Education and Lifelong Learning

The Education and Lifelong Learning Department aims to improve the lives of the people of the Borders, from pre-school children to our mature citizens. We aim to do this by providing opportunities for individual learning, personal development and leisure.

A major part of the Department's work focuses on children. All of our children are entitled to the best learning experience we can offer but as the Scottish Borders has one of the highest average population age in Scotland. It is important that our learning and leisure opportunities reflect the needs of the people we serve.

Our Goals

The goals for the department are linked to national agendas for school education, community learning and cultural development. They are also linked to local community planning (New Ways) objectives.

There are four Services within Education and Lifelong Learning:

Each Service contributes to the Council's corporate priorities

- Strong, inclusive and safe communities
- A robust and dynamic economy
- A protected and enhanced natural environment
- Improved health and well-being
- Learning for everyone
- A well connected Borders

Contacts

Overall responsibility for all our operational and business functions rests with the Director of Education & Lifelong Learning, Glenn Rodger. He, alongside the five heads of services (below) are located at Council Headquarters, in Newtown St Boswells, Melrose TD6 0SA.

Schools Services - Jackie Swanston (secondary schools and pupil support) and Yvonne McCracken (primary schools, pre-school and the childcare partnership)
Community Services - Alan Hasson
Business Services - Lynn Mirley
Quality Services - Kate Brown

The main switchboard number for the department is 01835 824000.

The elected members with responsibility for the department are Councillor Catriona Bhatia and Councillor Graham Garvie.

For general inquiries on issues not covered within the website please contact us through ellinfo@scotborders.gov.uk

Key departmental policies include

Race Equality Policy for Schools. You can download a copy or request a copy by email from ellinfo@scotborders.gov.uk.

New - Transforming Services to Children and Young People

How can we improve all the services we offer to children? This includes all the services delivered by schools, libraries, sports and our social work services for this with additional support needs? This is a question that a joint Education & Lifelong Learning and Social Work project team is currently addressing.

Across the Borders, we generally do a very good job for children and young people but we could and want to do better. While this is not about cuts, the target set by the Council is to deliver better services and save 5% of the total budget. This does not mean cuts or stopping elements of the services we offer but instead we need to plan better; get staff from both departments working together as one team (for example sharing premises and functions such as administration, accounts, IT etc) and together we can develop new ways of working that are more cost effective.

The first task for the project team was the development of a Project Initiation Document that sets out the scope, principles, objectives and timescale for the project.
Project Team

The team is led by Brian Keenan, SBC’s Head of Schools and Dave Brand, Group Planning Manager for Social Work , with support from staff across the Council.

Shared Vision

One of the first tasks for the project team was to agree on an ambitious shared vision for children and young people. We will encourage them to be ambitious for themselves. We will keep children and young people at the centre of everything we do and we will develop our services to support and empower them becoming:

Confident individuals;
effective contributors;
successful learners; and
responsible citizens.

Elements of the Review

In the four key areas of the review we will be looking to remove duplication in levels of service delivery and opportunities to streamline service to improve both efficiency and effectiveness of delivery, while highlighting areas for improvement.

Targeted Services for children in need :

Additional Support Needs.
Additional Support Needs : Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs.
Parenting
Transition to adulthood.

Universal Services led by Kate Brown (Head of Quality Services - Education): this covers delivery of services in schools including:

Education (the curriculum from 3 – 18years of age)
Pastoral support.

Voluntary Participation Services led by Iain MacAulay, Business Manager Community Services): this covers Arts, Sports, Community Learning & Development, Libraries & Museums and pre school and out of school care.

Integration and Redesign - will examine the most efficient and costs effective staffing structures to deliver these services – looking at both the operational front line delivery and the back office functions and critical issues such as quality improvement and assurance. It will also cover the use of our assets and the facilities management (basically running the building and services) from which we deliver services to children: premises; catering; cleaning and janitorial services and transport.

Principles of the Review

The following principles have been agreed as providing a framework for the proposals which may arise from the review:

User involvement

Within this process and beyond we will, at every meaningful stage, consult widely with staff, children, young people and their families and other stakeholders and will work to ensure we meet the ‘National Standards of Engagement’.

Delivery

We will deliver services locally wherever possible. Services will only be delivered centrally or outwith the authority, when local delivery is either not possible, efficient or not appropriate. The five local areas are Berwickshire, Cheviot, Eildon, Tweeddale and Teviot & Liddesdale.
We will identify and utilise the best-placed providers for delivery of services – whether local authority, private or voluntary.
The 5-stage assessment model for support and intervention will provide the basis for all service configuration and delivery. We will seek to support each child, young person and their family at the lowest possible level within the model appropriate to their needs.
We will maximise the capacity of front-line staff to work directly with children, young people and/or their families by:
- Minimising bureaucracy;
- optimising back office functions;
- distinguishing between those tasks which require to be undertaken by staff with a specific professional qualification and any which might be more efficiently or more effectively undertaken by other professionally qualified staff or indeed, non-professionally qualified staff; and
- identifying opportunities to utilise generic roles where appropriate;

Planning and management

We will meet all our statutory requirements and all national and/or local standards and will take cognisance of local and national policy and all available evidence in our planning and design.
Our managerial structures will be kept to a minimum and will be designed to support front-line service delivery.
We will utilise the HMIE Joint Inspection framework as the basis for all quality assurance.

Working together

We are committed to working with partner agencies to ensure that the needs of all children and young people are met.
We are committed to working in partnership with partners to ensure that every child or young person requiring multi-agency support will be allocated a key worker.
Wherever possible, each child or young person with multi-agency support needs will receive only one assessment. In support of this objective, we are committed to the development of an Integrated Assessment Framework.
We will remove all artificial or non-required budgetary barriers.
Co-location opportunities will be maximised.
The number of buildings utilised will be the minimum required for efficient service delivery.
We will identify and discuss any potential implications of the review for partners outwith the Council and take their views into account.

Communications

Throughout the year there will be opportunities for parents, community representatives, staff, pupils and partner organisations to contribute to the review. We will keep you informed through a monthly project briefing:

Project briefing - 1 May 2007

Project briefing - 2 June 2007

Project briefing - 3 June 2007

For information on any aspect of the review please contact the project team at: reviewsc@scotborders.gov.uk