Keeping girls in focus: Personalising learning and support

1. Keeping girls in focus: Personalising learning and support

2. Personalising learning and support • Gender, brains and schooling • Differences in outcomes • Challenge for Scottish schools

3. Legislative and policy framework • Scottish Government’s national objectives • Equality Act • Curriculum for Excellence • Getting it Right for Every Child • Additional Support for Learning • Promoting Diversity and Equality: Developing Responsible Citizens

4. Opening Questions Are girls’ brains different than boys’? Are our schools girl-friendly?

6. In Scotland most pupils perform well, BUT • we are below average in reducing social inequalities in achievement; • inequality begins early in children’s lives; • comparatively high proportions of pupils do not have positive post-school destinations; • most inequalities are within schools; and • insufficient match between curriculum, learning approaches and pupils’ needs.

7. In every education authority in Scotland girls out perform boys and nationally by about 15% across social background, ethnicity and additional support needs.

8. Success for all • Improving the poor outcomes of some learners remains a central challenge for all establishments and services which support learners, particularly those facing significant disadvantage. • Priorities are: • identifying and tackling barriers to learning before they become entrenched; • finding new ways to meet the needs of the increasingly diverse population of learners; • personalising learning and support to take account of individual needs, choices and circumstances while relentlessly reinforcing high expectations.

9. Support Entitlements

11. Girls encountering several adverse events in their life Schools and authorities need to track and monitor patterns of levels of attendance exclusions for all young people in care. Where children and young people encounter difficult family circumstances, education authorities need to assess and review whether they have additional support needs and consider need for a coordinated support plan

12. Schools need to improve approaches to assessing and recording young people’s progress with their social, emotional and mental health and well-being through the experiences and outcomes of health and well-being as the responsibility of all in the school. This approach should be an area of importance where issues of non-attendance, substance misuse, sexual relationships are present for young people. Transitions from mainstream provision to other forms of provision need to be clearly managed with schools taking responsibility for young person’s education overall.