Authorities In Scotland Research Articles

Creating sustainable communities through tenure-mix: the responsibilisation of marginal homeowners in Scotland

The idea that the deprived communities of the UK’s towns and cities are ‘unsustainable’ has been a central theme of government housing policy since New Labour came into power in 1997. The creation of ‘mixed-tenure communities’ has been heralded by some policy makers as a key component of creating sustainable communities by overcoming concentrations of deprivation as well as creating responsible citizens who make few demands on the state. Since devolution, support for owner-occupation has been promoted by both Scottish Labour and SNP regimes as a regeneration tool, and has been included in the Local Housing Strategy of many local authorities in Scotland. Drawing on research in Glasgow, this paper achieves three things. First, it highlights the ethopolitics associated with the identities of owner-occupiers and social rented tenants as skilled or flawed consumers; second, it explores the tools used in recent years to create mixed communities through encouraging owner-occupation; and third, it questions the continued uncritical support of the insertion of owner-occupiers into deprived areas as a regeneration and responsiblisation tool.

Leading Small Scottish Primary Schools

Between 1996 and 1998, research commissioned by the Scottish Office Education Department was undertaken on the management of small Scottish primary schools, the results of which were published in this journal (Wilson and McPake, 1998). This article reports the findings from a follow-up study of a sample of 100 schools that participated in the original study (Wilson, 2007). The aim was to explore whether the leadership and management styles of small school headteachers had changed in the intervening years. The research is based upon a postal survey of 100 headteachers of very small schools, i.e. those with rolls of fewer than 50 pupils, in 10 local authorities in Scotland, and also nine case studies. The researcher argues that although the style demonstrated by these headteachers is largely a contingent one that is appropriate to their situations as teaching headteacher s, the pressures on them have increased in the intervening years. Questions regarding the sustainability of the role are raised.

Living in Kinship Care: A Child-Centred View

Jane Aldgate describes findings from a Scottish research study on kinship care. Her article is drawn from a commissioned study which informed a government review of children looked after by local authorities in Scotland in 2006. The article presents the perspectives of the 30 children in the study on living in kinship care. It explores children's understanding of the reasons for their placements and their views on the future, as well as on the roles and tasks of social workers. Children speak of both the negative and positive challenges of living in kinship care, including maintaining contact with parents and siblings. Children's everyday lives, including experiences of school, peers and activities are recounted. The article ends by describing the Scottish Government's new policy for improving services for children in kinship care.

Pedagogy, values and career fulfilment: evaluation of a science CPD programme

This article explores the potential of a residential Continuing Professional Development (CPD) model to promote sustained constructive dialogue between science educators, both on knowledge and pedagogy, and impact on teaching practice in a wide geographical area. It is based on a science education initiative shared by the local authorities in Scotland. These wider outcomes tend not to be planned for or evaluated (Guskey, 2000; Muijs et al., 2004; Wilson and Berne, 1999) in many CPD projects. This article examines these impacts and the model designed to deliver them through `training the trainer' approaches and enhanced career progression. Although the residential training of trainers model may seem relatively expensive, this article argues that it may be more cost-effective due to its greater impact on teaching than other CPD models. It encourages collaboration, dialogue and ongoing evaluation, and creates opportunities for teachers and researchers to build longer term collaborative networks in an attempt to explore actual, and not merely predicted, impacts of training on pedagogy and professional development (Wilson and Berne, 1999).

Using collaborative action research to identify and support young people at risk of becoming NEET

AbstractThis paper outlines a collaborative project in partnership with Careers Scotland, involving four educational psychology services and four schools in separate local authorities in Scotland. The project aimed to explore how young people at risk of ending up in negative post-school destinations, not in education, employment or training (‘NEET’), could be identified and supported. This was done by exploring what supports might have been available in school, and asking young people (N=34) what they remembered accessing and what was useful. Whilst many of the findings were specific to each school and young person, issues were identified in relation to the generic personal and social education programme provided in schools and success with work experience in school. The challenges and opportunities of collaborative action research involving educational psychology services, schools and other agencies in developing post-school psychological services are discussed.

