the progress made at this time last year. Percentage of Children Achieving Numeracy Benchmark (Number and number processes) – March 2025 & December 2024 Through the teaching of number and number processes children develop their early understanding of number and how numbers are constructed. March 2025 data compared against the data we have from December 2024 shows an increase in children attaining the benchmark by 10%. Those children in the green section have already achieved this early level and we would anticipate that the children who are in the amber section are on track to achieve the early level by the end of Primary 1. In all other areas that we measure attainment in numeracy, all areas show progress equal to, or better than, the progress made at this time last year. 5. People Implications 5.1 Support is provided for Early Learning and Childcare staff teams and leaders to enable effective delivery of the high quality ELC and the expectations of the statutory offer of 1140 hours for eligible 2 year olds and 3 year olds to pre school aged children. 15% 70% 15% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Mar-25 Number and Number Processes - March 2025 5% 67% 28% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Dec-24 Number and Number Processes - December 2024 Page 121
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5.2 To date, we have supported 25 Modern Apprentices. 17 have completed their training, achieving a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) Level 3 within our Early Learning and Childcare settings and have been supported into employment with the council. 3 Modern Apprentices are working towards their qualification at present, with 3 more due to commence shortly. Additionally, since 2022 we have supported 23 career changers, 18 have completed their qualification and 5 are currently participating in working towards achieving their qualification. We will continue to promote this career path and route to qualification. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications Financial Year Revenue (£m) Capital (£m) 2021/22 9.723 5.880 2022/23 9.485 0.794 2023/24 9.742 0.287 2024/25 9.725 0 2025/26 0 0 Please note for 2025-26 - Under the terms of the Verity House Agreement, the Budget removes ringfencing of early years funding. ELC expansion funding which was previously ringfenced within the Specific Revenue Grant (SRG) is now baselined. The full ELC quantum is therefore now included within the General Revenue Grant (GRG). 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 The Key Risks: • Maintaining high quality Early Learning and Childcare at all funded providers to ensure that they meet the National Standard Criteria. • Failure to deliver 1140 hours curriculum by confident, well trained Early Learning and Childcare staff teams. • Evaluations of good for environment by Care Inspectorate are at risk if Early Learning and Childcare building assets are not maintained. 8. Equalities Impact Assessment 8.1 There was no requirement to undertake another Equalities Impact Assessment for the purposes of this report as it is providing an update for Committee. Page 122
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9. Consultation 9.1 Regular consultation with stakeholders including parents and carers, Early Learning and Childcare staff, Unions, Council partners in the project and partner Early Learning and Childcare providers continues through the various Council fora and regular meetings. 9.2 Legal Services and the Section 95 Officer have been consulted in relation to the content of this report. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 This report reflects the Council’s aspiration to have resilient and thriving communities, a strong and flourishing economy and a council that is inclusive and adaptive. These are some of the strategic priorities for 2022-2027. Laura Mason Chief Education Officer 9 May 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Person to Contact: Alison Bowers, Senior Education Officer, Education, Learning and Attainment Telephone No: 07813 534420 Email: alison.bowers@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Background Papers: none Wards Affected: All Page 123
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Laura Mason, Chief Education Officer Educational Services Committee: 28th May 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Subject: Services for Children, Young People and Families Update Report 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is: a) to inform the Educational Services Committee of progress on supports to children, young people and families. 2. Recommendations 2.1 Members of the Educational Services Committee are asked to: a) Note progress on plans to continue developing and improving supports. 3. Background 3.1 West Dunbartonshire Council (WDC) is committed to ensuring all children and young people are enabled to progress through Early Learning and School with the support they need. When this support is more or different to what is generally provided for children and young people of the same age, then the child or young person is said to have additional needs. 3.2 The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009 lists four interrelated factors which individually or jointly impact on ability to learn: • Learning Environment • Family Circumstances • Disability or Health • Social or Emotional Factors Additional support may be required throughout a child or young person’s educational journey: others may only require additional support for a short period. 3.3 It is recognised that children, young people and families are best supported through effective multi-agency planning and delivery of services. Educational Services work in collaboration with a range of council, Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and third sector colleagues to support our families. This work is being developed via the Whole Family Wellbeing (WFW) planning, led by Educational Services on behalf of the Community Planning Partnership. ITEM 13 Page 125
