Item 08 Appendix 1
West Dunbartonshire Council · 14 December 2022
Back to Educational Services Committee — 14 December 2022 and its agenda
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1 Scottish Attainment Challenge Challenge Authorities Programme 2021/22 END-YEAR Academic Report – April 2022 to June 2022 Impact of Covid-19 Given the challenges presented by Covid-19, we do not anticipate that all activities planned for the delivery of Challenge Authority plans will have been undertaken. Please provide a summary (up to 500 words) of the impact of Covid-19 on the delivery of your plans between August 2021 and June 2022. Please include an overview of how many interventions / approaches had to be paused or adjusted as a result of Covid-19 between August and June detailing any changes in funding allocation. End-Year The Service has maintained a sharp focus on attainment recovery, accelerated progress and resilience. In the period October 2021 to June 2022 the pandemic continued to impact on the capacity of the service to deliver plans due to staff absence. This required an agile response at peak times of absence as priority given to: • providing a continuous service of in school time for our children and young people; • limiting any disruption to learning for children and young people in school; • providing an integrated service approach to supporting children and families with a key focus on supporting families; • being responsive to the impact of COVID-19 on our objectives and our communities; • responding to the health crisis with robust health and safety and provision of wellbeing supports for staff; and • ensuring schools were not overwhelmed managing and adapting to change in delivery whilst supporting the needs of our children and young people. The majority of headteachers report this period as more challenging to manage than the period of school closures and remote learning in 2020/21. The scale of demand to provide cover for absence was extensive in the majority of our schools. For example, in one medium sized primary almost 400 staff days have been lost due mainly to COVID related absence, this equates to approximately 4 members of staff off every day since August 2021. Providing continuity of learning in the period September to June 2022 has resulted in: • senior management time being devoted to providing in class cover to minimise disruption to learning; • regular timetable and structural changes and flexibility by staff to accommodate these changes. Headteachers also report in the period August 2021 to June 2022 an increase in numbers of children at early stages of primary finding full days at school challenging; and there are increased levels of pupil absence evident in this academic year, as attendance in West Dunbartonshire is usually around 91 % but has averaged at 88.4 % since August 2021. Any support and challenge against strategic priorities has taken into account the individual COVID context of each school. The challenge of COVID remained throughout academic session 2021/22 with capacity in all schools reduced with pupil and staff wellbeing and Local Authority West Dunbartonshire Council Project Lead/Contact Julie Mc Grogan Appendix 1
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2 resilience a key service priority. The challenges faced in secondary schools due to the changes to the examination systems did impact slightly on attainment in the BGE. However, the service set challenging expectations for schools to accelerate progress in line with increased national expectations; and evaluation of quality of planning outcomes for those affected by poverty given high priority. Please Note: • Where there is no progress to report in addition to that detailed in the mid- academic year report submitted in March 2022, please simply note that in the below template in the “end year” sections with something to the effect of “not progressed”. • Where a planned activity has been delivered, adjusted or paused, please provide detail of that in the “end year” sections. Number of schools supported by this funding? All establishments How many pupils are benefiting from this funding? All children & young people What progress are you making towards being able to report on the extent to which you are achieving your short, medium and long-term outcomes taking into account the impact of Covid-19; are there any challenges? End-Year • In Session 2021/22 the service commitment to both education recovery and accelerated progress made gains towards achieving long term goals to: o raise attainment and tackle the poverty related attainment gap; o develop high quality leadership, learning, teaching and assessment; o increase levels of family engagement ensuring meaningful engagement with key stakeholders; and o provide an integrated service with other our youth and community services. • Improvement gains in attainment and narrowing the gap were achieved in session 2021/22 with improvements in the attainment for pupils in both ELC and primary; with a slight dip in attainment evident in the attainment levels at S3. Percentage of primary pupils achieving the appropriate level increased in 2021/22 compared to 2020/21 for literacy by 9 % to 71 % for primary and numeracy by 6 % to 78 % for primary. However, there was slight decrease for secondary for literacy by 1 % to 82 % and for numeracy by 2 % to 88 %. • West Dunbartonshire is beginning to reduce the poverty related attainment gap in the BGE. For example, our local analysis of the 2022 ACEL data showed increased attainment for our most deprived primary pupils (Quintile 1) compared to our least deprived primary pupils (Quintile 4): o For our most deprived primary pupils literacy increased by 10 % to 67 % for primary, while for our least deprived pupils in literacy increased by 4 % to 82 % for primary. o For our most deprived primary pupils numeracy increased by 9 % to 75 % for primary, while for our least deprived pupils numeracy increased by 5 % to 90 % for primary.
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3 • Informed by national priorities and the local context, West Dunbartonshire Education Service provides clear strategic direction to education leaders about the priorities for improvement, and has set high expectations for an acceleration of progress. In 2021/22 literacy 91 % of primary schools maintained, or improved, their performance from 2020/21 to 2021/22; and 9 % of primary schools showed a reduction in performance from 2020/21 to 2021/22. In numeracy 81 % of primary schools maintained or improved performance from 2020/21 to 2021/22; and 19 % of primary schools showed a reduction in performance from 2020/21 to 2021/22. • The percentage of secondary pupils at S3 achieving Curriculum for Excellence Levels decreased for all organisers (reading, writing, numeracy) in 2021/22 compared to 2018/19. However the decrease is very small. In literacy and numeracy 40 % of secondary schools maintained, or improved, their performance from 2018/19 to 2021/22; and 60 % of secondary schools showed a reduction in performance from 2018/19 to 2021/22. • The pandemic has had a negative impact on school attendance. Data between April and August 2022 shows an increase in the number of families taking holidays during term time, with unauthorised absence in June 2020 at 0.8 % which reflects this type of absence pre-Covid, i.e. in 2017/18 and 2018/19. Schools in areas of high deprivation are seeing a negative trend in rates of sustained positive high attendance, as the eight primary schools with lowest attendance rate in 2021/22 are all from the most deprived areas. • West Dunbartonshire’s Improvement Framework applied enhanced scrutiny of school provision to recover from the impact of the pandemic on attainment and equity outcomes. This work was done in collaboration with the Attainment Advisor. Mid-Year SHORT TERM The short term outcomes reflect the current context and education recovery and renewal programme which aims to : • Accelerate progress for attainment and equity to offset impact of COVID on progress made pre 2020; • Maintain a sharp focus on equitable access and experience; and • Provide support for mental and social wellbeing. A contribution analysis conducted in August / September 2021 to identify which individual establishments had contributed most to the decrease in ACEL achievement in 2020/21; analysis highlighted seven out of 32 establishments for targeted support. The attainment data was interpreted in the context of each school and improvement visits by the Improvement Team with targets for improvement set for each stage. The 2021/22 WDC Improvement Framework was designed to provide proportionate support and challenge based on analysis of all school performance information delivered by the Authority Improvement Team. The Attainment Advisor is very effectively supporting the improvement agenda for attainment by providing robust and challenging support with clear outcomes and expectations for improvement being reinforced. Action plans to support a narrowing of the attainment gap and increased attainment are included in West Dunbartonshire’s Education Recovery plans for 2021/22. Interim attainment evidence (February 2022) indicates an improvement in attainment and attainment gap at key stages in almost all schools.
