Appendix A - Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future - Final
Argyll and Bute Council · 26 November 2025
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Authors: Craig Clement, Sheena Devlin, Colin Grant & Jennifer King Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute October 2025
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2 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 3 1. Executive Summary and Strategic Service Improvement Recommendations 3 2. Background and Review Methodology 6 3. Review of Early Learning and Childcare 11 4. Review of the Additional Support Needs and Inclusion 16 5. Review of Primary and Secondary Provision: 5.1 Secondary Strategic Collaboration and Pupil Choice 24 5.2 Leadership Model 28 5.3 Primary Staffing Standard 33 6. Review of Learning Estate 36 7. Education-Wide Support Staffing Synergies: A Strategic Proposal 41 8. Links to Council-Wide Priorities and Policies: Multi-Agency Partnerships 44 9. Summary of Areas for Potential Efficiencies 48 Appendices: 1. Implementation Timeline 50 2. Engagement with Argyll and Bute Council and Partners 51 Contents
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2 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 3 Section 1 Executive Summary and Strategic Service Improvement Recommendations 1.1 Purpose and Scope of Review An independent review of Argyll and Bute’s Education Service was conducted from May to September 2025 in line with the Council’s brief: Having regard to the numerous challenges which are currently being faced by the Service, the Education Service requires reassurance that its current Service design and delivery model is efficient and effective, and will deliver improved outcomes for our children and young people, whilst providing Best Value and to support the Council’s requirement to deliver financial savings on an ongoing year-on-year basis. The Service requires to explore its options to review and redesign (if necessary) all aspects of its operations in this regard, in a manner which could be feasible and permitted having regard to the national requirements and legislation which the Service is subject to. The background, aims, and methodology for the review are detailed in Section 2. The narrative evidence base for strategic recommendations can be found in Sections 3-8. Options for shorter- to medium-term efficiencies and savings are in Section 9 (noting that all savings will require appropriate lead-in times). Strategic Recommendations For ease of reference ten strategic recommendations for Service improvement made by the review team are highlighted below. These recommendations take account of the need to support the Council’s vision. There is a particular emphasis therefore on Best Value, Affordability, Sustainability, Performance and Collaboration. Further, the review team considers that implementing all ten recommendations, in a planned, incremental way, will build stronger foundations from which to deliver better outcomes for children and young people across Argyll and Bute. Once these are in place, it will be more straightforward to then identify the scale and scope of any future efficiencies that may be achieved without affecting the local authority’s requirement to meet statutory duties or providing a high quality service. The main over-arching theme for all ten recommendations is one of the need for greater strategic collaboration across all services and across partners. Strategic collaboration is vital because it unlocks capabilities, resilience, and innovation that no single entity can achieve alone. Partners bring different strengths – technical skills, local knowledge and expertise that when combined with Service expertise can help tackle some of the more complex challenges faced by a large, rural local authority area such as Argyll and Bute. Successful collaboration will be built on trust, mutual respect, and aligned aims – Connected for Success.
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4 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 5 1.2 Ten Strategic Recommendations (2-4 year horizon) 1. Early Learning and Childcare (Connect for Success – Mission & Purpose, Learning Council) Working with community planning partners, re-envision the service to ensure it is sustainable and meets the needs of local communities based on the principles outlined in Section 3 of the report. 2. Additional Support Needs / Inclusion – Workforce Model (Connect for Success – Mission & Purpose, Employee Empowerment, Agile) Carry out a comprehensive review of all support staff roles to design a workforce model aligned with the principle that staff should be equipped with the skills to meet a diverse range of needs flexibly and sustainably, across the varied contexts in which children grow and learn, with resources directed towards universal provision where most children’s additional support needs are being met. 3. Additional Support Needs / Inclusion – Strategic Planning (Connect for Success – Data & Evidence Driven) Plan strategically for Additional Support Needs at all levels of implementation in the system, using more diverse sources of data including from Partners. This could then inform workforce planning, curriculum development, and the design of future learning environments that are both sustainable and offer best value. 4. Secondary Provision – Strategic Collaboration and Pupil Choice (Connect for Success – Agile, Maximise Technology) R4 - Through the establishment of a cross-school group of senior Secondary school leaders and central officers, plan collectively for a reshaping of Secondary Timetabling models with the aim of increasing choice for learners through full alignment. The recommended option would provide the greatest opportunity to access a wider range of courses through maximising the use of current and emerging technology and facilitating partnership arrangements. Planning should also look to enhance efficiencies in staff deployment and strengthen the Authority overview in preparation for any national reduction in class contact time. 5. Leadership Model (Primary & Secondary) (Connect for Success – One Council, Agile) Plan, develop and implement a model of shared leadership across schools and clusters in response to the challenges of recruitment, retention and succession planning relating to school leadership. Such a model should include a different approach to business and finance support staffing allocation for primary schools; should include all SNCT promoted posts and should take account of Recommendations 6 and 9. 6. Primary Staffing Standard (Connect for Success – One Council, Agile) Develop a new Primary Staffing Standard (for teaching staff) designed to ensure equitable and fair allocation of staffing across all Argyll and Bute primary schools. The Standard should include weightings for socio-economic factors (e.g. using ACORN Data or CFG registration); for exceptional ASN and for management time. It should be reviewed every three years. The staffing allocations for schools should be reviewed annually in line with this Standard, latest census figures, future pupil projections over a three-year period and should reflect the national guidance on class sizes.
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4 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 5 7. Learning Estate Strategy (Connect for Success – Data & Evidence Driven) Develop the existing Learning Estate Strategy (ideally linked to Council Strategy) as a matter of urgency. The strategy should set out the current and medium-term challenges. It should recommend adopting the Northern Alliance Toolkit tailored to meet the needs of Argyll and Bute. It should also set out an approach for undertaking place-based reviews on a phased basis, and identify immediate priorities based on clear criteria. 8. Integrated Facilities Management (Connect for Success – One Council) Commit to developing an integrated Facilities Management Service, set up a Project Board to design and deliver this and agree a timescale for implementation. 9. Education-Wide Synergies (Connect for Success – Employee Empowerment, Agile) Adopt a strategically coordinated, locally empowered hybrid support staffing model for all non-teaching posts across all sectors to ensure holistic strategic oversight. It is recommended that: the Head of Education Performance and Improvement lead a multi-disciplinary project team; wide engagement is undertaken with school leaders, staff, trade unions, and central teams; the Scottish Approach to Service Design methodology is adopted to ensure collaborative design and implementation. 10. Multi-Agency Partnerships (Connect for Success – One Council) Commitment from multi-agency partners and shared analysis of data to inform planning will be required in order to address the current and longer-term challenges of making provision for children and young people who have complex social and emotional needs (which are strongly related to their family circumstances). Governance at Community Planning and Corporate levels could strengthen multi-agency approaches such as a Single Point of Access for Families and Transition Planning for children and young people’s additional support needs at key stages (Early Years and Post-School). Implementation These recommendations are designed for phased delivery over 2-4 years and subject to the Council’s Equality Impact Assessments, with some enabling shorter- to medium-term efficiencies and savings once lead-in requirements are met. An indicative timeline for this transformation work is outlined in Appendix 1.
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6 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 7 Section 2 Background and Review Methodology 2.1 Introduction 1. Argyll and Bute wished to conduct a Review of the Education Service, focusing on the Service Areas as set out in the table below (with the exception of COVID-19). In addition, an aim of the Review was to examine options that may be open to the Council in terms of efficiencies and effectiveness relating to staffing and the school estate. Service Area 2023-24 2022-23 Additional Support for Learning £11,064,004 £9,874,434 Central/Management Costs £1,708,953 £1,475,608 Community Learning and Development £13,031 £9,621 COVID-19 £0 £414,000 Early Learning and Childcare £9,113,337 £8,324,462 Primary Education £37,705,315 £34,433,155 Pupil Support £2,323,832 £2,169,359 Schools – Central Services £2,491,243 £2,664,559 Secondary Education £37,252,847 £34,283,471 £101,672,562 £93,648,669 2. Scottish Education is currently undergoing a significant period of reform. This situation is reflected in Argyll and Bute, and options for the future delivery of the Service. 3. Having regard to the numerous challenges which are currently being faced by the Service, Argyll and Bute Council requires reassurance that its current Education Service design and delivery model is efficient and effective, and will deliver improved outcomes for their children and young people, whilst providing Best Value and to support the Council’s requirement to deliver financial savings on an ongoing year-on-year basis. The Service requires to explore its options to review and redesign (if necessary) all aspects of its operations (as defined in the table above) in this regard, in a manner which could be feasible and permitted, having regard to the national requirements and legislation which the Service is subject to. 4. Argyll and Bute Council’s Education Service sits under the Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support, Commercial Services and Education.
