14 January 2014
Dear Parent/Carer
Kaimhill School and Nursery Class
Aberdeen City Council
Recently, as you may know, my colleagues and I inspected your child’s school. During
our visit, we talked to parents and children and worked closely with the headteacher
and staff. We wanted to find out how well children are learning and achieving and how
well the school supports children to do their best. The headteacher and depute
headteacher shared with us the school’s successes and priorities for improvement.
We looked at some particular aspects of the school’s recent work, including active
approaches to literacy, development of a Teacher Learning Community, children’s
awareness of their own progress and consistency in nursery practice. As a result, we
were able to find out how good the school is at improving children’s education.
How well do children learn and achieve?
We found that children learn and achieve very well. In the nursery class, most children
are engaged and motivated in their learning. Older children are very familiar with
nursery routines and confidently lead their own play across the playrooms and
outdoors. In the ‘doctor’s surgery’ area, children sustain their play well and seek out
peers and adults to join and extend their play. Staff are aware that children need
further support in taking more responsibility for their own learning experiences and
planning aspects of their learning. In the units for children with additional support
needs (ASN), children have extremely good relationships with their teachers and
support assistants. They are motivated to learn and enjoy their lessons. They enjoy
using their imaginations on tasks such as those related to ‘The Naughty Bus’. In the
Dyslexia Unit, most children engage well in their learning and enjoy their classwork.
They contribute to the school’s Eco activities by co-ordinating recycling around the
school. Across the primary classes, children are active in their learning. They work
well individually, together in small groups and as a class. They carry out tasks and
activities very responsibly. Children are involved in planning and evaluating aspects of
their learning. Staff should continue with plans to develop this further and ensure a
consistency in approach across all classes. Children are able to influence the work of
the school through, for example, the pupil council, charity committee and house
system. They are motivated to do their best through a range of school initiatives to
celebrate their achievements such as the end of term ‘Celebration Awards’ ceremony
and regular recognition at assemblies. Health and wellbeing feature strongly in
children’s learning and positive links with, for example, Robert Gordon’s University
support this work. Children engaged very well with activities relating to the ‘Cooking
Bus’. Across the school, children achieve very well in science. They enjoy being
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Transforming lives through learning
‘science technicians’ and the school has received recognition for its achievements
through, for example, attaining a bronze Primary Science Quality Medal.
In the nursery, the majority of children are making appropriate progress in early literacy
and most are doing so with numeracy. Children listen well during group times such as
listening to instructions to follow the toothbrushing routine. They enjoy sharing familiar
stories with adults in the library area. The majority of children show a keen interest in
early writing, particularly in role-play contexts. There is scope for staff to increase
children’s skills further by building more consistently on their prior learning. In the ASN
units, children are making appropriate progress from their prior levels of achievement.
They are making good progress with their writing skills. With adult support, children
write increasingly lengthy and complex responses including the creation and drawing
of their own ‘monster’. In the primary classes, most children attain well in English
language and mathematics and are making positive progress with their literacy and
numeracy skills. Children generally are good listeners and talk confidently. They use
well-developed discussion skills, for example during science investigations. In all
classes, almost all children enjoy reading and make good use of the libraries in the
school. Across the school, most children write well for different audiences and
purposes. They work together well to share personal experiences and evaluate each
other’s imaginative stories. Children are confident in numeracy and most are accurate
in mental and written calculation appropriate to their stage of development. They are
able to use these skills purposefully in practical situations. By the upper stages,
children show a sound understanding of shape and are able to solve mathematical
problems. Children achieve well in aspects of the expressive arts with children’s skills
in music developing effectively through class activities and various performances.
Children are developing effectively as researchers, using a range of sources for
projects with which they are engaged such as Victorians, Vikings, and the rainforest.
Across the school, children are acquiring a strong awareness of sustainability
demonstrated by a clear understanding of re-cycling and the need to keep their
playground litter-free.
How well does the school support children to develop and learn?
Across all parts of the school, staff provide a very high level of pastoral care and
support for children. Parents are supportive of the work of the school and help in
various ways including supporting out-of-class activities such as a running club and
football. Overall in the nursery, children experience a broad range of activities. Tasks,
activities and resources meet the needs of the majority of children. However, not all
children are consistently challenged in their learning. Staff, with the support of
Aberdeen City Council, are aware that this needs to be developed. They are currently
reviewing their approaches to planning learning and assessment to help them better
meet the needs of individual children. Children in the ASN units are provided with
appropriate tasks and activities which meet their needs very well. They work
successfully in small groups with the support of an adult. Staff ensure that the work of
the ASN units is inclusive and of a high quality. In the Dyslexia Unit, all children are
well supported with an individualised educational programme. At the primary stages,
teachers set tasks and activities at an appropriate level of difficulty for children in
almost all lessons. At times, the pace of lessons could be increased to create a
greater consistency in challenge. Children requiring additional support with their
learning have their needs identified early, with appropriate individual support plans
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being put in place. Children who have English as an additional language are very well
supported. Across all areas of the school, staff provide children with a suitably broad
and balanced curriculum. They work well with a range of partners, including health
workers, emergency services and the local community, to enhance the curriculum.
Teachers are confident in using Curriculum for Excellence guidance to develop
children’s learning. They are aware that they should continue with plans for the full
implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. Arrangements for children transferring
from nursery to P1 and from P7 to Harlaw Academy support children very well at these
points of transition.
How well does the school improve the quality of its work?
The headteacher has accurately assessed the school’s strengths and aspects for
development. She is very ably supported by the depute headteacher who
demonstrates a clear vision for school improvement and provides inspirational
leadership to the school. Together, with staff, they have established a range of
strategies to evaluate the work of the nursery and school. These include observing
teaching and learning and giving feedback which helps staff improve. Across the
school and nursery, staff are reflective practioners and feel involved in school
improvements. Opportunities for staff to discuss their work and share good practice
are being further developed through the creation of a Teacher Learning Community.
The school seeks and values the views of parents and children and use them to inform
school improvement. The headteacher now needs to ensure that systems for
monitoring lead to a more consistently high quality of learning and teaching across the
school, with particular attention needed to the nursery. We have also asked the school
to make further improvements to tracking children’s progress to ensure they make
suitable progress. We are satisfied that, with the continued support of Aberdeen City
Council in supporting nursery practice, the school is in a sound position to continue
with plans to make further improvements.
This inspection found the following key strengths.
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Confident children who are proud of their nursery and school.
The work of the ASN units for children who require additional support with their
learning.
The teamwork of all staff in creating an inclusive learning environment and
delivering high-quality pastoral care.
Developments to promote children’s active involvement in literacy and science.
We discussed with staff and Aberdeen City Council how they might continue to
improve the school. This is what we agreed with them.
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Continue to develop the curriculum as planned.
Develop a greater consistency in tracking children’s progress and achievements to
ensure they make suitable progress.
Increase pace and challenge in the nursery to meet the needs of all learners.
Improve approaches to monitoring the work of the school, and nursery, to ensure
further improvement.
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What happens at the end of the inspection?
We are satisfied with the overall quality of provision. We are confident that the
school’s self-evaluation processes are leading to improvements. 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, Aberdeen City Council will inform
parents about the school’s progress.
Alan Urquhart
HM Inspector
Additional inspection evidence, such as details of the quality indicator evaluations, for
your school can be found on the Education Scotland website at
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/inspectionandreview/reports/school/primsec/Kai
mhillPrimarySchoolAberdeenCity.asp
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please contact the administration team on the above telephone number.
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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,
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