Item 10 Appendix 1
West Dunbartonshire Council · 28 May 2025
Back to Educational Services Committee — 28 May 2025 and its agenda
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2025/26 EDUCATION Appendix 1: Education Delivery Plan 2025/26
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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