Towards a Comparison of Public and Private Insurance Responses to Flooding Risks

This paper considers the problems of flood risks in the context of public and private insurance responses with a particular focus on residential property. The role and take-up of insurance is demonstrated with examples from OECD countries. The importance of insurance as a tool to implement sustainable flood management policies is highlighted and the ways in which insurance has influenced local authorities in Scotland is described.

Behavioral Determinants of Household Participation in a Home Composting Scheme

This article investigates the factors that influence the decision made by individuals to participate in home composting schemes promoted by two local authorities in Scotland. The research considers eight potential determinants of home composting behavior and applies logistic regression data analysis to assess the significance of these specific determinants. The results suggest that the most important variables for predicting whether individuals choose to participate in the home composting scheme include (a) having a favorable attitude toward what home composting involves, (b) being knowledgeable about home composting, (c) and the stage of the household in terms of the family life cycle. Variables such as general environmental concern, participation in other proenvironmental behaviors, social norms, social diffusion, and being a “gardener” were not significant predictors of the decision to participate. The implications of these findings for the promotion of home composting schemes are discussed.

Becoming Chartered Teachers: Issues of Status, Power and Identity

The new category of Chartered Teacher was part of a broad Agreement reached between teachers and authorities in Scotland in 2001 (ScottishExecutive 2001), parochially known as 'McCrone', which awarded Scottish teachers a salary increase and a reduced working week in return for some concessions in working conditions. In response to the hierarchical nature of schooling in Scotland, as observed by the McCrone committee (Scottish Executive 2000), the Chartered Teacher initiative represented a serious attempt to provide an alternative to the top-down model (MacDonald 2004). Chartered Teacher status purported to be reprofessionalising for teachers, offering career enhancement hitherto unattainable to those whose commitment was to pedagogy rather than to educational management. The initiative promised teachers the opportunity to develop as experts in learning and teaching through a qualification route with provision for accreditation of prior learning.

The Risk Management Authority in Scotland and the forensic psychiatrist as risk assessor

The Risk Management Authority (RMA), Scotland's new body which oversees the conduct of assessments of convicted offenders placed on risk assessment orders, recently held its first annual lecture. This was given by Scotland's new Solicitor General, who observed that risk assessment orders are likely to be reserved for ‘extraordinary crimes committed by extraordinary people’. The first risk assessment orders have been made by Scottish courts and the risk assessors' reports are awaited with interest, not least in England, which has taken a different approach to dangerous offenders (Darjee & Crichton, 2002). It seems timely to review the more novel aspects of the Scottish system and the issues they raise for forensic psychiatry.

Pupil guidance: An integral part of teacher education and development in Scotland?

Many schools throughout the UK are experiencing challenging behaviour from pupils and high levels of absence and exclusion as they seek to implement initiatives aimed at raising pupil attainment [National Audit Office (2005). Improving school attendance, London: The Stationery Office]. These initiatives often presuppose that pupils will receive adequate levels of guidance and support to help them make curricular, personal, social, and health decisions. However, little is heard from teachers and students undertaking initial teacher education courses on how they have been prepared for this extended role of supporting increasing diverse student populations; nor do we know how they define guidance/pupil support and integrate this with their concept of the professional role of a teacher. This article presents evidence from a one-year study of pupil support in Scotland commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department. The study provided evidence for The National Review of Guidance Provision in Scotland [Scottish Executive (2003). The national review of guidance. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive; Scottish Executive (2005). Happy, safe and achieving their potential. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive]. The study explored the views of all 32 local authorities in Scotland, a sample of students in training in two universities and teachers, headteachers and pupils in eight case study schools, and also a sample of their parents. This article focuses specifically on the findings relating to teachers and students in training. It identifies the ways in which they support pupils and how well they think they have been prepared for that task. Two dominant models of pupil support emerge from these data: an embedded and a specialist approach, and these vary according to school and education sector. Primary school teachers were more likely to embed pupil support into their concept of being teachers, whereas secondary teachers perceived it to be a separate, specialist function, which many were reluctant to undertake. Some implications for teacher education are highlighted.

