Forth Valley and West Lothian Improvement Collaborative

Stirling Council Agenda Item No.13

Date of Children and Young People Meeting: 27 September 2018 Committee Not Exempt Forth Valley and West Lothian Improvement Collaborative

Purpose & Summary

This report provides an update for the Children and Young People Committee on the work of the Improvement Collaborative involving Falkirk, Clackmannanshire, Stirling and West Lothian Councils.

Recommendations

Committee is asked to: 1. note the current involvement of Stirling Council in the Forth Valley and West Lothian Improvement Collaborative (FVWLIC) and agree that the Chief Education Officer should provide further reports to the Children and Young People Committee which will detail: 1.1 feedback received from Education Scotland on the 2018-2019 Improvement Plan; 1.2 the allocation of support to be received from Education Scotland; 1.3 the level of financial support the FVWLIC will receive from the Scottish Government; and 1.4 the implications of additional staffing resources required, as the pace of demands of the FVWLIC increase.

Resource Implications

All work undertaken to date has been met from within the existing resources of the four participating Councils. FVWLIC will receive a share of the £10m to be allocated from the Scottish Government. There is no impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Legal & Risk Implications and Mitigation

There are no risks associated with the proposal.

1. Background

1.1. At its meeting of 19 October 2017, Stirling Council’s Education Committee discussed Stirling Council’s participation in an Improvement Collaborative for Education. It was confirmed that this work would be led by the Director of Children’s Services in Falkirk Council, as the Regional Lead Officer. The Regional Lead Officer attended the Education Committee on 19 October 2017. 1.2. Falkirk Council’s Director of Children’s Services’ six month secondment to the role of Regional Lead Officer ended on 13 May 2018. Although the Director of Children’s Services has reverted to his substantive role, he will continue to act as the lead officer and will engage with colleagues from Education Scotland and the Scottish Government on all matters associated with the FVWLIC. 1.3. In order to support the Lead Officer, the four Chief Executives agreed to the secondment of an Improvement Collaborative Development Officer. 1.4. Officers from across the four participating Councils have continued to work together over recent months to develop approaches and strategies to support schools and nurseries. More recently, officers have been working collaboratively to develop the Improvement Collaborative Improvement Plan for academic session 2018/2019. Officers from Stirling Council are involved in all of the work streams and support these developments within existing resources and roles.

2. Considerations

2.1. Improvement Collaborate Developments (2017-2018) A plan for academic session 2017/2018 was developed in collaboration across all four local authority areas. A major event, Building a Collaborative Culture, held on 22 January 2018 in Alva Academy, allowed for consultation with headteachers, early years heads, parents, young people, elected members, LNCT members, practitioners and senior officers to inform initial and subsequent areas to be included in the plans. 2.2. The Regional Lead Officer also engaged with wider stakeholders from each Council’s Community Planning Partnerships and with trade union and parents representatives to ensure that they have included in the developing work of the collaborative. 2.3. A range of themed groups, led by officers from across the four councils, are working in partnership and identifying approaches to engage with front line staff to exemplify best practice and improve at service, school and classroom levels. 2.3.1 Numeracy 2.3.2 Early Learning and Childcare 2.3.3 Literacy 2.3.4 Career Long Professional Learning 2.4. A Development Officer was appointed in June 2018 and took up post at the start of school session 2018-19. The Development Officer reports to the Improvement Collaborative’s Senior Management Team. She is currently developing a Phase 2 (2018-2019) Improvement Plan which is due to be submitted to Scottish Government in September. 2.5. Support for Improvement Collaboratives The Scottish Government has advised that the £10m allocated to support improvement collaboratives will be broken down as follows: 2.5.1. £4m to enhance regional capacity for collaboration and embed collaborate approaches to improvement; 2.5.2. £4m to support regional activities and strategies to close the poverty related attainment gap in schools; and 2.5.3. £2m to support region-wide approaches to address poverty related disadvantage in rural areas. 2.6. Forth Valley and West Lothian Improvement Collaborative Phase 2 (2018- 2019) Improvement Plan The Forth Valley and West Lothian Improvement Collaborative has carried out an initial analysis on the available performance data for the region. Taking account of the National Improvement Framework, as well as an analysis of school improvement plans, the following workstreams for the 2018-2019 Improvement Plan (Appendix 1) have been prioritised and agreed: 2.6.1 Numeracy 2.6.2 Literacy 2.6.3 Early Learning and Childcare. 2.7. Two overarching themes are being developed to support overall improvement and collaborative activity in the region. These themes will support each of the priority focus area of Numeracy, Literacy and Early Years and Childcare. They will be key to providing support and analysis for taking forward the next phase of the plan. These workstreams are: 2.7.1 Career Long Professional Learning and 2.7.2 Performance Information. 2.8. Collaborative Partnerships A number of connections have been made between groups of practitioners and partners which are supporting our version of developing collaboratively to solve problems, think creatively and community effectively. A number of growing networks are: 2.8.1. Community Learning and Development (CLD) - A CLD group has been established and has identified the following areas for collaboration: tracking and monitoring of young people’s participation in wider community activity; family learning.

