successful transitions from secondary school - eric

COUNT US WE’RESTILLHERE

SUCCESSFUL TRANSITIONSFROM SECONDARY SCHOOL

© Crown copyright 2008

ISBN: 978-0-7053-1137-3

HM Inspectorate of EducationDenholm HouseAlmondvale Business ParkAlmondvale WayLivingstonEH54 6GA

Tel: 01506 600 200Fax: 01506 600 337E-mail: [email protected]

Produced for HMIE by RR Donnelley B55349 05/08

Published by HMIE, May 2008

This material may be copied without further permission by education authorities and educationinstitutions in Scotland for use in self-evaluation and planning.

The report may be produced in part, except for commercial purposes, or in connection with aprospectus or advertisement, provided that the source and date therefore are stated.

The text pages of this document are printed on recycled paper and are 100% recyclable.

ContentsPage

Foreword ............................................................................................. iv

Introduction........................................................................................ 2

Learning and teaching..................................................................... 9

Vision and leadership....................................................................... 22

Partnerships........................................................................................ 28

People .................................................................................................. 37

Ethos and culture.............................................................................. 44

Appendices:........................................................................................ 59

Key publications and the national context ............................ 60

Sources of support ...................................................................... 64

Acknowledgements..................................................................... 66

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ForewordWe have chosen the title of this publication,We’re still here,to get the message over that we all need to think differentlyabout secondary school to post-school transitions. The term‘leaver’, as in ‘early leaver’ or ‘S4 leaver’ detracts from what isa very important point of transition in the lives of all youngpeople. Although we still have a statutory leaving age, thefact of the matter is that the majority of young peoplecontinue with their education, training and skills developmentin post-compulsory education or training.

Supporting transition for all who move on from school,regardless of destination, is of critical importance in providinga stepping stone to a sustainable and successful future. For amajority of young people, the passage to further or highereducation or stable employment with good quality trainingexperiences, for example, as an apprentice, is exciting even ifit is sometimes not devoid of difficulty. For those involved,moving across from school to a more adult world is a clearsign of success. For a significant minority, this is not the case.

Some one in eight young people do not move on toemployment, education or training. A further substantialgroup find low-paid employment with little opportunity foradvancement and even less learning and personaldevelopment to help them to progress subsequently tohigher-skilled areas of work. And we know that for asignificant minority of young people, particularly from poorerfamily backgrounds, Scottish secondary education does notenable them to achieve at school and equip them for thefuture, as well as they might, even in an education systemsuch as ours in which schools are generally good. We need todo better for them.

For this significant minority of young people, we need robusttransition processes that enable them to take advantage ofthe choices and services available, which in turn will improvetheir longer term chances in life. Some, for example, those

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with profound needs or those who have been in care, willneed intensive and ongoing support. Others will need lessintensive or more periodic but, nevertheless, sustainedsupport. Many will need some form of support plan to ensurethey are able to take best advantage of the support services,choices and chances available. We also need to do better forthem when they are at school in a preventative way thatensures that all young people maximise their potential.

So this document addresses part of the agenda of going fromgood to great, of achieving excellence for all. We have knownfor some time that in secondary schools, particularly in S3 andS4, we start to lose some pupils. Attendance goes down,exclusions go up, motivation and enthusiasm wanes. Thisdocument is part of the wider support comprising TheJourney to Excellence series. It fits in well with HMIE’s focuson aspects of inclusion as a follow-up to Count us in. It is partof the follow-through to the strategy for young people whoare at risk of not entering education, employment or trainingat or beyond the transition point from secondary school topost-school, as described in More Choices, More Chances. Thedocument has been produced specifically to supportsecondary schools in improving the experiences and successesof all their pupils in making that transition but it will also beuseful for those working in partner agencies. By implication,the challenge for secondary schools is to take moreresponsibility for being proactive in developing effectivepartnerships with other agencies and to put in place robustprocesses which will smooth that transition.

Graham DonaldsonHM Senior Chief Inspector

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SUCCESSFUL TRANSITIONSFROM SECONDARY SCHOOL

IntroductionHM Inspectorate of Education takes a broad view of inclusionand diversity, and relates them to the wider issues of equity ineducation. This view has been developed and exploredthrough a number of national reports, starting with Count usin and including Missing out and the five parts of The Journeyto Excellence1.

Staff in schools, partner agencies and voluntary organisationshave been aware for some time now of widespread concernsabout the numbers of young people – currently around32,000 – who, for various reasons, have not enterededucation, training or employment by the time they are 19.More Choices More Chances and Skills for Scotland: A SkillsStrategy for a Competitive Scotland set out national strategiesfor addressing the needs of young people: skills for learning,skills for life and skills for work. The Additional Support forLearning Act (ASL Act) Code of Practice provided guidance onplanning for transitions for young people with additionalsupport needs. Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC)stressed the need for assessment and planning to considerthe context which young people inhabit, both risks andopportunities. It pointed to the importance of themdeveloping qualities such as resilience, sociability andproblem-solving skills and of professionals consultingeffectively, sharing information and taking joint action.

Over the last decade or so, the pattern of schooling whichyoung people experience has changed significantly. Thetraditional linear progression from school to college,university, training or directly into employment is developinginto more complex pathways. Increasing numbers of youngpeople experience flexible forms of educational provisionwhile still at school. Such provision may include part-time

1 See Appendix 1 for references to relevant reports by HMIE and an outline of the national context.

placements at colleges, pre-vocational placements run byagencies and voluntary organisations and broad enrichmentactivities of the ‘outward bound’ type.

Some young people, however, who may be disaffected anddisengaged from school, perhaps with patterns of long-termabsences, or who demonstrate challenging behaviour or haveother additional support needs may need particular help tosmooth the transition into their post-school lives. Others maydraw little attention themselves at school and their longer-term needs may remain unrecognised. Young people mayhave significant responsibilities as carers for their own youngchildren or for parents and siblings, which make it difficult forthem to take up and sustain the opportunities available. Afew, for example, looked after and accommodated youngpeople, may lack the social, emotional and practical supportprovided by family and peers which help to ease transitioninto adult society. Teachers and other council staff haveresponsibilities as corporate parents to provide such support.Not all young people who find post-school transitions difficulthave low attainment. Groups of S4 pupils at all levels ofattainment may find difficulty in moving on after school. Forexample, one authority found that almost half of its S4 leaverswho had no positive post-school destination had tariff scoresof 76 or above, which equates to three or four general awardsor better. Some had considerably higher attainment levels.

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The statistics themselves may hide a range of differentpersonal stories. Young people sometimes leave school andundertake a range of short-term jobs, voluntary activities orplacements before achieving positive destinations at a laterdate, when they are ready. Some may enter the statistics asapparent ‘success stories’ but a year or two later may ‘dropout’ of university or college. They may have madeinappropriate career choices at an earlier stage or find thetransition from the structured environment of school or fromthe social context of their own locality too challenging. Somemay have been successful in entering employment, but inindustries and services which provide few opportunities forthem to develop and build on their skills. So the situation ismore complex than may appear at first sight.

The outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence apply to all youngpeople. Most will develop these capacities at school butothers may need support from partner agencies or flexibleplacements to fulfil their potential. Young people need toexperience coordinated, coherent programmes of learning aswhat was previously offered in ‘alternative’ provision isbrought into the mainstream. The Skills Strategy emphasisesthe importance of smoothing learning transitions from schoolto college or employment, providing a continuum of support,and putting more effort and resources into helping those whoneed most help. Young people aged 14-19 with additionalsupport needs may need to experience ‘supported’ transitionpathways which require joint working by education staff inschools and colleges, community workers, Careers Scotland,health and social work services and voluntary providers. Inturn, this requires schools to identify such pupils as early aspossible and accept greater ownership of the whole transitionprocess post-school.

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We do know the key factors which enable smooth transitionsto sustained positive destinations. They include features suchas:

f learning experiences which engage and motivate all youngpeople, and encourage them to attend;

f appropriate and relevant curricular pathways, personalisedto meet individual needs;

f positive and supportive relationships with staff;

f recognition of, and respect for young people’s emergingadulthood;

f planned development of skills for employability;

f nurturing of personal qualities such as confidence andresilience;

f listening to young people, taking their views seriously andresponding positively where possible;

f close tracking and monitoring of the progress of alllearners, including those with individualised educationalprogrammes and coordinated support plans; and

f recognising and celebrating individual achievementswithin a wide range of contexts and communicating theseto young people themselves and to potential employersand selection agencies.

Many of these features are already evident to some degree inschools and services across Scotland. Some aspects, however,may require transformational change in the way some of ourschools currently operate, in the services they provide toyoung people and in the quality of the relationships betweenschool staff and the young people and families they serve.

The rest of this guide describes examples of promisingpractice in enabling smooth post-school transitions, whichhave been gathered during visits to schools, colleges andprovisions managed by agencies and voluntary organisationsin Scotland. In many cases, the long-term impact of theseinitiatives has not yet been formally evaluated by theestablishments and services involved, although there isevidence of positive effects on the experiences of individualyoung people. The examples chosen are just a small numberof the varied and interesting developments across the country.Each section of the guide explores this practice in the contextof the dimensions of excellence from The Journey toExcellence. It also notes the quality indicators from How goodis our school? which schools and others may use to evaluatetheir own provision. Digital movies exemplifying the themeshighlighted in this publication will be included in the onlinedigital resource The Journey to Excellence(www.journeytoexcellence.org.uk).

