Memorandum from the Ministry of Defence
This memorandum aims to provide the House of
Commons Defence Committee with all necessary and relevant information
to aid their inquiry into the education of service children. In
addition to a general background brief this briefing pack aims
to provide the Committee with information on the following areas:
(a) The role and performance of the Service
Children's Education agency and the schools that it manages Annex
A
(b) The role and performance of the Duke
of York's Military School Annex B
(c) The role and performance of the Queen
Victoria School Annex C
(d) Assistance provided by the Ministry of
Defence with the cost of schooling in other schools within the
UK Annex D
(e) Advice to Service families and issues
facing Service children in maintained schools in the UK (resulting
from turbulence etc) Annex E
Annex A
THE ROLE AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICE CHILDREN'S
EDUCATION (SCE) AND THE SCHOOLS IT MANAGES
CONTEXT
Agency Status
1. Service Children's Education (SCE) operates
as an Agency within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It was created
as part of the "Next Steps" development as a means of
freeing the military from non-core business and placing the education
of Forces' children overseas under the responsibility of specialist
professional staff. Although serving all three Services (and Civil
Servants who accompany the Forces overseas), it is "owned"
by the Adjutant General since the Army is its principal customer.
Its functions are described and prescribed by its Framework Document
and it is subject to all the main requirements of other agencies,
eg submitting annual accounts to Parliament, having a rigorous
target setting process to improve performance and efficiency (with
Key Targets published in Parliament), certain freedoms in the
management of resources, whilst having its Chief Executive responsible
to, and having access to, Ministers.
2. SCE was formed in April 1996 and at that
time subsumed the duties and responsibilities of both the Service
Children's Schools (North West Europe) Defence Agency—itself
formed as an Agency in 1991—and the Service Children's Education
Authority (SCEA) then based at Worthy Down in Hampshire.
3. SCE underwent a Quinquennial Review (QQR)
(which commenced in spring 2002 and ended when Ministers signed
off the Report in December 2003). The broad conclusions of that
Review were that SCE should remain as an Agency within the MOD,
and that in general terms, it was providing a good service to
the families of the Armed Forces overseas and provided good value
for money. That Review embraced the principles of a UK Local Education
Authority "Best Value" regime, but that is only one
of the differences between SCE and an LEA's responsibilities;
the variance between the two in terms both of responsibility and
practice is often significant and some of the major differences
are covered in this Memorandum.
4. As part of the MOD's focus on improving
performance measurement, bench-marking and learning from best
practice, HQ SCE volunteered to undergo a bespoke OfSTED inspection
in 2004, something it was not required to do statutorily. The
Agency's Owner's Board accepted the subsequent OfSTED report generally
although it had concerns that SCE's unique context may not have
been recognised fully, nor the high quality of the educational
output from SCE's schools.
5. A copy of SCE's Corporate Plan 2004-09
was made available to the Committee Members prior to their visit
to Germany on 23 March 2006. The Plan provides further contextual
information on SCE.
SCE PERFORMANCE
6. Agency Key Targets for SCE are agreed
on an annual basis by the SCE Owner's Board chaired by the Adjutant
General and are then submitted for ministerial approval prior
to publication in Parliament. A sub-group of the Owner's Board,
including external representation from DfES, OfSTED and Essex
LEA, meets in the Autumn Term to review in-year performance against
targets and to recommend the next year's targets to the Owner's
Board. Targets are set at levels above those expected of schools
nationally.
7. The performance of SCE schools has been
consistently above national averages at each Key Stage since 1996
at Level 2+ (Key Stage 1), Level 4+ (Key Stage 2) and Level 5+
(Key Stage 3) in all core subjects. Performance shows continuous
improvement over those years.
8. The performance of SCE against its Key
Targets in 2004-05 was reported in SCE's Annual Report and Accounts,
copies of which are in the Library of the House and were also
made available to Committee Members prior to their visit to Germany.
9. A further comparison with national standards
can be found in Key Target 2 which required SCE to sustain its
notional position in the English Local Education Authority league
tables, within the leading 25 (OF 150) LEAs at each of Key Stages
1, 2 and 3. SCE met this Key Target by achieving a notional position
of 9th at Key Stage 1, 24th at Key Stage 2 and 18th at Key Stage
3.
10. Although the Key Target performance
results for 2005-06 have yet to be independently audited (prior
to publication in SCE's Annual Report for 2005-06 before the parliamentary
Summer Recess), provisional results suggest a very favourable
outcome.
OFSTED INSPECTIONS
11. The Office for Standards in Education
(OfSTED) has been invited by the Chief Executive Officer of Service
Children's Education (SCE) to inspect all SCE schools using the
same Framework for Inspection as is applied to schools throughout
England. Appropriate protocols have been agreed by the CEO (SCE)
and HMCI (OfSTED). The protocols set out the procedures and processes
for inspection and enable educational matters to be inspected
and reported impartially.
12. The inspection reports for SCE schools
provide a valuable external evaluation of how well the schools
are doing and set the improvement agenda for both the school and
the Agency. Inspection reports for all SCE schools can be found
on the OfSTED website alongside those of all Local Authorities
in England.
13. The Frameworks for the Inspection of
Schools have changed significantly over time. For analysis of
how well SCE schools are doing it is appropriate to analyse the
results of the two Frameworks introduced in September 2003 and
September 2005.
14. From the period September 2003 to September
2005 there is a picture of SCE schools maintaining high standards
or, of significant improvement to standards and to the quality
of leadership in the majority of schools. Most importantly, of
the 17 schools inspected during this period no school was judged
to be failing but three were judged to have some significant weaknesses
although revisits by HMI three to four terms after the publication
of the report recognised that the serious weaknesses had all been
addressed in each of those schools. The Agency responds quickly
and effectively to any school that falls into the serious weakness
category.
15. Since the introduction of the new Framework
for Inspection in September 2005 the analysis reveals further
improvement. The most recent Framework gives schools short notice
of inspection (maximum of two working days) and measures the outcomes
for children and young people as identified in the Every Child
Matters agenda. To date, of the eight schools inspected since
September 2005, two schools are judged to be outstanding overall,
three good overall with some outstanding features, two good overall
and one school was judged to have some significant weaknesses
in the achievement of some KS2 pupils.
16. It is worthy to note that inspection
teams frequently judge the personal development and well-being
of pupils at SCE schools to be at least good, but mostly very
good and outstanding. This reflects the high priority given to
supporting pupils when they transfer between schools and the belief
the Agency has with settling young people into their schools quickly,
so that there is minimal disruption to their learning.
Pupil Mobility
17. Pupil mobility remains very high in
SCE. The mobility index[11]
in 2003-04 was 81.8% for all SCE primary schools (median in England
11%) and 58.9% for all SCE secondary schools (median in England
5.6%). To ensure that pupils' education is not disrupted by frequent
changes of schools, SCE schools give priority to pastoral and
assessment procedures. This ensures that pupils settle into school
and get on with their learning as soon as possible.
