Dalbeattie Primary School
and Nursery Class
Dumfries and Galloway
Council
5 May 2009
This report tells you about the quality of education at the school1.
We describe how children 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 parents2 and services
which support children. We also comment on how well staff and
children 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 children 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. Where applicable, you will also be able to
find descriptions of good practice in the school.
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2
The term ‘school’ is used to include the work of the nursery
class, where relevant.
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 children learn and achieve?
5. How well do staff work with others to support children’s learning?
6. Are staff and children actively involved in improving their school
community?
7. Does the school have high expectations of all children?
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
9. What happens next?
1. The school
Dalbeattie Primary School is a non-denominational school with a
nursery class. It serves Dalbeattie and the surrounding area in
Dumfries and Galloway. The roll was 363, including 87 in the nursery
when the inspection was carried out in March 2009. Pupils’
attendance was in line with the national average in 2007/2008.
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2. Particular strengths of the school
•
Well-behaved children who have positive attitudes and an
enthusiasm for learning.
•
Positive relationships between staff and children.
•
The quality of work undertaken by all staff to support children with
difficulties in their learning.
•
The motivating environments for learning created by staff.
•
The leadership of the headteacher and commitment of all staff to
improve children’s experiences.
3. Examples of good practice
•
Teacher learning communities to develop distributed leadership.
•
Active learning in early years, and personalisation and choice in
learning.
4. How well do children learn and achieve?
Learning and achievement
Children are happy, settled and confident in the nursery. The majority
of children are motivated and take part in a wide range of play
activities. They are making good progress in key aspects of their
development. In language, almost all children are experimenting with
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early drawing and writing in play areas. In mathematics, they can work
with numbers up to ten. They also enjoy weighing and measuring as
part of their play activities.
In the primary classes, children respond well to a range of effective
opportunities to improve their wider achievements. They are
developing important skills in drama, music and sport. Children at P6
and P7 enjoyed and developed a range of team building and
information and communications technology (ICT) skills at a residential
trip to a residential centre. Over the last few years, standards in
English language and mathematics had fluctuated. Most children are
making good progress in aspects of English language and
mathematics. Recently in listening, talking and reading children now
make very good progress. Children are now benefitting from
developing their language skills through a range of stimulating
activities. In writing, children do not write well enough for a variety of
purposes. In mathematics, most children reach appropriate national
levels of attainment. Across the school, a few children are highly
skilled in their mathematical calculations. The very good progress
made at the early stages is not maintained throughout the school.
Curriculum and meeting learning needs
Children in the nursery and primary school learn well through a broad
curriculum. There is an effective use of the local environment and
visitors as learning resources. Children are making effective
connections between different areas of their learning. For example,
the very good use of ICT to develop skills in mathematics and
environmental studies. Children’s self esteem and confidence is
developing very well through involvement in competitions and by
performing in dramatic productions. Children are not yet receiving two
hours planned, good quality physical education each week. Staff are
committed to the development of the national initiative, Curriculum for
Excellence. They have recognised the need to ensure appropriate
progression in children’s learning.
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Nursery staff know children well and they provide a range of
appropriate play activities. The key worker system where staff take
responsibility for a small group of children is working effectively. Staff
record children’s progress and they use this information well when
planning for individuals. They have established very good links with
other agencies such as health visitors. They work with them to help
support children and families.
Staff know children very well and use effectively a range of methods to
meet their needs. Teachers set tasks and activities at the right level of
difficulty for most children. Clear targets are used for those who
require additional help with their learning. Children are fully involved in
using these with staff and parents to track their own progress. All staff
take very good steps to ensure that all children are appropriately
included and achieving as well as they can. Children with additional
support needs benefit from a well planned curriculum and they are
developing important life skills through experiences in the community.
Teachers provide high quality learning experiences which stimulate
and involve children purposefully in their learning. There is scope to
review the teachers’ role within this and through observations further
extend children’s learning. Teacher’s share the purpose of lessons,
review what has been learned and use questioning well to check
understanding. Homework is set regularly and, at times, is interesting
and stimulating.
5. How well do staff work with others to support children’s
learning?
