Appendix 1 Northern Alliance 21-22 PI Report, 01/12/2022 Pre-Agenda Briefing of the Community Services Committee
Argyll and Bute Council · 15 December 2022
Back to Community Services Committee — 15 December 2022 and its agenda
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NORTHERN ALLIANCE REPORT PROGRESS & IMPACT 2021-22 Appendix 1
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CONTENTS Foreword 02 Driving Improvement from Within the Northern Alliance 03 The Right Drivers for Whole System Success 07 Evaluating Phase 3 08 Working Together to Drive Forward Improvement - Additional Activity 13 Shaping the Phase 4 Plan 16
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As the current Regional Improvement Lead, I am pleased to share an overview of progress and activity for 2021-2022 as we strive towards collaborative improvement. Networks across our local authorities continue to grow with increasing numbers of people engaging with activity. This year also marks the end of our current plan and therefore an opportunity to reflect on the last 3 years as we move into the next phase of regional improvement and collaboration. Phase 3 has been a significant period of development for the Northern Alliance, and it is encouraging that we continue to see increased engagement across our eight local authorities despite the ongoing challenges faced in our Scottish education system, in our own local contexts and across the world. The Covid-19 pandemic provided the catalyst for refocusing on our vision and aim as a collaborative and from there we responded by adding value to school/ setting and local authority activity where needed. As we emerge from the pandemic, we have been considering the significant challenges and opportunities our 21st century learners will face as citizens of the future. To make sure we get it right for all of our learners, we have been engaging with Michael Fullan’s Right Drivers for Whole System Success. You can read about how we have been using the drivers to shape our current and future activity later in this report, which reflects the real value of collaboration; working together to share practice, solve problems and try out new and innovative ways of working. Despite the challenges we have all faced in the past two years, we look forward to extending and deepening our collaborative activity in the next phase of our plan. Thank you to everyone who has played their part in shaping the Northern Alliance so far. PAGE | 02 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | FOREWORD Laurence Findlay, Regional Improvement Lead July 2022
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Our vision sets out how we as a collaborative of 8 local authorities should work together to improve outcomes for all our learners. The tricky bit is how we do work together. Michael Fullan, a worldwide expert in Whole System Change in Education, in his book ‘Coherence’, states, ‘Collaborating is not just about creating a place where people feel good but rather cultivating the expertise of everyone to be focused on a collective purpose.’ In other words, collaboration is no use unless it leads to impact. But we do know that in order to achieve impact, the most powerful way is through meaningful collaboration – hence the purpose of our RICs. Driving Improvement from within the Northern Alliance PAGE | 03 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | Developing a culture of collaboration, sharing of expertise and creating local and regional networks to improve the educational and life chances of our children and young people. Over the course of the Phase 3 plan, we have worked together to gain clarity around what it means to meaningfully collaborate. This has resulted in the development of the Northern Alliance Collaboration Framework, which was developed and then tested within our networks. The Framework helps us to understand what effective collaboration looks and feels like, with four core principles and ten indicators, taking you from ‘latent collaboration’ to ‘active collaboration’. Our Collaboration Framework has helped us to get better at working with people across the Northern Alliance and it is now supporting colleagues in schools and settings to do the same. As we have gained a deeper understanding of collaboration, our activity within the RIC has evolved. In the early days of Phase 3, most of our activity was focused on professional learning offers which tended to be more about ‘learning from an expert’ as opposed to learning with and from one another.
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Our professional learning offer is now less focused on ‘one off’ sessions and is more about learning over time, which builds relationships and enables practice to be shared. This year, our data tells us that only 25% of our collaborative activity was focused on professional learning, with the remaining 75% of our collaborative activity focused on working together to share learning, solve problems and shape future activity. Over the life of the phase 3 plan, there has been a total of 1,667 collaborative engagements with approximately 18,275 professionals engaged in total. In addition to working across our 8 local authorities, we also work closely with the Education Scotland Northern Team, as well as national Education Scotland members. Learning and practice are also shared with colleagues from the other Regional Improvement Collaboratives (RICs), and we are beginning to collaborate on projects together. National partners such as the Data for Children’s Collaborative (with UNICEF) have worked with us to explore how we can more effectively use data to identify children affected by poverty in the Northern Alliance. We have also engaged in several research projects over the phase 3 plan and have worked in partnership with our universities to support us with this activity. Most recently, the University of Aberdeen carried out research into shared headships across the Northern Alliance and we look forward to the report being published in the early autumn. PAGE | 04 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | We need to know that our collaborative activity within the Northern Alliance is having a positive impact on our learners. In order to do that, we developed an improvement strategy called CCITI, and we promote its use at school/setting and even local authority level. CCITI provides the road map for our journey towards improvement through the 5 points of Connect, Collaborate, Innovation and Ideas, Try Out and Test, and Improvement. CONNECT TO COLLABORATE One of the real challenges which we are working to overcome is around how we share opportunities for working and learning together.
