An education service to be proud of

Great things are happening in Argyll and Bute Council’s education service.

At a meeting of the Community Services Committee today, members were presented with the Annual Performance Review which shows positive progress across many areas of the service. For example:

• The education counselling service is supporting a large number of children and young people, since it was established in February this year. 
• Argyll and Bute is one of only 11 local authorities in Scotland able to deliver 1140 hours Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) provision to all entitled children by the original deadline of August 2020 (before it was extended by the Scottish Government until August 2021 as a result of Covid 19).
• ELC pupils spend a minimum of 50% of their time in high quality outdoor learning.
• A Nurture Strategy has been developed to promote positive mental health and wellbeing in schools. As part of this, a Principal Teacher of Nurture was appointed and a staff member from each school has received training from the Educational Psychology Service.
• The application process for applying for clothing and free school meal grants is now carried out on-line which has made the process easier, particularly during the pandemic. As a result, over the last 12 months there has been a 15% increase in the number of families applying for clothing grants and a rise of 33% in free school meal grant applications.

Policy Lead for Education, Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, said: “Our education service works tirelessly to ensure that our children and young people are given every opportunity to reach their full potential. The annual performance review shows a number of fantastic successes, but there are many, many more things to be proud of on top of these positive performance indicators.

“From exam results that outperform national averages, to award winning staff, pupils and schools, the talent and sheer commitment to succeed in our schools is phenomenal. We all have a role to play in the future successes of our young people but, with committed staff, supportive parents, and pupils who are enthusiastic and eager to learn, I believe we are on the right path.”