CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
5.1. From this evaluation we do feel the principle of a WSA is potentially a valuable way of increasing the effectiveness of Enterprise in Education, and that these principles can be applied to all schools in Scotland. In essence the programme creates a significant focus on Enterprise in Education which will help it to become more embedded in the curriculum and ethos of the school. To take the initiative forward we would advocate the adoption of a number of broad principles:
- Whole Partnership Approach ( WPA) rather than individual schools
- a more concentrated programme which lasts just one year
- three phases: Preparation, Operation and Development
- four training components: Leadership, Generic, Secondary and Primary.
5.2. In essence our outline proposals would aim to provide a significant boost and re-focus to Enterprise in Education. This would be planned and take place at the partnership (or cluster) level which would help encourage co-operative learning between schools (and phases) and other stakeholders. The whole programme would be completed within a year which would help to keep it moving and maintain a high profile.
5.3. The three phases would allow for a period of Preparation (including appropriate training for staff); an Operational phase when various activities and curriculum enhancements would be tried; and a Development phase, which would help ensure the various principles could become embedded in the school curriculum and ethos and the future of Enterprise in Education mapped out at the school / partnership level. Finally, any necessary or appropriate training would be directed at staff in terms of individual needs, specifically; Leadership, Generic (EinE), Secondary and Primary.
Detailed Programme Guidance
5.4. Following this report, other feedback, consultations and taking account of other factors we would recommend the production of national guidance for the adoption of a Whole Partnership Approach ( WPA) to Enterprise in Education.
Programme Development
5.5. Whilst much would depend on any guidance that were issued, there are a number of areas of the proposed programme outlined below which would still have to be developed / piloted; for example, to identify and train Tapestry classroom session trainers, and developing new teaching materials.
Local Authority - WPA group
5.6. The LA would very much continue to have a key role, and with any guidance in mind, we would suggest that a LAWPA group be established. This would be made up of existing local authority officers and managers, and in particular the EDOs who would have partnership level responsibility, as well as representatives from the learning partnerships themselves. For larger authorities in particular, it might be necessary to regionalise this. This group could identify and help develop the necessary authority wide training and resources, as well as coordinate the timings of the different learning partnership programmes to ensure availability of those resources.
Enterprise and Academic Sponsors
5.7. We would recommend the appointment of a suitable local authority Enterprise Sponsor, for example, a high profile local business person; and an Academic Sponsor, for example, a member of staff from a local University teacher training department. These Sponsors could advise the LAWPA group and provide a high public profile to the programmes, although in practice their direct involvement in specific activities might well be limited. Their contact might be effected and enhanced by web based communication technologies.
Operational phases
5.8. Preparation: This first phase would last about five months and would include the appropriate and necessary training to the Headteachers and teachers and other staff, (although it is quite possible that some of the leadership training would have to take place outside of this period). As well as this any appropriate curricular changes could be planned. A conference for all learning partnership staff could be used to mark the beginning of the programme, led by the LAWPA group representative and EDO manager / officer.
5.9. Operation: The beginning of this second phase could be marked by a large scale student conference. Given that there could well be 2000+ students it is likely that it would have to be targeted at certain cohorts; but in addition to this school based high profile events could be organised. During this phase (6 months) the majority of the activities or curricular innovations and experiments would take place.
5.10. Development: This final month would provide a clear end to the programme, and an opportunity for review. And from this an opportunity for each learning partnership and school to map out the future development of their Enterprise in Education strategy.
Leadership Component
5.11. Using both the Columba 1400 model and any specific details from the proposed guidelines, a suitable basic initial leadership training programme could be developed. This we would recommend should be for all Headteachers, as well as Deputes / Principal Teachers responsible for more than eight teachers. Even assuming the start time of the various learning partnership programmes throughout the country occurred over a period of several years, this would still give a very substantial number of people to train in a short period of time. Clearly this limits what can actually be done and where.
5.12. As a general point consideration could be given to developing, possibly on a franchise basis, a Columba lite programme as the starting point. This could be offered at a number of existing regional centres. A residential component would be desirable, and as with Columba provision for self-development opportunities should be emphasised. Besides this the focus would be on leading and developing enterprising schools / departments, rather than school management functions. It would be most unlikely that all of the relevant learning partnership staff would be able to attend together at the same time, indeed this might not be best; therefore consideration should be given as to how this could be used as an opportunity to establish networking and peer mentoring / support systems.
5.13. Within this component a number of other training events / conferences could be identified, including those covering similar areas to Fullan and Hargreaves from the pilot programme. Beyond this many others could be identified and commissioned, to produce what would in effect be a rolling programme, with participants attending sessions as appropriate. It is envisaged that this would be offered on a LA basis (or possibly consortium for smaller authorities), and could overlap with the generic teaching components. This would help breakdown what is sometimes a 'Headteachers only', or 'teachers only', approach to training and development.
Generic teaching component
5.14. In the first instance specific skills relevant to both primary and secondary teachers such as the organisation of peer/cross age tutoring could be addressed. More organisational issues such as using Enterprise in Education to help with primary/secondary transfers, could also be considered. Within this component sessions which looked at broader policy issues, in particular how they impact upon, and interact with, Enterprise in Education could be considered. In practice this could involve other related areas such as health and social services, and could interact with the leadership component. In terms of existing specific events, the National Tapestry Conference would be an example, although in practice an event such as this might have to be offered on a regional basis.
Secondary component
5.15. This would concentrate on establishing and modifying existing curricular resources to help address subject specific opportunities for Enterprise in Education. Currently, some are available, for example, through LTS, although these are quite limited in breadth and scope. There is, we would suggest, an opportunity to improve upon these as well as developing new resources, and it would seem best that this be done on a national basis - for example, as currently with the web based resources located at LTS. In practice such resources could be used by school departments to help address and plan for subject specific and cross-curricular approaches to Enterprise in Education.
Primary Component
5.16. The main aspect would be the development and wider adoption of the Tapestry classroom programme. This would entail both the identification and development of a range of suitable activities, and the training of appropriate trainers. These could be existing experienced classroom teachers who, for example, could be seconded to the programme for a day a week. In the first instance we would suggest that a pilot programme be commissioned to assess the feasibility and from this to develop a suitable national level training programme. As with the secondary component there would also be the opportunity to develop further curricular resources aimed at Enterprise in Education.
Monitoring and Research
5.17. Although this evaluation has shown that a whole school approach to Enterprise in Education has many benefits there is still very much to learn about how children may become more enterprising, and able to fully contribute to a Smart, Successful Scotland. To this end we would advocate the adoption of a continuous monitoring system to measure change and progress over a longer period of time, including with reference to other aspects of academic and educational performance. This system beside having a monitoring (and research and development function), could help to identify what are the most effective approaches, in particular for different groups of children. This final point would seem to be particularly important in terms of possible age and gender differences which have been identified at the secondary level.