Condorrat Primary School
and Nursery Class
Cumbernauld
North Lanarkshire Council
25 January 2011
HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) inspects schools in order to
let parents1, children and the local community know whether their
school2 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 in which children are
involved. We also gather the views of children, 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 children
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 children 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 children. 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 children, parents and staff. We will
not provide questionnaire analyses where the numbers of returns
are so small that they could identify individuals.
1
Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to include foster carers,
residential care staff and carers who are relatives or friends.
2
The term ‘school’ includes the nursery class or classes where appropriate.
Contents
1. The school
2. Particular strengths of the school
3. How well do children learn and achieve?
4. How well do staff work with others to support children’s learning?
5. Are staff and children actively involved in improving their school
community?
6. Does the school have high expectations of all children?
7. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
8. What happens next?
1. The school
Condorrat Primary School is a non-denominational school with a
nursery class. The school provides education in both Gaelic medium
and English. For children in the English stream, it serves the
Condorrat area of Cumbernauld. Children in the Gaelic stream attend
from many parts of North Lanarkshire and from Falkirk Council. The
roll was 281, including 37 in the nursery, when the inspection was
carried out in November 2010. Children’s attendance was in line with
the national average in 2008/2009.
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2. Particular strengths of the school
•
The motivation and enthusiasm of most children.
•
Children’s willingness to take on responsibilities to influence the life
and work of the school.
•
High-quality learning experiences for children in the nursery.
•
The commitment of the headteacher and staff to improving the
school.
3. How well do children learn and achieve?
Learning and achievement
In the nursery classes, children are happy, settled and secure in the
playroom routines. They take part enthusiastically in an interesting
range of activities. They share their toys well and are developing
friendships. In the primary classes, most children are motivated and
keen to learn. They are polite and help each other well when working
in pairs and groups. They are becoming more actively involved in
planning aspects of their learning. Children respond maturely when
given responsibilities. Teachers are using more active learning
approaches and are developing helpful ways of providing feedback to
children on their learning. They need to develop these approaches
further to ensure consistently high-quality learning experiences.
Children benefit from many opportunities to develop confidence, skills
and knowledge in wider areas of learning outwith classes. These
include sports, work to protect the environment and a residential trip
for older children. All children take part in a wide range of clubs during
school hours and many attend clubs after school. The school has
achieved an award as a health promoting school and is working
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towards its first green flag from Eco-Schools Scotland. Children have
formed a purposeful link with a local hospice. They participate in many
competitions and several children recently won awards at local and
national Mòds. In the nursery and in most primary classes, children
are using information and communications technology (ICT) well to
support their learning.
In both the Gaelic and English nurseries, children are making very
good progress in their learning. Almost all children recognise their
name and some can write it. They listen well to stories and talk
confidently about their play activities. Many children can count to ten,
recognise numbers and simple shapes, and use mathematical
language appropriately in their play. In the Gaelic nursery, children
can follow simple instructions in Gaelic and are making good progress
in acquiring Gaelic language. In both nurseries, almost all children are
developing very good physical skills and many can climb, roll, slide
and use wheeled toys skilfully. They are able to express their ideas
creatively through painting and modelling. Across the primary stages,
almost all children are making good progress in English language and
mathematics. Almost all children attain appropriate standards and a
significant number, at the early stages, achieve these earlier than
might normally be expected. The school needs to ensure that this
early progress is maintained as children move through the school. In
the last three years, standards of attainment have risen steadily, apart
from a slight decline in mathematics in year two. In both English and
Gaelic classes, children talk confidently in group discussions. Older
children can explain the features of good oral presentations. Most
children produce a good range of writing for a variety of purposes but
quality and presentation are not yet consistent enough across the
classes. Children read well and most sustain an interest in reading at
all stages. At the early stages, children are developing very good skills
in phonics to help them tackle unknown words. In the Gaelic stream,
children are progressing well in Gaelic language. At all stages, they
are keen to talk in Gaelic. In the total immersion stage, they are
becoming more fluent, and some children are developing as able
communicators. At the other stages, children talk confidently and
articulately. They write well for a variety of purposes. To improve
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children’s skills in talking and writing, there needs to be a stronger
focus on grammar and correcting language errors. By P7, almost all
children are secure in reading aloud. In both Gaelic and English
language, children need access to a wider variety of texts. They are
not sufficiently skilled in discussing key features of books, or authors
and their writing styles. In mathematics, across both English and
Gaelic classes, children are making good progress in number work.
They have a sound understanding of the properties of two-dimensional
shapes and three-dimensional objects. At the early stages, children
are making good progress in identifying and creating patterns, and in
measuring using appropriate mathematical language. Children at all
stages are learning to handle information, for example, using an
appropriate range of graphs and charts. By P7, most children can
identify a range of strategies to solve problems. At the middle and
upper stages, a few children are not secure enough in aspects of
multiplication and division, and need more practice in mental
calculations.