18. In order to ensure that all SCE schools
are highly effective in managing a highly mobile population SCE
has joined forces with the National College of School Leadership
(NCSL) and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).
Working in partnership with the two national organisations SCE
will develop its advice and guidance to schools worldwide and
to schools in England on what can be done to mitigate against
mobility. Working with QCA SCE is currently developing a "world-class"
curriculum for Service schools that promotes excellent standards
and ensures that youngsters will experience exciting learning
opportunities within the overseas locations.
Impact of Operational Deployments
19. Military deployments—either on
Active Service/Operations or on extended training manoeuvres—effectively
means that many parents (usually wives) find themselves in the
position of being a lone parent for several months at a time and
at regular intervals, with their spouse not only absent but often
in a dangerous place.
20. The impact of more frequent deployments
in recent years, many of them to areas of armed conflict, has
resulted in an ever-increasing number of families where a single
parent at home is the norm rather than the exception. Moreover,
the Service wife whose husband is on deployment is, for reasons
of geography, unable to call upon the immediate support of her
extended family in the same way as her counterpart in the UK would
be able to do. At times of conflict, the Service wife will sometimes
decide to return temporarily to the UK, where she will obtain
this extended family support. This leads to further turbulence
in the education of the children of the family.
21. SCE has created a support package for
schools, pupils and parents affected by operational deployments,
which has been in place since the start of Op TELIC and which
continues to be developed in the light of experience and best
practice. This support aims to promote stability and well being
for children within a "haven of normality" and thus
enable service personnel to deploy with confidence that their
families are supported fully.
22. In order to support this process, SCE
ensures that training in deployment awareness, the management
of the consequent emotional and behavioural changes and the development
of coping skills in pupils is put in place to maintain an optimal
learning environment in the class and school.
23. This support is provided in an integrated,
cohesive and multi-agency way to enable the "remaining"
parents in the military community to access resources both through
their local school as well as to be signposted to SCE and other
agency support systems. SCE has addressed this issue of deployment
through a range of mediums:
— Literature and pamphlets.
— Critical incident support.
— Integrated multi-agency responses.
24. It is testimony to the support that
has been provided by SCE and the other agencies that fewer parents
have returned to the UK during the deployment of their spouse
from the recent Hohne garrison deployment to Iraq than ever before.
These military statistics support the anecdotal evidence that
parents feel cared for and supported in overseas commands and
therefore do not wish to disrupt their children's schooling by
returning to "home" areas in the UK where there is a
perceived lack of awareness and sensitivity to the emotional issues
of deployment.
25. The SCE support package has been recognised
as vital by the military chain of command and drew positive comment
from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in his annual report
published in February 2004. SCE has also shared much of the literature
it has produced in support of managing the impact of operational
deployments with a number of LEAs in the UK, who also face such
issues.
Parental views
26. In 2004, SCE commissioned the National
Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to conduct a survey
to measure the levels of satisfaction of parents with their child's
school and SCE. Previously, parental customer satisfaction was
"measured" through the Army's Continuous Attitude Survey.
As a result of the success of this comprehensive NFER survey in
2004, a new Agency Key target was agreed for 2005-06 which requires
SCE to achieve an overall parental customer satisfaction rating
of at least 85%. The headlines from the 2005 NFER survey (available
on SCE's website) are very positive with 91% of primary school
and Foundation Stage 1 parents and 88% of secondary school parents
indicating that they were "satisfied" or "very
satisfied" with the education their child was receiving from
SCE schools.
Governance
27. The OfSTED report on HQ SCE identified
some areas of weakness in the external governance arrangements
for SCE, both at HQ and school level. As a result, a number of
areas of improvement have been identified and have been endorsed
recently by the SCE Owner's Board.
28. New Terms of Reference have been agreed
for an "Owner's Board Executive Committee" which provides
an expansion of the role of the Owner's Board Sub-Committee (which
up until now has focused solely on the academic Key Targets for
the Agency). This group, primarily made up of external members
from OfSTED, DfES and the Adjutant General's HQ had its first
meeting on 31 March 2006 and focused on HQ SCE's progress since
the OfSTED inspection.
29. A new SCE Scrutiny Committee has been
formed under the external chair of a DfES adviser and will take
effect from September 2006. This committee will primarily monitor
and advise on the relevance, value and effectiveness of the services
provided by, or through, HQ SCE to SCE schools. The committee
will include Headteacher representation as well as representatives
from the "customer" including the military chain of
command and the Army Families Federation.
30. The inapplicability of English Law to
overseas locations (and with it the granting of certain Executive
powers to Schools' Governing Bodies) caused SCE's predecessors
to create the concept of School Advisory Committees (SAC), which
fulfil some aspects of the role of a Governing Body, but by no
means all.
31. The SCE OfSTED inspection made some
recommendations regarding School Advisory Committees including
"agree and define explicitly a shared view of the precise
role of school advisory committees". The OfSTED report also
noted that "headteachers do not receive the extra level of
support and challenge on an everyday basis that is so often provided
by governors in England".
32. In the light of these recommendations
and comments, the terms of reference have been re-examined in
order to clarify and, where possible, strengthen the role of School
Advisory Committees. Revised terms of reference have been agreed
by the SCE Owner's Board and will take effect from September 2006
supported by an appropriate training package.
14-19 Education and Skills
33. During the Committee's visit to King's
School in Germany on 23 March 2006, a number of questions arose
regarding SCE's ability to respond to the Government's plans in
the 2005 White Paper on transforming learning for 14-19 year olds.
As requested by the Committee, SCE's position is set out at Enclosure
1 to Annex A.
Annex B
THE ROLE AND PERFORMANCE OF THE DUKE OF YORK'S
ROYAL MILITARY SCHOOL, DOVER
HISTORY
1. In 1801, His Royal Highness Frederick
Duke of York laid the foundation stone in Chelsea of what was
to become the Duke of York's Royal Military School. Originally
it was an orphanage for children of soldiers killed in battle
and was Britain's first co-educational state funded and state
administered school.
2. The first boys and girls entered the
school in 1803 and in 1909 it moved to its present location in
Dover. In 1980 the school, which had previously only been open
to children of non-commissioned soldiers, was opened to all ranks.
In 1992 it became an Agency of the Ministry of Defence and Tri-Service.
Girls were re-introduced in 1994.
3. Today the school is a co-educational
boarding school for the 11-18 year old sons and daughters of RN,
RM, Army and RAF personnel, both serving and retired. It has 500
pupils (which is its capacity) all of whom are full-time boarders.
MISSION STATEMENT
4. Our purpose is to promote the full development
of pupils by providing a secure, professional and caring environment
in which each pupil is encouraged to reach his or her individual
potential and is prepared for the opportunities, responsibilities
and experiences of adulthood. These goals are to be achieved in
the context of a spiritual, moral and pastoral ethos which respects
values of Christian and other faith communities and our unique
military tradition.