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4. Main Issues 4.1 There are currently 11 781 school pupils in West Dunbartonshire Council. 5470 Pupils have Additional Support Needs (ASN), supported mainly in mainstream schools. Approximately 280 pupils are supported in our specialist settings as they require a more specific learning environment. We also have a small percentage of our children and young people with additional support needs supported by day or residential providers in external placements. These often involve young people separated from their peers and their community and can be expensive in comparison to supporting in-house. These costs have increased significantly over the past few years due to increased salaries and increased charges from partner providers for the range of specialist support offered. This has resulted in budget overspends and it is anticipated that there might be mitigation of these to some extent by the ASN strategy implementation. The trajectory of ASN needs in WDC has increased over time (from 36.9% in 2013 to 46.4% in 2025) and has been supported by the investment in our ASN estate expansion. Over the past four years this has resulted in the availability of 78 additional places in specialist settings. Riverside School, our newest setting, is due to open in August 2025. 4.2 In preparation for transition to school session 2025-2026, 37 new secondary aged pupils are being allocated spaces within our specialist settings. 11 pupils will be offered places in the new Riverside School. Work is well underway in preparation for welcoming this first set of pupils and staff to the new establishment. A series of parent meetings has been planned, and feedback is parents feel confident in our approaches and plans. Recruitment of staff and the resourcing of the school is currently taking place in readiness for the new session. It is anticipated that pupils, staff and parents will be able to visit the school in advance of the August start date. 4.3 In line with National Guidance, we have a presumption to mainstream and almost all children with additional support needs have them successfully met in mainstream settings. Our ASN Strategy identifies and addresses these issues with a focus on the four pillars of inclusive education in Scotland which are: present, participating, achieving and supported, in order that children meet their full potential. Mainstreaming is the ‘central pillar’ to this approach. Our strategy is successfully upskilling staff and building on consistent approaches to meeting learner needs across all settings, ensuring our legal obligations are being met. Page 126
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The Year One pilot of our enhanced Local Learning Community (LLC) model of support has been completed. It aimed to establish and build on inclusive practices, moving towards a ‘new normal’, where the expectation will be a presumption to mainstream schooling for all children. High quality child’s planning, support and professional learning has been instrumental in this. A group of Central Officers and Educational Psychologists have delivered on an action plan and associated tasks to ensure that staff were appropriately trained and supported, that school environments meet the requirements of children attending and that the team around the child worked with parents to deliver the transition and supports needed to enable a successful Primary One. A cycle of monthly meetings with Head Teachers has ensured regular feedback and monitoring of progress. This will inform our plans and developments in the new school session as well as our Strategic Overview of support pathways. The outcomes of the pilot model and its successes, challenges and next steps will be shared at a forthcoming Education Leaders’ session. 4.4 Education Leaders have collaborated to identify key areas of development and focus for Year 4 of the ASN Strategy. Notable progress has been as follows: • Fostering robust parental engagement via a successful initiative involving five of our specialist settings in implementing the Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support (SCERTS) Framework, holding parent/carer engagement sessions, centred on its core principles of SCERTS. Feedback indicates a significant positive impact across all participating settings, with parents/carers reporting an enhanced understanding of SCERTS, increased confidence in collaborative engagement with the school regarding their child's targets, and observable improvements in children's communication and emotional regulation through a more unified home-school approach. • To foster collaborative professional development and enhance expertise across our specialist settings, a shared In-Service Day is scheduled for 6th May 2025. This strategic initiative will focus on collaborative learning and peer-to-peer knowledge exchange in critical areas such as Assessment and Moderation within complex needs environments. A key component of this day will involve practitioners engaging in SCERTS Case Studies. These in-depth explorations will document individual learner journeys within their communication stages, highlighting effective individualised plans and transactional supports implemented to maximise learners’ potential. Furthermore, these case studies will incorporate the SCERTS framework, providing valuable insights into the broader impact, not only on learner outcomes but also on the collaborative practices and enhanced understanding of the multi-agency teams supporting them, including educators, support staff, and families. Page 127
