Bishopbriggs Academy: East Dunbartonshire Council
Bishopbriggs Academy was inspected in November 2012. Inspectors noted the following
features of the improvement through self evaluation which contributed to the school
receiving an evaluation of “excellent” for Q.I. 5.9.
Evaluations take account of the context of the school and these features are just part of the
overall approach the school takes to improving young people’s learning experiences and
achievements.
Improvement through self evaluation
The school sets out clear expectations about professional reflection on practice, at
individual, departmental and whole school level. There is a very strong culture of collegiate
working amongst school staff based on genuine interest in how young people learn and
enthusiasm for exploring innovative practice. Staff work very well with colleagues at the
same level, and interaction between managers and their teams is also constructive and
empowering.
Self-evaluation is carried out very effectively across the school, and has a clear impact on
improvement in all areas of the school’s work. It involves a wide range of evaluative activities
carried out by staff at all levels. This results in deep, shared understanding about what works
well and where improvement is needed. All staff accept collective responsibility for delivering
a positive school experience for all young people, based on detailed knowledge and
understanding of how each young person is doing. Communication between the school and
parents is particularly effective, with parental views taken into account within the school as a
whole, and also by individual teachers who seek feedback from young people.
Systems and processes for managing self-evaluation are well-conceived and flow well into
each other. These include a recently further developed departmental audit tool, which was
drawn up in consultation with staff. Based on key QIs from HGIOS 3, and linked to a
comprehensive quality calendar, this tool ensures that departmental discussions focus on
key aspects of school work at relevant times of the year.
Senior managers work very closely with their link departments and provide effective
mentoring support for principal teachers as they identify and address improvement. Analysis
of young people’s performance in SQA examinations is detailed, very rigorous and leads to
very effective action planning even in departments with very high performance-staff are
highly committed to on-going and further improvement. Staff make very good use of data
analysis to identify how best to support individual young people to do better.
The school uses a range of well-conceived approaches to lesson observation, and supports
these with constructive professional discussions. Learning Rounds have been used
imaginatively to evaluate how well whole-school initiatives have been implemented.
Reciprocal visits and focused whole school targeted visits ensure a comprehensive and
interlinked approach which the whole school discuss. There is a range of sound ways that
staff share good practice. This has lead to a consistent and highly effective approach to
learning, teaching and assessment across the school. This ensures that young people
always know what to expect from their lessons. This has had a very positive influence on the
learning experience and a direct impact on improved attainment which has improved in all
measures.
Staff across the school have undertaken extensive training in moderation and assessment
for the different levels of Curriculum for Excellence, including through local authority
networks and external support. This has helped build staff confidence in developing their
understanding of standards for assessment. It has also established the moderation process
across departments as a regular vehicle for wider discussions about improvements in course
design and delivery.
The school seeks and acts on the views of young people regularly, through a range of Pupil
Voice initiatives. Staff have been trained well in making positive use of pupil views, and
many have found that this has transformed their classroom practice.
Staff highly value internal CPD. Professional learning is led very effectively by the Teaching
and Learning Committee, which ensures that external expertise is drawn on and
disseminated to staff and that whole-school CPD originates in issues identified as relevant to
the school. Newly Qualified Teachers are very well supported while being encouraged to
take responsibility for initiatives across the school.