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Standards, Quality and Improvement Plan for Liberton High School

In partnership with our community we at Liberton High School aim to ensure that every pupil has the belief, skills, knowledge and work ethic required to achieve their full potential that will ensure that they are fit for a full, active and satisfying life in the world beyond school. This will be

achieved for all of our learners through the highest quality of learning experiences and personal support.

Standards and Quality Report for session: 2013 -2014

Improvement Plan for session: 2014 - 2015

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Table of contents

Section Section title Page

Standards and quality report 1 The school in context (short introductory paragraph)

2 School’s self evaluation

Improvement plan

3 Key areas for school improvement

4 Cluster improvement plan

5 Summary of evaluations against key indicators

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Standards and Quality Report 1. The school in context Liberton High School is a comprehensive non-denominational secondary school which serves the South East of the city of Edinburgh. The school has a mixed housing catchment including a number of new private housing developments. The school draws most of its pupils from four associated primary schools – Craigour Park, Gilmerton, Liberton and Prestonfield. Pupils also come from St John Vianney RC Primary School and various other primary schools from around the Lothians. The roll at the census in September 2012 was 637. We currently have 51 teaching staff and 19 support staff. At Liberton High School we aim to develop students and staff who are:

Confident Individuals - demonstrating self-respect and ambition, secure in their own values and beliefs, displaying good physical, mental and emotional health and able to make informed decisions and achieve success

Successful learners – enthusiastic and motivated, determined to achieve, able to link and apply learning in new situations and able to think independently

Responsible Citizens – demonstrating respect for others, understanding different beliefs and cultures, able to make informed choices and develop views

Effective contributors to society – able to communicate well, demonstrate leadership skills, solve problems and show initiative At Liberton High School we believe that;

Everyone in our school community matters.

Diversity should be celebrated and that everyone should be cared for, respected and valued.

Learning is both challenging and fun!

Everyone has the potential for learning and to achieve success beyond what they themselves ever thought possible.

Success only happens when we work hard, when we never accept anything less than our best and when we stick in, especially when things get tough.

To be successful we need to raise the expectations we have of ourselves, we need to be ambitious and to really believe that we can achieve our goals in learning and in life.

We are all in this learning journey together.

Together we can create a supportive learning culture based on trust, where we can all take risks with our learning and our teaching and where everyone recognises that mistakes help us move forward in our journey.

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2. School’s self-evaluation 1.1 Improvements in performance

Standards of attainment over time

Broad General Education Standardised test data show a three year positive pattern in Mathematics with a 5.4% added value from S1 to S2 which is only slightly below a city average figure of 6%. In Reading we have a first positive change in three years albeit with a small increase from S1 to S2, However, improvements in literacy through direct intervention have been clearly evident. In August 201,3 29 pupils were selected to take part in the Fast Track SRA Programme. At that time their mean single word reading score was 80.7 (below average), one year later in June 2014 the same mean score was 91.3, putting pupils within the average range for their age. Robust, moderated assessments are now in place in English and Maths S1-S3. At the end of S3 for session 2012-2013 30% of pupils were secure in reading, 13% in writing and 42% in maths. The improved figures for session 2013-2014; 45% of pupils were secure in reading, 43% in writing and 50% in maths The figures in English reflect increasingly confident assessment judgements. Senior Phase In S4 the percentage of pupils gaining 5 or more level 3 passes moved from 90% to 97%, the percentage of pupils gaining 5 or more level 4 passes moved from 65% to 73%. However there was a reduction in the level 5 passes from 25% to 22%. There has also been significant improvements in literacy and numeracy at both level 4 and level 5, however for level 5 more progress is required to be in in line with or comparator virtual school. Most measures in S5 are similar to previous years, apart from a disappointed drop in the percentage of pupils gaining 3 or more Highers. In S6 the percentage of pupils gaining 5+ at level 5, 1+ at level 6, 3+ at level 6 are the highest on record. Key improvement targets are to increase the percentage of pupils gaining 5 or more National 5’s and then converting these National 5 passes into 3 and 5 Higher passes in S5.

