4. How well do all children, young people and adults learn?

Every child and young person can expect their education to provide them with:

• a curriculum from 3 to 18 which is coherent, relevant and personalised; and
• an effective system for supporting all learners to enable them to gain as much as possible from the opportunities which Curriculum for Excellence can provide.

Learning activities need to be well structured. Support and challenge are needed to ensure that all children and young people are able to make appropriate progress, taking account of the need for breadth and depth.

• A positive learning environment supported by very good relationships between staff and learners.
• Imaginative and interesting learning activities which engage all young people.
• Detailed and open questioning by staff which checks the understanding of children and young people, and shapes the development of their learning.
• Children and young people who are fully involved in their own learning.

There is now a much wider range of recognition for achievements, such as through ASDAN and Youth Achievement Awards, and this is growing all the time. In many aspects, levels of attainment are increasing. However, attainment for the lowest performing group of young people, and for many young people who face barriers such as those arising from poor family circumstances or social and emotional behaviour needs, has not improved.

The OECD report of 2007 highlighted the impact of socio-economic factors on the outcomes of education in Scotland. There is overwhelming evidence that levels of attainment are much lower overall in areas of deprivation. Young people from Scotland’s most socio-economically deprived areas left school at S4 in 2008 with average levels of attainment around half of those from the least deprived areas. There is no clear overall understanding of why this should be the case, and indeed there is considerable variation from education authority to education authority. Children and young people from deprived socio-economic areas have higher levels of absence and exclusion, which will impact on achievement. Those with a chaotic home life are unlikely to be able to focus on their learning. However, HMIE inspection evidence shows that key aspects of education, including how well learners’ needs are met, do not depend on the socio-economic characteristics of where a school sits.

Staff need to understand how the circumstances faced by many children and young people may give rise to barriers which affect their learning and achievement. In order to support staff in meeting the diverse learning needs of all children and young people, there is an ongoing need for initial and continuing professional development. Professionals need strategies to support all children and young people, and match tasks and activities well to their needs. They also need to help the children and young people themselves develop strategies to overcome barriers arising from their own personal circumstances.

In addition, staff need to know wherever possible the specific circumstances faced by individual children, young people and adults. In some cases these circumstances are not obvious. Children or young people may be young carers, or living in families affected by drug and/or substance misuse. Some children and young people have mental health issues which go undetected, but result in chronic underachievement. Some may have a particular sexual orientation which they prefer to keep secret. Where staff are aware of learners’ circumstances, they must not lower their own expectations of what can be achieved. In particular, staff must not make hasty judgements about children and young people, perhaps through flawed assessment techniques, which limit expectations and aspirations.

Below are links to video clips from Journey to Excellence and other good practice resources. Each clip will lead you to related clips. Feel free to explore as much as you have time for, but do try to look at clips from areas you may not be entirely familiar with.

1. How will I as a practitioner and leader further develop learning approaches which are imaginative, flexible and adapted to take account of all learners’ interests and involve them fully in their learning?

2. Where am I currently most successful, and where do I need to make most improvements?

3. In another section, I will be looking at partnerships, but who should I engage with to support my own work in improving learners’ experiences, and help improve the practice of others?

4. How will I work more effectively to ensure continuity of learning for children and young people from stage to stage, and at transitions, particularly where there is offsite support? To what extent am I aware of the difficulties that weaknesses at transition cause? What are the barriers to effective transition, and what can I do to try to remove them?