1. A policy perspective on school disaffection
Very much a headline/ whistlestop tour of the policy landscape
Want to share some of our thinking with you – not focus in detail on any one policy in particular
Themes and issues that thread through our work in Education Department
Hopefully – when you hear from Derrick and Frank – begin to show how trends filter down (and percolate up!) within the education community – that there is some coherence of development across the system

2. How can we ensure that children and young people are…
Safe and cared for?
Motivated to learn?
Helped to learn skills for life & learning?
Engage parents
Home-school link
Achievement and
attainment
High standards in
pastoral care
Flexibility and personal
choice
Social, emotional,
behaviour skills
Integrated working to
support the child
Resilience
Better support for
learning
TO INCLUDE CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE – THEY NEED TO BE SAFE, SECURE, CARED FOR
They need to have lives that allow them to prioritise and engage with their learning, or for learning to be the secure bit of their lives that helps them to deal with their other difficulties
Time to be listened to, good relationships and support
Co-ordinated action to meet their needs
NEXT PART OF THE JIGSAW IS MOTIVATION – HOW WE MAKE LEARNING MATTER TO PUPILS
We have to shape learning experiences around the child, not vice versa
Has to fit child’s aspirations and interests
Curriculum flexibility is a policy direction that many vol orgs support
Personalised learning – key theme in Curriculum for Excellence
CUTTING ACROSS THESE FIRST TWO
work with parents (positive communication and relationships for home-school consistency) – we know there is more to do
Better support for learning – here Additional Support for Learning legislation to tackle barriers to children’s learning, multi-agency context
HELPED TO LEARN SKILLS FOR LIFE AND LEARNING
NPIE – we say that education is about achievement not just attainment (passing exams) – learning for life, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors
Beginning to see these as skills that can be practiced and learned, rather just expecting them to appear
We say that positive behaviour and relationships matter –
Positive climate for learning at whole school level – where positive relationships are modelled in all interactions in school
Peer support for staff
Approaches to helping children develop their skills and confidence
Resilience a concept that is attracting more and more interest
AMBITIOUS, EXCELLENT SCHOOLS – EDUCATIONAL REFORM PROGRAMME – COVERS ALL OF THESE AREAS – SAYS THAT THE SYSTEM SHOULD BENEFIT ALL CHILDREN
Positive behaviour –
positive relationships
Ambition for all – all children to reach their full potential

3. deprivation and entrenched difficulties in families and communities
National challenges
deprivation and entrenched difficulties in families and communities
increased complexity
making progress on the most stubborn and difficult issues
building from strengths
Collectively, we face a number of challenges which are key themes for today’s event
Deprivation and entrenched difficulties
People say that the problems children and families are experiencing are increasingly complex
There is certainly increasing concern about issues such as effects of drug/ alcohol use over generations, mental health etc.
How do we make progress on the big issues
Better outcomes for looked after children
Persistent truancy
Welfare and safety of the most vulnerable
Children who are not ‘having the time of their lives’ or getting the benefits of school
YP who struggle to find a place in adult life and with the transition
How do we tackle these issues in ways that recognise and build on the strengths in communities and in individuals? Whilst keeping eyes open to the difficulties?

4. making sure policy reaches the front-line
Shared challenges
making sure policy reaches the front-line
maintaining momentum, giving it time
spreading what is good across the system
horses for courses – choice and local decision-making
Challenges for policy-makers – but also for authorities, schools, voluntary sector colleagues – people in the field who have the task of meeting us half way
There is a communication task – how do we provide information to people in a way that is practical and meaningful, and how do you feed back to us about what seems to work, when and why
We are experimenting with approaches – eg regional communications team for BBBL, PPR series
Pupil Inclusion Network is a mechanism for two-way communication of that kind
How do we keep momentum over time? Give change the time it takes?
We have taken the view that we stimulate good practice, but accept a curve where some people will get on board sooner than others – we have to acknowledge different starting points, local needs, different capacities for change
And we have to give directions time to bring results, eg whole school change perhaps takes 3-5 years
We have taken the view that we need to give people choices, rather than prescribe
This too brings challenges – how do we ensure choice but consistent high standards?
Is having a range of initiatives the right thing or the wrong thing? – some people say they want to see something being done, others say it’s confusing!