Who is this guide for?This guide is for all school leaders, and pastoral care, supportand teaching staff who work with young people who arepreparing to move on from secondary schooling to the nextstage in their lives.

It is also for people who work in partnership with the schoolto support young people who are going into employment orcontinuing their learning, for example, parents, residentialcare staff, college staff, and staff from agencies and servicessuch as social work services, Careers Scotland, post-schoolpsychological services, youth work services, voluntaryproviders, training providers, community groups, othereducational establishments and employers.

What does this guide do?This guide provides examples of some of the things whichschool leaders, teachers and their partners do to supportyoung people at transition. Successful transitions result inyoung people who are confident and resilient, and who areable to enter the world of work with the skills they need andcontribute to society as a whole.

The signposts to excellence are based on real practice inScottish schools, further education colleges, communitygroups and other agencies, as observed by HMIE. Theysupplement and contextualise the advice given in Parts 1 and2 of How good is our school? The Journey to Excellence andwithin the revised quality indicators which make up Part 3.Schools may refer to the signposts to help them in theirplanning, using the approaches presented in Part 4, Planningfor Excellence. The signposts are supplemented by examplesof actual practice and the voices of staff and young people asthey reflect on the key issues in transition for them. Alsoincluded are some questions to stimulate reflection on what iscurrently going on in schools.

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How is this guide organised?The guide is in five parts, based on the five broad areasidentified in the Missing out report as typifying schools whichwere successful in addressing the needs of all their pupils.

f Teaching that provides the highest quality learningexperiences

f Leadership and a shared vision

f Partnerships including those with parents and families

f Reflection on practice that values people

f An ethos of ambition and achievement

These five areas are also organisers for The Journey toExcellence, and each is associated with two of the dimensionsof excellence.

Learning and teaching

Dimension 1: Engages young people in the highestquality learning experiences

Dimension 2: Focuses on outcomes and maximisessuccess for all learners

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PROMOTESWELL-BEINGAND RESPECT

DEVELOPS ACOMMON VISIONAMONG CHILDRENAND YOUNG PEOPLE,PARENTS AND STAFF

DEVELOPS ACULTURE OFAMBITION ANDACHIEVEMENT

WORKS TOGETHERWITH PARENTS TOIMPROVE LEARNING

WORKS INPARTNERSHIPS WITHOTHER AGENCIESAND ITS COMMUNITY

FOSTERS HIGHQUALITYLEADERSHIP AT ALLLEVELS

VALUES ANDEMPOWERS ITSSTAFF AND YOUNGPEOPLE

REFLECTS ON ITSOWN WORKAND THRIVESON CHALLENGE

ENGAGES YOUNGPEOPLE IN THE HIGHEST

QUALITY LEARNING ACTIVITIES

LEARNING AND TEACHING


SUCCESSFULLEARNERS

EFFECTIVECONTRIBUTORS

CONFIDENTINDIVIDUALS

RESPONSIBLECITIZENS

FOCUSES ON OUTCOMES ANDMAXIMISES SUCCESS FOR

ALL LEARNERS

Dimension 1

• Learning as personal development – meaningful in the lives of children and young people

• Promotion of active learning

• Meeting children’s learning needs

Dimension 2

• Planning the outcomes of learning

• Assessing the outcomes of learning

• Reflecting on and recording success based on outcomes

• Reporting on success in achieving outcomes

‘Teachers have a comprehensive understanding ofchildren’s learning and provide personalised feedback foreach learner. They observe learners closely, track theirprogress and use the information to plan their futureprogress. They strive to ensure continuity of learningapproaches and experience at transition stages.’

The Journey to Excellence Part 2, page 35

‘Curriculum planning takes full account of the principlesidentified in Curriculum for Excellence. It is based firmlyon a clear identification of the needs of all young peopleand is designed to address and meet these needs, resultin successful learning, and develop pupils’ confidence,skills and ability to contribute.’


Relevant quality QI 5.1 The curriculumindicators QI 5.2 Teaching for effective learning

QI 5.3 Meeting learning needs

‘We ensure that when learners transfer to and from ourschool, or when they have a shared placement betweenour school and another, they maintain continuity andprogression in their learning. We ensure our learners arecreative, enterprising and prepared for the world of workand their future careers.’

QI 5.1 The curriculum

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Many of the challenges for schools relate to the importance ofpreventative work before young people reach the transitionsstages. Secondary schools have a strong focus on attainmentin the form of examination results, but this can sometimes beat the expense of the achievements emphasised in the Countus in report and can work against those learners who prefermore overt relevance and practical and applied approaches tolearning. Many schools have developed a very good focus onvocational learning, including experiences in work-basedenvironments, and have developed excellent relationships withemployers. Employers are often more likely to look forattitudinal or social, rather than just academic skills, forexample, the willingness to work hard, good time-keeping andattendance, and positive attitudes. These provide a very goodbasis for subsequent training. Learning activities leading toaccreditation through, for example, the Duke of EdinburghAward or Youth Achievement Award, can develop such skillsat least as effectively as Scottish Qualifications Authority(SQA) courses.

In many circumstances, the work of teachers in preparingyoung people for transition will be supported by otherpartners. This may involve school staff in:

f arranging for delivery of particular aspects of thecurriculum by other professionals;

f organisation and support for shared placements, forexample, with support services, special schools, furthereducation colleges, community organisations, oremployers;

f enabling young people to engage with youth workerswho develop their confidence and motivation; and

f taking account of the views of employers in developingthe curriculum.

The most effective schools are proactive in developing suchpartnerships.

Curriculum for Excellence places young people at the centre,with schools planning the curriculum around their needs. Thisapproach requires schools and colleges to be flexible andprepared to adopt innovative and creative approaches tocurriculum planning and teaching approaches which enable allyoung people to achieve successful outcomes. School pupilswith learning needs or at risk of missing out may attendcollege part time for a block or for one or two half days perweek for their last year of school. The key priority is meetingindividual needs. The following examples suggest somepromising approaches to providing young people withworthwhile and motivating learning and curricularexperiences.

Preparing for transition through the school curriculumCardinal Newman High School in North Lanarkshire preparedyoung people for employment or training by providing a focuson vocational experiences in S3 and S4 through a dedicatedvocational options choice column. In addition, other optionchoice columns included a range of vocational inserts such asdigital photography and institutional banking. Pupils were very

positive about their learning experiences in these simulatedprofessional environments. The school had a strongpartnership with Motherwell College but one in which all theactivities were wholly sustainable by the school. Staff jointlydelivered a range of vocational courses in the school withstaff from the college. These courses focused on employabilityand developing a work ethic. The school set up a professionalkitchen and restaurant, financed by North LanarkshireCouncil’s Regeneration budget which enabled pupils to takeIntermediate 2 Professional Cooking.

A college lecturer and a professional chef also helped todeliver other hospitality courses run by the school through thehome economics department. Teaching styles andmethodologies used by college staff were shared withteaching staff. The school consulted parents fully about theirplans to enhance vocational experiences through parentinformation evenings and sampling sessions. The lessonsdelivered by the chef provided highly motivating experienceswhich helped young people to develop their knowledge andskills relevant to catering and enterprise. Learners were highlymotivated and engaged enthusiastically in the activities. Theirachievements were enhanced through participation in a rangeof enterprising activities and, in S5, through gaining nationallyrecognised certificates in basic food hygiene. Pupils said thatthey had learned to work as a team and that their social skillshad improved.

Preparing young people for transition by developing thecurriculum to include vocational options may requiresignificant adjustments to timetables. The Skills for Workreport2 includes an example where timetabling a course onearly education and childcare in two columns was used toallow learners sufficient time to engage with a private trainingprovider outwith school time. They could then complete the

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2 Some case studies in the rest of this publication have been taken from Preparing for Work, a report on the Skillsfor Work pilot programme, HMIE 2007

programme within one year. On one afternoon each week,learners visited a nursery. On one morning, a trainer deliveredthe theoretical part of the course in the school, workingcollaboratively with the class teacher. Similarly, another schooloffered a Skills for Work construction crafts course on its ownpremises as a part of the normal curriculum for S3 and S4pupils. The school reshaped the timetable to provide onesingle and one double period per week for Skills for Workcourses, rather than single periods, to facilitate the delivery ofpractical activities.

‘The (Care) course has given me a good understanding ofwhat it will be like when I start work. I’ve learned aboutrespect for others. I know I need to have the rightattitude – I have to smile. I need to communicate. I’velearned I need to be able to start a conversation.’

S4 pupil

‘The benefit for any school offering Skills for Workcourses is that it will be in a better position to meet theneeds of all young people in its community. I amconfident we are offering our young people a range ofoptions that meet their learning needs, meet theirlearning styles and prepare them for the world of workbeyond school, whether in work, college or university,and that is a welcome addition to the curriculum.’

Secondary school headteacher

In Smithycroft Secondary School, Glasgow, the timetable wasdesigned to incorporate a vocational option for S3 and S4pupils, in addition to a wide range of vocational programmes,placements and in-school courses for pupils in S3-S6. Pupilsexperienced a range of challenges including developingenterprise activities. At recognised points in the school yearexternal agencies such as Careers Scotland, were involved indelivering courses. The focus was on helping young people todevelop essential skills for employment, training or continuingeducation.