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PAGE | 05 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | Each day throughout December, we also shared examples of our learning and collaborative activity via ‘Snow and Tell’ - an online celebration of learning. Snow and Tell 2021 received 1,600 views throughout December and into January 2022. This is a great way for us to share learning and raise awareness of our RIC activity. We use SharePoint to share resources developed within our workstreams. Over the Phase 3 plan, we have gained a total of 73,062 site visits, with over 7,000 unique views. Social media has also been helpful in raising awareness of RIC activity and we currently have 5,472 @NAllianceScot Twitter followers, and we also have accounts for our Early Years, 1+2 Languages, Closing the Gap and Secondary Curriculum workstreams – with a grand total of 8,961 followers. You can read some of our Twitter feedback here. Moving to an online world as a result of Covid, we began to use Microsoft Teams to facilitate meeting and learning together. It was a real joy to be able to continue to connect and collaborate virtually and our networks have really taken off as we have become more confident and capable. At present, we have 57 active Northern Alliance Teams, with 2,901 memberships. Not only does Microsoft Teams enable us to connect and collaborate, but we can also share resources and signpost to national polices and practice. Since September 2020, a total number of 1,984 resources have been shared via our Teams. However, the use of Teams has not been without its challenges. Colleagues within some of our local authorities struggle to connect to Teams – mainly because of their familiarity with using Glow or because of security restrictions within their corporate Teams. However, perseverance usually wins the day and over time we are seeing fewer issues. Moving forward, we plan to work even more closely with local authority digital leads to further improve online collaboration. Feedback tells us that people are sometimes not aware of opportunities for collaborating. Our newsletter format has evolved over time and now people can subscribe and receive regular updates via email. At last count, we had 4,575 subscribers. Over the past year, we have also been testing the water with a Facebook page. Early signs are that this will be a welcome addition to our social media communication toolbox! However, there is more to be done in this area and as we move into phase 4, we have plans to further improve our reach across all 8 local authorities.
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PAGE | 06 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | The CCITI strategy provides us with a structure to capture improvement within the RIC. We capture both qualitative and quantitative data at each point to help us understand whether the changes we are making are leading to improvement. As our networks test and try out innovative approaches and ideas, their improvement activity is captured via case studies, so that their practice and learning can be shared across the system. Over the past two years, we have captured many case studies which share learning in a range of different contexts – from Early Years to CLD and from play based pedagogy to retrieval practice. Our case studies are shared via the Northern Alliance ‘Our Journey’ website, which was established in 2021 to evidence improvement activity across the Northern Alliance. It is remarkable that such progress has been made by practitioners in busy schools and settings at a time when colleagues have been navigating the challenges brought about by Covid, as well as working within an education system which is experiencing significant change. However, colleagues have also stated that they have found the opportunity to come together and share their experiences not only improves their practice, but also helps them to feel more energised and increases motivation. As we move forward, we need to do more of this – reduce silo working and work more closely together so that we can share what works well and tackle some of the problems we share together. That way, we have the best chance to improve outcomes for all our learners – together. IMPROVEMENT INNOVATION AND IDEAS Another key action within our vision is to create networks so that people can learn with and from one another. Central to our workstreams are our networks of practitioners who come together to problem solve, share practice and learning – both at operational and strategic level. You can read about the wide range of exciting improvement activity taking place within our workstreams later in this report. TRY OUT AND TEST At workstream level, we work together to monitor progress towards our priorities over time and we use a monthly progress tracker to help us understand where there are barriers and where there are opportunities to learn from one another. We use an improvement methodology called the ‘Model for Improvement’ to help us develop shared aims, meaningful measures and data processes to capture progress over time. As of April 2022, only 3 of the 45 measures listed were not ‘on track’ or ‘achieved’ and this was mainly as a result of waiting for case studies to be completed by busy practitioners. "Children are the Priority Change is the Reality Collaboration is the Strategy." Judith B - Washington State Superintendent.
