HM Inspectorate of Education
Europa Building, 450 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8LG
t 0141 242 0100
f 0141 242 5757
e hmi.glasgow@hmie.gsi.gov.uk
w www.hmie.gov.uk
23 August 2011
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Dear Parent/Carer
Kersland School
Renfrewshire Council
Recently, as you may know, my colleagues and I visited and inspected your child’s school.
Throughout our visit we talked to many parents, children and young people and we worked
closely with the headteacher and staff. We wanted to find out how well children and young
people were learning and achieving and how well the school supported children and young
people to do their best. The headteacher shared with us the school’s successes and priorities
for improvement. We looked at some particular aspects of the school’s recent work including
interdisciplinary learning, the use of information and communications technology (ICT) and
leadership across the school. As a result, we were able to find out how good the school was
at improving children’s education. I would now like to tell you what we found.
How well do children and young people learn and achieve?
We found that children and young people are very enthusiastic about their learning and want
to do well. They enjoy very well-planned lessons. Teachers make learning interesting, fun
and meaningful to children and young people. Children and young people are learning to be
responsible and independent. They help each other learn and appreciate each other’s
successes. They communicate appropriately with their teachers about their progress.
The progress children and young people are making is excellent. Almost all communicate
very effectively, using a wide range of supports, including ICT when appropriate. They listen
to their teachers and each other and are very persistent in making themselves understood.
Creative and individual approaches to reading and writing have helped children and young
people develop confidence and skills in literacy. At all stages, learners have achieved
exceptionally well in numeracy. In particular, they use practical skills in number, money and
measure very well in real life contexts. Children and young people understand what they
need to do to keep fit and healthy at a level appropriate to their age and stage. They are
aware of the needs of others and have a strong sense of self-worth. At the senior stages,
young people achieve high standards in certificated courses. A number have also achieved
Duke of Edinburgh’s awards at bronze and silver levels and are working towards gold.
How well does the school support children and young people to develop and learn?
The school is extremely effective in supporting children and young people to develop and
learn. The well-planned curriculum provides challenging and enjoyable activities for learners.
The school has made very good progress in implementing Curriculum for Excellence.
Specialist staff contribute very effectively to the curriculum. School staff work exceptionally
well with a wide range of partners to provide community based learning and a wide range of
experiences. Within classes, teachers plan very carefully to ensure that tasks and activities
meet the needs of each individual child. School staff and partner services are very skilled in
identifying what children and their families need. Arrangements for meeting their needs are
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excellent. Parents think very highly of the school, and work very closely in partnership with
staff.
How well does the school improve the quality of its work?
All staff across the school work together to improve learning and achievement for children and
young people. They seek the views of parents and children regularly. They talk to other
services about how to improve joint working. They have taken forward improvements to the
curriculum and learning and teaching which have made a significant difference to the quality
of provision. The headteacher provides inspirational leadership. She has established an
ethos of mutual respect and very high expectations across the school community. The
promoted members of staff, teachers and support staff and learners all take responsibilities
for developing aspects of the work of the school. We have confidence that the school will
continue to improve.
Our inspection of your school found the following key strengths.
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The achievements of children and young people.
The consistently high quality of learning and teaching.
Innovative and creative approaches to the curriculum.
Partnerships with parents, other services and the community.
The ethos of the school which values all members of the school community, and ensures
a focus on high expectations and continuous improvement.
Leadership of the headteacher and across the school.
We discussed with staff and the education authority how they might continue to improve the
school. This is what we agreed with them.
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Continue to develop approaches to assessment and recording achievement in line with
Curriculum for Excellence.
What happens at the end of the inspection?
We are satisfied with the overall quality of provision. We are confident that the school’s
self-evaluation processes are leading to improvements. As a result, we will make no further
evaluative visits in connection with this inspection. During the inspection, we identified an
aspect of innovative practice which we would like to explore further in order to share the
practice with others. As a result we will work with the school and education authority in order
to record and share more widely the innovative practice. We will ask the school, in discussion
with the education authority, to let parents know the outcome of the innovative practice
visit(s).
Christine Knight
HM Inspector
23 August 2011
Additional inspection evidence, such as details of the quality indicator evaluations, for your
school can be found on the HMIE website at
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/ViewEstablishment.aspx?id=9098&type=2
You can find our complaints procedure on our website www.hmie.gov.uk. Alternatively you
can contact our Complaints Manager at HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm House,
Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston, EH54 6GA or by
telephoning 01506 600259.
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