Overall quality of learners’ achievement

In session 2012-13 we recognized that our pupils had good opportunities to develop their skills in an extra-curricular programme, however much of their work was not recognized. Our pupils now have very good opportunities for wider achievement provided in school and through a wide range of partnerships which is at the heart of our curriculum. All S1 are working towards JASS Gold Award, 15 have achieved John Muir Award and 15 engaged with Edinburgh University’s widening participation programme. In S2, 12 pupils are working with Skillforce (ASDAN, 1st Aid, Heartstart, Bronze DoE), 31 have achieved the Adventure and Challenge Award. In S3, 21 pupils are working with Skillforce (ASDAN, 1st Aid, Heartstart, Bronze DoE, and National Navigation Award), 13 pupils have achieved the Adventure and Leadership Award and 13 pupils are engaging in the Bronze DoE (extra-curricular). In S1-3 we have 111 pupils involved in extra-curricular programmes, 30 involved in volunteering and 22 engaged in targeted supportive extra –curricular activities. In the senior school nine pupils completed Silver DoE (mostly last years’ S6) with one completing Gold with an external provider. Eight pupils are currently engaging in Silver DoE and this year there has been 240 instances of volunteering. Pupils not engaged in wider achievement opportunities are referred to CLD.

Our pupils excel in fund raising activities, our IDL on the Food Bank in S2 is an excellent example of this as is the work with the Jamie Skinner Foundation. We have made excellent progress in developing pupil leadership through; House System, pupil council, Space Unlimited pupil consultation project, Cool, Calm and Connected a peer education project, a young carers working group, a whole school focus on using pupil voice as well as getting pupils involved when making staff appointments.

In the senior school a partnership with Career Academies UK provide business mentoring for 20 S5/6 pupils and a four week internship during the summer. Nine S5/6 pupils are participating in the South East Scotland Academies Partnership programme, studying for HNCs alongside their school based qualifications.

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Impact of the school improvement plan

The training from the ‘Growing Confidence’ team, together with in-house restorative approaches training and our policy development has significantly improved behaviour (see measures relating days lost to exclusion/duty head referrals). Relationships for Learning have improved, 87% of pupils sampled in September 2014, reported that they were treated fairly and with respect, compared to 76% in 2013. The introduction of tracking wider achievement in S1 – S3 has ensured that young people who were not engaged in activities beyond classroom learning are now being engaged either through the JASS programme or by direct action from C.L.D. The introduction of Skillsforce, Outward Bound and JASS has massively increased the certification of wider achievement. The setting of performance targets for 5+ at level 3,4 & 5 has ensured that all subjects have taken steps to address the attainment of those learners at most risk of missing out. The tracking and intervention has ensured that attainment in most measures has not dropped, despite significant challenges one month before the beginning of the exam diet.

What are we going to do next? We will ensure that all coursing is based on the strengths and aspirations of our learners. Opportunities for wider achievement will be needs matched through a profiling system. We will become a centre for the youth achievement awards and use these awards to plan progression in wider achievement. We will continue to track the progress of all learners, a new BGT tracking system will be implemented. We will also investigate practice from after schools in this area. Our main driver for raising attainment will be through increased challenge in the BGE combined with developing pedagogy that focusses on pupil led learning. Our learners will be able to identify their strengths and next steps and will be leading their own journey to high attainment. We will introduce master classes in S3 with the clear rationale of getting learners better prepared for high attainment in S4.

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2.1 - Learners’ Experiences Learners are motivated, eager participants in their learning.

Most young people are well behaved and engage positively in their learning, 87% of learners report that they are getting along well with their school work, 92% say that staff expect them to take responsibility for their own work and 86% say that school helps them to be more confident. The behaviour in our school is improving significantly. The number of days lost to exclusion has reduced by 22% since 2012 and the number of times a Duty Head Teacher has been called to classrooms has reduced by 60% in the same time period. 25% staff have now been trained in Co-operative Learning and learning surveys indicate that pupils are working well with each other, in pairs and groups, they listen well and are able to share ideas. Stimulating high quality learning is in evidence in many areas of the school although not sufficiently wide spread. Teachers ensure that young people understand the purpose of the activities in lessons, but young people do not yet have a clear enough understanding of their strengths and next steps in relation to their learning. Our work in implementing research based science homework that involved self and peer assessment, has resulted in increased levels of engagement. Social Subjects staff have integrated their History, Geography and Modern Studies courses and are now teaching skills within more relevant contexts. In S2 our Foodbank project energised the social responsibility and enterprising attitudes in our young people and they raised £1000.00 as they developed a range of skills. Half of our staff attend business breakfasts up to six times per year for focussed training on learning and teaching/managing behaviour, this has resulted in learning intentions and success criteria being shared in most lessons, however the quality of this needs to improve in the majority of lessons. Liberton Book Week has been running for 18 years and this year’s theme of Science Fiction that included themed work and visits from authors, gained a ‘Highly Commended’ in our Council Children and Families Awards. We are committed to inspiring our learners to raise their expectations and a visit and science lesson from the astronaut Cmdr. Chris Hadfield in the presence of the First Minister did just that!