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4.5 Support for Care Experienced Children and Young People Education staff across WDC are being supported to engage in the Keeping the Promise Award and CE Processes, Support and Data Gathering professional learning. The objective is to establish a shared approach to supporting care experienced learners with robust and consistent processes in place to monitor and improve attendance data. 4.6 Attendance Data shows the overall attendance gap (%) between care experienced young people and their peers in the primary sector is narrowing over recent years from 3% in 2023 to 1% in 2024. The gaps remain wider in the secondary sector with a 10% gap in attendance rates with care experienced pupils having 8% more unauthorised absences than their non care experienced peers in 2024. A small team of Care Experienced (CE) staff are providing targeted support to Care Experienced pupils across primary and secondary establishments, with a focus on improving attendance and attainment. CE Teachers track and monitor pupil data, plan interventions and work in collaboration with Additional Support Coordinators and Class Teachers to review progress and identify next steps. Additional support for Care Experienced young people is coordinated through a partnership with Care Connections, Y Sort it where services work together to allocate interventions and review pupil progress. This process also involves connecting care experienced pupils with other support networks such as Intandem and the Young Carers service. It has been noted that a large proportion of pupils discussed at multi-agency Early and Effective Intervention (EEI) meetings between Police, Social Work and Education, have significantly low attendance. This highlights the need for early, targeted support and strong partnership working to re-engage pupils and address the wider issues contributing to poor attendance. This area of work will be incorporated into the next session’s Delivery Plan, with a focus on collaborating with schools, diversionary partners, and programmes to support pupils’ transition back to education. The aim is to re-establish daily routines, encourage positive engagement, and provide meaningful pathways that promote long-term attendance and wellbeing. While our overall attendance rates continue to improve, it is recognised that there is slower improvement in attendance rates for the cohort of children and young people referred to as Persistent Non-Attenders. This is identified where attendance sits lower than 80%. To support this improvement and attempt to raise awareness of the impact of this, a targeted approach to communication with parents and carers has been undertaken. This will alert them to the category their child’s attendance falls into and offer supports to help it improve it. (App.1 Persistent Non-Attendance Rates) (App. 2 Attendance Monitoring Overview) Page 128
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4.7 We are planning to undertake a comprehensive review and revision of our current policies and procedures designed to support our Lesbian Gay Bi Transgender+ (LGBTI+) pupils, as well as ensuring an inclusive environment for all students. This proactive measure is being taken in light of recent legislative decisions and judgements by law courts concerning single-sex spaces. Our aim is to ensure that our educational settings fully comply with the evolving legal landscape while upholding our unwavering commitment to the safety, well-being, and equality of opportunity for every young person under our care. This review will reflect revised Scottish Government Guidance which is likely to follow, and involve consultation with relevant stakeholders, including pupils, parents, staff, and legal experts, to develop robust and equitable guidelines that address the complexities of this issue with sensitivity and clarity. We are dedicated to fostering school environments where all pupils feel safe. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no people implications as a direct result of this report. However, it should be noted that in line with the recommendations in the ASN Review we must ensure we have a well-trained, high-quality workforce who are equipped to support the range of needs and rights of our children and young people. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications 6.1 The projected additional funding required for the learning estate expansion has been approved and planned for in current and future budgets. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 If the Council is unable to ensure appropriate support to children and young people, we will not be meeting their needs under the terms of the Children and Young People Act 2014 (Equalities Act 2010). 7.2 If the Council is unable to ensure appropriate support for all children, young people and staff this could result in reputational damage. 8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 8.1 As noted in the previously produced Equalities Impact Assessment, the ASN strategy and subsequent supports and guidance developed will enhance the quality of the service provided to all children, young people and staff and therefore can be seen to have a positive impact in terms of the equalities. 9. Consultation 9.1 Legal Services and the Section 95 Officer have been consulted in relation to the content of this report. Page 129
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10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 This report reflects the Council’s aspiration to reduce inequalities for the people of West Dunbartonshire. Laura Mason Chief Education Officer Person to Contact: Claire Cusick, Senior Education Officer Services for Children and Young People E-mail: claire.cusick@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Wards Affected: All Wards Appendices: App. 1 Persistent Non-Attendance Rates App. 2 Attendance Monitoring Overview Page 130
