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CHAPTER FOUR: THE LOCAL AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE

4.1 This chapter is based on interviews with representatives of all 32 LAs in Scotland. The interviews were conducted mainly by telephone and explored key issues relating to the authorities' implementation of the DtS strategy and progress made towards implementing their plans. Six of the interviews were conducted face-to-face as part of the case study visits ( see Chapter 5), which focused on six purposefully selected LAs. The case study LA interviews contained some additional questions to allow for a more in-depth exploration of the implementation process in the case study areas. All research instruments were designed by the NFER research team and agreed with the Research Advisory Group.

4.2 Most of the 24 telephone interviews were conducted with the strategic leaders for implementing DtS in the Local Authority. Interviewees' job titles varied, including, for example, Quality Improvement Manager, Enterprise in Education Development Manager or Community Support Officer. Regardless of their title, these individuals had usually taken a leading role in "writing the plan, managing budget expenditure, leading the team, and for chairing meetings with Enterprise Development Officers". In a minority of cases (three), interviews were conducted with an EDO if access to the strategic leader was not possible due to sick leave or other significant reasons. The case study visits comprised interviews with the strategic leader as well as up to three EDOs (a total of ten EDOs across the six LAs).

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF STRATEGY

4.3 Interviews with LA co-ordinators, for the most part, reflected the findings from the analysis of the implementation plans ( see Appendix 1) in that almost all LAs had set up a multi-agency strategic partnership, steering or planning group. Most interviewees emphasised the importance of this group to foster inter-agency working and to involve all key stakeholders in the planning, development and implementation of the strategy. As one respondent explained:

"We have a DtS strategy group which meets once a month and on it is Careers Scotland, the Chambers of Commerce, university, colleges, economic development officer, head teachers from primary, secondary and nursery [schools], environmental services, community education, local industry; they are all represented there. Everybody is involved and we all know what everyone else is doing."

4.4 One authority had set up two separate such groups. One resembled the steering groups in other authorities; the other was set up in conjunction with a neighbouring LA. This structure was decided on because of their geographical proximity, previous links and because they both were accessing a lot of the same resources. An external person was chosen to chair this 'inter-authority group' (the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise) for his neutrality. The remit of this group was said to be "to bring coherence to the implementation of DtS across the two authorities and to avoid duplication of effort" and it involved "sharing ideas, sharing expertise, sharing resources, and sharing work".

4.5 Three authorities did not have, or no longer had, a steering group. Two of them had involved existing LA strategy groups during the consultation process while drawing up their plans, but had not involved them in the implementation process. One interviewee, for example, explained that no primary or special school head teacher had been involved in this group and so it was not seen as sufficiently representative. Instead, they had set up separate 'forum groups' focusing on key issues and one each for secondary, primary and special schools. These groups were said to:

"Meet separately but there is liaison and communication between groups. We feel our team at the centre drive it forward and there is no need to have a steering group at authority level anymore."

4.6 Several of the other LAs with steering groups had also set up similar working groups to focus on key issues such as business involvement or communication strategies. These groups frequently involved members of the steering group but also other individuals with relevant expertise.

4.7 The majority of LAs had appointed at least one EDO with responsibility for the operational management of the implementation of DtS. However, the number of staff recruited differed across the authorities. For example some:

• Recruited four or more such staff (five LAs)
• Employed five EDOs and one vocational training coordinator (one LA)
• Had four full-time EDOs in place, each working with five or six school clusters across four separate neighbourhoods. (one LA)
• Employed less than two full-time equivalent ( FTE) staff members. One such authority had, for example, employed one EDO full-time and another individual who used to be a business education teacher one day per week to support the EDO. (11 LAs)

4.8 Eleven local authorities had employed between two and three FTEEDOs. Some LAs currently had no EDOs in place for a variety of reasons, such as being unable to recruit such an individual and having put in place other structures relying on cluster or school co-ordinators for the operational management of the strategy. One LA had, for example, devolved the responsibility for operationalising DtS in their authority to teachers employed part-time, in each of the authority's clusters of secondary and primary schools. In another authority, the Quality Improvement Officer said that he was working on his own within the LA, but that he was hoping to employ an EDO in future in order to develop business links.

4.9 Those LAs which had appointed more than one EDO usually assigned different types of responsibility to each. In many cases, EDOs were put in charge of liaising with groups or clusters of schools. One authority, which employed two EDOs, had, for example, assigned each member of staff to half the schools in the authority. Their shared remit was "to take the plan forward, by supporting schools and working with businesses and other organisations". In other cases, EDOs were employed for each of the educational sectors - secondary, primary, and special - and took responsibility for "pushing DtS forward" in these schools. Several authorities had also chosen to appoint other staff members with particular responsibilities, such as vocational learning or business involvement. One such authority had, for example, appointed three EDOs. One worked with secondary and special schools, another with primary schools while also taking responsibility for raising awareness of DtS in the authority, while the third EDO was tasked with matching schools with local businesses.

