The school

St Mary’s RC Primary School is a denominational school serving the town of Bathgate and the surrounding area. The roll was 351 when the inspection was carried out in February 2011. Children’s attendance was in line with the national average in 2009/2010.

Particular strengths of the school

• Children who are well behaved and ethusiastic about their learning.
• Support provided for children with additional support needs.
• Improved levels of attainment in English language and mathematics.
• Children’s learning experiences within literacy, science and technology.
• Positive relationships between staff and children.

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

• Accelerate the pace of implementation of Curriculum for Excellence, particularly in health and wellbeing.
• Improve the effectiveness of team working across the school in leading aspects of school improvement.
• Improve approaches to sharing good practice and evaluating the work of the school involving all stakeholders.
• Extend approaches to tracking and monitoring children’s progress to all aspects of the curriculum.