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4 The challenge to maintain high levels of attendance across schools in our most disadvantaged areas remains. An improvement strategy with indicators of success is being developed for the next planning block April 2022 to June 2023. The number of young people being referred to mental health support services has remained high, with a similar number accessing counsellors or mental health and wellbeing services from August 2021 to January 2022 compared to January 2021 to July 2021. MEDIUM/LONG TERM The pandemic has had a negative impact on progress to achieve the medium and long term goals set for attainment and poverty related attainment gap set against the National Stretch Aims. The ACEL data for primary schools collected in June 2021 has been helpful in achieving what Scottish Government stated as the aim of the 2021 data collection, which is to support an understanding of the impact of COVID 19 on children and young people’s achievements and highlight any change in the attainment gap. It is evident from our data that that the attainment of children and young people in our most deprived communities has been most adversely affected by the pandemic. The West Dunbartonshire Achievement of a Level data for 2021 records an attainment gap of 15% between children living in the most deprived areas (Quintile 1) and least deprived areas (Quintile 5). The attainment gap recorded in 2021 between Quintile 1 and Quintile 5 for West Dunbartonshire in each component is: • Reading: the attainment gap is 13%; • Writing: the attainment gap is 20.5%; and • Numeracy: the attainment gap is 15.5% The table below details the West Dunbartonshire reading, writing and numeracy attainment for each Quintile: The results analysis records that attainment in writing is not as high as reading and numeracy. The range of evidence available to teachers to assess and evaluate levels of attainment in writing based on daily and weekly writing lessons was not as extensive in session 2020/21 due to the pandemic. Levels of engagement in remote learning were good however, rates varied between key stages and individual children impacting on the capacity of schools to deliver a sustained continued high level of engagement by all children and young people. The teaching of literacy and numeracy had to be modified in session 2020/21 to take account of the change to learning provision. This has impacted on progress previously made with data from 2019 showing improved attainment outcomes for our Year Stage Component Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 2021 WDC All 68 74 79 85 84 2021 P1, P4, P7 combined Reading 68 74 79 83 81 2021 P1, P4, P7 combined Writing 60 66 71 79 81 2021 P1, P4, P7 combined Numeracy 66 74 79 85 81
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5 children and young people. The adjustment of workstream priorities and resourcing within the period August 2020 to end of January 2022 has impacted upon further expected long term gains to increase attainment and reduce the poverty related attainment gap due to the current context of Covid. West Dunbartonshire has shown an increased gap for literacy and numeracy in relation to the Scottish Government Stretch Aims for 2024/25, although the picture is more positive for numeracy than literacy. The literacy achievement is likely to be impacted by writing, which has been highlighted as an improvement focus for 2021/22: % achievement P1, P4 and P7 combined for LITERACY Quintile 2017/18 2018/19 2021/22 2024/25 Stretch Aim Changed required to meet Stretch Aim Q1 60 62 57 85 28 Q2 70 71 63 86 23 Q3 74 75 68 88 20 Q4 74 79 78 89 11 Q5 81 75 74 90 16 Gap: Q1 v Q5 14 13 18 5 - % achievement P1, P4 and P7 combined for NUMERACY Quintile 2017/18 2018/19 2021/22 2024/25 Stretch Aim Changed required to meet Stretch Aim Q1 67 71 65 85 20 Q2 78 78 74 86 12 Q3 80 81 78 88 10 Q4 82 85 85 89 4 Q5 88 88 82 90 8 Gap: Q1 v Q5 15 17 27 5 - OVERALL PROGRESS AND REFLECTIONS TO DATE Overall progress towards long-term outcomes and reflections Long –term outcomes The long-term outcomes of the Attainment Scotland Fund are to: a. Improve literacy and numeracy attainment b. Improve health and wellbeing c. Close the attainment gap between pupils from the most and least deprived areas. What evidence are you collecting to measure these long-term outcomes in your authority? Please specify the type of evidence you are collecting. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) To reflect the expectation set in the refreshed mission of SAC, West Dunbartonshire has reviewed measures and indicators to success to inform stretch aim planning. This has extended to equalities data, attendance data alongside Achievement of a Level (ACEL) and Senior Phase.
