The school

St David’s RC Primary School is a denominational school. It serves the Danderhall and Pathhead areas of Dalkeith. The roll was 124 when the inspection was carried out in June 2011. There have been a significant number of changes in staffing in the past year. Children’s attendance was in line with the national average in 2009/2010.

Particular strengths of the school

• Well-behaved and polite children who are eager to learn and to work for the good of the school.
• The welcoming ethos, the effectiveness of support for learning and the good standard of pastoral care.
• Strong, effective leadership from the headteacher who is supported by staff who work well as a team.

The following areas for improvement have been agreed with the school and education authority:

• Continue to take forward Curriculum for Excellence and, in doing so, improve children’s achievement.
• Improve the quality of children’s talking and reading.
• Ensure all children make appropriate progress in their learning.
• Use self-evaluation to identify and share best practice to further improve learning and teaching across the school.