How good are we at improving learner outcomes for wellbeing, equality and inclusion?

Children’s and young people’s wellbeing is central to approaches for Gàidhlig Education. Almost all children and young people are safe, secure and content in their learning. They gain much from well-planned support for their learning. Additional adult support in the learning space, who are fluent in Gàidhlig and suitably qualified, impacts very positively on learning and progress. Overall, meeting learners’ additional support needs for Gàidhlig Education, and understanding how equalities legislation impacts on Gàidhlig, should remain a focus of research, resourcing, professional learning and strategic planning.

Creating a healthy and active culture that supports immersion

For almost all of the time, staff, children and young people benefit from mutually very positive relationships in Gàidhlig Medium Education. As a result, children and young people feel listened to and valued.

Staff are responsive to children’s and young people’s wellbeing needs in almost all 3-18 sgoiltean. As a result, in most sgoiltean, children and young people feel happy and settled.

Teachers are successful in creating a culture that is conducive to immersion. In almost all cases, staff are clear on the acceptable occasional use of English to promote urgent health and safety while retaining total immersion.

In most sgoiltean, children and young people have a well-developed understanding of the importance of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. In line with effective total immersion practice, children and young people talk about their wellbeing and feelings through the medium of Gàidhlig. In most cases, they use wellbeing indicators effectively.

Having the right support for the child in Gàidhlig

In most sgoiltean, staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to ‘Getting it Right for Every Child’. Staff use professional learning relating to wellbeing, inclusion and equality to improve outcomes for learners in most sgoiltean.

Across 3-18 sgoiltean, most children and young people who require additional support for their learning have appropriate plans, strategies and a range of targeted interventions. Teachers having an additional adult in the room to support Gàidhlig language, learning and development is closing gaps in children’s and young people’s learning. Additionally, teachers having an additional fluent speaker of Gàidhlig in the learning space increases the range of language pedagogy that can be used.

In a few cases, senior leaders should make more effort to meet children’s and young people’s additional support needs through the medium of Gàidhlig. All efforts should be made to retain children and young people with additional support needs within Gàidhlig Medium Education. Teachers across 3-18 should continue to plan the use of additional learning, nurturing spaces and assistive technology, including voice technology to support immersion. Nationally, ongoing research, assessments, resources and professional learning specific to Gàidhlig Medium Education is essential.

In a minority of sgoiltean, teachers need continued guidance and access to agencies in supporting children, young people and their families with specific and complex additional support. This support is required to be very specific to the context of Gàidhlig Medium Education.

Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion

Children and young people benefit from broad and relevant personal, social, health and wellbeing programmes. These tend to be translations of programmes for English Medium. Going forward, these programmes should be created specific to Gàidhlig Medium Education. Programmes should deal with matters relating to knowledge, skills and understanding for Gàidhlig. 

Most senior leaders are reviewing the positive relationships policies and procedures for their sgoil at this time. They should continue to involve all children, staff, and parents in the development of these policies, to reflect the unique context of Gàidhlig Medium Education.

In almost all sgoiltean, children and young people have opportunities to learn about multi-faith issues, discrimination and prejudice. Overall, senior leaders need to be more aware of how Gàidhlig contributes to equality, diversity and inclusion when planning the curriculum. Children and young people need to be aware of how to deal with Gàidhlig not being considered appropriately from an equality, diversity and inclusion perspective.

Teachers in Gàidhlig Medium Education gain very positive outcomes when making effective use of the statutory guidance for Gàidhlig education. Educators should continue making sufficient use of this guidance.

Achieving equity for Gàidhlig language, culture and heritage

In most 3-18 sgoiltean, staff take forward well a rights-based and values approaches to promoting positive relationships. Many sgoiltean are awarded external national recognition for their work on children’s rights. In these sgoiltean, a minority of children and young people do not consistently understand the connection between rights-based approaches and achieving equity for the Gàidhlig language, culture and heritage.