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6 Mid-Year • The local authority (LA) used ACEL, SNSA and a local assessment at Early Level to measure trends and improvements in literacy and numeracy at LA and establishment level. With three years’ worth of data now available, the SNSAs has been used to identify specific areas for improvement and focus at the local authority level. • To ensure a consistent understanding and approach to the use of data within their establishment, each headteacher has a data review meeting with the Data and Performance Officer to discuss in detail the trends, patterns and next steps based on their establishment’s School Statistical Report (SSR). • In 2021 for the first time, establishments SSRs included a detailed look at the attainment gap change over time based on: o free school meal entitlement o attainment for a cohort over time, i.e. 2018 P1 in 2021 P4 and 2018 P4 in 2021 P7 o attainment for all five quintiles and for the same cohort over time as above o a comparison of the gap between quintile 1 ACEL data and the Scottish Government stretch aim of 85 % achieving the level • The WDC BGE Primary Toolkit is now extensively used across primary establishments to track and monitor progress for each individual child. • As an authority we have rolled out the use of WDC 22 indicators or toolkit of measures to be used by all schools and the local authority to gather evidence to measure progress with long term outcomes. All head teachers completed training on the use of the WDC 22 toolkit and a training video was recorded to be used with relevant staff within establishments. What did this evidence show so far? Please highlight key findings only – both positive and negative. As part of the evaluation, we may request further details on your evidence for particularly interesting findings. If you did not collect evidence for these outcome(s) or results are not yet available at this stage in the year, just leave blank. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Attainment All attainment data below for 2021/22 relates to a local analysis based of the 2021/22 ACEL submission in June 2022 and has not been verified by Scottish Government. ACEL attainment change for 2021/22 compared to 2020/21 as follows: • For P1, P4 and P7 combined, literacy increased by 9 % to 71 % • For P1, P4 and P7 combined, numeracy increased by 6 % to 78 % • For P1, P4 and P7 combined across organisers the change ranges from 2pp in listening and talking to 10pp in writing • For S3, literacy and numeracy showed a slight decrease of 1pp and 2pp respectively Table: Achievement of a Level for WDC in 2020/21 and 2021/22
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7 ER (%) EW (%) ELT (%) Elit (%) N (%) Stage 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 P1 74 81 71 76 83 85 67 73 79 83 P4 70 77 60 73 81 84 57 69 67 75 P7 74 80 66 75 84 85 64 72 70 77 P1, P4 & P7 combined 72 79 65 75 82 84 62 71 72 78 2019 2022 2019 2022 2019 2022 2019 2022 2019 2022 S3 88 87 87 85 94 89 83 82 90 88 2021 was the first year with ACEL available for a specific cohort over time, i.e. P1 and P4 in 2018 were in P4 and P7 in 2021, this data is now also available for the 2019 P1, P4 and P7 cohorts in 2021/22. Achievement of these cohorts over time in table below shows that: • there is a drop in cohort achievement for the 2018 P1 cohort in P4 in 2021 • there is little change in cohort achievement for the 2018 P4 cohort in P7 in 2021 • there is a drop in cohort achievement for the 2019 P1 cohort in P4 in 2022 • there is an increase in cohort achievement for reading, writing and numeracy for the 2019 P4 cohort in P7 in 2022 • there is an increase in cohort achievement for the 2019 P7 cohort in S3 in 2022 NB The assumption is that movement of pupils within the 3 years has a minimal effect on cohort performance. Table: Achievement of a Level for WDC over time for individual cohorts ER (%) EW (%) ELT (%) Elit (%) N (%) Stage 2018 2021 2018 2021 2018 2021 2018 2021 2018 2021 P1 > P4 81 70 77 60 86 81 74 57 84 67 P4 > P7 75 74 66 66 84 84 62 64 71 70 Stage 2019 2022 2019 2022 2019 2022 2019 2022 2019 2022 P1 > P4 81 77 77 73 85 84 73 69 83 75 P4 > P7 74 80 69 75 86 85 65 72 75 77 P7 > S3 76 87 70 85 86 89 66 82 71 88 Attainment gap change is shown for West Dunbartonshire, with the gap calculated between Quintile 1 (most deprived) and Quintile 5 (least deprived) as required by the Scottish Government. The change from 2018/19 or 2020/21 to 2021/22 in the ACEL attainment gap between most deprived in Quintile 1 and least deprived pupils in Quintile 5 is:
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8 • For WDC for P1, P4 and P7 combined, literacy gap has increased by 1pp from 16pp to 17pp • For WDC for P1, P4 and P7 combined, numeracy gap has remained the same at 16pp • Change in gap varied by individual stages, e.g. P4 showing a reduction in gap at literacy and little change in numeracy • For WDC for S3, literacy gap showed an increased gap from 3pp to 15pp • For WDC for S3, numeracy gap showed an increased gap from 2pp to 11pp Table: Attainment gap between SIMD quintile 1 and quintile 5 based on Achievement of a Level for WDC in 2018/19 or 2020/21 and 2021/22 WDC - Gap Q1 – Q5 Literacy (% difference) Numeracy (% difference) Stage/Level 2020/21 2021/22 2020/21 2021/22 P1 20 20 17 19 P4 10 5 9 11 P7 15 26 17 19 P1, P4 and P7 combined 16 17 16 16 2018/19 2021/22 2018/19 2021/22 S3 3 15 2 11 However, in WDC only approximately 6 % of the pupil cohort in 2021/22 were in SIMD quintile 5, therefore a comparison to SIMD quintile 4 is a valuable analysis to ascertain the gap based on the local context. The change from 2018/19 or 2020/21 to 2021/22 in the ACEL attainment gap between most deprived in Quintile 1 and least deprived pupils in Quintile 4 is: • For WDC for P1, P4 and P7 combined, literacy gap has decreased by 6pp from 21pp to 15pp • For WDC for P1, P4 and P7 combined, numeracy gap decreased by 5pp from 20pp to 15pp • Change in gap varied by individual stages, e.g. P7 showing a reduction in gap at numeracy and an increase in literacy • For WDC for S3, literacy gap showed an increased gap from 14pp to 15pp • For WDC for S3, numeracy gap showed an decreased gap from 13pp to 5pp Table: Attainment gap between SIMD quintile 1 and quintile 4 based on Achievement of a Level for WDC in 2018/19 or 2020/21 and 2021/22 WDC - Gap Q1 - Q4 Literacy (% difference) Numeracy (% difference) Stage/Level 2020/21 2021/22 2020/21 2021/22 P1 25 10 18 16 P4 24 17 28 18 P7 14 18 14 12 P1, P4 and P7 combined 21 15 20 15
