Guidance for school managers

Improving schools

The Maximising Potential programme is designed to tie in with current national initiatives and individual school improvement agendas.

The project is not prescriptive, and teachers are supported in identifying their own areas for improvement and in developing appropriate measures.

However, efforts have been made throughout the project to draw teachers' attention to aspects of teaching and learning which could be developed to resonate with current national priorities and, in particular, with the principles embodied in Curriculum for Excellence and Assessment is for Learning.

Improving access for all

In line with pronouncements on inclusion from HMIE and the Scottish Executive, the project supports schools’ efforts to improve access to modern languages for all pupils, and particularly for those pupils who have been finding modern language study challenging and unrewarding. Moves towards curriculum flexibility notwithstanding, current policy still states that all pupils, regardless of ability or disability, are entitled to a progressive language learning experience from P6 to S4 (10-16 years).

In the recently published Modern Languages: A Portrait of Current Practice in Scottish Schools (February 2007), HM Inspectors reported that, overall, the modern language departments inspected performed least well on Quality Indicator 3.4: Meeting pupils’ needs . The Maximising Potential programme should help ML departments that wish to undertake development work in this area to identify specific areas for improvement. and to undertake a managed programme in response to the needs identified. The programme also promotes effective collaboration between ML and SfL departments, a point also raised by HMIE.

Visit the Inspections section of the MFLE website to read this report in full.

Use of the programme by other departments

Some of the schools that piloted the Maximising Potential programme found that many of the materials, though primarily written for modern language teachers, could be used effectively by other departments in their schools. These developments are being monitored and will be reported here in due course.