In most sgoiltean, senior leaders and staff increase the visibility of Gàidhlig language and culture in the sgoil environment and curriculum. This helps all children and young people to connect with this aspect of their sgoil's context. Staff should ensure that all children and young people across their sgoil have an understanding of the Gàidhlig language, the culture and benefits of Gàidhlig, and are supported to lead change and improvement. This should strengthen children’s and young people’s awareness of their rights as those who are learning an official language of Scotland.

In a minority of sgoiltean, senior leaders and staff should develop a strategic overview of equality, inclusion and diversity to ensure that it is taught in a planned and progressive way. In sgoiltean that offer Gàidhlig with English Medium, all children and young people should have opportunities to learn some Gàidhlig and of its culture. This helps to foster positive attitudes, and supports inclusion and diversity within the sgoil. Staff are not consistently clear of the role of Gàidhlig in equalities legislation. This results in Gàidhlig not being consistently part of sgoiltean policies and practices on equalities and equity. Currently there are limited age-appropriate resources available to promote diversity and equality themes in Gàidhlig for children in sgoil-àraich and beyond.

Meeting statutory duties for wellbeing and inclusion

Overall, most senior leaders and staff meet their statutory duties well in relation to wellbeing and inclusion. This includes meeting the additional support needs of children and young people. In most sgoiltean, children and young people who experience challenges and barriers to their learning benefit from supportive environments. In the majority of sgoiltean, the strategic deployment of additional support staff is having a positive impact on the quality of total immersion. This approach enables more frequent and meaningful interactions in multi-stage classes, resulting in improved learner engagement and accelerated progress in fluency. The intended impact is greater equity of experience and continuity in immersion across all stages.

In a few cases, senior leaders are not accessing speech and language support for children and young people through Gàidhlig, including support that is available digitally.

Across almost all sgoiltean-àraich, children benefit from appropriate ratios, with staff who are fluent speakers of Gàidhlig. This helps to facilitate very good modelling of language and supports children’s learning through total immersion. Most of these sgoiltean make positive progress in taking forward the statutory guidance on Gàidhlig Education. They provide 1140 hours of childcare and total immersion learning and play through the medium of Gàidhlig.

In a majority of sgoiltean, children and young people’s talking and writing skills were impacted by the pandemic. Staff demonstrate that gaps in children’s and young people’s learning are reducing as a result of well-planned improvement priorities on literacy and raising attainment. Sgoiltean who use the national digital platform, e-Sgoil’s ‘Misneachd’ programme report an increase in children’s confidence and improved language skills. It reports an increase in children’s confidence and improved language skills.

In a few sgoiltean, the headteacher’s creative and strategic approach to deploying very effectively pupil support staff has sustained children’s Gàidhlig fluency at times of staff vacancies. Pupil support staff work across CfE early and first levels, both in the sgoil-àraich and at the primary stages. These combined roles and working across both stages are impacting positively on children’s learning experiences and progress.

Equality, inclusion and diversity

In sgoiltean that offer Gàidhlig with English Medium, all children and young people should have opportunities to learn some Gàidhlig and of its culture. This helps to foster positive attitudes, and supports inclusion and diversity within the sgoil. Staff are not consistently clear of the role of Gàidhlig in equalities legislation. This results in Gàidhlig not being consistently part of policies and practices on equalities and equity.

• How well do all our staff know and understand Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC), the wellbeing indicators, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child within the context of Gàidhlig Medium Education? 
• Children and young people listened to and involved in making decisions about their wellbeing, their lives and their future? 
• How well do we ensure that all our staff undertake regular professional learning around legislation, statutory requirements, and codes of practice and relate these to the unique context of Gàidhlig ?
  Can we be sure that all staff guidance is fully relevant and up to date? 
• How well do we use technologies to support, learning, development and communication to increase outcomes for children and young people?
• How well can we demonstrate improved attainment for groups and individuals facing barriers to learning, including poverty?
• How effectively are inclusive learning environments established across our whole sgoil and how do we know?
• How well does our sgoil celebrate diversity?
• How well does our sgoil ensure that the curriculum is designed to eliminate discrimination, including to Gàidhlig ?