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9 2018/19 2021/22 2018/19 2021/22 S3 14 15 13 5 The following analysis looks at difference in attainment in ACEL based on free meal entitlement (FME). The assumption is that pupils without FME will perform better than pupils with FME. The change from 2018/19 or 2020/21 to 2021/22 in the ACEL attainment gap between pupils with FME and pupils without FME is: • For WDC for P1, P4 and P7 combined, literacy gap has decreased by 3pp from 23pp to 20pp • For WDC for P1, P4 and P7 combined, numeracy gap has remained the same at 18pp • For WDC for S3, literacy has remained the same at 14pp • For WDC for S3, numeracy has decreased by 1pp from 13pp to 12pp Table: Attainment gap between pupils with FME and pupils without FME based on Achievement of a Level for WDC in 2018/19 or 2020/21 and 2021/22 WDC - Gap FME Literacy (% difference) Numeracy (% difference) Stage/Level 2020/21 2021/22 2020/21 2021/22 P1 25 17 19 19 P4 20 21 21 17 P7 25 20 20 18 P1, P4 and P7 combined 23 20 18 18 2018/19 2021/22 2018/19 2021/22 S3 14 14 13 12 The following analysis looks at difference in attainment in ACEL based on gender, i.e. comparing Female attainment to Male attainment. The assumption is that female pupils will perform better than male pupils, therefore a positive difference shows that females are performing better than males. The change from 2018/19 or 2020/21 to 2021/22 in the ACEL attainment gap between pupils based on gender is: • For WDC for P1, P4 and P7 combined, literacy gap has decreased by 4pp from 13pp to 9pp • For WDC for P1, P4 and P7 combined, numeracy gap has decreased by 6pp from 2pp to -4pp, i.e. in favour of males • For WDC for S3, literacy gap has decreased by 1pp from 10pp to 9pp • For WDC for S3, numeracy gap has remained the same at 1pp Table: Attainment gap between pupils for gender based on Achievement of a Level for WDC in 2018/19 or 2020/21 and 2021/22
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10 WDC - Gap Gender Literacy (% difference) Numeracy (% difference) Stage/Level 2020/21 2021/22 2020/21 2021/22 P1 14 8 11 0.4 P4 14 7 -2 -7 P7 11 10 -1 -6 P1, P4 and P7 combined 13 9 2 -4 2018/19 2021/22 2018/19 2021/22 S3 10 9 1 1 Health and WellBeing Overall attendance across West Dunbartonshire for the 2021/22 session was 88.4%, which is a reduction from 91.8 % in 2018/19 before the pandemic, while unauthorised absence was 4.5 % of the total absence rate of 11.6 %. In 2021/22, secondary schools had a lower pupil attendance rate, with a range of 84 % to 87 %, compared to primary schools with a range of 84 % to 95 %. Mid-Year ACEL attainment change for P1, P4 and P7 combined in 2020/21 compared to 2019/20 as follows: • Literacy dropped by 6 % to 62 %, which is similar to Scotland at 5.4 % • Numeracy dropped by 4 % to 72 %, which is similar to Scotland at 4.4 % • Across organisers the change ranges from 4pp to 7pp, which is slightly more than Scotland at 3pp to 6pp Table: Achievement of a Level for WDC in 2018/19 and 2020/21 ER (%) EW (%) ELT (%) Elit (%) N (%) Stage 2019 2021 2019 2021 2019 2021 2019 2021 2019 2021 P1 81 74 77 71 85 83 73 67 83 79 P4 74 70 69 60 86 81 65 57 75 67 P7 76 74 70 66 86 84 66 64 71 70 P1, P4 & P7 combined 77 72 72 65 86 82 68 62 76 72 2021 was the first year with ACEL available for a specific cohort over time, i.e. P1 in 2018 were in P4 in 2021 and P4 in 2018 were in P7 in 2021. Achievement of these cohorts over time below shows that: • there is a drop in cohort achievement for the 2018 P1 cohort in P4 • there is little change in cohort achievement for the 2018 P4 cohort in P7
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11 NB The assumption is that movement of pupils within the 3 years has a minimal effect on cohort performance. Table: Achievement of a Level for WDC in 2017/18 and 2020/21 for specific cohorts: ER (%) EW (%) ELT (%) Elit (%) N (%) Stage 2018 2021 2018 2021 2018 2021 2018 2021 2018 2021 P1 > P4 81 70 77 60 86 81 74 57 84 67 P4 > P7 75 74 66 66 84 84 62 64 71 70 Attainment gap change is shown for West Dunbartonshire, with the gap calculated between Quintile 1 (most deprived) and Quintile 4 (least deprived). The change from 2018/19 to 2020/21 in the ACEL attainment gap for P1, P4 and P7 combined between most deprived in Quintile 1 and least deprived pupils in Quintile 4 is: • In Scotland, literacy has increased by 3.3pp from 13.8pp to 17.1pp • For WDC, literacy has increased by 4pp from 17pp to 21pp • In Scotland, numeracy has increased by 4.2pp from 10.8pp to 15.0pp • For WDC, numeracy has increased by 7pp from 13pp to 20pp • Change in gap varied by individual stages, with P7 showing a reduction in gap at literacy and little change in numeracy Table: Attainment gap between SIMD quintile 1 and quintile 4 based on Achievement of a Level for WDC in 2018/19 and 2020/21 WDC - Gap Q1 - Q4 Literacy (% difference) Numeracy (% difference) Stage/Level 2018/19 2020/21 2018/19 2020/21 P1 21 25 12 18 P4 12 24 16 28 P7 17 14 13 14 P1, P4 and P7 combined 17 21 13 20 The change from 2018/19 to 2020/21 in the ACEL attainment gap for P1, P4 and P7 combined between children with FME and children without FME is: • For WDC, literacy has increased by 1pp from 22pp to 23pp • For WDC, numeracy has increased by 1pp from 19pp to 20pp • The positive P7 attainment gap performance based on SIMD quintiles is reflected in the attainment gap based on FME. Table: Attainment gap between children with FME and children without FME based on Achievement of a Level for WDC in 2018/19 and 2020/21
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12 WDC - Gap FME Literacy (% difference) Numeracy (% difference) Stage/Level 2018/19 2020/21 2018/19 2020/21 P1 25 25 15 19 P4 16 20 15 21 P7 25 25 24 20 P1, P4 and P7 combined 22 23 19 20 Analysis of the SNSA middle band questions compared the percentage of LA roll who were asked the question and the percentage who answered it correctly, from this analysis the following areas were highlighted for improvement: Stage SNSA SNSA band Descriptor P4 P4 ER Band 7 Interpret a change in a character's feelings in a short narrative text P4 P4 EW Band 7 Identify the correct prefix (dis) for a root word in a simple sentence P4 P4 EW Band 7 Identify the correct conjunction (e.g. who, that) to begin a relative clause in a short sentence P4 P4 EW Band 7 Identify the correct spelling of a common three syllable word, with er P4 P4 N Band 7 Multiply two 1-digit numbers, in context P7 P7 ER Band 9 Understand a key idea in a narrative text P7 P7 EW Band 8 Identify the correct spelling of a four syllable word where the phoneme ee is spelt ie and the suffix able is added P7 P7 ER Band 9 Find a directly stated detail at the end of a narrative text P7 P7 EW Band 9 Identify the correct verb form (perfect conditional) to complete a complex sentence Can you share any learning on what has worked well in your overall strategy to achieve impact? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) • WDC Improvement Framework conducting Area of Focussed Attention visits to moderate assessment against national benchmarks; set targets for improvement; and provide small group teaching ( tutoring). Mid-Year • Local authority system and process for using data to plan and target support for schools. • Quality assurance and intelligence led approaches to school and LA improvement. • Headteacher leadership and collaboration of school improvement. • Clear strategic frameworks are in place to support head teachers, lead practitioners to manage and lead workstreams.
