Islay High School Attainment Report
Argyll and Bute Council · 7 June 2023
Back to Mid Argyll, Kintyre & the Islands Area Committee — 7 June 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL SECONDARY SCHOOL ATTAINMENT REPORT AREA COMMITTEE NAME OF SCHOOL Islay High School DATE OF REPORT May 2023
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School information/school context Islay High School is a non-denominational fully comprehensive secondary school with a roll of 200 and part of a cluster that includes five primary schools; four on Islay (Bowmore, Port Ellen, Port Charlotte and Keills) and one on Jura (Small Isles). The catchment area covers both islands of Islay (population about 3,000) and Jura (population about 200) and is rural, remote and isolated. The students from Jura commute to the school on a daily basis. Agriculture, distilleries and tourism are the main industries on the islands. The school’s curriculum model has S1 and S2 separately timetabled in the Broad General Education (BGE). S3 to S6 are all integrated in the Senior Phase, where pupils select 5 courses per year every year from the same option choice menu. This allows for much greater efficiency of staffing giving pupils much great personalisation and choice. Due to the remoteness of the islands, the school is completely inclusive and by necessity caters for all students however complex and severe their needs are. There is no Gaelic Unit in the school but Gaelic / Gaidhlig is taught for learner and native speakers to Higher level and even Advanced Higher level if requested. SIMD data shows that the catchment population fits into bands 4 and 6 but this does not accurately reflect a much wider range in poverty and affluence. SIMD is primarily based on post codes and, on the islands, these are a very poor indicator of poverty. 10% of the pupils received free school meals but we believe there are significantly more families eligible to apply for this but don’t do so. The school was awarded £9,800 in Pupil Equity Funding in session 2022/23. This money was used to employ a teacher for 0.2 FTE to work with vulnerable children to help them access the curriculum, to develop their self-esteem and confidence, and to support school attendance. The school has a high percentage of pupils with a diagnosed ASN (48% of the school roll) and 43 pupils (23%) of the school roll have child plans. Finally the school was inspected in January of this year with the following outcome: Quality Indicator 1.3 (Leadership of change): Satisfactory Quality indicator 2.3 (Learning, teaching and assessment): Satisfactory Quality Indicator 3.1 (Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion): Good Quality indicator 3.2 (Raising attainment and achievement): Good The full report can be accessed here .
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S3 ACEL Attainment in Literacy and Numeracy School/Authority Level % Achieved Reading Writing L&T Literacy Numeracy Islay High School Third Level or better 97 100 97 89 Argyll & Bute Third Level or better 88.3 87.0 88.2 83.9 87.8 Islay High School Fourth Level 43 49 43 51 Argyll & Bute Fourth Level 49.8 47.6 51.5 45.9 57.6 Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength in BGE Attainment: For third level and better, Islay High School’s results are significantly and consistently above the Argyll and Bute average. For fourth level, the results are based on what pupils are achieving in National 4 and 5 courses in S3. This is different to other schools, where their S3 pupils are still in the BGE. We do not automatically assign pupils a level 4, if they have achieved National 4 - doing so would improve the results significantly. Only pupils, who have passed the National 4 with confidence, are assigned a Level 4. This practice is subjective and makes it very difficult to then make comparisons with the Argyll and Bute data. Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development in BGE Attainment: Continue to use PEF funding to address attainment gap, with particular focus on Literacy and Numeracy. Continue to work on improving attendance as this has a direct correlation to attainment. Islay High School, like all schools, has seen a noticeable decline in attendance following the Covid pandemic.
