Education Scotland
Foghlam Alba
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Education Scotland, 1st and 2nd Floor, Endeavour House, 1 Greenmarket, Dundee DD1 4QB
t 01382 576700
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Textphone 01506 600236
e dundee@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk
w www.educationscotland.gov.uk
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27 March 2012
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Dear Parent/Carer
Wallace Hall Academy
Dumfries & Galloway 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 and young people and we worked closely
with the headteacher and staff. We wanted to find out how well young people were learning
and achieving and how well the school supported 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 leadership across the
school, developing skills through partnerships, the use of information and communications
technology (ICT) and young people’s understanding of their next steps for learning. As a
result, we were able to find out how good the school was at improving young people’s
education.
How well do young people learn and achieve?
Young people in Wallace Hall Academy learn and achieve very well. They are enthusiastic
participants in almost all aspects of their learning. They are friendly, well-mannered, and
respond very positively when working together on group tasks. Young people feel safe, well
cared for and respected, and speak highly about the very wide range of support they receive
from staff. Learners’ experiences are enriched through their involvement in award
programmes such as The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme and from international trips
such as those in the Comenius programme. In most classes, young people use ICT well to
develop research skills and to support their learning. In almost all departments, learning is of
a consistently high quality. In a few departments, there is room to improve the quality of
feedback given to young people on their learning and progress.
Young people gain confidence and achieve success through a very broad range of
achievements. They are developing presentation skills through a wide variety of arts events,
including performances in school shows, assemblies and charity events. A few learners
reach the standard to perform at national level in music and sport and this is to be
commended. Young people gain a strong understanding of their local environment through
their participation in the Queensberry Initiative. Young people demonstrate high levels of
active and responsible citizenship. They represent the views of other young people in the
area by their involvement in the Scottish Youth Parliament and by working with local
community councils. Overall, young people achieve highly. The school sets realistic and
challenging targets for learners in S1. However, staff are not yet able to provide an overview
of young people’s progress from P7 to S1. Work is in progress to address this. In S2/S3,
overall young people achieve highly within learning programmes which include aspects of a
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broad general education. At S3, the school performs very well in national qualifications. Staff
are working towards strengthening how they track young people’s progress. At S4 to S6,
results in national qualifications are consistently above national averages and significantly
better than in schools serving young people with similar needs and backgrounds. Staff need
to continue their work to share information on young people’s progress in literacy, numeracy
and health and wellbeing. Almost all school leavers enter further or higher education, training
or employment when they leave school.
How well does the school support young people to develop and learn?
The support which young people receive to help them develop and learn is a major strength
of the school. The curriculum reflects the school’s vision “Working together to achieve more”.
An effective range of partnerships and out-of-class activities extend the curriculum and offer
wider choice. These include using computer games, a range of sporting clubs, and various
music groups. Young people experience some well-planned work to link their learning across
different subject areas. The school librarian supports young people and staff very well,
helping everyone to develop further their knowledge and extend their research and
information handling skills. Young people are prepared well for leaving school through
completing customised work experience placements. The school needs now to further
increase its pace of change within the broad general education. Young people in S2 and S3
are presented for Intermediate and Standard Grade qualifications earlier than normally
expected. This approach does not provide young people with their entitlement to a broad
general education. The inspection provided the opportunity for the school to consider how to
get the best for young people from Curriculum for Excellence. The school has clear plans to
review and further develop the curriculum in S2 and S3 in line with national expectations. The
senior phase curriculum provides a range of provision and flexible pathways which meets all
learners’ needs.
The Parent Council and other stakeholders provide valued support, including acting as
business mentors and holding very helpful fundraising activities. Most teachers offer clear
explanations and develop young people’s inquiry skills through effective questioning. Corridor
displays and newsletters are used very well to recognise achievement. Young people are
very proud of their school and the part it plays in developing them as learners. Across the
school, most staff provide tasks, activities and resources which meet young people’s needs
well. Young people who need additional support plans are making good progress. In almost
all departments, there is a high standard of additional support which is very effective for those
who require it. Senior pupils act as mentors and provide helpful subject workshops. In a few
subjects, the pace of learning is too slow and learners are too passive.
How well does the school improve the quality of its work?
The headteacher is a highly-effective leader who is very supportive of his staff and committed
to providing the highest standards for all learners. He is supported by strong able deputes
who provide high-quality leadership. Across the school most staff, including unpromoted
staff, lead change and improvement well. There is strong teamwork within the pupil support
staff. Young people influence school improvement through pupil council meetings but
leadership for young people should be developed further. Staff use nationally recognised
benchmarks to evaluate their work. They engage in continuous reflection on the quality of
teaching and learning across the school and this is leading to improved outcomes for young
people. Teachers contribute to school improvement through their active involvement in a
large number of effective working groups. They are improving learning by observing each
other’s teaching and then putting new strategies in place.
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This inspection of your school found the following key strengths:
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Polite, friendly and well-behaved young people who achieve highly, and who enjoy their
learning in a supportive and very caring environment.
The strong leadership of the headteacher and senior management, and the active
contribution of all staff to the positive climate for learning.
The impressive attainment and achievements of many young people across the school.
The contribution of all staff, including support staff and community members, to the life
and work of the school.
The innovative approaches to elements of the curriculum such as the Comenius
programme and the work of the Queensberry Initiative.
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 the curriculum for all young people, taking full account of the
principles and entitlements of Curriculum for Excellence.
Continue to build on existing approaches to self-evaluation.
What happens at the end of the inspection?
We are satisfied with the overall quality of provision. We are confident that the school’s
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
aspects 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 local authority in order to
record and share more widely the innovative practice. We will ask the school, in discussion
with the local authority, to let parents know the outcome of the innovative practice visit.
Aileen Monaghan
HM Inspector
Additional inspection evidence, such as details of the quality indicator evaluations, for your
school can be found on the Education Scotland website at
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/ViewEstablishment.aspx?id=6916&type=3.
Please contact us if you want to know how to get the report in a different format, for example,
in a translation. You can contact us at enquiries@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to us
at BMCT, Education Scotland, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale
Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.
If you want to give us feedback or make a complaint about our work, please contact 01506
600200, or write to us at the above address or e-mail:
feedback@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk.
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