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Memorandum from the Ministry of Defence (ESC 40)
1.1. This memorandum aims to provide the House of Commons Defence Committee with all necessary and relevant information to aid their Inquiry into the education of service children. In addition to a general background brief this briefing pack aims to provide the committee with information on the following areas:
a) The role and performance of the Service Children's Education agency and the schools that it manages.............................................Annex A
b) The role and performance of the Duke of York's Military School...............................................................................Annex B
c) The role and performance of the Queen Victoria School.......Annex C
d) Assistance provided by the Ministry of Defence with the cost of schooling in other schools within the UK .................................. Annex D
e) Advice to Service families and issues facing Service children in maintained schools in the UK (resulting from turbulence etc).........Annex E
ANNEX A
The Role and Performance of the Service Children's Education (SCE) and the Schools it Manages
CONTEXT
Agency Status
Service Children's Education (SCE) operates as an Agency within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It was created as part of the "Next Steps" development as a means of freeing the military from non-core business and placing the education of Forces' children overseas under the responsibility of specialist professional staff. Although serving all three Services (and Civil Servants who accompany the Forces overseas), it is 'owned' by the Adjutant General since the Army is its principal customer. Its functions are described and prescribed by its Framework Document and it is subject to all the main requirements of other agencies, e.g. submitting annual accounts to Parliament, having a rigorous target setting process to improve performance and efficiency (with Key Targets published in Parliament), certain freedoms in the management of resources, whilst having its Chief Executive responsible to, and having access to, Ministers.
SCE was formed in April 1996 and at that time subsumed the duties and responsibilities of both the Service Children's Schools (North West Europe) Defence Agency - itself formed as an Agency in 1991 - and the Service Children's Education Authority (SCEA) then based at Worthy Down in Hampshire.
SCE underwent a Quinquennial Review (QQR) (which commenced in Spring 2002 and ended when Ministers signed off the Report in December 2003). The broad conclusions of that Review were that SCE should remain as an Agency within the MOD, and that in general terms, it was providing a good service to the families of the Armed Forces overseas and provided good value for money. That Review embraced the principles of a UK Local Education Authority "Best Value" regime, but that is only one of the differences between SCE and an LEA's responsibilities; the variance between the two in terms both of responsibility and practice is often significant and some of the major differences are covered in this Memorandum.
As part of the MOD's focus on improving performance measurement, bench-marking and learning from best practice, HQ SCE volunteered to undergo a bespoke OfSTED inspection in 2004, something it was not required to do statutorily. The Agency's Owner's Board accepted the subsequent OfSTED report generally although it had concerns that SCE's unique context may not have been recognised fully, nor the high quality of the educational output from SCE's schools.
A copy of SCE's Corporate Plan 2004-2009 was made available to the Committee Members prior to their visit to Germany on 23 March 06. The Plan provides further contextual information on SCE.
SCE PERFORMANCE
Agency Key Targets for SCE are agreed on an annual basis by the SCE Owner's Board chaired by the Adjutant General and are then submitted for ministerial approval prior to publication in Parliament. A sub-group of the Owner's Board, including external representation from DfES, OfSTED and Essex LEA, meets in the Autumn Term to review in-year performance against targets and to recommend the next year's targets to the Owner's Board. Targets are set at levels above those expected of schools nationally.
The performance of SCE schools has been consistently above national averages at each Key Stage since 1996 at Level 2+ (Key Stage 1), Level 4+ (Key Stage 2) and Level 5+ (Key Stage 3) in all core subjects. Performance shows continuous improvement over those years. Graphs showing the performance trends over this period are attached at Annex A.
The performance of SCE against its Key Targets in 04/05 was reported in SCE's Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which are in the Library of the House and were also made available to Committee Members prior to their visit to Germany.
A further comparison with national standards can be found in Key Target 2 which required SCE to sustain its notional position in the English Local Education Authority league tables, within the leading 25 (OF 150) LEAs at each of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. SCE met this Key Target by achieving a notional position of 9th at Key Stage 1, 24th at Key Stage 2 and 18th at Key Stage 3.
Although the Key Target performance results for 05/06 have yet to be independently audited (prior to publication in SCE's Annual Report for 05/06 before the parliamentary Summer Recess), provisional results suggest a very favourable outcome.
OFSTED INSPECTIONS
The Office for Standards in Education (OfSTED) has been invited by the Chief Executive Officer of Service Children's Education (SCE) to inspect all SCE schools using the same Framework for Inspection as is applied to schools throughout England. Appropriate protocols have been agreed by the CEO (SCE) and HMCI (OfSTED). The protocols set out the procedures and processes for inspection and enable educational matters to be inspected and reported impartially.
The inspection reports for SCE schools provide a valuable external evaluation of how well the schools are doing and set the improvement agenda for both the school and the Agency. Inspection reports for all SCE schools can be found on the OfSTED website alongside those of all Local Authorities in England.
The Frameworks for the Inspection of Schools have changed significantly over time. For analysis of how well SCE schools are doing it is appropriate to analyse the results of the two Frameworks introduced in September 2003 and September 2005.
From the period September 2003 to September 2005 there is a picture of SCE schools maintaining high standards or, of significant improvement to standards and to the quality of leadership in the majority of schools. Most importantly, of the 17 schools inspected during this period no school was judged to be failing but three were judged to have some significant weaknesses although revisits by HMI three to four terms after the publication of the report recognised that the serious weaknesses had all been addressed in each of those schools. The Agency responds quickly and effectively to any school that falls into the serious weakness category.
Since
the introduction of the new Framework for Inspection in September 2005 the analysis
reveals further improvement. The most
recent Framework gives schools short notice of inspection (maximum of 2 working
days) and measures the outcomes for children and young people as identified in
the Every Child Matters agenda. To
date, of the 8 schools inspected since September 2005, 2 schools are judged to
be outstanding overall, 3 good overall with some outstanding features, 2 good
overall and 1 school was judged to have some significant weaknesses in the
achievement of some KS2 pupils.