AIMS
5. To provide cost effectively for all pupils
a high standard of secondary education and a full range of extra
curricular and sports and activities within a stable, caring,
boarding environment. In so doing it must meet the particular
educational needs of Service children and recognise the Adjutant
General's strategic needs.
GOVERNANCE AND
MANAGEMENT
6. The school is governed by a Board of
Commissioners (six of whom are appointed as Special Commissioners,
appointed by Her Majesty, The Queen). The Commissioners act on
behalf of the Top Level Budget holder, the Adjutant General (AG).
The school has a Royal Warrant and a Framework Document. Day to
day management of the school is the responsibility of the Headmaster,
who is supported by a Senior Management Team comprising Senior
Deputy Head Curriculum, Deputy Head Pastoral, Director of Studies,
Senior Teacher and Bursar.
7. The school is affiliated to GBA, SHMIS,
ISC, BSA, SHA, SBSA. It is inspected by ISI (Ofsted accredited),
CSCI, and has IIP status.
ENTRANCE INTO
THE SCHOOL
8. Entrance is dependent upon the potential
for a pupil to benefit from the broad education on offer. Currently
there are entrance tests in English and Mathematics and the requirement
for a Headteacher's report. Special consideration is given to
applicants who are compassionate cases.
CURRICULUM
9. Whilst pupils from 11-16 follow the National
Curriculum the school is able to offer more than the basic requirements.
10. At Key Stage 4 (GCSE) all pupils follow
the core subjects with Technology, a Modern Foreign Language,
Physical Education, IT and Religious Education also being compulsory.
Pupils then select three more subjects including a creative subject.
11. At AS/A2 Level 19 subjects are on offer
and all Upper Sixth Formers follow a General Studies/Critical
Thinking course.
12. Classes are setted from Year 7 for English
and Mathematics. Science is streamed. Modern Languages are streamed
from Year 9. Other subjects are taught in mixed ability groups.
A Special Needs Co-ordinator deals with educational support.
13. The school provides the individual attention
required for good academic progress through an excellent staff/pupil
ration, small class sizes and personal tutors. The aim of the
Pupil Achievement Centre is to raise individual academic standards.
It co-ordinates a half-termly and termly reporting system, produces
profiles on all pupils and organises regular parent consultation
meetings. There is a Work Experience programme for Year 10 pupils,
whilst members of the Sixth Form are encouraged to undertake work
shadowing. A Business Dynamics Conference is organised every year
whereby senior managers of local industry and business run workshops
which demonstrate the skills that will be needed in the outside
world. Exam results are consistently high and this has as much
to do with the quality of the staff, the high expectations and
the "captive audience" as anything else.
PASTORAL
14. The boarding house system is designed
to provide the kind of happy environment in which young people
thrive. In this warm, supportive atmosphere boys and girls are
encouraged to develop both as individuals and as members of a
community. The pastoral and disciplinary systems are designed
to be caring, firm and fair.
15. Two junior houses accommodate the first
two-year groups whilst the older pupils reside in seven senior
houses. There is a resident housemaster or housemistress who is
an experienced, qualified teacher and all members of the academic
staff are house tutors looking after between 12 and 15 pupils
each. Houses are generously staffed with matrons and other support
staff. The quality of pastoral support was described in a recent
ISI report as "outstanding".
THE BROADER
CURRICULUM
16. All pupils are full boarders. The school
is always active and busy with a very full programme of sports,
music, drama, adventurous training, trips and expeditions, clubs
and activities and social events. There is a very active Tri-Service
Combined Cadet Force, all pupils in Year 9 do the Duke of Edinburgh
Award Scheme Bronze Award, and there is a ceremonial side of the
school involving ceremonial parades throughout the year, culminating
in Trooping the Colour on Grand Day.
THE NEEDS
OF SERVICE
CHILDREN AND
THEIR FAMILIES
AND HOW
THE SCHOOL
ADDRESSES THEM
17. Providing a stable education is a priority.
Although resilient, Service children have to make new friends,
adapt to new staff who may not always be sympathetic towards their
needs, and cope with adverse reactions towards their parents'
profession. On average pupils before entering the Duke of York's
will have been to six different schools and some as many as 12.
They relish the chance to establish firm friends, have a continuity
of teaching staff, and be amongst others of a similar background.
18. The provision of 100% boarding, which
is rare, means that they are all in the same boat. Weekends are
full and active and they do not have to cope with a mass exodus
of weekly or flexi boarders. The school is responsible for the
pupils throughout the term time and also facilitates travel arrangements
for the holidays. When travelling by plane to military destinations
there will invariably be a number of pupils from the school bound
for the same destination.
19. Service children can be very vulnerable.
At this school the staff are alert to their specific needs particularly
at times of tension. Their fellow pupils also provide support—they
have frequently "been there themselves". Sadly service
life takes a toll on domestic life. This school provides a neutral
safe haven and a normal routine, particularly for senior pupils
who take on board extra responsibilities within the family when
the serving parent is away.
20. Service parents in particular need to
be assured that their children are safe. The school places great
emphasis on security, is supported on a regular basis by MOD police,
and heightens its security at times of tension.
21. With parents internationally based good
communications are vital. The school has discreet e-mail facilities
for each pupil, is part of the military telephone network and
pupils can access e-blues.
22. Service parents can be made to feel
transient by teachers and educationalists. At this school they
can feel comfortable within a context which is familiar to them
and which speaks the same language. Moreover, it is a school where
their children can share a pride in their service achievements.
The core values of the services are replicated in the education,
the ethical standards set and the emphasis on leadership and teamwork
skills. "Family and school traditions blend harmoniously
in a way that clearly benefits the pupils" (ISI Report 2002).
Symbolically each pupil wears the serving parents' cap badge as
a "heart badge" on their ceremonial uniform.
23. Whilst the school is not a recruiting
agency for the Armed Forces more pupils from the Duke of York's
are commissioned at Sandhurst, for example, than any other school
in London and SE England. And those going on into the professions
or business will all have an understanding of and empathy towards
service life.
KEY TARGETS
24. As an Agency of the MOD the school is
set certain Key Targets. One relates to Income Generation and
Community Support, another to the successful completion of external
inspections and the rest are academic.
2005 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
GCSE Points score for candidates 50.76
GCSE 5 Passes A-C 98%
GCE points per candidate 327.80
GCE points per examination entry 65.88
In addition our percentage of passes A*/A at
GCSE was 31%
Percentage of passes grade A/B at A Level was
49.6%
Percentage of passes grade A-E at A Level 49.2%
The Value Added score (Key Stage 2-4) was 1024
96% of our Upper 6th Form were successful with
their university applications.