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6 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 7 5. There are two Heads of Service for Education for: Wellbeing, Inclusion and Achievement; and for Performance and Improvement, with the former also being the Council’s Chief Education Officer. 6. Argyll and Bute covers the second-largest geographical area of any Scottish Council. The Council area adjoins those of Highland, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire. Its border runs through Loch Lomond. Argyll and Bute has the third sparsest population density (0.12 persons per hectare). The population of around 86,000 is distributed across an area of just under 2,700 square miles. More than half of Argyll and Bute’s population live in rural areas, as classified by the Scottish Government’s Urban-Rural Classification (2016). A further 35% live in communities with populations between 3,000 and 10,000 people, designated as small towns. Less than a fifth of the population live in an urban area with a population of over 10,000 people. 7. There are currently 23 Argyll and Bute schools located on islands, which is more than any other Scottish local authority, including the three islands authorities (Orkney Islands Council, Shetland Islands Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar). The geography provides unique challenges for service delivery, in Education and other Council services. A decline in population experienced to date, and that projected in the future, presents a significant challenge to the overall viability of the area. This challenge is made more difficult by the variation in population changes over the areas within our Local Authority. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) has been used to identify pockets of overall deprivation within Argyll and Bute. Based on the SIMD 2020, 10 data zones in Argyll and Bute are in the 15% most overall deprived data zones in Scotland. Eight data zones are in the 15% most employment deprived data zones. In 13 of Argyll and Bute’s data zones, more than 10%, are in the 1% most access deprived data zones. The most access deprived data zone in Scotland covers the islands of Coll and Tiree. Due to the fact that SIMD identifies concentrations of deprivation, smaller pockets and instances of individual deprivation are not picked up by the index. 8. In session 2022/23 Argyll and Bute had approximately 5,380 pupils in primary schools, 4,580 pupils in secondary schools, 40 in complex additional support needs school, and 1,590 children in Early Learning and Childcare settings. The primary and secondary school rolls are both projected to fall over the course of the next five years, based on current data. Notwithstanding this, at the time of writing, the roll within specialist ASN provision is rising. 9. The Education Service currently employs approximately 2,170 members of staff. 10. The following disciplines sit under each of the Heads of Service: Head of Education – Wellbeing, Inclusion and Achievement • Leadership Development • Additional Support Needs • Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce • Youth and Adult Services (Delivered by an ALEO) • Education Psychology Services Head of Education – Performance and Improvement • Curriculum (2-18 Years) • Early Learning and Childcare • Performance, Improvement and Collaboration • Gaelic Education
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8 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 9 2.2 The Context for the Education Service 1. The vision statement for education in Scotland is All Learners in Scotland Matter. Argyll and Bute’s vision and strategy for Education, ‘Our Children, Their Future’, echoes this with the vision of making Argyll and Bute the best place to grow up. The shared vision is to realise ambition, excellence and equality for all. The Education vision is underpinned by the values: respect, openness and fairness. This vision is delivered for all children through the following six key objectives: • Raise educational attainment and achievement for all; • Use performance information to secure improvement for children and young people; • Ensure children have the best start in life and are ready to succeed; • Equip young people to secure and sustain positive destinations and achieve success in life; • Ensure high quality partnership working and community engagement; • Strengthen leadership at all levels. 2. The new vision Our Children, Their Future, Thriving Together was approved by the Community Services Committee on 6th March and has five key central priorities: • Best Start for Learners • Ambitious Learners • Nurtured Learners • Connected Learners • Lifelong Learners 3. The Education Service is currently responsible for: • 65 primary schools (49 with ELC provision) – four of which are denominational primary schools. • Four stand-alone nurseries (one outdoors) • 21 ELC partner providers • Five 2-18 schools • Five secondary schools • One school for pupils with complex additional needs. 4. Gaelic Medium Education (GME) is available in five Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) provisions: GME is available in seven primary schools. 5. Eight of the Council’s schools operate under a PPP variant model (NPDO) where elements of Facility Services are delivered on an outsourced basis. 6. There are currently 13 shared headship arrangements in place in Argyll and Bute, with 28 schools subject to those arrangements. 7. 47 schools within Argyll and Bute are listed by the Scottish Government as being very remote rural schools. 8. The Education Service budgets for 2022-23 and 2023-24 (as at 1st April each year) were as outlined in Section 2.1
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8 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 9 9. In this context, the purpose of the review was to consider how best the Council’s vision can be realised with particular emphasis on: • Best Value/Affordability – the service needs to be affordable to the council. • Sustainability – service improvements and changes need to be sustainable in the medium and longer term. • Performance – the service needs to work with all partners to achieve the best outcomes for children, young people and their families. • Collaboration – the service should consider all opportunities to work with other council services, partners, national organisations and local communities to enhance service delivery and improve outcomes. 2.3 Scope of the Review Programme Based on the briefing provided by the Council and related communications, the scope of the review was set out as follows: • Review of Early Years provision in the context of learning estate, partner provision, capacity, and staffing levels. • Consider the appropriateness of the current design and delivery models in Primary, all through and Secondary settings with particular reference to staffing - teaching and non-teaching. • Consider current issues with the Learning Estate including configuration of assets, floor area, arrangements for Facilities Management and how the service is organised within the Council and the role played by partners e.g. SFT, HubCo. Consider opportunities to improve effectiveness including evolving use of a Place Based Approach, to provide a ‘fit for purpose’ learning estate. • Consider the strategic planning and provision for pupils with Additional Support Needs, including longer term projections and partnerships, taking account of legislative duties. These Workstreams are interrelated and there was scope to evolve the work of each one as the review proceeded. 2.4 Methodology 1. The approach to undertaking the Review was tailored to meet the needs of the Council and the required outcomes and objectives. Cognisance was also taken of the timescales, resource availability and the council’s budget-setting process. The methodology below was adopted, wherever possible co-producing options and proposals: • Engaging with senior leaders, and a wide range of staff, Partners and young people to determine good practice and potential areas for change and improvement. • Reviewing arrangements for Quality Assurance/Improvement and performance management (including information and performance systems), undertaking further analysis where required. • Undertaking benchmarking in respect of budget and staffing (teacher and where appropriate support staff) particularly with the Family Group (for services set out in para 2.8 of brief); and identify options to improve best value. • Critical analysis of data provided to the Review Team by the Education Service.
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10 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 11 • Embracing the seven key principles of the Council’s Connect for Success transformation programme which were routinely referenced throughout highlight reports to the board: CS1 One Council One Place CS2 Purpose and Mission Focus CS3 Employee Empowerment CS4 Data and Evidence Driven CS5 Learning Council CS6 Agile CS7 Maximise Use of Technology 2. In addition, the Team drew on methodology and tools from The Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD) - gov.scot for workshops which focused on Staffing; Early Years; and Partnerships for Additional Support Needs. Colleagues across the Council and many partners engaged positively and a number of solutions to current challenges were defined and developed. These workshops proved very instructive in helping to shape future delivery recommendations. The team commends further use of this methodology as a Council wide approach to Service design. DISCOVER DEFINE DEVELOP DELIVER The Double Diamond Design With People, Not For People Design the right things Design the things right
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10 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 11 Section 3 Early Learning and Childcare: Re-Envisioning Provision Across Argyll and Bute 3.1 Overview of Early Learning and Childcare 1. A wide range of settings are available for families within Argyll and Bute. There is comprehensive provision across the area available in 98 settings. The Council operates four Standalone settings (managed by Centre Manager), one Outdoor nursery and 49 settings within schools (managed by Head Teacher). In addition there are 21 private/voluntary partners (including one outdoor) and 22 Childminders. 2. At present partner rates are £9.04 per hour for two-year-olds and £7.98 for three-year-old and above. 3. There are five settings that are open during school holiday periods (for provision of 1,140 hours) and five settings where parents can pay for additional hours. The current charge is £6.33 for over twos and £6.83 for under twos. 4. As at September 2024 the number of children receiving a service is outlined below: Locality N3 N4 N5 Total Bute & Cowal 31 140 224 395 Helensburgh & Lomond 28 198 252 478 Mid Argyll, Kintyre & the Islands 17 170 179 366 Oban, Lorn & the Isles 21 193 240 454 Grand Total 97 701 895 1,693 5. The Local government Benchmarking Framework indicates the costs of providing the service are relatively high. In 2023/24 (last year data was published) the cost per pre-school education place is £15,310 which is considerable higher than the Scottish average of £11,659, and indeed is almost the highest of all Scottish local authorities. It is recognised there can be a number of reasons for this, but it does highlight there is a need to undertake more detailed benchmarking analysis to fully understand costs. It also indicates there may be opportunities to reduce costs without impacting on the quality of service. R1 - Working with community planning partners, re-envision the service to ensure it is sustainable and meets the needs of local communities based on the principles outlined below.
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12 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 13 6. In terms of quality, it was noted as at February 2025 that 89% of settings are meeting the national standard. While this is a reduction from late 2024/early 2025 (which ranged from 92%-95%) it is still in line with the Scottish average. 7. The LGBF indicates that 87.3% of 27-month-old children meet their Developmental Milestones which compares favourably to Scottish average of 83.3%. The ELC Team also measure milestones for N5’s and at June 2025 61% achieve stage 2. It is noted there is a decline in children meeting developmental milestones. This data could be used as part of a process to develop the service (not least a renewed focus on early intervention) and to allocate resources based on need (see below). 8. In terms of estate management as with schools, there is no policy regarding sustainability of small ELC settings. It is noted there are two settings where provision has been paused in the last three years where there were no children registered. The Education Service does not ‘mothball’ settings proactively, rather it depends on community demand. 9. Based on information provided to the Review Team and visits, local authority and partner settings are well resourced and supported by the central team, with a comprehensive package of professional learning in place. 10. The Central Team are well led and have support from senior colleagues. The team consists of an Education Manager, Education Officer, three Education Support Officers, three Early Years (EY) Development Officers, 1.6 EY Teachers, 2.6 EY Family Support Workers and five Excellence and Equity Leeds. They are a coherent team and clearly understand the issues being faced by the service and have good knowledge of the area and individual settings, with a commitment to the vision and values around ‘our children, their future’. They are also committed to partnership working not least with Health and Social Care partners, albeit this can be challenging and there are opportunities to improve the current position. 11. It is recognised that the approach to expansion of ELC to 1,140 hours was based on using existing provision which was a cost effective model from a capital perspective, and also pragmatic. It also ensured partners have a full role to play in providing services and their business model was not threatened by council expansion. 3.2 Service Strengths 1. The Central team are well resourced and have extensive knowledge of in house and partner provision, and provide extensive CPD opportunities. 2. There are some good examples of joint work with partner providers and there is good process in place for agreement of ‘partner rate’. 3. Excellent use of outdoor settings and blended placements is made. 4. The ELC Team are solution focused to meet operational difficulties e.g. staffing, particularly in remote areas. 5. There is a clear focus on quality and equity. 6. ELC settings are well staffed. 7. Effective use of childminders is made, particularly in remote areas (there are currently around 36 registered places).
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12 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 13 3.3 Service Challenges Given the demographic, social and financial challenges the Council is facing, changing some aspects of the service could provide financial sustainability, improve quality and be closer aligned to other services. Within this wider context the following challenges need to be considered: 1. The cost of the service is significant and unlikely to be sustainable. 2. There are concerns regarding the quality of training of ELC staff via college providers. 3. There is no clear pathway through Health for Additional Support Needs and Early Years (as required by the Additional Support for Learning Act) and so the Local Authority are not routinely alerted about a child’s ASN other than exceptional medical/healthcare needs where adaptations to the setting may be required (no more than about three per year). This is becoming more acute as needs grow. 4. Variation in quality of ELC settings has been evidenced by HMIe and the Care Inspectorate. 5. Different management models are currently in place across settings. 6. There is inconsistency in delivering wider objectives e.g. family learning. It was noted while the condition of buildings is generally good (suitability also reasonable) there is little scope for family learning and joint work with other services/organisations due to space and layout limitations in ELC settings. 7. There are constraints to delivering a multi-agency approach to family learning and early intervention. 8. There are particular demographic challenges for ELC not least given very small numbers and roll projection are downwards in certain localities. There is also a need to improve roll projections. The cost of sustaining a large number of settings with a very small number of children will have a disproportionate impact on council resources e.g. core staffing will be required and lifecycle maintenance will be the same regardless on number of children. 9. There will also be concerns regarding maintaining quality of service in very small settings. 3.4 Opportunities for Improvement The service is currently in a stable place and well resourced. However, given the challenges being faced there is a need to re-envision the service. There is an opportunity to build on the good work with partner providers (including Childminders) to consider evolving the services to meet the needs of local communities and the wider ambitions of the Council in a sustainable way. Ideally this process of review should be undertaken in association with Community Planning partners. It is recognised that there are particular circumstances in Argyll and Bute, and the development of the service would need to reflect this. However, a clearer strategy, linked to partner services, can provide the framework to improve the lives of children and young people across all communities. A possible way forward is as follows: 1. As noted above, Management responsibility (role of Centre Manager/Head Teacher) varies and there is currently a mixed model of provision. While both models have merit there is an opportunity to review these delivery options and consider how current arrangements can be adapted to meet local need.