Pupil Mobility
Pupil mobility remains very high in SCE. The mobility index[1] in 2003/2004 was 81.8% for all SCE primary schools (median in England 11%) and 58.9% for all SCE secondary schools (median in England 5.6%). To ensure that pupils' education is not disrupted by frequent changes of schools, SCE schools give priority to pastoral and assessment procedures. This ensures that pupils settle into school and get on with their learning as soon as possible.
In order to ensure that all SCE schools are highly effective in managing a highly mobile population SCE has joined forces with the National College of School Leadership (NCSL) and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). Working in partnership with the two national organisations SCE will develop its advice and guidance to schools worldwide and to schools in England on what can be done to mitigate against mobility. Working with QCA SCE is currently developing a 'world-class' curriculum for Service schools that promotes excellent standards and ensures that youngsters will experience exciting learning opportunities within the overseas locations.
Impact of Operational Deployments
Military deployments - either on Active Service/Operations or on extended training manoeuvres - effectively means that many parents (usually wives) find themselves in the position of being a lone parent for several months at a time and at regular intervals, with their spouse not only absent but often in a dangerous place.
The impact of more frequent deployments in recent years, many of them to areas of armed conflict, has resulted in an ever-increasing number of families where a single parent at home is the norm rather than the exception. Moreover, the Service wife whose husband is on deployment is, for reasons of geography, unable to call upon the immediate support of her extended family in the same way as her counterpart in the UK would be able to do. At times of conflict, the Service wife will sometimes decide to return temporarily to the UK, where she will obtain this extended family support. This leads to further turbulence in the education of the children of the family.
SCE has created a support package for schools, pupils and parents affected by operational deployments, which has been in place since the start of Op TELIC and which continues to be developed in the light of experience and best practice. This support aims to promote stability and well being for children within a 'haven of normality' and thus enable service personnel to deploy with confidence that their families are supported fully.
In order to support this process, SCE ensures that training in deployment awareness, the management of the consequent emotional and behavioural changes and the development of coping skills in pupils is put in place to maintain an optimal learning environment in the class and school.
This
support is provided in an integrated, cohesive and multi-agency way to enable
the 'remaining' parents in the military community to access resources both
through their local school as well as to be signposted to SCE and other agency
support systems. SCE has addressed this
issue of deployment through a range of mediums: � Literature and pamphlets � Group presentations � Drop-in sessions � Individual case work � Critical incident support � Integrated multi-agency responses � Research
It is testimony to the support that has been provided by SCE and the other agencies that fewer parents have returned to the UK during the deployment of their spouse from the recent Hohne garrison deployment to Iraq than ever before. These military statistics support the anecdotal evidence that parents feel cared for and supported in overseas commands and therefore do not wish to disrupt their children's schooling by returning to 'home' areas in the UK where there is a perceived lack of awareness and sensitivity to the emotional issues of deployment.
The SCE support package has been recognised as vital by the military chain of command and drew positive comment from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in his annual report published in Feb 04. SCE has also shared much of the literature it has produced in support of managing the impact of operational deployments with a number of LEAs in the UK, who also face such issues.
Parental views
In 2004, SCE commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to conduct a survey to measure the levels of satisfaction of parents with their child's school and SCE. Previously, parental customer satisfaction was 'measured' through the Army's Continuous Attitude Survey. As a result of the success of this comprehensive NFER survey in 2004, a new Agency Key target was agreed for 05/06 which requires SCE to achieve an overall parental customer satisfaction rating of at least 85%. The headlines from the 2005 NFER survey (available on SCE's website) are very positive with 91% of primary school and Foundation Stage 1 parents and 88% of secondary school parents indicating that they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the education their child was receiving from SCE schools.
Governance
The OfSTED report on HQ SCE identified some areas of weakness in the external governance arrangements for SCE, both at HQ and school level. As a result, a number of areas of improvement have been identified and have been endorsed recently by the SCE Owner's Board.
New Terms of Reference have been agreed for an 'Owner's Board Executive Committee' which provides an expansion of the role of the Owner's Board Sub-Committee (which up until now has focused solely on the academic Key Targets for the Agency). This group, primarily made up of external members from OfSTED, DfES and the Adjutant General's HQ had its first meeting on 31 March 06 and focused on HQ SCE's progress since the OfSTED inspection.
A new SCE Scrutiny Committee has been formed under the external chair of a DfES adviser and will take effect from Sep 06. This committee will primarily monitor and advise on the relevance, value and effectiveness of the services provided by, or through, HQ SCE to SCE schools. The committee will include Headteacher representation as well as representatives from the 'customer' including the military chain of command and the Army Families Federation.
The inapplicability of English Law to overseas locations (and with it the granting of certain Executive powers to Schools' Governing Bodies) caused SCE's predecessors to create the concept of School Advisory Committees (SAC), which fulfil some aspects of the role of a Governing Body, but by no means all.
The
SCE OfSTED inspection made some recommendations regarding School Advisory
Committees including "agree and define explicitly a shared view of the precise
role of school advisory committees".
The OfSTED report also noted that "headteachers do not receive the extra
level of support and challenge on an everyday basis that is so often provided
by governors in England". 14-19 Education and Skills
During the Committee's visit to King's School in Germany on 23 March 06, a number of questions arose regarding SCE's ability to respond to the Government's plans in the 2005 White Paper on transforming learning for 14-19 year olds. As requested by the Committee, SCE's position is set out at Enclosure 1 to Annex A.
ANNEX B
HCDC INQUIRY INTO EDUCATION SERVICE CHILDREN THE ROLE AND PERFORMANCE OF THE DUKE OF YORK'S ROYAL MILITARY SCHOOL, DOVER
History
In 1801, His Royal Highness Frederick Duke of York laid the foundation stone in Chelsea of what was to become the Duke of York's Royal Military School. Originally it was an orphanage for children of soldiers killed in battle and was Britain's first co-educational state funded and state administered school.
The first boys and girls entered the school in 1803 and in 1909 it moved to its present location in Dover. In 1980 the school, which had previously only been open to children of non-commissioned soldiers, was opened to all ranks. In 1992 it became an Agency of the Ministry of Defence and Tri-Service. Girls were re-introduced in 1994.
