Information Bulletin
Inspection of the Education Functions and Educational Psychology Service of Shetland Islands Council
Today Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education published reports on the education functions and the educational psychology service of Shetland Islands Council.
The inspection process covered three service areas, namely:
- the Schools Service;
- the management of Community Learning and Development; and
- the Educational Psychology Service.
The Schools Service and the management of Community Learning and Development is included in the Report entitled, “Inspection of the Education Functions” and a separate Summary Report has been prepared for the Educational Psychology Service.
A team of inspectors visited the Authority in December 2007, January 2008, and again in February 2008.
The Schools Service is based in Lerwick and supports the network of pre-school, primary and secondary education, across Shetland. The service is responsible for developing the policies to support the work of the schools, in areas such as educational standards, staffing levels, finances and school buildings. One of the main functions of the central Schools Service is to provide, what is known as, a quality assurance role by supporting and challenging schools to continue to deliver better services to pupils.
The Community Learning and Development services includes community work, adult learning and youth work. The way in which the Council delivers these services was inspected last year but the management of the functions was inspected as part of this inspection process.
The education function was inspected across 10 indicators. The Council has been assessed as achieving:
Very Good in 5 areas;
- Good in 4 areas; and
- Adequate in one area.
- The Educational Psychology Service is based in Lerwick and provides support to promote childrens learning and development through five key areas of work, consultation, assessment, intervention, training and research, which were all evaluated in the current inspection. These key areas are provided by the Educational Psychology Service for children and families/carers, schools and other agencies and at a strategic level for the local authority.
The Educational Psychology Services was assessed by the inspectors across 19 indicators. The Council has been assessed as achieving:
Very Good in 8 areas
- Good in 8 areas
- Adequate in 2 areas and
- Weak in 1 area
Both Reports are very positive and highlight a number of significant key strengths in important aspects of provision.
In the overall Report on the Education function, key strengths were identified in the following areas:
- The role of the Pre-School and Early Years Education Support Officer and team in ensuring a consistently high standard of pre-school education across pre-school classes and partnership centres.
- The provision of high quality educational experiences, the effective and creative use of Information and Communications Technology and the emphasis on promoting achievement, diversity and equality.
- Pupils’ attainment in Scottish Qualifications Authority examinations.
- The commitment to inclusion and the impact of multi-agency working in supporting young people and families, particularly for pupils with Additional Support Needs.
- Strong and effective leadership of the Service
- The high quality Continuing Professional Development programme with the focus on improving the quality of learning and teaching, meeting the needs of learners and developing leadership skills.
The key strengths of the Educational Psychology Service were identified as:
- Strong partnership working with a wide range of partners and very effective contribution to multi-agency teams.
- High level consultation and advice to a wide range of stakeholders which was highly valued and impacted positively on children and young people.
- Significant contribution to the implementation of statutory duties and national developments.
Inspectors commented on the very good attainment and achievement of children and young people in Shetland, and the variety of ways in which this was now being recognised.
They considered that the quality of community learning provision was strong and having an important impact on young people, adult learners and communities.
They noted the rich innovative quality learning experiences provided to the children in Shetland, and the creative ways in which this was being achieved. They commented on, for example, the innovative work of the Global Classroom, and that of the cultural team in providing unique opportunities for pupils. They found good practice in the development of vocational learning for older pupils, and a strong partnership with Shetland College.
The work of schools, the educational psychology service and community learning to support parents, carers and families was also commended, and schools were felt to have very positive links with the community.
Schools Service and the Educational Psychology Service were recognised for their approaches to and good practice in including pupils who need support to learn within school and to supporting the needs of individual pupils.
Inspectors also felt that all staff were well supported and that staff in schools had access to high quality professional development experiences. The Educational Psychology Service provided high quality consultation and advice to schools and partners and had very good working relationships with children, young people, parents, families and carers. Children and young people reported positively about their engagement with the Service, as did parents who were pleased with the professionalism of the advice and general interaction with the Educational Psychologists in the Service.
The leadership of the Education and Social Care Department provided clear direction to the service and the Inspectors considered the department to be well placed for further improvements.
As part of their work, the inspectors also identify areas where they consider that the Council’s approach could be improved.
For the Education function as a whole, the Inspectors identified areas to secure further improvement, as follows:
- Improve pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of S2.
- Continue to develop the roles of the Quality Improvement Team.
- Increase the level of partnership working within the department.
- Review the current support for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural needs.
For the Educational Psychology Service, areas for improvement include:
- Developing a process for involving stakeholders in service planning and ensure its planning articulates with the authority’s plans.
- Developing more effective ways of monitoring performance, outcomes and impact of the service.
Councillor Angus, Chair of Services Committee commented:
"I am delighted with these reports. They clearly demonstrate the successful outcomes of the hard work and commitment of all staff involved over the years since the first inspection of the Education Service in 2001 identified a number of areas in which improvement was required.
The high quality of the education provision in Shetland is clear, and our challenge is now to take this forward through the Blueprint, and secure the same quality for future generations of our children in Shetland."
Ends.