Scottish Government

Management of school/college partnerships and the main operational issues involved

Linzie Wood, Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department
Scottish Executive

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Main Findings

Purpose of Collaboration

A range of reasons were cited for collaborative initiatives between schools and colleges. Most commonly cited were the need to provide alternative vocational options for pupils who would benefit from something other than the traditional 8 Standard Grade model, and to enhance the curriculum at Higher Grade level.

Although college provision is thought of as good at the moment, it is argued that there is a need to provide a broader range of programmes to meet local school and labour market needs. The need for Local Authority intervention and forward planning was identified as crucial in order to avoid ad-hoc provision.

The types of pupil who currently attend college can broadly be categorised as less-academic pupils drawn from third and fourth year and more highly academic pupils from fifth and sixth. At the moment it appears to be the case that vocational options at college are thought of as less suitable for pupils who are expected to perform well in their Standard Grades.

Participation in college courses is variable by gender and a few college contacts noted that they were currently less able to cater for girls due to their emphasis on providing courses in the skilled trades. There is a need to ensure that meaningful provision is offered to all pupils and this may mean broadening course provision in some colleges.

Levels of engagement vary across different schools, and schools in more affluent areas tend to be less keen to develop vocational links at the S3 and S4 level for fear of unnecessary disruption to the Standard Grade curriculum. There is a need to expound the benefits of vocational options to engage a broader range of pupils and to ensure that college is not seen as an option only suitable for less-academic pupils.

Managing Supply and Demand

In terms of the management of pupil placements there are varying procedures in place. These usually depend on the particular course offered and the age of the pupil concerned. Schools tend to identify certain pupils from S3 and S4 as 'likely to benefit' from college and accordingly, encourage them to attend. However, there is evidence to suggest that the selection process for S3 and S4 pupils is changing, with a few schools starting to employ a self-selection procedure for pupils based on timetable options. It is thought that this 'opting-in' process will help ensure that vocational options are more firmly placed within the mainstream. Fifth and sixth year pupils are offered options as part of their timetable although entry is often restricted to pupils who have achieved certain academic qualifications.

There are concerns that increasing awareness of college options among pupils and the adoption of self-selection procedures based on timetable availability will increase demand to the extent that colleges are no longer able to meet it. It was often argued that recruitment of many more pupils could not be done without a substantial increase in cash.

Courses are generally delivered within college and pupils are usually taught as discrete age groups. On rare occasions pupils are taught alongside adult learners but this was said to have caused few problems so far and was often cited as a positive experience.

Distance often restricts engagement and it was argued that some schools had given up on links due to this. Sometimes courses are taught within schools themselves, with FE lecturers travelling out to schools, but outreach programmes tend to be more practical for theoretically based courses such as Psychology, or vocational programmes requiring limited resources such as Beauty Therapy. Similarly, video-conferencing and open learning methods are utilised by schools in rural areas to overcome distance but again, these tend to be less suitable for vocational programmes.

To a great extent levels of engagement that schools have with colleges are dependent on practical timetabling issues. It was argued that there is a need for greater consistency and for working groups to be established with the remit of harmonising school timetables in particular areas.

Implications for schools and colleges

A common concern is that expanding the numbers of school pupils within college will deter adult learners and ultimately decrease the benefits for pupils who attend. There is a need to ensure that suitable pupils are selected and that a balance of age-ranges is maintained.

Specialist training was identified as useful with regards to teaching methods and staff development and support. It was suggested that the Executive should organise an in-service day once a year for joint staff development.

It was noted that a number of schools have decided not to run courses provided by colleges due to concerns over staffing and FE lecturers not having General Teaching Council for Scotland Registration (GTCS). This is an issue which has yet to be resolved.

In terms of discipline, colleges and schools tend to develop an agreed procedure. Problems tend to arise when there is a lack of consistency in relation to procedures and expected codes of conduct.

There are some concerns over whether all college teaching staff have been cleared by Disclosure Scotland. Most colleges are able to confirm that members of staff involved with teaching school pupils are fully disclosed, however there is less certainty regarding older members of staff and support staff. A common policy framework may need to be developed with regards to this.

In terms of additional funding issues, a range of procedures are currently in place. Schools generally pay for transport to and from college although it was noted that this could be expensive, particularly if private buses are laid on. Local Authorities generally foot the bill for free school meals and in terms of additional resources such as make-up kits etc. colleges are generally responsible. If the number of participating pupils increases, there may be a need to re-evaluate funding mechanisms. Indeed, one college is currently operating at a deficit and has asked schools to absorb some of the additional costs.

Greater Local Authority intervention was identified as being needed in a range of areas including curriculum harmonisation, the development of a common timetable, forward planning in terms of course provision and additional funding.

Pupil Welfare and support

Communication between schools and colleges tends to be done via the Depute Head within schools and the appointed Schools Liaison Officer within college. This was identified as an effective mechanism for keeping both parties informed of what is happening.

There is variation between schools in terms of the sharing of appropriate background information on pupils. It was often argued that there is a need for guidance on how much and what kind of information should be shared between schools and colleges in order to ensure that pupils are supported within the college environment from the offset.

There is variation between colleges and within different college departments in terms of the reporting and monitoring of attendance. It was commonly argued that a more accurate and immediate feedback system is required. Similarly, greater consistency is required in terms of the reporting and monitoring of performance and attainment.

A range of strategies are in place across different schools and colleges to provide additional support to school-age pupils, some of which are more effective than others. Certain groups require higher levels of support than others and whether or not this is provided depends to a great extent on the time and resources available.

Conclusion

There are a range of collaborative initiatives in place which operate successfully and there is a general consensus that colleges provide a stimulating and supportive environment for pupils. However, there is a lack of consistency in terms of the management of collaboration. The development of good practice guidelines on how to manage partnerships was identified as something which would be particularly useful, although it was also argued that there is a need to be careful about imposing national guidelines as many of the successes that have been created have been developed at a local level. It was commonly argued that there is a need for flexibility and creativity in order to develop best practice. While collaboration was currently identified as working well, concerns were voiced over the further expansion of school/college initiatives and it was frequently argued that there is only so much that can be done within the current parameters before a 'ceiling' is reached. Budgetary constraints were frequently cited by school and college contacts alike as particularly limiting although there are other concerns such as timetabling and staffing which have to be overcome in order to improve pupils' experience of FE. If FE provision for schools is to be expanded, then a more systematic approach to the way in which collaboration is managed is required.

About the study of school college collaboration

This research was undertaken by Linzie Wood of the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department of the Scottish Executive. The main aims of the research were to explore:

The report is based on material taken from twenty-four interviews conducted with school/college liaison officers from 12 colleges and 12 schools, with links to each of the chosen colleges, over the months of May and June 2004. The schools and colleges were selected to ensure that rural/urban issues, as well as socio-economic factors were taken into account.