National Outcome 4

NO04 – Our young people are successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens

With one third of the city’s population aged between 0-24 (61,136) delivering universal general education to all children continues to be a priority for us. With 28 datazones in the most deprived 15% in Scotland for education, increasingly though we are targeting resources to support vulnerable children including Looked After Children and those children with additional support needs.  Closing the gap between the highest and the lowest attainment continues to be an area of concern and meeting the needs of individual pupils, often in innovative ways, is the driving force behind our plans for improvement.  Working in partnership is very often our most successful strategy.  Our achievements so far have included: Curriculum for Excellence consortium work in partnership with Moray; Learning Teaching Scotland partnership on testing the framework in the primary sector; all primary, secondary and special schools achieving good or very good for meeting pupil needs and learners experiences during recent inspections; targeted support to schools to improve attainment as part of our Quality Improvement Strategy; successful strategies to reduce exclusions; a more targeted approach to behaviour management  together with enhanced provision to support children and young people at risk of exclusion; increase take-up of youth achievement awards and more opportunities than ever for children and young to participate in physical activities and cultural events.

These plans are taking shape in the context of a predicted reduction in school rolls which is actively managed through the City’s School Estates Strategy; and a decrease in the levels of expenditure exceeding indicative Grant Aided levels which is actively managed through benchmarking with our partners and policy led budgeting.  By sharing resources and working together, we are targeting improvements to literacy and numeracy and providing our children and young people with the core skills needed for an increasingly complex and changing society. 

LO4A Improve attainment across city schools

Measure

Performance

Note

Positive reports from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) inspections (ie satisfactory plus in relation to Quality Indicators;1.1 Improvements in performance2.1 Learners’ experiences5.3 meeting learners needs).

HMIe performance in 2008/09 session across core indicators was 93%, an increase from 07/08.

Performance across the range of How Good Is Our School indicators in Aberdeen is broadly in line with distribution of quality indicators across Scotland as outlined in ‘Improving Scottish Education 2009’:

Target of 90% by 2011 has been met.

Measure

Performance

Note

English and Maths at level 3 by the end of S4

Steady progress is being made towards the target. The percentage of pupils achieving Foundation level English and Maths increased in 2009. Aberdeen has performed better when compared nationally and with its comparator authorities for the past 5 years. The 2009 figures shown here are pre-appeal. 

The City’s Learning Strategy and Curriculum for Excellence (CFE) Strategy will impact positively on teaching, learning and assessment in all schools, together with our continuing programme of refreshment and review of the curriculum. Developing new curricular structures in secondary schools is a priority and is supported by the identification & sharing of good practice, in supporting schools in developing learning & teaching methodology & methodological progression.  The introduction of the Professional Exchange Programme will enable teachers throughout the City to visit interesting practice in other schools and to develop Curriculum for Excellence within their own school, increasingly using resources based in GLOW( Schools’ digital network).

Measure

Performance

Note

5 or more level 5 awards by the end of S4

Standard Grade results for Aberdeen City in 2008 were slightly better than 2007. Standard Grade results for Aberdeen City in 2009 were not as good as 2008.  The 2009 figures shown here are pre-appeal.

Performance in Aberdeen has been similar when compared nationally for 4 out of the past 6 years and better than comparator authorities for 2 out of the past 5 years.

The City’s Learning Strategy aims to target resources to support vulnerable children and those with additional support needs. Meeting the needs of individual pupils is set out in our Closing the Gap targets.

The introduction of the Professional Exchange Programme will enable teachers throughout the City to visit interesting practice in other schools and to develop Curriculum for Excellence within their own school, increasingly using resources based in GLOW (Schools’ digital network).

Measure

Performance

Note

% attainment of primary 5-14 in writing

Primary 5-14 attainment in writing remained stable.  Writing attainment in Aberdeen has been below the national and consortium level since 1999/00.  Almost 50% reported increased attainment in writing in 2008/2009.

The City’s Learning Strategy and Curriculum for Excellence (CFE) Strategy will impact positively on teaching, learning and assessment in all schools, together with our continuing programme of refreshment and review of the curriculum. In future, existing 5-14 attainment measures will be superseded by CFE outcomes and experiences, with Literacy and Numeracy being key priorities for schools throughout the City.

The introduction of the Professional Exchange Programme will enable teachers throughout the City to visit interesting practice in other schools and to develop Curriculum for Excellence within their own school, increasingly using resources based in GLOW (Schools’ digital network).