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SECTION 9
QUALITY ASSURANCE
9.1 Education authorities and schools have
in place arrangements to assure the quality of their
programmes for pupils. Colleges also have arrangements for
the programmes they deliver to their students. Quality
assurance arrangements for partnership activity delivered
to pupils either jointly by school and college or solely by
a college should satisfy the quality assurance requirements
of the school, the college and external agencies. Education
authorities, schools and colleges should agree, as
appropriate, the elements of joint quality assurance
arrangements. These joint arrangements should involve staff
from both school and college. Pupils should have an
opportunity to evaluate and report on the quality of their
learning experience. These arrangements should include
procedures to identify staff development needs for both
schoolteachers and lecturers. In addition, policy
statements and guidance from the Scottish Executive should
be taken into account when developing such aspects of
provision as guidance, transitional arrangements and pupil
welfare and support.
9.2 The evaluation of quality assurance
arrangements will vary according to the type of programme.
Pupil evaluations will be of great importance in short
one-day taster programmes. On the other hand, a two-year
programme of attendance at college should be incorporated
systematically into the planning, delivery, review and
improvement cycles of the school and college.
Evaluation
9.3 Schools and colleges should work
together on monitoring and evaluation of pupils' learning
experiences. They may wish to consider whether a set of
protocols for tracking learner attainment and progression
should be developed.
9.4 It is important for colleges to gain
the views of the pupils engaged in school/college
activities and of schoolteachers on the impact of pupils'
college learning on their school studies. There should be a
strong focus on the views of participating pupils.
9.5 It is normal practice in adult college
courses to gain the perceptions of the learner on the
quality of provision. There are examples from schools and
colleges where pupils are asked for their opinion on their
programmes. Colleges could use short questionnaires, or
comparable processes, to gain the impression of the learner
on a variety of aspects of college provision. This might
include how helpful the pre-induction and induction phases
were or their views on college facilities. It could be used
to gain the views of the pupils on how the course has been
organised and how well it has met their needs and
aspirations.
Langside College, Glasgow Staff at Langside College undertake a mid
and end of course evaluation exercise using a
questionnaire for pupils attending
school/college programmes. This helps to
pinpoint areas of provision which pupils feel
require college attention and ultimately leads
to action points for staff to help improve
provision. |
9.6HMIE school inspections and college
reviews provide valuable external evaluation of the
learning experience of pupils. There are pilots under way
in some colleges to evaluate school/college partnership
activities using the
SFEFC/
HMIE quality framework for colleges.
26 The pilots also include representation from pupils,
local authorities and staff from schools on course teams
and have their views formally recorded in an annual course
team report.
Glasgow Metropolitan
College The Food Studies Department undertake an
annual course report based upon the
SFEFC/
HMIE further education
quality framework. The course report assesses
the quality elements in the subject quality
framework and highlights strengths, weaknesses
and the action required, naming a responsible
person and identifying an implementation date.
This exercise proved very valuable in
establishing preventative actions with an
action agenda. |
9.7 A report on pupils' progress should by
prepared by colleges for headteachers. The school holds
information on pupil achievement and attainment and this
information will help stakeholders such as employers gain a
fuller perspective of the pupil. In order to reflect
school/college activities, it would be desirable for the
submission of reports to coincide, as far as possible, with
the reporting cycle of the school.
9.8 Schools, local authorities and
colleges should develop effective monitoring of partnership
working processes, including the contribution each of them
make to the partnership. Existing systems should be
extended to cover school/college partnership.
9.9 Colleges should plan to evaluate
programmes for pupils in the same way as existing college
courses. In the first instance the exercise should
incorporate the evaluations by the pupils. Secondly, an
analysis of retention statistics, critical success factors
and destination data should be undertaken annually to help
inform improvements and used in preparing an annual
self-evaluation report on the programme. Schools should be
sent relevant self-evaluation reports prepared by colleges
for courses in which their pupils participate.
Falkirk College Falkirk College has commenced a pilot on
extending self-evaluation procedures to
school/college programmes using the
SFEFC/
HMIE quality framework.
These procedures allow the college to evaluate
the programme incorporating pupils views using
college quality procedures for adult
provision. |
Galashiels Academy,
Borders Galashiels Academy issues a questionnaire to
departments which have pupils participating in
courses at Borders College. The questionnaire
asks Principal Teachers for their opinions on
whether the programme has enhanced the
performance and behaviour of pupils and the
value of the programmes for pupils. A summary
is drawn up and provides a guide to the
effectiveness of the programme. |
John Wheatley College,
Glasgow The College prepares an annual course team
report based upon the
SFEFC/
HMIE quality framework for
colleges. Staff complete an evaluation of the
strengths and weakness with grades awarded for
each of the quality elements and action points
generated with named individuals and timelines.
Statistics on performance indicators such as
retention and success are available and provide
a useful benchmark, in combination with other
indicators, for evaluation of the
programme. |
Renfrewshire Council Renfrewshire Council's guideline document
Curriculum Provision in the Secondary
Stages of School Education states the
authority will use the
HMIE criteria to assess
school curriculum flexibility proposals.
Innovative approaches to the content and
delivery of the curriculum will have to
show: - educational gain based upon a clear
rationale and consistent with National
Priorities;
- full consultation with
stakeholders;
- rigorous quality assurance arrangements
to monitor and evaluate proposals against
objectives; and
- well planned and managed implementation
using school development plans.
|
Inverness College and Highland
Council Both the College and the Council plan to
expand the Vocational Pathways Programme (
VPP) for
S3 and
S4 pupils and have asked an
external consultant to analyse activity levels
an the views of pupils on how the programme can
be improved. The analysis also considers best
practice for outreach and support for learning
and discusses key issues surrounding the
management and delivery of
VPP with the consultants
making practical suggestions for
improvement. |
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