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14 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 15 2. As an example, services provided by Stand-alone/Hubs (currently open 48 weeks per annum) could be extended and used as a base for partnership work, not least around the needs of families. The standalone settings could also be used for extended hours during term time and during the school holidays. Where appropriate there would be charges for extended hours (as noted above there is currently some provision for this). This ‘family centre’ model would enable the development of an early intervention framework for children 0-5. The school-based provision would generally be for children aged 3-5 over three terms. 3. Where settings are managed by a Head Teacher it would also be helpful to clarify the post’s responsibilities and how Head Teacher support (6.56) should be utilised. 4. It is recognised there are a number of recruitment difficulties which would also need to be overcome. A review would enable management roles and grades to be reassessed. This could include reporting relationships with the central team and levels of empowerment. 5. Services should be developed on a locality basis. Once localities (e.g. Helensburgh) have been prioritised (on a phased basis) the following factors would be considered: • Current and projected demand for places. • Current availability of places (LA standalone, part of school, partner and childminder) and any information on potential changes. • Condition and suitability of the current learning estate and other potential locations. • The level of inequality/deprivation, considering SIMD position (potentially linked to PEF) and local data e.g. developmental milestones. • Economic Development and Employer/Employee requirements – including seasonal working. • Additional Support Needs provision and requirements. • Requirements of NHS and HSCP. • Consider potential partnership with 3rd sector/Local voluntary provision. • Other local factors. 6. Effectively this would involve undertaking a comprehensive review of current provision within a locality and by taking a holistic view, consider how it might be improved. It should be emphasised that the providers would be key partners in such a process. Ideally this would be part of a wider Place Based Review, but it is recognised this may not be possible in the short term. 7. Current provision would be mapped and consideration would also be given to current and future demand for services. This would include facilities and pathways for children with Additional Support needs, and related requirements in respect of equity and equality (including support for wider family), all of which would require input from community planning partners. 8. There is also potential to consider employee and employer requirements which in a number of cases may include demand for seasonal provision. This approach would enable a structured approach to developing creative solutions and empower local stakeholders to be part of the process to identify solutions. For example, is there an opportunity to make more effective use of buildings, a need to train more childminders, adjust or extend opening times (with possible cost to parents) to meet local requirements. 9. With a more flexible staffing model in an empowered system, local solutions could be developed which are of high quality, support working parents and contribute to the sustainability of rural and island communities. In some localities it is recognised cognisance will also need to be taken of any cross-boundary arrangements.
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14 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 15 Implementation Timeline Implementation of these recommendations is dependent on the extent to which the Council wishes to adopt and integrated early intervention model which takes into account engagement with partners. If implementation is with Education only, the locality work could be undertaken in 18 months on a phased basis. 3.5 Conclusion Argyll and Bute’s model for Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) has delivered comprehensive access and stability, but is increasingly challenged by demographic decline, financial pressures, workforce issues and quality variation. Given the Council vision and objectives, particularly in terms of equity and equality there is an opportunity to re-envision the Early Years service to provide universal services, but also provide more emphasis on early intervention and meeting the wider needs of communities via a more targeted, place-based strategic approach. This is already happening in some locations, however, structured partnership work and locality planning, supported by more flexible staffing models and community empowerment, would enable current good practice to be embedded, realise educational and community benefits, and ensure the service is sustainable over the medium term.
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16 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 17 Section 4 Additional Support Needs and Inclusion 4.1 Overview 1. The focus of this workstream was to review the strategic planning and provision for Additional Support Needs (ASN)/Inclusion including longer term projections and accounting for legislative duties. 2. The findings are closely related to the other workstreams through well-established research findings that the inclusion of children and young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN) in their local communities depends on: • strong and supportive leadership of change. • teachers who are trained in inclusive pedagogy and view it as their role to teach all learners in a diverse classroom National Framework for Inclusion - The General Teaching Council for Scotland (gtcs.org.uk) • workforce planning and professional development including support staff (Deployment of Teaching Assistants | EEF) • the effectiveness of partnerships with other agencies and with parents (Pupils with complex additional support needs): research into provision - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) • and the accessibility of the school estate (Scottish Government Learning Estate Strategy 2021) 3. Also, the national policy context with regard to ASN over recent years has indicated that local authorities should take account of The Morgan Review (2020) and The Hayward Report (2023) in relation to the accessibility and ‘flexibility of different pathways to promote inclusion particularly for learners with additional support needs’ (Hayward, 2023). Education Services should also have due regard to key areas of legislation/policy including the Presumption of Mainstreaming Guidance (with regard to the Education 2000 Act); the Additional Support for Learning Act (2004, amended 2009); and the Equalities Act (2010). R2 - Carry out a comprehensive review of all support staff roles to design a workforce model aligned with the principle that the workforce should be equipped with the skills to meet a diverse range of needs flexibly and sustainably, across the varied contexts in which children grow and learn with resources directed towards universal provision where most children’s additional support needs are being met. R3 - Plan strategically for ASN at all levels using more diverse sources of data. This could then inform workforce planning, curriculum development, and the design of future learning environments that are both sustainable and offer best value.
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16 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 17 4. In line with the national trend, Argyll and Bute’s data shows a steady increase in the number of children recorded as having Additional Support Needs over the last five years, with 39% currently identified as having at least one ASN which is similar to the Scottish average of 40%. There are marginal differences between three school community clusters, with the HALCO cluster having the lowest recorded levels of need. The number of recorded needs increases from early primary through to the senior phase. 5. The main factors giving rise to children and young people’s additional support needs are related to their social and emotional wellbeing and their barriers to learning as seen in the table below. The majority of support for children and young people’s needs is provided universally through class teaching (60% in Primary and 55% in Secondary) with support staff providing additional support to 49% of primary-age children who have ASN and 41% of secondary-age young people who have ASN. This is based on analysis of data which the Education Service made available to the Review Team.
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18 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 19 6. In response to the analysis of ASN data and Council-wide survey (2022), the first phase of the ASN Provision strategy (2023) for a Place-based Approach to supporting children and young people’s needs is underway, including an additional four Learning Centres for children and young people with complex needs being opened in 2024-25; and central team restructuring which aims to build capacity in local community school clusters. Implementation of Phase 2 is intended for 2025-26 with provision to support young people with complex social and emotional needs including those at risk of being placed out with the authority. 7. Whilst the outcomes for children with Additional Support Needs follow the national trend of an overall gap in attainment, for some children and young people in Argyll and Bute there are improvements, such as: a significant reduction in Exclusions through implementation of Nurture (OCTNE); a slight increase in attainment over five years for school leavers, particularly those in S6. Notably, outcomes for Care Experienced Children and Young People (CECYP) show improvements. 8. What is not yet known is the extent to which children and young people with ASN are represented in the improved ACEL data (Progress and Impact Report 2023-24), which deserves further consideration, particularly for schools with above average numbers of children with ASN. 9. However the development of school dashboards for ASN which are at an early stage, have the potential to provide more detailed and intelligent analysis of ‘what works’ for children and young people with ASN when data is correlated with other sources, e.g. Quality Improvement processes; the nature of support which is provided; HMIe evaluations; SNSA data; and specific progression frameworks such as SCERTS (for social communication and emotional regulation support). 10. Nevertheless, the gap in being able to determine the effectiveness of a local authority’s approach to ASN is also a challenge for Argyll and Bute Council: ‘in continuing to evaluate how education is funded, staffed and assessed to support all pupils to reach their full potential, they also need to consider the continual growth in pupils requiring ASL within their wider approach to improving child development.’ (Audit Scotland, 2025) 11. The current budget allocated to ASN provision amounts to £13,016,151, with over half of this spent on ASN Assistants in schools. A recent review of how Support Staff are allocated to schools is an initial step in making the most effective use of available resources with a primarily formula-based model that maintains fairness and stability. 4.2 Strengths and Challenges It is within this wide context that the current strengths and challenges have been identified which influence Strategic Planning and Provision for Additional Support Needs/Inclusion; and where opportunities for improvement can be made. 4.2.1 Leadership of Change 1. Strategic leadership of change regarding ASN has been informed by robust data analysis and wide-ranging stakeholder consultation, aligned with relevant legislation (as referred to previously). The council-wide survey (2022–23) has guided the establishment of additional learning centres across localities; led to an initial review of support staff which is better fit for purpose; and improved equity of access to targeted and specialist support in local communities. 2. The Learning Centres were included in Phase 1 of the ASN Strategy with the aim of making provision for including children and young people with more complex needs in their locality, and minimising the need for travel. The difference in demographics across Argyll and Bute, including school buildings, has meant
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18 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 19 that there is variation in the use of learning spaces, as well as which children access support through the Learning Centres. In a few cases there are challenges in managing the ‘competing’ needs of children with regard to their developmental age and stage; their curriculum; and their peer group. 3. The recent restructuring of the central Inclusion and Equalities Team, though in its early stages, has been designed as a locality-based model for strategic leadership and improvement in ASN/Inclusion, with the aim of addressing some of the challenges referred to above. Recent recruitment to Principal Teacher posts across localities, which are managed by the central team, intends to support practice at school and cluster levels. This is strengthened further with close collaboration with the Educational Psychology Service which has driven some of the preventative approaches to meeting children and families’ needs, such as Addressing Non-Attendance; Nurture (Our Children, Their Nurturing Environment); and a Single point of Access for Families. 4. At the school cluster level, leadership of change regarding ASN/Inclusion appears to be more variable as suggested by the analysis of dashboard data in relation to quality improvement indicators and from focus group feedback gathered during the course of the review. This variability has been highlighted by the recent Review and Realignment of Support Staff Allocation which has challenged perceptions of how the diversity of children and young people’s additional support needs should be met across different settings and what type of support should be in place based on the assessment of needs at class and school levels as well as for individuals. 5. While school leaders of ASN/Inclusion have welcomed the strategic direction of change towards a place- based model of support, the confidence and willingness of some to do so, may be related to factors such as staff skills and experience, and the need for a better understanding of what the data in relation to additional support needs means. 4.2.2 Analysis of More Meaningful Data 1. Evidence of continuous improvement at the school level is primarily drawn from national performance data sources such as ACEL, SQA, and the Seemis census. While these datasets have enabled the development of dashboards to support and challenge schools, there remains a gap in interrogating this data from a broader achievement perspective for children and young people with more complex needs who are supported in Learning Centres. 2. The valuable support provided by the Data Analysis Officer to schools and the Inclusion and Equalities Team provides a strong basis for unpacking some of the generalisations about the quantity and nature of additional support needs. There is a risk that by focusing on the percentage value of ASN in schools, the perceived need for support provided by ASN Assistants is escalated without there being any evidence that it makes a positive difference to children’s progression. 3. By adopting a more diverse and nuanced approach to data analysis, the service could more effectively demonstrate the value of additional support within their staged intervention framework. This would also help broaden stakeholder understanding of what constitutes an additional support need and provision which is effective at universal as well as targeted levels. 4. Analysis of data sampled from one school cluster (see next page) offers a means of interrogating a wider range of indicators and which could encourage Leadership of Change at the school community level. It can help refine the definition of Additional Support Needs (ASN) and demonstrate how effectively children’s needs are being met through Universal classroom support.
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20 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 21 How do we know what’s making a difference for children with additional support needs? PRIMARY SCHOOL A FME % 0% Roll 2024/25 11 Teachers 2 Total support assistant hrs 29.5hrs ASN no. 7 % ASN 64% Attendance 92.50% ASN Reasons: Dyslexia; SEBN ACEL Benchmarking: 100% Ahead Exclusions: 0 HMIe: Good/Satisfactory 18% PRIMARY SCHOOL B 76 7.2 66.75hrs 55 65% 93% ASN Reasons: SpLD; Dyslexia; Family ACEL Benchmarking: 73% Ahead; 27%Behind Exclusions: 0 Very Good HMIe: 3% PRIMARY SCHOOL C 30 2.8 14.5hrs 5 17% 93% ASN Reasons: SpLD ACEL Benchmarking: 100% Ahead Exclusions: 0 Good HMIe: 0% PRIMARY SCHOOL D 14 2.4 34.5hrs 4 31% 96% ASN Reasons: Dyslexia ACEL Benchmarking: 100% Behind Exclusions: 0 Satisfactory 2024HMIe: 5% PRIMARY SCHOOL E 110 8.8 92.25hrs 49 45% 92% ASN Reasons: SEBN ACEL Benchmarking: 80% Behind; 20% Ahead Exclusions: 0 Good 2022HMIe: 14% PRIMARY SCHOOL G WITH LEARNING CENTRE 217 17.8 633.75hrs 1.91 34% 93% ASN Reasons: ASD; Communication; Disability ACEL Benchmarking: 20% Ahead; 80% Behind Exclusions: 0 #HMIe: 13% PRIMARY SCHOOL H 205 10.5 163hrs 66 39% 91.20% ASN Reasons: EAL; LAC ACEL Benchmarking: ACEL just above LA average Exclusions: 0 #HMIe: CLUSTER SECONDARY SCHOOL WITH LEARNING CENTRE 990 78.6 665hrs 405 41% 84.90% ASN Reasons: Dyslexia; SpLD; SEBN; ASD; Young Carers; Disability ACEL Benchmarking: 100% Ahead Exclusions: 0 #HMIe: 14% Note: # are schools which have not had an inspection in the last 5 years so no data available.