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Attendance Monitoring Persistent Non-Attendance- below 80% Number with less than 80% Att S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 Total Clydebank High School 38 41 42 40 26 19 206 Dumbarton Academy 16 17 28 21 11 21 114 Our Lady and St Patrick's High School 9 31 40 36 19 32 167 St Peter the Apostle High School 21 52 48 65 39 17 242 Vale of Leven Academy 27 40 28 37 30 12 174 Total 111 181 186 199 125 101 903 Appendix 1 Page 131
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1 School Pupil Attendance Report–Session 2024-25 – All Data Shown Is For Session So Far As At End March Primary Attendance ranges from 89.4% at Renton Primary School up to 95.9% at St Stephen's Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 87.7% at Our Lady and St Patrick's High School up to 88.9% at Dumbarton Academy. Appendix 2 Page 133
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2 Month to Month Data for Context The average Attendance across all WDC schools for the month of March is 91.3%, up 0.2 percentage points on the February figure. This is better than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our March Attendance level was 88.2%. The session average Attendance figure (August to March) across all WDC schools has increased by 0.1 percentage points to 91% since the end of February. This is better than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our session average Attendance level was at 89.1%. Page 134
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3 Authorised Absence in Primary ranges from 7.9% at St Michael's Primary School down to 3% at St Stephen's Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 7.7% at Our Lady and St Patrick's High School down to 5.6% at Vale of Leven Academy. Page 135
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4 Month to Month Data for Context The average Authorised Absence across all WDC schools for the month of March is 5.2%, down 0.3 percentage points on the February figure. This is better than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our March Authorised Absence level was 7.2%. The session average Authorised Absence figure (August to March) across all WDC schools has decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 5.5% since the end of February. This is better than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our session average Authorised Absence level was at 6.7%. Page 136
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5 Unauthorised Absence in Primary ranges from 6.1% at Dalreoch Primary School down to 0.7% at St Peter's Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 6.6% at Vale of Leven Academy down to 4.4% at Dumbarton Academy. Page 137
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6 Month to Month Data for Context The average Unauthorised Absence across all WDC schools for the month of March is 3.5%, up 0.1 percentage points on the February figure. This is better than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our March Unauthorised Absence level was 4.6%. The session average Unauthorised Absence figure (August to March) across all WDC schools has stayed the same at 3.5% since the end of February. This is better than the position we were in at the same point in time last session when our session average Unauthorised Absence level was at 4.2%. Page 138
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8 April Focus Area: English as an Additional Language For Unauthorised Absence, the EAL cohort shows lower levels than the non-EAL cohort in the primary and secondary sectors and slightly higher in the special sector. For Authorised Absence, the EAL cohort shows similar levels as the non-EAL cohort in the primary sector. The EAL cohort shows lower levels than the non-EAL cohort in the secondary sector. The EAL cohort shows much higher levels than the non-EAL cohort in the special sector. The EAL cohort accounts for 4.5% of all possible attendance in primary, for 4.8% in secondary, 2.5% in special and 4.6% across all schools. Page 140
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9 March Focus Area: SIMD 2020 Quintiles Comparison For both Unauthorised and Authorised Absence in primary and secondary sectors there appears to be a trend of higher absence for the more deprived quintiles to lower absence for the least deprived quintiles. There is more variation in the special sector, but this is likely related to small numbers in the various cohorts. The extremely high level of unauthorised absence for “Quintile Not Known” is also due to this cohort being in single figures of pupils. Quintiles 1 and 2 account for 72% of all possible attendance, with Quintiles 3, 4 and 5 and unknowns all together accounting for just 28%. Page 141
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10 March Focus Area: Free Meal Entitlement (via Deprivation Criteria only) The FSM cohort shows higher levels of both Unauthorised and Authorised Absence than the non-FSM cohort in all sectors. The FSM cohort accounts for around 31% of possible attendance in the primary sector, around 26% in secondary, around 49% in the special sector and around 29% across all schools. Page 142
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11 February Focus Area: Percentage of Pupils With Less than 90% Attendance The measurement of pupils with less than 90% attendance is restricted to only those who have also been on the roll for more than 4 weeks. This is to prevent pupils who are new to the school and who have also had a period of sickness soon after joining, falling into this category unfairly. % Pupils With Less than 90% Attendance in Primary ranges from 36.6% at Dalreoch Primary School down to 5.8% at St Stephen's Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 39.2% at Vale of Leven Academy down to 35.7% at Clydebank High School. The average level across all WDC schools is 28.4%. Page 143