Learners make good progress in their learning.

There is evidence from shared classroom experience is that learners are increasingly able to reflect on their performance against success criteria and then have the skills to identify their strengths and next steps S1- S6, however this is not yet as consistent as we would like it to be. Increasingly plenaries are being used to provide a space for learners to consider their progress. Through profiling in S1-S3 pupils are recording their progress in class based learning and in wider achievement opportunities. All subjects have developed robust assessments in S1-S3 and can now demonstrate progress through the BGE. Standardized test scores in English and Mathematics show learners are making progress. Our senior phase provides flexible pathways to ensure that each learner makes progress. Improved sustained positive destination figures (12% increase in 18 months) suggests our learners are better prepared for the world of work.

Learners know their views are sought and acted upon. They feel valued.

The authentic engagement with the views of pupils about their school has been a major driver for improvement in both the quality of what happens in classrooms and in the ethos of the whole school. The recruitment of Head Girl and Head Boy has been developed into a high profile democratic process involving hustings and interviews. In every permanent appointment of teaching staff, a panel of pupils interview prospective candidates, six staff have been appointed in this way. At two points in the year Space Unlimited worked with 20 of the pupil council to consult in depth about our Curriculum in S4-S6 and our approach to managing behaviour. This has resulted in opportunities for wider achievement now built into course choice and pupil input to our Relationships to Learning Policy. All departments actively seek the views from pupils and we publicise when views result in action on wall displays and in the monthly newsletter, however all departments to need to ensure that this pupil feedback leads to improved learning and teaching. Ten S5/S6 pupils deliver Cool Calm & Connected supporting positive mental health to pupils in S2. 81% of pupils report that staff listen and pay attention to what they say. The impact on the ethos of our school is difficult to measure. Rates of uniform compliance significantly improved and school attendance has improved from 88.5% in June 2011 to 91.1% in June 2014. 92% of parents/carers say that their child enjoys learning at school and 90% are happy with the school.

Learners feel safe, nurtured, healthy, achieving, active, included, respected.

Our school values have been developed in partnership with pupils, parents/carers and staff. Our values focus on themes of inclusion, success, learning and community. 91% of parents/carers say their child feels safe in school with 95% reporting that their children are treated fairly. In partnership with Team around the Cluster and The Children’s Services Management Group we have taken a special focussed approach to support pupils who are looked after and those pupils who are young carers. In partnership with James Gillespie’s High School and Psychological Services we have also researched how included pupils with a disability feel. Our work with looked after pupils has been nominated for a Children and Families Award and pupils who are young carers report very positive changes in their school experiences. We have conducted a wireless availability study and have developed a plan to improve, based on feedback from young people with a disability. Our relationships for learning policy, developed jointly with staff and pupils has improved relationships, the number of days lost to exclusion and the number of pupils sent to Duty Head Teacher has reduced by 22% and 60% repectively. All young people and their families involved in child planning meetings, have their views on the process recorded. 81% of pupils in these meetings felt listened to and no pupil thought they were unable to say what they really thought. Our record of bullying incidents has fallen by 44%, however bullying remains an issue that young people and parents are concerned about. As of September 2014 87% of young people felt that they are treated fairly and with respect.

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We have an excellent extra-curricular programme with outstanding opportunities in a broad range of sports, music and other activities. 54% of pupils take part in school clubs. We track pupils’ involvement in wider achievement opportunities through the BGE and take steps to encourage active lifestyles working with CLD and other partners. Sportfest 4 (June 2014), a community event held in partnership with the Liberton and Gilmerton Sports forum was a huge success with over 200 young people of all ages engaging in sport.

What are we going to do next? We will ensure that we rigorously identify and share the most effective practice, focussing on pedagogy, challenge and higher expectations. We will regularly shadow pupils and challenge our staff to ensure learning is appropriately demanding and that pupils are expected to take responsibility for their own learning. In all classes we will ensure that pupils are given the opportunity to reflect on their learning and have the skills to identify their strengths and next steps. All tracking and reporting will be based on pupil teacher dialogue that involves clear focussed individual goals for improvement. We will ensure that our lessons will allow learners to engage in deep learning and develop higher order skills through open ended challenging activities and high quality questioning.

