Vale of Leven Academy

West Dunbartonshire Council Educational Services Vale of Leven Academy Standards & Quality Report for Parents Session 2013-2014 Head Teacher: Mrs Catriona M. Robertson Date October 2014

KEY IMPROVEMENTS School Focus: Good Practice Introduction of the New National Qualifications Undoubtedly the biggest achievement of session 2013/2014 was the introduction of the new National qualifications at Level 3, 4 and 5. 928 courses were taken at National 5 (equivalent to Credit Standard Grade). 83% passed with A-D grades. 450 courses were taken at National 4 (equivalent to General Standard Grade) with a pass rate of 99.3%. More details of the examination results are included in Section 1.1 of this report. However this performance in the new Qualifications is a huge achievement for all our young people. Girls into Physics In January 2014, Vale of Leven Academy hosted a Girls Into Physics day for the West of Scotland. This event has only been held in the East Coast of Scotland until now. 127 girls from WDC schools, Jordanhill School, St. Ninian s High School (East Renfrewshire), and Park Mains High School attended the all day event. The girls were welcomed by keynote speaker Dr Kate Barrie from the University of Glasgow. The girls then attended workshops which included Medical Physics, designing propellors and debating the chances of alien species in space! A favourite workshop provided by Heriot Watt University seemed to be the use of liquid nitrogen, which eventually provided all the participants with an ice cream cone! In the final session, the girls had a live skype session with rocket scientist Amber Gell from the NASA Space Centre. It was a very successful day for the Academy. This prestigious event is just one aspect of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) work going on in the Academy. Reciprocal Teaching Secondary Pilot Project Whilst functional literacy has improved significantly in recent years, many pupils nevertheless continue to struggle with reading comprehension. To counter this, English and Physical Education have collaborated to give a National 5 P.E. class the opportunity to utilise Reciprocal Teaching strategies in their learning. To ascertain the success of this project, the improvements to pupils P.E. and English grades were measured. The results demonstrated the success of the pilot. Not only was feedback from participating pupils and staff extremely positive, but pupils who engaged in the pilot demonstrated a 20% improvement in their literacy scores and an 18% improvement in their Physical Education results.

KEY IMPROVEMENTS School Focus Quality Indicator 1.1: Improvements in Performance Vale of Leven Academy Number of Pupils in S4-S6 = 444 Number of courses taken % Male Male % Female Female % Level 4 462 Pass Rate 459 99.4 248 54.0 211 46.0 (Int1, Nat4) Level 5 950 Pass Rate A to C Awards 720 75.8 391 54.3 329 45.7 (Int2, Nat5) Pass Rate A to D Awards 789 83.1 424 53.7 365 46.3 Level 6 436 Pass Rate A to C Awards 294 67.4 122 41.5 172 58.5 (Higher) Pass Rate A to D Awards 347 79.6 143 41.2 204 58.8 Level 7 28 Pass Rate A to C Awards 22 78.6 9 40.9 13 59.1 (Adv.Higher) Pass Rate A to D Awards 24 85.7 9 37.5 15 62.5 % Pupil Roll S5 5+ Higher Grade Passes 9.71 3+ Higher Grade Passes 21.14 1+ Higher Grade Pass 38.86 S5/6 5+ Higher Grade Passes 25.9 3+ Higher Grade Passes 38.56 1+ Higher Grade Pass 55.31 S6 1+ Advanced Higher Passes 15.87

KEY IMPROVEMENTS School Focus Quality Indicator 1.1: Improvements in Performance West Dunbartonshire Number of Pupils in S4-S6 = 2541 Number of courses taken % Male Male % Female Female % Level 4 2609 Pass Rate 2307 88.4 1321 57.3 986 42.7 (Int1, Nat4) Level 5 4626 Pass Rate A to C Awards 3517 76.0 1666 47.4 1851 52.6 (Int2, Nat5) Pass Rate A to D Awards 3840 83.0 1836 47.8 2004 52.2 Level 6 2908 Pass Rate A to C Awards 2077 71.4 842 40.5 1235 59.5 (Higher) Pass Rate A to D Awards 2363 81.3 963 40.8 1400 59.2 Level 7 253 Pass Rate A to C Awards 191 75.5 61 31.9 130 68.1 (Adv.Higher) Pass Rate A to D Awards 215 85.0 70 32.6 145 67.4