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The First Steps programme in Dumfries and Galloway wasdesigned for pupils in S3 who were not coping well withintheir secondary school. It offered a variety of work-relatedactivities, including practical first aid, health and safetyworkshops, team-building exercises and a range of vocationaloptions. Young people were awarded certificates forsuccessful completion of these options. Pupils’ attendance,completion of courses and behaviour had all improved. Otherinitiatives which involved young people at the transition fromschool to college included the Next Steps programme which,followed on from the First Steps programme, and the Prince’sTrust scheme for young people aged 16-24.

In North Lanarkshire the Expanded Learning Opportunitiesprogramme managed by Careers Scotland, is for pupils withsocial, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). Suchyoung people are likely to experience difficulties in makingsuccessful transitions to positive post-school options. Pupilsundertake this programme towards the end of their statutoryperiod of education in an SEBD school. Following assessment,a customised and individual programme of action is createdfor participants to include a mixture of training placements,college placements, work tasters, specialist interventions suchas counselling support, anger management and psychologicalsupport, structured outdoor activities and other generallife-skills support. Studies showed that seventy per cent ofpupils moved into positive destinations when they left school,significantly above expectations, and what was previouslyexperienced by the schools involved.

Willowbank School, North Lanarkshire, provided education forsecondary pupils with social emotional and behavioural needsand with a history of non-attendance in mainstream schools.The Expanded Learning Opportunities programme enabledthem to engage in community-based projects to facilitate theirtransition to post-school education, employment or training.The school’s client development worker engaged local

employers and training providers with the work experienceprogramme. They had access to a wide range of SQA coursesand NQ units, including early presentation. Learners had longand short-term targets for every subject, and were involved insetting and reviewing these. They developed importantgeneric skills, for example, working in groups for dramaimprovisations, enterprise and citizenship through art anddesign, and practical use of the internet for planning a schooltrip. Residential visits, sporting musical and cultural eventsincreased their well-being, and developed their confidence,teamwork and creative talents. Pupils who attended collegeachieved certification at Intermediate 1 and 2 and were alsopresented for Access and NQ courses. Some achievedcertificates in landscape gardening through the ScottishTraining Foundation and in car mechanics through LanarkshireAutomobile Group Training Association. All pupils achievedthrough Scotia awards and the North Lanarkshire Challenge.Almost all leavers went on to education, employment ortraining.

In Portland High School, North Lanarkshire, also for pupilswith social emotional and behavioural needs, the school’spartnership with Careers Scotland enabled pupils to receiveindividual advice and guidance about preparing for the worldof work and to develop the necessary skills. From S3 to S5, allpupils benefited from placements in training agencies andfurther education colleges. The client development workervisited homes and discussed young people’s progress withtheir parents.

Preparing for transition outwith the school contextFor some pupils, following courses and accessing vocationalexperiences away from the school context increasedmotivation and provided an incentive to continue learning andto achieve. Staff in Berwickshire High School reported thatcollege courses had raised pupils’ self-esteem and confidence.One pupil said he would not be at school if it were not for the

college experience he enjoyed. Overall, young people felt thattheir tutors had time for them, gave good advice and thatthey were treated like adults.

‘You are more relaxed. When you are treated as an adult,you have to behave as an adult.’

S4 pupil

The Three Towns Motor Project in North Ayrshire offeredyoung people who had become disaffected with school acurriculum option focusing on motor vehicles. The initiativewas managed by community learning and development andworked effectively to provide accredited and non-accreditedlearning through partnerships among schools, colleges andyouth organisations. Programmes successfully combinedpractical skills and theory-based learning much of which wastransferred back into mainstream school and then intopost-school training. As a result, young people grew inconfidence and self-esteem, and increased their skills asresponsible citizens.

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‘I attended the project because the school said that if Istopped truanting I would get out of school for fourperiods on a Wednesday to work on cars. I want to be amechanic so I am now getting the experience.’

‘The project showed me that I can do more than Ithought and gave me more confidence in myself. It gaveme practical understanding and firsthand experience ofmechanics and the safety issues that come with it. I aminterested in mechanics and also cars. The motor projectgives you real cars instead of bits of paper.’

Learners talking about the Three Towns Motor Project

In the Borders School Plus initiative, core skills werecontextualised within coursework and young people receivedample opportunities to take responsibility for their learningthrough use of ICT support packages, researching informationand planning practical work. They enjoyed the high practicalcomponent of courses and learned better where practicalactivities led gradually to theoretical aspects, and where thecontexts were relevant to prospective areas of employment.They felt they were treated as young adults and wereconsulted on setting workshop rules. All programmes forsecondary school pupils included promotion of positivebehaviours and the college’s core values. This resulted in mostschool leavers being familiar with college expectations prior tostarting full-time programmes and helped them adapt to thecollege environment. Staff at Hawick High school reportedthat participation in School Plus courses had re-engaged manyyoung people in learning and heightened their aspirations forpost-school education. Young people’s successes werecelebrated through a high-profile awards ceremony attendedby young people, parents, and college and school staff.

Reid Kerr College provided a flexible approach to delivering awide range of programmes to support transitions. The STEPprogramme aimed to develop young people’s self-confidence,

personal, social and vocational skills within a practical andsupportive learning environment. Students negotiated part oftheir own timetables through a menu of options which couldbe adapted to suit individual needs. Students enjoyed the out-of-college activities and the practical work as they could seethe end product. Students said they were treated like adultsand learned more effectively as their courses were delivered inshorter timetabled periods, with more breaks. They developedwork-related skills through ‘taster’ options and workexperience for one day per week for six weeks. The corecurriculum included numeracy, communication, computing, aresidential experience, world of work and guidance supportwith vocationally-based and personal development options. Inthe second year of the course vocational aspects increased.Most STEP students attended a Steplink course one day perweek for six weeks to ease transition and to ensure that thecourse would be appropriate. The Steplink programmeenabled pupils with additional support needs to attendcollege part time in their last year of school, providing themwith a supported transition to college.

The New Directions programme for young people in their finalschool year, a Renfrewshire Council resource run within thecollege, offered supported learning opportunities to studentswho at school had displayed challenging behaviour andshowed signs of disengagement. The small group settingworked well in providing meaningful courses, strong pastoralsupport and recognition of students’ achievements throughAccess, Intermediate and Awards Scheme Development andAccreditation Network (ASDAN) certification, merit awardsand an award ceremony. Elective elements included vocationaloptions in hospitality, hairdressing, construction, engineering,computing, design and make, creative arts, care and health.Eighty per cent of those completing the programme hadpositive destinations. Eleven secondary schools were involved,with significant improvements in attendance and achievementreported for most individuals.

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n

‘College helps you figure it out. They are not watchingover your shoulder all the time. Teachers are too helpful.’

S3 pupil

‘We talk in first names with our tutors and they don’tgive us punishments.’

S4 pupil

Issues to consider

f How do you ensure that young people’s individualneeds are identified early enough?

f How has your school incorporated work-basedand/or community-based activities within youngpeople’s programmes?

f How do the programmes young people followenable them to progress to work or furtherlearning? Do all programmes have clear end goalsand criteria for ascertaining success?

f How much do school staff know of the detailedcontent of programmes offered in colleges andother provision external to the school?

f How does your school and its key partners monitorand report on young people’s engagement inlearning, their progress through their courses andtheir success in achieving their goals?

f How does your school track and support theprogress of young people after they have left school?

Signposts for excellence

f Programmes are designed to help young people developessential skills, including personal skills, vocational skillsand other skills for employability. They raise awareness ofexpectations regarding standards, practices andbehaviours in different settings, for example, theworkplace, within social contexts or in further learningsituations. Programmes take good account of individualneeds, build confidence, encourage teamwork andpromote independence in learning.

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f Personal support and careers staff undertake substantialpreparatory work to ensure all staff and young peopleinvolved have clear expectations of the content and aimsof programmes, including those provided in out-of-schoolsettings. They regularly consult with young people aboutprogramme content. Young people are aware of thepathways for progression and what they will learn andachieve, so that they can make clear choices.

f Induction processes are relevant and appropriate to theneeds of young people, and prepare them well for theprogrammes they have chosen.

f Learning activities are integrated and contextualised andenable young people to achieve success. They help themgain awareness of the wider community and their ownimpact on other people. The sequencing is well plannedand teaching approaches and contexts are varied.

f School staff know what young people are doing whenthey engage in vocational learning in or out of school.They share relevant information about the young peoplethey are responsible for with their partners. They monitoryoung people’s attendance and progress towards theirgoals, and evaluate individual and group success. Theschool is aware of the current status, placement,achievement and progress of every learner on its roll.

f Staff establish positive and productive relationships withyoung people, based on mutual respect. Learningactivities promote a positive ethos and encourage openinteraction between staff and young people.

f Schools make good use of schemes and initiatives whichprovide formal recognition of young people’s skills andachievements to facilitate and ease their entry into workor training programmes.

f Schools, colleges and employers ensure that pupils who needit receive additional support to ensure success, for example,through careful tracking and monitoring, mentoring, andidentifying named individuals to support young people.