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5.3 - Meeting Learning Needs Tasks, activities and resources

Reliable systems and processes are in place to identify young people’s needs and provide appropriate advice for class teachers. The school needs to build the skills and knowledge of all staff further to help them support young people who require additional help in their learning. It also needs to review the range of additional support programmes for young people experiencing difficulties with literacy. In the best lessons teachers use a good range of teaching methods to meet the needs of a wide range of young people, particularly in English, CDT, Music, Media Studies, Art and PE. In these lessons, teachers adapt their questioning and the tasks given to provide an appropriate level of support and challenge for all young people. However this practice of differentiation, personalisation and choice is not evident in most lessons observed. We now need to adopt such good practice more regularly across the school. PSAs report that there is very good practice in English, CDT and Media in implementing the support strategies that are detailed in ASPs and IEPs. This needs to become more widespread across the school.

Identification of learning needs

There are rigorous and effective procedures for the identification of additional support needs and in the planning to meet these needs. ASPs and IEPs are reviewed annually and Strategy Meetings are held weekly to ensure resources are allocated to meet needs effectively. Systems for the transfer of information for P7-S1 transition are very effective. Parent/carer feedback regarding young persons’ planning meetings consistently indicates that parents/carers are pleased with the support offered by the school and find the planning meetings beneficial in identifying next steps. Pupil feedback on YPPMs is being used to improve practice as part of GIRFEC, by focussing on the completion of ‘My Views’ sheets with Support for Pupils staff prior to meetings. Partner agencies clearly indicate that 16+ Meetings are used effectively to identify pupils early on that require additional support in moving towards a positive destination and the school makes good use of supports such as Rathbone, RUTS and Fairbridge. 11 pupils completed the JET programme in S4 and all are returning to S5 or moving into a positive destination. There is good practice in identifying wider achievement as part of mapping learner journeys and ensuring support from CLD to target pupils who are not yet engaged with wider opportunities in or outwith school.

The roles of teachers and specialist staff

The pupil support team build excellent relationships with pupils, their families and other agencies. Pupil support staff work effectively in house teams with Year Heads and with a wide range of other professionals. This partnership work has been very successful in delivering flexible and effective support for specific pupils. PSAs are deployed creatively by the SfL Leader and are responsive to changing situations. Feedback from pupils as part of a focus group with young people who have additional support needs indicates clearly that pupils are positive about the support offered by PSAs and the provision of assessment arrangements. An intensive programme of multi-agency support (school, EWO, CLD, Family Solutions, Teen PPP and community link officer) as part of a ‘Test of Change’ pilot is being used to address attendance issues with pupils and their parents/carers. The number of days lost to exclusion has reduced by 22% over a two year period and attendance has increased from 88.5% to 91.1% over 3 years to from 2011 to June 2014.

Meeting and implementing the requirements of legislation

The pupil support DHT ensures that the statutory requirements of The Additional Support Act are adhered to. ‘Getting it Right’ procedures are embedded particularly in integrated assessment and a solution focussed approach to YPPMs. Young people with significant social and emotional needs are provided with a comprehensive range of support through partnership working, an example of which is our work with Skillforce where 11 S3 pupils achieved an ASDAN Bronze Award, FAA First Aid award and Heartstart award and 9 S2 pupils completed a National Navigation Award. Individualised support packages enable young people to remain in school and the local community. A Young Carers group has recently been set up to ensure more consistent approaches to providing them with support – the 6 young people who are part of this group have delivered an assembly to P7 pupils and are working towards setting up a peer support lunchtime club for other young carers. LAC/LAAC pupils are reviewed monthly at PSGs and weekly at House Team meetings – all of the six LAC/LAAC pupils eligible for SQA presentation in 2014 attained a minimum of 5+ @SCQF3; five attained 3+@ SCQF4; and three attained 1+@SCQF5. Those eligible to leave school on May 2014 have all moved into a positive destination.

What are we going to do next? We will ensure that all staff access the support bulletin and take steps to support learner’s needs appropriately, identify and provide opportunities to share best practice with all staff and engage all staff in developing appropriate short term SMART targets for pupils with ASN. We will also evaluate the impact of collaboration between specialist staff and classroom teachers eg CLD programmes such as PX2. We will continue to collaborate with cluster schools to improve the quality of transition data. We will perform a SQA review with PT SfL and track attainment, exclusion and attendance figures. We will develop alternative curricular pathways through the BGE and SP based on the needs of particular groups of learners. We will continue to consult parents/carers and pupils to audit the quality of YPPMs, provide additional support to young carers and LAAC pupils and build in feedback from a wide range of partner agencies to inform continuous improvement. We expect to extend the ‘Test of Change’ attendance pilot to target additional families for support and a new nurture/support base (“The Bridge”) will be used to promote relationships for learning with pupils at risk of/returning from exclusion or a period of non-attendance. The young carers group will work with teachers to develop lessons to be delivered in PSE. Pupils who participated in the Skillforce programme in S2 will move on to ASDAN, Heartstart and First Aid awards in S3 and a new S2 group will begin this 2 year course. From August 2014, the school will begin a 3

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year working plan with Business Class, linking with a business partner (One Construction Alliance) in the community – initial work will be targeted to developing employability skills with ‘Christmas leavers’.