2.8.2. Educational Psychology Services Group has been established and is working on a project promoting numeracy attainment. This involves a meta study of psychological factors affecting numeracy attainment, based on four projects in numeracy. 2.8.3. Finance – A group has been established to discuss devolved school management structures and share thinking in light of the draft Headteachers Charter. 2.8.4. As the range and scope of the FVWLIC grows, inter-connections will develop between groups and an overview will be created to map collaborative activities and support building links across this complex collective. 2.8.5. Further consultation will be undertaken with all key stakeholders as the Phase 2 (2018-2019) improvement plan is implemented and revised over the coming months. This will include engagement with: 2.8.5.1. Practitioners; 2.8.5.2. Head of establishments; 2.8.5.3. Children and young people; 2.8.5.4. Parents; 2.8.5.5. Partners, Third Sector and Elected members. 2.9. Education Scotland has intimated that it is their intention to allocate a team of officers with expertise in a number of different areas to support the work of the regional collaborative. A future report to the Children and Young People Committee will detail the level of this support and the arrangements for the deployment of Education Scotland staff. 2.10. As outlined earlier in this report Scottish government has intimated that £10m will be allocated to support the work of the six improvement collaboratives across Scotland. A future report to the Children and Young People Committee will outline the amount allocated to the FVWL Improvement Collaborate, once this is known, together with a plan for its use. 2.11. The work of the FVWL Improvement Collaborative is ongoing and it is anticipated that the pace of progress will increase once additional staffing resources are received from Education Scotland and finance is received from the Scottish government.

3. Implications

Equalities Impact 3.1. The contents of this report were assessed under the Council’s Equality Impact Assessment process and it was determined that an EqIA was not required. Fairer Scotland Duty 3.2. In preparing the contents of this report, in terms of the Fairer Scotland Duty, due regard has been given to reducing inequalities of outcome caused by socio- economic disadvantage, and any such impacts in respect of the proposals set out in this report are contained in the EqIA Relevance Check /Equality Impact Assessment. Sustainability and Environmental 3.3. Details of any direct sustainability impact as a result of this report and details of any Strategic Environmental Assessment. Any documents should be listed as Background Papers. Other Policy Implications 3.4. None. Consultations 3.5. None.

4. Background Papers

4.1. EqIA Relevance Check. 4.2. Report to, and minutes of, meeting of the Education Committee, 19 October 2017.

5. Appendices

5.1. Appendix 1 Regional Improvement Plan 2018/2019

Author of Report: Kevin Kelman Contact Details: 01786 233224 Chief Education Officer [email protected]

Approved by: Kevin Kelman Signature: Chief Education Officer Date: 3 September 2018

Details of Convener(s), Vice Convener(s), Cllr McGill & Cllr Brisley Portfolio Holder and Depute Portfolio Holder consulted on this report:

Wards affected: All Wards.

Key Priorities: A - We will look after all of our citizens, from early years through to adulthood, by providing quality education and social care services, to allow everybody to lead their lives to their full potential

Key Priority Considerations: We will support the development of appropriate regional education collaborative to deliver specialist help. Stirling Plan Priority Outcomes: Achieving - People are skilled and supported to make a (Local Outcomes Improvement Plan) positive contribution to our communities