--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------HM Inspectors of Schools
Follow-up to the Inspection of
Paisley Grammar School
Renfrewshire Council
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Main Points for Action
1.
The education authority and school should continue to upgrade the accommodation
and facilities. The education authority should work towards achieving permanent
arrangements for outdoor physical education facilities. The school should review
the provision of learning support staff.
The education authority and school had made good progress towards meeting this
recommendation, although certain aspects remained to be completed.
Some areas of the school had been refurbished, but there were still rooms which required
renovation and a need for more storage. There were plans to upgrade the outdoor
physical education facilities. Work could not commence until a review of secondary
school provision in Paisley had been completed. The education authority and school had
made a significant investment to improve the information and communications technology
(ICT) facilities. The provision of learning support staff had been reviewed and the amount
of specialist staffing had been increased.
2.
The school should emphasise raising attainment in its aims.
The school had met this recommendation.
The school’s revised aims emphasised the raising of pupils’ standards of attainment.
Parents and staff had been consulted on the revised aims.
3.
The school should address the curriculum, learning, teaching and assessment issues
raised in the report, with a view to raising attainment. It should introduce National
Testing in writing and mathematics.
The school had made good progress towards meeting this recommendation.
At S1/S2, the school had made improvements to the curriculum and the organisation of
pupils within classes. At S3/S4, the school had audited the curriculum, improved its
balance and adjusted the content of courses in personal and social education. At S5/S6,
the school had introduced courses leading to new National Qualifications. Some
departments had audited homework and adjusted programmes, especially at S1/S2.
Teachers had also looked at other aspects of learning and teaching with a view to
improving standards of attainment. During this process of review, good use had been
made of the expertise of staff within the school. Teachers of English and mathematics had
introduced National Testing in writing and mathematics.
4.
The headteacher should set a clearer direction for the school. He should develop
teamwork, particularly at senior management level and among principal teachers,
to enable the school to progress steadily towards meeting agreed targets set in the
school plan.
The headteacher had made good progress towards meeting this recommendation.
He had worked to establish a vision for the school, which was reflected in the revised
aims. The headteacher had also revised management structures. These included an
increased involvement of senior managers in the strategic management of the school, welldefined links between senior managers and departments and more involvement of
principal teachers in school developments and quality assurance. These changes were
enabling the school to make steady progress towards meeting its agreed priorities and
were helping to establish effective teamwork.
5.
The headteacher and senior staff should improve the development planning process
and ensure that future plans are set out in line with national advice.
The headteacher and senior staff had made very good progress towards meeting this
recommendation.
A small group of principal teachers chaired by an assistant headteacher produced a very
good school plan. They had identified aspects of the plan relevant to various groups and
consulted appropriately within the school and at education authority level. The planning
group audited departmental plans to identify staff development and resource needs. By
the time of the follow-up inspection, principal teachers had completed two formal reviews
of the progress of their departmental plans with senior managers. The planning group had
prepared the programme for the next in-service day which focussed on finalising plans for
the coming session.
6.
The headteacher should develop a systematic approach to monitoring and
evaluating the work of the school. He should agree with management and staff at
all levels their role in such a system and ensure that their related staff development
needs are met.
The headteacher had made good progress towards meeting this recommendation.
He met formally with each member of the senior management team to discuss the
progress of their remit and had systematically involved principal teachers in drawing up a
draft quality assurance policy. He had taken a more structured approach to the annual
discussion of Scottish Qualifications Authority results and had established regular reviews
of progress in departmental planning. The headteacher had begun the process of
professional review with volunteer staff. The school should now fully implement its quality
assurance policy by carrying out its plans to monitor learning and teaching.
HM Inspectors of Schools will seek a report in August 2001 from the education
authority on further progress with recommendation 1, particularly with respect to
achieving permanent arrangements for outdoor physical education, and also with
recommendation 6.