Vision and leadership

Dimension 3: Develops a common vision among youngpeople, parents and staff

Dimension 4: Fosters high quality leadership at all levels













SUCCESSFULLEARNERS



RESPONSIBLECITIZENS


ALL LEARNERS

Dimension 3

• The nature of the vision

• Creating the shared vision

• Sustaining the shared vision

Dimension 4

• Leading learning

• Building leadership at all levels

• Leading the school community

• Guiding change

‘We work with learners, parents and other partners todevelop and shape a common vision for our school andcommunity through reflection, debate and ongoingconsultation. Our vision is firmly based on outcomes forlearners and is in line with local and national priorities.The work of our school gains direction from our clearstatements of our vision, values and aims.’

QI 9.1 Vision, values and aims

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‘Leaders reinforce a culture where staff and pupils feelable and confident to take lead roles within and beyondthe classroom. Current and future leaders learn with andfrom others, formally and informally, promptingreflection and change. Such modelling and trainingpromotes the conditions through which the schoolsustains excellence.’


Relevant quality QI 9.1 Vision, values and aimsindicators QI 9.2 Leadership and direction

QI 9.3 Developing people andpartnerships

Effective support for transitions, whether between school andpart-time placements or to post-school destinations, needs tobe led and managed, in the same way as other key aspects ofthe school’s work. This means that the vision and direction ofschools and their partners relate explicitly to the needs ofyoung people at transition and to their preparation for theirfuture lives. The delivery of key processes which derive fromthis vision, for example, curriculum, learning and teaching,support for learners, improvement through self-evaluation andprofessional development, must also be responsive to theseneeds.

From vision to directionThe educational aims and objectives of Reid Kerr Collegerelated directly to the communities served by the college. Thecollege sought to ‘make a difference’ to the lives ofindividuals. The principal provided enthusiastic andinspirational leadership, aided by the Board of Managementand a dynamic senior management team. They had a clearvision of the role of the college in responding proactively tostakeholders’ needs and helping learners develop citizenshipand employability skills. The college had developed effectiveschool-college partnerships. Renfrewshire Council had alignedthe timetabling of senior pupils across all schools to facilitateattendance at college. Provision for local school pupils hadbeen developed across most subject areas in the college, withover 1200 pupils attending the college each week. Senior staffwith responsibility for school and community learners hadbeen very successful in ensuring that the college providedsuccessful progression routes for learners. The college hadenhanced the skills of staff teaching vocational programmesto secondary school pupils. Evaluation of the impact of thetraining had confirmed an increase in staff confidence andexpertise leading to an increase in effective learning by pupils.Staff morale had improved and learning and teachingapproaches and classroom practice were more effective.

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Hollybrook School, Glasgow, a school for secondary-agedpupils with additional support needs arising from learningdifficulties and autism spectrum disorder, focused ondeveloping young people’s employability skills through abroad range of approaches. Through excellent leadership anda very clear vision for young people, the school had improvedthe curriculum to meet learners’ needs and increased theirsuccess in national qualifications. Programmes for personaland social education, citizenship and enterprise were givenhigh priority. Friday afternoons were used to further developpersonal and social skills through a range of events andactivities. A wide range of awards was used to accreditachievement of pupils from S3 to S6, including ASDAN andSQA. Pupils benefited from well-organised work placementprogrammes such as the Prince’s Trust Xlerate programme,supported by local businesses and the wider businesscommunity. As part of the focus on personal responsibility,pupils chose their own tutorial groups as well as theirsubjects, at the end of S2. They led focus groups for schoolimprovement and were producing their own Standards andQuality report. Links with local colleges and the widercommunity enabled pupils to extend their skills and applythem in different contexts. Confidence and citizenship skillswere developed through residential trips, including aEuropean project on the environment supported throughComenius. Numeracy skills were developed in everyday

n

contexts, for example, visiting local supermarkets and workingwith a local bank on savings and accounts. Pupils followedTowards Independence units, certificated through ASDAN, aswell as courses at the local college. Half of S4 pupils hadachieved units in ICT at Intermediate 1 or 2. Transitionarrangements from school to college were very good. Almostall leavers had entered employment, education or training.

Issues to consider

f What is your school’s vision of its role insupporting all young people throughout theirschool career and through transition to post-schoolexperiences?

f How does your school actively promote parity ofesteem for all curricular programmes among staff,parents and young people?

f To what extent do all partners involved in planning,delivering and evaluating programmes for youngpeople work as a team, motivated by the samevision of what they want young people to achieve?

f How does the school actively involve young peoplein creating and sharing its vision?

Signposts to excellence

f The school, college or placement has a vision and valueswhich are broad and explicitly inclusive. School leadersdemonstrate a strong commitment to equality andfairness in promoting a culture of ambition andachievement.

f Leaders ensure that the vision for the curriculum isunderpinned by timetabling and planning arrangementswhich enable vocational experiences to be deliveredeffectively and with the best possible outcomes for youngpeople.

f Leaders actively promote the worth of a wide range ofcurricular programmes, including vocational programmes,within the school. They stress the importance of allprogrammes meeting the needs of individual youngpeople and developing their capacities and attitudes.

f Leaders explore with, and define clearly for all staff,parents and young people what the term ‘successfuloutcomes’ actually means in practice.

f Leaders take care to ensure that all staff involved in theplanning and delivery of programmes, especially at keytransition stages, are clearly aware of their aims andobjectives.

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Partnerships

Dimension 5: Works in partnerships with other agenciesand its community

Dimension 6: Works together with parents to improvelearning













SUCCESSFULLEARNERS



RESPONSIBLECITIZENS


ALL LEARNERS

Dimension 5

• The school in its community

• Working with partners to meet the needs of all children and young people

• Multi-agency approaches to improve learning

• Leadership and coordination

Dimension 6

• Developing parents’ support for their children’s learning

• Active involvement of parents in school activities

• Collaboration and representation

‘Partnership agreements with colleges includemonitoring of the progress of all pupils and promptintervention to ensure pupils stay on track when thingsdo not go according to plan.’


‘Some parents help the school promote effectivepartnerships with other parents and with employers. Forexample, they provide career/vocational role models foryoung people. Parents talk about their work, culture orlifestyle as part of the curriculum, and contribute tocareers guidance.’


Relevant quality QI 5.7 Partnership with learners andindicators parents

QI 8.1 Partnerships with the community,educational establishments,agencies and employers

‘Our links with other educational establishments,community and specialist agencies and employers haveenriched learning and improved learners’ achievements andtargeted support to individuals and their families. Staffwork well with others to ensure that those most vulnerableare well supported and their learning and welfare needs areaddressed throughout transitions. We provide effectivesupport through partnerships, where appropriate, withemployers, industry, community learning and development,Scotland’s colleges, voluntary groups, educationalpsychologists, health services and social workers. Staff workwith these partners to identify their distinctive contributionsto enriching experiences for all learners or targeting supportto groups and individuals. Staff participate actively ininitiatives led by other agencies.’

QI 8.1 Partnerships with the community, educationalestablishments, agencies and employers

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The agenda for schools in accepting significant responsibilityfor the progress and destinations of young people after theyleave school, is huge. They cannot do this alone. Schools thathave gone some way to achieving successful learning for allhave often taken a proactive approach to developingpartnership working with other agencies to help reducebarriers that are experienced by individual learners. A key areafor transforming practice is in ensuring smooth transitions foryoung people to sustained positive destinations andprogression in learning. Some local partnerships havesuccessfully brought services together in a coherent way tosupport young people at the transition stage from secondaryto post school and have made such support sustainable.Schools need to be aware of the range of services that can bebrought to bear and which need to be coordinated, again in aproactive way. As well as taking preventative action byensuring success for all, including the use of coordinatedsupport plans, individualised educational programmes andclose tracking of the progress of all pupils, secondary schoolscan help ensure that young people have access to services inrelation to careers advice and guidance, post-schoolpsychological support and college provision. The recognition ofemerging adulthood and fostering of mutual respect betweenschool staff and young people at the time of transition is vital.

Staff ensure that individuals and groups, including themost vulnerable, are well supported and that theirlearning needs, in particular, are addressed throughouttransitions.’


Careers Scotland offers targeted and tailored services forthose who need most support to enable them to makeeffective post-school transitions, including a follow-up servicebeyond school. All secondary and special schools in Scotlandare expected to have effective, meaningful and appropriate

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3 Lifelong Partners - A Strategy for Partnerships4 Preparing for Work, a report on the Skills for Work pilot programme

partnership with at least one college in delivering thecurriculum for S3 pupils and above3.

‘Collaboration and partnership between local authorities,schools, colleges and other providers are consideredessential for the delivery of Skills for Work courses.’4

Much of the support to young people at risk of missing outon post-school opportunities is provided by agencies andvoluntary organisations working in partnership with theschool. Specific programmes such as Get Ready for Work,Activate and Breakthrough provide enhanced support beyondstandard careers provision. Careers Scotland runs the Activateprogramme in about 120 schools. It is designed to provideextra support to young people in S4/S5 who are likely to havedifficulty in moving into a job, college or training place.Delivered in the school by a Careers Scotland adviser Activatefocuses on employability skills and enterprise activities, and aimsto improve self-esteem, confidence and communication skills.The programme includes ongoing mentoring and post-schoolfollow-up. Activate achieved an overall positive destinationrate of 89% for 1,818 project participants in 2006-2007.

Voluntary organisations run programmes which can play a keyrole in providing supported transitions for young people.They may have as much effect on changing young people’sattitudes to school attendance and learning, and on theiraspirations and confidence as on easing them into immediateemployment. They appear to be particularly effective withthose who are at risk of becoming disengaged from theeducation system, before they have already become so,another argument for early intervention. The timing of theseinterventions and of the liaison between partners necessary toensure appropriate support is available at the right time foryoung people at the point of transition is crucial. A mismatchcan mean vulnerable young people ‘slipping through the net’.

