As outlined in The TES Scotland (August 27), the authority is to rebrand integrated community schools as children’s community partnerships to produce single plans for services to children.

The partnerships will place a particular emphasis on multi-disciplinary groups to tackle the needs of vulnerable children and develop enterprise education, linked to sports and the arts.

This is the only way to close the gap between the lowest performing 20 per cent of pupils and the most successful students, Gordon Jeyes, director of children’s services, says.

South of the border, ministers say that the levers to transform outcomes are integrated child care; family support and early years education; support for parents at all stages; and co-located multidisciplinary services which personalise support for children and young people. Stirling agrees.

“These strategies offer considerably more potential than recycling yesterday’s solutions of specialism, selection or setting,” Mr Jeyes says.