Education and Learning Directorate Service Plan approved

Members of the Council’s Education Committee yesterday (20 May 2021) approved the Education and Learning Directorate Service Plan for 2021/22.

The plan outlines our Education service’s priorities for improvement which are linked to Key Performance Indicator (KPI)s to measure progress.

The areas for improvement are set within a vision statement underpinning four key elements. These are:

• We will raise attainment and achievement for all, especially for those children from disadvantaged circumstances including rural deprivation.
• We will maximise health and wellbeing for all children and young people to give them the best possible start in life.
• We will ensure the highest quality of learning and teaching for each and every learner.
• We will develop leadership skills at all levels of the system for now and the future.

The first key priority is to raise attainment and maximise achievement for all children and young people. We have seen success towards this goal so far as Highland has noted improvement in 71% of our KPIs and achievement awards by children from deprived backgrounds is showing a 4-year rising trend resulting in an increase of 10% since 2016/17. The Plan aims to build on this success by further developing a raising attainment strategy and includes focused improvement activities on young people from deprived backgrounds in numeracy, literacy and positive destinations.

Highland has also prioritised health and wellbeing for all children and young people across the region. We have had positive engagement with The Highland Council Partnership Forum and Youth Parliament Forum on health and wellbeing matters and we will be reviewing the Highland practice model with all key stakeholders in light of Covid-19 recovery.

The Directorate Plan is an active document and will be subject to update and review on an annual basis and submitted to the Education Committee for consideration.

The Plan can be found on the Council’s website.