4.10 Eight LAs were found to have appointed staff as cluster co-ordinators or equivalent. As indicated in 4.8 above, several of those authorities with no EDOs had adopted this structure. However, three other authorities which had appointed EDOs had also used such cluster staff, although usually only for one day per week. One such authority had, for example, two full-time EDOs as well as 17 'network co-ordinators', who were seconded for one day a week, to support schools in implementing DtS. Each network comprised one secondary school and its associated primary schools. Most of the network co-ordinators were teachers, but there were also a few who had been seconded from local businesses, in response to staff shortages in schools.

4.11 More than half of the interviewees indicated that all schools in their authority had appointed one member of staff with responsibility for coordinating the implementation of DtS, although not all LAs had funded these positions. One authority had, for example, provided all

"Schools with .2 FTE [full-time equivalent staff members] so that they could release staff in the coordinating role for one day a week. In most cases, that has worked reasonably well. Unfortunately, not all schools have been able to give co-ordinators a block of time but that's just the way it is in schools."

Only three authorities reported that they had both cluster and school co-ordinators in place.

IMPLEMENTATION MODELS

4.12 As indicated in Chapter 1, the evaluation sought to develop a typology of the implementation models used across LAs. Analysis of the LA plans helped to develop two broad models termed the ' LA-led' and 'Devolved' models.

The LA-led model

4.13 In this model, the LA takes a lot of responsibility in implementing the DtS strategy in its area, including clearly specifying the kinds of activities to be organised by schools and what training will be provided to teaching staff. The plan sets out very clear targets, often detailing the exact numbers of pupils or schools they are expecting to take part in particular events, activities or opportunities. The LA takes on the main responsibility for the operational management of implementing the strategy. The analysis of the plans indicated that 13 LAs had adopted this type of model.

4.14 Five authorities could be quite clearly classified as having followed the LA-led model. These authorities had all written very precise plans with clear targets and appointed EDOs to take a leading role in implementing the strategy. One respondent explained why they had taken on this strategy:

"We have learnt from our past mistakes and where we had gone wrong. We had very, very specific smart targets on the plan. I think if you look at some of the other plans you can drive buses through them but we were very specific and progress is measurable."

4.15 Authorities that were classified as having adopted the LA-led model also tended to link the provision of financial resources very closely with results or planned activities. This meant that these authorities put a lot of emphasis on measuring how the money had been used and what impact the strategy had had. As one LA coordinator reported:

"We decided that what we would do is that we would learn from TVEI²- they took the money and they fired it out to schools and the schools spent it in a whole lot of different ways. We felt we would be able to have some kind of benchmark and say this is what we have done with the money right throughout the schools."

4.16 Another of these authorities reported that they had not devolved any money directly to schools, but that they were instead required to bid for funding to deliver particular DtS activities or projects while indicating "what quality indicators the activity will link to. That is how I can guarantee that the limited amount of funding is being used most effectively".

4.17 None of the LA-led authorities had employed cluster-level co-ordinators but three of the four had appointed school-level co-ordinators as a "direct point of contact". One of the interviewees emphasised the importance of having such a reference person with whom the EDO could organise regular meetings "to monitor the progress they are making towards the plan targets".

The Devolved model

4.18 In this model, schools or school clusters are given a lot of responsibility to choose how they are going to implement the strategy. The LA makes (often quite general) recommendations and provides resources, but schools/school clusters are given a lot of choice in how they want to meet the requirements. Furthermore, the LA takes active steps to consult all stakeholders and involve them in deciding on the best approach to implement the DtS strategy. Schools/School clusters are usually heavily involved in operational management of the strategy. The analysis of the plans indicated that 19 LAs had adopted this type of model. These models were further explored through interviews with LA staff.

4.19 The NFER research classified ten authorities as having followed the Devolved model. It is worth noting that two authorities, that had been categorised as LA-led as a result of analysis of their plans, turned out to have adopted a strategy more closely aligned to this model. One authority had, for example, not employed any EDOs and had, instead, appointed a coordinator to each cluster of secondary and primary schools. As part of this devolved model, these co-ordinators were line-managed locally by their learning community principals rather than centrally by the LA coordinator.

4.20 The authorities following this model had devolved most of the funding and responsibility for implementing the strategy to schools, usually via cluster co-ordinators or their equivalents. As one respondent pointed out, he wanted to avoid the experience of previous initiatives which were said to have:

"Had too many working parties, which never came to any decisions and too much money and time was spent at this level rather than at school level; we realised that DtS needed to have a simple structure with most funding going to schools but still making sure that there was accountability in how they spent the money."

4.21 Responsibility was given to cluster co-ordinators or directly to schools to draw up plans of how they were going to spend the money provided to them by the LA. One respondent, for example, reported that they had "devolved a lot of the money to schools and have asked them to produce action plans to show how funding is being used".

4.22 One potential danger of the Devolved model identified was that while it allows for local interpretations and much flexibility, there is a danger for progress not to be uniform across the whole of the LA. This was found to have happened in one LA as reported by one interviewee:

"It is worth noting that the LA is across a very big area, so it couldn't be centrally directed; we couldn't control for what was going on across the whole area, so we decided to allow for local flexibility. And this comes out very strongly in the plans submitted by clusters and it is one of the issues we've been facing, because as soon as you allow people to be creative and flexible you end up with a differentiated response. So you either go for a[n] approach where you get everyone to do the same or you allow for flexibilities and you end up with highs and lows."