The institutional shaping of management: In the tracks of English individualism

Globalization raises important questions about the shaping of economic action by cultural factors.This article explores the formation of what is seen by some as a prime influence on the formation of British management: individualism. Drawing on a range of historical sources, it argues for a comparative approach. In this case, the primary comparison drawn is between England and Scotland. The contention is that there is a systemic approach to authority in Scotland that can be contrasted to a personal approach in England. An examination of the careers of a number of Scottish pioneers of management suggests the roots of this systemic approach in practices of church governance. Ultimately this systemic approach was to take a secondary role to the personal approach engendered by institutions like the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but it found more success in the different institutional context of the USA.The complexities of dealing with historical evidence are stressed, as is the value of taking a comparative approach. In this case this indicates a need to take religious practice as seriously as religious belief as a source of transferable practice. The article suggests that management should not be seen as a simple response to economic imperatives, but as shaped by the social and cultural context from which it emerges.

The Potential Impact of Reforms to the Essential Parameters of the Council Tax*

AbstractCouncil tax was introduced in Britain in 1993 and represents a unique international property tax. There is a growing belief that it is time to reform the number and structure of council tax bands, but such views have a minimal empirical base. This paper sets out to assess the impact of changing the bands on personal and local government finances, and extends the analysis to the role of the tax multipliers linked to each band. The research is based on the experience of a representative sample of local authorities in Scotland. A statistical revaluation for 2000 is estimated for the existing eight‐band system, and from this base a 10‐band system is calculated. Financial implications are then simulated for each local authority, taking account of central resource equalisation mechanisms. The results indicate that increases in the number of bands will have little impact on the burden of the council tax compared with regular revaluations. Changing the tax multiplier range has the greatest impact on local authority finances and council tax payments.

Operationalizing the concept of resilience in child neglect: case study research

There is a considerable amount of interest in resilience as a concept for child care and protection practice. This paper describes an exploratory project that drew on a set of case studies to explore the extent to which the concept of resilience can be operationalized for use with neglected children in the context of statutory social work. The study was carried out within a local authority in Scotland and focused on the value of the concept as an aid to assessment and planning. The study built on a published workbook that provides a structure for the assessment of potential areas of resilience and gives detailed suggestions for intervention in six domains of a child's life. Eight neglected children aged between five and 11 were recruited. Six training days on the concept were held. Questionnaires were used to gather information about the theoretical frameworks already being used. At the end of the study, semi-structured interviews were carried out with the social workers about the value of the concept. Assessment reports completed before and after the training were analysed. Findings indicated that participants were familiar with the concept of resilience and that the training helped enhance their understanding of the concept. Training assisted with the provision of a more structured approach to assessment and planning. Respondents reported that the approach enhanced their knowledge of the child and they were able to identify areas for development in the six domains. The study indicated that the concept of resilience can be operationalized for use with neglected children. Further, the case studies raised the issue of the extent to which the need for a secure base underpins other domains. The domain of positive values was also highlighted as an important area for further exploration.