KEY IMPROVEMENTS School Focus Quality Indicator 1.1: Improvements in Performance contd. The new SQA National Qualifications introduced at Levels 3,4 and 5. Two S4 pupils attained A passes in Higher Physics at the end of S4. Higher results in S5/6 show further improvement on last year. Improvements are being sustained over time. Advanced Higher results showed a major increase in the number of passes. VoLA s first ever candidates (from the Communication Base) passed the John Muir Award as part of their Outdoor Learning project. Introduce new Higher National Qualifications in many subject areas. Continue with measures to further improve attainment and to sustain that improvement. Continue to produce, and monitor, the Whole School and Departmental Raising Attainment Action plans. Develop strategies to improve attainment in boys across the Senior Phase. Use evaluations from the first year of the National 3,4 and 5 Qualifications to make adjustments to courses and assessments to further improve results. Audit progress so far with 2013-2016 School Improvement Plan, and make adjustments to timescales and tasks as necessary. Refresh Growth Mindset Developments to ensure culture is fully embedded. Quality Indicator 2.1: Learners Experiences Learners experiences continue to be enhanced and improved by increasing use of new teaching methodologies such as Cooperative Learning, Outdoor Learning and Active Learning strategies. Bloom s taxonomy is used routinely by many teachers as a means of deepening thinking skills. Almost all pupils are eager to participate in their own learning, and almost all enjoy school. Wider achievement opportunities continue to expand - the Saltire Scotland awards have gone from strength to strength, with the top pupil gaining the Saltire Summit award for over 500 hours of volunteering. The strengths and benefits of the Class Tutor Programme are beginning to become evident in terms of all staff involvement in the Health and Wellbeing agenda. The behaviour of almost all pupils continues to improve, evidenced by reductions in demerits, referrals and exclusions. Continue to develop the Teaching Learning Communities - type process to share good practice so that use of new methodologies is expanded further. Continue to provide training and support to embed the Class Tutor Programme. Support Pastoral Care Leaders to further develop their Class Tutor teams. Adjust the target setting processes to take account of the move to Show My Homework. Develop OurCloud.Buzz as an Independent Pupil Learning Zone. Further develop Pupil Voice through the Rights Respecting School agenda.