4.23 The fieldwork showed that while about 15 authorities could be clearly assigned to one of these two models, most of the others had adopted strategies which combined elements of these models.

4.24 The remaining 17 authorities were seen as having adopted more of a hybrid model, combining elements of both the LA-led and Devolved models. One such authority had, for example, set very clear targets, which they had agreed in consultation with schools and other stakeholders. However, it had then devolved a lot of responsibility for the operational management of the strategy to cluster co-ordinators, who had some flexibility to adopt the targets to the local needs of their areas.

4.25 It is also worth noting that some authorities indicated that they were planning changes in the operational management of DtS, with a move towards a more devolved model. Interviewees explained that this change was seen as necessary to ensure the long term sustainability of the strategy if funding was no longer available in the future. As one respondent explained:

"Next year the Senior Management Team want us to use a different approach to try and make it more sustainable over time for if and when the funding dries up. They want it to become more embedded in the way schools work, not just embedded in the curriculum but also the schools should be enterprising schools without us at the centre with input. So in year 3 what is happening is that the .2 [school coordinator role] will be increased to .3 and the EDOs will be reduced to 2."

LA STAFF VIEWS

4.26 Interviewees were asked to outline what they thought the key aims of the strategy were. Responses resembled quite closely those expressed by those at the strategic level ( see Chapter 3), although less of an emphasis was placed on the economic rationale underlying the introduction of DtS. The main aims of the strategy were seen to be to:

• Bring about significant changes in the teaching and learning approaches used in schools across the whole curriculum (21 LAs)
• Make a difference to pupils' attitudes and qualities (16 LAs)
• Bring about a general attitudinal change across Scotland (nine LAs)
• Develop pupils' core skills (eight LAs).

4.27 Generally, there was a wide-spread recognition among LA personnel that for DtS to be successful it had to overcome many schools' perception that EinE was " just about discrete enterprise activities, but instead that it needs to be embedded in the curriculum". Respondents in 21 authorities identified such a need to change teaching and learning approaches rather than just delivering more enterprise activities as one of the key aims of the strategy. Several interviewees commented that they had at first interpreted the strategy in a narrower way as simply aiming at preparing pupils for the world of work, but that they now realised it had more ambitious goals of moving towards:

"Trying to have enterprising teachers and enterprising classrooms and hence enterprising pupils, and I suppose, if you like, citizenship; it is promoting the confidence and self-esteem and the working together and the critical faculty of listening to what people are saying and discussing various things; its about broadening the curriculum."

4.28 Half of the authorities thought that another key aim of the DtS strategy was to change pupils' attitudes and personal qualities as a result of their experience of such more enterprising teaching approaches. Several interviewees referred to the need to develop a 'can do' attitude, as one interviewee explained:

"It is about an empowerment process. A lot of youngsters, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds feel disempowered, disenfranchised; they don't know how to improve their circumstances, and I hope that this programme will do something to make them think, 'yes, I can do something to improve my personal circumstances', be that by getting a better job, getting a better house, getting a better life. One of the big outcomes I am looking for is a higher self-esteem in our pupils, and a can-do approach."

4.29 Other respondents (in nine authorities) put an emphasis on bringing about such an attitudinal change right across the population of Scotland and not just among pupils, but involving parents, employers, teachers and the rest of the community. One DtS coordinator, for example, referred to the DtS Review documentation:

"As it says in the Determined to Succeed document, a smarter, more successful Scotland: bringing back the enterprise culture in Scotland, which I think we've lost."

4.30 A quarter of respondents thought that the strategy aimed at developing pupils' core, generic or life skills in order "to succeed in life and particularly in work". One EDO, for example, commented:

"I think EinE can make education more positive for children; it can make it more real and more relevant to real life. I think it can help children see the links between subjects and help them develop life skills like teamwork, problem solving and communication skills."

4.31 Other perceived aims of the strategy identified by fewer respondents, included increasing pupils entrepreneurial skills (six LAs), their employability skills (five LAs) and their understanding of the world of work (four LAs).

4.32 Resembling the views of the interviewees at the strategic level (see paragraph 3.16), just over a third of respondents regarded the funding allocated to the strategy as one of the key strengths of DtS. As one interviewee pointed out:

"They have also provided reassurance that this is something long term and it is worth investing your energy and belief in it. Sustained funding is very reassuring and has been very helpful. There are probably other strengths too but that is the main one."

4.33 The long term nature of this funding was particularly highlighted by several respondents. One LA compared DtS favourably with other similar initiatives:

" DtS is definitely not the first of its kind - what's attractive about it is the notion that it has longevity about it. Not just a year shot in the dark kind of policy, but a proper long term policy."

4.34 Other strengths of the strategy identified by just a few individuals, included the way it allowed LAs flexibility; respondents valued being given the "freedom from the Scottish Executive in interpreting the strategy" and adapting it to their local circumstances. Two respondents highlighted the help and support received from the Scottish Executive, "through [the provision of] conferences and through networking opportunities" as a key strength of the strategy. One respondent said that the fact that DtS was now linked to HMIe indicators would "help to drive DtS forward because head teachers will take it seriously if HMIe are looking for change".