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13 • Effective tracking and monitoring systems are enhancing planning for improvement in outcomes for learners. • Workstream leads are increasingly skilled at sharing and scaling up ‘what works’ to enhance impact for wider groups of learners, families and practitioners. • Effective input from Attainment Advisor. • All schools have prioritised the wellbeing of children and young people as part of their PEF planning as part of the authority’s strategic recovery from Covid. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year The 2021 ACEL data showed sustained improvement by a small number of our establishments. A number of schools in our more deprived areas have not maintained improved performance since 2019. This is has impacted negatively on work towards achieving the stretch aims. WORK STREAMS – HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES EARLY LEVEL PLAY AND LEARNING Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Word Aware Word Aware is having a positive impact on Clarifying data with 87% of children reaching the benchmark, this work has been led by the early years’ teams and Psychological Services. Stay and play sessions were reintroduced across all ELCCs, which invited parents to come into these settings. Overall, these sessions had a very positive engagement from parents. Reciprocal Teaching Early years’ teachers leading staff development on Reciprocal Teaching (RT) Strategies. This is having a positive impact on pre-school attainment with at least 75 % of children achieving the benchmark score in the local literacy early years baseline assessment across the four RT strategies, i.e. predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarising. Mid-Year Play based learning - Lynda Keith Education • 80 staff attended Lynda Keith virtual sessions on Supporting Covid Recovery through Play Pedagogy. The sessions promoted quality interactions across early and first level which incorporated key messages from Realising the Ambition, explored aspects of play that children may have missed out on during the pandemic and explored the balance of high quality environments in redefining our environments.
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14 • The focus was developing quality interactions in early mathematical learning and developing early literacy learning. • Each participant attended three sessions completed a reflective task. Deirdre Grogan - Strathclyde University • 200 staff in total attended sessions focussing on : one-ery, provocation, documentation, pedagogical leadership and play pedagogy in primary one and two. • The targeted training for one-ery staff focused on the importance of the physical environment, organising and planning for learning at early level. • Reflective discussions allowed staff to consider the features of high quality observations, documentation. Each participant attended four sessions and completed a reflective task. Reciprocal Teaching • 17 early stages teachers continue to collaborate with all ELC settings to promote the use of reciprocal teaching. They continue to role model and track attainment in reciprocal teaching through the use of literacy progress records for every pre schooler. • All early years children have access to high quality reciprocal teaching every week. Word Aware . • Psychological Services have recently trained 60 new ELC staff in the Word Aware methodology. • Psychological Services continue to support the delivery of Word Aware by our 17 early stages teachers and 11 equity and excellence leads. • All ELC settings engage with Word Aware early intervention literacy programme and impact of the intervention is monitored through the use of the literacy progress records Early Level Literacy • 40 Lead Practitioners, 11 Equity and Excellence Leads and 16 Early Stage Teachers and Primary One Teachers attended CLPL sessions on the taught elements of early level literacy. • The sessions focused on: the use of data; the early level progress records; and understand the impact of poverty and how to address this to meet learners’ needs and plan appropriate next steps. Outdoor Learning Outdoor learning presentations and visits to individual establishments focused on identifying the impact of updates to best practice guidance on the quality of the service. Senior Leadership support has included critically reflecting on their ELC culture for outdoor learning identifying areas of success and areas for improvement, with particular focus on pace of day, equity and inclusion. This has included; • 127 staff across all providers have participated in virtual professional learning that has focused on new guidance documents and raising practitioner knowledge of new
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15 directives, “Out to Play chapter 11”, which has supported their skill and confidence in ensuring equity for all children outdoors, particularly those with additional support for learning needs. • Realising the Ambition, outdoor spaces, interactions and experiences has focused on pedagogical leadership outdoors. The best practice guidance was used to challenge 36 practitioners in reflecting how well they support equity for all children outdoors and how to plan for high quality interactions, experiences and outdoor spaces. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year All of the training has been virtual and has gone ahead however due to staff shortages during the Omicron variant outbreak some staff missed the sessions. Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Objectives achieved as listed below. • There was a 10% increase in number of children achieving the benchmark in Concepts of Print. • There was a 10% increase in number of children achieving the benchmark in Number and Number Processes. Mid-Year The majority of plans for this work stream made progress in the period June 2021 to March 2022. Objectives achieved: • Increased number of families being offered virtual/face to face parenting programmes. • Consolidated practice across all sectors in Word Aware and Reciprocal Teaching. • Increased attainment in Concepts of Print; 62% of children in ELC are displaying progress. • Increased attainment in Number and Number Processes; 68% of children in ELC are showing progress. • Data from the literacy progress records shows a slight increase in vocabulary development through the use of clarifying strategies. • All children are accessing local natural areas such as forests and parks in the local community.