Supporting transitions through partnershipsIn the Borders School Plus project, a strong educationauthority, college strategic partnership linked all schools to thecollege through a common authority protocol. A clearstatement of values was shared within a schools-collegepartnership agreement. An Education for Work DevelopmentOfficer provided an effective conduit for education authority,school, college partnership working. The School Plus projectoperated in local communities from bases throughout theauthority. Pupils came to the college campuses for theirvocational classes but lecturers also taught some of thecourses through outreach at Peebles and Hawick High Schools.Lecturers attended school parents’ evenings to report onpupils’ progress, and college and school reports were issuedtogether. Classroom assistants played a key role in the SchoolPlus classes. Their views were taken during evaluation exercisesand they attended staff development sessions with lecturers.

Glasgow’s Enhanced Vocational and Inclusion programme(EVIP) offered full-time places to young people who are lookedafter or who have social, emotional and behavioural needs.EVIP provided access to a range of vocational options as well asaccess to core and life skills and literacy and numeracy support.EVIP was developed in partnership with Social Work, Educationand Building Services and several Glasgow colleges to enableyoung people to gain the skills to access jobs. A dedicatedvocational coach supported a specific group of young people,working in partnership with college lecturers and providingfeedback to schools, parents, carers and referrers.

Auchinleck Academy, East Ayrshire, had a range ofpartnerships to support young people at risk of not makingsuccessful transitions to employment, training or furthereducation. The main focus was on employability, setting goalsand the development of skills for work. The school worked inpartnership with the East Ayrshire Strategy for Youth project,Careers Scotland and Ayr and Kilmarnock Colleges to helpequip young people with life skills and possible future

pathways into employment. Together they delivered a rangeof activities and interventions through, for example, thePrince’s Trust XL group where school staff and community linkworkers helped young people to build self confidence andteamwork skills. Multi-agency assessment teams met regularlyto plan and review pupils’ progress. School staff also metregularly with their partner colleges to negotiate appropriatecourses and inserts that would meet the needs of their currentpupil groups. Young people could access Skills for Workcourses in a wide range of disciplines, including hospitality,health and social care and construction crafts. Places wereoffered to pupils following individual interview by college staff.Formal review meetings ensured that placements continued tomeet learners’ needs. A specialist careers adviser supportedyoung people to ensure that they benefited from the collegeexperience. All subject departments delivered enterpriseeducation in its broadest form and ensured that all pupilscould clearly see the links between the subject they arestudying and possible vocational outcomes.

‘The partnership began as the council implementedrecommendation 2 of the Determined to Succeed courseand the college responded by forming a Schools Teamboth to coordinate strategic development and to executeoperational matters. The Schools Team attends theCouncil Vocational Steering Group, advises on thesuitability of courses and contributes good advice on theinterviewing of learners, selection, and ongoing mattersof course adjustment on a yearly basis. The councilemploys a vocational co-ordinator and a number ofsupport assistants who work with the college onoperational matters relating to discipline, learnersupport, transport, provision of protective clothing andschool liaison. This works very well. A number of thecourses, particularly in the construction crafts, are runjointly with the college and the Council Training Service.’

Senior local authority officer

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In Glasgow’s Bridges to Work project, a dedicated careersadviser, funded by the City Council, worked with 24 targetedpupils each year, four from each of six schools for pupils withmoderate learning difficulties in Glasgow. The project was foryoung people in their final year and gave support in enteringthe job market. They were prepared through:

f phone calls or visits to employers which involved findingout about jobs, writing reports and presenting them toclassmates, resulting in a certificate;

f individual interviews with employers followed by matchedwork experience placements, with the careers adviserkeeping in regular contact with young people andemployers, such experience often leading to a job offer;

f contact and support maintained for up to a year afterleaving school; and

f short further education courses negotiated to improvepreparedness, for example, car valeting.

Occupational destinations of these young people includedjobs in supermarkets, gardening, offices, catering, departmentstores, sport and leisure.

‘… by being partnered with an organisation in the realworld, a business or a further education college college,pupils can enter into the workplace and the skills theylearn are the kind of skills they will be able to use in theworld of work.’

Headteacher of an independent secondary school

The Tullochan Trust, based in West Dunbartonshire, worked inpartnership with all the secondary schools in WestDunbartonshire, Clydebank College, social work services, thepolice, and community groups. Staff supported eight majorprojects which were designed to tackle personal development,healthy living and employability, through early intervention.The projects included sport, arts and craft, music and drama,

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outdoor education, IT and literacy. The first project Hop, Skipand Jump was aimed at 8 - 12 year olds and the supportcontinued with different projects until participants left school,or were in further education, employment or training. TheTrust was very successful in supporting young people to firstdecide on personal goals and then to meet them. The keyfactors were the long-term support offered to young people,the very strong partnership working with schools and theother key partners, and the early intervention approach. Thishad resulted in the many pupils involved in the Trustdemonstrating successful outcomes in relation to the fourcapacities of Curriculum for Excellence.

Issues to consider

f How is your school working with its key partners topromote progression to further learning andemployment?

f How do you ensure that the contributions yourschool and its partners make to young people’slearning complement each other? In what ways dothese contributions enhance their learningexperiences and enable them to achieve success?

f How good an understanding do school leaders andstaff have of the processes, programmes and ethoswithin colleges, and vice versa?

f How are parents, carers and residential staffengaged in the planning and implementation oftransition arrangements? Do key staff from therespective agencies attend and participate in allmeetings about transition arrangements?

f Are review meetings for young people withadditional support needs held at an appropriatetime, for example, when colleges and otherpartner agencies are able to confirm that placeswill actually be available?


f School staff identify aspects of their work with youngpeople which would benefit from joint working with otheragencies. They are proactive in developing and sustainingthese partnerships.

f School staff engage effectively with staff in otherorganisations to identify approaches which enhanceyoung people’s learning experiences and increase theirawareness of opportunities for progression to work orfurther learning.

f All staff involved in delivering pre-vocational programmes– school staff and staff from partner organisations – areinvolved in planning, reviewing and improving theseprogrammes. Parents and young people are consulted andtheir views taken into account.

f School staff and their external partners are aware of theaims of programmes, what success looks like, and theprocesses and indicators used to evaluate successfuldelivery and share this with parents and young people

f School staff work closely with staff in other agenciesincluding Careers Scotland, Scotland’s colleges,post-school psychological services, employers, localenterprise companies, community learning anddevelopment services and voluntary sector organisationsto plan how the identified needs of young people wouldbe best met. They promote and ease access to furtherlearning and work opportunities, taking appropriateaccount of the Additional Support for Learning Act.

f Schools incorporate into their programmes work-basedand community-based activities which promote youngpeople’s involvement in the community and develop theirsense of social responsibility and their social skills.

f All staff involved in multi-agency approaches are clearabout where overall responsibility and accountability lies.Young people and their parents know whom they canapproach for support and guidance.

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People

Dimension 7: Reflects on its own work and thrives onchallenge

Dimension 8: Values and empowers staff and youngpeople













SUCCESSFULLEARNERS



RESPONSIBLECITIZENS


ALL LEARNERS

Dimension 7

• Continuing and critical enquiry

• Welcoming challenges

• A collective commitment to improvement

• Continuous professional development

• Being data rich

Dimension 8

• Having their capabilities extended

• Being empowered to influence the future development and direction of the school

• Giving pupils a voice and enabling them to take responsibility

• Being encouraged through a vibrant and progressive school culture and climate

‘Young people are valued as active partners in theirlearning. Staff encourage them to contribute todeveloping their own learning experiences. Staffrecognise their personal and professional responsibilityfor the learning of all young people, including those withadditional support needs. Learners recognise and valuethe role of staff as partners in their learning.’


Relevant quality QI 5.9 Improvement throughindicators self-evaluation

QI 6.2 Participation in policy andplanning

QI 6.3 Planning for improvement

‘Our commitment to joint planning with associatedschools, partner organisations and services is evident inthe use of integrated working to achieve improvementobjectives. Our partners are fully involved in planning toensure that learners are safe, healthy and well cared for;that they achieve to their fullest potential across a rangeof skills; and that they are confident and responsiblecitizens who make active contributions to theircommunities.’

QI 6.3 Planning for improvement

The Journey to Excellence focuses on people. It is very largelythrough relationships with others – their peers as well as theirteachers – that young people learn. Empowering youngpeople in their learning leads to greater independence and animproved capacity for taking on challenges. Young peoplewho are used to having their views considered, and who arepractised in finding their way through difficulties, are morelikely to be resilient and less likely to be discouraged byproblems and stresses. These qualities are particularlyimportant when young people are moving on from onesetting to another. Staff too need to be empowered andchallenged, to reflect on the successes or otherwise of thelearning and support they have planned for young people.

Empowering young peopleAuchinleck Academy promoted an open and participativelearning style. Young people were involved in makingdecisions and expectations of all learners were high. Theschool allocated group mentors to all learners and individualmentors to learners with additional support needs, includingthose who were looked after and accommodated. Anindividual member of staff supported the learning of thesechildren in English and mathematics through guiding andmonitoring their use of personal laptops and software.Personal education plans were shared with pupils andreviewed regularly.