Insurance with Rent Schemes: An Empirical Study of Market Provision and Consumer Demand

In the U.K., home contents insurance is widely available, with a reduction in the number of “traditional” insurance companies offering cover being offset by a growth in the availability through “non-traditional” providers such as supermarkets, motoring organizations and even energy providers. Research suggests that while around 80 per cent of all households are covered by home contents insurance, only around 50 per cent of people living in rented or local authority housing insure their contents. The low uptake is undesirable for two reasons. Firstly, financial exclusion is a phenomenon whereby individuals or sectors of society are deliberately, or effectively, denied access to financial services products, including home insurance, and it is commonly government policy to reduce such exclusion. Secondly, possession of contents insurance by householders minimizes the possibility that after a catastrophic loss such as flooding, uninsured persons will seek emergency assistance and temporary housing at the expense of their local authority. Studies and government reports exist that shed light upon the reasons behind the low purchase of conventionally marketed insurance. Special schemes exist to encourage purchase of insurance by enabling home contents insurance for local authority tenants to be paid for along with rent. Governments support such schemes. There appears to be little published research to indicate the extent to which such schemes are used by tenants. We survey local authorities in Scotland to determine the availability of “insurance with rent” schemes and their take-up rate by tenants. We find that many schemes exist, providing average market cover at typically average or lower cost and that there is no evidence of highly selective underwriting and pricing. Despite this easy availability of competitively priced, good policy cover, we find that the take-up rates by tenants are low. We consider reasons why apparently effective insurance products are not more popular. We conclude that local authorities and government need to promote the schemes with greater vigour.

Identification, assessment and intervention—implications of an audit on dyslexia policy and practice in Scotland

This article reports on research commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED). It aimed to establish the range and extent of policy and provision in the area of specific learning difficulties (SpLD) and dyslexia throughout Scotland. The research was conducted between January and June 2004 by a team from the University of Edinburgh. The information was gathered from a questionnaire sent to all education authorities (100% response rate was achieved). Additional information was also obtained from supplementary interviews and additional materials provided by education authorities. The results indicated that nine education authorities in Scotland (out of 32) have explicit policies on dyslexia and eight authorities have policies on SpLD. It was noted however that most authorities catered for dyslexia and SpLD within a more generic policy framework covering aspects of Special Educational Needs or within documentation on 'effective learning'. In relation to identification thirty-six specific tests, or procedures, were mentioned. Classroom observation, as a procedure was rated high by most authorities. Eleven authorities operated a formal staged process combining identification and intervention. Generally, authorities supported a broader understanding of the role of identification and assessment and the use of standardized tests was only part of a wider assessment process. It was however noted that good practice in identification and intervention was not necessarily dependent on the existence of a dedicated policy on SpLD/dyslexia. Over fifty different intervention strategies/programmes were noted in the responses. Twenty-four authorities indicated that they had developed examples of good practice. The results have implications for teachers and parents as well as those involved in staff development. Pointers are provided for effective practice and the results reflect some of the issues on the current debate on dyslexia particularly relating to early identification.

Exploring the generalisability of the association between income inequality and self-assessed health

A growing between- and within-country literature suggests that the association between income inequality and health reflects individual- or area-level characteristics with which income inequality is associated, rather than the effects of income inequality per se. These studies also suggest that the association between income inequality and health is country-specific. Unresolved methodological issues include the geographical level at which to model the effects of income inequality, and the appropriate statistical methods to use. This study compares the results of single-level and multi-level logistic regression models estimating the association between income inequality and self-assessed health in local authorities in Scotland. The results suggest that there is a significant positive association between income inequality and health across local authorities in Scotland, even after adjusting for individual-level socio-economic status. They also suggest that there is significant local authority-level variation in self-assessed health, but this is small compared to the variation at the individual level. Income and other measures of individuals’ socio-economic status are more strongly associated with self-assessed health than income inequality. This study provides further evidence that the income inequality:health association is place-specific. It also suggests that methodological choices regarding the ways of estimating the association between self-assessed health, individual-level socio-economic status and area-level income inequality may not make a substantive difference to the results when contextual effects are small. Further work is required to test the sensitivity of these conclusions to alternative levels of geographical aggregation.

