St Mary’s Primary School
Larkhall
South Lanarkshire Council
27 April 2010
We published a report on St Mary’s Primary School in
March 2009. That report set out key strengths of the school and
main points for action.
This follow-through report is based on an inspection visit which
was carried out in February 2010. It tells you about
improvements since the original inspection in the quality of
education which the school provides. It also comments on how
the school is getting on with the main points for action. First we
focus on changes in the core work of the school. We explain how
the school has got better at helping children to learn and benefit
from being at the school. Next we look at the key processes
which enable this to happen, including the involvement of
parents1. Our report also describes developments in the ‘ethos’
of the school, by which we mean how well children are cared for
and how much is expected of them in all aspects of school life.
Finally we comment on improvements in leadership to help the
school achieve its aims.
A copy of this report has been placed on the HMIE website
www.hmie.gov.uk. Where applicable, you will also find analyses
of questionnaire returns.
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. How well do children learn and achieve?
4. How well do staff work with others to support children’s learning?
5. Are staff and children actively involved in improving their school
community?
6. Does the school have high expectations of all children?
7. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
8. What happens next?
1. The school
St Mary’s Primary School serves the town of Larkhall and surrounding
areas.
2. Particular strengths of the school
•
Well-behaved, confident and polite children.
•
Strong staff teamwork, with a clear focus on improving learning and
teaching.
•
Approaches to promote children’s health and wellbeing.
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3. How well do children learn and achieve?
At all stages, children are more actively involved and engaged in their
learning. They enjoy using games to support their learning in English
language and mathematics. Children have more opportunities to learn
from each other and work together in groups. Across the school,
teachers are now clearer about what they expect children to learn.
They share the purpose of lessons more effectively with children. The
school has made a good start to involving children in planning their
own learning. As a result, in mathematics children are increasingly
aware of their strengths, progress and next steps in learning through
better feedback and target setting. This approach now needs to be
extended to other areas of the curriculum. Children are making more
use of information and communications technology to develop their
knowledge and understanding in a range of subjects. Teachers are
providing a broader range of experiences to help children achieve
more widely.
Teachers have started to use the experiences and outcomes from
Curriculum for Excellence in their planning. In environmental studies,
teachers take greater account of children’s interests and prior learning
to ensure learning experiences are more relevant for children. In
English language and mathematics, teachers rely less on textbooks
and are finding ways for children to learn in real-life contexts. They
should now continue to develop children’s skills in literacy and
numeracy across all subject areas.
The level of difficulty of activities is matched appropriately to the needs
of most children. The headteacher works more closely with teachers
to monitor children’s progress and this is improving the pace of
learning. The school now has better approaches for identifying and
supporting the needs of potentially vulnerable children. Staff are
aware of their responsibilities for children who need help with their
learning. The targets within individualised educational programmes
should be written in language that is appropriate to the age and stage
of the child.
2
4. How well do staff work with others to support children’s
learning?
School staff continue to work well with professionals from outside
agencies to support learning. They make effective use of outings and
visitors to the school to make learning more interesting. Staff have
benefited from visiting other local schools to observe good practice.
Through personal learning planning, staff are getting better at involving
parents in supporting their children’s learning. Parents now receive
helpful information through a school website and monthly newsletters.
The school does not, as yet, have a Parent Council or parent-teacher
association. The school needs to explore further how it can involve
parents more fully in school life. The school has suitable procedures
for dealing with complaints.
5. Are staff and children actively involved in improving their
school community?
Children in the new eco committee have succeeded in promoting a
litter free playground. The pupil council has been involved in the
introduction of new suggestion boxes in every classroom and has
enabled funds to be distributed to worthy causes. The school
recognises the need for the pupil council to have more of a say,
particularly in how to make learning better. All staff are committed to
school improvement. They regularly review the work of the school and
agree priorities for improvement. The headteacher visits classes to
observe learning and teaching and provides helpful feedback to
teachers. School staff use questionnaires to seek the views of
children and parents on a few aspects of the school’s work. They do
not yet do this systematically enough on a broad enough range of
aspects of the school’s provision.
3
6. Does the school have high expectations of all children?
Children are well behaved, polite and are proud of their school. They
show respect for each other and staff. Their achievements both in and
out of school are celebrated well through displays, assemblies and
newsletters. Teachers effectively encourage children to work hard.
The school’s emphasis on health promotion is improving children’s
understanding of healthy lifestyles.
7. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
The headteacher is providing a clearer sense of direction which staff
recognise and appreciate. She is effectively supported by the principal
teacher who has led a number of improvements and provides valued
support to teachers. Staff are willing to adopt leading roles in
developing key aspects of the school. All staff are increasingly
working well together to improve learning and teaching. Education
authority staff have worked closely with teachers, leading and
supporting improvements. Staff now have a better understanding of
what needs to be done to improve. Children now develop leadership
skills in a wider range of roles. These include becoming house
captains and acting as eco committee or pupil council representatives.
8. What happens next?
There is evidence of improvement since the original inspection. The
school now performs better overall. The arrangements to meet
learning needs and for evaluating the work of the school are now at a
satisfactory or better level. The school, with support from the
education authority, shows a capacity for further improvement. We will
make no further visits in connection with the inspection report of
March 2009.
HM Inspector: Marie McAdam
27 April 2010
4
When we write reports, we use the following word scale so that our
readers can see clearly what our judgments mean.
excellent
very good
good
means
means
means
satisfactory
weak
unsatisfactory
means
means
means
outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths with some areas
for improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
major weaknesses
If you would like to find out more about our inspections or get an
electronic copy of this report, please go to www.hmie.gov.uk.
Please contact us if you want to know how to get the report in a
different format, for example, in a translation, or if you wish to
comment about any aspect of our inspections. You can contact us
at HMIEenquiries@hmie.gsi.gov.uk or write to us at BMCT,
HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm House, Almondvale Business
Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.
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You can find our complaints procedure on our website
www.hmie.gov.uk or alternatively you can contact our Complaints
Manager, at the address above or by telephoning 01506 600259.
Crown Copyright 2010
HM Inspectorate of Education