The school works closely with the supportive Parent Council. Staff use
a range of methods to communicate with parents, including annual
reports, newsletters, parents evenings and through the school’s
website. Almost all feel they are kept informed of their child’s
progress. The school is exploring ways to involve parents more fully in
their child’s learning. Parents were satisfied complaints and concerns
were dealt with appropriately. Skilled staff within the support for
learning team respond very effectively to the needs of individuals.
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Staff have developed productive partnerships with a range of
organisations and the associated schools. These partnerships are
successful in improving children’s learning experiences. Staff prepare
children well for the move from nursery to P1 and when they transfer
to Dalbeattie High School.
6. Are staff and children actively involved in improving their
school community?
Older children respond positively to the many opportunities they have
to take responsibility. They support younger pupils, lead teams and
organise events. Children in P1 take on mentoring roles for the
nursery children. This works very well and helps them move from
nursery into the primary classes. The active pupil council organise
many events and raise money to support a wide range of charities.
The work of the eco committee helps children to be aware of how to
care for their environment. The school has been awarded a Green
Flag Eco-Schools Scotland award. A health committee is being
formed to coordinate more effectively the positive health promotion
taking place within the school. The very caring and committed staff
support each other well to improve the school. They are consulted in
identifying improvement priorities and think, both as individuals and as
a whole school, about how to improve the learning experiences for the
children.
7. Does the school have high expectations of all children?
There is a welcoming, caring and supportive ethos created by staff and
children. Staff know the children very well and are sensitive to their
needs. Staff have formed positive relationships with children and they
work well together. Children feel safe at the school and are learning
about making healthy choices. Staff show concern for children’s
wellbeing and know about the school’s child protection policy and
procedures. Children and staff are proud of the school and
achievements are regularly celebrated at assemblies, in classrooms
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and through displays. There is scope for staff to provide greater
challenge in learning for a few higher attaining children.
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
The headteacher and staff are highly committed to the nursery and the
school. The headteacher provides strong and supportive leadership
and has set out a clear pathway for improvements. She is fully
focused on ensuring staff work towards meeting children’s social,
physical and emotional needs. She is supported by two depute
headteachers. Their remits should be reviewed to build on the
effective approaches used to improve learning in the early stages and
within health promotion. Staff are keen to work together and make
improvements in children’s learning. A few have begun to take a lead
in developing aspects of the school’s work. This should be developed
further with more staff leading projects and carrying out improvements.
Staff have developed a clear understanding of how to use
self-evaluation to improve learning and achievement. The school is
well placed to build on existing good practice and to continue to
improve.
9. What happens next?
As a result of the very good quality of education provided by the
school, we will make no further visits following this inspection. The
education authority will inform parents about the school’s progress
as part of the authority’s arrangements for reporting to parents on
the quality of its schools.
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We have agreed the following areas for improvement with the school
and education authority.
•
Continue to develop children’s involvement in identifying their
strengths and next steps in their learning.
•
Build on the good practice within the school and develop leadership
at all levels.
•
Continue to develop effective approaches to observe children and
extend their learning in tasks and activities and ensure appropriate
pace and challenge for all learners.
At the last Care Commission inspection of the nursery class there
was one requirement. This has not been addressed. In addition,
three recommendations were made, and all had been addressed.
Outstanding issues are carried forward in this report.
Requirements
The premises must be in a good state of repair externally and
internally and be of sound construction.
In order to achieve this the provider must:
Put in place an action plan setting out how and when they intend to
carry out essential maintenance to the fabric of the building.
This is in order to comply with: Scottish Statutory Instrument
2002/114 Regulation 10(2)(a)
A requirement to ensure the premises are fit for the provision of the
service.
Timescale for Implementation: 12 weeks from publication date of this
report.
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Quality indicators help schools and nursery classes, education
authorities and inspectors to judge what is good and what needs to be
improved in the work of a school and a nursery class. You can find
these quality indicators in the HMIE publications How good is our
school? and The Child at the Centre. 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 and nursery classes are doing.
Here are the evaluations for Dalbeattie Primary School and Nursery
Class.
Primary school
Improvements in performance
Learners’ experiences
Meeting learning needs
good
very good
very good
Nursery class
Improvements in performance
Children’s experiences
Meeting learning needs
good
very good
good
We also evaluated the following aspects of the work of the school and
nursery class.
The curriculum
Improvement through self-evaluation
HM Inspector: Elizabeth C Cole
5 May 2009
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good
very good
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