Targeting Excellence - Modernising Scotland's Schools Page :6

Targeting Excellence - Modernising Scotland's Schools

Specialist Provision

18. There are some pupils who have a particular talent or aptitude, particularly in the performing arts and sport, who will benefit, when they reach secondary level, from specialist tuition in these subjects which it is not possible, or is impracticable, to provide on a general basis.

19. At present 3 specialist units are generally recognised as national centres of excellence - ie the Dance School at Knightswood Academy, Glasgow, and the Music Schools at Douglas Academy, East Dunbartonshire, and Broughton High School, Edinburgh.

20. The Government wishes to offer assistance to authorities, through the Excellence Fund, to support the existing recognised specialist facilities and to encourage the development of similar facilities across an extended range of specialisms.

21. The Government is seeking the views of education authorities and other relevant interests on to how best to take forward this initiative.

Boys and Girls - Differences in Performance

22. In 1996-97 62% of girls left school with 5 or more Standard Grade awards at 1-3, or better, compared to 51% of boys. Over a third (34%) of girls left with 3 or more Higher passes, compared to slightly over a quarter (27%) of boys. These results confirm a trend which has been developing for some time and is illustrated in the chart below. Although the performance of boys and girls is improving, that of girls continues to surpass that of boys. We must ensure that this differential is narrowed. If standards are to be improved and schools are to reach their targets, the attainment of boys must be brought more into line with that of girls.

graph

23. Successfully meeting the targets for improvement which have been set by schools will rely significantly on the performance of boys. The Government is determined to work with schools to address this issue. As part of the support package on targets issued by HMI, each school received a breakdown of its current levels of attainment separately for boys and girls. The pack also included Gender Issues in Raising Attainment which reviewed how attainment is related to gender and set out a number of recommendations designed to assist schools develop strategies to narrow the present gap between girls and boys.

HM Inspectors' publication Gender Issues in Raising Attainment identified the following issues which are important to improving the relative performance of boys

Teachers should investigate how they respond to boys and girls in their teaching - perhaps by peer observation or use of video
Pupils should be encouraged to discuss and observe their own behaviour to identify gender related issues
Consideration should be given to the benefits of boys and girls working in mixed pairs or groups
All pupils should get early and frequent feedback to on their attainment
Teachers should ensure equity by gender in rewards and sanctions
Schools should reviewing the gender balance of visiting speakers who have contact with pupils about their future plans - role models are important

24. Progress towards targets in schools and education authorities will be closely monitored by HM Inspectors of Schools in relation to gender and other specific aspects of attainment.

Standard Grade - Raising Expectations

25. Standard Grade is a success story in recent Scottish educational history. Achievement at Standard Grade is growing and secondary schools have agreed targets to be achieved by 2001 which will ensure continued increases. For example, schools have set targets which should see an increase on the 1995-1997 level of more than 3,000 pupils each year gaining 5+ Standard Grades at levels (1-2).

26. The targets at national level for Standard Grade are shown in the table below.

Target Measure	Average percentage of children⁽¹⁾ gaining qualification 1995-97	Target number of children⁽¹⁾ gaining this qualification	Targeted increase
Target Measure		Target number of children⁽¹⁾ gaining this qualification	numbers	% ⁽²⁾
Standard Grade English	92.4	94.1	1,000	1.7
Standard Grade Maths	92.2	94.0	1,100	1.8
5+ Standard Grades 1-6	89.5	92.6	1,900	3.1
5+ Standard Grades 1-4	71.7	77.3	3,400	5.5
5+ Standard Grades 1-2	28.2	33.6	3,300	5.3

¹ Percentage based on the appropriate S4 roll.
² Any apparent inconsistencies between the 1995-1997 performance, the target performance and increase sought are due to the effects of rounding.

27. The Government attach particular importance to the target for all pupils to achieve at least a Standard Grade in English and mathematics. It is unacceptable that many children leave compulsory schooling with nothing to show for 11 years in the system. Flexibility and innovation in the curriculum and how it is delivered for these groups may be important in ensuring they realise their full potential. Some of the building blocks are in place.

Youth Strategy

With part funding from the Alternatives to Exclusion Fund, East Ayrshire Council have set up a project, based in Kilmarnock Academy, Auchinleck Academy, Cumnock Academy and Hillhead Primary School, designed to

Retain the most disaffected, disadvantaged and disruptive young people at home, and where possible, in work
Provide an alternative curriculum inclusive of education, social work, employment and outdoor education
Transfer funding from external resources to internal and thereby provide a community based alternative to traditional forms of segregation into residential or day provision
Ensure that the majority, if not all, young people referred to the programme find post-school training or employment.

Young people referred to the project all have access to individual support from the project teaching staff and social work staff. They also have access to a programme of outdoor activities, including hillwalking, rock climbing, canoeing, windsurfing, skiing and orienteering. For S3 and S4 pupils, many of whom are not motivated by Standard Grade courses, the project offers work placements and career advice. Work placements are arranged through Rathbone CI, a voluntary organisation, and as of August 1998, 80% of those attending a full-time programme had been offered employment or training.