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20 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 21 5. By interrogating the profile of schools in a cluster and across the authority, school leaders and Quality Improvement Officers can ask questions about what the triangulation of data suggests, as well as what is missing. The Education Service’s Data Analysis officer has already undertaken work with some schools in relation to measures which would track and monitor the incremental but significant steps which children with complex needs make. This will have relevance to all of the schools with Learning Centres which support children at a pre-early level stage. Use of such data to measure outcomes and assess the impact of additional support on children’s development and progression aligns well with the authority’s place-based approach. 6. However, there is a gap in data analysis for children in the Early Years with Additional Support Needs which requires systematic joint analysis of Early Years data with Health Services. Current limitations, such as Health Visitor (HV) staffing constraints, restrict the capacity to use projections for long-term planning. Data for children aged 0-2 with disabilities remains very limited. As already referred to in Section 3 there appears to be no established pathway for ASN in Early Years which should be addressed. 7. Even so, ELC staff are supported with their professional learning to address children’s ASN through ASN Locality Networks (online), coordinated by the Educational Psychology Service (EPS) with Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in attendance. These networks have supported Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) staff to reflect on their inclusive practice through Solution Circles. Officers report these networks are valuable for peer support but would benefit from expansion into a place-based model within local communities. 4.2.3 Workforce Planning and Professional Development 1. Building a highly skilled workforce to support and challenge schools on inclusive best practice is essential to fostering a culture of equity. The restructuring of the Inclusion and Equality Team aims to better meet these needs and optimise the role of pupil support teachers. The plan for Lead ASN Assistants is creative and should be taken in account within the wider workforce planning. (See Section 7) 2. In order to support school leaders in the implementation of Learning Centres, a specialist network facilitated by the Education Support Officer (ASN) provides peer support and a means of moderating practice across the different localities. Staff attending this network report how valuable it is for their professional learning and school improvement planning. However, the resilience and wellbeing of some staff who are leading on ASN at school level can be affected by wider organisational factors which are explained in further detail in Section 5.2. 3. Alongside the network for leaders of ASN/Inclusion, there is a comprehensive range of Professional Learning opportunities facilitated by the Inclusion and Equalities Team, Educational Psychology Service and Rights & Wellbeing Manager which have been developed in response to data-analysis of children’s needs and the required staff skills. These include: Child Inclusion Research into Curriculum Learning Education (CIRCLE) resource; Rights Respecting Schools; Nurture (OCTNE); Addressing Non-Attendance. 4. The place-based approach to inclusion has informed the new ASN Assistant allocation model, enabling more effective control of the budget. Involvement of Head Teachers in this process is expected to strengthen collective ownership. However, some Head Teachers would welcome more active participation in the review of support staff which is relevant to the wider recommendations for Staffing and Leadership in Section 5. The Deployment of Teaching Assistants (EEF, 2025) offers an evidence-based framework for implementation.
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22 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 23 5. Related to this, support staff roles (Classroom Assistant, Pupil Support Assistant, ASN Assistant) have not been reviewed for many years. They no longer reflect the evolving demographics, nature of children’s needs, or the skillsets required - particularly in remote rural areas. This is addressed in more detail in the Staffing Section 7. 6. Workforce planning must also consider joint assessment and support planning with Health and Social Work for non-statutory targeted needs, bearing in mind that approximately 420 school-age children have a disability. The introduction in HSCP processes of a tiered approach prioritising safety may constrain preventative or developmental work. This raises questions about the sustainability of joint priorities such as ANA (Addressing Non-Attendance), Neurodivergent Pathways, and the Single Point of Access for families. 4.2.4 Participation of Parents, Children and Young People 1. Argyll and Bute Council’s Parental Involvement & Engagement Strategy has been reviewed recently, and the membership with ‘Connect’ has enhanced engagement with parent councils. With regard to building a shared understanding of how and why children’s additional support needs can be met through Universal Learning & Teaching alongside a more diverse Curriculum, the involvement of Parent Councils in aspects of school improvement planning relevant to ASN and Inclusion would help. 2. Alongside this, consideration should be given to training for school staff in order to strengthen their engagement with parents and parent councils, to support a shared understanding of more inclusive and responsive practice, which some Head Teachers reported as being a challenge following the recent review of Support Staff allocations. 3. Argyll and Bute’s Education Service has placed children’s rights and wellbeing at the centre of policy and planning, including how their voice is gathered and responded to through the Children and Young People’s Advisory Board. It will be important to ensure that this continues to be integrated with the previous recommendations as an important source of ASN-related data which informs curriculum planning; workforce development; Leadership of Change and the effectiveness of partnership working. 4.3 Opportunities for Improvement 1. Redefining Universal Provision should be a central focus for leadership and quality improvement processes across all school communities. This process should be data-informed and must actively involve partners as well as parental participation to ensure shared understanding and co-ownership. 2. Should the recommendation for the wider review of support staff (see Section 7) be taken up, monitoring of the impact on further control of the budget for ASN could allow for redirecting spend between universal and targeted provision as required. Redesigning the support staff workforce to align with the principle that staff should be equipped with the skills to meet a diverse range of needs flexibly and sustainably, can also strengthen the impact they could have across the varied contexts in which children grow and learn. 3. The establishment of Learning Centres as a place-based model of support for children with complex needs should have a steering group and clear plan for implementation measures involving school leaders and where possible multi-agency partners. This might then facilitate the plans for a Single Point of Access so that services for children with ASN are co-located and better able to deliver shared multi agency universal provision.
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22 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 23 4. Existing data related to ASN could be repurposed and expanded to better assess the impact of specific interventions and approaches on children and young people’s learning and wider development. Key evaluative questions might include: • Which children and cohorts with recorded ASN, supported through universal provision, are reflected in improved ACEL outcomes? • To what extent are young people following DYW courses in the senior phase progressing to positive destinations? • Are those receiving Assessment Arrangements achieving their predicted grades - or exceeding them? • What impact are Flexible Learning Plans having on children and young people’s progression and wellbeing? • How are children and young people receiving targeted support for neurodivergence progressing through implementation of SCERTS? • What could complimentary tariff scores in the senior phase explain about the impact which wider achievement/ accreditation has for young people? • What developmental milestones are being met by children and young people with complex learning and care needs? • What is the impact of targeted ASNA support, as evidenced by resources such as the ‘The Deployment of Teaching Assistants?’ (Education Endowment Fund, 2024) 5. Professional development for teachers should also include the recent introduction of ASN dashboards which presents opportunities for Head Teachers to engage more actively in strategic planning and improvement at the school cluster level. 6. The Parental Involvement and Engagement Strategy should explicitly prioritise Additional Support Needs and Inclusion. This would promote a shared understanding between Early Learning and Childcare settings, schools, and parents of how inclusive practices are defined, delivered, and evaluated. Findings and recommendations for improvement with regard to Partnership working are covered in more detail in Section 8 as it is relevant to all of the workstreams covered in the Review. Indicative Implementation Timeline Implementation of Recommendation 2 will be dependent on the timing of the wider staffing review recommendation in Section 7. All other recommendations can be incorporated into current improvement planning for ASN/Inclusion within the Education Service’s Plan for 2026-27. 4.4 Conclusion Argyll and Bute Council’s Education Service has already identified some necessary steps to ensure that they continue to fulfil their statutory duties with regard to Additional Support for Learning, while taking account of their unique demographics and the increased level of children and families who will need some form of additional support at some time during their education. Most of the opportunities for improvement which have been recommended could be implemented over a two-year period by leaders at all levels in the system in order to evaluate how provision for Additional Support Needs enables all pupils to reach their full potential.
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24 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 25 Section 5.1 Primary and Secondary Provision: Secondary Strategic Collaboration and Pupil Choice 5.1.1 Overview Argyll and Bute Council currently provides education for secondary age pupils through ten settings of widely varying sizes and contexts. Secondary schools range from small island settings with fewer than 50 secondary pupils to large urban schools with over 1,200. This diversity has fostered strong local identities and solutions, but also significant variation in the breadth of course choice available to pupils, period lengths and structure of the school day, access to specialist teachers and the use of digital and virtual learning opportunities. The review team considers that the Authority has a significant strategic opportunity to increase collaboration and sharing of expertise across secondary schools. Through working towards the establishment of a common secondary timetable structure and facilitating an Argyll and Bute wide digital offer, this can also prepare for national developments and the need for efficient staff deployment. 5.1.2 Service Strengths 1. Performance across Argyll and Bute’s secondary schools, the period 2019-2025 was reported in detail to the Communities Services Committee on 28th August 2025. (Committee Report Pack pages 107-130) 2. The Review Team recognise that there is a clear strategic vision and strong leadership across the service. 3. A robust digital strategy is in place with successful pilots in virtual learning. It is worth noting that where there has been a shared arrangement in Oban/Tiree, young people at Tiree HS have seen their course choice expand significantly. 4. Secondary schools have experienced timetablers and there is central support for creative solutions. 5. There are examples of effective collaboration with partners and clusters, e.g. Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) team, which are expanded on in Section 8. 6. There are elements of strong pupil performance. For A-D grades, the attainment in Argyll and Bute schools in 2025 is above the current National performance in SQA examinations in two of the national measures: National five and Higher. Pupils have made gains in S3 attainment and there is progress on reducing some equity gaps. R4 - Through the establishment of a cross-school group of senior Secondary school leaders and central officers, plan collectively for a reshaping of Secondary Timetabling models with the aim of increasing choice for learners through full alignment. The recommended option would provide the greatest opportunity to access a wider range of courses through maximising the use of current and emerging technology and facilitating partnership arrangements. Planning should also look to enhance efficiencies in staff deployment and strengthen the Authority overview in preparation for any national reduction in class contact time.
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24 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 25 5.1.3 Service Challenges The Review Team recognise the challenges which the Education Service has to address which include: 1. Declining school rolls in most areas. 2. Significant recruitment challenges (leadership, geographical and subject-specific). 3. Persistent attainment gaps in areas of deprivation. 4. Geographical isolation, transport costs, and small school sizes limiting flexibility. 5. A tendency for schools to work autonomously rather than collectively. 6. Limited subject networking across the authority. 7. Current timetable structures which constrain collaborative flexibility and innovation. 8. Current variation in period lengths (45-65 minutes) and day structures creates some inefficiency and fragmentation. 9. Introducing RCCT without structural reform could lead to potential staffing gaps, higher costs, and reduced curriculum breadth. 10. Small schools struggle to recruit specialists for only a few hours per week; collaboration would assist with this challenge. 5.1.4 National Context National policy developments are reshaping the landscape. As part of Educational Reform, the Curriculum Improvement Cycle will have lasting effect on delivery within subjects and across the school curriculum. The Scottish Government has reaffirmed its commitment to reducing class contact time for teachers, with increased funding allocations from 2025-26. In preparing for RCCT, Local Authorities will be considering the need for more efficient deployment of staff. Alongside this there is also a growing emphasis on digital delivery, equity of access and collaborative working. Reduced Class Contact Time (RCCT) Background COSLA Leaders are committed to continue to work with SG to make meaningful progress but are some way apart on agreed cost and implementation timeframe. This uncertainty provides a window for the Council to make preparations. The introduction of RCCT would have major implications for schools in Scotland. National modelling through COSLA would suggest there is an additional risk of inefficiencies in staff deployment across Secondary Schools with many current timetable structures. These inefficiencies increasing costs pressures and potentially impacting negatively on other forms of support for both pupils and teachers. In Argyll and Bute there is an opportunity for school leaders and officers to alleviate some of this risk by beginning to collectively model a new timetable structure. A common structure would support a clearer Authority overview of needs and implications.