4.35 As regards weaknesses, while many respondents valued the long term funding of the strategy, five other interviewees thought that the funding needed a longer term commitment. One consequence of this was said to be a problem in recruiting staff to operational management positions, as one respondent explained:

"We have had problems with staffing - some of those are not usual problems and we are aware of that but I do think the fact that the funding has not been guaranteed has caused problems. We are not able to advertise for permanent positions and have had to advertise for secondments, which is less attractive. We have had a low uptake and I think it would have helped if we had been able to guarantee posts would be permanent."

4.36 Regarding the expectations of the DtS strategy, one LA co-ordinator commented:

"Somehow the expectation seems to be that the strategy can do it and then it will stay there without any further work. But the truth is that unless you keep at it, it'll regress again, especially when other things become more important and our efforts go on some other initiative or policy. What I am saying is that it shouldn't be one, two or three years - it needs to be an ongoing policy if it is going to make any lasting change."

4.37 The use of the term 'enterprise' was seen by other interviewees as being too narrow and leading many teachers to associate DtS only with entrepreneurial skills and business. Several respondents also thought that initially too much emphasis had been placed on reaching some of the targets set out in the recommendations. In particular, Recommendation 1 ³ was seen as counteracting the overall aim of embedding EinE into the curriculum. This perceived weakness of the strategy was expressed in the following way by one respondent:

"What we don't like is the idea of separate activities because we wanted it embedded in everything that the school does; so a school could put in a half day enterprise activity for everybody on one afternoon in May and say that they have fulfilled that target, but it wouldn't fulfil what we want. So we feel that we could say that every kid has been involved in an enterprise activity of some sort, but it is not really what we want to report on."

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF DtS IN LAS

4.38 Having explored respondents' overall views of the DtS strategy and what it aims to achieve, interviewees were also asked if their authorities had placed a particular emphasis on any particular aspects of the strategy. While almost half of the interviewees (15) reiterated their key emphasis on embedding DtS into the curriculum, other common targets included "the expansion of vocational and work-based learning" (nine authorities), expanding their business links (seven authorities), linking " trying to use DtS as an over-arching strategy to draw together citizenship, health and other areas" (four authorities) . Seven interviewees said that they had built their plans around the DtS recommendations, while three authorities said that they had planned their strategy in such a way as to address local skills shortage or employment issues.

4.39 When directly asked, about one third of the 32 LAs said that one specific focus of their local strategy was to address the needs of disaffected learners/at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) on leaving school and that they had, or were planning to, put in place specific provision to meet their needs. Thirteen said that they had some provision for this group but that it was not a specific target. Eight authorities reported that they had no specific DtS engendered provision for this group. Several respondents explained such a lack of focus on their being no specific recommendations relating to this group of young people. Others said that other strategies were in place already or that they did not want to see DtS as becoming "just another programme aimed at disaffected learners" and so had refused to focus activities on this group.

MAKING LINKS - INTERAGENCY WORKING

4.40 All LAs emphasised that they had made strong efforts to establish links with other organisations and agencies to support the implementation of DtS and that, overall, inter-agency working had been successful. As indicated in paragraph 4.3, most authorities had established steering groups and involved various local stakeholders in them, including local schools, colleges, and other learning providers, Careers Scotland, Chambers of Commerce, businesses and employer organisations, as well as many others.

4.41 As regards the actual implementation of DtS, almost all respondents commented on having made links with local colleges or training providers and employers (the latter is explored in greater detail in paragraph 4.46 below). Colleges and training providers were seen as particularly important to help meet recommendation 2 of the strategy - providing all pupils over the aged of 14 with an opportunity to engage in work-based vocational learning. One small rural authority, for example, had set up vocational experiences for 130 young people in S3 and S4 in their area. It was said to be a "good model, but expensive. The young people are doing on-the-job training, mainly in care work". Most authorities, however, emphasised that many of the links with colleges had existed prior to the introduction of DtS, but that the strategy had compelled them to focus on how best they could utilise these links.

4.42 Three-quarters of authorities (24) said that they had made some links with Careers Scotland mainly in order to establish business links but also to access courses delivered by them. However, there were clear differences in the extent to which these links were said to be successful across LAs. Five authorities remarked on having established particularly good working relationships with Careers Scotland. As one interviewee remarked:

"We have a very good relationship with Careers Scotland… they are very supportive, especially on the business engagement angle."

Just under a quarter of LAs commented on problems in their relationship with Careers Scotland, which were mainly seen as a result of "restructuring within the organisation itself".

It is worth noting that there was an apparent link between Careers Scotland regions and a LA's level of satisfaction, with respondents in some regions reporting more positive or supportive relationships than in others.

4.43 Other partnerships established as part of DtS across several LAs involved various other organisations helping authorities to develop stronger business links, including Chambers of Commerce, other employer bodies and private consultants. Ten LAs also commented on having made links with other voluntary or community organisations who had got involved in delivering events, talks or shows in schools. One authority had for example made links with the following types of organisations:

• One that produces computer programme modules which promote problem-solving, leadership and communication
• An organisation in the business of magic that has an enterprise programme, in which "they use magic to show that anything is possible"
• A company that runs courses that promote self-esteem and leadership
• A business that specialises in giving motivational talks in schools.