Today the school is a co-educational boarding school for the eleven to eighteen year old sons and daughters of RN, RM, Army and RAF personnel, both serving and retired. It has 500 pupils (which is its capacity) all of whom are full-time boarders.
Mission Statement
Our purpose is to promote the full development of pupils by providing a secure, professional and caring environment in which each pupil is encouraged to reach his or her individual potential and is prepared for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adulthood. These goals are to be achieved in the context of a spiritual, moral and pastoral ethos which respects values of Christian and other faith communities and our unique military tradition.
Aims
To provide cost effectively for all pupils a high standard of secondary education and a full range of extra curricular and sports and activities within a stable, caring, boarding environment. In so doing it must meet the particular educational needs of service children and recognise the Adjutant General's strategic needs.
Governance and Management
The school is governed by a Board of Commissioners (six of whom are appointed as Special Commissioners, appointed by Her Majesty, The Queen). The Commissioners act on behalf of the Top Level Budget holder, the Adjutant General (AG). The school has a Royal Warrant and a Framework Document. Day to day management of the school is the responsibility of the Headmaster, who is supported by a Senior Management Team comprising Senior Deputy Head Curriculum, Deputy Head Pastoral, Director of Studies, Senior Teacher and Bursar.
The school is affiliated to GBA, SHMIS, ISC, BSA, SHA, SBSA. It is inspected by ISI (Ofsted accredited), CSCI, and has IIP status.
Entrance into the School
Entrance is dependent upon the potential for a pupil to benefit from the broad education on offer. Currently there are entrance tests in English and Mathematics and the requirement for a Headteacher's report. Special consideration is given to applicants who are compassionate cases.
Curriculum
Whilst pupils from 11-16 follow the National Curriculum the school is able to offer more than the basic requirements.
At Key Stage 4 (GCSE) all pupils follow the core subjects with Technology, a Modern Foreign Language, Physical Education, IT and Religious Education also being compulsory. Pupils then select three more subjects including a creative subject.
At AS/A2 Level nineteen subjects are on offer and all Upper Sixth Formers follow a General Studies/Critical Thinking course.
Classes are setted from Year 7 for English and Mathematics. Science is streamed. Modern Languages are streamed from Year 9. Other subjects are taught in mixed ability groups. A Special Needs Co-ordinator deals with educational support.
The school provides the individual attention required for good academic progress through an excellent staff/pupil ration, small class sizes and personal tutors. The aim of the Pupil Achievement Centre is to raise individual academic standards. It co-ordinates a half-termly and termly reporting system, produces profiles on all pupils and organizes regular parent consultation meetings. There is a Work Experience programme for Year 10 pupils, whilst members of the Sixth Form are encouraged to undertake work shadowing. A Business Dynamics Conference is organised every year whereby senior managers of local industry and business run workshops which demonstrate the skills that will be needed in the outside world. Exam results are consistently high and this has as much to do with the quality of the staff, the high expectations and the 'captive audience' as anything else.
Pastoral
The boarding house system is designed to provide the kind of happy environment in which young people thrive. In this warm, supportive atmosphere boys and girls are encouraged to develop both as individuals and as members of a community. The pastoral and disciplinary systems are designed to be caring, firm and fair.
Two junior houses accommodate the first two-year groups whilst the older pupils reside in seven senior houses. There is a resident housemaster or housemistress who is an experienced, qualified teacher and all members of the academic staff are house tutors looking after between twelve and fifteen pupils each. Houses are generously staffed with matrons and other support staff. The quality of pastoral support was described in a recent ISI report as 'outstanding'.
The broader curriculum
All pupils are full boarders. The school is always active and busy with a very full programme of sports, music, drama, adventurous training, trips and expeditions, clubs and activities and social events. There is a very active Tri-Service Combined Cadet Force, all pupils in Year 9 do the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Bronze Award, and there is a ceremonial side of the school involving ceremonial parades throughout the year, culminating in Trooping the Colour on Grand Day.
The needs of service children and their families and how the school addresses them
Providing a stable education is a priority. Although resilient, service children have to make new friends, adapt to new staff who may not always be sympathetic towards their needs, and cope with adverse reactions towards their parents' profession. On average pupils before entering the Duke of York's will have been to six different schools and some as many as twelve. They relish the chance to establish firm friends, have a continuity of teaching staff, and be amongst other of a similar background.
The provision of 100% boarding, which is rare, means that they are all in the same boat. Weekends are full and active and they do not have to cope with a mass exodus of weekly or flexi boarders. The school is responsible for the pupils throughout the term time and also facilitates travel arrangements for the holidays. When travelling by plane to military destinations there will invariably be a number of pupils from the school bound for the same destination.
Service children can be very vulnerable. At this school the staff are alert to their specific needs particularly at times of tension. Their fellow pupils also provide support - they have frequently 'been there themselves'. Sadly service life takes a toll on domestic life. This school provides a neutral safe haven and a normal routine, particularly for senior pupils who take on board extra responsibilities within the family when the serving parent is away.
Service parents in particular need to be assured that their children are safe. The school places great emphasis on security, is supported on a regular basis by MOD police, and heightens its security at times of tension.
With parents internationally based good communications are vital. The school has discreet e-mail facilities for each pupil, is part of the military telephone network and pupils can access e-blues.
Service parents can be made to feel transient by teachers and educationalists. At this school they can feel comfortable within a context which is familiar to them and which speaks the same language. Moreover, it is a school where their children can share a pride in their service achievements. The core values of the services are replicated in the education, the ethical standards set and the emphasis on leadership and teamwork skills. 'Family and school traditions blend harmoniously in a way that clearly benefits the pupils' (ISI Report 2002). Symbolically each pupil wears the serving parents' cap badge as a 'heart badge' on their ceremonial uniform.
Whilst the school is not a recruiting agency for the Armed Forces more pupils from the Duke of York's are commissioned at Sandhurst, for example, than any other school in London and SE England. And those going on into the professions or business will all have an understanding of and empathy towards service life.
Key Targets
As an Agency of the MOD the school is set certain Key Targets. One relates to Income Generation and Community Support, another to the successful completion of external inspections and the rest are academic.
