Greenhills Primary School
and Nursery Class
East Kilbride
South Lanarkshire Council
19 May 2009
This report tells you about the quality of education at the school1.
We describe how children 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 parents2 and services
which support children. We also comment on how well staff and
children 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 children 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. Where applicable, you will also be able to
find descriptions of good practice in the school.
1
2
The term ‘school’ is used to include the work of the nursery
class, where relevant.
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 children learn and achieve?
5. How well do staff work with others to support children’s learning?
6. Are staff and children actively involved in improving their school
community?
7. Does the school have high expectations of all children?
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
9. What happens next?
1. The school
Greenhills Primary School is a non-denominational school with a
nursery class and four additional support classes at the primary
stages. It serves the Greenhills and Whitehills areas of East Kilbride.
The support classes serve children from a wide catchment area. The
roll was 295, including 51 in the nursery when the inspection was
carried out in March 2009. Pupils’ attendance was in line with the
national average in 2007/2008.
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2. Particular strengths of the school
•
The very positive and inclusive ethos and the school’s productive
links with parents and the local community.
•
High quality provision for children in the support classes and
nursery class.
•
Polite and well-behaved children and their contribution to improving
the school.
•
High quality pastoral support for children and effective partnership
work with other agencies.
•
Strong teamwork between the management team and staff in
improving the work of the school.
3. Examples of good practice
•
Outdoor learning in the nursery class.
•
Communication passports for children who require additional
support.
•
Promoting independence for children in the support classes
through individual workstations.
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4. How well do children learn and achieve?
Learning and achievement
Children’s learning experiences in the nursery class are very good.
Children are motivated and engaged in their learning activities. They
are good at choosing what they want to do and concentrate very well.
They listen well to stories. Most talk confidently to one another and to
staff. All children can recognise their name and a few can write it.
They are confident at counting to five and recognising numbers to ten.
They can match and sort by colour and size. Children are learning
about the natural world through their outdoor garden where they have
planted flowers and vegetables. They enjoy their outdoor learning
experiences. Children express their own ideas well through painting,
making collage pictures, singing and playing musical instruments.
At the primary stages, children achieve in a wide range of activities
and are developing very good personal and social skills. They are
developing effective presentation skills, including using information
and communications technology confidently. Children in P4
successfully presented their work on looking after the environment to
the Eco-Schools Scotland assessors. Across the school, children
respond very well to a wide range of active musical experiences.
In P7, children successfully performed a song linked to their World
War 2 topic, using tuned and untuned percussion. At all stages,
children are making good progress in developing independence in
their learning, for example, by working through a series of tasks on
their own. When they have the opportunity, they work well together in
pairs and groups. At the primary stages, children need more help from
staff to understand their next steps in learning. Across the school
children have a good understanding of how to keep fit and healthy.
They are making good progress in physical education and sports such
as handball. Increasingly, they are involved in activities which help
them to think for themselves. For example, through their involvement
in the school’s activity-based ‘Science Zone’, children at the upper
stages are learning to investigate evidence methodically. Over the last
three years, standards of attainment in the primary classes have been
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inconsistent, particularly in writing. Children are making good progress
in listening and talking. They are making, satisfactory progress in
reading, writing and mathematics. They listen attentively and are
becoming confident in taking roles and responsibilities in groups. At
the early stages, some children need to develop further their skills in
reading and learning sounds. At P7, children can talk confidently
about books they have read and their key features. Across the school,
children are developing their writing skills through meaningful
situations but have not yet progressed at a sufficient rate. In
mathematics, some children are not confident in some aspects of
mathematics, particularly at the early stages. At P7 they are good at
working out calculations mentally but have less understanding of
aspects such as fractions and decimals. Children in the support
classes are actively included in all aspects of school life. They record
their ongoing achievements in their ‘achievement log’ and some can
confidently discuss these experiences. They respond positively to the
support they receive from mainstream buddies and this has led to
positive improvements in their confidence and their ability to be more
included in the school. Children routinely move from one activity
station to another showing high levels of responsibility and
cooperation. They answer questions readily and are confident in
sharing ideas and asking questions. Children in the support classes
are making good and sometimes significant progress in their individual
targets over a period of time.
Curriculum and meeting learning needs
Staff in the nursery provide children with a broad range of experiences.
They plan a well-balanced curriculum which is based on play, active
learning and children’s enjoyment. Early literacy and numeracy are
embedded in most aspects of children’s play. Staff make very good
use of the local community to support children’s learning. Children
engage in a variety of energetic physical play and outdoor activities.
They solve simple problems and investigate and explore their
surroundings. In the primary classes, children experience a broad
curriculum. Staff have taken positive steps to adapt some aspects in
line with the national initiative, Curriculum for Excellence. In
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environmental studies, children give their views on what they want to
find out about their topic. This involvement is adding to the relevance
of their experience. Where appropriate, staff are assisting children to
make sense of their learning through cross-curricular topics. In
support classes, the curriculum has been well adapted and developed
to meet the needs of children. Staff use a range of practical, visual
and sensory resources to support and enhance the curriculum. Across
the school, staff interact very positively with children. Teachers use
clear explanations and instructions and organise learning well.