Annex C
HCDC INQUIRY INTO EDUCATING SERVICE CHILDREN—SUBMISSION
OF WRITTEN EVIDENCE FROM QUEEN VICTORIA SCHOOL, DUNBLANE
HISTORY AND
BACKGROUND OF
QUEEN VICTORIA
SCHOOL (QVS)
1. The School can trace its history back
to the early 1900s when the idea was first mooted of a school
to commemorate those Scottish soldiers and sailors who fell in
South Africa during the Boer Wars. The proposal was warmly received
by Queen Victoria herself and, upon her death the following year,
it was resolved that the School should serve the dual purpose
of commemorating the dead servicemen as well as being a living
memorial to the late Empress. Money was raised in a national effort
which captivated the imagination of the Scottish public. For example,
every Serviceman donated a day's pay and an appeal for contributions
from the Scottish workforce. His Majesty King Edward VII officially
opened Queen Victoria School on 28 September 1908.
2. The School's mission is to provide stable,
uninterrupted and high quality education for children of Scottish
Service personnel, or those who are serving or have served in
Scotland. Our aim is to produce well rounded, articulate and confident
young people, to promote the Armed Forces as a provider of high
quality education, and to articulate the value of the Service
ethos as a basis for personal development and good citizenship.
The School is inter-denominational and co-educational (in 1996),
is fully boarding, and currently has around 270 pupils. Admissions
are non-selective and, in accordance with our Royal Warrant, we
have a particular duty of care for compassionate and needy cases.
The School offers a wide and balanced curriculum following the
Scottish educational system leading to Standard, Intermediate
2, Higher and Advanced Higher grades of the Scottish Certificate
of Education.
ORGANISATION AND
STRUCTURE
3. QVS operates and is funded as a Basic
Level Budget within Adjutant General's department. The School
is managed on a day-to-day basis by a Senior Management Team led
by the Headmaster and supported by his key Deputies and a School
Business Manager. The School is also supported by a Board of Her
Majesty's Commissioners made up of nominations on behalf of Secretary
of State for Scotland, Secretary of State for Defence, the Scottish
Office, as well as nominations from each of the Armed Services
Boards.
KEY TARGETS
AND PERFORMANCE—2004-05
4. The School has five main performance
targets with three of these on the main focus of continuous educational
improvement. We look to achieve academic excellence, and pride
ourselves on developing pupils in the widest sense through curricular
Personal and Social Education which aims to achieve success in
a breadth of extra-curricular activities ranging from dancing
and music to theatre and various sports.
5. The first Key Target was to improve on
the S4/S5 Stay On rate. A target of 72% was set against a Scottish
National average rate of 66%. This target was well met with 85%
of S4/S5 pupils continuing with their education. The 2nd Key Target
was to improve on the number of pupils achieving five or more
Standard Grades with a target rate set at 40% against a Scottish
National average rate of 35%. This target was well exceeded with
64% pupils getting 5+ Standards. The last of the Educational targets
was to further improve on those pupils achieving 3+ Higher Grades.
The target rate was set at 27% against a Scottish National average
rate of 23% and again this was exceeded with 51% of pupils getting
3+ Highers.
The two remaining targets focused on improving
the overall efficiency at QVS, with the aim to reduce the average
cost per pupil. The target per capita cost was set at £15,750
and the achieved cost was £14,759—an efficiency improvement
and cost reduction of just more than 6%. The last of the targets
was to further improve on the marketing of the School's irreducible
spare capacity to help generate additional income.
6. QVS is an improving School and it has
been recognised as having already improved considerably in the
following key areas:
— Attainment through exam results.
— Boarding Accommodation refurbishment
programme completed.
— Common Room areas improved.
— Raising of the Staying On rate—S5/S6
has doubled in the previous 10 year period.
— More Inclusive—introduction
of co-education in 1996, Gurkhas over the last few years and a
broader level of pupils who need support eg ADHD, hearing difficulties
and spina bifida.
7. In summary, the School consistently performs
well above the Scottish National average and is well placed against
our Independent school peers. This is despite the fact that our
pupils come from various national and international educational
systems and that we are clearly and openly non-selective. Everything
at School is geared towards improving the pupils experience and
producing better outcomes. We adopt a holistic approach whereby
the pupils are given a wide range of choices at S3/4 and S5/S6
stages to help meet the needs and aspirations of pupils and Armed
Forces parents.
8. Additionally, and a significant factor
worthy of note, is that pupils presenting for admission to QVS
have attended numerous previous schools, which appears to be a
direct result of the increasing operational tempo of our Armed
Forces. As an example, our main intake at our Admissions Board
is at Primary 7 level (pupils aged 10 and 11) and this year an
average pupil will have attended five previous primary schools
before starting here at QVS and often have between English, Scottish
and Northern Irish educational systems, as well as the various
overseas educations options. Despite this educational turbulence,
the School continues to deliver results that are consistently
well above national average.
EXTERNAL INSPECTIONS
AND ACCREDITATIONS
9. The boarding arrangements at the School
are subject to twice-yearly inspection by the Care Commission
and to regular General Inspections by Her Majesty's Inspectors
of Schools in Scotland (HMIe). At the last HMIe Inspection (2004),
the Inspectors were pleased to see an improving trend over the
last 5-10 years and described the overall teaching as good and
the overall quality of attainment for examination groups as very
good. The School gained recognition as an Investors in People
organisation in December 1999 and successfully re-accredited in
September 2001 and 2005. The School continues to act on recommended
areas for improvement in the various reports and this is done
conjunction with the Board of Her Majesty's Commissioners, with
consultation of staff, parents and pupils, and the invaluable
assistance of Stirling Council's Children's Services department.
Additionally and innovatively we arranged a Service Level Agreement
with our LEA partner Stirling Council and through this we have
secured various services including QA audits in 2001 and 2004.
PASTORAL CARE
10. Pastoral care is given high priority
and encompasses a wide spectrum of care aimed at promoting the
welfare and happiness of each individual child, and includes careers
advice, healthcare, emotional support, character development,
as well as spiritual and moral guidance. The House structure provides
detailed supervision of the individual and close pastoral care.
The child's welfare is the day to day responsibility of the Housemaster,
Housemistress or Houseparent, and their staff. Nominated members
of staff also act as House Tutors, each with responsibility for
around 10-12 pupils. Parents are also actively encouraged to participate
in the life of the School and, in addition to routine Parent/Teacher
meetings, there is a Parents' Association and a Parents' Liaison
Committee which meet regularly.
SOCIAL, PHYSICAL
AND CULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT
11. The School prides itself on developing
its pupils in the widest possible sense and aims to achieve success
in extra curricular activities, as well as sport and music. The
main sports are rugby, cross-country, athletics and hockey but
many other activities are available including sailing, canoeing,
shooting, football, basketball, volleyball, squash, badminton,
golf, tennis and swimming. The School has also improved its standing
and involvement within the local and wider community which has
provided opportunities and benefits for our pupils. Through the
Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster Pastoral and Guidance, the School
is also a member of the Dunblane Children's Community Partnership,
which was recently visited by HMIe because of its good practice.