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The Right Drivers for Whole System Success Wellbeing and Learning – learning well and feeling well Social Intelligence – how we work and learn together Equality Investments – breaking down barriers to learning and wellbeing Systemness (super driver) – connecting across and blurring our boundaries - building a shared responsibility for improving outcomes. We have been engaging with Michael Fullan’s Right Drivers for Whole System Success to shape how we move forward as a Regional Improvement Collaborative: Michael Fullan shared ‘The Right Drivers for Whole System Success’ with the world in February 2021, just as we all began to realise that there was no ‘normal’ or ‘getting back to normal’. Things were changing and we needed to make sure that they were changing for the better. The Drivers don’t state anything new or different to what we already know, however they bring a sense of clarity around what we need to focus on for our learners and for one another as we move forward within the 21st century. As a team we listened to the podcasts, we engaged in the webinars, and we talked about how the Drivers could support us in our work as a RIC. We are now using the Drivers to improve how we connect with our networks, develop our practice, and learn with and from each other. This is helping to deepen our understanding of the Drivers and more importantly, begin to shape what they may look like in our schools and settings. You can read about how our workstreams, and their networks have engaged with the Drivers within the workstream overviews. Michael Fullan has been very supportive of the Northern Alliance, providing us with feedback on how we are engaging with the Drivers. In our December newsletter, Michael Fullan shared his latest reflections on the Right Drivers: “I realize it now that the drivers are best seen as a ‘treasure map’, not a blueprint. No system change worth its salt has ever come about via a blueprint. All system change combines planned and unplanned happenings – planned ideas which fail and succeed (hopefully retaining much of the latter); unplanned events and ideas being sorted to retain the most useful ones. “ There is no blueprint for success or for moving forward and we cannot copy what works well in one context and expect it to lead to success within our own. What we can do is use a treasure map, with key landmarks and pitfalls to negotiate, and important milestones to achieve - learning with and from one another along the way. PAGE | 07 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 |
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Evaluating Phase 3 - Workstream Summaries PAGE | 08 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | The Early Years Workstream connects with partners locally, regionally and nationally to ensure there is a focus on developing a consistent and high- quality Early Level offer across the RIC. At Strategic Lead Level the Workstream supports and facilitate sharing of practice, information and peer networking while connecting and feeding back to increase agency and a culture of leadership at all levels. 1+2 Language Development The 1+2 Languages Development Workstream has gone from a strategic group meeting infrequently into a true collaboration of language leaders and practitioners across authorities and of partners with ongoing CLPL opportunities and resource development. From initial developments of the 1+2 site on the Northern Alliance Glow SharePoint to the family learning site developed in response to the pandemic, and increased shared CLPL programme and Teacher Hub, the Workstream continues to mature as a network and respond to practitioner need and feedback. Collaboration has grown from sharing approaches and expertise within our Northern Alliance authorities to involvement in wider projects, including the development of a University Mentor Scheme with SCILT and further collaboration on resource creation with other local authorities including Angus and West Lothian. Click here to read the 1+2 Language Development Workstream 2-21- 22 Progress & Impact Report CURRICULUM Early Years Throughout the course of the phase 3 plan, the Early Years Workstream has built strong and supportive collaborative networks making connections across the workforce including partner providers and childminders. Agile ways of working have arisen from the pandemic and the use of technology has supported the development of networks across the RIC, allowing practitioners to connect, learn and improve together. These networks now sit within the overarching Early Years Connect to Collaborate team in Glow, which acts as a "base camp" for workstream activity. The Team established in 2021, was created in response to the practitioner ask to connect with others during the challenge of Covid lockdown. Click here toread the EarlyYears Workstream2021-22 Progress& Impact Report Looking into Phase 4, the Workstream will continue to collaborate to support consistency and sustainability in 1+2 implementation across the Northern Alliance focusing on areas such as teacher confidence in language and pedagogy as identified in the national 1+2 Languages survey.
