Journey To Excellence
Supporting children and young people
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'You get to talk to the teacher in private without anyone else knowing what you are saying.' P6 pupil
| A school is good to the extent that… | A school is excellent to the extent that… |
|---|---|
| Children and young people who face barriers in communication receive the support they need to interact with staff and with their peers. | Staff use a range of means to meet the communication and other needs of learners and their families. Staff teach children and young people how to understand and communicate with those who have difficulties. They have strong links with staff who provide family learning and literacy support. Parents are encouraged to contribute fully to their child’s experience in school. Their hopes and wishes are dealt with sensitively. Information is provided in a number of formats to meet individual needs. |
| Staff are aware of the need for confidentiality when dealing with sensitive issues except where there are concerns about risk of harm. Approaches to supporting learners provide for a safe and secure environment. | Children and young people have confidence to ask for help when they need it and know that adults will use their power to help them in the best way possible. Children and young people trust adults in school to respect confidentiality but also appreciate that they will share information appropriately to ensure they get the help they need. They are confident that professionals work together effectively on their behalf. |
| Clear procedures are used to identify learners’ needs. | Staff take positive and proactive steps to ensure that factors, such as the learning environment, family circumstances, health or disability, or social or emotional factors which may hinder learning are promptly identified and addressed effectively. Staff regularly review these needs with families and consider if support is good enough. |
| External agencies are involved in supporting children, young people and their families. | Staff address learners’ needs through a variety of approaches including: early intervention strategies; a curriculum and approaches to learning and teaching which are very well matched to the needs of all learners; deployment of support staff; and engaging the expertise and resources of all possible partner agencies and organisations, including the voluntary sector. Effective multi-agency approaches are in place which provide a high level and quality of support to all learners and their families through well planned highly effective and prompt intervention. |
| Most staff know learners well. Individual learners have clear support plans which specify clear targets and timescales. Care and welfare arrangements for learners are effective. Parents know the name of, and have access to, the staff member responsible for supporting their child. | Every child knows whom they can approach with a problem and that they can be assured of effective and prompt support. Staff know each learner very well. When a factor hindering learning has been identified, key members of staff become responsible for ensuring positive outcomes for individual learners and for working with parents and other agencies. Record-keeping is of a very high quality to ensure consistency in progress. Children, young people and parents are actively involved in planning future support where required. |
'Staff showed a deep understanding- not only of my daughter’s schooling progression but also her character, and how to get round her little foibles.' (Parent of a secondary pupil: Happy, safe and achieving their potential, 2004)