Curriculum and meeting learning needs
Children in the nursery and primary classes receive a broad and
balanced curriculum. In the nursery, children have very good
opportunities to develop early skills in writing and mathematics in play
contexts. Children use the outdoor area well to learn about the
environment and recycling, and to develop problem-solving skills. A
few play areas could be more stimulating with resources used more
effectively to enhance children’s learning. Across the school, staff are
taking increasing account of Curriculum for Excellence. Their written
plans are starting to reflect what children are going to learn. In the
primary stages, staff have begun to design a whole-school plan for all
curriculum areas. Within this, teachers need to ensure there is
continuity and progression in children’s learning at all stages and
across the curriculum. Commendably there is a strong commitment to
delivering the curriculum entirely in Gaelic during the total immersion
phase. Beyond this, the school needs to ensure that this focus is
maintained. Children receive two hours of physical education each
week, although there is scope to make this more challenging. Children
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in P6 and P7 are learning French. The school is taking positive steps
to develop learning outdoors and to help children learn in more
enterprising ways. Children are becoming more involved in planning
aspects of their work and exercising choice. The school is aware of
the need to improve programmes in music and drama.
Staff know their children well and take very good account of their
personal and social needs. In a majority of classes, tasks and
activities are largely well chosen to meet children’s needs. Staff now
need to ensure that tasks are consistently purposeful and challenging
in all classes. Most staff share with children what they are going to
learn, check their understanding and give them helpful feedback to
help them improve. Homework tasks are regular, varied and
interesting. Staff now need to involve children more fully in identifying
their next steps in learning and what they need to do to improve.
Children who need additional help with their learning are well
supported. Those children who require them have detailed additional
support plans with appropriate short and long-term learning targets.
These plans are regularly reviewed in consultation with parents and a
range of specialist agencies.
4. How well do staff work with others to support children’s
learning?
The school has strong links with the Parent Council, parents and the
local and wider community. Parents are very supportive and make a
valuable contribution to the school, for example, by serving on the
Parent Focus Group, fundraising or helping with outings. The
headteacher consults parents about school matters and sensitive
aspects of health education. Staff have strong and productive links
with social workers, speech and language therapists and educational
psychologists. Teachers ensure that parents are well informed of their
children’s progress through the use of homework diaries and
achievement profiles. The school has very good transition
arrangements in place to ensure a smooth start for children moving
from nursery to P1 and from P7 to Greenfaulds Academy. There are
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enhanced arrangements in place to support vulnerable children. The
school deals well with any parental complaints or concerns.
5. Are staff and children actively involved in improving their
school community?
Children and staff play an important role in improving their school.
Children have a very good range of opportunities to take responsibility
and develop their leadership roles. Many are involved in decision
making through a wide variety of committees and action groups. A
group of children recently improved homework arrangements by
making homework kit bags. All staff take an active part in developing
aspects of the curriculum by serving on the school’s ‘Teacher Learning
Community’. Teachers are becoming more reflective in their work and
developing their skills through visiting other classes. There is scope to
extend this more widely by visiting other schools. Members of the
senior management team observe learning and teaching, identify good
practice and provide feedback. As a result, staff are becoming more
aware of how self-evaluation can help them improve learning and
teaching. The headteacher is working to ensure that all members of
the management team monitor all aspects of both English and Gaelic
medium provision. Staff teaching through the medium of Gaelic
should continue to collaborate to identify improvement priorities
specifically for Gaelic.
6. Does the school have high expectations of all children?
Most staff have high expectations of children’s attendance, behaviour
and work. Relationships between staff and children are very positive.
The school has very effective systems in place for the care and
welfare of children, including child protection. Staff address any
concerns very well and tackle potential bullying incidents sensitively.
Children’s achievements are celebrated on the Golden Board and on
displays around the school. Equality and diversity are promoted well
throughout the school. Children learn about different cultures and
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religions through class topics. Assemblies provide regular
opportunities for religious observance. The programme for religious
education includes strong provision, in the Gaelic stream, for children
of the Roman Catholic faith.
7. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
The headteacher has been in post for two years and has set a clear
direction for the school. She has worked with staff, parents and
children to create a vision statement which underpins the school’s
work. She has led the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence
well and helped staff to focus on improving learning and teaching. The
depute headteacher and acting depute headteacher provide a high
level of support. Staff are encouraged to take on leadership roles and
develop aspects of the curriculum. Teamwork is strong and staff are
committed to improving the school. The management team should
continue to work with staff to identify key features of high-quality
learning and teaching so that they can implement these more
effectively across the school.
8. What happens next?
We are confident that, with support from the education authority, the
school will be able to make the necessary improvements in light of the
inspection findings. As a result, we will make no more visits in
connection with this inspection. The school and the education
authority will inform parents about the school's progress in improving
the quality of education.
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We have agreed the following areas for improvement with the school
and education authority.
•
Continue to develop the curriculum, taking account of Curriculum
for Excellence.
•
Ensure that self-evaluation results in improvements to learning and
teaching.
•
Provide tasks and activities that are consistently purposeful and
challenging.
At the last Care Commission inspection of the nursery class, four
recommendations were made. Three had been addressed. The
fourth was being addressed.
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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 Condorrat Primary School and Nursery
Class.
Primary school
Improvements in performance
Learners’ experiences
Meeting learning needs
good
good
good
Nursery class
Improvements in performance
Children’s experiences
Meeting learning needs
very 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: May C Geddes
25 January 2011
9
good
good
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.
Where the school has a nursery class, you can contact the Complaints
Coordinator, Headquarters, Care Commission, Compass House,
Riverside Drive, Dundee DD1 4NY, telephone 0845 603 0890.
Crown Copyright 2011
HM Inspectorate of Education