Directorate Meeting 8.30am -10.00pm Range of items but had a very interesting discussion relating to criteria for evaluating the success of education and children's services integration – with a particular focus upon intergated community schools. The Scottish Exec have shelved ideas to have a “How Good is Our Integrated Community School”. Ths can only be a good thing as we are coming down with such evaluation documents. However, we recognise that one of the ways that you can lever change in a system is to introduce rigorous means of measuring effectiveness. Alan Ross and I are going to meet this week with a view to setting out some ideas about the purpose of integrated children's services. We will use that as starting point for an engine room involving a range of people to establish possible performance criteria with which review practice in schools and clusters.

Out to Brunton Theatre for 10.30am – Europe in Business – this is an annual event for senior students to encourage them to adopt an open mind to business links in Europe and the importance of languages.

Back to office for 12.00 to meet with a school's admin' assistant. The person had requested the meeting to share some ideas they had for improving the quality of our service. I was delighted to receive so many positive and constructive suggestions. It proved to me – if it needed proving – that by opening up our culture and acting upon suggestions in a positive manner that we can initiate dramatic and sustained change which meets the needs of children, teachers and all those involved in support services.

Schools Liaison Group from 2.00pm – 5.00pm. This involves all the Education Officers, Derek Haywood and Sheila Ainslie. This is a key group for articulating broad strategic goals and with action in schools. We focussed upon a range of topics relating to the attainment action plan such as leadership development; data collection; and staff development. The attainment action plan is providing a common purpose and clear focus for our actions.

7.00pm Stoneyhill School Board – Alan Blackie and I made a presentation to the board about the long leet process and recommended short list candidates.