Bannockburn High School
Stirling Council
30 March 2010
HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) inspects schools in order to
let parents1, young people and the local community know
whether their school provides a good education. Inspectors also
discuss with school staff how they can improve the quality of
education.
At the beginning of the inspection, we ask the headteacher and
staff about the strengths of the school, what needs to improve,
and how they know. We use the information they give us to help
us plan what we are going to look at. During the inspection, we
go into classes and join other activities which young people are
involved in. We also gather the views of young people, parents,
staff and members of the local community. We find their views
very helpful and use them together with the other information we
have collected to arrive at our view of the quality of education.
This report tells you what we found during the inspection and the
quality of education in the school. We describe how well young
people are doing, how good the school is at helping them to learn
and how well it cares for them. We comment on how well staff,
parents and young people work together and how they go about
improving the school. We also comment on how well the school
works with other groups in the community, including services
which support young people. Finally, we focus on how well the
school is led and how staff help the school achieve its 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 from young people, parents and staff, and
details about young people’s examination performance. We will
not provide questionnaire analyses where the numbers of returns
are so small that they could identify individuals. Where applicable
there will also be 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. How well do young people learn and achieve?
4. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s
learning?
5. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving their
school community?
6. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?
7. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
8. What happens next?
1. The school
Bannockburn High School is a non-denominational school which
serves the eastern part of Stirling, the villages of Cowie and Plean and
the surrounding area. The roll was 707 when the inspection was
carried out in February 2010. Young people’s attendance was below
the national average in 2008/2009.
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2. Particular strengths of the school
•
Polite, courteous young people who are developing well as
responsible citizens.
•
The positive school ethos.
•
Staff teamwork at all levels and their contributions to the life and
work of the school.
•
Young people’s wider achievements.
•
The role of the headteacher in developing a strong sense of
community.
3. How well do young people learn and achieve?
Learning and achievement
Young people are well motivated, confident and focused on their
learning. They enjoy working together in small groups and the school
is helping them to become more confident. In almost all classes, they
use information and communications technology (ICT) well to develop
research skills. In a few subjects and classes, pupils could make more
use of ICT and be more independent in their learning. Teachers
regularly share with young people what they expect them to learn. As
a result, young people are beginning to develop a clearer
understanding of the purpose of their learning. In a few departments,
staff could engage them more in reviewing what they have learned at
the end of lessons. Young people benefit from evaluating their own
work and in a few classes from evaluating the work of other learners.
Young people are treated with equality, fairness and respect
throughout the school. They feel safe and that their contribution in
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classes is valued. Staff increasingly take account of young people’s
views on important aspects of their learning and alter learning
approaches in the light of these views. Young people extend their
learning through out-of-school activities, for example making valuable
educational visits in Scotland and abroad.
Young people achieve in a range of ways. For some this includes the
confidence to demonstrate their skills as public performers in events
like the dance competition and the school show. In sports, young
people have been successful in football, basketball, dance and
swimming, and for a few at local and national level. The school
achieved Club Sport Stirling Sports Secondary School of the Year.
Other learners are developing leadership skills by taking part in
committee work such as the charities committee. Staff should begin to
monitor the wider achievement of young people to ensure that every
learner develops a broad range of skills.
By the end of S2, the majority of young people achieve appropriate
national levels in reading and mathematics. Less than half achieve
these levels in writing. Performance in reading and writing has
declined over the past three years. There is no clear pattern of
improvement in mathematics. The school does not yet track progress
across all aspects of learning. From S4 to S6, attainment is below the
national average and poorer than in schools which serve young people
with similar needs and backgrounds. However, by the end of S5,
those achieving five highers is in line with similar schools. The
majority of young people following courses at college achieve success.
The number of young people who leave school for further study or
employment is above the national level. The school has taken
important steps to improve learning and teaching. A more focused
strategic plan on raising attainment is required to secure improvement.
Curriculum and meeting learning needs
The curriculum is based on the school’s core values and vision and
offers suitable breadth and balance for almost all pupils. The school is
continuing to develop the curriculum in line with Curriculum for
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Excellence. For example, staff are working together to ensure that
literacy and numeracy are now being promoted across all learning.
