Pupil Engagement Team - Orkney Island Council: Identifying need and aims
This section outlines the need for the project and how the basis of partnership working was established. It also includes the overall ambition of the partnership and an overview of those involved.
The need for the project was identified by the headteacher of Papdale Primary School, as a result of analysing contextual data, as part of the annual cycle of school improvement planning. The headteacher identified a gap in provision relating to attendance and engagement. They recognised there was a need for a support role in the school to work with children, young people and their families to improve outcomes.
The headteacher met with colleagues from the Community Learning and Development and Employability (CLDE) Youth Services team to identify families who would benefit from additional support in and out of school. This was informed by wellbeing indicators, such as those with three points or less on the Leuven Scale. This was underpinned by robust, longitudinal evidence that wellbeing is associated with learner outcomes including engagement and experience of transitions between Primary and Secondary school (Student Wellbeing: An analysis of the evidence, Woolf & Digby, 2023).
It was recognised that a partnership with CLDE Youth Services provided a different model of engagement, using alternative approaches to formal education. As a result, two schools entered a partnership with CLDE Youth Services for an initial one-year period, with a focus on the transition from P7-S1.
The overall ambition of the project was to provide different experiences for children, young people and their families that improve how the school engages with them and improves their attendance. Effective collaboration across sectors and services was considered a key driver for improving attendance and engagement.
The key partners initially involved were the school and Community Learning and Development and Employability (CLDE) Youth Services. Over time, the number of partners supporting the project has increased to include the local Foodbank, local charities, breakfast clubs, parent councils, The University of Highlands and Islands, STEM co-ordinators and Active Schools.