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26 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 27 5.1.5 Opportunities for Improvement In considering full alignment and collective contribution to an Argyll and Bute wide offer, options for implementation could be as follows: 1. Supporting a culture of distributed leadership, collaboration and collective responsibility, establish a cross- school task group of senior school leaders and central officers to lead all developments including any consultation process. This group could oversee the planning for all options listed below. 2. Develop a phased plan to create a common timetable structure along with an Argyll and Bute wide digital offer, with all schools having the opportunity to contribute and benefit. This would enable more equitable access to a wider curriculum and specialist subjects and support better coordination of digital and virtual learning opportunities. Key design elements in planning could include: • Providing a broad and balanced curriculum pathways for all learners. • Expansion of Foundation Apprenticeships and senior phase options. • Expansion and improvement of the curricular offer for S5 and S6 learners across the authority. • UHI as a strategic partner increasing uptake of networked courses. • Facilitating offers from other local and national partners. • Developing skills and competencies in learning virtually as a preparation for next steps in employment, college or university and for life. • Ensuring learners studying at this level have a high-quality learning experience. • Helping to manage staffing resources efficiently and equitably across the authority, to address areas of teacher shortage, and create capacity for schools to diversify their curricular offer. • Prioritisation of subjects facing recruitment shortages. 3. Recognising that full alignment would require consultation on changes to the school day and adjustments to school transport arrangements, commence consultation in line with Council policy early to allow time for transport and operational planning. 4. Consider creating an Authority staffing toolkit to inform workforce planning, subject-specific recruitment, and forecasting, which would support more strategic recruitment and deployment of staff, especially those who are part-time. It should also align workforce planning with pupil choice. The toolkit aligned to a common timetable structure can give the Authority a clearer view of the implications of introducing RCCT. 5. Staffing considerations could also include: • Encouraging dual registration in high-demand subject areas. • Exploring the wider use of primary-registered teachers to support BGE. • Creating flexible roles that allow teachers to work across more than one school. 6. Pilot more shared senior phase courses and digital delivery models during 2026-27 as transition steps to increase choice without overextending local staffing capacity. 7. Provide targeted CPD and registration support to staff to increase flexibility and capacity. 8. Monitor equity and attainment impacts to ensure the new model delivers improved outcomes for all learners.
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26 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 27 Indicative Implementation Timeline Acting early can reduce financial risk, improve efficiency, and support the authority to meet government expectations while safeguarding curriculum quality. A timeline for implementation is suggested as follows: • Preparation: Establish task group, agree scope and principles commencing December 2025. • Design: Develop model timetable structure; draft consultation proposals | Feb-Jun 2026. • Consultation agreement: Consultation in line with Council policy, transport review | June 26-Dec 2026. (If full alignment model is agreed) • Timetabling: Schools plan timetables to the new structure | Jan-April 2027. • Implementation: Common timetable structure live across all secondaries | May/June 2027. • Review: Evaluate impact on equity, attainment, staffing efficiency | 2028. 5.1.6 Conclusion The team considers that delivering an Authority wide common structure could deliver considerable benefits. In the context of the wider Service Review, this recommendation is driven by three imperatives: • Collaboration: Unlocking the potential of school leaders and staff to work collectively, share expertise, and deliver consistently high-quality learning experiences through strengthened leadership development and in collaboration with UHI, businesses and digital platforms. • Equity: Increasing opportunities for all young people to access a broad and balanced curriculum, regardless of their location or school size by building greater flexibility into delivery models, staffing structures, including ASN and support staff roles. • Affordability: Preparing for the potential national introduction of Reduced Class Contact Time (RCCT), which will place pressure on staffing and budgets with current structures. As a forward-looking Council, moving to a shared timetable model could support the Council to protect and enhance educational outcomes while managing financial and workforce pressures.
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28 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 29 Section 5.2 Primary and Secondary Provision: Leadership Model 5.2.1 Overview In 2021 a proposal entitled “Empowering Our Educators” was developed by the education service as a response to the challenges being faced by the wider service in terms of falling pupil rolls, recruitment and retention of school leaders, national reform and HT workload set against the backdrop of Argyll and Bute’s unique geography. It was an attempt to also recognise that there is no one-size fits all leadership model that would meet the different degrees of challenge and needs experienced in the different communities across the local authority. Ultimately in 2022, after a period of consultation, based on the feedback received the council decided not to proceed with this approach. The challenges that existed in 2022 persist today and as such it is reasonable to give consideration to how such challenging, wicked issues might be addressed – at least in part i.e. the areas where the local authority has control. However, the following section is not, in any way, a recommendation to simply resurrect the previous approach and implement it. Currently there are a variety of leadership models across the primary school sector in Argyll and Bute that include: • Schools where, within a single school, the leadership team comprises of HTs, DHTs and PTs. • Schools that operate with a shared headteacher model, where the leadership team may also include DHTs and/or PTs. • Schools that are described as all-through 2-18 schools, where the leadership team may also include DHTs and/PTs. R5 - Plan, develop and implement a model of shared leadership across schools and clusters in response to the challenges of recruitment, retention and succession planning relating to school leadership. Such a model should include a different approach to business and finance support staffing allocation for primary schools; should include all SNCT promoted posts and should take account of Recommendations 6 and 9.
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28 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 29 5.2.2 Service Strengths Many of the service wide strengths and challenges identified in Recommendation 4, are applicable in the content of this section. The strengths include: • Clear strategic vision and strong leadership across the service; • A comprehensive quality assurance strategy and associated guidance; • Examples of effective collaboration with partners and clusters, in addition; • Improving trends in attainment in Literacy and Numeracy ACEL data (as set out in the Service Progress and Impact Report 2024-2025. 5.2.3 Service Challenges Service Challenges include: • Declining school rolls in some areas; • Significant recruitment and retention challenges, additionally; • Inconsistencies and limitations in career progression opportunities across Argyll and Bute; • Inconsistencies in the curricular offer across all schools; • Some variation in achievement of outcomes for children and young people across Argyll and Bute; • Workload of staff in promoted posts (as reported in national surveys e.g. AHDS Workload survey report - AHDS. It is worth noting that comments in national surveys relating to workload, were echoed by colleagues in all of the groups who met with members of the review team. People in promoted posts shared that they felt their time was disproportionately spent dealing with administrative, operational tasks compared to the time spent focused on improving learning and teaching, and in turn achieving better outcomes for children and young people. The administration associated with a nursery provision, and other specialist provisions, was also cited as taking up a significant amount of time. Similarly, the increased number of children and young people reported to have additional support needs, has further added to concerns about workload. 5.2.4 Strategic Opportunities for Improvement Success in leadership development can be built on certain key attributes such as: • Distributed leadership: Models that have local empowerment, within a framework, at its heart. • Professional learning: On-going support (general and bespoke) for aspiring and current leaders that builds resilience and fosters innovation. • Wellbeing: The prioritisation of manageable workloads and career development help to grow and retain talent. • Flexibility: Rural and island communities need models that reflect and are responsive to their geographic and cultural realities.
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30 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 31 The following are options for consideration that will require more detailed planning, costing, consultation and trialing prior to any changes to the current provision being implemented. It is the considered view of the review team, that adopting these options will, in time, result in a recalibration of leadership time spent between strategic and operational matters. This coupled with appropriate professional learning, should lead to increased levels of satisfaction amongst school leaders and ultimately to improved outcomes for children and young people. Distributed Leadership, Flexibility Wellbeing a. Review the existing models of shared headship and the associated staffing allocations in light of Recommendation 6. Doing this would bring in the weighting factors for baseline management, additional management responsibilities (e.g. nursery, pupil support and Gaelic provision) and socio-economic factors. Flexibility could then be afforded to headteachers to decide what management roles (PT and/or DHT) and structure they could adopt to serve all of the schools in the shared leadership arrangement dependent on their management allocations. b. Review the existing staffing allocations for all through 2-18 schools based on Recommendation 6. Again, flexibility could then be afforded to headteachers to use the totality of the management time allocations to determine a model that best supports the context and needs of the school. The creation of more, perhaps part-time, DHT roles could be one important by-product a revised shared leadership model. The size of many of the primary schools in Argyll and Bute mitigates against the requirement for such a role. The potential to have a DHT role as part of a shared leadership model offers improved career progression for staff in the primary sector. Professional Learning There are a number of good leadership professional learning opportunities currently available across the education service. These include: • Argyll and Bute Newly Appointed Head Teacher Programme. • Argyll and Bute Aspiring to Headship Programme. • Middle Leadership Programme. Feedback from headteachers who were part of some of the focus groups held with staff was helpful in terms of offering suggestions for how the professional learning offer could be improved. There were strong views expressed that there was a need to target building the capacity of PTs and DHTs through a revised middle leadership programme. This would be something that the review team recommend is taken forward by the Head of Education – Wellbeing, Achievement and Inclusion. Specific training and development for those taking up a shared headship role was also identified as requiring to be more tailored and bespoke. It was felt the distinctive nature of this role was not sufficiently well reflected in the current professional learning offer. It would be important that any changes to the current offer for those in or taking up a shared headteacher role are developed based on their feedback and identified needs.
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30 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 31 Wellbeing In addition to the flexibilities mentioned above for different management structures in different contexts and settings, there are other changes that could be considered to help manage workload and offer better career progression. a. Recommendation 9 is concerned with a review of staffing models to provide more flexible approaches to delivery across clusters in ASN, more general pupil support and in FM. The totality of this recommendation represents a fundamental shift in how such provision is managed and brigaded. If taken forward the net results would be a streamlined support staffing structure with clear responsibilities and reporting lines; clarity around service expectations; fewer, broader, more flexible roles which would enhance deployment flexibility. From this, there should be an impact felt by those in school leadership roles around administrative activity that would diminish. b. Recommendation 9 could be extended further by exploring an entirely different model of business, finance and resources support for primary schools – particularly the smaller schools where the allocation of clerical/administrative staff will be minimal. A model of a locality or cluster (which need not be a geographical cluster) should be explored to consider the affordability of having a type of business manager support function for an agreed number of pupils (rather than an agreed number of schools). c. A School Business Manager (SBM) plays a pivotal role in the smooth and strategic operation of a school, allowing headteachers and senior leaders to focus on learning and teaching. The key functions they typically perform include (this is not exhaustive nor prescriptive): • Budget planning and monitoring: Develops and oversees the school’s budget. • Procurement and contract management: Manages purchasing, negotiates contracts, and ensures value for money. • Financial reporting: Prepares reports for as required. • ICT and infrastructure: Coordinates IT systems and ensures digital resources meet school needs. • Staff recruitment and HR administration: Supports recruitment processes, maintains personnel records, and ensures compliance with employment law. Having such a role, determined by a specified number of pupils rather a defined locality would significantly the reduce major contributors to workload (nationally and locally) not directly linked to improving the quality of learning and teaching, leading to improved outcomes for children and young people. A reduction in such workload would help improve wellbeing, job satisfaction and would contribute to making a leadership role a more attractive proposition. d. Likewise, the implementation of Recommendation 3 (…that a comprehensive review of all support staff roles is carried out to design a workforce model aligned with the principle that the workforce should be equipped with the skills to meet a diverse range of needs flexibly and sustainably, across the varied contexts in which children grow and learn) should help address the impact on workloads that comes with managing and supporting the rise in number of children and young people with ASN felt by those in leadership positions.