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5.1 The Curriculum

The rationale and design of the curriculum

The rationale for our curriculum is to provide all of our learners with deep learning experiences that will ensure high attainment and achievement. Our curriculum will equip all of our learners with the skills for learning, life and work to ensure sustained positive destinations. Our curriculum has been developed in partnership with pupils, parents/carers and partners and is based on shared values. Our curriculum currently supports young people to learn and develop well. Courses from S1 to S3 are based on Curriculum for Excellence guidance and have been developed using the experiences and outcomes. Staff are continuing to evaluate and develop the curriculum at these stages. All of our curriculum areas now have moderated assessments in S1 –S3 which allow them to make increasingly robust judgements on progress. This moderation work has included our cluster primaries. This shared understanding of standards, particularly in literacy and numeracy allows us to build on prior learning and ensure progression. Plans are now in place to work in partnership with individual primaries to deliver elements of science and technology here at Liberton. There are clear strategies for the development of literacy and numeracy skills across learning. Almost all staff have been trained in Big Writing and Reciprocal Reading. Staff are becoming increasingly confident in using these strategies. Young people develop their citizenship, enterprise and employability skills through well-planned IDL opportunities that have a clear rationale. Plans for the single cohort senior phase are in place and allow for flexibility and variable time frames that will provide appropriate levels of challenge. Young people’s health and wellbeing across learning is very well supported through the allocation of time for physical education in line with national recommendations and this is further extended to all young people in S5 and S6. Almost all staff have taken part in Teenage Brain and Behaviour and Restorative Practice CLPL and these approaches underpin our new Relationships for Learning.

The development of the curriculum Our school’s curriculum has been developed with pupils, staff and parents. It is underpinned by shared values which are displayed and form the basis for our religious observance assemblies. All subjects have clear course plans that ensure learners’ curricular entitlements are met, these plans are updated on a regular basis. Throughout the BGE and senior phase there is a wide range of partnership working to provide the curricular entitlement across the four contexts. All S1 work towards JASS Gold Award. Last session 15 pupils achieved John Muir Award and 15 engaged with Edinburgh University’s widening participation programme. In S2, 12 pupils work with Skillforce (ASDAN, 1st Aid, Heartstart, Bronze DoE), 31 pupils achieved the Adventure and Challenge Award. In S3, 21 pupils are working with Skillforce, 13 pupils achieved the Adventure and Leadership Award and 13 pupils are engaging in the Bronze DoE (extra-curricular). In S1-3 we have 111 pupils involved in extra-curricular programmes, 30 involved in volunteering and 22 engaged in targeted supportive extra –curricular activities. In the senior school nine pupils completed Silver DoE (mostly last years’ S6) with one completing Gold with an external provider. Eight pupils are currently engaging in Silver DoE and this year there has been 240 instances of volunteering. This partnership working provides extensive opportunities for young people to achieve and develop leadership skills. Pupils identify their skills developed in all aspects of their school experience in their profile. Young people develop their citizenship, enterprise and employability skills through well-planned opportunities such as the Christmas art project. They are able to make links across different areas of their learning through a range of projects on themes such as the Holocaust memorial, the Edinburgh Food bank project and the Commonwealth Games. In the senior phase there is a full range of qualifications and extensive vocational experiences. The single cohort senior phase has been launched successfully and provides a wide range of flexible routes from S4 to S6. We have 13 pupils in the Jet programme and 2 in Jet plus, both programmes provide extensive work experience. We have 20 pupils in S5&6 engaging with business mentors in the Careers Academies programme which also involves a summer internship. We also have 7 pupils engaging with the South East Scotland Academies Partnership which provides pupils with the opportunity to complete an HNC alongside their school based qualifications.