In order to develop young people’s leadership skills, during aSkills for Work lesson in a Sport and Recreation Intermediate 1course the teacher explained to a group of learners that eachlearner would lead an activity in the swimming pool. They hadto plan the activity, state its aims and objectives and explainand instruct the group on how the activity was to be carriedout. Peer assessment of each leader’s performance at the endof the lesson provided effective feedback. This approach was

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successful in enabling learners to take responsibility for theirlearning and use feedback from peers to plan forimprovements in their future activities.

The Heads Up programme within Our Lady and St Patrick’sHigh School in Dunbarton was aimed at S2 and involvedpupils who were identified by the pastoral team in school andthen selected by the Tullochan Trust. The pupils worked ingroups supported by project workers. Young people weregiven the opportunity to follow taster courses at college,again supported by the youth workers. They were verypositive about their involvement with the Trust. If pupilssuccessfully completed a project then they could go on toanother Trust project. Participation in any of the projects wasdependent on pupils meeting individual targets in attendanceand behaviour. Outward Bound courses as well as the Duke ofEdinburgh Award scheme were delivered in the Trust Clubswhich offered evening sessions to young people until theymoved on to further education or employment. Pupils wereconfident and focused on their learning goals. Staffhighlighted the effect on pupils who had been isolated in S1and unable to communicate. They now managed tocontribute to discussions and readily give their opinions.

‘We get a report from the college and this is put with ourschool report. The youth worker at the Trust Club isalways asking how we are getting on and if we arehaving a problem he will encourage us to solve itourselves.’

S5 pupil

In the Vale of Leven Academy in Alexandria pupils spokehighly of the Heads Up project,Way through the Wilderness(a leadership course lasting 29 days), and the Trust Club. Allwere encouraged to have career goals. Staff spoke positivelyabout pupils’ increased confidence as the project progressed.

Staff personnel highlighted the ongoing problem withterritorialism and sectarianism within the area. They felt thatbecause the Trust projects involved pupils from othersecondary schools, problems were minimised and pupils’behaviour targets were being met.

‘Everything we do at the Trust Club is interesting becausewe get to choose what we are doing. Way through theWilderness was just great. I learned things about myselfand now I want to be a youth leader myself.’

S5 pupil

Reflecting on the quality of what is deliveredIn Fife there were regular opportunities for liaison betweenschools and colleges. A strategic group involved collegeprincipals, headteachers, careers and a planning andimplementation group involving other relevant staff focusedon monitoring transition arrangements, chaired by SocialWork Services. Young people were also involved in carryingout evaluations, with Careers Scotland undertaking to feedback. Overall, school staff reported that college experienceshad had a positive impact on young people, particularly inpromoting positive behaviour. Young people enjoyed thevocational courses and valued the ‘adult environment’ withinthe college setting.

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In Dumfries and Galloway, the Schools Link Partnershipconsisted of the college principal, headteachers orrepresentatives from each secondary school and a Determinedto Succeed officer. The focus of this group was to oversee andmonitor projects which involved working relationshipsbetween schools and colleges. It ensured staff involved withyoung people had the appropriate knowledge and skillsparticularly when dealing with challenging young people.

Issues to consider

f Does your school give a clear commitment toyoung people about the routes to education,employment and training which are on offer andthe support that they can expect?

f How do you ensure that young people’s views andpreferences are at the forefront of planning fortheir future pathways?

f What account do school leaders take of the skillsand attributes of staff when planning the deliveryof programmes?

f How does your school use feedback from youngpeople and other key stakeholders to evaluateprogrammes and identify areas for development?

f How does your school and its key partners identifythe development and support needs of staff,provide appropriate training (including jointtraining) and share good practice among all thoseinvolved in delivering programmes?

f How does your school use information onpost-school outcomes for young people,particularly beyond their immediate destinations,to develop provision and improve integratedworking?


f All young people are given opportunities to develop theirleadership skills and to contribute effectively within theirschool and community.

f Staff see the potential in pre-vocational andcommunity-based programmes for young people to takeon real responsibilities for planning and managingactivities and projects. They encourage empowerment andresponsibility, and enable young people to take risks in amanaged and safe environment.

f Schools use feedback from young people and other keystakeholders systematically and effectively to evaluateprogrammes, identify areas for development and plan forimprovement. Staff ensure young people’s views are takenon board and outcomes shared with them.

f School staff work well in teams and in partnership withstaff from other organisations in the planning, deliveryand review of programmes.

f School staff and their partners from other organisations,develop and implement approaches for monitoring andreporting on the extent to which programmes aresuccessful in engaging young people and on theirprogress and achievements.

f Schools identify the development and support needs ofstaff involved in the planning, delivery and review ofprogrammes and provide appropriate training and supportas required. This includes training for staff working withyoung people with additional support needs, for example,in helping young people with autism spectrum disordersmake successful transitions.

f Schools identify and share innovation, good practice andsuccess internally and with key partners.

f Leaders take good account of the skills of individualmembers of staff, particularly in developing positiverelationships with young people, when planning thedelivery of programmes.

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Ethos and culture

Dimension 9: Promotes well-being and respect

Dimension 10: Develops a culture of ambition andachievement













SUCCESSFULLEARNERS



RESPONSIBLECITIZENS


ALL LEARNERS

Dimension 9

• Promoting positive relationships within a learning, caring and inclusive school community

• Supporting children and young people

• Providing the whole school community with positive experiences that promote and

protect their health

• Promoting positive health attitudes and behaviours

Dimension 10

• Aiming high

• Enabling all children and young people to achieve

• Encouraging enterprising attitudes and behaviour

‘Through experiencing regular success, young peoplebecome confident individuals developing self-respect andphysical, mental, spiritual and emotional well-being. Theyhold well-grounded and secure beliefs and values and canclearly express their ambitions for the future. They haveplanned opportunities and experiences to developdecision-making skills based on sound and valid evidence.’


‘All pupils engage in enterprise education that extends theirconfidence as learners and contributors to society. Thevocational and enterprise curriculum meets the needs of alllearners and the community. It is progressive andcontinuous, motivates learners, promotes a sense ofachievement and adds relevance to learning. Creativity,experimentation and imagination are nurtured throughopen-ended learning experiences.’


Relevant quality QI 5.5 Expectations and promotingindicators achievement

QI 5.6 Equality and fairnessQI 5.8 Care, welfare and development

‘Learners are proactive in developing ideas about theirfuture and have acquired the skills and knowledge toplan their careers effectively and gain experience of theworld of work. Our vocational guidance is founded onappropriate consultation and accurate, relevant andup-to-date information and advice.’

QI 5.8 Care, welfare and development

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It is quite common for young people, when asked about whathas kept them in school or has made a difference to their lives,to identify the contribution made by a significant adult. Thatadult is often a teacher, a member of the support staff or ayouth worker. What matters is that that person demonstratesthat they care, that they have time to listen and that theybelieve that the young person can progress and achieve. Theprojects and approaches outlined below recognise theimportance of trusting but robust relationships between youngpeople and the adults who work with them. Such relationshipsare not sentimental. Case studies will often point to the highexpectations set in terms of attendance, punctuality andconscientiousness. A similar belief in the importance ofrelationships in supporting and motivating young people liesbehind the development of the Small Schools Movement in theUSA, and mentoring schemes in Scotland. What characterisessuch relationships is the unconditional positive regard in whichyoung people are held by the staff who support them.

Young people who are vulnerable, for example, looked afterchildren, may find it particularly difficult to achieve ineducational terms if their other needs are not met. Suchholistic support may include:

f additional educational support;

f designated teachers with clear roles in providing enhancedassistance;

f flexible individualised support before and for some timeafter transitions;

f a focus on their physical, mental and emotional healthand well-being;

f stability and continuity within education and care settings;and

f clear practical advice about how to look after themselvesin the future.

Young people who are hard to engage may need theirsupporters to be particularly persistent, for example, inproviding further chances when things go wrong.

GIRFEC stresses the importance of young people and theirfamilies:

f believing their views are being heard;

f knowing about the help available to them;

f feeling that their needs are being addressed; and

f experiencing co-ordinated and unified approaches whenseveral professionals are involved in supporting them.

Supporting vulnerable young people in making thetransition to adulthoodMayfield and Easthouses Youth 2000 Project, acommunity-based voluntary youthwork organisation in anarea of multiple deprivation, delivered a range of services toyoung people seven days a week. Young people’s needs wereused to inform strategic development of services and innovativeapproaches to engaging hard-to-reach, vulnerable and excludedyoung people. A range of services helped young people to beaspirational and continue in education and training, includingdrop-ins, educational group work, street work, advocacy andgender-specific provision. In addition, the organisation workedin partnership with local high schools and intregration teams ina video-referral project looking to re-engage young people inlearning, education and employment.

Alva Academy, Clackmannanshire, had developed a climate ofpositive intervention through group work, individual supportand access to college programmes. School leaders werestrongly committed to meeting the needs of all young peopleand promoted a whole-school approach involving key staff,and a school-based youth worker. Young people reported thatthey felt ‘consulted and listened to’. Looked after youngpeople clearly stated that if it had not been for the support ofthe youth worker within the school they would have optedout of the system. Young people with social and emotionaldifficulties were making very good progress in the transitionto college, due to the very gradual build up of activities which

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focused on increasing their confidence and self esteem. Stafffully involved them in putting together an effectiveprogramme of tasks and activities which focused onencouraging positive attitudes throughout the transitionprocess. Activities included visits to the college when it wasless busy, support in the college canteen and working everyweek on the same computer. This gradual transition washelping the young people to think very positively aboutcollege and set realistic goals for the future.