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32 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 33 Housing for Key Workers in Argyll and Bute Whilst this was not in scope for this review, the issue of availability of appropriate, affordable housing for key workers was raised. The lack of such affordable housing is acting as a deterrent in attracting key workers (teachers, social workers, health workers etc.) to different parts of Argyll and Bute. This may be something that the Community Planning Partnership and the Local Employability Partnership continue to look at to see what actions may be required to be taken to help improve this particular challenge. Indicative Implementation Timeline It is recommended that this work should build on the actioning and implementation of Recommendations 6 and 9. As such, the earliest it is suggested that the work starts would be around March 2026. If progressed at pace, supported by some additional capacity, it may be possible to have any new shared leadership arrangements in place from August 2027. 5.2.5 Conclusion If planned and developed with input from all relevant partners, and where costings permit, approaches as outlined above could have a significant impact on the workload of those in a leadership role in primary schools across the local authority. Career progression opportunities would be increased and the ability to have more of a focus on improving the quality of learning and teaching would be enhanced. In summary, such approaches: • Respect local identity and offer empowerment within an agreed framework. • Build leadership capacity. • Support wellbeing and career progression. • Tailor leadership models to geographic realities.
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32 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 33 Section 5.3 Primary and Secondary Provision: Primary Staffing Standard 5.3.1 Overview The education service is facing a number of staffing challenges, reflective of the challenges experienced nationally. However, many of these challenges are magnified by the nature and scale of the geography of the area and the particular challenges they present. Given all of this a new, more nuanced primary teacher staffing standard would enable a more equitable approach to be taken to staffing schools. The current primary staffing standard has not been reviewed in its entirety for some time. Whilst the approach to the allocation of teachers using the existing standard has been undertaken with rigour in recent years, there is a need for a fundamental review given the recognised recruitment and retention challenges, the proposed increase in non-class contact time (NCCT) and the increasing complexity of educational delivery in an expansive rural, remote area. Whilst the current standard does include allocations that reflect some management responsibilities, it does not take account of all additional responsibilities that may now be required across different schools e.g. support for pupil provisions. The current standard does not include weighting factors that reflect the range and type of additional support needs recorded across the primary pupil population. Nor does it best reflect the challenges that the impact of deprivation on the provision of education has in some areas. The application of the national guidance (Appendix 2.9 - SNCT Handbook) on class sizes is currently not applied to the 30 primary schools with a roll of less than 25. R6 - Develop a new Primary Staffing Standard (for teaching staff) designed to ensure equitable and fair allocation of staffing across all Argyll and Bute primary schools. The Standard should include weightings for socio-economic factors (e.g. using ACORN Data or CFG registration); for exceptional ASN and for management time. It should be reviewed every three years. The staffing allocations for schools should be reviewed annually in line with this Standard latest census figures, future pupil projections over a three-year period and should reflect the national guidance on class sizes.
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34 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 35 5.3.2 Attributes of a Future-fit Model A new primary staffing standard should be developed in such ways as to reflect the different size and makeup of schools across Argyll and Bute. It should be based on the following core weightings: • Number of agreed classes (determined by national guidance) • NCCT allocations. • Management allocations (as a baseline for HT, DHT and PT as appropriate) • Nursery management allocations (where applicable) • Socio-economic factors allocation (e.g. using ACORN data or CFG registration) • Additional responsibilities e.g. pupil support provision. It should be designed to ensure equitable and fair allocation of staffing across all primary schools. The allocation for social economic factors should be reviewed every three years. The staffing allocations for schools, based on the new standard, should be reviewed annually in line with the latest census figures and future roll projections for a three-year period. 5.3.3 Strategic Opportunities for Improvement There are a number of key considerations that require to be taken into account in the development of a new primary staffing standard. It is recommended that a Strategic Working Group be established to lead on this work and that it be chaired by the Head of Education (Performance and Improvement). Core membership of the group should include, as a minimum, colleagues from HR, finance, the central education service team, primary HTs (representing different sizes of schools), a DHT and trade union representation. The areas of key consideration for the Strategic Working Group should include: 1. The composition of the primary promoted structure (HT, DHT and PT allocations and what factors they will be based on. 2. The number of agreed classes and how the allocation of NCCT and baseline management allocations relate to this. 3. The criteria for any nursery management allocation. 4. The allocation weightings for socio-economic factors (and how these will be determined e.g. by using ACORN data or/and clothing and footwear grant (CFG) registration. There will be judgements about affordability that will require to be reviewed on a three yearly basis. 5. The allocation weightings for additional responsibilities such as pupil support provisions. (NB considerations from the implications of Recommendations 2 and 9 should be factored into any decisions reached around this weighting). 6. The allocations for any shared headship models currently operating. 7. The scope for flexibility to adjust management time of any promoted staff in a school. (NB considerations from the implications of Recommendation 5 should be factored in any decisions reached around this aspect.) 8. The central allocation of probationer teachers on an annual basis. 9. The development of working examples of the application of the standard for different sizes of schools and contexts.
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34 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 35 10. The necessity, or otherwise, to review and exemplify the roles and responsibilities of HTs, DHTs and PTs in accordance with the SNCT Handbook. 11. The need for a clear, coherent communication strategy to run alongside all stages of this work. 5.3.4 Conclusion Careful planning will be required by the Service to ensure that the various interdependencies of different recommendations are taken forward in a systematic, coherent manner. This piece of work should precede any work that may be undertaken to look at developing any new shared leadership models as outlined in Recommendation 5 as a revised new primary staffing standard would be the starting point for considering the approaches taken to developing new leadership models for schools in Argyll and Bute. A new primary staffing standard as outlined in this section would ensure: • Fair, equitable and predictable allocations of teachers to schools. • Teaching allocations are reflective of individual school circumstances factoring in socio-economic factors. • Baseline management time relates directly to the number of classes, teaching FTE and the size of any ELC provision. • Clear NCCT allocations A new model based in the factors outlined in this section would still afford appropriate and necessary flexibility to reflect any exceptional circumstances that may arise. At the same time, it would ensure consistency of and transparency in the approach taken to staff every primary school in Argyll and Bute.
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36 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 37 Section 6 Learning Estate 6.1 Overview Within Argyll and Bute there are 65 Primary schools, one Joint Campus (Primary and Secondary), four 2-18 Campus’, five Secondary schools, one all-through special school, four Standalone Nursery Schools, one hostel and a number of schoolhouses and other buildings. Overall, the learning estate is in good condition: one school is rated A and all others B. Suitability is 61% A, 37% B, and 2% C (Tobermory - two settings in core facts). Six schools have closed since 2015 and two are currently mothballed. R7 - Develop the existing Learning Estate Strategy (ideally linked to Council Strategy) as a matter of urgency. The strategy should set out the current and medium-term challenges. It should recommend adopting the Northern Alliance Toolkit tailored to meet the needs of Argyll and Bute. It should also set out an approach for undertaking place-based reviews on a phased basis, and identify immediate priorities based on clear criteria. R8 - Commit to developing an integrated Facilities Management Service, set up a Project Board to design and deliver this and agree a timescale for implementation.
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36 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 37 6.1.1 School Rolls and Projections School roll projections for 2025-26 to 2032/33 are set out below: Primary 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 2031/32 2032/33 Bute 335 320 310 309 300 280 266 266 Cowal 726 707 698 688 665 660 643 643 Helensburgh 1,396 1,366 1,349 1,360 1,322 1,303 1,298 1,298 Islay 243 234 218 238 239 232 218 218 Tarbert 129 136 140 130 128 125 121 121 Campbeltown 408 406 409 414 418 422 438 438 Lochgilphead 477 447 431 428 429 426 423 423 Mull 196 198 184 178 169 151 141 141 Oban 1,039 986 966 942 936 922 929 930 Tiree 50 53 57 53 47 47 43 43 4,999 4,853 4,762 4,740 4,653 4,568 4,520 4,521 Secondary 4,543 4,562 4,535 4,481 4,442 4,352 4,283 4,283 Total 9,542 9,415 9,297 9,221 9,095 8,920 8,803 8,804 • 2020/21: 10,170 (Primary 5,614; Secondary 4,531; Special 25) • 2021/22: 10,068 (Primary 5,508; Secondary 4,532; Special 28) • 2022/23: 9,995 (Primary 5,384; Secondary 4,575; Special 36) • 2023/24: 9,915 (Primary 5,267; Secondary 4,603; Special 45) • 2024/25: 9,802 (Primary 5,133; Secondary 4,624; Special 45) This is a 3.6% reduction since 2020/21, with a further 7.2% reduction projected by 2029/30. Projections indicate continued decline across most localities, with several primaries trending to very low rolls. Several schools are already operating well below capacity; one example is a school with capacity 150 and 10 pupils (7% occupancy). 6.1.2 Learning Estate Strategy The Council approved a Learning Estate Strategy 2020-2030 in August 2021, aligned to national guidance, and was instrumental in securing Schools Improvement Fund support. However, it is now out of date and does not reflect the current situation, not least the demographic, financial and sustainability pressures which need to be addressed. The strategy should be refreshed and aligned with any Council-wide Estate Strategy.
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38 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 39 6.1.3 Ensuring the Estate Is Fit for Purpose Whilst condition/suitability are currently good, sustaining this will be challenging as rolls, and therefore resources, decline. The fixed lifecycle nature of estates costs means cost per pupil rises as occupancy falls. Similar pressures exist across ELC and the wider Council/partner estate. The Council has pragmatically used mothballing and, in some cases, closures (six since 2015; two mothballed) and has drawn on the Northern Alliance (NA) toolkit to ensure consistency of process and engagement with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. The NA toolkits were developed by officers across a number of local authorities (including Argyll and Bute) drawing on best practice across the country. The toolkit provides a systemic way forward for councils to deal with falling school rolls, and ensure a holistic approach is adopted. The toolkit sets out arrangements for engagement with appropriate stakeholders and suggests options are developed and considered in a consistent and considered way. A Council specific policy, tailored to Argyll and Bute’s geography and community context, would provide clarity for members, officers and communities. It would also enable a proactive approach to be adopted, not least locality-based option development (including innovative models which could include input from partners). 6.1.4 Place-Based Reviews With support from HubCo the council has commenced work on two Place Based Reviews which can be a helpful catalyst for enhancing local service delivery, meet local challenges and improve best value. This approach enables the Council, and potentially its Community Planning Partners, working with the wider community, to reflect on what is working well, where improvements can be made and identifying/assessing potential options to make better use of the available estate. There is a variety of guidance and support available including Scottish Futures Trust Place Guide which provides a step-by-step process to improve decision making. Regardless of methodology adopted, to be successful wide engagement and participation is essential. Given the challenges facing Argyll & Bute it is recommended a policy is developed with a clear timetable for phased implementation across the Council. Consideration should be given to undertaking a ‘test of change’ in one locality possibly one of the areas where work has already commenced. 6.2 Strengths and Challenges of Operational Arrangements 6.2.1 Prioritising Budgets 1. The Council has a good track record of investing in and maintaining the estate. There are also plans for further investment albeit the largest project is not currently being progressed. However, plans for the medium term are limited, and there would be merit in developing a longer-term prioritised plan based on agreed criteria (this could be linked to a placed based review or at least an education estate review). While it is recognised resources are limited it is good practice to identify priorities. The first step should be to agree criteria (with a related phased approach to reviewing requirements in each locality). This approach can be set out within a Learning Estate Strategy. Consideration should also be given to undertaking a review of school condition, again on a phased basis. 2. The council has also been adept at utilising resources creatively e.g. using DSM resources to improve schools. This has helped to offset the reduction in core budgets and for Head Teachers to have input to improvement works.