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16 WDC data comparison of children’s progress in assessment from our observations can be found below: Parent comments from Parenting Programme sessions focusing on literacy and numeracy. "I used to get annoyed reading the same book every night but now I know that it will help E's reading skills because she will become familiar with the words on the page and can retell me the story using the pictures." "I didn't allow messy play in the house but now I understand how much it benefits his learning I have been doing a lot more but out in the garden." "C is singing more songs, you know he didn't speak before but now he is always singing the songs and trying to use more words around the house." ‘The focus on learning through play, songs, reading. It taught me some new skills. Sharon also gave us tips on books to read during some difficult periods.’ Play based learning • Observations of a random sample of practitioners have highlighted improved confidence and understanding of child centred play pedagogy in practitioners across early level. • Realising the Ambition will continue to be at the heart of early years play pedagogy. • Direct observations from courses highlighted an improvement in staff understanding of research and theory of child centred play pedagogy related to Realising the Ambition. • Course participants completed a reflective task which highlighted that staff were reflecting on their practice and adapting their learning environment for play based learning. • The Deirdre Grogan training on one-ery, provocations and documentation is evident in the majority of settings that have participated in the training. Environments have been transformed and staff confidence has increased in play pedagogy. Outdoor Learning
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17 • 154 Early learning and Childcare Officers across all providers have participated in outdoor learning training this year. Most senior leadership teams and staff have carried out audits of how well their centre supports inclusion in the outdoors. • More children are accessing local natural areas such as forests and parks in the local community. • Staff are understanding how the curriculum outdoors can be supported in creative ways and the different ways they can support skills development. • Staff comments have been positive and most of them outline how confidence has increased. ELC outdoor areas have improved to maximise opportunities for children to explore nature. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) No update. Mid-Year Monitoring and evaluating the quality of the outdoor provision can be a challenge for some leadership teams. They will benefit from targeted support to improve quality and opportunities for all children. Covid restrictions have limited opportunities for parental engagement in school /ELC buildings which has made sustaining high levels of parental involvement more challenging. EXCELLENCE AND EQUITY RECOVERY Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) 3704 hours of tuition for individuals and small groups provided out of school hours for children in primary and secondary. The programme provides intensive support for small group based on research by the Education Endowment Foundation. The sessions are delivered by senior leadership teams, teachers and support staff. A literacy enrichment opportunity was offered to 317 primary 4 pupils. This unique literacy programme engaged a team of teachers, youth workers and education support officers who worked together to offer a package of individual support to learners to help them develop confidence in their reading and writing. The children took part in creative writing workshops, reading out-loud, traditional storytelling, story-writing, music and dance experiences using literature around the theme of Scottish mythical beasts. The children experienced workshops that encouraged children to read, write, tell and explore stories, a campfire event with our young writers coming together to share their stories. In secondary establishments: • Supported study sessions available in all establishments
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18 • Masterclass provision before Spring break, with sessions taking place during lunchtime and before and after school • Weekend tutorials during the Spring break • Supported study during Spring Break, e.g. 45 individual sessions across 9 days with 34 individual teachers in attendance to offer bespoke support around assignments and exams • Masterclasses available during the school day during the exam period • A Study Café in place for all senior phase pupils after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays • Subject based supported study ran both after school and at lunchtimes • Provision of quiet study space for individual study during and before the school day Mid-Year • 2470 hours of tuition for individuals and small groups provided out of school hours for children in primary and secondary. The programme provides intensive support for small group based on research by the Education Endowment Foundation. The sessions are delivered by senior leadership teams, teachers and support staff • 2 teachers have been seconded as literacy coaches . The coaches have developed materials for schools to use to support improved pupil and teacher feedback in literacy; and visible learning strategies. The coaches have conducted a pilot in 3 schools in January 2022 involving 4 to 5 sessions direct teaching with class teachers; review of use of teacher/pupil feedback against levels of progress with pupil literacy skills; and on line professional dialogue and catch up sessions. 8 more schools will join the programme in March to June 2022. • Staff have engaged in Action Learning Sets to reflect on the quality of their practice in learning, teaching and meeting learner needs. • Primary probationers (30) engaged in professional learning sessions on teaching phonics and building a reading culture. • Two primary headteachers have been seconded to lead a group of 19 primary and secondary teachers in the Improving our Classrooms (IOC) professional learning programme that empowers teachers to improve learning and teaching in classrooms and schools. IOC has a clear focus on high quality self-evaluation at classroom level leading to improved learning and teaching, data informed targeted interventions, improved attainment and achievement with a relentless focus on equity and excellence for all children and young people. The teachers are engaged in delivering case studies and collaborative visits to other establishments to observe learning, focussed on raised attainment in either literacy or numeracy. • Almost 100 staff have attended professional learning sessions delivered by the Attainment Advisor. Sessions have focussed equity and the attainment gap, as well as opportunities to collaborate and explore strategies to address inequity and improve outcomes for children and young people in West Dunbartonshire. Sessions for PEF coordinators focussed on refreshed knowledge and understanding of the Scottish Attainment Challenge priorities; reviewing ACEL attainment data for P1, P4 and P7 ; and quality PEF planning. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year
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19 Due to staff shortage as a result of COVID absence some plans for tuition were affected and there was a slight delay to the deployment of literacy coach teachers to support and challenge practice in schools and ELCC’s. An Easter to June tuition catch up programme is planned with plans to increase the number of literacy coaches in the period March to June 2022. The ACEL results for West Dunbartonshire in June 2021 identified writing as an area requiring focussed attention. Work to improve the quality of writing in all primaries has been the focus for all schools up to January 2022. This has delayed plans to: • Work with researcher to produce revised reading strategy; and • train teachers and support staff in all schools and sectors in guided reading approaches, three domains in learning and reading is meaning. The Attainment Advisor and WDC SAC Lead Officer are currently engaged in strategic planning discussions with headteachers about implementing reading strategies to support a narrowing of the poverty related attainment gap, with implementation planned from April 2022 to June 2023. Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) As predicted at the mid-year report tuition has had a positive impact on attainment in the most deprived schools. Mid-Year Interim ACEL predictions for 2022/23 are indicating a positive impact of tuition on attainment. All headteachers report that tuition has had a positive impact on improvements for children and young people engaged with targeted intervention programmes. 97% of teachers reported that Action Learning Sets have developed their professional skills, understanding and confidence in the areas of: meeting learners’ needs, differentiation and fostering positive relationships with children and young people. 75% of probationer teachers reported feeling confident or extremely confident in the aspect of raising attainment in literacy for all learners. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year Capacity in some schools to deliver improvements in reading and writing concurrently in session 2021/22.
