Deans Community High
School
Livingston
West Lothian Council
24 March 2009

This report tells you about the quality of education at the school.
We describe how young people 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 parents
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and services which support young people. We also comment on how well staff and young people 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 young people 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 and details about young people’s examination performance. Where applicable, you will also be able to find descriptions of good practice in the school and a report on the learning community surrounding the school.
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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 young people learn and achieve?
5. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s learning?
6. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving their school community?
7. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
9. What happens next?
1. The school
Deans Community High School is a non-denominational school which serves an area in the north of Livingston. The roll was 854 when the inspection was carried out in January 2009. Young people’s attendance was below the national average in 2007/2008.
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2. Particular strengths of the school
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Courteous, polite and very friendly young people.
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Young people and staff who are very committed to improving their school.
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The acting headteacher’s impact in setting a clear agenda for the school’s improvement.
3. Examples of good practice
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Steps to help young people keep safe and healthy through the work of Operation Floorwalk.
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The school’s strategy for developing literacy skills.
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The opportunities for young people to learn and achieve through their involvement in the Woodlands Trust Project.
4.
How well do young people learn and achieve?
Learning and achievement
Across the school, most young people are well motivated, and interested in their work. Lessons are purposeful overall but too often over-directed by the teacher with young people not taking enough responsibility. Increasingly, however, young people are actively involved, for example, through finding out things for themselves and reporting on their findings. They are getting better at working together in many subjects and deciding how well they and their classmates are learning. Young people, particularly in senior classes, enjoy talking to teachers about how they can learn more effectively. Teachers increasingly seek their views and respond suitably. For example, in some classes they let young people choose how to tackle particular activities. The school needs to build on this good practice to help its
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learners develop skills in thinking for themselves and take more responsibility for all aspects of their learning.
Increasing numbers of young people, particularly at senior stages, are developing self-confidence and their sense of citizenship. In particular fields, such as debating, girls’ football and other sports, they have achieved significant success at national level. Young people take part in a wide range of school and community events, including music camp, Woodland Trust and Congo citizenship projects. Those involved in music play regularly for community groups. The charities group has raised significant amounts for local and international charities. Older learners plan and lead activities such as assemblies which help young people learn about important moral issues and significant events. Senior learners support a local housing project for young people through the Mark Scott leadership award.
By the end of S2, the majority of young people achieve appropriate national levels in reading, writing and mathematics. Staff are introducing new ways of improving skills in English language and mathematics. Overall, young people perform much less well at S3/S4 and S5/S6 than those with similar needs and backgrounds in other schools. However, recent action is improving achievements for some learners, particularly in S5/S6. The proportion staying on to S5 and leaving school for work or further education or training is well below the national average. At all stages, young people could achieve more.
Curriculum and meeting learning needs
Teachers are making good use of the school’s recently restated aims to improve the curriculum. Young people study a broad range of courses, further developed to meet the needs of learners at S3/S4 and
S5/S6. The school provides suitable courses to develop skills for work, sometimes working effectively with local business partnerships, such as Blackburn Local Employment Scheme . Journey2Employment helps young people in need of more choices and more chances get practical help on applying for employment. They develop enterprise and citizenship skills through a wide range of well-planned activities.
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For example, one group produced a film, shown locally, encouraging more people to enjoy their local woods. The school is planning well for the national programme Curriculum for Excellence . Imaginative projects help young people make links between their learning in different subjects. For example, the P7 Unsinkable Ship and Forensic
Fridays projects help primary and secondary pupils work together to solve problems. The school is introducing suitable approaches to improve literacy and numeracy skills across the school. Young people’s needs for high-quality physical education are met at S1 and
S2. There are firm plans to extend provision from S3 to S6. There is a limited S5/S6 programme of religious and moral education. Teachers and young people could use information and communications technology better to promote learning across the school.
Across the school, young people’s learning needs are well met. The integrated support team (IST) clearly identify why some young people find it difficult to learn. They share this information with teachers and give them helpful, general advice about how to help young people better.
Teachers know individuals and their learning needs well. They care for them and want to help them to achieve more. Most teachers give young people tasks and activities which help them make progress in class. However, some tasks, particularly at S1/S2, are too easy.
The school has recently introduced a new system to check young people’s progress in their learning. Young people and their parents like this system. It enables staff to quickly identify subjects needing more support or effort. A few young people have individualised educational programmes. The school has recently improved these so that young people build on their learning and make better progress.
5. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s learning?
The school is developing its partnership with parents and works closely with the Parent Council on plans to improve young people’s learning. Overall, parents are pleased with the regular communication they get from the school. They find reports on their children’s progress very informative and appreciate the school’s clear account of the
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improvements it is making. For example, they welcomed hearing how it is helping young people to achieve and behave better, and how it recognises their efforts. Overall, the school is good at sorting out complaints from parents, learners and other community members.
The school works well with a range of partners including the Children and Young People’s Team and local community police. This joint working has helped young people improve their attendance. They understand better how to keep themselves safe and healthy, for example through the very innovative and effective programme,
Operation Floorwalk. The school should build on this good practice in working with others to support young people’s learning. It now needs to share information better and agree more clearly what each partner will do. In doing so it should continue to improve how it gathers and records information about young people’s achievements in learning beyond the school.
6. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving their school community?
Staff and young people are committed to improving the school and feel their views are helping this to happen. Staff morale is high. Young people are proud of their school and have actively helped develop its dress code. The student consultative forum (SCF) has effectively negotiated improvements, for example the provision of free swimming.
Prefects act well as role models, for example working in classes to support younger learners. Staff contribute well in working groups. For example, the Curriculum Matters group developed projects to help young people make links between their learning in different subjects.
Literacy and numeracy committees help staff improve young people’s learning more consistently across all subjects. Many staff are actively involved in after-school activities for young people. The school should provide more such opportunities particularly for younger learners to develop skills in leadership and citizenship. The school is improving how it gathers information about its performance. Increasingly, teachers carefully examine information about attainment. They share ideas about improving learning. Findings from these activities are already improving learners’ experiences. Young people feel better
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supported in their learning. However, these improvements have yet to make a clear impact on their achievement in examinations.
7. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?
The school has a calm, caring and friendly atmosphere. Relationships between staff and young people are good. Teachers have introduced various ways to help young people learn better and to recognise good behaviour. These have led to better attendance and fewer exclusions.
Young people feel safe and fairly treated. They like the ways the school recognises both their achievements and their increasingly “can do” approach to learning. They feel there is always someone to talk to if they are worried or upset. Young people feel well informed about healthy choices of what to eat, how to exercise and how to keep themselves safe. The school actively encourages them to be the best they can be. School assemblies are popular and regularly feature examples of high-achieving performance. For example, Homecoming
Scotland showcased traditional music with a modern twist. However, young people at all stages have too few opportunities for religious observance. Overall, the school has made a promising start to encouraging young people to aim high. Scope remains to further raise staff and young people’s expectations of learning and achievement.
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
In her short time in post, the seconded headteacher has been very effective in setting a clear agenda for the school to improve. She has successfully involved staff, young people and their parents, in setting out clear aims for improving the quality of learning. As a result, the school has a clearer sense of purpose, and young people increasingly believe in themselves and set themselves more demanding goals.
The headteacher has also supported staff very well in helping them develop their skills in teaching, leading improvements and managing change. Staff have welcomed these challenges and are increasingly confident of their ability to help the school make further improvements.
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9. What happens next?
We will remain in contact with the school and education authority during the year following the publication of this report, and beyond as necessary. One year after the date of this report the school and the education authority will inform parents about the school’s progress in improving the quality of education.
We have agreed the following areas for improvement with the school and education authority.
The school should continue to:
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take action to improve the attainment of young people at all stages;
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improve the quality of learners’ experiences and raise expectations of what they can achieve; and
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extend the consistent use of self-evaluation across the school.
Quality indicators help schools, education authorities and inspectors to judge what is good and what needs to be improved in the work of the school. You can find these quality indicators in the HMIE publication
How good is our school?
. 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 are doing.
Here are the evaluations for Deans Community High School.
Improvements in performance weak
Learners’ experiences
Meeting learning needs satisfactory good
We also evaluated the following aspects of the work of the school.
The curriculum
Improvement through self-evaluation good good
HM Inspector: Alistair Kirkwood 24 March 2009
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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 outstanding, sector leading major strengths important strengths with some areas for improvement satisfactory strengths just outweigh weaknesses unsatisfactory major weaknesses
Crown Copyright 2009
HM Inspectorate of Education .