Quality Indicator 5.1: The Curriculum The first year of the Senior Phase was successfully completed, with S4, S5, and S6 being timetabled as one cohort for the first time. New National 3, 4 and 5 courses were introduced in all subject areas. The timetabling of S4, S5 and S6 as one cohort allowed S4 pupils to access Higher courses in S4 - indeed two S4 pupils attained 'A' band Higher Physics passes. Consortium working, based on the aligned 32-period week widened the number of Advanced Higher Courses available for senior pupils, resulting in a significant increase in attainment. Consortium working also widened the range of academic and vocational subjects available for senior pupils including Higher Beauty and Higher Photography. Partnership working with Community Learning and Development and other partners further widened the curriculum providing bespoke courses for particular groups. Curriculum enrichment projects continued to grow, including the first STARS project between P7 and S1, Seafood Scotland, and STEM Ambassadors to name but a few. Vale of Leven Academy hosted the first west-coast Girls into Physics event. Girls from six schools attended to experience Physics-themed workshops to encourage them to become involved in science. Increase partnership working, post WDC Validated Self Assessment inspection, to widen curricular opportunities for all pupils. Introduce Drama into the S1/2 curriculum to ensure all BGE drama experiences and outcomes are delivered. Evaluate curriculum progression pathways from S4 into S5 and to ensure suitable courses are available for all youngsters. Investigate courses to provide lateral progression, including possible expansion of the consortium provision. Investigate further expansion of in-house vocational courses such as bicycle maintenance to support provision of new mountain bikes in PE. Quality Indicator 5.3: Meeting Learning Needs The Enhanced Support Team continues to develop, supported by the introduction of the class tutor teacher system. VoLA involved in WDC pilot of Reciprocal Reading which aims to improve comprehension levels and therefore access to all curriculum areas. The school continues to investigate additional courses to meet individual needs. For example a sixth year pupil successfully completed a course at Glasgow Caledonian University on Fashion Brand Retailing delivered by day release from school. She received a distinction. An action research project has been carried out by the Raising Attainment Team to investigate the reasons for underachievement in boys and they continue to work at Authority level on this project. Preparation for Higher Education continues to expand with further development of the Reach Project, Focus West and other initiatives. The employability programme continues to go from strength to strength with bespoke experiences of the highest quality to support the highest aspirations of our young people. Last session placements include the Victoria Infirmary, the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh and Ernst Young. The Communication Base continues to provide high level support for young people on the Autistic Spectrum to maximise their access to mainstream classes and thereby increase attainment.

Further develop flexible curriculum pathways and courses to maximise GIRFEC approach to ensure real choices for all abilities and aptitudes. Continue to develop the use of critical thinking skills/blooms taxonomy. Investigate technological solutions to support consistency, frequency and challenge of homework. Quality Indicator 5.9: Improvement Through Self Evaluation Parents, pupils, staff and stakeholders are regularly offered opportunities to comment on the work of the school. For example, all parents are asked to complete a questionnaire at each Parents Evening. The results of these questionnaires are analysed and any issues addressed. Parents are also regularly consulted through the parent council, and views are taken on board and addressed. The school acts on the results of robust and rigorous self-evaluation, and can show clear evidence of improvement. Senior Leaders and Curriculum Leaders are involved in the annual Leadership For Learning visit by the Executive Director of Education to rigorously evaluate SQA performance. There is a well embedded programme of whole school and mentor teacher support and challenge for students and probationers. All staff are encouraged to regularly evaluate their own teaching as well as new developments within and beyond their department. All staff are encouraged to use the GTC Professional Standards Documentation as a basis for personal reflection and self-evaluation. All line managers have been trained in coaching techniques to improve effectiveness of the new GTC professional review and development process. There are regular meetings of the Pastoral Care team, now called Pupil Support, where the work of the team is reviewed and evaluated. Similarly there are regular house meetings between the Head of House (DHT) and the Pupil Support team members. During these meetings there is an evaluation and review of the work carried out for each pupil in the case load. Revisit the VOLA Vision, Values and Aims through the Rights Respecting Schools agenda. Support staff in the full implementation of the new GTC Professional Update process. Participate in the new WDC Quality Assurance process. Take forward How Good is our Transition Programme as part of our Learning Community Improvement Plan. Extend the processes of gathering evidence on the impact of the School Improvement agenda. School Contact Details

Head Teacher: Mrs Catriona M. Robertson Address Main Street ALEXANDRIA G83 0BH Tel No: 01389 777000 Email: SchoolOffice.VOLA@west-dunbarton.gov.uk We will work together to ensure that everyone in our community is valued and has the opportunity to learn for life and to achieve their potential. Aim We aim to enable everyone in West Dunbartonshire to become: Successful learners Confident individuals Responsible citizens Effective contributors To achieve our aim, we will: Deliver courses and activities which meet the needs of all learners Provide services and manage resources to support learning Value differences, promote equal opportunities and foster inclusion Promote partnership, collegiality and community participation Celebrate success Monitor, evaluate and review the quality of our services West Dunbartonshire Council: An Education Authority of Ambition