Programmes and courses

Programmes and courses support young people to learn and develop well. Courses from S1 to S3 are based on Curriculum for Excellence guidance and are designed to deliver learning planned from the Es and Os S1-S3. National 3, 4 and 5 courses have been developed and are being delivered along with the new Higher courses, 10 are being introduced this year and the rest the following year. The single cohort senior phase has been implemented successfully and provides flexible pathways to raise attainment and provide opportunities for wider achievement. We have flexible two year National 5 and Higher courses in English and Maths and all subjects are constructing National 4 timelines in order to start National 5 courses early. IDL courses in S3 have been designed with a clear rationale, to ensure high attainment in the senior phase. All curriculum areas are working together to produce an IDL experience that really challenges pupils or one that consolidates prior learning.

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Transitions

Transition from primary to secondary is well managed using a range of partners from cluster primaries and the Team Around the Cluster. Curriculum transition is coordinated by a CL in a distributed leadership project. There has been significant progress in sharing standards, Maths, English, Social Subjects and RME. Plans are in place for all of the cluster primary schools to have some of their entitlement delivered here at Liberton either in Science or in Technologies. The Support for Learning Leader has very good processes for identifying Additional Support Needs of those pupils in P5 onwards and ensures a joined up partnership approach to ensuring learners needs are met. There has been significant progress in literacy by pupils working on SRA reading programme who have been identified as needing additional support via our work with cluster colleagues. Partnership working through the 16+ group has led to improved positive destinations. Those at risk of not being in a positive destination are identified early by the 16+ multi-agency group using a risk matrix and linked to appropriate resource. A wide range of vocational activities supports this work. The percentage of leavers in a positive destination has moved from 78.2% to 87.2% over an 18 month period.

What are we going to do next? We will develop the rationale of the senior phase to emphasize our desire to raise expectations, improve attainment, wider achievement and positive destinations and develop a clear plan for two year National 5 courses S4-5 that bridge the gap from National 4. We will audit provision across the key themes of progression and depth and then provide more challenging experiences in our courses and programmes. These experiences will benefit from improvements in pedagogy delivering higher order skills development and ensuring that all learners can talk about their learning, particularly skills and that they know their next steps. To support this work we will develop and track skills through a framework. We will ensure that the tools that have been developed to improve literacy and numeracy are consistently implemented. We will continue to develop and introduce engaging and challenging IDL projects which will be designed around the needs of particular learners, especially in S3. We will continue to plan for increased personalisation and choice within courses and across programmes. We will provide all learners with a modern language. We will deliver focussed work with leavers in S4 to develop relationships with partner agencies to improve the success of activity agreements and develop a life skills programme in partnership with partners from the Liberton Gilmerton Neighbourhood Partnership as well as continued focussed work with the TAC to improve further the provision for vulnerable pupils. We will extend curricular projects to include P5 and P6 and involve partners more in self-evaluation. We will design and deliver opportunities for wider achievement around the needs of individual pupils and certificate this using the suite of SQA and other recognised awards.

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5.9 Improvement through self-evaluation

Commitment to self-evaluation

Teachers at all levels are reflecting upon their own practice. They regularly share and discuss good practice at their departmental meetings. 100% of Curriculum leaders, SMT and class teachers undertake classroom observations of practice as part of the re-designed whole school approach to quality assurance on two occasions throughout each session. Staff have shared good practice during in-service days and as part of the school’s learning rounds. They have in addition carried out peer observations and learning rounds as part of their work in teaching and learnings communities. Teaching staff have positively evaluated these experiences and are becoming more confident in using cooperative learning and AiFL strategies. Data from direct observation informs the school improvement planning process, and the corresponding targets identified within departmental improvement plans. Parents have been consulted on their views through for example “Survey Monkey” and through feedback gathered and discussed through the more collaborative approach to the Parent Council. There has been an increased focus in this area where questionnaires have been embedded within monthly newsletters, seeking to improve the link between parent voice and improvement priorities. Changes made as a result of parental feedback are publicised in our newsletter and on wall displays. Young people have embraced the opportunity to evaluate their learning experiences in departments across the school. There are displays in every department which highlight what was asked, what was said and how the departments have attempted to respond to the views of young people. We have demonstrated our commitment to gathering and responding to the views of partners in involving staff such as Community Learning and Development worker, Educational Welfare Officer and the Educational Psychologist in providing feedback on aspects of the school’s provision and through for example the Young Person’s Planning Meeting forum.

Management of self-evaluation

We revitalised our approach to self-evaluation last session, around a clear focus on core quality indicators and a quality assurance calendar which expects staff to draw upon a wide range of appropriate evidence to support their work in this area within their own departments. We have familiarised staff with the new professional standards and procedure for the professional update highlighting the responsibility to measure the impact of any professional learning.