2005 Academic Achievements
GCSE Points score for candidates 50.76 GCSE 5 Passes A-C 98% GCE points per candidate 327.80 GCE points per examination entry 65.88
In addition our percentage of passes A*/A at GCSE was 31% Percentage of passes grade A/B at A Level was 49.6% Percentage of passes grade A-E at A Level 49.2% The Value Added score (Key Stage 2-4) was 1024 96% of our Upper 6th Form were successful with their university applications. ANNEX C
HCDC INQUIRY INTO EDUCATING SERVICE CHILDREN - SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN EVIDENCE FROM QUEEN VICTORIA SCHOOL, DUNBLANE
HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF QUEEN VICTORIA SCHOOL (QVS)
1. The School can trace its history back to the early 1900s when the idea was first mooted of a school to commemorate those Scottish soldiers and sailors who fell in South Africa during the Boer Wars. The proposal was warmly received by Queen Victoria herself and, upon her death the following year, it was resolved that the School should serve the dual purpose of commemorating the dead servicemen as well as being a living memorial to the late Empress. Money was raised in a national effort which captivated the imagination of the Scottish public. For example, every Serviceman donated a day's pay and an appeal for contributions from the Scottish workforce. His Majesty King Edward VII officially opened Queen Victoria School on 28th September 1908.
2. The School's mission is to provide stable, uninterrupted and high quality education for children of Scottish Service personnel, or those who are serving or have served in Scotland. Our aim is to produce well rounded, articulate and confident young people, to promote the Armed Forces as a provider of high quality education, and to articulate the value of the Service ethos as a basis for personal development and good citizenship. The School is inter-denominational and co-educational (in 1996), is fully boarding, and currently has around 270 pupils. Admissions are non-selective and, in accordance with our Royal Warrant, we have a particular duty of care for compassionate and needy cases. The School offers a wide and balanced curriculum following the Scottish educational system leading to Standard, Intermediate 2, Higher and Advanced Higher grades of the Scottish Certificate of Education.
ORGANISATION & STRUCTURE
3. QVS operates and is funded as a Basic Level Budget within Adjutant General's department. The School is managed on a day to day basis by a Senior Management Team led by the Headmaster and supported by his key Deputies and a School Business Manager. The School is also supported by a Board of Her Majesty's Commissioners made up of nominations on behalf of Secretary of State for Scotland, Secretary of State Defence, the Scottish Office, as well as nominations from each of the Armed Services Boards.
KEY TARGETS & PERFORMANCE - 2004/05
4. The School has five main performance targets with 3 of these on the main focus of continuous educational improvement. We look to achieve academic excellence, and pride ourselves on developing pupils in the widest sense through curricular Personal and Social Education which aims to achieve success in a breadth of extra-curricular activities ranging from dancing and music to theatre and various sports.
5. The first Key Target was to improve on the S4/S5 Stay On rate. A target of 72% was set against a Scottish National average rate of 66%. This target was well met with 85% of S4/S5 pupils continuing with their education. The 2nd Key Target was to improve on the number of pupils achieving 5 or more Standard Grades with a target rate set at 40% against a Scottish National average rate of 35%. This target was well exceeded with 64% pupils getting 5+ Standards. The last of the Educational targets was to further improve on those pupils achieving 3+ Higher Grades. The target rate was set at 27% against a Scottish National average rate of 23% and again this was exceeded with 51% of pupils getting 3+ Highers.
The two remaining targets focused on improving the overall efficiency at QVS, with the aim to reduce the average cost per pupil. The target per capita cost was set at �15,750 and the achieved cost was �14,759 - an efficiency improvement and cost reduction of just more than 6%. The last of the targets was to further improve on the marketing of the School's irreducible spare capacity to help generate additional income.
6. QVS is an improving School and it has been recognised as having already improved considerably in the following key areas:
� Attainment through exam results; � Boarding Accommodation refurbishment programme completed; � Common Room areas improved; � Raising of the Staying On rate - S5/S6 has doubled in the previous 10 year period; � More Inclusive - introduction of co-education in 1996, Gurkhas over the last few years and a broader level of pupils who need support eg ADHD, hearing difficulties and spina bifida.
7. In summary, the School consistently performs well above the Scottish National average and is well placed against our Independent school peers. This is despite the fact that our pupils come from various national and international educational systems and that we are clearly and openly non-selective. Everything at School is geared towards improving the pupils experience and producing better outcomes. We adopt a holistic approach whereby the pupils are given a wide range of choices at S3/4 and S5/S6 stages to help meet the needs and aspirations of pupils and Armed Forces parents.
8. Additionally, and a significant factor worthy of note, is that pupils presenting for admission to QVS have attended numerous previous schools, which appears to be a direct result of the increasing operational tempo of our Armed Forces. As an example, our main intake at our Admissions Board is at Primary 7 level (pupils aged 10 and 11) and this year an average pupil will have attended 5 previous primary schools before starting here at QVS and often have between English, Scottish and Northern Irish educational systems, as well as the various overseas educations options. Despite this educational turbulence, the School continues to deliver results that are consistently well above national average.
EXTERNAL INSPECTIONS AND ACCREDITATIONS
9. The boarding arrangements at the School are subject to twice-yearly inspection by the Care Commission and to regular General Inspections by Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools in Scotland (HMIe). At the last HMIe Inspection (2004), the Inspectors were pleased to see an improving trend over the last 5-10 years and described the overall teaching as good and the overall quality of attainment for examination groups as very good. The School gained recognition as an Investors in People organisation in December 1999 and successfully re-accredited in September 2001 and 2005. The School continues to act on recommended areas for improvement in the various reports and this is done conjunction with the Board of Her Majesty's Commissioners, with consultation of staff, parents and pupils, and the invaluable assistance of Stirling Council's Children's Services department. Additionally and innovatively we arranged a Service Level Agreement with our LEA partner Stirling Council and through this we have secured various services including QA audits in 2001 and 2004.