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National Qualifications – Pass rates NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 2021-22 A-C Number of Presentations Number Attaining A-C % Attaining A-C Argyll and Bute % Attaining A-C National % Attaining A-C Advanced Higher 19 18 95% 85.50% 82.60% Higher 95 81 85% 80.90% 80.30% National 5 184 160 86% 79.70% 81.60% Level/Stage 2022 A B C D No Award Grade A-B Grade A-C Grade A-D National 5 (Nat. 41.20% A&B 35.40%) (Nat. 23.00% A&B 25.57%) (Nat. 17.43% A&B 18.69%) (Nat. 10.79% A&B 12.73%) (Nat. 7.60% A&B 7.60%) (Nat. 64.20% A&B 61%) (Nat. 81.60% A&B 79.70%) (Nat. 92.4% A&B 92.4%) S3 55.7% 15.7% 17.1% 11.4% 0.0% 71.4% 88.6% 100.0% S4 40.7% 22.1% 24.4% 8.1% 4.7% 62.8% 87.2% 95.3% S5 13.0% 30.4% 39.1% 17.4% 0.0% 43.5% 82.6% 100.0% S6 60.0% 20.0% 0.0% 20.0% 0.0% 80.0% 80.0% 100.0% All (S3-S6) 43.5% 20.7% 22.8% 10.9% 2.2% 64.1% 87.0% 97.8% Higher (Nat. 36.50% A&B 35.60%) (Nat. 24.32% A&B 24.56%) (Nat. 19.49% A&B 20.8%) (Nat. 11.74% A&B 12.61%) (Nat. 7.90% A&B 6.50%) (Nat.60.90% (A&B 60.00%) (Nat. 80.3% A&B 80.90%) (Nat 92.10% A&B 93.50%) S4 33.3% 33.3% 33.3% 0.0% 0.0% 66.7% 100.0% 100.0% S5 29.2% 45.8% 10.4% 14.6% 0.0% 75.0% 85.4% 100.0% S6 37.1% 17.1% 25.7% 11.4% 8.6% 54.3% 80.0% 91.4% All (S4-S6) 32.6% 33.7% 18.9% 11.6% 3.2% 66.3% 85.3% 96.8% Advanced Higher (Nat 35.00% A&B 30.80%) (Nat. 26.28% A&B 26.09%) (Nat. 21.35% A&B 28.99%) (Nat. 11.27% A&B 11.59%) (Nat. 6.20% A&B 3.20%) (Nat 61.2% A&B 56.7%) Nat. 82.60% A&B 85.50%) (Nat. 93.80% A&B 96.8%) S5 0.0% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% S6 55.6% 11.1% 27.8% 0.0% 5.6% 66.7% 94.4% 94.4% All (S5 & S6) 52.6% 15.8% 26.3% 0.0% 5.3% 68.4% 94.7% 94.7%
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Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength The pass rates at N5, Higher and Advanced Higher are all significantly above the Argyll and Bute and National averages. Advanced Higher results are particularly pleasing given that only two periods per week are allocated to AH courses (tutorials rather than typical lessons) with a high expectation of independent learning. A and B grades - % pass rates at all levels of A and B grades is high (64% at N5, 66% at Higher and 68% at AH). Performance of S3 pupils at N5 - 100% pass rate at A-D grades with high number of A and B grades (71%) with only a small number of D awards (11.4% - 8) and zero no awards. Performance of S4 pupils at Higher - 100% pass rate at A-C grades (no D or no awards) and also a high percentage of A and B grades (67%). Presentation policy - personalisation and choice is an important and key principle with our curriculum structure and that follows on to our presentation policy. At the same time, if a pupil is clearly failing in a course we will recommend that they take a lower ability qualification. The low number of D and no awards would suggest that the balance is about right. Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development Continue our work with all teachers on ensuring teaching and learning is of the highest standards.
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Insight Dashboard What is Insight Scotland? Insight is a professional tool, aimed at teachers and other staff. It is used to help secondary schools and local authorities identify areas of success and where improvements can be made for pupils in the senior phase. The dashboard has 4 measures.