In the nursery, staff provide activities which are set at the right level for
almost all children and support them very effectively in their play.
Across the primary classes, the tasks and activities which teachers set
do not always meet the needs of children, particularly those who are
high-achieving. At the early stages, there is a need to build more
effectively on what children have already learned. The school
effectively identifies and provides well-considered support for a large
number of children who have additional learning and behavioural
needs. Staff have put a helpful programme in place to assist children
who have difficulties with their reading. Children with individualised
educational plans have appropriate learning targets which are
regularly reviewed. Specific children with additional support needs
have a ‘communication passport’ which assists staff in providing them
with appropriate support. In the support classes, staff work very well
as a team to identify barriers to learning. They use a wide range of
effective approaches such as real-life scenarios to help children to
understand the purpose of their learning.
5. How well do staff work with others to support children’s
learning?
Staff work closely with the very supportive Parent Council. Parents
are pleased with the information the school gives them about their
children’s progress. They have good opportunities to find out about
the work of their children’s class, through class newsletters and regular
open days. In the nursery class, parents are actively involved in the
5
outdoor learning and health committees. In the primary school,
parents participate in story and maths sacks programmes to assist
children with their learning. A strong feature of the school is the way
its effective partnerships help to support vulnerable children and their
families. Staff in the support classes have strong partnerships with
parents and a range of other agencies in meeting the complex needs
of children. Parents are consulted and participate fully in supporting
their children. Staff respond effectively to any complaints or concerns
raised by parents. The school has very productive links with the local
church which organises a lunch-time club for children. Members of the
community contribute regularly to enhancing children’s learning, for
example through topics and the personal and social education
programme. There are productive arrangements to ensure that
children move smoothly from nursery to P1 and from P7 to the
associated secondary school.
6. Are staff and children actively involved in improving their
school community?
Many children take on extra responsibilities to help improve the school.
They participate in the school’s eco committee and pupil council. The
school has achieved Eco-Schools Scotland green flag status for a
second time. Most children think the pupil council listens to their views
and helps to improve the school. All staff are highly committed to the
school and work very well together in taking forward school
improvements. The school has some good approaches to identifying
strengths and weaknesses. Teachers share good practice by
observing children’s learning in each other’s classroom. There is
scope to build upon this even further by sharing successful practice
across the mainstream classes, support classes and the nursery. The
management team regularly track the progress of the school’s
priorities for improvement and use their findings to identify aspects for
further development. This approach would be even better if there was
greater focus on finding out what children have learned and are able to
do, as a result of new initiatives.
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7. Does the school have high expectations of all children?
The school has a welcoming and inclusive ethos. Relationships are
very good and behaviour is very well managed. Children are polite
and courteous. They feel they are treated equally and fairly. All staff
place a high priority on the care and welfare of all children. They are
aware of and implement child protection procedures. Staff record
incidents, concerns and complaints with vigilance and senior
managers ensure follow-up action is taken and reported back to
children, parents and staff. Children feel safe and well looked after.
From P1, they are encouraged, through the personal and social
education programme to identify five people who can be their
supporters if they need to discuss anything. Staff use praise well to
encourage children and address behaviour issues. They are
developing other new approaches to recognise children’s
achievements, for example, through a wall of achievement. Children
are presented with certificates and these awards are shared with
parents through termly newsletters. Staff now need to increase their
expectations of children’s attainment. The school has achieved the
education authority’s silver award for health promotion and the nursery
has achieved the bronze award. The school has good arrangements
for religious observance.
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
The headteacher provides clear direction for the work of the school
and has created a well-organised and positive learning environment
where staff and children feel valued. She has successfully developed
and shared her vision with staff, parents and children and places high
priority on inclusion and supporting the needs of vulnerable children.
Through her highly-developed interpersonal skills, she has created an
ethos where staff and children enthusiastically take on leadership roles
across the school. All staff have a shared commitment to continuously
improve the school. The headteacher is very well supported by three
depute headteachers who carry out their responsibilities very well. As
a senior team, they recognise the need to improve attainment in
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writing in the primary classes and have introduced new approaches.
Leadership of learning in the support classes and nursery class is a
positive feature of the school. Under the leadership of the
headteacher and deputes, staff have the ability to continue to improve
the school.
9. What happens next?
We are confident that 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 following this inspection. 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.
•
Continue to improve attainment in English language and
mathematics.
•
Improve the pace of learning and ensure that children’s previous
learning is built upon.
•
Further develop self-evaluation to monitor what children have
learned and are able to do.
At the last Care Commission inspection of the nursery class there
were no requirements. The authority had been asked to address
four recommendations. All recommendations had been
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 Greenhills Primary School and Nursery
Class.
Primary school
Improvements in performance
Learners’ experiences
Meeting learning needs
satisfactory
good
good
Nursery class
Improvements in performance
Children’s experiences
Meeting learning needs
very good
very good
very good
We also evaluated the following aspects of the work of the school and
nursery class.
The curriculum
Improvement through self-evaluation
HM Inspector: Noreen Connaughton
19 May 2009
9
good
good
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
satisfactory
weak
unsatisfactory
outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths with some areas for
improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
major weaknesses
Crown Copyright 2009
HM Inspectorate of Education