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PAGE | 09 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | Numeracy and Maths Over the course of the Phase 3 plan, the workstream has worked across primary and secondary sectors to share effective approaches to learning and teaching in numeracy and maths. Before COVID-19, the workstream hosted it's first maths conference. Subsequently as we moved into lockdown, our online capacities to facilitate these conferences and extend our reach grew in size. This led to greater networking and sharing of expertise from across the region and country. Small scale tests of change also had to adapt to the changing context. Our fractions development project with primary practitioners in Shetland was adapted. This project aimed to develop the key pedagogical practices which promote understanding in fractions. Why? Because a strong knowledge of fractions in primary school is a strong predictor of secondary maths attainment. Translating the lessons of the small scale test of change, we opened up opportunities for development across the region - inviting primary teachers to develop their pedagogical practice in regards to fractions. Through robust evaluation methodologies, we can report that there has been a statistically significant increase in fractions attainment. Click here to read the Numeracy & Maths Workstream 2021- 22 Progress & Impact Report The key learning from these activities as well as the Phase 3 plan are proving beneficial to informing wider practice and developments through the National Response to Improving Mathematics in Scotland, with the workstream sharing experiences and learning within the national partnership board - highlighting what is working well and where the system required additional support. Primary and Secondary Curriculum (2020-2022) The Primary and Secondary Curriculum Workstreams have made significant steps in bringing practitioners together through networks to share practice and learning, as well as a wide- ranging professional learning offer. The Northern Alliance COVID-19 Transitions Framework was developed in response to the global pandemic, based on principles from Prof. Aline-Wendy Dunlop. The framework supported children, parents and education staff in the transition to school or ELC during the significantly challenging period. Cohorts of practitioners have also engaged in Transitions CLPL providing opportunity to collaborate and share tools to use in their own contexts in t. Click here toread theCurriculumWorkstream 2021-22 Progress &Impact Report The development of the Secondary Subject Support Groups (SSGs) has seen increased engagement with secondary practitioners in RIC activity. Established to provide opportunities to connect, share ideas, experiences and learn together, the SSGs have achieved 916 memberships across 26 groups (and still rising) - each one shaped by the needs of the specific group. SSG CLPL events have been hosted on areas such as BGE tracking and monitoring, and development work on moderation has also featured. The groups are also self- sustaining with members taking lead roles in management and facilitation.
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PAGE | 10 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | Click here to readthe EqualitiesWorkstream 2021-22 Progress &Impact In collaboration with the North Sea Commission, young people from across the Northern Alliance came together with young people from regions around the North Sea basin. This forum for collaborative action amongst young people provided the basis for collective action towards developing Youth Participation Structures. Click here to read the CLD Workstream 2021-22 Progress & Impact Report Activities developed by the workstream focussed initially on raising awareness and understanding around the relationship between child poverty and educational attainment. Given the challenges posed by COVID-19 for families and learners, a series of collaborative professional learning sessions were developed around the theme of equity. Promoting Equity Week saw 598 people sign up to online sessions resulting in increased awareness, knowledge and understanding, as reported by practitioners. Click here to read the Raising Attainment & Closing the Gap 2021-22 Workstream Progress & Impact Equalities Over the course of the phase 3 plan, the Equalities workstream has focused on increasing practitioner engagement and sharing practice, as evidenced through the Include-Me! professional learning series. Resources and webinar recordings from the live event were made available for asynchronous use and learning, resulting in increased accessibility to these professional learning resources. This store of information also hosts another key development facilitated by this workstream - the Northern Alliance Include-Me policy and guidance, led by young people, for young people. This is an effective tool in supporting schools and services to develop an inclusive culture. Raising Attainment and Closing the Poverty Related Attainment Gap These wide ranging engagements built the foundations for further areas of improvement over the phase 3 plan in collaboration with partners locally, regionally and nationally. This has included joint activity with Education Scotland and working with schools to further develop approaches to quality improvement. There has been a focus on trying out new and innovative ways of working, creating meaningful measures and looking at our data over time in order to improve outcomes for all learners. Community Learning and Development The CLD Workstream has continued to develop over Phase 3, building on the foundations of the pre-existing CLD North Alliance network. Feedback from Workstream members has highlighted a reduction in professional isolation, enhanced peer support and joint working and sharing of resources. Development of baseline information and new sector driven key performance indicators has given the network the opportunity share practice and learning, as well as fine tune activity in line with policy and strategy at both regional and national level.