PASTORAL CARE
10. Pastoral care is given high priority and encompasses a wide spectrum of care aimed at promoting the welfare and happiness of each individual child, and includes careers advice, healthcare, emotional support, character development, as well as spiritual and moral guidance. The House structure provides detailed supervision of the individual and close pastoral care. The child's welfare is the day to day responsibility of the Housemaster, Housemistress or Houseparent, and their staff. Nominated members of staff also act as House Tutors, each with responsibility for around 10 to 12 pupils. Parents are also actively encouraged to participate in the life of the School and, in addition to routine Parent/Teacher meetings, there is a Parents' Association and a Parents' Liaison Committee which meet regularly.
SOCIAL, PHYSICAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
11. The School prides itself on developing its pupils in the widest possible sense and aims to achieve success in extra curricular activities, as well as sport and music. The main sports are rugby, cross-country, athletics and hockey but many other activities are available including sailing, canoeing, shooting, football, basketball, volleyball, squash, badminton, golf, tennis and swimming. The School has also improved its standing and involvement within the local and wider community which has provided opportunities and benefits for our pupils. Through the Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster Pastoral and Guidance, the School is also a member of the Dunblane Children's Community Partnership, which was recently visited by HMIe because of it's good practice. 12. In addition, all Primary and S1 pupils receive instruction in either Piping, Drumming, Bugling, or Highland Dancing, and Ceremonial Drill. The School's Pipe Band and Highland Dancers have earned an international reputation and have performed in Australia, at the Nova Scotia Tattoo and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. We are the only school in Scotland that has the honour of parading the Sovereign's colours and frequently provide support to a number of Service events throughout the year. The School's Combined Cadet Force contingent has Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army sections which allow for weekend training, air experience flying, sea-going attachments and annual summer and Easter camps, both in the UK and abroad.
THE CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE
13. We face a number of significant challenges over the next few years. The School continues to build on improving educational delivery for all its pupils and one of the key future requirements is to re-provide the outdated teaching block which is now over 40 years old and struggles to deliver the modern day educational curriculum, as well as the standards expected by HMIe. Adjutant General has continued to support a phased Establishment Development Plan (EDP) and it is hoped that support for next phase funding will be possible to see a new teaching block to be completed in 2008.
14. For some years now demand for places has far outstripped capacity and applications regularly satisfy only 50% of applicants. In recognition of the growing demand for places, as well as an acknowledgement of the educational pressure resulting from the increased tempo of Service tour plots, we have been set a stretch target to increase boarding capacity from the current 274 maximum to a higher level of 335 boarding pupils. This will necessarily require development work on the site to provide additional boarding accommodation as a later phase of the EDP. ANNEX D
SERVICE CONTINUITY OF EDUCATION ALLOWANCES
1. The aim of Continuity of Education Allowances (CEA) is to assist Regular Service personnel to achieve continuity of education for their child(ren) that would otherwise be denied in the maintained day school sector because of the necessity to accompany their parent(s) on frequent postings both at home and overseas. CEA are available to all Regular Service personnel, irrespective of whether they are commissioned or non-commissioned, providing they meet the eligibility criteria.
2. Eligibility. In order to be eligible to claim CEA, a Service person must be serving on a Regular commission or engagement and be in receipt of full UK Service rates of pay. The Service claimant must fully accept that accompanied service is the overriding principle for continuing their entitlement to CEA. For CEA, accompanied service exists when a Service person maintains a home where their spouse/civil partner and any dependant children normally live and from which the Service person travels daily to work. Accompanied service for a Service single-parent is when they maintain a home in which their dependant child(ren) would normally live and from which the Service person travels daily to work. The only exception to accompanied service as a condition for CEA entitlement is for those Service personnel classified as Involuntarily Separated (INVOLSEP), or serving in MOD(London), or in a designated INVOLSEP post at Permanent Joint Headquarters. INVOLSEP status arises when a Service person is sent on a posting or detachment where, for various reasons such as personal safety, they are unable to be accompanied by their family. If the Service person is divorced, separated or has a dissolved civil partnership and the child(ren) normally reside with the non-Service parent, there is no entitlement to claim any CEA as the child(ren) would not be subject to the same frequency of moves and the continuity of education could be obtained in a local state school (although the regulations do not disadvantage the children of recently separated parents who are about to take public examinations).
3. Age of Child. CEA is payable from the beginning of the academic year in which the child reaches the age of 8 until the end of the stage of education during which the child reaches their 18th birthday. They must be undergoing full-time education at a qualifying educational establishment registered on the MOD Accredited Schools Database (ASD). The ASD is a list of schools registered with the appropriate UK department of education, inspected under a DfES (or similar) regime, and who manage, control and wholly maintain the facilities for the board and accommodation of children. The only exception to this is Day School Allowance (North Wales), which is payable for child(ren) aged 5 or over, the age at which they start their schooling (see paragraph 5f below).
4. Continuity. CEAs are not general educational subsidies. In order to provide continuity of education, it is a fundamental condition of entitlement to CEA that a child continues to attend the same school and completes at least one stage of education for which CEA is in issue. Thus they must complete one of the following at the same school: primary/junior/prep school (1st stage), or secondary/senior school (2nd stage), or A' level or an equivalent academic/vocational training course (3rd stage). A minimum parental contribution of 10% of the actual boarding and tuition fees in respect of each child is payable by the Service person. This can be considerably more than 10% depending on the individual school fees.