Attainment review meetings now take place with all departmental staff to ensure all staff have an accurate picture of attainment issues and agreed action points. Throughout the year departments return to agreed action points and review progress, however more consistency is required in this area. We have recognised that more of our self-evaluation data needs to focus on learning and teaching. A plan to shadow individual learners on a monthly basis is now in place and staff are regularly supported and challenged to ensure our lessons have sufficient depth and that pupils take responsibility for their own learning. Departmental priorities are based on their work in self-evaluation over the previous session.

We have tracked young people’s progress across BGE using the City wide approach to developing, consolidating and secure across all departments, we have updated this tracking for 2014-15 focussing strengths and next steps using significant aspects of learning. Teaching staff are becoming increasingly confident in their assessment judgements. Increasingly pupils are being encouraged to identify their own strengths and next steps which they can evidence from their latest and best folder of work. The school has made use of its tracking data from S4 to S6 to identify underperformance and then take appropriate action. These interventions have included parental interviews and in some cases additional classes and staff to whole class groups.

An increasing number of staff are using 360 degree feedback and critical friends as sources of evidence to support the PRD process. Staff have made use of national improvement guides (good to great) to reflect upon and discuss current practice and identify actions required to bring about improvement. The quality of the information and analysis and the corresponding supporting evidence is becoming more consistent. We have embarked on joint practice development groups where staff are planning to lead on action research / enquiry based projects with corresponding project plans. These developments align very well with the expectations of TSF and the new GTC standards. Our staff have been involved in moderation activities as part of the EAs moderation and verification of NQs.

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School improvement

Self-evaluation has had a noticeable impact. The positive destination figures have improved from 78.2% to 87.2% in 18 months, attendance improving from 89% to 91% in the same period and days lost to exclusion and referral rates all significantly improved. Our attainment by S6 has improved every year. Pupils feel much better about their school experience and 90% of parents report that they are happy with our school. These improvements have been evidenced through our own surveys of young people’s views about learning and in relation to improvements in how young people feel about the school over time from data extracted from City of Edinburgh questionnaires and HMI questionnaires. The evidence also highlights the change in softer but not unimportant indicators such as a more positive learning culture, increasing self-confidence and belief amongst young people, many of whom now possess greater levels of ambition and demonstrate a higher work rate.

The schools work as part of the ‘team around the cluster’ has progressed with improved contact with the associated primary schools group and greater levels of discussion and sharing of information for example through the enhanced transition projects being led by a key practitioner. The ‘team around the cluster’ has also supported a Test of Change project looking at the attendance of identified families, as of 18 September 2014 our attendance is 93.3%. We are committed to school improvement, we have staff visiting successful departments in schools in Edinburgh and in the rest of Scotland. All Curriculum Leaders have attended professional learning focussed on the effective use of evidence for improvement planning using learning and teaching as a context. We also have in place an in house professional learning programme that includes sessions on; how to appropriately challenge all pupils, encouraging pupil led learning, setting contexts for open ended research tasks. Our business breakfast sessions have been attended by 53% of teaching staff. Our collegiate activity time has been planned to ensure that our best practice from within our school is identified, shared and acted upon.

What are we going to do next? We will introduce on line learning portfolios in S1-3 that allow young people to track and reflect on their skills. We will implement the authority’s BGE tracking policy.

We will be rigorous in our presentation policy to ensure young people are presented at appropriate levels.

Our TLCs will be redesigned to ensure that we target best practice within schools and beyond and then facilitate joint planning to ensure that improving practice is evident in all of our classrooms.

We will share good practice more in relation to self-evaluation across faculties to bring about a more consistent approach to faculty improvement planning to deliver a stronger correlation between priorities identified, actions taken and evidence gathered of the impact and improvements for young people.

Our main focus for self-evaluation will be on effective learning and teaching, all in an effort to bring about greater consistency in high quality learning and teaching on a daily basis. We need to ensure that the main thing remains the main thing, in respect of the impact of classroom practice upon young people’s progress, attainment and achievement.

There will be more challenge from SMT to CLs and from CLs to teaching staff in relation to the quality of learning and teaching and greater levels of accountability for increasing attainment within classes for teaching staff and within subject areas for CLs. More focussed follow up on action points – and gathered intelligence overview - from class observations to bring about change in classroom practice at both a departmental and whole school level. We will build on the steps we have taken to involve partners more in evaluating the work of the school.

