10 February 2015
Dear Parent/Carer
Irvine Royal Academy
North Ayrshire Council
In February 2014, HM Inspectors published a letter on your child’s school. The letter
set out a number of areas for improvement for the school that we agreed with staff
and North Ayrshire Council. Recently, as you may know, HM Inspectors visited the
school again to see how much progress the school has made. During our visit, we
talked to the Chair of the Parent Council and young people and worked closely with
the headteacher and staff. We heard about the steps the school has taken to
improve. We looked at the main areas for improvement that had been identified in
the original inspection and at other aspects of the school’s work. As a result, we
were able to find out about the progress the school has made and the impact this
has had on young people’s learning and achievements. This letter sets out what we
found.
How well do young people learn and achieve?
The school is making good progress towards improving how well young people learn
and achieve. Young people now have a greater sense of identity with their school
and wear their new school uniform with pride. The ethos of the school has improved
considerably and is very positive. In lessons observed, almost all young people
behave well and continue to enjoy positive relationships with each other and their
teachers. Teachers increasingly use young people’s views to improve learning and
teaching. As a result, young people now feel they have more of a say in making the
way they learn in class better. They now receive better feedback from their teachers
and are using this well to set learning targets. Young people, particularly at the
senior stages, are now more aware of their strengths as learners and what they need
to do to improve further. They would benefit from more challenging learning
activities in lessons to help them develop their thinking. At all stages, there are
improved leadership opportunities for young people which is resulting in greater
account being taken of their views. For example, the recent S3 Arran leadership
experience has supported young people to develop the skills and confidence to lead
primary challenge days and organise careers events for their peers. Overall, young
people demonstrate increasing responsibility and skills as they contribute to
opportunities to make decisions about the life and work of the school. For example,
S2 Curriculum champions are involved in the design of the curriculum. Senior pupils
now demonstrate a more mature attitude to their learning. They continue to act as
positive role models to their younger peers.
Education Scotland
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01382 576701
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Transforming lives through learning
Young people’s achievements are now celebrated well through assemblies, the
House system and through the use of social media. The termly newsletter and
telephone calls to parents are well received and effective in celebrating young
people’s successes. Young people are now gaining accredited awards in
recognition of their efforts. The S6 Leadership Team are working well towards their
Saltire Awards and the S1 to S3 pupil council are beginning to undertake work to
gain a Participative Democracy award. These opportunities are helping young
people to become more confident and independent in their learning. The school is
improving the ways in which it monitors and tracks young people’s progress from S1
to S3, including in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. Senior managers
are aware of the need to continue to work with subject staff to improve approaches
to assessing young people’s progress at these stages. Overall, across S4 to S6,
young people’s performance in national qualifications is improving. There has been
a notable improvement in the number of young people achieving at least five awards
at National 5 level by S4 and three or more Higher awards by S6.
How well does the school support young people to develop and learn?
Teachers are now planning tasks which engage young people more actively in their
learning. We have asked teachers to plan more stimulating and interesting tasks to
meet the needs of all learners better. The school’s work on improving the curriculum
is now more focussed on the needs of learners and firmly based on the principles of
Curriculum for Excellence. The school’s revised vision, values and aims underpin
the development of the curriculum and provide a clearer sense of direction. An
effective start has been made to developing the curriculum to provide a coherent and
progressive learning experience for young people from S1 to S3. Teachers and
young people are actively shaping the curriculum through regular discussions and
working groups. Young people would benefit from a school wide focus on
developing their literacy and numeracy skills. Department staff have worked well
with colleagues in their own authority and beyond to implement the new National and
Higher qualifications. Science and mathematics staff have made a positive start to
working with primary colleagues to improve transition in learning from P7 to S1.
How well does the school improve the quality of its work?
The headteacher continues to provide strong direction and motivation for staff and
young people. The remits of the senior leadership team have been revised ensuring
clearer lines of responsibility and closer links with subject department staff. Principal
teachers take greater responsibility for taking forward improvement within their
subject areas and key school priorities such as improving attainment. Across the
school, staff engage actively and enthusiastically in a range of professional learning
opportunities designed to provide them with the skills to lead school improvement
priorities and improve their practice. Working well together, under the very effective
leadership of the headteacher, staff are taking the necessary steps to address the
key areas for improvement identified within the original inspection. Collectively, they
communicate a clearer vision and ambition for all young people. Overall, the
school’s approaches to self-evaluation and planning for improvement are now
impacting positively on the quality of young people’s experiences and achievements.
Staff now have a better understanding of their individual and collective responsibility
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for self-evaluation and improvement. Parents, young people and partners have an
increased role in evaluating the life and work of the school.
What happens next?
Overall, the school is making very good progress towards addressing the main points
for action identified in the original inspection. As a result, good progress has been
made in improving the quality of education. Under the headteacher’s very effective
leadership staff are continuing to improve the curriculum and the quality of learning,
teaching and attainment. Stronger teamwork within the school and better partnership
working with the wider school community are supporting the school to realise its
renewed vision for the young people of Irvine Royal Academy. We are confident
that, under the leadership of the headteacher, the school has the capacity to secure
further improvements. As a result, our Area Lead Officer will continue to work with
North Ayrshire Council to build capacity for improvement and will maintain contact to
support and monitor progress. In partnership with North Ayrshire Council, we will
carry out a review of the school’s progress within one year of publication of this letter
and decide at that point whether a further inspection is required.
Fiona Robertson
HM Inspector
If you would like to receive this letter 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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