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12 Looking at the primary school data by stage, it is generally increasing from P1 to P7, although P4 is lower than this trendline. In secondary it is lowest in S1, higher, and at very similar levels for S2, S3 and S4, then dropping back down a bit again in both S5 and S6. Special sector data is provided for information, but there are very small numbers in this sector and therefore individual pupils with specific issues are likely to be heavily influencing the percentages. Page 144
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13 Looking at the primary, secondary and all sectors data by SIMD 2020 Quintile, it is generally decreasing from Q1 to Q5. Special sector data is provided for information, but there are very small numbers in this sector and therefore individual pupils with specific issues are likely to be heavily influencing the percentages. Page 145
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14 February Focus Area: Percentage of Pupils With Less than 80% Attendance The measurement of pupils with less than 80% attendance is restricted to only those who have also been on the roll for more than 4 weeks. This is to prevent pupils who are new to the school and who have also had a period of sickness soon after joining, falling into this category unfairly. % Pupils With Less than 80% Attendance in Primary ranges from 13.4% at Dalreoch Primary School down to 0.9% at St Stephen's Primary School. In secondary schools the range is from 16.8% at Vale of Leven Academy down to 14.7% at St Peter the Apostle High School. The average level across all WDC schools is 10.1%. Page 146
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15 Looking at the primary school data by stage, it is lowest in P1, P2 & P4, higher but at similar levels for P3, P5 & P6 then slightly higher again in P7. In secondary it is lowest in S1, higher but at similar levels for S2 to S4 then dropping back down a bit again in both S5 and S6. Special sector data is provided for information, but there are very small numbers in this sector and therefore individual pupils with specific issues are likely to be heavily influencing the percentages. Page 147
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16 Looking at the primary, secondary and all sectors data by SIMD 2020 Quintile, it is generally decreasing from Q1 to Q5. Quintile 5 in primary is the exception to this, which has a slightly higher level than Quintile 4. Special sector data is provided for information, but there are very small numbers in this sector and therefore individual pupils with specific issues are likely to be heavily influencing the percentages. Page 148
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17 January Focus Area: Attendance of Stage S3 Pupils Looking across all stages, Unauthorised Absence shows a generally increasing trend by stage in the primary sector, although the increases between stages are pretty small. There is an anomaly at stage P6, which is more similar to P1-P3 levels than those at the upper stages. In secondary the increase is from around 3% of all possible attendance in S1 to around 6% in S2/S3 and then to around 7% in S4. S5 and S6 drop back to just over 5%. Page 149
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19 A request was made to see the year stage data also broken down by sex, so that has been provided here. Page 151
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20 Looking at S3, the cohort identified for specific focus in January, this year/stage is the one with the lowest level of attendance (86.4%). Its absence is mostly made up of authorised absence, which accounts for 7.8% of possible attendance (the highest of any stage), while the unauthorised portion (at 5.8%) is 2nd highest, behind S4 (at 7.2%). Page 152
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21 There is a little difference between female and male attendance in S3, with Female being at 86.0% and Male at 86.7%. Authorised Absence, for Females in S3 is at 8.0% and for Males is at 7.7%. For unauthorised, Females are at 6.0%, a little higher than S3 males at 5.5%. Page 153
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22 Across the secondary schools, the attendance rate for S3 pupils ranges from 87.5% at both Clydebank High School and Dumbarton Acdamemy down to 85.2% at Our Lady and St Patrick's High School. OLSP has a comparatively high level of Authorised Absence and comparatively low level (although no longer the lowest) of Unauthorised Absence. Curiously, VoLA shows the reverse of this, a comparatively high level of Unauthorised Absence and comparatively low level of Authorised Absence. SPTA, has the second highest levels of both Authorised and Unauthorised Absence. Page 154
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23 December Focus Area: Additional Support Needs The ASN cohort shows higher levels of both Authorised and Unauthorised Absence than the non-ASN cohort in both primary and secondary sectors. The ASN cohort accounts for 41% of possible attendance in the primary sector, 52% in secondary, 100% in the special sector and 47.6% across all schools. Page 155
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24 November Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Focus on Specific Codes: RFS/PTH/PTX RFS - Refusal to Attend In the primary sector, this has been used by 16 schools. The school with the highest rate being Carleith where it accounts for 2.8% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by all schools where the rate ranges from 0.4% at SPTA to 1.2% at OLSP, of possible attendance. Page 156
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25 PTH - Part Time TimeTable (health related) In the primary sector, this has been used by 9 schools. The school with the highest rate being St Eunan’s, where it accounts for 0.5% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by all schools where the rate ranges from less than 0.1% at SPTA, OLSP, Dumbarton & CHS to around 0.1% at VoLA, of possible attendance. Page 157