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Improving attainment in literacy and numeracy Attainment by S3 pupils is not present in Insight. Since the vast majority of our S3 pupils achieve N4 or N5 in English and Maths, as well as numeracy units, the data in Insight regarding attainment in Literacy and Numeracy is very misleading and shows attainment in these fields to be far worse than it actually is. This implies that our leavers have significantly lower attainment in Literacy and Numeracy than our virtual comparator both at SCQF 4 and 5. It also implies that the attainment is actually getting worse over the three years. In actual fact, when S3 data is included, the school matches up well with the virtual comparator and often exceeds it. It is also worth noting that the better pupils do in S3, the worse the Insight data looks. So, if anything the above graph is indicating that our S3 pupils are achieving more in terms of Literacy and Numeracy over the last 3 years. The table below shows the difference in the data, taken from 2021, when S3 data is included and when it is not.
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The graphs below illustrate the difference, showing the impact that the S3 data has on comparisons with the virtual comparator. Once the S3 data is included, the Islay High School results are above the Virtual Comparator, A&B and National data in all but S5 at level 5.
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In 2022, it is worth noting that the S3 year group had already achieved the following before starting in S4: S3 2022 Nos of N3 Nos of N4 Nos of N5 Total in cohort SCQF 4 (%) SCQF 5 (%) Numeracy 7 14 15 36 80.6% 41.7% Literacy 0 20 16 36 100% 44.4% Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength Once the S3 data are included it is clear that the literacy and numeracy levels are high at both National 4 and national 5 levels for all year groups and leavers Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development We need to continue to look at Literacy and Numeracy across the curriculum. Monitor and track in more detail where learning outcomes are being covered in different subjects and potentially from that, where more could be done. Increased post-school participation - post school positive destinations
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Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength The percentage of school leavers in a positive destination compares favourably with the virtual comparator and other averages. We work closely with Skills Development Scotland (officer works in Islay High School) to ensure that every pupil has the opportunity to go into a positive destination. For the past 4 years we have used the Pupil Equity Funding to improve attendance and engagement of pupils who are struggling, or have struggled, for whatever reason with engagement with school. This is helping the life chances of our pupils. Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development We need to continue to develop the provision of vocational education in the school. At the moment the number of vocational courses on offer by Argyll College is very small. This year we have worked hard with the college to increase the number and this effort needs to continue if we are going to achieve any sort of equality for the pupils on our islands compared to those on the mainland. Improving attainment for all
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Evaluative Comment – Areas of Strength 80% of our highest achievers (top middle 60 % and highest 20%) are significantly above all the other averages and the lowest 20% is in line with the other averages, in terms of tariff points achieved. Evaluative Comment – Areas for Development We need to continue to look at ways pupils are able to gain accreditation, particularly with extra-curricular events. For example, this year we are able to offer: John Muir award to our S1 pupils who will be participating in the 3-day S1 Learning Adventure programme, S2 pupils on the Arran outdoor adventure course will also get the opportunity to achieve a development or leadership award, S5 and S6 pupils who will be mentors in the violence prevention (MVP) programme will be able to achieve a leadership award. Attainment versus Deprivation
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Evaluative Comment According to the SG, the pupils on Islay and Jura only come under SIMD deciles 4 and 6. This is not an accurate reflection of the actual levels of poverty on the islands due to the use of postcodes. As such, it is not possible to make any viable interpretation of the above graph. However, we do know our pupils extremely well and we endeavour to meet the needs of all our pupils. We also know that those pupils who are struggling to attend school and engage in their learning are more likely to come from poorer backgrounds. This is why we have assigned all our Pupil Equity funding to improve attendance and engagement. Wider Achievement Qualifications
