Carinish Primary School
North Uist
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
4 September 2007
Contents
Page
1. Background
1
2. Key strengths
1
3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?
2
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
2
5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
4
6. How good is the environment for learning?
5
7. Leading and improving the school
6
Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
9
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
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How can you contact us?
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1. Background
Carinish Primary School was inspected in May 2007 as part of a national sample of
primary education. The inspection covered key aspects of the work of the school at all
stages. It evaluated pupils’ achievements, the effectiveness of the school, the
environment for learning, the school’s processes for self-evaluation and innovation, and
its capacity for improvement. There was a particular focus on attainment in English
language, Gaelic language and mathematics.
HM Inspectors examined pupils’ work and interviewed groups of pupils, including the
pupil council, and staff. Members of the inspection team also met the chairperson of
the School Board and a group of parents 1.
The school serves the village of Carinish and the surrounding area. At the time of the
inspection the roll was 28. Sixteen pupils were in two English-medium classes and 12
pupils were in a Gaelic-medium class. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to
free school meals was well below the national average. Pupils’ attendance was in line
with the national average.
Evaluations in this report, except where otherwise indicated, apply equally to the
Gaelic-medium and English-medium classes.
2. Key strengths
HM Inspectors identified the following key strengths.
•
The quality of Gaelic spoken in the Gaelic-medium class, and the embedding
of Gaelic language and traditional culture throughout the school.
•
Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of environmental issues.
•
The quality of pupils’ singing and instrumental skills.
•
Mutual respect between all members of the school community, including
strong partnerships with parents and the local community.
1
Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to include foster carers, residential care staff and
carers who are relatives or friends.
1
3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?
HM Inspectors analysed responses to questionnaires issued to all parents, P4 to P7
pupils, and to all staff. Information about the responses to the questionnaires normally
appears in an Appendix 2. However, where there were fewer than five respondees in a
group, in order to maintain confidentiality, the analysis is not provided. HM Inspectors
also interviewed staff, parents and pupils during the inspection. The following is an
analysis of the views expressed by staff, parents and pupils.
Parents were very positive about most aspects of the school. All felt that their child
enjoyed being at school, and that there was mutual respect between staff and pupils.
Parents found school staff very approachable. A few felt that the school did not
provide sufficient challenge for more able pupils. All pupils enjoyed being at school.
They felt well supported, and enjoyed their work in class. Pupils all felt they had a say
in making the school better. Those at the upper stages wanted more responsibilities
and more opportunities to give their views. A significant number of pupils thought
they had insufficient homework and that it was not interesting enough. Staff were very
positive about the school. All enjoyed working there and thought they had very good
relationships with pupils and their parents. Staff felt that they all worked very well
together as a team. They particularly enjoyed the very positive links with the local
community.
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements
Teachers provided pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum which was good
overall. Visiting specialists in physical education (PE), additional support needs and
music provided good support and extended pupils’ learning experiences. The
challenging activities in PE ensured very good development across a range of skills.
The school had made good progress towards ensuring that all pupils were engaged in
two hours of high quality PE weekly. Through activities in drama, related to voting in
elections to the Scottish Parliament, pupils from P4-P7 were learning to become
responsible citizens. Recent developments in the programme for information and
communications technology (ICT) had led to improvements in pupils’ confidence and
skills. All pupils in the English-medium classes were making good progress in
studying Gaelic language as an additional language. The topics studied in
environmental studies provided pupils with strong cross-curricular experiences, for
example through looking at environmental issues both locally and in a global context.
The overall quality of teaching was good. Most teachers explained to pupils what they
were going to learn, and checked with pupils what they had learned at the end of
lessons. All teachers interacted well with pupils, making good use of questions to
confirm pupils’ understanding and good use of praise. Teachers did not always give
sufficiently clear feedback to pupils when they answered questions. Homework was set
regularly. It focused on strengthening skills in literacy and mathematics and did not
have enough variety.