Two young people with additional support needs spoke verypositively about school and college.

‘School is pretty fine and college is great. Teachers helpme to learn and help me speak out more. College helpsme with the computer and my enterprise.’

‘This is a great school. We do lots of activities that helpus. I take the money and serve in our school café on aFriday. We make super snacks like toasties. At college wetalk to the teachers using their first names. They help mewith my learning and give me lots of support.’

Both young people felt fully supported in school and atcollege. They both had a wide range of SQA units at Accesslevels 2 and 3 and were working well on ASDAN life skills andemployability awards. School staff reported that they wereworking very well at college, gradually increasing their timethere with the aim of taking up a full-time placement whenthey left school.

Fairbridge in Scotland worked with young people inEdinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee. Their services weretargeted at young people between 13 and 25 who werefacing multiple barriers to engagement with education,training and employment and who would, in the main, havedisengaged from learning in their early years. Fairbridge’sActive Steps programme was specifically developed for youngpeople between the ages of 13 and 16 who were at risk ofdisengagement from education and/or unlikely to make

successful transitions to post-school opportunities. Theprogramme provided opportunities for young people todevelop core personal and social skills, tackle issues relating toself esteem and resilience and focus on addressing risk-takingand inappropriate behaviours. The young people referred tothe programme had typically been involved in truancy, wereexperiencing emotional or behavioural difficulties, or were atrisk of offending or educational exclusion. The most commonbarrier to young people’s progression in schools was poorbehaviour and poor relationships with peers. Over a third ofyoung people involved with the programme who were notattending full-time education had been reintegrated intomainstream education.

Raising aspirationsWest Lothian’s Sure Start project, Young mums @ school, hadsupported the inclusion of pregnant vulnerable young peoplein school through enabling them to be ambitious, and toprepare for and chart a pathway into post-school education.A specialist worker provided home-based support and fundedchildminders allowed young parents to attend lessons and sitexaminations.

Barnardo’s Youthbuild Paisley project equipped disadvantagedyoung people with the skills, experience and qualifications tomake the transition to sustainable employment. It targetedthe construction industry, which offered considerableopportunities for employment, and addressed issues at theroot of social exclusion such as disadvantage and the impactof poverty. It did this by responding flexibly to individuals andbringing together partner agencies from all sectors, includingprivate industry. Support workers from Barnardo’s providedproactive support to young people to access and sustainemployment. They responded flexibly to individual needs,working in partnership with employers and other agencies.Workers supported young people through three months oftraining and six months of employment. Over 80% of youngpeople they worked with were able to retain a full-time job at

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the end of the nine months. Young people found theprospect of doing a ‘real job’ paying a reasonable salary verymotivating.

The Barnardo’s Cluaran multidisciplinary team worked inpartnership with young people, families and education andsocial work services. It offered a flexible range ofcommunity-based support to families and young people atrisk. Its work was based on the core principles that youngpeople and families were central to the service; that everyonehad the potential for growth and change; and that workingtogether was the only way to achieve effective change. TheCluaran service had helped young people at risk progressfrom poor attendance to attending school regularly andsecuring Modern Apprenticeships.

Young people in East Ayrshire who were looked after orlooked after and accommodated were given access toweb-based learning materials and mentoring and supportsystems in schools. This prepared them for post-schooleducation and training, and helped them develop skills inindependent working. Education and social work colleaguesworked closely to ensure that young people accommodated inchildren’s homes could take advantage of this service toprepare for post-school training or employment.

The S4 Transitions Group at Braes High School, Falkirk, wasmade up of 12 disaffected pupils identified by pastoral staff.Criteria for involvement were low attendance, high exclusionsand multiple referrals. The aim was to achieve academic orvocational qualifications, develop employability skills andachieve acceptable references. The course was run jointly withthe local Employment Training Unit (ETU) who selected youngpeople through competitive interview. The programmeinvolved two days in school as a block, and three days in theETU, from August to May. In school, learners studied English,mathematics, physical education, drama, information and

communications technology and personal and socialeducation. In addition to Standard Grade or Access awards,they achieved components of PC Passport, ASDAN (World ofWork), and the John Muir award (health and safety) andcould undertake the Construction Industry Training Board test.They also carried out a school project – in the current yearredesigning, rebuilding and planting the quadrangle. Pupilswere encouraged to take up placements which did not reflecttraditional gender roles and which could lead to ModernApprenticeships and/or continued employment. Wideractivities included canoeing and mountain climbing.Expectations and success criteria were clearly defined.Participants had to follow a strict behaviour code and achieveregular attendance. They were expected to wear work dressand look after their tools. Parents were kept fully involved andtheir views were very positive. Over the last three years, thesuccess rate had increased. Attendance had improved, andexclusions and referrals had fallen considerably. In 2006-2007all participants achieved a training place or job. The courseculminated in a graduation ceremony at the town hall.

One teacher can make a difference!‘She respects you, she listens. If it wasn’t for her Iwouldn’t be in my apprenticeship. Every school shouldhave a teacher like her.’

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One pupil talked about his experiences when movinginto S4 at Braes High School‘I hated school. I hated being told to get on with it, getwriting. I would just cause trouble to get excluded.Teachers expected me to cause trouble so were alwayson my case. I felt I was always being picked on. Mind yousome of it was my doing. When I moved to S4 I wasgiven the chance to do an ASDAN award. I was two daysat school, two days on work placement and one day atcollege. The teacher was great. She talked through thingsand helped me work in a team. She made me lookahead, to have goals. She asked my opinion and got toknow me, not just as a pupil. You can tell by someone’sbody language if they are really interested. The workwas practical and interesting. There are some teachers inthe school that make things interesting. She also told youif you were good and phoned home to tell my mum.I enjoyed my work placement and college. I now have anapprenticeship and it’s all thanks to her. Every schoolshould have a teacher like her. I’ve left school now butget invited back to speak to others. I can see them beinglike me.’

What makes it work? ‘More encouragement, morepractical work but most of all, respect.’

At Abercorn School, Glasgow, a school for secondary pupilswith additional support needs, young people were developinga broad range of employability skills. An increasing numberexperienced success across a wide range of curricularexperiences. Young people were very well prepared for theirpost-school lives. The school had extended certificationthrough a wide range of awards, including SQA at all levelsfrom Access to Advanced Higher, and through ASDAN andthe Caledonian Award. Pupils experienced very successfulcollege placements, and were very well supported by theschool through transition. The excellent personal, social andhealth education programme enabled learners from S3 to S6

to gain certification, including those with more complexneeds, and prepared them well for the world of work throughpractical activities. Learners undertook vocational andpre-vocational courses. Work experience placements werevery well organised and local employers conducted mockinterviews. The careers adviser provided learners with verygood support on an individual basis. Learners participated in awide range of sporting, social and cultural experiences whichdeveloped their personal and social skills. Additional literacyprogrammes were delivered effectively by volunteer tutors.Pupils received tutorial support for numeracy and learnedabout financial management through running the schoolbank. At the weekly Transitional Club, pupils in their finalyears had the opportunity to meet with pupils who hadrecently left school. Social events included outings andsporting, music and art activities while at the same time theclub gave young people the opportunity to find out aboutemployment, colleges and training. School staff were availableto help with application forms, contact social work and otherservices and to provide support. For those S4 pupils who werenot yet ready for work experience and would require a lot ofsupport to access employment the school introduced a WorkAwareness week. Pupils visited a range of employers, collegesand support agencies and took part in workshops withinschool, including talks by former pupils.

‘The Skills for Work course has taught me how toapproach people. I know the importance of having agood attitude towards your job – about being on time,being reliable, about being ready, looking smart, wearingyour uniform and acting happy – even if you’re notreally! It’s also made me realise I need to be moreresponsible for my own actions. I can’t always just relyon my family. It’s made me realise I need to beindependent.’

S3 Hairdressing Skills for Work learner

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nIssues to consider

f What steps does your school take to ensure thatpupils enter their future work and/or trainingsettings with the social skills and confidence tomake successful transitions?

f How does your school ensure that the additionalsupport needs of young people are planned forwell in advance of transition and that they areaware of these plans and are consulted andinvolved?

f How do you communicate with colleagues incolleges and training placements about thecontinuing support and access needs of youngpeople for whom you are currently responsible?What information do you share with them andhow?

f What use does your school make of schemes andactivities which provide formal recognition ofyoung people’s skills and achievements and easetheir entry to work or college programmes?

f How does your school work with its partners toplan for extended transition for vulnerable youngpeople, including looked after children, as part of astaged intervention process, starting, for example,by S3?

f If placements are not successful or if young peoplereturn to school having decided that they are notyet ready for college or employment, howsuccessful is your school at providing them withworthwhile learning opportunities which lead tosuccessful destinations?


f Appropriate and proactive arrangements are in place forearly identification of the learning, care and vocationalneeds of young people. Existing information is usedeffectively to plan any future support necessary withinschool or in out-of-school settings. Young people withidentified needs receive additional support which enablesthem to succeed.

f The school makes arrangements for attendance andtransport which ease access to vocational and collegeprovision for all young people who need it.

f Vocational advice is accurate, relevant and up to date. Itenables young people to make informed choices aboutthe courses and programmes they wish to follow withinschool and about their direction after leaving school. Itencourages young people to aim high and be aspirational.It takes into account the fact that they may not havedemonstrated all their talents and abilities at school orreached their potential, and may be highly successful inother contexts and with increasing maturity. Advice doesnot close doors and pathways do not lead to dead ends.

f Young people are enabled to be proactive in developingtheir ideas about what they want to do in the future. Theyhave acquired the skills and knowledge which enablethem to plan their careers effectively and gain experienceof the world of work. They are encouraged to makepositive choices about work-based and community-basedactivities. Such choices are not made on their behalfbecause they are disaffected or exhibit challengingbehaviour.

f Before they complete their vocational programmes, youngpeople receive guidance about further options. They havefrequent and regular contact with pastoral and/or supportstaff. This guidance prepares them well for progression tofurther learning and/or employment.