Towards Inclusion? Models of Behaviour Support in Secondary Schools in One Education Authority in Scotland

This article draws on data emerging from an evaluation of behaviour support strategies in secondary schools in an education authority in Scotland. The authors all work at the University of Glasgow. Jean Kane has research and teaching interests in the area of special educational needs; she offers consultancy to local authorities in the development of inclusive policies and practices in schools. Dr George Head has research and teaching interests in the area of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and social inclusion; he is also an experienced teacher. Both Jean Kane and George Head are lecturers in the Faculty of Education. Nicola Cogan is a researcher at the Strathclyde Centre for Disability Research and has a background as a research psychologist in the health sector.In Scotland, the growth of behaviour support provision is closely related to broader policy on social inclusion. It is argued in this article that new models of behaviour support can be developed in the light of previous and related experience in the development of inclusive support systems in schools. The authors present a typology of behaviour support, drawing upon their evaluation of provision, and discuss the characteristics of the types of support that emerge. Using data from exclusion statistics, pupil case studies and interviews with teachers, managers, pupils and parents, Jean Kane, George Head and Nicola Cogan explore the implications of their work for future developments in support for pupils who present difficult behaviours.

The Water Framework Directive: driving the development of a co-ordinated marine monitoring strategy for Scotland

1. The EC Water Framework Directive (WFD) came into force across the EU on 22 December 2000. It will significantly influence Scottish water policy development and implementation, and set aquatic and wetland natural heritage targets, for many years to come. 2. The new WFD will replace or integrate a range of previous water directives, including the aquatic and wetland aspects of the Natura Directives. The WFD offers a significant opportunity to establish a co-ordinated approach to aquatic monitoring. The development of effective monitoring regimes to facilitate holistic assessments of ecological status will be essential to its successful implementation. 3. Existing Scottish legislation does not fulfil the WFD's regulatory requirements, and so new statutory controls will be required over a range of activities that currently have little or no regulation in Scotland but which can damage the natural heritage. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) will be the lead Competent Authority in Scotland for implementing the WFD. As such, SEPA must prepare a monitoring strategy and take a lead role in carrying out the monitoring work to determine the status of the water environment and relevant territorial waters of Scotland. 4. The Scottish Monitoring Strategy proposal has been suggested for adoption by the other devolved UK administrations to ensure all relevant UK agencies contribute to the development of co-ordinated monitoring programmes for the WFD. A Scottish Monitoring Forum is proposed that would work to identify and fill any information gaps that might exist. However, much of the work on implementing the technical aspects of the WFD awaits the outcome of the various working groups of the European Common Implementation Strategy. 5. The products arising from the Scottish Monitoring Forum will feed into the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs co-ordinated UK national marine monitoring strategy and advise the Scottish components of future UK ‘State of the Seas’ reporting. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Local Initiatives in Scotland, UK

The Scottish Network for Able Pupils (SNAP) has been working closely with a number of local authorities in Scotland for some years. In partnership with these authorities we have established a network of Associate Tutors who coordinate and act as a focus for staff development, policy and provision at a local level. These tutors are part of an ongoing and collaborative programme of staff development with SNAP staff at the University of Glasgow. We are particularly proud of the work that this group has achieved and this article celebrates what has been developed thus far at a local level.

Building quality housing services

Repair and maintenance play a key role in housing management and tenant satisfaction. In the UK, local authority housing departments have traditionally had these services carried out in‐house by local authority building services departments. For more than a decade, such departments have been under pressure to improve their efficiency and effectiveness from public policy initiatives such as compulsory competitive tendering and, more recently, best value. Within some authorities the transfer of housing stock from local authority control to housing associations with non‐profit‐making status is also adding to pressure for quality improvement by raising tenant expectations. Presents a case study of a total quality management initiative implemented within a local authority in Scotland facing precisely these pressures. The success of the quality improvement programme is examined, comparing the perceptions of the tenants and employees with key performance indicators. The pressures to succeed are high since, following an initial five‐year period of grace, the contract for the delivery of building services will only be renewed if the newly‐appointed housing association is satisfied with the efficiency and effectiveness of services delivered. The findings highlight the importance of managing the quality chain across organisational boundaries.