12. In addition, all Primary and S1 pupils
receive instruction in either Piping, Drumming, Bugling, or Highland
Dancing, and Ceremonial Drill. The School's Pipe Band and Highland
Dancers have earned an international reputation and have performed
in Australia, at the Nova Scotia Tattoo and the Edinburgh Military
Tattoo. We are the only school in Scotland that has the honour
of parading the Sovereign's colours and frequently provide support
to a number of Service events throughout the year. The School's
Combined Cadet Force contingent has Royal Navy, Royal Air Force
and Army sections which allow for weekend training, air experience
flying, sea-going attachments and annual summer and Easter camps,
both in the UK and abroad.
THE CHALLENGE
FOR THE
FUTURE
13. We face a number of significant challenges
over the next few years. The School continues to build on improving
educational delivery for all its pupils and one of the key future
requirements is to re-provide the outdated teaching block which
is now over 40 years old and struggles to deliver the modern day
educational curriculum, as well as the standards expected by HMIe.
Adjutant General has continued to support a phased Establishment
Development Plan (EDP) and it is hoped that support for next phase
funding will be possible to see a new teaching block to be completed
in 2008.
14. For some years now demand for places
has far outstripped capacity and applications regularly satisfy
only 50% of applicants. In recognition of the growing demand for
places, as well as an acknowledgement of the educational pressure
resulting from the increased tempo of Service tour plots, we have
been set a stretch target to increase boarding capacity from the
current 274 maximum to a higher level of 335 boarding pupils.
This will necessarily require development work on the site to
provide additional boarding accommodation as a later phase of
the EDP.
Annex D
SERVICE CONTINUITY OF EDUCATION ALLOWANCES
1. The aim of Continuity of Education Allowances
(CEA) is to assist Regular Service personnel to achieve continuity
of education for their child(ren) that would otherwise be denied
in the maintained day school sector because of the necessity to
accompany their parent(s) on frequent postings both at home and
overseas. CEA are available to all Regular Service personnel,
irrespective of whether they are commissioned or non-commissioned,
providing they meet the eligibility criteria.
2. Eligibility. In order to be eligible
to claim CEA, a Service person must be serving on a Regular commission
or engagement and be in receipt of full UK Service rates of pay.
The Service claimant must fully accept that accompanied service
is the overriding principle for continuing their entitlement to
CEA. For CEA, accompanied service exists when a Service person
maintains a home where their spouse/civil partner and any dependent
children normally live and from which the Service person travels
daily to work. Accompanied service for a Service single-parent
is when they maintain a home in which their dependent child(ren)
would normally live and from which the Service person travels
daily to work. The only exception to accompanied service as a
condition for CEA entitlement is for those Service personnel classified
as Involuntarily Separated (INVOLSEP), or serving in MOD(London),
or in a designated INVOLSEP post at Permanent Joint Headquarters.
INVOLSEP status arises when a Service person is sent on a posting
or detachment where, for various reasons such as personal safety,
they are unable to be accompanied by their family. If the Service
person is divorced, separated or has a dissolved civil partnership
and the child(ren) normally reside with the non-Service parent,
there is no entitlement to claim any CEA as the child(ren) would
not be subject to the same frequency of moves and the continuity
of education could be obtained in a local state school (although
the regulations do not disadvantage the children of recently separated
parents who are about to take public examinations).
3. Age of Child. CEA is payable
from the beginning of the academic year in which the child reaches
the age of eight until the end of the stage of education during
which the child reaches their 18th birthday. They must be undergoing
full-time education at a qualifying educational establishment
registered on the MOD Accredited Schools Database (ASD). The ASD
is a list of schools registered with the appropriate UK department
of education, inspected under a DfES (or similar) regime, and
who manage, control and wholly maintain the facilities for the
board and accommodation of children. The only exception to this
is Day School Allowance (North Wales), which is payable for child(ren)
aged five or over, the age at which they start their schooling
(see paragraph 5f below).
4. Continuity. CEAs are not general
educational subsidies. In order to provide continuity of education,
it is a fundamental condition of entitlement to CEA that a child
continues to attend the same school and completes at least one
stage of education for which CEA is an issue. Thus they must complete
one of the following at the same school: primary/junior/prep school
(1st stage), or secondary/senior school (2nd stage), or A' level
or an equivalent academic/vocational training course (3rd stage).
A minimum parental contribution of 10% of the actual boarding
and tuition fees in respect of each child is payable by the Service
person. This can be considerably more than 10% depending on the
individual school fees.
5. Types of CEA. There are a range
of CEA available, depending on whether the child(ren) is attending
a boarding or day school, as a junior or senior pupil, and whether
they have a Special Educational Need. They are as follows:
(a) CEA (Boarding) (CEA(Board)). The
child would board at the school during term time.
(b) CEA (Special Educational Needs Addition)
(CEA(SENA)). If a Service person is claiming CEA(Board), they
may be eligible to claim CEA(SENA) as an alternative when their
child(ren) has been identified as having a Special Educational
Need (SEN). It is paid to reimburse the board, tuition and actual
fees charged by an authorised school for the additional tuition
of subjects identified on a child's certificate of SEN as issued
by Children's Education Advisory Service (CEAS) or Local Education
Authority (LEA). Those in receipt of CEA(SENA) for a child in
a Specialist Provision school are exempt the requirement to pay
a 10% parental contribution.
(c) CEA (Day). Should the circumstances
of a Service parent change, for example if they are assigned close
to where their child is currently at boarding school, and they
have the opportunity to alter the education of their child from
boarding to become a day pupil at the same school, they may be
eligible to claim CEA (Day) to assist them with the costs of a
day school education instead of the more expensive CEA (Board).
Before an initial claim for CEA (Day) can be made, CEA (Board)
must normally have been claimed in respect of the child for at
least three consecutive academic terms at the same school. When
the Service parent is next assigned away from that area the child
would be expected to once again become a boarder and CEA (Board)
would then be paid instead of CEA (Day).
(d) CEA (SENA(Day)). The principle
of CEA (SENA(Day)) is the same as for CEA (Day) (above), but for
a child who has a SEN.
(e) CEA (Guardians). If a Service
person elects to place their child in the care of a guardian so
that the child may attend a particular day school continuously,
they may be eligible to claim CEA(Guardians). A guardian is any
person in whose care a child is placed to enable them to remain
at a particular day school that the child would not be able to
attend if they lived with their Service parents. The child must
be placed in the care of a guardian for a continuous period of
more than three months. The three month period is set because
it enables a child to be placed with a guardian whilst a Service
parent is away on an operational deployment. The allowance is
intended to cover the additional costs of a child living away
from the Service parent's family home, such as postage, telephone
calls and stationery. The allowance does not cover school board
or tuition fees.
(f) Day School Allowance (North Wales)
(DSA(NW). Due to the bi-lingual policy of the LEAs in North
Wales, if a Service person is permanently assigned to North Wales,
they may be eligible to claim DSA(NW) to assist with the costs
of independent day schooling where tuition is given exclusively
in English. Payment of the allowance is limited to those areas
where teaching in the State sector is on a bilingual or non-English
basis.
6. Rates of Payment. The current rate of
each of these allowances is shown at Annex A.