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National Certificates; Higher National Certificates; Scottish Vocational Qualifications; National Progression Awards; Skills for Work qualifications; Foundation Apprenticeships; Scottish Baccalaureate Only one course completed last year (Higher Early Education and Child Care) - no issues with pupils dropping out - a very successful course. Last year, there were no pupils who did any of the above courses, with the exception of the 6 pupils who did the Higher Childcare course in conjunction with Argyll College (mentioned above). In general, there are not the opportunities available to our pupils to do Foundation Apprenticeships, HNCs and SVQs etc.. We do offer NPA’s in Business at Higher and N5 but only if pupils are struggle with SQA courses and last year there were no pupils who needed to do that. We also offer Scottish Baccalaureates, and have had 2 pupils in the past do this but none last year. We are not able to provide nearly enough vocational courses through our partnership with Argyll College. We have purpose built venues in school for Construction, Hairdressing, Hospitality, Cosmetology and Rural Skills but the college are not able to provide tutors for these courses. This year, we delivered three courses in Child Care (Higher, N5 and Intro to Childcare) because we have an excellent tutor in that subject. We are also delivering Rural Skills this year and developing a tree nursery but this has all been set up by the school. Overall evaluative comment/narrative on Wider Achievement Qualifications in your school: Although it is disappointing that we are not able to offer more wider achievement qualifications at this stage, we do ensure that we offer a wide rage of extra curricular experiences. We normally run the John Muir Award but last year there were no presentations for this. We did, however, deliver the following: - a two week expedition to Arctic Sweden, trekking over 100 km through the mountainous region close to the Norwegian and Finland borders. 14 S5 and S6 pupils went on this. - 5-day residential experience for 18 S3 pupils at the Outward Bound Loch Eil Centre - 3-day residential experience for S2 pupils at the Lochranza Outdoor Centre, travelling by bicycle to and from Arran - 2-day multi-activity adventure days for all S1 and S2 pupils. Senior pupils regularly take on leadership roles, for example, representing the school at parents’ evenings and other events, leading and chairing the Student Council, delivering Gaelic aspects of Assemblies, leading activities in vertical tutor groups, organising regular fund-raising initiatives, supporting the learning of younger pupils. Within PE, they take on the role of Sports Leaders, progressing to the National Youth Sports Ambassador programme.
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Young people also contribute to the life of the local community, for example through tree planting as part of the Rural Skills Programme, the local and National Mòd, Fèis events, Islay Energy Trust initiatives, Islay Arts Association and visits to the local residential care home to provide companionship to the residents. Young people engage with Film G to produce a Gaelic film for a national competition, and work with the local community in its production. Engagement with Spòrs Gàidhlig allows young people to develop skills, their health and wellbeing and provides opportunities to develop Gaelic language skills outwith the classroom. All year groups have pupil representatives on the Student Council, providing opportunities to develop leadership and communication skills, and offering opportunities to take responsibility and contribute to school life. Trips and expeditions offer young people the opportunity to broaden horizons and develop skills, confidence, resilience, leadership and teamwork. Examples include: the S1 Learning Adventure; S2 Arran trip; S3 and S6 Loch Eil Outward Bound trips; visits to further and higher education establishments; the Design and Music trip to Edinburgh, the Highland Show trip; biannual expeditions abroad; other sporting and academic events. Assemblies offer the opportunity for regular recognition of young people’s achievements, in addition to the end-of-year Celebration of Achievement, which will include Gaelic within the delivery. Equity and Attainment – Evaluation of Key Factors Factor in attainment based on 2021 - 22 data
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Attendance School average attendance: 88.69% Exclusion No. of Exclusion Incidents: 1 No. of Exclusion Openings: 2 Additional Support Needs 51% SIMD According to Scottish Government statistics, IHS pupils only fit into decile 4 and 6 and no others Free School Meal Entitlement 8.4% Care Experienced (and previously Care Experienced) 2.6% English as Additional Language 3.1% Pupil Equity Funding In 2021-22, Islay high School was allocated £8600 Pupil Equity Funding. This was all used to pay a teacher, one day a week to record and monitor attendance and late comings but also actively work with pupils and families to improve pupils’ attendance, punctuality and engagement. It was very difficult to see what impact this was having, as there was a significant decline in attendance. This year although, attendance and engagement has again been a major issue we have seen noticeable improvements in individuals’ attendance and late- comings, which in turn has improved their engagement. Again this has been through interventions employed through PEF.