Item 08 - Strategy to Raise Attainment and Achievement in West Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire Council · 21 June 2023
Back to Educational Services Committee — 21 June 2023 and its agenda

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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL
Report by Laura Mason, Chief Education Officer
Educational Services Committee: 21 June 2023
___________________________________________________________________
Subject: Strategy to Raise Attainment and Achievement in West
Dunbartonshire
1. Purpose
1.1 The purpose of this report is to update the Educational Services Committee
on progress with implementing Educational Services’ improvement priorities
for attainment and equity.
2. Recommendations
2.1 The Educational Services Committee is asked to note:
(a) the strong record of progress maintained in academic session 2022/23
achieved by the young people and staff; and
(b) that the Committee is provided with regular update reports advising of
progress with improvements to deliver excellence and equity.
3. Background
3.1 In line with the Strategy to Raise Attainment and Achievement the Committee
receives regular reports outlining progress against this strategic priority.
3.2 West Dunbartonshire’s Strategy to Raise Attainment and Achievement
supported by funding from Scottish Government has supported the local
authority to maintain a strong record of progress with excellence and equity
outcomes. 
3.3 The approach to improve outcomes has been supported by Scottish
Attainment Challenge Funding 2015-2022; and since 2022 a revised SAC
funding model - the Strategic Equity Fund.
3.4 Strong Record of Progress 
As reported to Committee in March 2023, the Education Service has
maintained a strong record of progress with delivering aims and targets for
Excellence and Equity in West Dunbartonshire.
3.4.1  Attainment for children in the Broad General Education and living in our
most deprived areas (Quintile 1) is higher than the national average; and
West Dunbartonshire attainment in 2021/22 is higher than the national 
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average at P1, P4, P7 and S3 (The Annual Statistical Report on
Attainment, Scottish Government, December 2022).   
3.4.2  West Dunbartonshire has increased the number of young people moving
into a positive destination in 2021/22 with a 5.4% (89.7% >95.1%) increase
moving West Dunbartonshire into 20th place (32nd last year) out of the 32
local authorities. 
3.4.3 In academic session 2022/23 West Dunbartonshire has maintained the
local authority’s record of achieving positive grades in 100% of school and
Early Learning and Childcare Centres (ELCCs) inspections. 8 ELCCs and
3 primary schools were inspected this session. The gradings are based on
a 5 point scale used by the inspectors to evaluate quality. The 5 point scale
used by inspectors to evaluate quality ranges from weak, satisfactory,
good, very good, excellent.  All West Dunbartonshire inspections achieved
good or very good with one achieving excellent.   
3.5  In the period March to June officers have worked closely with headteachers to
monitor and moderate the assessment of children’s progress in the Broad
General Education (BGE) and in Early Years. This work is in advance of an
annual census of BGE attainment conducted by Scottish Government in June;
and a  local census of attainment in the Early Years. 
3.5.1  The BGE census monitors numbers of children and young people attaining ‘A
Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL)’ for their age and stage at P1, P4,
P7 and S3. The local authority has requested that schools submit ACEL data
prior to the national census date to allow time for central officers to conduct a
quality assurance of school performance during June 2023. The Early Years
census is based on the West Dunbartonshire Baseline Assessment. All
ELCCs and schools submit literacy and numeracy baseline attainment for
children aged 3-5 years; and for children in primary one. 
3.5.2  The Service submits to Committee at the start of each new academic
session a progress report on ACEL attainment in the Broad General
Education and Early Years Baseline Attainment. A report on West
Dunbartonshire’s Literacy and Numeracy Attainment for academic session
2022/23 will be submitted to Education Committee in September. 
3.6  As reported to Committee in December 2022 West Dunbartonshire set   
ambitious Stretch Aims for the Education Service to be achieved by
December 2023. Local authority Core Stretch Aims will be aggregated in a
national overview of local authority performance as part of the National
Improvement Framework published in December of each year. The annual
census data submitted by schools in June feeds into this national report
published in December.  A recent national conference highlighted the need
for a holistic approach across all service areas to be adopted to support the
achievement of Stretch Aims.