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PAGE | 11 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | e-Learning Progress with the Phase 3 plan has been rapid in terms of delivering quality services at a time of crisis. The introduction of the Digital DHT Team in 2020 set the foundations for an increased focus on addressing the digital barriers faced by our learners across the Northern Alliance. The covid-19 pandemic had a direct impact on the original vision for the team, swiftly catapulting activity to delivering quality services at a time of crisis as part of e-Sgoil and the wider National e-Learning Offer. However, this activity resulted in a significant increase in the number of learners and practitioners engaging with digital technology to enhance learning and teaching. In addition, this workstream worked alongside teachers to develop skills in digital pedagogy. Our approaches to e-learning have developed at pace as a result of the pandemic, and this learning now needs to be captured through the development of a digital learning strategy in partnership with stakeholders across the Northern Alliance which will meets the needs of our 21st Century learners moving forward. Click here to read the e-Learning Workstream 2021-22 Progress & Impact Report Sustaining Education in our Communities Learning Estates The Learning Estates strand of the Sustaining Education in our Communities Workstream has evolved through the Phase 3 plan. An initial audit highlighted the variation across local authorities in relation to processes and understanding of key elements within learning estate provision. Workstream activity has been focused on building a shared understanding of how we can make best use of our learning estate to enhance learning and teaching. The greatest success of the workstream has been the collaborative approach and capacity building across and within authorities that have engaged. Authorities have developed sustainable processes and knowledge including strengthening relationships across services within the authority to develop a holistic approach to improving the learning estate. This collaborative activity has also resulted in the development of Northern Alliance Learning Estate toolkits Click here to read the Sustaining Education in our Communities Workstream 2021- 22 Progress & Impact Report
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Leadership The Leadership Workstream has seen a number of successes over the course of Phase 3 focusing on developing and building leadership capacity at all levels, increasing opportunities for colleagues to access and participate in collaborative leadership learning, and building a culture of self-improving schools/settings across the Northern Alliance. Professional learning opportunities offered over the 3-year plan have seen hundreds of practitioners over numerous sessions and cohorts participate and complete courses in aspects of coaching as well as other sessions including facilitation skills; using logic models to implement change; and leading learning and renewal in our schools and organisations. PAGE | 12 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | Click here to find out more about the project. In the final year of the plan, the Northern Alliance School Improvement Project: Driving Improvement from Within, has provided the focus of activity. Using Michael Fullan’s Four Right Drivers for Whole System Success, Improvement Partners and schools from across the Northern Alliance have explored the drivers in their context and identified key priorities to work on and plan for improvement. A Northern Alliance Leadership Development Pathway was designed to support teachers and practitioners at all stages of their career access the right professional learning, at the right time, to develop as a leader in a range of contexts. This sits alongside local authority leadership frameworks to identify regional and national opportunities that exist that may compliment school/setting/authority based leadership development activities and opportunities. Access the Leadership Pathway here.
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PAGE | 13 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | An important development within our professional learning offer has been the introduction of free access to the World Education Summit for Northern Alliance practitioners over the past two sessions. This includes a 4-day event hosted online with world leading educationalists and researchers, providing high quality professional learning workshops, keynotes and Q&A sessions. Practitioners can access recordings of the live sessions via Summit Central, alongside professional learning resources until March 2023. A Northern Alliance guide has been created signposting key sessions linked to the phase 4 plan and Michael Fullan’s Right Drivers. Working Together to Drive Forward Improvement - Additional Activity The final year of the phase 3 Regional Improvement Plan has been another significant year of development and collaborative activity across the Northern Alliance. See below highlighted activity and links to full Workstream Progress and Impact reports for 2021-22. TAKING THE NORTHERN ALLIANCE TO THE WORLD STAGE Colleagues from e-Sgoil also presented at the event sharing how they have been ‘Removing Barriers for all Learners.’ The team explained how the work of e-Sgoil has evolved since its inception, focussing on improving access to learning for young people in rural areas, to now specialising in overcoming hurdles with young people whose mental or physical health has made in-school learning difficult. The session provided an opportunity for attendees to hear the rich learning shared and consider how this could be applied in other contexts, reflecting on how barriers impact on learning and if the curricular offer in an area or setting is driven by the learner or the institution. Recordings of all the WES 2022 sessions are available to view from Summit Central for registered Northern Alliance practitioners. In March 2022, the work of the Northern Alliance was presented as part of this year’s Osiris World Education Summit. Quality Improvement Manager, Kathleen Johnston, presented alongside Michael Fullan on ‘Digging Deeper into the Right Drivers for Whole System Success’ and reflections were shared on engaging with the Right Drivers. This session was a fantastic opportunity for us to share our learning and for our story to be heard by educators across the world.
