Online Collaborative Improvement Review

We will work to achieve an empowered school system, with participation at all levels including parents, pupils and teachers.

Collaborative improvement is an approach to improvement through shared work, involving education staff, learners, parents and carers and relevant local partners, working alongside Education Scotland and the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES).

This approach is intended to address the recommendation in Audit Scotland’s 2021 report ‘Improving outcomes for young people through school education’ that councils should work with schools, regional improvement collaboratives, other policy teams and partners to reduce variability in outcomes for children and young people.

It was decided in early 2022, that the three island councils – ourselves, Orkney Islands Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) would host an online collaborative improvement review in May last year.

The focus of the review was on three themes:

Theme 1: the curriculum and learner pathways in the senior phase (S4 to S6) including exploring the quality, breadth, diversity and consistency of the curriculum offer, number of learning options studied and timetabling

Theme 2: vocational provision within the secondary curriculum and contribution of partners including foundation apprenticeships and links with local colleges and training providers

Theme 3: the broad general education (S1 to S3) and the support given for the transition to the senior phases

Focus group sessions were held with attendees asked to consider what is working well in schools/the local authority, what are the challenges and concerns, what should be the focus moving forward and how can the local authority/ADES/Education Scotland support this.  Input was also sought from learners, parents and carers, school managers and professional associations across the three islands.

Aspects of positive practice included in the summary report:

  • The knowledge of, and relationships with, learners and the commitment of education staff to meet the needs of all learners.
  • High, positive and sustained destinations for young people leaving school.
  • The curriculum rationales in schools are very much linked to local economies and local employment needs.
  • The development of Foundation Apprenticeships for learners.
  • Online collaboration and engagement is widening course choice for learners and addressing some of the recruitment and retention challenges schools are experiencing.
  • Strong relationships with local partners, including Skills Development Scotland, Developing Young Workforce and local colleges.
  • Relationships with the community, partners and local businesses.
  • The breadth of wider opportunities within schools and employment options for young people.
  • Many pastoral transitions within the secondary stage are very strong and learners feel supported through these transitions.
  • Partnership working examples to support for learners were evident during the review, including children with additional support needs.
  • Good practices learned in terms of ensuring continuing of learning through COVID-19, including the positive impact of online professional learning and collaboration opportunities for staff

Challenges and areas to explore further were summarised as:

  • The recruitment and retention of staff.
  • The inequity of learning options/curriculum offers within local authorities.
  • The curriculum offer for learners with Additional Support Needs.
  • The access to and harmonisation of timetables between schools and local colleges.
  • Communication with parents and carers around the curriculum options for their children.
  • Teacher knowledge of both learner pathways and the totality of the curriculum offer for young people.
  • Developing greater consistency of language to support a parity of esteem in respect of more traditional academic routes and emerging vocational opportunities, including when communicating with parents and carers.
  • Short term funding decisions around the curriculum causing difficulties in respect of strategic planning.
  • Travel and accommodation barriers for some learners accessing the curriculum, particularly from more remote localities.
  • The quality of the online experience for learners is variable and leads to digital inequity.
  • The transition from the Broad General Education (BGE) into the Senior Phase, and the experience of learners in S3.
  • Ensuring the principles and entitlements to a broad curriculum are adhered to in secondary three, and appropriate assessment and moderation of the final year of the BGE.
  • There is an increased demand on Pupil Support staff, partly due to the pandemic, and this needs to be considered carefully.
  • There is evidence of a skills gap, post COVID-19, due to the restrictions and mitigations that young people and schools have faced over the last two years.

Areas for the three island authorities to now focus on:

Young People

  • Building resilience in young people to support them into destinations beyond school.
  • Harnessing the learner and teacher voice and involving young people in curriculum planning.
  • Networking opportunities for young people within and across the island authorities.

Staff

  • Broadening this kind of professional discussion through the Collaborative Improvement Review to all practitioners.
  • Increased networking for schools with similar sized school rolls.
  • Introduction of subject, and other, network groups across the three islands.

Curriculum

  • Clarify the totality of the Senior Phase curriculum offer.
  • Reviewing and developing Foundation Apprenticeships.
  • A further review of how interdisciplinary learning (IDL) can be used to enrich learners’ experiences.
  • Bringing all relevant parties together to develop a consensus around online/digital learning.
  • Promote and support parity between traditional subjects and courses that are more vocational.

Actions and priorities for Shetland Islands Council are also available.  Key actions and next steps will now be taken forward in the Excellence and Equity Strategic Plan for Shetland’s Learners, which sits within the National Improvement Framework structure, and the work stream on the development of the curriculum and learner pathways in the senior phase.