4.44 Four LAs said they had recognised the need to link with other authorities to share ideas, resources and good practice ideas.

4.45 Overall, most LAs said that they were utilising many existing links while building some new ones, but in many cases DtS was said to have formalised and extended links.

4.46 All LAs had made efforts at securing more business links, although not all felt that they had been successful at establishing partnership agreements as suggested by Recommendation 8. ⁴ The authorities that had been most successful at making such partnership agreements appeared to be those which:

• Did not rely on one strategy alone, but utilised various approaches and agencies
• Employed dedicated staff as EDOs who could coordinate the LA's strategy as well as follow up links made by other individuals or organisations
• Were situated in employment-rich areas, with many large, multi-national employers.

4.47 One authority, for example, had employed one EDO on a full-time basis to establish partnerships between schools and businesses. She started with an audit of all existing partnerships and then "contacted all the companies and arranged to go and talk to the businesses about DtS". Other approaches included:

"Cold calling, where I have looked up Scottish enterprise companies in the area and told them about DtS. I have then gone in and done a presentation about DtS and talked about the benefits of being involved. I have then left them to let them get back to me although I did follow it up if I hadn't heard from them within a month. I used the same strategy whether it was a big company or a small company. I think it has been very successful - I have only had one company say no because they were going through a re-structuring programme. Everyone has wanted to be involved, just to different degrees."

4.48 The authority had also commissioned the services of a company which had a lot of experience in establishing business links. This organisation had helped approach small companies but also provided useful advice and mentoring to the EDO charged with making the links. Approaches had resulted in "84 partnerships across the authority - that includes public, private, small and large businesses and that is across all sectors, primary, special and secondary. A few were existing partnerships".

4.49 Several of the 16 LAs which felt that they had been less successful at establishing strong partnerships with businesses were those which had delegated responsibility for business engagement to schools themselves or had relied too much on other organisations, such as Careers Scotland or private consultants, to make the links. One EDO in a small authority, for example, reported: "Originally, in the 20 recommendations, it reads as if it is Careers Scotland's remit [to engage employers] , so I was quite surprised that the EDOs are charged with making sure that it happens". Interviewees in six LAs commented on the difficulty of getting small employers to commit themselves to working with schools. This was obviously particularly a problem for those authorities with very few large businesses in their area, as one respondent said:

"We have got a lot of one man businesses down here, or very small businesses, and to be perfectly honest they are just too busy to get involved."

4.50 Some small LAs also commented on the fact that they did not have the resources to employ one EDO on a full-time basis just to work on business engagement as some other, large authorities were able to do. This meant that they could not institute a formal LA-led strategy but had to rely on other organisations to help them out.

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

4.51 LAs were asked how they had informed schools and teachers about DtS and most authorities had used various approaches. More than three-quarters (25) said that they had contacted head teachers either directly or at a meeting or event. One authority, for example, had organised "a big launch event with head teachers to try and motivate them and see the value of it". Many interviewees emphasised the need "to get head teachers on board, because if they're not committed to it, nothing happens" This reflects the findings of the literature review, which found that having a supportive head teacher is a key factor for the successful introduction of EinE ( see Chapter 2).

4.52 Most of the LAs with co-ordinators at cluster and school level emphasised the importance of involving these individuals at an early stage in the planning and implementation of the strategy. Several respondents saw these co-ordinators as local champions who were clearly informed about the targets the authority was working towards and could be used to convince others to get involved. One authority, for example, saw the enterprise co-ordinators in all of their schools as playing this role:

"First we put co-ordinators in post then and we took it to our co-ordinators (…). We talked to them about the plan and consulted with them about it. We have meetings regularly with co-ordinators and we have updates on the plan and how we are doing. The response has been really good to the strategy from teachers as a result and I think it has helped to motivate people. Inspiration affects your teaching."

4.53 While about a third of authorities relied on head teachers and local co-ordinators to inform the rest of the teaching staff about the strategy, other LAs had been more proactive in this respect, recognising the need to develop a communication strategy embracing all teachers. Common approaches included:

• Sending out newsletters or flyers (14 LAs)
• Visiting schools (ten LAs)
• Organising large conferences, events or road-shows (eight LAs).

One interviewee, for example, outlined a variety of strategies to inform and involve all teaching staff in implementing the strategy:

"One of the routes into schools having been our principal teachers of enterprise and citizenship - we've got one for each of the eight clusters - who are seconded teachers and work on a part-time basis. They are actually in the schools already and they have been doing things like going to subject department meetings in their and other schools and also going into the primaries. Also we have provided inputs at head teachers' meetings for head teachers to pass on. We have circulated DtS letters and things, and we are planning to develop our own newsletter for [ LA] schools with examples of good practice."

4.54 Other communication strategies mentioned by just a few authorities included using the LA website, circulating the LA implementation plan, and using enterprise awards to raise awareness. One authority reported sending out an electronic newsletter to schools every week.