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20 BETTER WELLBEING, BETTER LEARNING Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Training Nurturing approaches are used in schools as a means of supporting the emotional wellbeing and development of children and young people. Psychological Services previously developed a seven module training programme and from March 2022 a further 82 staff were introduced to nurture principles. Supporting children and young people affected by bereavement and loss As part of WDC’s approach to children affected by bereavement and loss the Seasons for Growth programme is used across primary and secondary schools. Training delivered to establish a Seasons Companion in every Local Learning Community. A total of 35 Seasons groups were run supporting 175 children and young people. Let's Introduce Anxiety Management (LIAM) Two Educational Psychologists completed training in LIAM (Let's introduce anxiety management) meaning that all EPs are now trained to deliver this intervention, with identified pupils being supported through the programme. Each secondary school has two members of staff trained to use the approach with identified pupils and four primary schools have a member of staff trained and are attending ongoing coaching sessions delivered by the Early Intervention TIPS project. READINESS Programme – Enhanced Transition Programme for P7 children Psychological Services collaborated schools to pilot the READINESS (Recognising Emotions, Addressing Difficult Emotions, Investigating Negative thoughts, Seeking Support) Programme, which is a CBT/Mindfulness approach using small group intervention within the context of enhanced transition to High School. During 2021/22 Psychologists organised coaching and training sessions for READINESS group facilitators and collaborated with primary schools to identify P7 young people who were experiencing anxiety regarding their transition to High School. The pupils who participated in the programme rated many aspects of the programme helpful for them, 86% evaluated meeting teachers and other supportive adults from the High School as very helpful for them and 71% rated the visits to High School as very helpful for them. The professionals who facilitated the programme rated the following parts most highly: ‘emotional vocabulary (being able to label emotions)’; noticing where emotions are found in the body’; changing unhelpful thoughts into helpful thoughts’; and tour of the High School. Family Hub: Sustained high numbers of families accessing support from community learning, welfare, housing, employability and education teams:
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21 Total Referrals and Engagements to Family Opportunity/S&FE Hub 2020/21 Referred 2020/21 Engaged 2021/22 Referred 2021/22 Engaged Cumulative Referred Since 2017/18 Cumulative Engaged Since 2017/18 234 183 234 183 992 651 Mid-Year Poverty Support: 348 families supported by outreach and pupil and family support teams using a hybrid model of service delivery that included an increased use of online platforms. When safe to do so, contact with parents continues in schools and early year settings in addition to the online support. In response to the unique circumstances of the pandemic, the support ranged in intensity and length, from short term support providing practical advice, e.g. financial advice, and long term emotional support with very specific goals as agreed through team around the child discussion. Family Hub: Sustained high numbers of families accessing support from community learning, welfare, housing, employability and education teams: Total Referrals and Engagements to Family Opportunity/S&FE Hub 2019/20 Referred 2019/20 Engaged 2020/21 Referred 2020/21 Engaged Cumulative Referred Since 2017/18 Cumulative Engaged Since 2017/18 176 132 234 183 829 523 Digital Inclusion: August 2021 an additional 400 Chromebook devices distributed to schools to ensure all children had access to a device for use at home and in school. We now have over 9300 devices across the learning estate. This has enabled provision to families experiencing poverty with more than 2 children to have access to more than one device. Towards Recovery and Resilience: • The educational psychology team have provided training to support the wellbeing of children, families and staff: 80 staff engaged in Nurture principles and practice training; 60 staff engaged in Seasons for Growth Training; 30 staff engaged in learning about attachment theory; 40 staff trained in Restorative Approaches and conducting Restorative Conversations; 70 education staff attended ‘Evolving Wellbeing Sessions’ • All mainstream secondary schools are participating in Mentors in Violence Prevention programme. A range of staff and pupils in every setting are undertaking training to support young people and peers in approaches to maintaining positive relationships, addressing ‘Bystander Behaviours’ and supporting the rights of the child. • All schools have prioritised the wellbeing of children and young people as part of their PEF planning. This is in response to a range of factors evident in the current Covid context: increased levels of anxiety, dysregulated behaviours, social and emotional challenges and limited physical wellbeing opportunities. • Implementation of Distressed Brief Intervention approaches in two of our High Schools with plans to expand this to all secondaries by the end of the school year. This approach
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22 in collaboration with our Health Improvement colleagues will build capacity in our pupil support teams to provide early mental health help and support young people with signposting to appropriate next steps. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year Plans on track Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year Poverty Support - Parent / Carer Survey: 100% of parents/ carers stated that they would recommend Outreach Worker Services to another parent / carer. 93% stated that their child’s behaviour had got much, or very much better as a result of outreach and pupil / family support . Towards Recovery and Resilience - Staff Survey: 100% of respondents report that training delivered emphasising staff well being was either helpful or very helpful. Feedback from staff is positive: ‘I will try to place greater importance on self care as this is something that I often neglect myself’. ‘Knowing how to regulate, myself and others and also relating and reasoning with other staff and children. Recognising the importance of connections and being there for others’. ‘I will definitely think about the self soothing strategies when dealing with children who are needing a bit of calm time. I will also try to reflect more on the self care for my own wellbeing which then impacts on others’. Towards Recovery and Resilience - Attendance Whilst our statistics for the current Covid context demonstrate a negative trend in attendance levels pupil and family support, pupil support and outreach workers have been engaged in targeted work to support improvement for our young people finding attendance most challenging after ‘lockdown’. Feedback from staff and young people indicates that the