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3.7 Governance of the Strategy to Raise Attainment and Achievement is
reported and monitored at the Education Service Improvement Board
chaired by the Chief Education Officer. The Improvement Board meets
twice each term with membership including officers,  headteachers and the
Attainment Advisor. At the recent Improvement Board in May officers
reported on progress with the Improvement Framework which operates an
annual programme of quality assurance, monitoring and capacity building
to support education leaders to implement a continuous programme of
improvement. An evaluation of the impact of the Improvement Framework
was submitted and is attached at Appendix 1 to this report (Appendix 1). 
4.0       Main Issues   
4.1    The strong progress in the service is a joint and collaborative effort between
the central education team, schools and ELCCs. As the local authority is
responsible for the quality of educational provision sufficient and quality
personnel are required to both support and challenge schools and early
learning centres to grow, learn and improve. 
4.2  Whilst strong progress has been made with outcomes and targets for
excellence and equity there still remains a poverty related attainment gap and
concerted efforts and resource are necessary to sustain the rates of progress
and success achieved. The Service is committed to accelerating progress and
achieving aspirational outcomes for the children and young people. 
4.3  Strategic Equity Fund 
As reported to Committee in December 2022 the change from Attainment
Challenge Funding to Strategic Equity Funding in 2022 has reduced the
annual income to West Dunbartonshire Council. The Attainment Challenge
allocation to the Council prior to 2022 was £2,043,815 in both 2020/21 and
2021/22. The allocation in 2022/23 is £1,745,797 with further annual
reductions of £298,018 in each financial year up to 2025/26. By 2025/26
the allocation to West Dunbartonshire will be £851,743 compared to
£2,043,815 in 2022.  As this funding will be reduced annually each year to
2025/26 this could impact on progress in forthcoming years as the
resources available to deliver the strategy will have reduced further by
2025/26. 
4.4  Pupil Equity Fund
West Dunbartonshire  schools are on track for full budget spend of  £3.58m of
PEF in the  2022-2023 academic session.  Schools have submitted PEF plans
for next academic sessions to the Senior Officer leading on PEF  and the
Attainment Advisor from Education Scotland.   
4.5  Progress with improvements to deliver Excellence and Equity 
4.5.1  The Improvement Framework
Officers in collaboration with headteachers conducted visits to all schools and
ELCCs in academic session 2022/23. Headteachers report that the
Improvement Framework provided high quality challenge for leaders to set

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targets for improving outcomes for learners in their school; supported and
challenged  leaders to improve their approaches to self- evaluation and
develop their leadership of improvement. Key strengths of the authority
approach to improvement identified  by headteachers are:
• collaborative improvement approaches which set out clear expectations for
improvement; maintaining a sharp focus on raising attainment and
narrowing the poverty related gap;
• enhanced scrutiny and support visits which provide a forum for supportive
and challenging engagement that led to a clear focus for improvement;
• leaders workshops/seminars/conferences are providing the opportunity to
network, raise awareness of current issues/priorities and share best
practice to support school improvement and improved outcomes for
learners;
• school improvement leadership collaboration is providing headteachers
with the opportunity to have a critical friend; and
• Education Officers providing high quality support, advice and challenge. 
4.5.2  A new format for schools to report on standards and quality has been
introduced this session. A Standards and Quality Report is a statutory
obligation for reporting on school progress with improvements in an academic
session.  Officers developed a new format following consultation with
headteachers. A sample of reports from early years, primary and secondary is
included for information (Appendix 2).  
4.5.3 Assessment and Moderation 
A local authority working group has been established on Assessment and
Moderation. The group are working with a range of staff to support the
development of a consistent approach to assessment and moderation in the
Broad General Education.  The group are also working with senior staff in our
secondary schools to support any revisions to approaches as determined by
recent national reviews of assessment and qualifications. In the period March
to June the working group: established a local authority assessment and
moderation forum; developed of a WDC Assessment and Moderation
Routemap; delivered an Assessment and Moderation Conference; and
planned a programme of engagement for academic session 2023/24. 
4.5.4 Maths/Numeracy Strategy
Our current focus for learning, teaching and assessment in maths and
numeracy is to deliver professional learning on Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract
(CPA) maths pedagogy to all maths/numeracy teachers. At the same time as
professional learning a working group will update the West Dunbartonshire
Curriculum Planning Tool (Maths / Numeracy Pathways). A steering group of
teaching and learning ‘experts’ has met to review current practice in our
schools. The improvement programme is planned to run for 18 months to be
completed in November 2024. In the period January to June, 2023 the
steering group:  conducted an audit of staff professional learning, skill and
confidence to inform planning where any gaps are identified in teacher

