Senior phase: headteacher survey

Appendix 1: Final Survey Questions

Please note, mandatory survey questions are indicated in red.

Introduction

The purpose of this survey is to provide up to date information and insights from Headteachers about the Senior Phase experience across Scotland, and the factors that are driving curriculum design and innovation in their schools.

The survey has been designed to be straightforward to complete and where possible we have used multiple choice options. Questions that are preceded by an '*' ask you to prioritise a range of options. The survey is likely to take about 40 minutes to complete.

The Scottish Government has commissioned an independent research consultancy, Rocket Science UK Ltd, to carry out this work. The individual responses will only be seen by Rocket Science staff and Scottish Government analysts and both will use aggregated returns in their reports. If you have any questions about the survey please contact Cristiana Orlando at Rocket Science (cristiana.orlando@rocketsciencelab.co.uk/0131 226 4949).

Name of school

* Postcode of school

Your name

Section 1: Leading the Senior Phase in my school

This section of the survey explores your views about your leadership of the development of the Senior Phase in your school.

The Senior Phase is conceived as an integrated, progressive and coherent experience for young people.

1. To what extent do you feel you have been able to achieve this?

Not at all
Partially
Mostly
Completely

2. What factors help you to develop a Senior Phase that meets the needs of all of your young people?
Please select the three most important factors.

• Support and advice from Education Scotland
  
• Support and advice from your local authority
• Support and insights of partners with whom you have established relationships to help develop/deliver the Senior Phase
• Commitment of partners with whom you have established relationships to help develop/deliver the Senior Phase
• Support from Skills Development Scotland
• Support and insights of your staff
• Support of parents and your Parent Council Insights and expectations of young people
• Input from employers
• Support and advice from Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Regional Groups
• Other (please specify)

3. What factors constrain your ability to develop a Senior Phase that meets the needs of all of your young people?
Please select all that apply.

• Timetabling pressures
• Availability of teaching staff
• Finding appropriate partners to help develop/deliver the Senior Phase
• Availability of subject teachers
• Resource constraints
• Other (please specify)

4. How confident are you that your school provides a sufficient variety of learning pathways to meet the needs of all of your young people across the Senior Phase?

Not at all confident
Not confident
Unsure
Confident
Very confident

If you are not confident, please briefly indicate whose needs are not being met, in your opinion, and why this is the case

5. I have sufficient autonomy to determine what pathways my school offers in the Senior Phase.

Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly agree

6. Which factors influence how you lead the design of the Senior Phase in your school?
Please select the three most important factors.

• Ensuring that all learners have the opportunity to develop the CfE's four capacities
• Meeting the needs of learners to optimise their opportunities on leaving school
• Preparing young people to contribute to the Scottish economy
• Local labour market priorities
• Ensuring we offer progression to Further Education
• Ensuring we offer progression to Higher Education
• Other (please specify)

7. The training/professional learning I have received to enable me to design a Senior Phase curriculum has been helpful.

Strongly disagree
Disagree Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly agree

8. The following resources are helpful for designing and implementing my school's Senior Phase offer.

Other (please specify)

Neither agree nor

9. What other kinds of support (if any) would be helpful?

Section 2: Curriculum model and approaches

This section explores what your schools offers across the three years of the Senior Phase, and the rationale behind this.

10. What is the rationale behind the Senior Phase curriculum in your school?

11. Which of the following does your school offer in the Senior Phase (awards/qualifications)?
Please select all that apply

Other, including non-certificated options (please specify)

12. What is the rationale for this offer?

13. How many course choices (qualifications/awards) can your young people select at each of these stages?

S4
S5
S6

14. If young people want to do more or fewer course choices, how do you accommodate this?

15. Does your school provide Gaelic Medium Education (GME) in the Senior Phase?

Yes
No

15a. What factors assist you in developing your curriculum for young people in GME in the Senior Phase?

15b. The following are significant challenges in developing my curriculum for young people in GME in the Senior Phase.

15c. Are there other challenges to developing your curriculum for young people in GME?
If so, please provide details.

Section 3: Transition from BGE to Senior Phase

In this section we are interested in finding out about your experience of planning the transition from the Broad General Education (BGE) to the Senior Phase.

16. At what stage do you start planning what will be offered in the Senior Phase for those young people currently in the BGE?

S1
S2
S3

17. Can you briefly describe your rationale for starting to prepare for the transition at this stage, and how your BGE prepares your young people for the Senior Phase?