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38 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 39 3. Notwithstanding this, there would be benefit in undertaking a strategic review of operational arrangements to ensure roles and responsibilities are clear, and there is clarity on available budget for lifecycle maintenance and improvement. 6.2.2 Facilities Management (FM) The other key aspect of running an effective service is arrangements for Facilities Management (FM). At present eight schools have an inclusive FM service provided as part of PPP contracts. This includes cleaning, janitorial, property maintenance (planned and unplanned). Only improvement requests are paid in addition to the Unitary Charge. Head Teachers have no day-to-day responsibility for these services, with the expected standards being set out in the contract. For other schools, generally for small schools there is a combined Janitor/Cleaner (managed by Education) while for larger schools there is a Cleaner (provided by Commercial Services) and a Janitor (Education). Head Teachers are also responsible for ensuring these services are provided to required standard, albeit officers in central teams can assist HTs where problems are identified. All Janitors and Janitors/Cleaners report to a HT i.e. there is no cluster/locality management arrangement, while Cleaners report to an Area Manager within Commercial Services. Resources i.e. cleaning and janitorial hours are allocated based on a formula albeit this has not been reviewed for some time. Commercial Services also provides a Catering service to all schools and ELC. In terms of Property maintenance, this is generally the responsibility of Commercial Services. However, Secondary School Technicians undertake Portable Appliance Testing and Janitors have some responsibility for legionella testing. The geography creates a number of challenges, not least for contractors having to incur significant travel to perform jobs, even relatively straightforward works. It is suggested the current model is not meeting the needs of schools, or the authority as a whole. As part of a Staffing workshop (see also Section 7) with Council staff a number of alternatives (which are utilised in other Councils across the country) were discussed with the aim of improving service delivery and best value. The options included varying levels of centralisation and empowerment. 6.3 Opportunities for Improvement 1. Consolidating FM in one Service: based on outcomes from workshop and subsequent discussion it is proposed an integrated FM Service be established with the following features: • Develop generic posts which better meets the needs of schools and provide flexibility for absence/ vacancies. This could include small maintenance jobs. • Providing service on locality/cluster basis – this would enable local needs to be considered, make best use of skills within the team, provide more resilience e.g. in event of sickness and potentially provide better career opportunities. • Develop generic posts which better meets the needs of schools and provide flexibility for absence/ vacancies. This could include small maintenance jobs. • Consider most appropriate arrangements for line management. • Develop comprehensive Service Level Agreement clearly outlining what schools and centres can expect.
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40 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 41 2. More work is required to develop a service designed to meet the needs of Argyll and Bute. Extensive engagement with all stakeholders will be required (including Trade Unions, school staff, Head Teachers, Facilities Management staff) and it is recommended a Project Board is set up to develop and implement an Integrated FM Service (using improvement methodology). This could be a ‘quick win’ for the Council which could lead to both an improvement in service and reduction in costs. As part of the review no detailed benchmarking took place nor were metrics considered e.g. cost of cleaning per square metre or per pupil. This information is available across Scotland and should be incorporated into the remit of the Project Board. 6.4 Conclusion The school estate is currently in good condition. However, there are already a number of schools operating well below capacity, a situation which will get worse if no action is taken. Given the demographic and financial challenges, the council is facing it is recommended a Learning Estate Strategy is developed as a matter of urgency (ideally linked to Council Strategy). This could be in two phases i.e. the first report could get agreement in principle for the approach with a follow up report providing the details. The strategy should set out the current and medium-term challenges and: • Recommend adopting the NA toolkit customised to meet needs of Argyll and Bute. • Set out an approach for place-based reviews on a phased based, including how Education services requirements will be incorporated within wider place-based review work being undertaken by the Council. • Outline how priority projects will be identified including any immediate priorities. • Make specific reference to ELC and ASN requirements. In addition, the Council should commit to developing an integrated FM service, set up a Project Board to design and deliver this and agree a timescale for implementation.
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40 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 41 Section 7 Education-Wide Support Staffing Synergies: A Strategic Proposal 7.1 Overview Argyll and Bute’s education service is facing a number of staffing challenges. The current support staffing model, while historically functional, may no longer be sustainable or fit for purpose given fiscal constraints, recruitment challenges, and the increasing complexity of educational delivery. This section seeks to set out a case for a modernised, hybrid support staffing model - one that is agile, locally responsive, strategically coordinated, and quality-assured at the centre. Such a model can deliver improved outcomes for schools, reduce operational risk, and empower local leaders while maintaining accountability. 7.2 Service Context and Challenges A multi-disciplinary workshop involving Education, Finance, HR, and Commercial Services reviewed the current system and drew on models used elsewhere in Scotland to identify service strengths and challenges. 7.2.1 Existing Support Staffing Arrangements • Support staff are allocated to schools using long-standing formulae based primarily on school roll and class numbers. • Each secondary school receives an Admin and Finance Assistant (AFA), regardless of roll size. • Support staffing budgets are devolved to schools, but there is little flexibility for creative local solutions - particularly in smaller primaries. • No provision exists for absence cover, creating instability and increasing workload for remaining staff and Head Teachers. R9 - Adopt a strategically coordinated, locally empowered hybrid support staffing model for all non teaching posts across all sectors to ensure holistic strategic oversight. It is recommended that: the Head of Education Performance and Improvement lead a multi- disciplinary project team; wide engagement is undertaken with school leaders, staff, trade unions, and central teams; the Scottish Approach to Service Design methodology is adopted to ensure collaborative design and implementation.
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42 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 43 7.2.2 Structural Challenges and Risks • Inconsistent recruitment processes leaves posts vacant for extended periods, while decentralised management leads to fragmented lines of accountability. • Central teams understand the staffing formulae and vacancies, but no single officer has oversight of the entire support staffing system. • The reductions in budget have eroded staffing levels, and roll reductions have forced further contractions. • Recruitment pressures - especially in small and remote schools - compound these challenges, threatening service continuity and educational quality. • Job designs are outdated and there are too many post types. • Funding uncertainty undermines consistency, particularly in supply cover. • The current system promotes “more is better” rather than “fit for purpose.” • Resistance to change persists among some stakeholders. • Ambiguity exists regarding the extent of empowerment and accountability between schools and central teams. 7.2.3 Attributes of a Future-Fit Model Participants identified key attributes for a reformed staffing model: • Agility to meet emerging requirements. • Empowerment to enable local decision-making. • Transparency and equity in resource allocation. • Succession planning opportunities. • Clear lines of reporting and service expectations. The consensus was clear that a fully centralised or fully devolved model would not be appropriate. Instead, a hybrid model - devolving resources within a central framework, potentially organised on a locality/cluster basis - offers the best route forward. 7.3 Opportunities for Improvement 7.3.1 Integrated Management Structure 1. Co-produce with central leaders and Head Teachers a streamlined support staffing structure with clear responsibilities and reporting lines. 2. Define service expectations in formal Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between central services and schools. 7.3.2 Modernised Roles and Flexibility 1. Replace the current myriad of fragmented posts with fewer, broader, more flexible roles, improving local responsiveness and supporting recruitment. 2. Ensure these changes do not reduce total headcount, but rather enhance deployment flexibility.
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42 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 43 7.3.3 Strategic Oversight Role Appoint a single officer with appropriate support to hold a holistic strategic overview of education support staffing, including oversight of formulae, resourcing, quality assurance, and stakeholder engagement. 7.3.4 Cluster-Based Facilities Management (FM) Services Develop an integrated FM service encompassing cleaning, janitorial, first-line maintenance, and testing. Organise on a cluster/locality basis to: • Improve service responsiveness. • Create a clearer promotion structure. • Reduce risk and duplication. • Generate significant efficiencies. 7.3.5 The Way Forward The proposed hybrid model offers multiple benefits: • Local decision-making within a clear framework which empowers school leaders to determine their staffing requirements within the available resources. • Reduced operational burden on central teams, allowing them to focus on quality assurance. • Improved resilience to staff absence. • Better utilisation of local expertise. • Clearer career pathways and staff progression opportunities. To achieve this transformation, it is recommended that: • The Head of Education: Performance and Improvement lead a multi-disciplinary project team • Wide engagement is undertaken with school leaders, staff, trade unions, and central teams. • The Scottish Approach to Service Design methodology is adopted to ensure collaborative design and implementation. 7.4 Conclusion This section looks to set out a case for change. Maintaining the current fragmented model risks further inefficiency, workload pressures, recruitment challenges, and service gaps. By contrast, adopting a strategically coordinated, locally empowered hybrid staffing model will future-proof the education system, deliver efficiencies, and enhance support to our schools.
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44 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 45 Section 8 Links to Council-Wide Priorities and Policies: Multi-Agency Partnerships 8.1 Overview 1. The Children’s Services Partnership in Argyll and Bute has oversight of the Children and Young People’s Service Plan (2023-2026) which provides a framework for professionals, parents, carers, and volunteers to work with our children and young people, helping to shape and improve the services they offer. The Children and Young People Service Plan 2023-2026 The plan links across several other plans including the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP). The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment provides the foundation for this work, underpins the Children and Young People’s Service Plan and the Corporate Parenting and Child Protection Plans. It is underpinned by Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), and extends this by developing a trauma informed workforce, ensuring that UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) and The Promise are embedded in practice. The key objectives which are of particular relevance to the Education Service Review are: • Delivering high-quality universal services for everyone. • Delivering better targeted services for vulnerable children. • Respecting, protecting, and fulfilling children’s and young people’s rights. • Supporting family wellbeing. 2. In order for the Review Team to gain a perspective on how multi-agency partnerships in Argyll and Bute impact on the design and delivery of the Education Service, it was essential to include representatives from as many partners as possible in the review process. Therefore focus groups, meetings and workshops were arranged in order to gather views and contributions from representatives of Health, Social Work and Police services to gain an understanding of which aspects of partnership working are effective (and why) and the barriers to implementing shared priorities in the Children and Young People’s Service Plan, particularly those that relate to children and young people with additional support needs. R10 - In order to address the current and longer-term challenges of making provision for children and young people who have complex social and emotional needs (which are strongly related to their family circumstances), commitment from multi-agency partners and shared analysis of data to inform planning will be required. Governance at Community Planning and Corporate levels could strengthen multi-agency approaches such as a Single Point of Access for Families and Transition Planning for children and young people’s additional support needs at key stages (Early Years and Post-School).