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PAGE | 14 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | DATA FOR IMPROVEMENT Building on our collaboration with the Data for Children Collaborative (with UNICEF) and partners, we have been drawing on the variety of Phase One outputs and exploring next steps for Phase Two. In early December 2021, we connected with the South East Improvement Collaborative and we have realised a shared ambition for developing innovative approaches towards data for improvement. Ultimately, we want to make sure that schools and services have access to the right data, presented at the right level, in the right way in order to better equip them to apply the most appropriate interventions to get it right for every child. Working alongside each other, the Northern Alliance, South East Improvement Collaborative, Education Scotland and the Data for Children Collaborative (with UNICEF), will aim to develop better uses of data and build capability in our schools and settings in order to effectively use data to improve outcomes for children and young people. A joint steering group has developed four workstreams to help operationalise and develop the key components for success and these workstreams will draw on the key outputs from Phase One, such as the map of wider data sets and the blueprints of a potential data tool. YOUTH ADVISORY GROUP Established in session 21-22, the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) brings together young people, including MSYPs, from existing groups from all eight Local Authorities. Members of the YAG range in age from 11 to 26 and they are all keen to play an active role in how the Northern Alliance continues to develop. We are currently exploring opportunities to increase involvement and engagement with workstream activity. The YAG is supported by Voices in Action, a group of Youth Participation Leads who meet regularly to champion youth voice across the Local Authorities. The group have been establishing a baseline picture of youth participation across the Northern Alliance and identifying mechanisms for youth voice.
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In May 2022, the Northern Alliance participated in a mini conference hosted by University of Aberdeen with keynote from Prof. Ken Muir. Shaped around the themes Interdependence, Inclusion and Improvement, members of the Northern Alliance seconded team shared learning with practitioners and colleagues at the Northern Alliance Learning Hub, both virtually and in-person. TOWARDS A FUTURE VISION FOR SCOTTISH EDUCATION: A COLLABORATIVE CONVERSATION PAGE | 15 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | Jo Kirby (Moray Council) highlighted the importance of inclusion, specifically the shared and interconnected issues that need to be tackled in order to break down barriers to equity and deepen connections to wellbeing and learning. With a focus around research based pedagogy through the lens of digital technology, they highlighted how they have been working together to improve pedagogy and practice through the Northern Alliance Innovative Approaches to Curriculum group. Kirsty Campbell (Argyll and Bute) explored the importance of agency, learning networks and belongingness, highlighting the development of the Secondary Subject Support Groups. This included direct testimony from practitioners who are members of these groups. In the final presentation Audrey Buchanan (Moray Council) and Tom Webster (Aberdeenshire Council) shared collaborative enquiry work which was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Shaping the Phase 4 Plan PAGE | 16 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 | Towards the end of 2021, we began engaging with practitioners and colleagues across the Northern Alliance to increase awareness of Fullan’s Four Right Drivers for Whole System Success and to begin to think about how these Drivers could be used to shape and structure the next Regional Improvement Plan. Through a special edition newsletter and featured days in our December ‘Snow and Tell’ activity, we began to develop a shared understanding of what the Right Drivers look like in the Northern Alliance context. Between January - March 2021, live engagement sessions were hosted in each of the Northern Alliance local authorities with Head Teacher groups and central teams, workstream networks, Education Scotland Northern Team colleagues, and groups of children and young people. The sessions provided an opportunity for practitioners and professionals to reflect on the Right Drivers in their own context asking the question ‘What Matters to You?’ against each Driver and emerging themes. To support the sessions, emerging themes and reflective questions were provided under each of the Drivers; Wellbeing and Learning; Social Intelligence; Equality Investments; and Systemness; with jamboards being used to gather feedback. Across the live sessions, 1,459 contributions, thoughts and ideas were shared by over 460 stakeholders.
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An asynchronous version of the engagement was also developed using an interactive Thinglink to take the reader on a journey to find out about each Driver and then provide feedback via an online questionnaire. A thorough thematic analysis of the data gathered from the engagement process has been carried out in collaboration with the Education Scotland Northern Team to identify clear themes for each driver which reflect what matters to colleagues within schools, settings and teams across the Northern Alliance. We also engaged with senior officers to organise local authority priorities under each of the Drivers as well as relevant national priorities. As a result, golden threads have helped us to develop core priorities for our phase 4 plan which we can all connect to, and which will help us move forward together – as described by Michael Fullan: ‘I define systemness as the degree to which more and more people at each of the three levels (local, middle, and top) become aware of and interact with people within in and across their levels in relation to common goals of improving learning and well-being.’ Read the next Regional Improvement Phase 4 Plan published in Autumn 2022 for details of how we plan to use the drivers to take forward the next phase of improvement activity across our RIC. PAGE | 17 PROGRESS & IMPACT 21-22 |
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