"We call it WWW (Wonderful Wednesday Word) - and it gets e-mailed out every week as a word document. It includes inspirational thoughts, new websites or local deals on equipment or resources, schools that are succeeding and any training opportunities. One teacher summed it up by saying: 'Every single week I am thinking enterprise because I look at WWW'. And that goes out to relevant people in the strategy group as well and to the Director of Education. We feel it needs to be once a week because enterprise is developing so fast within our authority."

4.55 Almost all interviewees recognised the importance of informing and engaging parents and carers. However very few LAs had so far developed a comprehensive communication strategy to inform and engage parents and carers in DtS. Of all the 32 authorities, six reported having made significant progress in this area, while nine had initiated some steps towards informing this group. The remaining 17 LAs had so far either instituted no or virtually no proactive strategies, leaving it to schools or planning it for the future. In the words of one interviewee within an authority which had so far done very little:

"I think it is very important and that is certainly one of our main priorities for the coming years; because if parents and carers are not aware of what we are trying to achieve in schools, then we are really not doing our job and missing out a tremendous opportunity for parents to be involved in the learning of the children."

Several of those authorities who had not developed an approach stated that they would like some guidance from the Scottish Executive on how best to inform this key group of people.

4.56 The six LAs which had put in place comprehensive strategies had recognised the need for innovative approaches to reach as many members of the community as possible. Strategies employed included:

• Publicising information about the strategy as a supplement in a local paper
• Advertising the strategy on buses, cars, and in schools
• Organising parents' conferences involving parents and pupils
• Producing CDs or DVDs publicising EinE activities
• Running competitions
• Organising show-casing events and road shows
• Discussing the strategy on local radio involving teachers and pupils
• Carrying out a mail-shot to all parents.

4.57 One authority had put in place a whole variety of approaches to reach parents and other members of the community:

"As part of our communication strategy we try to get three news stories in the local press every week on enterprise. The local paper has a circulation of about 35,000. We just ran a two-week campaign of drive time for enterprise education. Schools were talking and kids were talking on local radio and we had 68 slots per week and that tied in. We have also just finished doing car bumper stickers and we did 20,000 throughout the LA that said 'I am supporting my child reach for the sky through enterprise'; and it was really aimed at getting the parents involved. We ran a competition, and if your sticker was found on your car you could get a £50 voucher. That was done through the local radio - they carry the message. We also did an enterprise showcase at the end of term in schools as well."

SUPPORTING SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS: TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

4.58 More than half (18) of the 32 LAs appeared to have made good progress in implementing systematic CPD (Continuous Professional Development) approaches aimed at providing teachers with opportunities to participate in training and development in EinE. For the most part this involved:

• Informing teachers about the aims and objectives of DtS
• Providing training related to enterprising teaching and learning methods
• Providing training in the use of relevant resources.

4.59 Most of these authorities had also made provision for a range of teaching staff including, head teachers, DtS co-ordinators, principal teachers, other subject teachers, probationer teachers and teacher trainees. It should be noted that about one in six authorities had relevant CPD in place for all of these.

4.60 One case study area stood out in this respect for having implemented a very comprehensive approach. This included organising initial Challenge Days to motivate teachers and give them ideas that they could use themselves in the classroom. They had also put on enterprise 'showcases' for teachers to come together and show-case the enterprise work they had been doing and organised whole-school in-service days. The authority had also recently recruited 'subject champions' from within schools in order to embed EinE into the curriculum. The EDO in this authority explained that this approach was more effective:

"Instead of me, as enterprise guru, going in and speaking to the chemistry teachers or geography teachers. We say that instead of being 'the sage on the stage', teachers are the 'guide from the side'."

4.61 The LA had also run a whole range of training courses for primary schools, such as 'Enterprising Infants' and 'Enterprising your curriculum'. They had also provided enterprise training for all the probationer teachers: "the more we can train in this way, the bigger a bed-rock we've got". In order to overcome problems with schools not being able to get cover for teachers wanting to attend training courses, the authority had also run some courses as twilight sessions or on Saturdays.

4.62 Many of the remaining 14 authorities had either not implemented any or very few DtS-specific training and development opportunities, instead relying on existing CPD strategies aimed at changing teaching and learning in schools. Others continued to deliver resource-specific training only, related to specific enterprise activities such as the Apodo Enterprise Resource System or the Learning Game.

MEETING THEIR TARGETS: AUTHORITIES' PROGRESS TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING THEIR PLANS

4.63 Interviewees were asked to identify the areas in which their authorities had so far made most progress in implementing their plans. Perhaps unsurprisingly, more than half thought that they had made most progress toward meeting recommendation 1, increasing the opportunities for all pupils to engage in enterprise activities on an annual basis. One authority, for example, reported that it managed to increase participation in such activities for "Primary 6 (…) from 71 per cent to 90 per cent, secondary from 60 to 85 and specials were already starting at 100 per cent, so that's really good". However, several authorities emphasised that they still needed to expand provision particularly for S1 and S2 children.

