Glasgow City Council Learning Communities Pilot Evaluation - Executive Summary

This Executive Summary is based on the second evaluation report on the Learning Community initiative undertaken by the Education Department in Glasgow City Council. The initiative is now in its fourth year having started with two Learning Commuities - St. Mungo's and Eastbank - in 1999 and expanded to six in 2000 - the additions being Lochend, Smithycroft, St. Andrews and Whitehill. The first evaluation report, based on four of six Learning Communities, was published in October 2001. The second report (April 2003) covers the period of January 2002 to the Spring of 2003. The aims of the second report were:

to continue to monitor the extent to which the initiative achieves the agreed Success Criteria and to monitor the response of the Learning Communities to the recommendations made in Phase 1
to illuminate staff and pupils' experiences of specific curriculum innovations introduced by the four Learning Communities involved in Phase 1 of the evaluation. Examples of innovations were in Science, Writing, Modern Languages and Maths
to examine how ICT is being used in the Learning Communities, specifically in streamlining administration and releasing time for teaching
to ascertain parental and community attitudes to the initiative to date
to investigate the quantitative information held in the SEEMIS system that would allow identification of changes in attainment in those pupils attending Learning Community schools and to develop initial multi-level models of pupil attainment in the context of the socio-economic structures of Glasgow
to explore the processes of policy development as the largest authority in Scotland considers the fundamental re-organisation of its establishments

The report takes the recent Scottish Indices of Deprivation to examine the income, employment, health and education records of each of the six Learning Communities in 2001. Detailed calculations have been made for each Learning Community area which show that these areas are suffering from some of the most acute deprivation in Scotland in a city which has the worst deprivation in terms of income, employment, education and health yet with the best geographical access to services. The Learning Communities have an uphill struggle to challenge these powerful negative influences if the ultimate goals of raising achievement and promoting greater social inclusion are to be realised.

To address the above aims of the evaluation, the dominant research methods used were 1:1 interviews with key stakeholders, questionnaires and focus groups with teachers, pupils and parents.

It was found that positive advances were made by the Learning Community initiative during 2002. The following conclusions were drawn:

the advances in curriculum innovation at the local level has been the main hallmark of the initiative in 2002. A sense of ownership in the Learning Communities coupled with a recognition of the value of networking has generated a will to invest ideas and resources to the benefit of children's schooling in each Learning Community.
a greater collaboration across sectors has emerged within each Learning Community in terms of joint decision-making in the deployment of resources. More staff have become identified with the initiative and feelings of suspicion and threat have significantly diminished.
a significant effort has been made in clarifying the roles of senior staff in each Learning Community thus helping to improve the efficiency in decision-making and administration.
tentative steps have been taken towards addressing the central issue of social inclusion through the establishment of Child Support Teams.
significant progress has been made in the deployment of ICT for enhancing the efficiency of administration in each Learning Community

The report identifies a number of points for action, which are:

It was right and proper during the pilot phases of the Learning Community initiative (1999-2003) that each Learning Community be given freedom to find its own way forward. A new steer, such as that articulated in the Council's Children's Services paper in 2002, is essential for the future success of the initiative. Such a steer should be supported by clear, overt and sustained commitment by the Council to the twin aims of the initiative, that is, raising achievement and enhancing social inclusion.
Within the Learning Communities themselves, further consideration and action is required to facilitate cross-sector learning and teaching. In particular, Principal Teachers in the Secondary Schools might be given more opportunities to be involved in the work of the Learning Community Primary Schools. An interactive working relationship requires to be established between Primary School Headteachers and Principal Teachers in the Secondary Schools if significant pedagogic advances are to be made. Such a relationship would facilitate the cross-sectoral deployment of staff.
Also, at the pedagogic level, greater attempts should be made to use consistent assessment information in planning children's learning experiences, particularly at the points of transition from one stage to the next.
As mentioned in the first report, the initiative has not yet substantially addressed the relationships between school, pupils, parents and community. Recognition needs to be given to parents and community interests as 'stakeholders' in the educative process such as is witnessed in the Networked Learning Communities in the Educational Action Zones in England.
A new initiative needs to be taken in the use of ICT. Whilst ICT is now being deployed to enhance administration in each Learning Community, the opportunity to extend this to learning and teaching in Learning Communities must be seized.
In the Learning Community initiative to date there has been variation in the involvement of other agencies. Such involvement, where it is in evidence, has depended on personal contacts and good will rather than appropriate structural arrangements to sustain collaboration. New relationships with other agencies should now be developed involving health, social work, careers, police, Children's Panels and community education. Such "integration of services" as outlined in the report For Scotland's Children (SEED, 2001) is an essential step in the pursuit of greater social inclusion.
There is a need to set in place a systematic process for identifying measurable outcomes in order to demonstrate whether the initiative is impacting as expected.

This Report, as did its predecessor, provides an encouraging endorsement of the Authority's policy for raising achievement and enhancing social inclusion in the City of Glasgow. Whilst it is still premature to expect movement in 'output' factors such as systematic and consistent changes in examination results, the tentative early signs are encouraging.

There are promising signs that might suggest the initiative will hold out hope that, in the years to come, the cycle of under-achievement in Glasgow will be broken. But it will require the dedication and sustained commitment of all the stakeholders - central government, local government, service agencies, teachers, pupils, parents and community leaders.

The report can be downloaded in PDF and MS Word formats by clicking on the links below:

PDF Icon Glasgow Learning Communities - Full Evaluation Report: Volume 1

PDF Icon Glasgow Learning Communities - Full Evaluation Report: Volume 2