28. The Government

Will be prepared to encourage adaptations to the basic secondary curriculum in order to allow children who currently leave with little or no certification to follow courses which are more suited to their aptitudes and abilities. We have asked the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum to adapt their framework for secondary curriculum guidelines to take this issue properly into account
Is consulting on proposals to relax age and stage restrictions at Standard and Higher Grade. If this is implemented additional flexibility will be introduced into the age and stage restrictions for Standard Grade to allow quicker progression from Level F. This will help children to progress through the curriculum when they are ready and where this is practicable.

Post 16: Higher Still

29. The Highers are part of the tradition of Scottish education. But they have well known limitations. They have a relative lack of depth by European standards, but do not deliver the breadth which is a traditional strength of Scottish education. They help to perpetuate a divide between academic and vocational qualifications. Most important, they do not cater for the needs of many pupils aged 16 upwards, excluding many from maximising their potential. There are difficulties in providing a coherent programme in sixth year, where the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies has failed to take off.

30. Higher Still is designed to address these problems. It is about opportunity for all, and maximising achievement. It will

Provide courses for pupils for all levels of abilities, from those with learning difficulties to the most able, enabling them to maximise their achievements
Remove artificial barriers between academic and vocational qualifications, providing pupils with a wider range of subjects more relevant to their needs
Through providing units within qualifications, help students to build up qualifications flexibly over time, improving access to education
Develop the core skills needed for both employment and lifelong learning.

31. Higher Still courses will be available in further education colleges and schools.

32. Higher Still will

Realise individual potential. Courses at 5 levels from Access to Advanced Higher will mean the whole age cohort from those with special educational needs to the most able can work towards achievable qualifications. Students will be able to progress from one level to the next, and on to higher education or work-related qualifications
Maximise participation. The Access courses will improve the attainment of students with a wide range of learning difficulties. The Intermediate levels will provide more appropriate learning for that wide group of students for whom S5 Higher is a step too far
Stretch the academically able. The Advanced Higher will improve the status of the Scottish sixth year, ensuring a progressive educational experience across S5 and S6
Improve levels of attainment. Higher Still will provide teachers with levels of information and support of a much higher order than ever before. That should lead to more passes and improved grades. But rising attainment will not mean lowering standards of assessment. There will be no compromise on the quality of awards
Bring together academic and vocational courses in a single coherent system, promoting parity of esteem, with rigorous quality assurance involving a combination of internal and external assessment
Help students build up qualifications flexibly over time, carrying forward credit for attainment in school to college. Work need not be repeated, and credits from school work may be able to contribute towards completely different qualifications
Increase employability. Core skills are those personal abilities which we need to be responsible and successful members of society - at work and at home. Employers look for the core skills in communication, numeracy, problem solving, information technology and working with others. Students will gain a profile of core skills on their certificate based on those embedded in the Higher Still (and Standard Grade) courses studied. We hope to reach a position quickly where core skills are a standard part of everyone's education and training in all qualifications.

33. The first Higher Still courses will begin in 1999. The full range will be introduced by 2003.

34. While many, having achieved appropriate Higher Still qualifications, will go straight into full-time courses of further or higher education, others may wish to study part-time or return to learning at a later date to build on what they achieved at school. The structure of Higher Still courses means that adults returning to learning need not repeat units for which credits were obtained earlier. They can instead begin straight away to complete any missing units or move to the next appropriate level of study. The Scottish Qualifications Authority will issue an updated Scottish Qualifications Certificate to record the new qualifications gained.

Higher Grade - Raising Expectations

35. All secondary schools have now set challenging targets for improving their performance at Higher Grade. At a national level these should lead to significant increases in the numbers of successful students. The targets at a national level for Higher Grade are shown in the table below.

Target measure	Average percentage of children⁽¹⁾ gaining qualification 1995-97	Target percentage of children⁽¹⁾ gaining this qualification	Targeted increase
Target measure			numbers	%⁽²⁾
3+ Higher Grades A-C	20.2	22.9	1,600	2.7
5+ Higher Grades A-C	6.2	7.7	900	1.4

¹. Percentage based on the appropriate S4 roll.
². Any apparent inconsistencies between the 1995-1997 performance, the target performance and increase sought are due to the effects of rounding.

Summary/Conclusion

Targeting Excellence in Learning

Already Underway

All schools have set improvement targets in exam attainment, reading, writing, number and attendance
Review by HMI of testing assessment in the 5-14 programme
A national strategy for literacy and numeracy
Reviewing the science component of environmental studies within the
5-14 programme
Creation of the Action Group to improve the teaching of Modern Languages in schools
Complete the development and introduction of level F of the 5-14 programme
Introducing Higher Still courses in 1999

Next Steps

A clear focus on improving the experience of children in S1/S2
Improving links between primary and secondary schools
Reviewing the options for improvement to testing and assessment under 5-14
Supporting further specialist provision in schools
Piloting a new Achievement Statement to record children's achievement at S2
Developing primary teachers' skills in science teaching
Addressing the relative underachievement of boys