7. Numbers Receiving CEA. The latest figures
available are for the Spring Term 2005 and showed that 3,587 commissioned
officers and 2,148 non-commissioned Service personnel claimed
CEA(Board), (SENA), (Day) or (SENA(Day)), in respect of 7,914
children.
RATES OF SERVICE EDUCATION ALLOWANCES
|
| Education Allowance | 1 August 2005[12]
|
|
| CEA (Board)—Senior | £4,557 per term
|
| CEA (Board)—Junior | £3,496 per term
|
| CEA (SENA) SP | £6,802 per term
|
| CEA (Day)—Senior | £2,786 per term
|
| CEA (Day)—Junior | £2,142 per term
|
| CEA (SENA (Day)) | £4,461 per term
|
| CEA (Guardians) | £2.76 per day
|
| Day School Allowance (North Wales) | £1,794 per term
|
|
| |
Annex E
SERVICE FAMILY ASPECTS
1. The Service Personnel Policy (SP Pol) Directorate
provides the central focus within MOD for Service Familiy issues.
SP Pol leads in two key areas. First, any concerns or views of
Service families are captured through the Service Families Task
Force (SFTF). Issues are raised by the key stakeholders—the
three Families Federations and HIVE, the tri-Service information
provision organisation—and an agreed Action Plan is updated
every three months. Twice each year the Families Forum meets,
Chaired by USofS, where issues are raised directly to the Ministerial
level and direction is given on pursuing key actions. Second,
SP Pol represents Ministers and the MOD in general in inter-departmental
work for any statutory, regulatory or programme changes on which
other Government Departments are leading. There has been considerable
interaction with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES)
over the last year as the result of much new legislation concerning
children, including the Children Act 2004 implementation, Schools
White Paper/Bill, Childcare Bill and Further Education Reform
White Paper. Ministers are involved in this process as required.
2. Issues facing Service children in maintained schools
in the UK. Education is an entry on the current Families Action
Plan. In general Service families are happy with the overseas
education service provided by SCE but there is much concern about
admissions to schools in UK (and particularly England). This is
by no means unusual and is a facet of the schools admissions process
for all parents in UK, but higher levels of mobility result in
Service families having to cope with this potentially stressful
experience repeatedly, with perhaps a cumulative impact. In fact,
there is good support for Service children in the existing DfES
admissions Code of Practice, which directs the attention of admissions
and appeals panels to the special circumstances of Service children.
SP Pol has been working closely with DfES to monitor and comment
on any changes in admissions policy as the result of the latest
Schools Bill. Linked with mobility is the need to ensure better
portability of statements of Special Educational Need (SEN). The
provision of SEN support (including funding) has been entirely
devolved to schools via Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and
as a result moves between LEAs and into UK from elsewhere can
be problematic; however, Children's Education Advisory Service
provides direct support to any family facing such problems. (The
role of CEAS is described at Enclosure 2).
3. Advice to Service families. In general the
single Services retain primacy for the provision of information,
advice and guidance to Service families in the context of support
to the Service community. In the case of education CEAS has the
lead for direct interaction and individual advice on specific
issues but this is supplemented by single and tri-Service standing
guidance. This is held in a number of forms (for example, JSP
342 "Education of Service Children", which is expanded
upon in single Service publications such as AGAIs) provided through
a number of channels, particularly HIVE, Service websites (such
as RNCom, ArmyNet and RAFCom), the Families Federations and MODWeb.
The recent relaunch of the MOD website created a Service Community
area direct from the front page (ie top level) which includes
a full section on education, ranging from overseas to UK, from
boarding to moving schools, the steps to take and the key organisations
to contact. It is also worth noting that two of the three Families
Federations (Army Families Federation (AFF) and Airwaves) have
education specialists for linking specific families to the appropriate
supporting organisation.
4. Communicating with Families. On a more general
note, the Action Plan also captures feedback from families that
indicates they have reservations over how well the Services communicate
with them. In fact, the very large numbers of information outlets
and provision mechanisms has led to an information rich environment,
which suits the capable and experienced element of the community
but might be less suited to the less capable or experienced, for
whom providing information and communicating effectively may be
quite different. The need to ensure that provision of information
is translated to effective communication has been recognised and
the role of HIVE as the key, central information organisation
is being reviewed.
5. Children Act 2004 (CA04). The implementation
of CA04 in England is leading to a reorganisation of the delivery
of children's services, including education, under Children's
Trusts in each Local Authority area. Although CA04 applies to
England only, the MOD intends to implement similar structures
and measures for the Service community overseas and for appropriate
interaction in England. The MOD Steering Group has recommended
the formation of a MOD Children's Board with AG as Lead Member
and with a Director of Children's Services for supporting the
delivery of all children's services for the Service community
overseas. This is consistent with an expansion of AG's current
role as Agency Owner of SCE and HQ SCE—alongside other key
service providers—is closely involved in this developmental
work.
SFTF TRI-SERVICE FAMILIES ACTION PLAN—MARCH 2006
SUMMARY SHEET
(IN ALPHABETICAL
ORDER)
Issue | Lead
| Planned Outcome/Target Date
|
Childcare | AD SP Pol Families
| — Draft the MOD Childcare Strategy (March 2006)
— Childcare Strategy to SPB (April 2006)
|
Communication | AD SP Pol Families
| — Introduce JPA/DPA compliant method of contacting families direct (April 08)
— Define JPAC Helpline access requirement for families (April 2006)
— Ensure changes to Deployment dates are passed to families (May 2006)
— Establish HIVE support for Reserves and their families (May 2006)
|
Education
— Admissions
— Notice
— SEN
| AD SP Pol Families/Children's Education Advisory Service (CEAS)
| — Establish and develop a CEAS website to promote understanding of and support for the admissions appeals process (ongoing)
— Examine single Service performance on notice of posting (April 2006)
— Ensure any DfES change to the Special Educational Needs (SEN) process fully supports the more mobile Service community (June 2006)
|
Health
— Access to NHS Dentists
— NHS hospital treatment
— Waiting Lists
| DDS/DG Healthcare/D Med Pol/AD SP Pol Families
| — Present the review of all options for addressing difficulties that Service families experience in accessing NHS dental treatment (April 2006)
— Resolve problems Service families have in accessing NHS hospital treatment in the UK while serving abroad. (April 2006)
— Get devolved health authority recognition of waiting list time (May 2006)
|
Housing
— Affordability
— Availability
— Transition to HPC
| DE/AD SP Pol Housing | — Extend availability of Key Workers and/or Shared Equity Scheme to include Service personnel (Ongoing)
— Reflect concerns about allocation in ongoing review work (ongoing)
— Resolve problems in transition to HPC (April 2006)
|
JPA | AD SP Pol Fams/JPA Implementation Team
| — Produce a family friendly fact sheet explaining the effect of the introduction of JPA (June 2006)
|
| |
|
Subject | Issue
| Lead/Action/Comment | Planned Outcome/Remarks
|
| Education | Support
| CEAS
Service families are sometimes unclear on the appeals process if children have not been offered a place at the school of their choice.
