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MOVING FORWARD!
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR LEARNING

Part II: National Priorities

Success for All

23. We are determined that schools do all that they can to help all children achieve to the best of their abilities. There must be opportunity for all children, including those who face barriers to learning arising from social and environmental factors. Target setting is a vital focus for raising attainment and standards in Scotland's schools. A framework for setting targets in primary and secondary schools to raise attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has been established. Targets aim to improve the achievements of the lowest-attaining 20% of pupils. The Executive has agreed pilot Local Outcome Agreements in Highland, Stirling, and Perth and Kinross Councils. Social Justice Milestones include increasing the proportion of our children who attain appropriate levels in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of P2 and P7. Schools must also aim to ensure that all young people leaving local authority care will have achieved at least English and Mathematics Standard Grades.

24. Under the School Improvement Framework three-year targets are set by schools and local authorities working together to reflect local circumstances. The setting targets framework includes specific provision for the complexities arising from the different kinds of provision, including mainstream and special schools. It also takes into account the range of pupils and the individualised nature of the educational programmes followed by pupils who require additional support for learning.

25. The University of Aberdeen, funded through the Executive, has issued a Success for All pack to assist schools with setting targets for pupils who have additional support needs and who have individualised educational programmes (IEPs). The guidance takes account of the nature of the curriculum the pupils are following and provides advice on how special schools can compare attainment as part of networking with other similar schools. We will identify, in consultation with local authorities, an appropriate indicator which will allow schools to reflect their work with pupils with IEPs in raising standards of educational attainment and achievement, especially in numeracy and literacy.

Literacy and numeracy

26. We have invested considerable resources in assisting schools to raise the educational attainment of all children in Scotland. Investment in intervention strategies in the early years of primary school has resulted in significant increases in literacy and numeracy. National evaluation of the Early Intervention Programme concluded that the programme has had an "enormous impact on many schools in Scotland" with overall attainment rising, particularly in literacy. We wish to see these gains maintained. Support has been given for in-service training of teachers with particular emphasis on improving literacy and numeracy at the P6-S2 stages. And resources have been directed towards supporting family literacy schemes and providing home-link teachers. In June 2002 we launched national statements on promoting literacy and numeracy and established a Home Reading Campaign.

Pupil support plans

27. Pupil motivation and determination to learn can be strengthened by their active involvement in identifying learning outcomes. From 2003 schools will be expected to provide all pupils with a Personal Learning Plan (PLP). The PLP will provide a continuous record and action plan for learning which can be regularly updated throughout the pre-school and school years. The Scottish Executive is working with Learning and Teaching Scotland to develop the PLP process. PLPs will provide teachers with a working assessment tool which will actively involve children and families.

28. Many children who require additional support for learning already have an IEP which can be used to help identify specific child-centred learning outcomes. IEPs are outcome-focused - they state what a pupil is expected to learn and what support and resources they need to achieve this. The developing use of IEPs for children who require additional support to learn, including at the pre-school stage, will help to ensure a continuum of planning and support throughout the early and school years. The Executive's Assessment Development Programme will develop one unified system, under which the Personal Learning Plan will bring together all current recording and reporting tools, including IEPs.

29. Some children need support beyond the resources that are normally available to schools and pre-school centres. For example, some children may face complex or multiple barriers to access and benefit from learning, and require support from services or specialist expertise from outwith the education authority on a long-term basis. In future, these children may have a Co-ordinated Support Plan under new arrangements proposed in our draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill. This Plan will require joint planning arrangements to be made by local authority, health, social services and voluntary agencies, where appropriate, for the most vulnerable children. It is expected that joint planning will become a regular part of local inter-agency work. The principle of least intrusive intervention that is effective will apply to the assessment and planning process used to support children.

Curriculum development

30. A range of advice exists to cover the curriculum framework for children from 3-14 and for young people undertaking national qualifications. Most of this advice applies equally to children who require additional support to learn. Where necessary, schools and authorities are expected to tailor the curriculum to meet the needs of all children. This has been given added importance following the requirement in the Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002 that access to the curriculum for pupils with disabilities should be improved. We have issued guidance in Circular 3/2001 which encourages schools and teachers to be flexible and innovative in curriculum design and delivery to better meet the needs and wishes of pupils and to assist them to reach their full potential. The circular sets out the flexibility around and within current guidelines and explains new procedures which HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) will use when inspecting schools which are using more flexible and innovative approaches. Learning and Teaching Scotland and HMIE are collecting information on the variety of models being used by schools and will publish a report on good practice in this developing area of education.

31. The Executive also funds particular curricular developments, where appropriate. For example, guidance for staff on an elaborated curriculum for children with complex learning needs was sent to relevant schools in 2001.

Quality assurance

32. We wish to encourage a more outcome-focused approach across school education. The Executive's proposals for change to assessment and intervention for children who require additional support will include a focus on educational outcomes as expressed in pupils' Individualised Educational Programmes (IEPs) or Co-ordinated Support Plans (CSPs). In addition, the new Scottish e Xchange of Educational Data ( ScotXED) will introduce better gathering of information from schools on a broad range of information, including pupil placement and attainment. It will provide better pupil and teacher information enabling more accurate assessment of the impact of Executive policies, and assist the Executive and local authorities to secure continuous improvement in the quality of services for children and young people.

33. Schools and education authorities will assess their own performance in meeting Priority One through the use of Quality Indicators from the revised version of How good is our school? and by following the advice in the National Priorities in Education Support Pack. HMIE will monitor performance in meeting the priority through its regular inspections of schools and education authorities, including, where appropriate, through joint inspections with social services and health agencies.

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