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26 PTX - Part Time TimeTable (exclusion related) In the primary sector, this has been used by 4 schools. At St Peter’s Aitkenbar, Dalreoch & St Martin’s Primaries, this code accounted for less than 0.1% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by 1 school, Dumbarton Academy, where it accounted for less than 0.1% of possible attendance. Page 158
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27 November Focus Area: Comparison of Attendance Levels by Sex The male cohort shows lower levels of Unauthorised Absence than the female cohort in the secondary sector. In primary and special sectors, the levels are very similar. The male cohort shows lower levels of Authorised Absence than the female cohort in the special sector. In primary males are slightly higher and in secondary slightly lower. There is a near 50/50 split between the two cohorts in primary and secondary, but the male cohort is larger in the special sector (the split being 70%/30%). Page 159
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28 October Focus Area: Care Experienced The care experienced cohort shows much higher levels of Unauthorised Absence than the non-care experienced cohort in the secondary sector. In the primary and special sectors it is slightly higher. The care experienced cohort shows much higher levels of Authorised Absence than the non-care experienced cohort in both the primary and secondary sectors. In the special sector it is lower. The care experienced cohort accounts for 3.8% of the possible attendance data across all WDC schools. Page 160
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29 October Focus Area: Care Experienced Young Carers Compared to non Care Experienced Young Carers For Unauthorised Absence, the Care Experienced Young Carer cohort shows much higher levels than the non-Care Experienced Young Carer cohort in the secondary and special sectors, and lower in the primary sector. For Authorised Absence, the Care Experienced Young Carer cohort shows much lower levels than the non-Care Experienced Young Carer cohort in primary, secondary and special sectors. The Care Experienced Young Carer cohort accounts for 2.8% of all possible Young Carer attendance across all WDC schools. Page 161
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30 October Focus Area: Child Protection Registered The Child Protection Registered cohort shows higher levels of Unauthorised Absence than the non-Child Protection Registered cohort in all sectors, but in secondary it is much higher. The Child Protection Registered cohort shows higher levels of Authorised Absence than the non-Child Protection Registered cohort in all sectors, but in special it is much higher. The Child Protection Registered cohort accounts for 0.9% of the possible attendance data across all WDC schools. Page 162
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31 October Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Focus on Specific Codes: OAT OAT - Other Attendance Out of School (e.g. pupil on a day release to a college). In the primary sector, this has been used by 17 schools. The school with the highest rate being Lennox where it accounts for 0.3% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by all schools where the rate ranges from 1.1% at CHS to 3.4% at VoLA, of possible attendance. The 2023-24 Local Authority working group on Attendance Coding provided additional guidance on circumstances where this code could be used and these suggestions are provided below to give a bit of context to the use of this code: Pupils on a day release to a College or other learning provider Interviews and visits relating to further and higher education or careers events Debates, sports, musical or drama activities in conjunction with the school Educational excursions, visits, or field trips organised by the school Day and residential visits to outdoor centres Pupils receiving tuition via outreach teaching services Activities in connection with psychological services, learning or behaviour support Page 163
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32 September Focus Area: % Attendance of P1/S1 Pupils % Attendance of P1 pupils in primary ranges from 96.9% at St Patrick's Primary School down to 89.3% at Dalreoch Primary School. In secondary schools the range for S1 pupils is from 92.7% at Our Lady and St Patrick's High School down to 88.4% at Clydebank High School. The average P1 level across all WDC primary schools is 93.9% and S1 level across all WDC secondary schools is 90.7%. Page 164
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33 September Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Focus on Specific Codes: ATF/FLX/VHL/SEP ATF - Adapted Timetable (Flexible Education) In the primary sector, this has been used by 10 schools. The school with the highest rate being St Martin’s where it accounts for 5.3% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by all schools where the rate ranges from 0.5% at OLSP to 2.0% at Dumbarton, of possible attendance. Page 165
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34 FLX - Flexible Learning In the primary sector, this has not been used this session. Previously, Our Lady of Loretto had used the code for 4 openings, but they have subsequently recoded these to something else. In the secondary sector, it has been used by 4 schools, OLSP, Dumbarton Academy & VoLA where the rate is less than 0.1%, and St Peter the Apostle High School, where the rate is 4.1% of possible attendance. VHL - Virtual Home Learning In the primary sector, this has not yet been used this session. In the secondary sector, it has been used by 4 schools, Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School, Vale of Leven Academy, St Peter the Apostle High School & Clydebank High School, where the rate is less 0.1% of possible attendance. Page 166