| Improve understanding/knowledge of CEAS advice and support amongst families (ongoing)
CEAS are developing a website to better inform Service families and for better feedback on success rates.
|
| Notice
| AD SP Pol Families/single Services
Short notice has been identified as a particularly acute problem when applying for schools admissions. Generally Service families are unable to apply to specific schools until an address has been allocated. Although earlier notification of SFA address now helps, late notification of SSFA address and late notice of move (appointment) in the first place remain problem areas.
| Review notice of posting (April 2006)
Longer notice of move (appointment), leading to earlier address allocation, would help by increasing the time available to Service families to arrange education and other needs. Services have Key Targets for notice of appointment; MOD will request a review of these targets and success in meeting them.
|
| SEN
| CEAS/AD SP Pol Families
Ensure any change to the DfES Special Educational Needs (SEN) statements process fully supports the more mobile Service community
| Improve portability of SEN Statements (July 2006)
|
|
| | |
CHILDREN'S
EDUCATION ADVISORY
SERVICE
1. Children's Education Advisory Service (CEAS) was established
in September 2004 as a result of the Ofsted Inspection of SCE.
Formerly the unit was the UK office of Service Children's Education
and it maintained a telephone helpline and the database of Service
Children with Special Educational Needs. Since 2004, with a delegated
budget from HQ AG, via DETS(A) and professional support from DETS(A),
CEAS has been able to promote its services more widely to the
Military and entitled Civilian community. Telephone calls to the
helpline have increased exponentially. The work associated with
Service Children in State Schools and the whole issue of the impact
of mobility on Service Children's attainment has become a significant
feature of CEAS's work and the demand for support and consultancy
for families with an SEN issue are significant. Some families
have to rely on support from Local Authority Parent Partnership
Services and Army or Unit Welfare Officers when there is no one
available from CEAS.
CEAS is leading in the establishment of a Parent Partnership
Officer Post in British Forces Germany (BFG) in order to mirror
the Service available in English LEAS.
2. Children's Education Advisory Service (formerly SCE(UK))
is an organisation within the Adjutant General's Command established
to provide information, advice and support to Service Families
on any aspect of education. This organisation is uniquely placed
to identify the particular difficulties Service Families face
when moving. Movements take place between:
— Schools within one Local Authority area.
— Local Authority areas within the UK.
— The four countries of the United Kingdom.
— Countries overseas where there are Service Children's
Education (SCE) Schools.
— Countries where there are no SCE schools but there
are English speaking schools.
— Countries where there are no English speaking
schools.
3. The main issue raised with CEAS by Service Families
is admissions to schools in England, whether they are moving back
from overseas or only from one Local Authority to another. Service
Families are almost exclusively outside the normal admission process
and are what is known as Casual or Additional admissions. This
means that in order to gain a place in their preferred or any
popular school they must almost always go through the appeal process.
Although Admissions Authorities and Appeal Panels are generally
sympathetic to Service families needs there may be delays in the
admission of a Service child to their preferred school, which
may mean they miss several weeks of school. Even if the appeal
is heard before the family actually move, there is the uncertainty
about schooling which adds to a child's and parent's anxiety about
moving. This is exacerbated when one parent is left to deal with
the admission whilst the other is deployed or on training.
4. CEAS provides information on the Admissions policy
and the Appeals process, advice on the content of the Appeal letter
and support at the Appeal Hearing if a member of staff is available.
Education Officers from CEAS also attend some Local Authority
Admission Forums where there are significant numbers of Service
Personnel.
5. Another significant issue concerns those families
who have a child with Special Educational Needs (SEN). There are
2,014 Service Children on the MOD database of children with SEN,
maintained by CEAS. About 700 of these children move schools in
any one year. Service Families experience problems in the continuity
of support for their children and this is becoming an increasing
problem as Local Authorities are required to delegate the funding
for SEN directly to schools who are then required to make provision.
6. The main issues are:
— The different criteria used by each Local Education
Authority for the trigger of an assessment.
— The availability of Support Systems, such as Speech
and Language Therapy in different areas.
— The availability of Educational Psychologists
to assess children who move into an area.
— The availability of funding for a child who moves
into an area once resources have been delegated to schools.
— Concerns about the impact on the Service Person's
career.
7. Service Families frequently express the feeling that
they are always pushed to the back of the queue or that their
children have to go back to the start of the monitoring and assessment
process every time they move. The MOD allows the family of a person
to retain their accommodation within an area if their child is
undergoing Statutory Assessment. The most significant feature
of the CEAS helpline and the casework load of CEAS Education Officer
is Special Educational Needs.
8. There is an issue which impacts less directly on the
families but nevertheless impacts on their relationship with local
services and which concerns the transfer of information about
Service Children, particularly information about performance and
attainment. There are about 750 schools in England and Wales who
have Service Children ranging from 1% or 2% to 100% of the number
on roll (NoR). Depending on the pattern of posting in the area
the school serves they may experience regular total upheaval associated
with a unit move or they may experience the continual change associated
with trickle postings so that the (NoR) changes on an daily basis.
9. Depending on the "pattern" and timing of
movements a school may receive no information about a child until
some time after their arrival. Schools may be unaware of the turbulence
the child has experienced prior to this particular move. It may
not always be clear whether a child has come from another English,
Scottish, Northern Irish, Welsh, SCE or other school. This means
that any data received may be difficult to interpret. Children
may switch between different curriculum and experience gaps in
learning. Some parents report that children are bored repeating
areas of the curriculum or that they are left to study alone something
different from the rest of the group they have just joined.
10. There are particular difficulties for children who
have started public examination courses in year 10 and year 12.
The MOD allows the Service family to retain their accommodation
for the period leading up to GCSE' examinations and AS/A level
examinations once a child had commenced a course of study. There
are, however, concerns about the staying on rates into the 6th
form of Service Children and the rates of entry into Further and
Higher Education.
11. Children's Education Advisory Service in its former
guise as SCE(UK) has continued to support the dialogue with the
DfES and MoD through the Service Children in State Schools (SCISS)
Partnership. The chairman of this group has sent a separate submission.
[13]CEAS has recently
commissioned an NFER study into the attainment of Service Children.
So far the NFER has looked at the data pertaining to all schools
which experience mobility. They are looking at the set of schools
which experience Service mobility. However NFER cannot complete
the final part of the study into Service Children's attainment
because we cannot identify Service Children in the English Education
system. The DfES have been asked to include Service Children as
a category in the School Census Data but have not, so far, been
able to accede to this request.
QUEEN VICTORIA SCHOOL—HEADMASTER'S INTRODUCTORY
NOTE FOR HMIe INSPECTORS—AUGUST 2004
1. Queen Victoria School is unique in Scotland as a Ministry
of Defence Government Agency. Established in 1908 as a Scottish
Memorial to Queen Victoria and those Scottish Servicemen who lost
their lives in the South African wars, it has a strong constitutional
remit to support compassionate cases for admission. Because our
pupils are all from the Armed Services families there is considerable
movement and instability, as well as a high divorce rate and other
huge pressures such as Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq. Our pupils
move Schools and countries more frequently than most, therefore,
Queen Victoria School acts as an anchor and a point of stability
and for many is indeed their home. There is also a high level
of learning support requirement.