5. Types of CEA. There are a range of CEA available, depending on whether the child(ren) is attending a boarding or day school, as a junior or senior pupil, and whether they have a Special Educational Need. They are as follows:
a. CEA(Boarding) (CEA(Board)). The child would board at the school during term time.
b. CEA(Special Educational Needs Addition) (CEA(SENA)). If a Service person is claiming CEA(Board), they may be eligible to claim CEA(SENA) as an alternative when their child(ren) has been identified as having a Special Educational Need (SEN). It is paid to reimburse the board, tuition and actual fees charged by an authorised school for the additional tuition of subjects identified on a child's certificate of SEN as issued by Children's Education Advisory Service (CEAS) or Local Education Authority (LEA). Those in receipt of CEA(SENA) for a child in a Specialist Provision school are exempt the requirement to pay a 10% parental contribution.
c. CEA(Day). Should the circumstances of a Service parent change, for example if they are assigned close to where their child is currently at boarding school, and they have the opportunity to alter the education of their child from boarding to become a day pupil at the same school, they may be eligible to claim CEA(Day) to assist them with the costs of a day school education instead of the more expensive CEA(Board). Before an initial claim for CEA(Day) can be made, CEA(Board) must normally have been claimed in respect of the child for at least 3 consecutive academic terms at the same school. When the Service parent is next assigned away from that area the child would be expected to once again become a boarder and CEA(Board) would then be paid instead of CEA(Day).
d. CEA(SENA(Day)). The principle of CEA(SENA(Day)) is the same as for CEA(Day) (above), but for a child who has a SEN.
e. CEA(Guardians). If a Service person elects to place their child in the care of a guardian so that the child may attend a particular day school continuously, they may be eligible to claim CEA(Guardians). A guardian is any person in whose care a child is placed to enable them to remain at a particular day school that the child would not be able to attend if they lived with their Service parents. The child must be placed in the care of a guardian for a continuous period of more than 3 months. The 3 month period is set because it enables a child to be placed with a guardian whilst a Service parent is away on an operational deployment. The allowance is intended to cover the additional costs of a child living away from the Service parent's family home, such as postage, telephone calls and stationery. The allowance does not cover school board or tuition fees.
f. Day School Allowance (North Wales) (DSA(NW). Due to the bi-lingual policy of the LEAs in North Wales, if a Service person is permanently assigned to North Wales, they may be eligible to claim DSA(NW) to assist with the costs of independent day schooling where tuition is given exclusively in English. Payment of the allowance is limited to those areas where teaching in the State sector is on a bilingual or non-English basis.
6. Rates of Payment. The current rate of each of these allowances is shown at Annex A.
7. Numbers Receiving CEA. The latest figures available are for the Spring Term 2005 and showed that 3587 commissioned officers and 2148 non-commissioned Service personnel claimed CEA(Board), (SENA), (Day) or (SENA(Day)), in respect of 7914 children.
RATES OF SERVICE EDUCATION ALLOWANCES
ANNEX E
SERVICE FAMILY ASPECTS
1. The Service Personnel Policy (SP Pol) Directorate provides the central focus within MOD for Service Familiy issues. SP Pol leads in tow key areas. First, any concerns or views of Service families are captured through the Service Families Task Force (SFTF). Issues are raised by the key stakeholders - the three Families Federations and HIVE, the tri-Service information provision organisation - and an agreed Action Plan is updated every three months. Twice each year the Families Forum meets, Chaired by USofS, where issues are raised directly to the Ministerial level and direction is given on pursuing key actions. Second, SP Pol represents Ministers and the MOD in general in inter-departmental work for any statutory, regulatory or programme chagnes on which other Government Departments are leading. There has been considerable interaction with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) over the last year as the result of much new legislation concerning children, including the Children Act 2004 implementation, Schools White Paper/Bill, Childcare Bill and Further Education Reform White Paper. Ministers are involved in this process as required.
2. Issues facing Service children in maintained schools in the UK. Education is an entry on the current Families Action Plan[3]. In general Service families are happy with the overseas education service provided by SCE but there is much concern about admissions to schools in UK (and particularly England). This is by no means unusual and is a facet of the schools admissions process for all parents in UK, but higher levels of mobility result in Service families having to cope with this potentially stressful experience repeatedly, with perhaps a cumulative impact. In fact, there is good support for Service children in the existing DfES admissions Code of Practice, which directs the attention of admissions and appeals panels to the special circumstances of Service children. SP Pol has been working closely with DfES to monitor and comment on any changes in admissions policy as the result of the latest Schools Bill. Linked with mobility is the need to ensure better portability of statements of Special Educational Need (SEN). The provision of SEN support (including funding) has been entirely devolved to schools via Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and as a result moves between LEAs and into UK from elsewhere can be problematic; however, Children's Education Advisory Service provides direct support to any family facing such problems. (The role of CEAS is described at Enclosure 2).
3. Advice to Service families. In general the single Services retain primacy for the provision of information, advice and guidance to Service families in the context of support to the Service community. In the case of education CEAS has the lead for direct interaction and individual advice on specific issues but this is supplemented by single and tri-Service standing guidance. This is held in a number of forms (for example, JSP 342 "Education of Service Children", which is expanded upon in single Service publications such as AGAIs) provided through a number of channels, particularly HIVE, Service websites (such as RNCom, ArmyNet and RAFCom), the Families Federations and MODWeb. The recent relaunch of the MOD website created a Service Community area direct from the front page (i.e. top level) which includes a full section on education, ranging from overseas to UK, from boarding to moving schools, the steps to take and the key organisations to contact. It is also worth noting that two of the three Families Federations (Army Families Federation (AFF) and Airwaves) have education specialists for linking specific families to the appropriate supporting organisation.
4. Communicating with Families. On a more general note, the Action Plan also captures feedback from families that indicates they have reservations over how well the Services communicate with them. In fact, the very large numbers of information outlets and provision mechanisms has led to an information rich environment, which suits the capable and experienced element of the community but might be less suited to the less capable or experienced, for whom providing information and communicating effectively may be quite different. The need to ensure that provision of information is translated to effective communication has been recognised and the role of HIVE as the key, central information organisation is being reviewed.
5. Children Act 2004 (CA04). The implementation of CA04 in England is leading to a reorganisation of the delivery of children's services, including education, under Children's Trusts in each Local Authority area. Although CA04 applies to England only, the MOD intends to implement similar structures and measures for the Service community overseas and for appropriate interaction in England. The MOD Steering Group has recommended the formation of a MOD Children's Board with AG as Lead Member and with a Director of Children's Services for supporting the delivery of all children's services for the Service community overseas. This is consistent with an expansion of AG's current role as Agency Owner of SCE and HQ SCE - alongside other key service providers - is closely involved in this developmental work. SFTF TRI-SERVICE FAMILIES ACTION PLAN - MAR 06
SUMMARY SHEET (in alphabetical order)
Children's Education Advisory Service
1. Children's Education Advisory Service (CEAS) was established in September 2004 as a result of the Ofsted Inspection of SCE. Formerly the unit was the UK office of Service Children's Education and it maintained a telephone helpline and the database of Service Children with Special Educational Needs. Since 2004, with a delegated budget from HQ AG, via DETS(A) and professional support from DETS(A), CEAS has been able to promote its services more widely to the Military and entitled Civilian community. Telephone calls to the helpline have increased exponentially. The work associated with Service Children in State Schools and the whole issue of the impact of mobility on Service Children's attainment has become a significant feature of CEAS's work and the demand for support and consultancy for families with an SEN issue are significant. Some families have to rely on support from Local Authority Parent Partnership Services and Army or Unit Welfare Officers when there is no one available from CEAS.
