The school
The headteacher demonstrates a high level of care and commitment to the school. She is well respected by staff, parents, and children and has developed a successful team approach. There are a number of appropriate systems in place to evaluate the work of the school and these are overseen by the headteacher. She should now involve staff more in gathering evidence of progress and in measuring overall improvement.
The headteacher has a very supportive approach to monitoring learning. We think that this should be further developed to identify areas for improvement. This should help build a more consistent approach across the school. The depute headteacher has a sound knowledge of children and families and carries out the role of support for learning coordinator effectively. The principal teachers lead aspects of curriculum planning but there is scope for them to take greater responsibility for leading learning and in sharing their effective practice with others.
Staff are committed to improving children’s learning and achievement. They take part in a good range of professional development within the school, across the learning community and within the education authority. Staff should build on these open approaches and encourage the sharing of effective practice with each other in a planned and consistent way.
Key strengths of the school
- Children are polite, well behaved and eager to learn.
- Support given by all staff to help children in their learning.
- Positive attitude of staff to improving learning.
- Partnerships with parents.
- Commitment of the headteacher to the care and welfare of children.
The following areas for improvement have been agreed with the school and education authority:
- Continue to develop the curriculum taking full account of Curriculum for Excellence.
- Ensure that self-evaluation is directly focused on learning and achievement and involve staff fully in evaluating the work of the school.
- Track children’s progress more effectively to increase the pace and challenge of learning.