The school has introduced a range of vocational programmes in
partnership with Forth Valley College, which broadens young people’s
choice. Other course developments support effectively young people
who are at risk of not engaging with work. The school provides good
opportunities to develop life skills through the involvement of young
people in a range of enterprising activities, work experience and a
range of trips. The school does not yet provide all young people with
the required two hours physical education per week.
Overall, teachers give clear instructions and explain work well. In a
majority of subjects, teachers plan activities which are relevant to
young people and build on their prior learning. In several other
subjects there is considerable scope for teachers to plan activities
which build better on what young people already know. Staff should
be more consistent in setting tasks at the right level and pace for
individuals across the school. The school meets the learning needs of
young people who need additional support well. Pastoral and
additional support needs staff liaise with a range of partners to support
their learning and wellbeing both at school and at home.
4. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s
learning?
Staff work effectively with a number of community partners and other
agencies to support young people’s learning. A wide range of partners
including Skills Development Scotland and Forth Valley College
contribute well to the Personal and Social Education programmes
delivered by pastoral staff. Additional support needs staff work with a
range of partner agencies to help them meet the needs of young
people. The Parent Council value the support given by the senior
management team. Curriculum workshops for parents are helpful and
informative. The school regularly informs the local press who in turn
inform the local community about achievements and activities within
the school. The school receives few complaints and staff respond
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promptly to any concerns. Parents are not yet routinely informed
about potentially sensitive aspects of health education.
5. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving
their school community?
Staff and young people work well together to enhance learning through
a range of extra curricular activities. Young people are also helped to
develop their leadership skills by becoming sports volunteers,
delivering valuable support to younger pupils. Young people
contribute successfully to improving their school community through
membership of a number of school focus groups such as the eco
group. Young people have benefited from being part of an effective
school house system. All staff participate in school development
groups which focus on aspects for improvement. As a result, teachers
are beginning to be more reflective about learning and teaching.
Approaches to self-evaluation are not yet leading to sustained
improvements in learning, teaching and achievement.
6. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?
Relationships between staff and young people are very positive and
constructive. Staff are committed to young people’s welfare. Almost
all young people are polite, well behaved and proud of their school.
There are appropriate arrangements in place for religious observance.
Young people in S1 to S4 learn about respect and values by studying
the major world religions and human rights in religious and moral
education. Young people’s successes within and outwith the school
are celebrated effectively through assemblies, wall displays around the
school and regular local press coverage. The school is accessible to
young people, parents and staff with restricted mobility. The school
encourages fairness for all and awareness of the needs of others
through its core values. Staff should set higher expectations for
standards of work and attendance to raise attainment.
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7. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
The head teacher is highly committed to the life and work of the
school. He is highly respected by young people and staff and actively
promotes the school values. He encourages non-promoted staff to
take on a range of leadership roles which are enhancing learning and
teaching. The depute head teachers know the young people well and
the pastoral role they provide for all learners is recognised and valued.
Principal teachers and other staff care about the young people in their
charge and show a determination to taking forward improvement in
learning. Senior leaders should set careful measurable targets and
clearer strategies, monitoring them regularly to increase the pace of
improvement.
8. What happens next?
We will carry out a follow-through inspection visit within one year of
publication of this report and will report to parents on the extent to
which the school has improved. Following that visit, we may continue
to check the improvements the school has made. We may also carry
out a second follow-through inspection within two years of the original
inspection report. If a second follow-through inspection visit is
necessary then it will result in another report to parents on the extent of
improvement that the school has made.
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We have agreed the following areas for improvement with the school
and education authority.
•
Staff should set higher expectations for standards of work and
attendance to raise attainment.
•
Improve systems to meet the needs of all young people including
learners with additional support needs.
•
Improve self-evaluation to bring about sustained improvements in
learning, teaching and achievement.
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 Bannockburn High School.
Improvements in performance
Learners’ experiences
Meeting learning needs
weak
good
satisfactory
We also evaluated the following aspects of the work of the school.
The curriculum
Improvement through self-evaluation
HM Inspector: Aileen Monaghan
30 March 2010
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good
satisfactory
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.
Text phone users can contact us on 01506 600 236. This is a service
for deaf users. Please do not use this number for voice calls as the
line will not connect you to a member of staff.
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