Pupils worked well in school and made good progress on the tasks they were set. They
were very well motivated when involved in practical learning tasks which required
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them to plan and carry out activities independently, for example in science. Pupils at
upper stages, in both English- and Gaelic-medium worked well in small groups to test
materials for designing bags and to solve practical problems in mathematics. In the
English-medium classes, at P1-P3, pupils were well motivated during active lessons,
such as learning Gaelic through songs and games. At times these pupils were too
dependent on teacher support and were not developing enough confidence to work
independently. They did not have sufficient opportunities to develop through active
learning, for example, through play. In the Gaelic-medium class, pupils effectively
took responsibility for their learning and had developed good skills in working
independently. Too much of their learning was in English, for example, all aspects of
social studies and religious and moral education. Across the school, the pace of lessons
was too slow for the majority of pupils. Overall, learning experiences were not
sufficiently imaginative or motivating to fully engage pupils.
The school took good steps to help pupils develop their wider achievement. Pupils
developed confidence through their successful participation in a range of musical
activities. Singing across the school was very good, and a number of pupils had
achieved awards at the National Mòd. All pupils from P4 upwards were making good
progress in learning an instrument through tuition in school and participation in
after-school music groups. Pupils had contributed well to their community through
very good work on recycling. Pupils had taken responsibility for organising a toy
swapshop to recycle their unwanted toys. A major enterprise activity over a three year
period had involved pupils, staff, parents and local business partners in designing and
developing the school grounds through the ‘Space Againne’ project. Pupils had
developed a good understanding of their culture through working with a local writer
who had involved them in Gaelic story-telling and traditional crafts.
English language
Attainment in English language in both the Gaelic-medium and English-medium
classes was good. All pupils were attaining appropriate national levels of attainment in
reading and writing. At all stages, a few pupils were achieving these levels earlier than
might normally be expected. Pupils requiring additional support were making steady
progress in their learning. Pupils listened well to their teachers. Almost all were
confident and articulate when talking to the class. When involved in discussion, pupils
from P4-P7 could thoughtfully give their own views. Their skills in listening to and
responding to the views of others were not well developed. Pupils at all stages were
making good progress with reading. At P6 and P7, they read confidently, and could
talk well about plot and character and how authors created effects. They read a wide
variety of texts for pleasure, both fiction and non-fiction. At the early stages, pupils’
development in their writing was too slow. They were too dependent on teacher
support and lacked confidence in tackling writing independently. At P4-P7, pupils
produced effective pieces of writing in a range of curricular areas, for example, in
health and religious and moral education. They lacked skills in writing at greater
length, and in tackling more demanding writing tasks. Pupils’ skills in language,
spelling and punctuation were good, and most pupils presented their work well.
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Gaelic language
The overall quality of attainment in Gaelic language was good. Almost all pupils attained
appropriate national levels in listening, talking, reading and writing. At the early stages,
pupils were making good progress in developing their Gaelic language skills. At all stages,
pupils listened and responded appropriately to adults. Almost all pupils spoke confidently
and used very good fluent Gaelic in discussions with each other and their teacher. Pupils at
P6 spoke at length about their favourite authors and their favourite books. Across the
stages almost all pupils read fluently and with understanding. They made effective use of
the school library and of the secondary school library to research using Gaelic materials.
They were able to display a good knowledge of grammar. Across the stages, pupils were
able to construct stories effectively. They had well-developed skills in punctuation and
grammar. At P4-P7, pupils wrote interesting pieces of poetry. However they did not
produce enough extended pieces of writing, or sufficient writing across the year, to ensure
development of their skills. All pupils made good use of ICT for research, and to
consolidate language and mathematical skills.
Mathematics
The overall attainment in mathematics was good. All pupils were achieving
appropriate national levels of attainment, and the majority achieved these levels earlier
than might normally be expected. Most pupils were capable of achieving better
standards in their classwork and required to be challenged by a brisker pace of work in
class. At the upper stages pupils could use and interpret a range of graphs, and knew
how to gather information and present it in graphical form. Their skills in using ICT to
collate and present information had not been sufficiently developed. From P4-P7,
pupils were confident in carrying out written and mental calculations, and could
describe well the operations they used for obtaining their answers. At the early stages,
pupils were not sufficiently quick and accurate in their recall of basic number facts.
Those at P6 and P7 had a good understanding of angles and measurement. At all stages
pupils could describe the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes. At the early
stages, pupils could tackle problems with support. Pupils at P4-P7 had a good
understanding of the range of strategies they could use to solve problems. They could
apply themselves to tackling new problems with confidence and skill.