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knowledge; planned a professional learning  programme for  primary and
secondary teachers on maths teaching / learning; completed a review of
current numeracy and maths curriculum pathway planning; launched the first
in a series of professional learning sessions for teachers . 
4.5.5 STEM Strategy
The Service has engaged with National and West Partnership STEM Forums
to inform the local developments in STEM. The national forums have
identified a need to strengthen the STEM offer for young people in S1 -S3. A
local working group has been established to review the STEM curriculum at
S1-3 in West Dunbartonshire. In the period December to June the group
engaged with a number of partners supporting STEM opportunities in West
Dunbartonshire including SSERC, Glasgow Science Centre, Babcock
Engineering, Lockheed Martin. Plans are underway to develop wider
achievement and certification opportunities through working with STEM
partners SSERC and RAiSE (Wood Foundation). 
4.5.6 1+2 Languages 2022-23
The Scottish Government Survey for 1+2 Languages 2022-23 was conducted
in April across all West Dunbartonshire schools. The survey provided valuable
insights into the status of language education in the region, highlighting best
practices and areas requiring targeted support to enhance language learning.
The collected data will be used to guide ongoing efforts to improve and
develop language education in West Dunbartonshire schools. It is
commendable that all West Dunbartonshire schools are offering a second
language from P1-S3, highlighting the schools' commitment towards
equipping children with essential communication skills in a globalised world.
Moreover, the progress towards offering a third additional language is
encouraging, with 50% of schools already offering it, and 34% in the process
of developing their third language program in line with the 1+2 Languages
Policy from P5 onwards. 
To support language learning and teaching in West Dunbartonshire schools, a
virtual 'anytime learning' platform is being developed, providing teachers with
access to basic language courses online. This initiative aims to address
common challenges faced by teachers, such as pronunciation, developing
effective teaching strategies, and embedding language learning into lessons.
It will empower teachers with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide
effective language learning, ultimately enhancing the learning experience of
learners and promoting the importance of learning languages in West
Dunbartonshire. 
4.5.7 Instrumental Music Service (IMS) 
In March the WDC Senior Concert Band achieved a Gold Plus Award at the
Scottish Concert Band Festival finals at Perth Concert Hall. The IMS Spring
concert took place at the end of March with over 150 pupils performing in
numerous ensembles to a sold out audience at Clydebank Town Hall. The
inaugural West Dunbartonshire Music Service Solo Performer of the Year
competition took place at the end of March. 11 pupils from across the
authority performed superbly on their chosen instruments and the winner will

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go on to represent WDC at the Scottish Young Musicians finals at the Royal
Conservatoire of Scotland in May. 
4.5.8  Connect - Creative Wellbeing Project
West Dunbartonshsire secured a Creative Learning Network grant of £11,000
funded by Education Scotland and Creative Scotland . The grant supported
delivery of ‘Connect’ a creative learning project focussing on health and
wellbeing. 'Connect' ran for 10 weeks with weekly sessions in 3 primary
schools - Clydemuir, Balloch and St Kessog's. Children engaged in creative
activities and games which helped them to learn about ways to keep healthy
socially and emotionally. The children have also produced mini films which
are being uploaded to a West Dunbartonshire pupil well being digital toolkit. 
4.6 Health  and Well Being
4.6.1  Water Safety Education – Summer Term Delivery
Learning resources on water safety are being used in all West Dunbartonshire
schools during the summer term prior to the summer holidays. Resources
have been developed in partnership West Dunbartonshire, the RNLI, Water
Safety Scotland, and can be accessed on the Education Scotland National
Improvement Hub using the following link:
https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/water-safety/ 
5. People Implications
5.1 As reported to Council in February 2022 the Scottish Attainment Challenge
funding enabled the provision of additional temporary (seconded) funded
posts within the education service, partner council services and external
providers. The main areas supported through this additionality are early
intervention in learning, welfare advice and poverty support, nurturing mental
wellbeing, community safety, school and learning community collaboration to
improve quality, professional learning and personalised learning pathways.
The decreased funding will reduce the number of staff available to deliver in
these areas with the seconded staff returning to their substantive posts, and
any backfill element will cease.
5.2 The new funding model will reduce this number of posts by 42% from 41.5 to
24.07 posts by 2025/2026. In session 2022/23 the local authority Scottish
Attainment Challenge funded 39.0 a reduction from 41.5 posts in 2021/22. In
session 2022/23 the Strategic Equity Fund will fund 39.0 posts.
6. Financial and Procurement Implications
6.1 Since its inception in 2015/16 to March 2022 the Council received
£12,642,432 in funding. Attainment Challenge allocations to the Council were
£2,043,815 in both 2020/21 and 2021/22. Funding in 2022/23 is £1,745,797
which is a reduction of £298,018. 
7. Risk Analysis
7.1 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

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8. Equalities Impact Assessment
8.1 A full Equality Impact Assessment has been completed and has identified the
decrease in funding will limit the Education Services’ strategic ability to deliver
and progress a range of functions within the raising attainment agenda. Scope
exists to mitigate the adverse impact on pupils; however this requires
adaptations across key service areas through the modification of plans to
reflect the reduction in Scottish Government Funding.
9. Consultation
a. Legal Services and the Section 95 Officer have been consulted in relation to
the content of this report.
b. In response to the revised funding model consultation is being conducted
with stakeholders to produce West Dunbartonshire’s Strategic Equity Fund
plan for 2022-2026.
10. Strategic Assessment
10.1   This reports reflects the Council’s 2017-2022 overarching priority to reduce
inequalities for the people of West Dunbartonshire which supports improved
outcomes for all learners in our community.
Laura Mason
Chief Education Officer
June 2023
___________________________________________________________________
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
Appendix: 1. WDC Improvement Framework – Evaluation 2022/2023
2a. Standards and Quality Report Sample 1
2b. Standards and Quality Report Sample 2
2c. Standards and Quality Report Sample 3
Background Papers: Equality Impact Assessment
Wards Affected: All wards

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