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Mr H Vernal
Director of Education & Recreation
Aberdeenshire Council
Woodhill House Annexe
Westburn Road
Aberdeen
AB16 5GJ
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Dear Mr Vernal
FOLLOW-UP TO THE INSPECTION OF ALFORD ACADEMY
ABERDEENSHIRE COUNCIL
The report on the above school was published in May 2000. HM Inspectors visited the school in
March 2002 to evaluate progress made in responding to the main points for action in the report.
The school had made good progress in meeting the recommendations. In addition to the action taken
by the school to address the main recommendations, all departments had made good progress in
responding to their priorities for action set out in the report. As a result, HM Inspectors will make no
further visits to the school in connection with the 2000 report.
I attach an evaluation and brief account of the response made by the school and the education
authority to the main points for action in the report.
I am sending a copy of this letter to parents of children currently in the school and the other
recipients of the inspection report.
Yours sincerely
Dr Bill Maxwell
HM Chief Inspector
Northern Division
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Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education
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Headquarters · Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD · Telephone 0131 244 0650 · Fax 0131 244 7124 · www.scotland.gov.uk/hmie
HM Inspectorate of Education
Follow-up to the Inspection of
Alford Academy
Aberdeenshire Council
Main points for action
1.
To improve the quality of provision in S1/S2, the school should ensure that
national advice on the curriculum, assessment and reporting is fully
implemented in all departments.
The school had made good progress towards meeting this main point for
action.
All departments had provided broad and balanced curricular programmes
in S1/S2. A working group of teachers had improved assessment and
reporting arrangements, which were now well matched to the revised
programmes. The school had clear plans to implement these arrangements
fully from the beginning of next session.
2.
The remits of the senior management team should be reviewed to ensure
an appropriate balance of duties among its members.
The school had met this main point for action.
The remits of the senior management team had been reviewed shortly after
the inspection in February 2000. The revised remits drew well on the
strengths and expertise of the team, and ensured an appropriate balance of
duties among its members.
3.
The school should continue to focus on achieving consistently high
standards of attainment in all departments and, in particular, improve
attainment in writing within English language at the S1/S2 stage and in
mathematics at all stages.
The school had made very good progress in meeting this main point for
action.
The school had achieved very good success in maintaining its high
standards of attainment in all departments. The performance of pupils at
Standard Grade and Higher level had improved even further since the
inspection. Attainment in writing within English language in S1/S2 and in
mathematics at all stages had shown considerable improvement. For
example, performance in mathematics at Standard Grade and at Higher
level had improved from below to above the national average.
2
4.
The development plan should contain fewer priorities, which should be
identified through a more rigorous audit process. Development projects
should be planned in sufficient detail to ensure their successful
implementation.
The school had made good progress towards meeting this main point for
action.
The current school development plan contained fewer priorities, although
there was scope to reduce their number even further. Development
projects were planned in good detail to ensure their effective
implementation. A more rigorous approach to evaluating the work of the
whole school and its departments had been introduced. This approach
involved members of the senior management team and principal teachers
visiting classes systematically to monitor learning and teaching. They
gave teachers good feedback about the quality of lessons. They should use
their evaluations to identify even more effectively the priority areas for
action in future development plans.
HM Inspectors will not make any further visits to the school in connection
with the inspection report of May 2000.