5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
Overall, staff supported pupils’ learning effectively. They knew pupils very well and
effectively identified individuals who experienced difficulties in aspects of their
learning. Class teachers worked closely with the support for learning teacher to
develop appropriate strategies and individualised learning targets for pupils requiring
additional support. The speech and language therapist made a valuable contribution to
programmes for pupils with communication difficulties. Staff were well supported by
advice about children’s learning through other professionals, including the educational
psychologist. Support staff provided valuable additional support to groups and
individuals. Teachers had developed productive links with parents, which helped them
work in partnership to address aspects of pupils’ individual learning needs. In
classwork, staff did not consistently match tasks, activities and resources to pupils’
needs. Too often pupils were not sufficiently engaged, and higher attaining pupils were
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not sufficiently challenged. Pupils at the upper stages in the Gaelic-medium class did
not have sufficient opportunity to develop their Gaelic skills across all areas.
6. How good is the environment for learning?
Aspect
Comment
Pastoral care
The quality of pastoral care was very good. Staff knew
pupils and their families very well, and responded very
sensitively to the social, emotional and physical needs of
pupils. Pupils regularly used the weekly whole school
‘Together Time’ to raise any concerns they had. They were
also clear they could talk to any member of staff in
confidence if they needed to. Recent training and clear
guidelines ensured all staff were confident about child
protection procedures and how to respond to any concerns
about a child. Pupils had a very good understanding of how
to develop healthy lifestyles. They made healthy choices at
lunchtime and almost all participated in regular physical
activity in the community. Effective arrangements were in
place to support pupils transferring from the Gaelic-medium
and English-medium nurseries and to secondary education
at Paible School.
Quality of
accommodation
and facilities
The quality of accommodation was good. The three
classrooms were of a good size for the number of pupils.
The general purpose room provided a flexible teaching
space for visiting specialists and served as a pleasant dining
area and social space for pupils. Appropriate security
arrangements were in place. Facilities for those with
restricted mobility within the school building were good.
However, the gate at the entrance to the playground needed
adaptation to allow wheelchair access. The outdoor area
provided a very stimulating environment for pupils. The
outdoor classroom, and the very attractive wildlife garden
contributed well to pupils’ learning. Staff made effective
use of the nearby village hall to provide pupils with
appropriate PE activities.
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Aspect
Comment
Climate and
relationships,
expectations
and promoting
achievement
and equality
There was a strong sense of community within the school.
Relationships between staff and pupils were very good, and
pupils enjoyed working and playing together. Pupils
responded very well to the high expectations staff had for
their behaviour. Staff did not always have sufficiently high
expectations for the attainment of all pupils. Pupils
contributed their views about some aspects of school life
through the weekly ‘Together Time’ and the pupil council.
However, the impact of the pupil council was limited by the
narrow range of topics discussed by pupils. Pupils had a
strong sense of equality and fairness, and a real
understanding of the needs of others. Through their study
of other cultures and Fair Trade, they were developing an
understanding of equality issues across the world. Pupils’
successes were celebrated by the whole school community.
Very good links with local churches supported appropriately
frequent opportunities for religious observance.
Partnership
with parents
and the
community
The school had developed strong partnerships with parents,
the School Board and the local community. Parents
received helpful written reports on their child’s progress and
met teachers for further discussion twice a year. They
received regular information about school developments.
Their views had been sought about the work of the school
through questionnaires. Parents had been consulted about
potentially sensitive aspects of the health education
curriculum. Pupils’ involvement in the community, through
a range of activities they had organised, enhanced the
reputation of the school in the community. Pupils and staff
had worked closely in partnership with local businesses and
members of the local community to develop the school
grounds. Strong links with Taigh Chearsabhagh, the local
arts centre, contributed to pupils’ appreciation of their
cultural heritage.
7. Leading and improving the school
Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.
Carinish Primary School provided a caring and supportive learning environment. The
quality of communication in spoken language within the Gaelic-medium class was very
good. Attainment was good in English language and mathematics. A few pupils could
have achieved more if teachers’ expectations had been higher. Pupils had positive
attitudes to learning and contributed well to the life of the school and the community.
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The quality of teaching was good overall, but teachers did not always provide pupils
with sufficiently stimulating and varied learning experiences.