18. To what extent do you feel you are able to ensure continuity of learning between the BGE and the Senior Phase?

Not at all
Partially
Mostly
Completely

19. What helps you to ensure continuity of learning between the BGE and the Senior Phase? (e.g. profiling, subject choice discussions)

20. Are there factors that limit your ability to ensure continuity of learning between the BGE and the Senior Phase?
If so, please select all that apply.

• Timetabling pressures
• Availability of teaching staff
• Range of National Qualifications, awards and work-based learning available
• Other (please specify)

21. Do you have any other comments to make about the transition from the BGE to the Senior Phase?

Section 4: Learner Participation

This section considers the voice of the learner in the design and implementation of the Senior Phase.

22. How do your young people select their Senior Phase options?
Please select all that apply.

• They select courses from a fixed number of option columns
• They select courses from a school menu of opportunities
• They convey their interest irrespective of what is currently available and we try to respond with courses
• Other (please specify)

23. What opportunities are there for learners to contribute to shaping the design of the Senior Phase in your school?
Please select all that apply.

• Discussions between career advisers and young people that are fed back to senior staff
• Through pastoral support discussions
• Mock Option Choices
• Pupil Surveys
• Pupil Council
• Careers Fairs
• Engagement with employers
• Work inspiration activities
• Other (please specify)

24. What barriers are there to enabling learners to contribute to shaping the Senior Phase design?
Please choose the three most significant barriers.

• Limited understanding / limited access to information on the part of young people
• Limited understanding / limited access to information on the part of parents/carers
• Time
• Capacity
• Resources
• Other (please specify)

25. What guidance is offered to your young people regarding their course choices?
Please select all that apply.

Other (please specify)

26. What additional support (if any) would help you to better respond to the different needs of your young people?

Engaging with parents/ carers

27. In what ways do you support parents/ carers to understand subject/course choice within the overall curriculum and learner journey experience?
Please select all that apply.

• Individual discussions at parents evenings with careers advisors
• Individual discussions at parents evenings with teaching staff
• Invitation to attend young person's options interview
• Invitation to attend career fairs
• Provision of information about potential subject choices
• Provision of information about career options
• Provision of information about labour market opportunities
• Other (please specify)

28. What (if any) barriers do you encounter in providing support to parents/ carers?

29. Is there anything that would help you to better support parents/ carers to understand the Senior Phase offer?
If so, please provide details.

Section 5: Collaboration, partnership and resources

In this section we explore the current and planned relationships that you have with other organisations and employers, and what you aim to achieve through these relationships.

30. With whom have you established partnerships to develop and deliver your Senior Phase curriculum?
Please select all that apply

Other (please specify)

31. What do you seek to achieve through these partnerships?
Please select all that apply.

Are there other outcomes you seek to achieve through these partnerships that are not listed above? If so, please provide details below.

32. What factors help you to establish and maintain such collaborations?
Please choose the three most important factors.

• Mutual willingness between partners
• Mutual capacity
• Mutual recognition of benefits
• Clear evidence of benefits
• System change beyond reliance on a few key individuals
• Time
• Resources
• Distance
• Other (please specify)

33. What factors limit the scope of your collaborations?
Please select all that apply.

• Absence of specific options our young people are interested in
• Cost of courses
• Cost of transport
• Difficulties in joint planning
• Distance
• Timetabling pressures
• Young people are reluctant to take up opportunities outwith the school premises
• Other (please specify)

34. I am satisfied with the support that I have received to set up partnerships from:

Other (please specify)

35. What additional support (if any) would be helpful in establishing such partnerships?

Section 6: Outcomes and measuring success

In this section we are keen to understand how you measure the impact of ongoing work to develop the Senior Phase in your school.

36. What sources of evidence do you draw on to ensure that your school's Senior Phase is meeting the needs of all of your young people?

Please select the three most important sources of evidence.

• Information on destinations
• Data Hub reports
• Insight data
• Young people's views
• Views of parents/carers
• Views of teachers
• Other evidence from our school (please give details)

37. What support (if any) would help you to better understand and/or demonstrate impact in relation to the Senior Phase?

Section 7: Next steps

38. Looking ahead, what are your priorities for further developing the Senior Phase in your school?

39. Do you have any further comments to make about your experience of leading the development and implementation of the Senior Phase in your school?
If so, please use the box below.

40. And finally...On behalf of the Scottish Government, Rocket Science may be asked to follow up with you regarding the information you have provided in this survey (for example, to clarify details regarding your Senior Phase provision). Would you be willing to be contacted this way?

Yes
No

If yes, please provide your email address and/or phone number below.