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44 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 45 3. Referring to the research related to integrated strategic planning and provision for children with complex needs in Scotland is fairly limited, although wider UK research has been considered in relation to the factors that the literature shows can increase the effectiveness of multi-agency working in children’s services and what that effectiveness can mean in terms of outcomes for children in care and their families. Some common themes include: • Shared professional learning and development. • Effective information sharing and communication. • Actively encouraging reflective practice on multi-agency working through formalised processes to support understanding of cross-agency roles, responsibilities and thresholds. • Where possible, co-location of services. • Where possible, shared/pooled budget or resources. • Strategic Leadership and Governance which threads throughout the system of planning and implementation. • Children, young people and their families should be at the centre of planning and decision-making. • The importance of individual staff who know and work closely with children – and can make a positive difference to the quality of their support. It is within this wider context that the findings have been identified of what works well and the challenges in the system for multi-agency partnership working. 8.2 Strengths and Challenges 1. Partnerships between the Education Service and other services for children operate well when either: driven by national priorities such as The Promise where data sharing is required for strategic planning and reporting purposes; or when it is from the ground up, driven by local community priorities, e.g. the Planet Youth survey identifying young people’s needs on a community basis. 2. The Planet Youth survey is now in its third cycle (2021, 2023, 2025), with a fourth cycle planned and funded for 2027. All secondary schools are participating, and the data is being aligned with Coalitions within Communities (governed by the ADP Prevention Sub-Group) to address identified themes and needs among S3 and S4 pupils. A service for young people in the Campbeltown area has been established in response to what young people said they needed. Similarly, the need to further develop services to support young people’s sexual health and relationships have been identified through the survey. 3. As referred to in Section 4, educational outcomes for Care Experienced Children and Young People are improving with effective delivery of The Promise through oversight and coordination by the Virtual Head Teacher. 4. Strong support from the Educational Psychology Service and the Inclusion & Equalities Team also facilitates multi-agency priorities, including Addressing Non-Attendance, Additional Support Needs and Early Years Networks, and the implementation of SCERTS (Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support).
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46 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 47 5. Strong well-embedded partnerships also exist with Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) and Community Learning which has expanded opportunities and accreditation for wider achievement among senior phase learners, including those with ASN. This is achieved on a relatively modest budget when compared with other areas in the ASN budget. 6. Underpinning these areas of work are positive relationships which are reported between partners, with a shared willingness to collaborate creatively. For example, Education and Health managers are exploring a Virtual Team model to coordinate the roles of Wellbeing Practitioners and Family Liaison Officers (FLOs), enhancing support for families - including Young Carers which represents 26% of children and young people with ASN in Argyll and Bute. 7. These areas of effective partnership working share common features which appear to promote sustainability and self-improvement, and which could be replicated on a greater scale in other areas, such as a Single Point of Access for families. They include: • good alignment of planning processes between services; • a sense of autonomy and agency between middle leaders that their efforts and practice can make a difference; • shared professional learning focused on children and families’ needs; • data sharing and analysis which take account of longer-term projections of need, such as employability, and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. 8. However, as referred to in other sections of this report, it is recognised that barriers to implementation of some shared priorities arise due to the geography of Argyll and Bute, and related staffing and housing issues. Alongside this the governance and management of Education and other children’s services are separate, and priorities for service delivery cannot necessarily be aligned in a timeous way to address increasing demand for children and families’ needs. 9. A shared concern reported across all agencies is the increase in the nature and number of children and young people’s additional support needs and how this has affected what all stakeholders define and understand as Universal provision. Continuing to respond to the perceived demand for targeted resources is not sustainable in current workforce and budget arrangements. 10. As outlined in Section 3 (Early Years) engagement with Partner Providers as well as with Health and other stakeholders is critical to delivery of the ELC recommendations. 8.3 Opportunities for Improvement 1. Recommendation 2 regarding workforce planning for ASN offers an opportunity to consider how cross- service roles which are designed to meet children’s health and wellbeing needs could be established on a pilot basis. This might address some of the recruitment issues facing all services, including Early Years, as well as provide a more holistic and consistent approach to making provision from a child and family’s perspective. 2. Recommendation 3 (making more meaningful use of data) is also relevant to the effectiveness of partnership working, and underpins some of the areas already referred to. A review of how data can be shared strategically across the Children’s Services Partnership to better inform projections of needs, workforce planning and the impact of interventions would strengthen capacity for improvement.
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46 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 47 3. There is a need for exemplifying how universal support for children and families in their local communities can be delivered. Based upon the evidence of what already works in Argyll and Bute, as well as taking account of research findings, a review of partnership working could ensure a more sustainable and holistic approach to making provision for children and families’ needs. By taking a closer look at the factors which enable partnerships that are now well-embedded, success criteria could be applied to areas which appear to be more complex and challenging. Further investment in the Single Point of Access programme is worth serious consideration. 4. In doing so, this might assist with addressing the pressures on the HSCP regarding children and families with intensive health and social care needs. The lack of specialist educational and care provision for children and young people with complex trauma-related needs places strain on budgets and sometimes necessitates placement outside local communities. Medium- to long-term investment in staff recruitment, skills development, and place-based support is essential. 5. There is a need for multi-agency cross-service innovation to future-proof professional learning and career progression for support staff. Strategic planning time (inwards, outwards, forwards) should be prioritised, and a multi-agency training calendar could foster a shared sense of belonging and competence. 6. There are some concerns about the inefficiencies in the current system for ordering and maintaining specialist equipment for children’s health and care needs. A joint approach with the Health and Social Care Partnership to procurement and commissioning of specialist equipment for children with complex health and care needs would help manage demand and reduce inefficiencies across the authority’s wide geographic area. 8.4 Conclusion In order to sustain the delivery of Education Services which require collaboration with Multi-agency Partners and to address the current and longer term challenges of making provision for children and young people who have complex social and emotional needs (which are strongly related to their family circumstances), commitment from multi-agency partners and shared analysis of data to inform planning will be required. Governance at Community Planning and Corporate levels could strengthen multi-agency approaches such as a Single Point of Access for Families and Transition Planning for children and young people’s additional support needs at key stages (Early Years and Post-School).
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48 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future Section 9 Summary of Areas for Potential Efficiencies In conjunction with the Council’s internal budget process, the team has worked alongside senior Education officers in identifying a number of options for efficiencies which, if fully implemented, would deliver savings of up to £1.3 million in 26/27, £2.5 million in 27/28 and £2 million in 28/29, this being a recurring figure. This important work will now, following due process, be taken forward by the council’s budget working group. 9.1 Potential Efficiencies Activity/Savings Summary 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 Early Years - Positive Starts Budget 50 50 50 Primary Education - Closed Schools 700 700 700 Early Years - Remove 2 Early Lead Posts 82 82 82 Lifelong Learning & Support - Remove 0.4fte Teacher Post 18 24 24 Wellbeing, Inclusion and achievement - Remove Principal Teacher of Wellbeing 46 74 74 Early Years - Removal of Third Sector Grants - 40 40 Education - Removal of MCR Pathways Earmarking (one off saving) 80 - - Universal Free School Meal Funding - Efficiencies 250 250 250 Early Years - Removal of Early Years Teaching Posts 108 108 108 Primary and Secondary Education - Maintaining Teacher Numbers (one off saving) - 500 - Secondary - Timetabling Efficiencies - 280 280 Early Years - Change to Three Year Old Start Date - 50 50 Early Years - Reconfigure all other Teacher Time in Early Years - 342 342 Total 1,334 2,500 2,000 Details and background will be set within the Council’s budget templates.
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50 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 51 Appendix 1 Implementation Timeline These recommendations are designed for phased delivery over a 2-4 years period. They will be subject to the Council’s Equality Impact Assessments, with some enabling shorter- to medium-term efficiencies and savings once lead-in requirements are met. Careful planning will be required by the Service to ensure that the various interdependencies of different recommendations are taken forward in a systematic, coherent manner. Consideration should be given to whether additional capacity can be provided to support the scoping, engagement, planning and implementation of all 10 Recommendations within the proposed four-year period. The governance for all of this work will be a matter for the service to determine. In terms of setting out a possible timeline for implementation the following is suggested: • Recommendation 4 should commence from December 2025, with a view to implementation from May 2027. • Recommendation 7 should commence from December 2025 and be undertaken as matter of urgency. • Recommendations 2, 6, 8 & 9 all concern workforce and the scoping of each could commence from end January/start February 2026, with a view to implementation from August 2027 in some, if not, all areas. • Recommendation 5 should be progressed only when the three recommendations linked to workforce are ready to be implemented. • Recommendations 1 & 10 require to be considered in collaboration with other partners and as such it is not possible for a suggested timeline for this work. This would be considered under whatever governance structures will be established to lead, support and direct the services involved. • Recommendation 3 can be incorporated into current improvement planning for ASN/Inclusion within the Education Service’s Plan for 2026-27.
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50 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future A Review of Education Services in Argyll and Bute | 51 Appendix 2 Engagement with Argyll and Bute Council and Partners Date Engagement With 15/05/25 Kick off Session – Convenor, Chief Officers and the Education Team 28/05/25 Education Lead Benchmarking Data and Performance – Performance Dashboards 28/05/25 School Services Support Manager – School Estate 30/05/25 Transformation Programme Manager – Transformation 05/06/25 Education Manager Inclusion and Equality – ASN 06/06/25 Principal Educational Psychologist – Education Psychology Services 11/06/25 Head of Commercial Services – Property Discussion 16/06/25 Education Lead Benchmarking Data and Performance – Performance Dashboards (Follow up) 23/06/25 Education Manager Early Years – Early Years Discussion 24/06/25 Education Manager Performance and Improvement – DYW/SDS including transitions 24/06/25 Chief Social Work Officer HSCP – Partnership Working 09/07/25 Admin Officer Staffing – Staffing Meeting 18/07/25 Education Manager Wellbeing Rights and Relationships 21/07/25 Beth Wiseman – Health Discussion 24/07/25 Meeting with Inclusion Manager 08/08/25 School Services Support Manager – Staffing Discussion 13/08/25 Education Heads of Service; Education Managers; Representatives from HR and Finance – Staffing Workshop 13/08/25 Education Managers/Officers and NHS Representatives – ASN Workshop 13/08/25 Education Managers/Officers and NHS Representatives – Early Years Workshop 19/08/25 Virtual Head Teacher – Care Experienced Children and Young People Discussion 21/08/25 Quality Improvement Officers 22/08/25 Early Years Manager and Officer re ASN 27/08/25 Early Years Manager and Officer re ASN 28/08/25 Specialist Provision Network (Principal Teachers and Depute HTs with lead responsibility for ASN/Inclusion) 04/09/25 Social Work Managers and NHS Representatives – Social Work Workshop 08/09/25 Chief Education Officer and Inclusion Management Team re Phase 2 of ASN strategy 19/09/25 Head of Commercial Services and Head of Education Performance and Improvement – Visit to School Estate in Helensburgh and Lomond 19/09/25 Head of Education Performance and Improvement and Education Manager Early Years – Early Years Discussion
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52 | Connecting for Success - Shaping the Future Oban Visit – 17th & 18th June 2025 Online Meeting with Cluster Head Teachers/Centre Managers In Person Meeting with Senior Leadership Team in Oban/Tiree Meeting with middle managers/faculty heads Meeting with Partners (DYW, Police, Health) Visit to Willowview Early Years Provision Visit to Rockfield Learning Centre Discussion with Pupils (two groups 8-10) Visits to Localities Islay Visit Meeting with Cluster Head Teachers/Centre Managers Meeting with Islay Shared Heads Meeting with Chief Social Work Officer HSCP Meeting with Head Teacher Islay High School
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