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23 targeted support has been invaluable; supporting engagement and involvement with life beyond the house for those who are struggling most to engage with others post pandemic. A pilot programme being offered to 16 young people who had been disengaged from education in mainstream is having a positive impact on the attendance and engagement of the young people involved. The’ Engaging Learners Pathway’ programme provides a bespoke approach to learning. The programme is a partnership between education, the third sector and the West Dunbartonshire Communities team. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year Engagement activities to provide direct support to families can be resource intensive affecting planned timescales and achievement of outcomes. Attendance levels have decreased compared to previous years. Young people provided with bespoke individual support are improving their attendance rates at school. However, this is challenging for families to sustain if any additional supports are removed. Improvement outcomes and workstreams for attendance are being included in the West Dunbartonshire SAC plan for 2022/ 23. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PARTNERSHIPS Activities: Please comment on progress in implementing your planned activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Delivery of professional learning sessions on project based learning (PBL): • 18 DHTs / PTs in Leading IDL via online training • 31 probationer teachers in Project Based Learning via online training • 12 staff members took part in PBL Designing the Learning: Step 1 • 12 Headteachers took part in Deep Learning Training Sessions and training on the WDC Competencies Framework • 192 staff members engaged in collaborative work with colleagues from other schools • 3246 children engaged in PBL, age range from pre-school to P7 Mid-Year • Deliver professional learning on project based learning to all curriculum leaders and probationer teachers:
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24 - headteachers are attending a series of development sessions on curriculum design as part of an improvement strategy focussing on pupil achievement; - all depute head teachers are participating in an authority curriculum planning group focussing on leadership and management of inter disciplinary learning in schools; and - all primary probationer teachers have completed 4 training sessions and are attending network sessions on curriculum planning. • Establish curriculum innovation teams driving forward curriculum improvement projects: - production of almost 100 inter disciplinary learning projects providing meaningful, relevant contexts for children and young people to develop skills for learning, life and work. - to set a quality standard of for West Dunbartonshire a set of high quality model lessons and materials have been shared on Campus@WDC for schools to use to inform and evaluate their practice against. • Establish learning networks to share standards and define quality in digital technology and flipped classrooms: aDigital Technologies Forum has been established focussing on embedding digital technologies into learning and teaching; developing independent learning at early stages using technology; using technology to meet learning needs. Slippage from plans: Please comment on slippage from your original plans for implementing activities in the year 2021/22 End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year Reflections on progress to date: Can you share any learning on what has worked well in implementing this initiative during 2021/22? Please highlight any quantitative data, people’s views or direct observations that have informed your evaluation of progress. End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year Learning networks at senior leader and class teacher level have provided opportunity to share resources, ideas about learning contexts focussing on learning engagement and achievement. This workstream has provided access to shared resources for teachers across all schools to support planning and delivery whilst challenged at times by the current context of Covid. The curriculum work has improved quality and range of learning experiences resulting in pupil achievement of skills:
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25 Examples of pupil evidence from 3 schools: Child 1 ‘applied himself and engaged well in the problem based learning activities. He soon became very interested and self-motivated. His perseverance has increased greatly and he has expressed his pride in his achievements’. Child 2 ‘can find some aspects of learning in literacy and numeracy challenging which can sometimes impact on his confidence or the role he chooses within a group. Child 2 excelled throughout the project and demonstrated a range of independent learning skills. He often took on a leadership role within the group and loved sharing his ideas. As the learning hooks are provided in video format, Child 2 could watch and listen before collaboratively sharing ideas. Child 2 was keen to draw ideas and label these with the support of his peers. He quickly became interested in the use of measure as he was keen that his creations were built accurately’. Child 3 ‘is always active in learning but does requires reassurance from me during tasks. At times Child 3 can lack confidence to share her ideas. Child 3 thrived in this IDL project and developed an enhanced confidence. She demonstrated this through presentations and contributing to class ideas’. Examples of teacher evidence: ‘This has been engaging, insightful and highly motivating training. The training provided a wonderful environment and created a positive culture between staff, I especially value how useful and practical for my own teaching practice the content is. It makes a difference knowing that what is being discussed will have a direct impact on the teaching and learning experiences within my classroom. Thank you again for all of you help and support throughout the project’. ‘ I have enjoyed working with the large and small group. I have further developed my contact list across different learning communities across West Dunbartonshire. Sharing of experiences provides the stepping stones to further development…I am ready for the challenge ahead for our school and ELCC as we work together to develop our high quality projects to meet the needs of our learners’. Can you share any learning on what has worked less well or could be improved? End-Year (no update required if covered by the mid-year report detail below) Mid-Year Build in more time for joint curriculum planning between primary and secondary to support transitions.
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