27 August 2013
Dear Parent/Carer
Sgoil Dhalabroig and Nursery Class
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
In September 2010, HM Inspectors published a report on your child’s school. We
subsequently returned to the school to look at how it had continued to improve its work,
and published a report in August 2011 and letter in August 2012. Recently, as you may
know, we visited the school again. During our visit, we talked to children and worked
closely with the headteacher and staff. We heard from the headteacher and other staff
how the school has continued to improve. We looked at particular areas that had been
identified in May 2012 and at aspects of the school’s work, as proposed by the
headteacher. As a result, we were able to find out how well children are now learning
and achieving and how the school is continuing to support them to do their best. This
letter sets out what we found.
How well do children learn and achieve?
Children across the school and nursery, including Gaelic provision, now learn and
achieve more effectively than they did in previous years. Children and staff are more
motivated by their new school and nursery. The headteacher and staff have focused
strongly on improving the quality of learning and teaching. As a result, children are now
working more frequently in pairs and in groups and are given meaningful opportunities to
discuss their learning with each other. Learning is now less text book led and more
active. There is still scope to continue to develop children’s ability to set targets to
improve their own learning.
The education authority has provided nursery staff with support in planning effective
learning and they continue to build on previous work. The school has focused well on
improving the teaching of reading, writing and mental mathematics. There is now a
clearer focus on teaching of skills in these areas. As a result, children are making better
progress in these areas but as yet attainment is not strong enough. Changes made to
the quality of learning, teaching and assessing children’s learning have still to have an
impact on attainment. Improvements have been made to children’s attainment in Gaelic
medium education. The school needs to continue to plan a coherent and progressive
Gaelic Learner programme that spans P1 to P7. Staff should continue to work with the
education authority to ensure stability in staffing in Gaelic classes.
How well does the school support children to develop and learn?
The school has taken appropriate steps to continue to improve how it supports children
to develop and learn across the school and nursery. Improvements have been made to
aspects of the curriculum with children now having a fuller experience of science and
Education Scotland
Johnstone House
50-54 Rose Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1UD
T
01224 642544
F
0300 244 9443
E aberdeen@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk
Textphone 01506 600236
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use this number for voice calls as this will not
connect.
www.educationscotland.gov.uk
Transforming lives through learning
social subjects. Approaches to planning children’s learning have improved and children
are experiencing a broad and balanced range of activities. However, there remains a
need to build on their successes and continue to develop a fuller overview of how
knowledge, skills and understanding are developed over time. Teachers need to
continue to improve their planning for the development of children’s literacy and
numeracy skills across the curriculum. Staff have improved support for learning across
the school. In most classes, children are working on tasks more suitable to their level of
need. However, this remains an area in which staff will need to continue to focus on
improving further. A few children in English medium classes, who have strengths in
Gaelic language, are not being challenged enough in Gaelic.
How well does the school improve the quality of its work?
The school now uses a broader range of tools to evaluate and improve outcomes for
children. This is impacting positively on children’s learning experiences and the quality
of the teaching. Staff are committed to continuing to improve all aspects of the school.
The headteacher and newly appointed principal teacher now monitor aspects of the
work of the school and provide helpful feedback to staff to help them improve further.
The school has more robust information on children’s attainment which they should now
use more effectively to raise standards across the school.
What happens next?
Overall, the school has improved in many areas since the original inspection but work
remains to be done to continue to improve aspects of the curriculum and to raise
attainment further. The school should continue to work with the local authority in order
to achieve these improvements. We will continue to engage with the local education
authority and will request a report within one year of the publication of this letter. We will
want to know the degree to which Sgoil Dhalabroig is continuing to improve. Depending
on the progress which has been made, we will consider whether or not to carry out any
further visits.
Sadie Cushley
HM Inspector
Education Scotland / Foghlam Alba
If you would like to receive this report in a different format, for example, in a translation
please contact the administration team on the above telephone number.
If you want to give us feedback or make a complaint about our work, please contact us
by telephone on 0141 282 5000, or e-mail: complaints@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or
write to us addressing your letter to the Complaints Manager, Denholm House,
Almondvale Business Park, Livingston EH54 6GA.
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