26 August 2014
Dear Parent/Carer
Halkirk Primary School
The Highland Council
In September 2013, HM Inspectors published a letter on your child’s school.
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 the original inspection and at other
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’s learning experiences have continued to improve. Almost all children
behave positively in classes and engage willingly in their learning. Staff have worked
well to improve children’s learning environment and children enjoy their learning.
Children now have more opportunities to work in pairs and groups. Almost all
children work well together, listening and talking to each other with greater respect
and confidence. In some classes, children make good use of information and
communications technology (ICT) in their learning, for example, in researching and
presenting information. There is scope to enhance children’s learning further using
ICT. Learning logs, used in some classes, provide children with good opportunities
to reflect on their learning. Children are becoming more aware of the aims of their
lessons. They now take on more responsibility for their own learning and are getting
better at discussing what they have learned.
Large numbers of children learn new skills and benefit from a wide range of
out-of-hours activities. Lunchtime activities, including football, netball and infant
fitness classes, encourage children to be active. Coaches from Inverness
Caledonian Thistle and Wick Academy football clubs help to motivate children to
keep fit. At all stages, many children now contribute to the school by participating in
a wide range of groups. The pupil council has taken the views of other children into
account in choosing new books for the school library. At P6/7, children have worked
well with apprentices from Dounreay to construct an impressive kit car for a
competition. Older children show care and consideration for younger pupils, for
example, by organising playground games or helping them in their reading. There
are some promising signs of improvement in children’s progress in English and
mathematics. Children enjoy reading and are making better progress. They are
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Transforming lives through learning
becoming more confident in their writing. By the upper stages, most children are
writing at length with confidence, for example, in recent imaginative pieces about life
during World War 2. Across the stages, children benefit from using games, puzzles
and practical activities to develop their skills in mathematics. Most children have a
good knowledge of shape and can use grid references and coordinates well. Staff
should continue to develop children’s skills in mental mathematics to lead to further
improvement.
How well does the school support children to develop and learn?
Teachers plan tasks and activities for learning more effectively. As a result, most
lessons now provide children with suitable levels of challenge and proceed at a good
pace. Children now build on their earlier learning more successfully and are
developing greater confidence in themselves as learners. Arrangements for
managing the support for children with additional needs have improved considerably.
The support for learning teacher and pupil support assistants provide children with
very strong support. Teachers and pupil support assistants work well together to
plan learning activities and strategies for supporting children in their learning. The
support for learning teacher and acting headteacher make very effective use of
available information to identify the learning needs of children. Across the school,
staff are working to develop the curriculum further, in line with Curriculum for
Excellence. Better arrangements are now in place for children to develop skills in
literacy and numeracy in a range of contexts. In some areas of the curriculum,
including language, clearer plans for children’s learning activities are in place. Staff
should continue to plan to ensure that children make good progress in all areas.
How well does the school improve the quality of its work?
The acting headteacher, with effective support from the principal teacher, has
provided strong leadership this year. The acting headteacher has a clear
understanding of the school’s strengths and areas needing improvement. She is
working very well to share her own vision and has high expectations for what
children can achieve. A programme of sampling children’s work has helped to
motivate children in their learning and is leading to a higher quality of presentation of
work. Staff now share good practice more effectively. Observations of each other’s
lessons provide teachers with helpful ideas for further improvement. Staff, with
support from the Highland Council, now monitor children’s progress in language and
mathematics more effectively. Most parents are happy with the school and feel more
confident that their children are safe, secure and benefiting from their learning.
What happens next?
Under the acting headteacher’s strong leadership, the school has made a number of
important improvements. Arrangements for meeting children’s learning needs have
improved significantly and there are some promising signs of improvement in
children’s progress. As a result, we will make no further visits in connection with this
inspection. As part of its arrangements for reporting to parents on the quality of
education, the Highland Council will inform parents about the school's progress.
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Alistair Brown
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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