CEAS is leading in the establishment of a Parent Partnership Officer Post in British Forces Germany (BFG) in order to mirror the Service available in English LEAS.
2. Children's Education Advisory Service (formerly SCE(UK)) is an organisation within the Adjutant General's Command established to provide information, advice and support to Service Families on any aspect of education. This organisation is uniquely placed to identify the particular difficulties Service Families face when moving. Movements take place between: � Schools within one Local Authority area � Local Authority areas within the UK � The four countries of the Untied Kingdom � Countries overseas where there are Service Children's Education (SCE) Schools � Countries where there are no SCE schools but there are English speaking schools � Countries where there are no English speaking schools.
3. The main issue raised with CEAS by Service Families is admissions to schools in England, whether they are moving back from overseas or only from one Local Authority to another. Service Families are almost exclusively outside the normal admission process and are what is known as Casual or Additional admissions. This means that in order to gain a place in their preferred or any popular school they must almost always go through the appeal process. Although Admissions Authorities and Appeal Panels are generally sympathetic to Service families needs there may be delays in the admission of a Service child to their preferred school, which may mean they miss several weeks of school. Even if the appeal is heard before the family actually move, there is the uncertainty about schooling which adds to a child's and parent's anxiety about moving. This is exacerbated when one parent is left to deal with the admission whilst the other is deployed or on training.
4. CEAS provides information on the Admissions policy and the Appeals process, advice on the content of the Appeal letter and support at the Appeal Hearing if a member of staff is available. Education Officers from CEAS also attend some Local Authority Admission Forums where there are significant numbers of Service Personnel.
5. An other significant issue concerns those families who have a child with Special Educational Needs (SEN). There are 2014 Service Children on the MOD database of children with SEN, maintained by CEAS. About 700 of these children move schools in any one year. Service Families experience problems in the continuity of support for their children and this is becoming an increasing problem as Local Authorities are required to delegate the funding for SEN directly to schools who are then required to make provision.
6. The main issues are :
� The different criteria used by each Local Education Authority for the trigger of an assessment � The availability of Support Systems, such as Speech and Language Therapy in different areas � The availability of Educational Psychologists to assess children who move into an area � The availability of funding for a child who moves into an area once resources have been delegated to schools. � Concerns about the impact on the Service Person's career
7. Service Families frequently express the feeling that they are always pushed to the back of the queue or that there children have to go back to the start of the monitoring and assessment process every time they move. The MOD allows the family of a person to retain their accommodation within an area if their child is undergoing Statutory Assessment. The most significant feature of the CEAS helpline and the casework load of CEAS Education Officer is Special Educational Needs.
8. There is an issue which impacts less directly on the families but nevertheless impacts on their relationship with local services and which concerns the transfer of information about Service Children, particularly information about performance and attainment. There are about 750 schools in England and Wales who have Service Children ranging from 1 or 2 % to 100% of the number on roll (NoR). Depending on the pattern of posting in the area the school serves they may experience regular total upheaval associated with a unit move or they may experience the continual change associated with trickle postings so that the (NoR) changes on an daily basis.
9. Depending on the 'pattern' and timing of movements a school may receive no information about a child until some time after their arrival. Schools may be unaware of the turbulence the child has experienced prior to this particular move. It may not always be clear whether a child has come from another English, Scottish, Northern Irish, Welsh, SCE or other school. This means that any data received may be difficult to interpret. Children may switch between different curriculum and experience gaps in learning. Some parents report that children are bored repeating areas of the curriculum or that they are left to study alone something different from the rest of the group they have just joined.
10. There are particular difficulties for children who have started public examination courses in year 10 and year 12. The MOD allows the Service family to retain their accommodation for the period leading up to GCSE' examinations and AS/A level examinations once a child had commenced a course of study. There are, however, concerns about the staying on rates into the 6th form of Service Children and the rates of entry into Further and Higher Education.
11. Children's Education Advisory Service in its former guise as SCE(UK) has continued to support the dialogue with the DfES and MOD through the Service Children in State Schools (SCISS) Partnership. The chairman of this group has sent a separate submission. CEAS has recently commissioned an NFER study into the attainment of Service Children. So far the NFER has looked at the data pertaining to all schools which experience mobility. They are looking at the set of schools which experience Service mobility. However NFER cannot complete the final part of the study into Service Children's attainment because we cannot identify Service Children in the English Education system. The DfES have been asked to include Service Children as a category in the School Census Data but have not, so far, been able to accede to this request.
QUEEN VICTORIA SCHOOL - HEADMASTER'S INTRODUCTORY NOTE FOR HMIe INSPECTORS - AUG 04
Queen Victoria School is unique in Scotland as a Ministry of Defence Government Agency. Established in 1908 as a Scottish Memorial to Queen Victoria and those Scottish Servicemen who lost their lives in the South African wars, it has a strong constitutional remit to support compassionate cases for admission. Because our pupils are all from the Armed Services families there is considerable movement and instability, as well as a high divorce rate and other huge pressures such as Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq. Our pupils move Schools and countries more frequently than most, therefore, Queen Victoria School acts as an anchor and a point of stability and for many is indeed their home. There is also a high level of learning support requirement.
Pupil support comes very naturally to all staff at Queen Victoria School as one of our distinctive features is that all teaching and uniformed staff are also involved on the pastoral side within the boarding system and houses. The benefit for the pupils is considerable and collaborative working is a natural part of our system. Pastoral care is given a high priority and is the responsibility of the Assistant Headteacher, who will elaborate on this later. In addition, our Support for Learning department offers, as the Stirling Audit of 2004 stated, 'very good support both to staff and pupils'.