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Improvement Plan

3. Key areas for school improvement

Priority 1 – Improve Attainment and Wider Achievement Overall Responsibility

S Kelly

QIs

1.1

Impact: All of our learners will benefit from improved attainment and achievement

Tasks By Whom

Resources Timescale Progress/evaluation of task

Redesign the coursing timeline.

SK June 2014

Attainment meeting with CLs and all teaching staff. Focus on L&T approaches in next steps.

SLT Aug – Sept 2014

Set up CL training on Insight. SK August 2014

Identify top 40%: How are we challenging these learners? Review faculty IPs and practice

SLT August 2014

Identify those at risk of not achieving S1-S3 and plan intervention

SLT October 2014

Arrange shadowing and focus groups.

SLT Monthly

Review subject plans for 2 year N5

SK September 2014

Identify 5+@5, 3+@6, 5+@6 and share with CLS

SK September 2014

Inspiring spaces

All staff Money from LHSA August – December 2014

15

Set up success assemblies with prizes for attendance and achievement

SLT Money from LHSA August – December 2014

Set up online learning portfolios that allow young people to track and reflect on skills.

SK, DR, GB

2014-2016

Personalise wider achievement activities S1-S6

SfP August – January 2014

Review wider achievement audit and introduce Youth Achievement Awards

SK, SfP, JS November 2014

Review impact of CLD input for those not engaged in Wider Achievement

RR January 2014

16

Priority 2 – Improve the quality of learners’ experiences Overall Responsibility

DR/RR

QIs

Outcome: Impact on learners: All of our learners will develop the skills to lead their own learning, be sufficiently challenged and can identify their strengths and next steps.

Tasks By Whom Resources Timescale Progress/evaluation of task

All staff trained on AiFL/Edmodo

SK August

Identify good practice in; Open ended challenging tasks, pupil led learning, AiFL, Skills, Questioning. Set up TLCs to share and reflect on shared practice

DR, CY 6 CATs, ISIS days August - May

Set up a group of L&T chairs from each faculty to identify practice to share

DR, CY Time for L&T chair to promote good practice in departments, whole school.

Presentation to CLs 26/08/14

Identify 4 L&T coaches. Invest in resources and training. To be used by staff like Becos.

DR, CY Range of L&T books, courses TBC Presentation to CLs 26/08/14

In house programme for CLPL produced from feedback from PRD

DR, CL Staff time September

Review home learning policy and practice

DR, SLT Visit to Wester Hailes

Review and simplify L&T policy.

DR /SK August

Implement revised QA procedures.

SLT Reviewed in Nov 2014

Review progress in improving learning and teaching.

SLT Dec 2014

17

Re launch learning rounds, involving pupils focussing on the balance of teacher v pupil work.

DR/SK Jan – May 2015

18

Priority 3 – Fully implement CfE

Outcome: Our learners will experience breadth and depth in their learning that will improve their attainment, achievement and opportunity to secure a positive destination. Our learners will develop skills necessary for learning, life and work.

Overall Responsibility

SK

QIs

Tasks By Whom Resources Timescale Progress/evaluation of task

Rewrite the rationale for the senior phase.

SK Aug 2014

Audit learners experience in the BGE focussing on depth.

SK Jan 2015

Quality assure assessment and moderation S1-S3 in all curriculum areas: How robust are our assessment judgements?

SK Sept 2014

Review plans for IDL S1-S3 focussing on progression and flexible routes, with a rationale based on raising attainment.

SK/ CLs Sept 2014

Plan wider achievement around the needs of each learner.

SK/PSLs Aug- June 2015

Audit the use of tools for Literacy and Numeracy S1-S6

SK/ST/TU Nov 2014

Develop a strategic overview for Health and Wellbeing across learning.

SK/SR Dec 2014

Implement Modern Languages for all in S3 SM/ML Staff From June 2014

Develop and implement a system and practice for universal support, including assertive mentoring via tracking.

PMcG December 2014

19

4. Cluster Improvement Plan

Priority 1 – Overall Responsibility

QIs

Outcome

Impact on learners

Tasks By Whom Resources Timescale Progress/evaluation of task

20

5. Summary of evaluations against key indicators

Evaluation key:

Level 6 Excellent Outstanding or sector leading

Level 5 Very Good Major strengths

Level 4 Good Important strengths with areas for improvement

Level 3 Satisfactory Strengths just outweigh weaknesses

Level 2 Weak Important weaknesses

Level 1 Unsatisfactory Major weaknesses

QI

Evaluation

1.1

2.1

5.3

5.1

5.9

Improvements in performance Learners’ experiences Meeting learners’ needs The curriculum Improvement through self evaluation

3 3 3 4 3