2. Pupil support comes very naturally to all staff at
Queen Victoria School as one of our distinctive features is that
all teaching and uniformed staff are also involved on the pastoral
side within the boarding system and houses. The benefit for the
pupils is considerable and collaborative working is a natural
part of our system. Pastoral care is given a high priority and
is the responsibility of the Assistant Headteacher, who will elaborate
on this later. In addition, our Support for Learning department
offers, as the Stirling Audit of 2004 stated, "very good
support both to staff and pupils".
3. Pupil support is developed in many ways and starts
early in the day with House staff, Sister in the School Medical
Centre, the Security Office at the Reception and staff supervising
the pupils at breakfast and preparing for the day ahead. The Senior
Monitor, Monitors and Prefects assist in supervising and are there
as additional support both for staff and pupils. Pupil support
continues with Morning Assembly in the School Chapel where the
School Chaplain, within the context of a hymn, a prayer and a
reading, provides a strong moral framework and focuses on community
values, positive relationships and a caring community. Pupils'
achievement (academic, sporting, extra-curricular and awards)
are consistently recognised in Morning Assemblies which have become
the focal point for the presentation of certificates.
4. Pupil support continues throughout the day with House
staff including Matrons, regular surgeries at the School Medical
Centre, support in driving pupils to Stirling Royal Infirmary
and Dunblane Medical Centre, and Teaching or House staff both
in and outwith teaching and boarding house environment. Pupil
support is also a notable feature of our extensive extra-curricular
activities programme running throughout the year which includes
various trips and outings at weekends (refer to statistics).
5. Parental links with the School have improved considerably
over the years. When I first took over in 1994 we did not see
much of parents at all and they did not seem to venture into boarding
houses. Now we have a Parents Liaison Committee which meets regularly
throughout the year and there are also Parents Association Meetings.
In consultation with the Parents Liaison Committee we have used
the latter at various times to provide in-service sessions for
parents either by our staff or external experts. In addition,
there is the opportunity for parents to raise issues and the Senior
Management Team and Catering Manager are always present to answer
questions.
6. In general, parents visit the School much more frequently
and we encourage them to attend matches, concerts etc, as well
as to make contact with House staff when they take their son/daughter
out and return them at weekends. Compared with 10 and even five
years ago, there is now a much greater involvement by all parents
in the School. In addition, I have also increased the level of
communications through letters to Parents, including enlisting
their support to improve the work ethos.
7. Queen Victoria School is an improving School and has
already improved considerably in:
— Attainment through exam results.
— Boarding accommodation which has been completely
refurbished over this 10 year period.
— Common Room areas within the Boarding Houses.
— Applications to the School have risen considerably
from 1994 when we took 34 pupils out of 35 applications.
— Raising of self-esteem and confidence of the pupils.
— Raising of the staying on rate—S5/S6 has
doubled in this 10 year period and yet we have not extended capacity.
— More inclusive—introduction of co-eduation
in 1996, Gurkhas over the last few years and a broader level of
pupils who need our support eg ADHD, hearing difficulty, spina
bifida.
— Careers Service, Young Enterprise and Work Experience
which we introduced, then halted due to Health & Safety and
are now taking up again this December with S4.
8. Everything has been geared towards improving the pupils
experience and producing better outcomes. Ours is a holistic approach
whereby the pupils' are given a wide range of choices in S3/4
and S5/S6 thus meeting their needs and parental aspirations. In
addition, there is a wide range of sporting and extra-curricular
activities which contribute considerably to the pupils' positive
experience and, undoubtedly, have a spin off in the classroom.
As the Stirling Council Audit stated, "Staff have high expectations
of pupils and are extremely supportive of them". I would
add that this is across a very wide range of activities.
9. The combination of sports, extra-curricular activities
including CCF, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and the School's
Pipe Band and Highland Dancing provides a very rich area for pupils
to improve their health, fitness, leadership and communication
skills. In addition, most areas do involve some peer mentoring
and, overall, there is a fostering of a caring and positive ethos.
10. The School's Pipe Band and Highland Dancers have
earned an international reputation. The Pipe Band and Highland
Dancers took part in the Nova Scotia Tattoo in 1995 and Edinburgh
Military Tattoo in 2001, and went to Australia in 1999 and provided
all the Highland Dancers for the Queen Mother's 100 birthday tribute
at Edinburgh Castle in 2000 and we head for Nova Scotia again
in 2005.
11. The Combined Cadet Force and Duke of Edinburgh's
Award scheme are well run and successful within the School. The
Officer who carried out the Biennial CCF Inspection in March 2004
commented, "I am pleased to report that I found the staff
and cadets in good health and they displayed a great deal of enthusiasm
and commitment during an extensive, well organised programme of
activities . . . I was impressed by all I saw and with the very
high standards of professionalism, enthusiasm and most importantly,
the fun that was being had. I found the very high level of student
led instruction particularly interesting and impressive".
He concluded by saying, "Most importantly, I believe that
a successful cadet organisation should foster four key qualities:
leadership, comradeship, discipline and confidence. Queen Victoria
School affords an excellent environment for such development".
12. Queen Victoria School has improved its standing and
involvement within the local community and in the wider context,
all of which has provided opportunities for pupils in different
ways. Our Junior Minstrels have shown regularly at Ladywell Parish
Church, Erskine Hospital, Sauchie Parish Church, Logie Kirk Guild,
St. Blane's, Le Cropt and Dunblane Cathedral Halls that their
talent, enthusiasm, as well as the ability to mix confidently
and talk to older people are very much appreciated and at the
Burns for Bairns in Dunblane earlier this year it was the presence
of 22 Queen Victoria School young pupils who carried the day.
The Le Cropt Guild commented "The boys' and girls' performances
were superb and a great credit to the School. It was also very
apparent they enjoyed a good rapport with their teachers which
was delightful to see", a representative of Logie Kirk said
"May I say a big thank you to the pupils and accompanying
staff for entertaining us so wonderfully | the music and dance
of Scotland are indeed in safe hands". Pupils have also been
involved in Drama in the Human Values Competition which was run
on a regional and national basis for a few years gaining best
actor, best actress, and best script in successive years. This
was an excellent experience for the pupils and, although it did
not take place this year, we did compete in the Scottish Community
Drama Association Festival of One Act Plays. We have also taken
part regularly and with some success in the BP Public Speaking
Competition.
25 April 2006
11
Numbers of pupils arriving or leaving the school at non-standard
times expressed as a percentage of the number on roll. Back
12
These rates will be reviewed and new rates published by SP Pol
Allowances wef 1 August 2006 for use throughout the Academic Year
2006-07. Back
13
Note: See Ev 56 Back
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