Pupil support is developed in many ways and starts early in the day with House staff, Sister in the School Medical Centre, the Security Office at the Reception and staff supervising the pupils at breakfast and preparing for the day ahead. The Senior Monitor, Monitors and Prefects assist in supervising and are there as additional support both for staff and pupils. Pupil support continues with Morning Assembly in the School Chapel where the School Chaplain, within the context of a hymn, a prayer and a reading, provides a strong moral framework and focuses on community values, positive relationships and a caring community. Pupils' achievement (academic, sporting, extra-curricular and awards) are consistently recognised in Morning Assemblies which have become the focal point for the presentation of certificates.
Pupil support continues throughout the day with House staff including Matrons, regular surgeries at the School Medical Centre, support in driving pupils to Stirling Royal Infirmary and Dunblane Medical Centre, and Teaching or House staff both in and outwith teaching and boarding house environment. Pupil support is also a notable feature of our extensive extra-curricular activities programme running throughout the year which includes various trips and outings at weekends (refer to statistics).
Parental links with the School have improved considerably over the years. When I first took over in 1994 we did not see much of parents at all and they did not seem to venture into boarding houses. Now we have a Parents Liaison Committee which meets regularly throughout the year and there are also Parents Association Meetings. In consultation with the Parents Liaison Committee we have used the latter at various times to provide in-service sessions for parents either by our staff or external experts. In addition, there is the opportunity for parents to raise issues and the Senior Management Team and Catering Manager are always present to answer questions.
In general, parents visit the School much more frequently and we encourage them to attend matches, concerts etc, as well as to make contact with House staff when they take their son/daughter out and return them at weekends. Compared with 10 and even 5 years ago, there is now a much greater involvement by all parents in the School. In addition, I have also increased the level of communications through letters to Parents, including enlisting their support to improve the work ethos.
Queen Victoria School is an improving School and has already improved considerably in:
� Attainment through exam results. � Boarding accommodation which has been completely refurbished over this 10 year period. � Common Room areas within the Boarding Houses. � Applications to the School have risen considerably from 1994 when we took 34 pupils out of 35 applications. � Raising of self-esteem and confidence of the pupils. � Raising of the staying on rate - S5/S6 has doubled in this 10 year period and yet we have not extended capacity. � More inclusive - introduction of co-eduation in 1996, Gurkhas over the last few years and a broader level of pupils who need our support e.g. ADHD, hearing difficulty, spina bifida. � Careers Service, Young Enterprise and Work Experience which we introduced, then halted due to Health & Safety and are now taking up again this December with S4.
Everything has been geared towards improving the pupils experience and producing better outcomes. Ours is a holistic approach whereby the pupils are given a wide range of choices in S3/4 and S5/S6 thus meeting their needs and parental aspirations. In addition, there is a wide range of sporting and extra-curricular activities which contribute considerably to the pupils positive experience and, undoubtedly, have a spin off in the classroom. As the Stirling Council Audit stated, 'Staff have high expectations of pupils and are extremely supportive of them'. I would add that this is across a very wide range of activities.
The combination of sports, extra-curricular activities including CCF, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and the School's Pipe Band and Highland Dancing provides a very rich area for pupils to improve their health, fitness, leadership and communication skills. In addition, most areas do involve some peer mentoring and, overall, there is a fostering of a caring and positive ethos.
The School's Pipe Band and Highland Dancers have earned an international reputation. The Pipe Band and Highland Dancers took part in the Nova Scotia Tattoo in 1995 and Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2001, and went to Australia in 1999 and provided all the Highland Dancers for the Queen Mother's 100 birthday tribute at Edinburgh Castle in 2000 and we head for Nova Scotia again in 2005.
The Combined Cadet Force and Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme are well run and successful within the School. The Officer who carried out the Biennial CCF Inspection in March 2004 commented, 'I am pleased to report that I found the staff and cadets in good health and they displayed a great deal of enthusiasm and commitment during an extensive, well organised programme of activities ....I was impressed by all I saw and with the very high standards of professionalism, enthusiasm and most importantly, the fun that was being had. I found the very high level of student led instruction particularly interesting and impressive'. He concluded by saying, 'Most importantly, I believe that a successful cadet organisation should foster 4 key qualities: leadership, comradeship, discipline and confidence. Queen Victoria School affords an excellent environment for such development'.
Queen Victoria School has improved its standing and involvement within the local community and in the wider context, all of which has provided opportunities for pupils in different ways. Our Junior Minstrels have shown regularly at Ladywell Parish Church, Erskine Hospital, Sauchie Parish Church, Logie Kirk Guild, St.Blane's, Le Cropt and Dunblane Cathedral Halls that their talent, enthusiasm, as well as the ability to mix confidently and talk to older people are very much appreciated and at the Burns for Bairns in Dunblane earlier this year it was the presence of 22 Queen Victoria School young pupils who carried the day. The Le Cropt Guild commented 'The boys and girls performances were superb and a great credit to the School. It was also very apparent they enjoyed a good rapport with their teachers which was delightful to see', a representative of Logie Kirk said 'May I say a big thank you to the pupils and accompanying staff for entertaining us so wonderfully ... the music and dance of Scotland are indeed in safe hands'. Pupils have also been involved in Drama in the Human Values Competition which was run on a regional and national basis for a few years gaining best actor, best actress, and best script in successive years. This was an excellent experience for the pupils and, although it did not take place this year, we did compete in the Scottish Community Drama Association Festival of One Act Plays. We have also taken part regularly and with some success in the BP Public Speaking Competition.
25 April 2006
[1] Numbers of pupils arriving or leaving the school at non-standard times expressed as a percentage of the number on roll. [2] These rates will be reviewed and new rates published by SP Pol Allowances wef 1 Aug 06 for use throughout the Academic Year 2006/07. [3] SFTF Families Action Plan, SP Pol Families 5.7.4.1 dated 13 Mar 06 (extract attached at Enclosure 1). |