4.64 An example of a particularly innovative way of involving young pupils in enterprising activities was provided by one authority which had placed particular emphasis on embedding EinE into schools:

"I suppose the most innovated thing we have done recently was a business breakfast; not the usual sort of the business breakfast, this one was organised by kids in a primary school and they had a business breakfast in the [ LA] exhibition and conference centre. And they organised everything from the menu upwards and they invited other schools to take part and bring business partners along; and if they didn't have a business partner they had to get one and bring them. We had about 150 people there and it was led by a P7 kid who chaired the whole thing. I suppose what it sums up is our own attitude that we feel that kids can do a lot more if you just expect them to do it."

4.65 Just over one in three authorities felt that they had made considerable progress towards meeting recommendation 2 - enabling pupils in S3 and older to engage in vocational learning opportunities. As pointed out in paragraph 4.41, most LAs had set up links with local colleges and were starting to set up relevant vocational courses. One authority which had placed a particular emphasis on this area reported good progress:

"We only started it for the first time last year; it was meant to be a pilot and we ended up with 155 youngsters from nine schools. This year we have got another 325 starting, so together with the 155 going forward that is almost 500 in Years 3 and 4, with three colleges."

4.66 Several respondents mentioned the way they had managed to combine progress on recommendation 2 with their involvement in the new Skills for Work pilot programme. Other authorities commented on the way they had used their growing list of business links to organising more and improved work experience opportunities.

4.67 Other areas in which authorities felt they had made most progress included, developing CPD opportunities (eight LAs), increasing business involvement (seven LAs) and increasing teacher awareness and commitment to the strategy (six LAs).

4.68 Respondents were asked about the areas in which they had made least progress and what barriers they had experienced in implementing their plans. Interviewees' answers were linked to a large part, in the sense that the barriers experienced were frequently linked to the areas in which LAs had made least progress. This was particularly the case with reference to teachers' attitudes to EinE, which 14 authorities identified as a barrier to the success of DtS.

4.69 Most of these emphasised that, while many teachers were committed to the aims of the strategy, others still needed to be won over. In some cases, there was said to be a resistance among some teachers to the concept of "enterprise" and its associations with business and the world of work. In the words of one LA respondent:

"There is still the perception that enterprise is about buying and selling - we have to face that challenge by bringing about an enlargement in understanding."

4.70 More frequently, though, teachers' resistance was said to be due to "initiative overload", as one interviewee explained:

"I think they are wary of it; you have a cynical workforce out there (…). But I think the biggest thing that impacts on them (…) are the number of initiatives that seem to come through separately and at different points in the year, all saying that they're urgent, all saying that they have the minister's authority and all saying they need something done. And it happens so often, I think people are just a bit fed up with it."

4.71 The main strategies for overcoming teachers' negative attitudes towards EinE suggested, included:

• The effective use of CPD to raise awareness of the true nature of EinE
• Providing clear guidelines to teachers "of what they can do, rather than leave it too vague"
• Linking DtS with other recent policy developments and initiatives, such as 'Curriculum for Excellence' and 'Skills for Work'
• Promoting and celebrating successes rather than "dwelling on problems".

4.72 Many LAs reported that most of their primary and special schools had managed to embed EinE into the curriculum very effectively - often drawing and building on previous work in this area - secondary schools had shown more resistance. Thus, more than half of interviewees (17) reported that they had made least progress with secondary schools, in particular with reference to embedding EinE into the curriculum. This was said to be mainly due to the:

• Departmental structure of secondary schools, so that "commitment to the strategy can vary from department to department within a secondary school"
• Strong emphasis on the attainment of exam results: "They see their focus as being on attainment"
• Subject-specific nature of secondary education, whereby "secondary teachers see their goal as teaching their subject and it is their subject that often dominates rather than the effectiveness of the learning".

4.73 Several LAs emphasised that they were seeking to address this issue in future by focusing their resources on this area. One authority had, for example, decided to put in two days of funded DtS time into secondary schools:

"We want co-ordinators to spend two days a week non-teaching time to work to get it moving. We have a whole programme of activities for these people and that is how we plan to take it forward in secondary schools. We are encouraging them to link with their feeder primaries and with the colleges and we want the heads to give the co-ordinators the budget as well so they are in charge."

4.74 Other key barriers to the successful implementation of DtS identified by the largest number of LAs included:

• Funding issues (11 LAs): lack of funding was identified to be particularly a barrier in small authorities and some LAs which complained about the cost of funding vocational learning
• Geography (11 LAs): this was mainly an issue in large or island authorities, which complained about the difficulties and costs of linking schools with colleges that were far away from each other
• Staff recruitment (nine LAs): almost one in three authorities commented on problems related to getting teachers out of schools to fill posts as EDOs or cluster coordinator due to serious staff shortages within schools; one authority also commented on problems with recruiting staff to teach on vocational programmes, as one respondent explained: "There is not much point teaching it if you can earn £50,000 being a bricklayer".

4.75 Areas in which LAs were said to have made least progress, included:

• Engaging and setting up partnerships with businesses (16 LAs) as outlined in paragraph 4.49 above
• Informing parents and engaging them in EinE (15 LAs) as outlined in paragraph 4.55 above
• Monitoring progress and impacts (nine LAs)
• Providing vocational learning opportunities for all pupils over the age of 14 (seven LAs) - this was particularly found to be a problem of geography in very large authorities.