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f Staff help young people to re-engage in learning by beingpro-active and responsive, particularly when youngpeople’s previous experience of learning has beennegative.

f Staff recognise and positively reinforce individual andgroup achievement and make good use of school andpartnership events to celebrate success.

f Pastoral and other staff aim to encourage young people todevelop resilience and to build on their strengths. Theyrecognise their social and emotional, as well as theirlearning, needs and strive to address these, working withother professionals as appropriate.

f Staff are particularly mindful of the needs of looked afterchildren and other vulnerable groups. They are responsiveto the fact that some young people may not have thesame levels of family support as others, and they do theirbest to support them, raise their aspirations and helpthem to succeed.

f Staff help those young people who find new contextsstressful and/or who arouse negative reactions in othersthrough inappropriate social behaviour, to recognise thesecharacteristics and adjust their conduct and attitudes tothose better suited to an adult working environment.

f Disability is not seen as a barrier for young people at thetime of transition.

f Effective systems are in place to ensure early identificationof pupils who are beginning to show signs of struggling -for example, poor behaviour, absence or fallingattainment levels - and intervene promptly.

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APPENDICES

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Key publications and the

national contextCount us in explored emerging principles and practices ininclusive education in Scotland. It suggested that services forchildren should have high expectations and an ethos ofachievement and that such achievement should be broadlybased. Count us in also focused on removing barriers tolearning, particularly any that prevented individuals or groupsfrom thriving in schools, and on developing a positiveappreciation of diversity. This diversity includes the variedeconomic and social backgrounds of young people and alsotheir varied learning needs and preferred learning styles.

More Choices More Chances sets out a strategy for tacklingthe issue of young people who do not manage to sustaintheir engagement in education, employment or training afterthey leave school. Successfully tackling this issue depends onus transforming some of our practices in schools in apreventative way, for example through curriculum flexibility,meeting the learning needs of all pupils, ensuring positiverelationships between school staff and young people at thetime of transition and developing greater personalisation oflearning pathways through the secondary school stages andtransition to post-school.

The Code of Practice for the Additional Support for LearningAct, 2004, explains the duties placed on local authorities tohelp pupils with additional support needs make the transitionfrom school to post-school life successfully. These dutiesinclude seeking and taking account of information fromappropriate agencies (i.e. any other local authority, any NHSBoard, Careers Scotland, any FE college or any Institute ofHigher Education), seeking and taking account of the views ofthe pupil, and passing on information to the appropriateagencies, but only with the approval of the parent, in the caseof a child under 16, or the young person himself/herself.

The Scottish Government noted in their document Skills forScotland: A Skills Strategy for a Competitive Scotland theneed for us to:

f ensure that people receive a basic grounding beforeentering the labour market;

f create the necessary frameworks for education andqualifications; and

f play a role in addressing market failures by providingsupport or co-ordination in seeking solutions.

The Skills Strategy identifies overlapping clusters of skills:

f personal and learning skills

f literacy and numeracy

f the five core skills of communication, numeracy, problemsolving, information technology and working with others

f employability skills which prepare people for employmentrather than for a specific occupation

f essential skills that include all those above

f vocational skills that are specific to a particular occupationor sector.

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Previous HMIE support documents on transitions includeEnsuring Effective Transitions. That document notes that:

‘An effective transition should guarantee continuity andprogression in children’s learning. School staff, parents,all professionals and support agencies need to worktogether to ensure this. … In recent years, educationalestablishments have improved the transfer procedures toenhance the transition process and allow individualpupils to feel valued and well prepared for the next stageof their education.’

While this is the case for transitions between schools and atdifferent stages, a considerable gap in the service we providefor pupils is at the transition stage between secondary schooland post-school. Some of the advice in Ensuring EffectiveTransitions can usefully be applied to the transition process topost-school.

In Moving on from school to college HMIE outlined a series ofprinciples that apply to young people with additional supportneeds at the point of transition from school to college. Theprinciples included: having the highest expectations of allyoung people; involving them in decisions about their ownfuture; developing effective partnership working within anoverall strategy for inclusion; respecting the adult status ofthose concerned; and sustaining arrangements andrecognising the need for continuing collaborative support.These same principles apply more generally.

The Missing out report also listed points for action that needto be tackled to move things forward. These included bettermeasures of achievement and better use of these measures,for example to benchmark progress of particular groups ofindividuals who may be at risk of missing out on educationalopportunities and better use of information about individualsat points of transition. It demonstrated the need for earlyidentification and prompt intervention for individuals as soon

as things start to go wrong, a principle that applies equally atthe post-school stage. It stressed the success that can beachieved through inter-agency support for individuals. And itdescribed the strengths in adopting flexible practices inmeeting individual's needs including practices in deliveringeducation and vocational training.

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) seeks to promoteaction where necessary to improve a child or young person’swell-being. Where action involves multi-agency activity, thereshould be one integrated plan and the child and family shouldif at all possible be involved in its development andimplementation.

The dimensions of well-being are defined in operational termsas seeking to achieve the four capacities (successful learners,effective contributors, responsible citizens, confidentindividuals) underpinned by the seven indicators of well-being(safe, nurtured, healthy, active, achieving, respected,responsible, included). Action, integrated where necessary,should focus on improving outcomes for the child or youngperson in relation to the indicators.

Central elements of GIRFEC run through a range of policiesincluding Curriculum for Excellence and More Choices, MoreChances. GIRFEC relies on effective co-operation betweenuniversal services (health and education) and other servicesrelevant to a child or young person’s well-being.

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Sources of SupportCount us in, HMIE, 2002

Moving On from School to College, HMIE, 2002

How good is our school? School-college Partnership, HMIE2005

Supporting children’s learning: Code of Practice for theAdditional Support for Learning Act, 2004, Scottish Executive,2005

Lifelong Partners – A Strategy for partnerships, ScottishExecutive, 2005

Citizenship in Scotland’s Colleges, HMIE, 2006

Student Representation in Scottish Further EducationColleges, HMIE, 2006

Overcoming Barriers: Enabling Learners, HMIE, 2006

More Choices More Chances, Scottish Executive, 2006

Improving Scottish Education, HMIE, 2006

Ensuring Effective Transitions, HMIE 2006

Missing Out, HMIE, 2006

The Journey to Excellence Part 1, Aiming for Excellence, HMIE,2006The Journey to Excellence Part 2, Exploring Excellence, HMIE,2006The Journey to Excellence Part 3, How good is our school,HMIE, 2007The Journey to Excellence Part 3, The Child at the Centre,HMIE, 2007The Journey to Excellence Part 4, Planning for Excellence,HMIE, 2007The Journey to Excellence Part 5, Journeys to Excellence,HMIE, 2007 (www.journeytoexcellence.org.uk)

Report on the implementation of the Education (AdditionalSupport for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, HMIE 2007

Preparing for Work, a report on the Skills for Work pilotprogramme, HMIE 2007

Moving Forward: a Strategy for Improving Young People’sChances through Youth Work, Scottish Executive, 2007

Getting it right for every child: Guidance on the Child’s orYoung Person’s Plan, Scottish Executive 2007

Skills for Scotland: A Skills Strategy for a CompetitiveScotland, Scottish Government 2007

Count us in: Improving the education of our looked afterchildren, HMIE, to be published June 2008

Improving the odds, HMIE, to be published June 2008

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AcknowledgementsHM inspectors of Education would like to thank the followingeducation authorities, schools, colleges and organisations fortheir cooperation.

SchoolsAbercorn School, GlasgowAlva Academy, ClackmannanshireAuchinleck Academy, East AyrshireBerwickshire High School, Scottish BordersBraes High School, FalkirkCardinal Newman School, North LanarkshireHawick High School, Scottish BordersHollybrook School, GlasgowSmithycroft High School, GlasgowOur Lady and St Patrick’s High School, West DunbartonshireVale of Leven Academy, West DunbartonshireWillowbank School, North LanarkshirePortland High School, North Lanarkshire

CollegesMotherwell CollegeScottish Borders CollegeReid Kerr CollegeDumfries and Galloway College

Education authoritiesEast Ayrshire CouncilFife CouncilBorders CouncilScottish Borders CouncilSouth Lanarkshire CouncilNorth Lanarkshire Council

Specific projects and agenciesBarnado’s Cluaran multidisciplinary teamBarnado’s Youth build projectCareers ScotlandFairbridgeMayfield and Easthouses Youth 2000 projectSure Start project, West LothianThe Three Towns Motor Project, North AyrshireThe Tullochan Trust 66/67

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