The leadership of the headteacher was adequate. She had built good links with the
local community which had enhanced pupils’ experiences in school. She had started to
introduce a number of improvements to learning and teaching and the curriculum,
which were beginning to improve pupils’ learning experiences. However, she had not
shown sufficient persistence in leading developments and ensuring improvements,
particularly those related to learning and teaching across the school. Staff had recently
undertaken some evaluation of their work using quality indicators which had been
nationally developed. The headteacher had also very recently established more formal
approaches to evaluating the work of the school through monitoring teachers’ plans,
and observing in classes. Teachers had undertaken some peer evaluation through
classroom observations. These approaches to self-evaluation and improvement were at
very early stages of development and had not yet had sufficient impact on improving
the quality of pupils’ learning and the effectiveness of teaching. The headteacher and
staff had not yet established a strong culture of reflection and improvement and would
require the support of the education authority to develop its capacity for continuous
improvement.
Main points for action
The school and education authority should take action to improve learning and
teaching. In doing so they should take account of the need to:
•
raise attainment in writing in English and in Gaelic;
•
raise staff expectations of what pupils can attain and of how pupils can contribute
more fully to the life of the school;
•
improve the level of challenge in tasks and activities, and provide more frequent
opportunities for pupils to work independently; and
•
develop more rigorous approaches to evaluating and improving the work of the
school.
What happens next?
The school and the education authority have been asked to prepare an action plan
indicating how they will address the main findings of the report, and to share that plan
with parents. Within two years of the publication of this report parents will be
informed about the progress made by the school.
Christine Knight
HM Inspector
4 September 2007
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Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
The sections in the table below follow the order in this report. You can find the main
comments made about each of the quality indicators in those sections. However,
aspects of some quality indicators are relevant to other sections of the report and may
also be mentioned in those other sections.
How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
Structure of the curriculum
The teaching process
Pupils’ learning experiences
Pupils’ attainment in English language
Pupils’ attainment in Gaelic language
Pupils’ attainment in mathematics
good
good
adequate
good
good
good
How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
Meeting pupils’ needs
adequate
How good is the environment for learning?
Pastoral care
Accommodation and facilities
Climate and relationships
Expectations and promoting achievement
Equality and fairness
Partnership with parents, the School
Board, and the community
Leading and improving the school
Leadership of the headteacher
Self-evaluation
very good
good
very good
adequate
very good
very good
adequate
weak
This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by
inspectors:
excellent
very good
good
adequate
weak
unsatisfactory
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outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths with some areas for improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
major weaknesses
Appendix 2
Summary of questionnaire responses
Important features of responses from the various groups which received questionnaires
are listed below. Where any one group had five or less respondees then, in order to
maintain confidentiality, the analysis is not provided.
What parents thought the school did
well
What parents think the school
could do better
•
Their child enjoyed being at
school.
• Staff made them welcome in school
and showed concern about the care
and welfare of their children.
• The school dealt well with
inappropriate behaviour and treated
their child fairly.
•
What pupils thought the school did
well
What pupils think the school could
do better
•
•
•
All pupils enjoyed being at school.
Teachers explained things clearly,
told them how they were getting on
with their work and helped them
when they needed it.
• Teachers listened to what they had
to say, and they had a say in
deciding how to make the school
better.
•
They did not have a clear idea of
the school’s plans for
improvement.
About half did not think the
school set high enough standards
for pupils’ attainment.
The majority of pupils wanted
more homework and a few
wanted less.
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How can you contact us?
If you would like an additional copy of this report
Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher and school staff, the Director of
Education, local councillors and appropriate Members of the Scottish Parliament.
Subject to availability, further copies may be obtained free of charge from
HM Inspectorate of Education, Europa Building, 450 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G2 8LG
or by telephoning 0141 2420100. Copies are also available on our website
www.hmie.gov.uk.
HMIE Feedback and Complaints Procedure
Should you wish to comment on any aspect of primary inspections, you should write in
the first instance to Chris McIlroy, HMCI, at HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm
House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.
If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to our
Complaints Manager, HMIE Business Management Unit, Second Floor, Denholm
House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston, EH54 6GA. You
can also e-mail HMIEComplaints@hmie.gsi.gov.uk. A copy of our complaints
procedure is available from this office, by telephoning 01506 600200 or from our
website at www.hmie.gov.uk.
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 the 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: www.spso.org.uk.
Crown Copyright 2007
HM Inspectorate of Education
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