LESSONS LEARNED

4.76 Interviewees were asked what lessons they had learned so far from being involved in developing and implementing DtS in their authorities. More than a third of respondents (11) said that one of the most important factors of a successful implementation was to "make sure you have got a really good team of people working with you". This was said to be important at all levels including the strategic, operational, cluster and school-level. Respondents emphasised the need for the team to have a shared vision, to communicate information effectively, and to be able to motivate others to get engaged in the initiative.

4.77 Otherwise, seven LAs reported that they had realised the need to link EinE in with other strategies to show schools how it fitted in with the "overall education agenda, that there is not a conflict and they shouldn't be threatened by it, but that it can be integrated with other things". One respondent, for example, said that EinE linked in very strongly with "other initiatives and areas, such as health, citizenship and personal and social development".

4.78 Five authorities reported that a key lesson learnt from implementing DtS was the need for developing good links with other "agencies that can help you and with other Local Authorities to find out what is happening and to get ideas". The same number of respondents also emphasised that they had realised the importance of getting head teachers on board to implement EinE successfully. As one interviewee pointed out:

"I have come to realise that head teachers are autonomous and yet they are key to this strategy - the SMT is key that's what I have learnt. You need to work with them and get them on board in order to have schools moving this forward."

4.79 Other lessons learned by less than four authorities included the need to:

• Involve young people in all stages of implementing the strategy, including planning, events, presentations and bids
• Establish clear and realistic targets and to make sure all stakeholders are aware of them and are working towards them together
• Find out what schools' needs are and to tailor provision to their needs so that LAs deliver "what schools want, not what you think they want".

4.80 It is worth noting that several respondents commented on the way the implementation process had been a "steep learning curve" and that they were gradually developing strategies to overcome some of the barriers identified in paragraphs 4.68 to 4.75 above.

4.81 As regards the future of DtS, most respondents emphasised that they were hopeful that it would become embedded into the curriculum, especially if it was linked in with other relevant strategies. In the words of one interviewee:

"I just see it becoming more and more embedded in the everyday teaching experience. What it is offering should be what every pupil is getting anyway. There should be an extended curriculum, there should be more vocational courses, there should be different methods of teaching, there should be more different methods of learning. DtS is delivering that."

4.82 There was also a widespread view that in order to "maintain the momentum" and to ensure that DtS became embedded in what teachers do there needed to be funding beyond 2008 to fund EinE activities in schools. As one LA coordinator put it:

"We will always be looking for external funding - the strategy would crash without it. We're always going to have vocational learning and school level projects and training."

4.83 Even though most LAs recognised that most future funding would need to go directly to schools, several respondents also saw the need for the continued provision of support at authority level to ensure that "provision continues to be innovative and uniform across all schools, especially secondary schools".

MAIN FINDINGS

4.84 This chapter presented all 32 LAs' views and experiences of the DtS strategy and charted their progress in implementing their delivery plans. Key findings included that:

• Most LAs were committed to the strategy and hoped it would increasingly become embedded into all types of schools, although many authorities were concerned that targeted funding was not guaranteed beyond 2008
• Almost all LAs had set up multi-agency steering groups, which were used to foster inter-agency working; only three authorities did not have such a group
• Twenty-seven out of 32 LAs had recruited at least one EDO; the main reasons for not recruiting EDOs were recruitment difficulties or the reliance on other support structures, such as cluster co-ordinators
• Five authorities were found to have adopted a LA-led implementation model, while ten followed more of a Devolved model, giving more responsibility to schools and clusters; the remaining authorities had adopted a hybrid model containing elements of both the LA-led and Devolved models
• All LAs had developed links with other organisations and, in particular, most had made significant steps towards working together more closely with local colleges or training providers
• Twenty-four authorities had made links with Careers Scotland, although just under one quarter reported problems in setting up effective partnerships; in contrast, five LAs remarked on having established very effective links
• All LAs understood the value of informing and engaging parents and carers. Significant progress in informing and engaging parents and carers had been made by six LAs and many wanted more guidance from the Scottish Executive on effective communication strategies for this group
• All LAs had made efforts to establish and secure strong relationships with business. Those that had been successful tended to be LAs using a variety of approaches, employing dedicated staff, and based in areas with many large employers. Sixteen LAs felt that they had so far not been very successful
• All authorities had implemented communication strategies to inform schools and teachers of the aims and objectives of DtS; the most common method used by more than three-quarters was to contact head teachers; however, most authorities used a variety of methods
• More than half of the 32 LAs had implemented a variety of CPD approaches aimed at different groups of school staff; fourteen authorities appeared to have either not implemented any or very few DtS specific training and development opportunities
• LAs had made most progress towards increasing the opportunities for all pupils to engage in enterprise activities, especially for pupils in primary and special school, and considerable progress towards enabling pupils aged 14 or older to participate in vocational learning opportunities
• Many LAs reported that Enterprise in Education was successfully embedded in primary and special schools. Progress was less successful at secondary school level and more effort needed to be made in improving teachers' attitudes to EinE
• Other key barriers to the successful implementation of DtS were found to be lack of funding particularly in small authorities, geographical size for large or island authorities, and problems in recruiting staff to key positions.

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