Abronhill High School
Cumbernauld
North Lanarkshire Council
10 March 2009
This report tells you about the quality of education at the school.
We describe how young people benefit from learning there. We
explain how well they are doing and how good the school is at
helping them to learn. Then we look at the ways in which the
school does this. We describe how well the school works with
other groups in the community, including parents1 and services
which support young people. We also comment on how well staff
and young people work together and how they go about
improving the school.
Our report describes the ‘ethos’ of the school. By ‘ethos’ we
mean the relationships in the school, how well young people are
cared for and treated and how much is expected of them in all
aspects of school life. Finally, we comment on the school’s aims.
In particular, we focus on how well the aims help staff to deliver
high quality learning, and the impact of leadership on the school’s
success in achieving these aims.
If you would like to learn more about our inspection of the school,
please visit www.hmie.gov.uk. Here you can find analyses of
questionnaire returns and details about young people’s
examination performance. Where applicable, you will also be
able to find descriptions of good practice in the school and a
report on the learning community surrounding the school.
1
Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to
include foster carers, residential care staff and carers who are
relatives or friends.
Contents
1. The school
2. Particular strengths of the school
3. Examples of good practice
4. How well do young people learn and achieve?
5. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s
learning?
6. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving their
school community?
7. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
9. What happens next?
1. The school
Abronhill High School is a non-denominational school which serves the
Abronhill district of Cumbernauld and surrounding areas. The
inspection was carried out in January 2009 at which time the roll was
473. Young people’s attendance was in line with the national average
in 2006/07. The school has been led by an acting headteacher
between August 2008 and January 2009. A new headteacher took up
his post in January 2009.
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2. Particular strengths of the school
•
High-quality relationships between staff and young people.
•
Opportunities for broader achievement developed by staff and the
school’s partners.
•
The positive morale, high levels of commitment and willingness of
staff to innovate.
•
The quality and impact of the support provided by guidance and
learning support staff.
3. Examples of good practice
•
The ‘Working with Others’ project in which young people in S5/S6
provide peer support for their younger peers in S1.
•
A Mountain Bike Project which enriches the physical education
curriculum.
4. How well do young people learn and achieve?
Learning and achievement
Young people are happy and comfortable in school. They feel safe
and well supported. Almost all are well motivated and the majority
play an active part in lessons. They have very positive relationships
with teachers and get on well with their peers. In a few classes they
are not sufficiently challenged in their learning. Young people show
respect for each other and for staff. They behave exceptionally well in
class and in other parts of the school. The school successfully
develops young people’s self confidence. Those in S6 are
responsible, resourceful and creative in their approach to solving
problems. The ‘Working with Others’ initiative has been very effective
in helping young people in S6 to develop their personal skills in
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preparation for leaving school. Young people demonstrate a sense of
responsibility and have developed good citizenship skills through their
involvement in the out-of-hours clubs and events. They benefit from
team working, learn new skills and are improving their health and
wellbeing by taking part in a range of activities. The school celebrates
well young people’s achievements in sports activities. Individuals have
achieved success at regional and national level in golf, swimming,
football, tae kwon doe and athletics. Most young people develop their
learning skills as they progress through the school but need to be
encouraged to develop better and more resilient independent study
skills.
At S1/S2, young people are making good progress in English and
mathematics. Standards of reading and writing have improved and
young people have well-developed listening and talking skills. They
have also made steady progress in other subjects. In comparison with
schools which serve young people with similar needs and
backgrounds, young people at S4 are performing well at Foundation
and General levels. Performance is not as good at Credit level, and is
uneven across the school. The results at Higher level in S5 and S6
are not as good as in schools which serve young people with similar
needs and backgrounds. The school needs to improve the quality of
these awards. The changes which teachers have recently introduced
to the teaching of English and mathematics are producing promising
results at Higher level.
Curriculum and meeting learning needs
The curriculum is well designed to support the school’s aim of meeting
the learning needs of all young people. Teachers ensure that young
people learn about health and wellbeing, enterprise and sustainable
development. Staff have introduced inter-disciplinary projects which
are motivating and providing further opportunities for young people to
make links between different areas of learning. The school provides a
growing range of courses and programmes to suit a variety of learning
needs and career aspirations. For example, a new construction suite
and strong links with local colleges support learning for work well. The
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school has developed a new course option in Spanish which combines
with travel and tourism to broaden learning experiences and develop
skills. At each stage young people enjoy appropriate courses in
physical education. Transition arrangements from P7 to S1 are well
organised and help young people to fit in to the school. As part of
induction arrangements, the school offers a week of summer school
and provides extra help to those who may benefit most. Teachers give
good advice to help young people to make good course choices as
they progress through the school.
In a majority of classes young people’s learning needs are well met
through a range of well-chosen tasks, activities and resources. This
good practice should be more widely developed to ensure that all
young people’s learning needs are met across the curriculum. Those
who need additional support are provided with very good support from
the learning support staff both in and out of class. Their needs are
clearly identified and very good information is provided to help
teachers to meet their learning needs. Individualised educational
programmes are drawn up in English language and mathematics and
young people make very good progress in meeting their targets. All
teachers now need to be aware of these targets to ensure that the
young people are being supported across the curriculum. Learning
support teachers regularly review young people’s work to ensure that
they continue to make progress. Young people’s behaviour and social
and emotional development is well supported by heads of year and
pastoral care staff. Pastoral care staff closely monitor and track young
people’s performance and achievement.
5. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s
learning?
The acting headteacher and staff have very good relationships with
parents and the two associated primary schools. The Parent Council
supports the school well. Learning support staff work effectively with a
range of external agencies to support young people. The school is
developing very worthwhile partnerships with local businesses,
community learning and development providers and other
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organisations. They help young people to work together, develop
skills, and build their understanding of the world of work. A successful
partnership with the Scottish Wild Life Trust, Cycling Scotland and the
Forestry Commission has established a mountain biking track in local
woodlands. This valuable community resource extends and enriches
the range of activities within the physical education programme.
6. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving
their school community?
Young people play an important part in improving the school.
Members of the Eco committee are involved in improving the school
grounds and local open spaces. This successful work has enabled the
school to gain two ‘green flags’. Young people on the student council
are committed and enthusiastic about their role in representing the
views of their peers and working together to improve the school. The
school has a number of well-established processes for reviewing its
performance. These have given senior managers and teachers a very
good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for
development. Senior managers have used this knowledge to produce
a well-focused improvement plan. Previous plans have not produced
sufficient improvements to examination results. Staff have worked
together well in the previous session to improve teaching and learning
by introducing ‘Assessment is for learning’ techniques. The school is
aware of the need to continue with this work in order to improve
attainment, especially at Higher level. Teachers encourage young
people to review their progress, following assessment or completion of
blocks of work, and set appropriate targets to help them raise their
attainment. Many young people need to be clearer about what they
need to do to improve.
7. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?
Most staff have high expectations of young people whose
achievements are celebrated in assemblies and publicised in
newsletters and bulletins. Examples of their work and their
achievements are prominently displayed in corridors and public
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spaces. The school promotes equality and fairness and understanding
of important global issues through a range of courses and events.
Chaplains provide regular religious services. Staff encourage healthy
living. Young people are given useful information in the ‘Lifeskills’
course which will help them to make healthy choices. Senior
managers and pupil support staff have high expectations of young
people. They monitor closely attendance, progress and behaviour and
follow up individuals when there is cause for concern. A few teachers
do not have high enough expectations of young people and they do
not challenge them sufficiently to improve their learning. As a result
the pace of working is too slow in some classes and young people are
not asked to think enough about how well they are learning.
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
The acting headteacher provided very effective leadership for the
school since his appointment in August 2008. His impact was strongly
endorsed by young people, parents and staff. The other senior
managers carry out their remits very well. They are aware of the need
to continue working closely with departments to help them to achieve
their improvement targets. Some principal teachers demonstrate
strong leadership and are skilled at spreading good practice. Many
class teachers take positive leadership roles and are making
significant contributions to improving the school. Effective
partnerships have been developed by the home-school partnership
officer and these make a strong impact.
9. What happens next?
We are confident that the school will be able to make the necessary
improvements in light of the inspection findings. As a result, we will
make no more visits in connection with this inspection. The school
and the education authority have agreed to amend the school
improvement plan to take account of what we found during the
inspection. They will inform parents about the school’s progress in
improving the quality of education. We have agreed the following
areas for improvement with the school and education authority.
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•
Continue to improve the quality and consistency of learning and
teaching by embedding ‘Assessment is for learning’ into everyday
practice.
•
Raise teachers’ expectations of young people’s attainment.
•
Ensure that self-evaluation is focused clearly and more consistently
on the actions which are required to bring about improvement.
•
Continue to develop the curriculum in line with the principles set out
in ‘Curriculum for Excellence’.
•
Strengthen the school’s role in the community and involve partners
in joint evaluation of projects and planning for improvement when
appropriate.
Quality indicators help schools, education authorities and inspectors to
judge what is good and what needs to be improved in the work of the
school. You can find these quality indicators in the HMIE publication
How good is our school?. Following the inspection of each school, the
Scottish Government gathers evaluations of three important quality
indicators to keep track of how well all Scottish schools are doing.
Here are the evaluations for Abronhill High School.
Improvements in performance
Learners’ experiences
Meeting learning needs
satisfactory
good
very good
We also evaluated the following aspects of the work of the school.
The curriculum
Improvement through self-evaluation
HM Inspector: Terry Carr
very good
good
10 March 2009
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To find out more about inspections or get an electronic copy of this
report go to www.hmie.gov.uk. Please contact the Business
Management and Communications Team (BMCT) if you wish to
enquire about our arrangements for translated or other appropriate
versions.
If you wish to comment about any of our inspections, contact us
at HMIEenquiries@hmie.gsi.gov.uk or alternatively you should write in
the first instance to BMCT, HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm
House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way,
Livingston EH54 6GA.
Our complaints procedure is available from our website
www.hmie.gov.uk or alternatively you can write to our Complaints
Manager, at the address above or by telephoning 01506 600259.
If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our
complaints procedure, you can raise your complaint with the Scottish
Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO is fully independent
and has powers to investigate complaints about Government
departments and agencies. You should write to SPSO, Freepost
EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BR. You can also telephone 0800 377 7330,
fax 0800 377 7331 or e-mail: ask@spso.org.uk. More information
about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website
at www.spso.org.uk.
This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements
made by inspectors.
excellent
very good
good
satisfactory
weak
unsatisfactory
outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths with some areas for
improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
major weaknesses
Crown Copyright 2009
HM Inspectorate of Education.