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35 SEP – Sickness With Educational Provision In the primary sector, this has been used by 4 schools. The highest being Lennox Primary, where the rate is 0.4% of possible attendance. In the secondary sector, it has been used by all schools and the rate ranges from less than 0.1% at CHS and OLSP to 1.0% at SPTA, of possible attendance. Page 167
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36 September Focus Area: Pupils with No, or Very Low, Attendance There were 5 primary school pupils with no attendance at all, August to March. There were 5 primary school pupils with 10% or less attendance, August to March. Page 168
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37 There were 22 secondary school pupils with no attendance at all, August to March. Nine of these individuals are of age to have already left school. Eight of those are now marked as leavers, but their leaving date, being during the current session, means they have possible attendance in this session and therefore must still be included in the attendance/absence statistics. One individual is still showing as a current WDC pupil. There were 22 secondary school pupils with 10% or less attendance, August to March. One of these individuals is of age to have already left school. They are now marked as a leaver, but their leaving date, being during the current session, means they have possible attendance in this session and therefore must still be included in the attendance/absence statistics. Six others have moved on from their schools meaning they will be unable to improve their attendance statistics. Fifteen remain on school rolls and so could still possibly improve their attendance rate. Page 169
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38 May Focus Area: Local Learning Communities Unauthorised Absence in the primary sector ranges from 1.7% of all possible attendance in the Our Lady & St Patrick's LLC to 2.2% in the Vale of Leven LLC. In the secondary sector, the range is from 4.4% in the Dumbarton LLC to 6.6% in the Vale of Leven LLC. All sectors combined it ranges from 2.9% in the Dumbarton LLC to 4.1% in the Vale of Leven LLC. It should be noted that all three special schools are included under the Dumbarton LLC. Page 170
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39 Focus Area: Postcode Prefix A request was made to see data by area, so that has been provided here. G13 Yoker/Knightswood Area: G15 Drumchapel Area: G60 Bowling/Old Kilpatrick Area: G81 Clydebank Area: G82 Dumbarton Area: G83 Vale of Leven Area: G84 Helensburgh Area: (descriptions of areas covered by postcode prefixes are not official and are intended as a guide only) Page 171
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40 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: List of Codes SEEMiS code Attendance Code Description SEEMiS code Authorised Absence Code Description --- Present ABS Other authorised Absence ATF Adapted Timetable (Flexible Education) DCA Exceptional domestic circumstances (auth) FLD Field Trip LT2 Late (arrives after mid-point) FLX Flexible Learning MED Medically Certified LAT Late (arrives before mid-point) NIM Notifiable illness (medically certified) MIS Missing NIS Notifiable illness (self certified) OAT Other attendance out of school PHL Authorised Parental Holiday PER Medical or Dental Appointment PTH Part Time Timetable (health related) SCH In school but not in class PTX Part Time Timetable (exclusion related) SEP Sickness with educational provision SEL Self Certified STY Study Leave VIS School Visit VHL Virtual Home Learning WRK Work Placement SEEMiS code Unauthorised Absence Code Description DCU Exceptional domestic circumstances (unauth) OUA Other unauthorised absence RFS Refusal to attend TBC To be Confirmed UNA Truancy or Unexplained Absence UPH Parental Holiday If no chart is shown below for a code that appears in this table, then there is negligible attendance data assigned to that code so far this session. Page 172
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41 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Primary Sector: Attendance Page 173
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46 Primary Sector: Authorised Absence Page 178
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51 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Primary Sector: Unauthorised Absence Page 183
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54 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Primary Sector: Exclusion Page 186
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55 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Secondary Sector: Attendance Page 187
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59 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Secondary Sector: Authorised Absence Page 191
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61 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Secondary Sector: Unauthorised Absence Page 193
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63 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Secondary Sector: Exclusion Page 195
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64 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Special Sector: Attendance Page 196
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68 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Special Sector: Authorised Absence Page 200
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70 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Special Sector: Unauthorised Absence Page 202
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71 June Focus Area: Individual Attendance Codes: Special Sector: Exclusion Page 203