Uddingston Grammar School
South Lanarkshire Council
6 March 2001
Contents
________________________________________
1.
Introduction
Page
1
2.
The school
1
3.
How well are pupils performing?
4
4.
How well are the inspected departments
performing?
6
5.
How good is the curriculum?
12
6.
How good is the learning and teaching?
13
7.
How well are pupils supported?
13
8.
How well is the school managed?
17
9.
How well does the school perform overall?
19
Key Strengths
Main points for action
Appendix
22/23
Indicators of quality
Quality of lessons observed
How can you contact us?
24
_________________________________
Inspection of Standards and Quality in
Uddingston Grammar School
South Lanarkshire Council
1. Introduction
Uddingston Grammar School was inspected in November
and December 2000 as part of a national sample of
secondary education.
The inspection covered key aspects of the work of the school
at all stages. HM Inspectors evaluated learning, teaching and
attainment, examined pupils’ work and interviewed staff and
pupils. The subjects included in the inspection were English,
mathematics, modern languages, modern studies and music.
HM Inspectors also evaluated the quality of support for
pupils, including arrangements for the care and welfare of
pupils and child protection, aspects of guidance and support
for learning and the work of the Resource Centre for Visually
Impaired Pupils (the Centre). In evaluating how well the
school and departments were managed, HM Inspectors
assessed the school’s processes for self-evaluation and
development planning.
Members of the inspection team analysed responses to
questionnaires issued to a sample of parents. They met the
Chairperson of the School Board, a group of parents and
some local business people.
2. The school
Uddingston Grammar School is a non-denominational
secondary school which serves the communities of
Uddingston, Bothwell, Viewpark and Tannochside. At the
1
time of the inspection the roll was 1214. Almost fifty per cent
of pupils came from the North Lanarkshire Council area. The
Centre supported seventeen pupils in the school. In total, 31
pupils in the school had a Record of Needs and a further five
were being opened. Nineteen percent of pupils were entitled
to free meals.
Parents’ views
Almost thirty-five per cent of the questionnaires were
returned. Parents who responded were positive about most
aspects of the school’s work.
Almost all thought that:
•
their children enjoyed being at school, found the work
stimulating and challenging, and were treated fairly by
teachers;
•
pupils behaved well, the school was well resourced and
parents were content with the role they were asked to
play in their children’s education; and
•
the school had a good reputation in the community, was
responsive to their concerns and was well led.
Around a quarter thought that the teachers needed to know
their children more as individuals and provide more
information on their progress, strengths and weaknesses.
Ethos
2
The school had a very good ethos. It had a welcoming,
friendly and purposeful atmosphere. The highly committed
staff worked well together and had established very good
relationships with pupils. They readily gave of their time to
help and support pupils. Teachers effectively promoted a
climate of achievement. Pupils responded well to teachers’
high expectations of their behaviour. Those pupils with visual
impairments felt highly valued, very well supported and fully
included in the school.
Pupils had very good opportunities to exercise responsibility
in the school and express their views. The arrangements
included senior pupils supporting younger pupils in several
subjects. The pupils’ councils and other groups made an
effective contribution to the life of the school. Many pupils
participated in a very wide range of extra-curricular activities
and charitable fund-raising. Regular school assemblies
provided good opportunities for religious observance.
Attendance had improved over recent years and now was in
line with national levels. The number of exclusions had
declined in recent years.
School and
community
The school had very good links with the community and
parents. Notable features included:
•
very good communications with parents, including a useful
early warning system where there were concerns about
pupils’ progress;
•
excellent relationships with the School Board and the
parent teacher association;
•
very good links with community agencies and local
businesses which had helped to provide money for the
school’s Millennium projects; and
•
very good partnerships with the careers service and local
authority personnel.
The school had maintained effective links with its associated
primaries but needed to make better use of the assessment
information they provided.
Accommodation
Overall, the quality of accommodation was good. Positive
features included a spacious library, a good hall, a bright
dining area and appropriate accommodation for the Centre.
However, there were too few classrooms overall. Some
classrooms were small, including the learning support room
which did not allow for an appropriate degree of privacy for
3
tutorial work. Storage facilities in some areas were
inadequate. The school and the education authority should
take steps to improve toilet facilities. The school was not well
adapted for disabled access.
Staffing and
resources
The school was generally well staffed. However, provision of
staff for learning support required to be kept under review to
meet pupils’ needs. Ancillary staff made an effective
contribution to the life of the school. The school needed
additional technical support to meet the present and future
needs of information and communications technology (ICT).
Resources were generally good. The Braille Centre provided
high quality resources for pupils and staff. The headteacher,
in consultation with staff, managed the school’s finances very
effectively. The allocation of funds to departments took full
account of needs identified in departmental and school
development plans.
3. How well are pupils performing?
Overall quality of
attainment
The overall quality of attainment was good at all stages. At
S1/S2, there were gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills
because the school had not yet achieved its aim of fully
implementing the 5-14 national guidelines. Tasks often lacked
challenge for higher-attaining pupils and the rate of pupils’
learning was often too slow. However, pupils’ attainment had
improved over the last three years.
Scottish
Qualifications
Authority (SQA)
Awards
The following analysis is based on data from the 1997 to
1999 examinations.
4
•
At Standard Grade, the proportion of pupils achieving
five or more Credit awards had steadily improved and
was now broadly in line with the national average.
•
At Higher Grade, the proportion of S5 pupils gaining
three or more A-C awards was broadly in line with the
national average. The number of A awards per pupil had
been above the national average over the last three years.
Too many pupils did not achieve an award.
•
Most pupils presented for the Certificate of Sixth Year
Studies (CSYS) over the last three years had achieved
A-C awards.
•
Enrolments and successes in National Certificate (NC)
modules had increased over the last three years. In 1999,
the number of modules achieved per S5/S6 pupil was
above the national average.
Information on attainment in the subjects inspected is given
later in the report. Significant features of attainment in
subjects not inspected were as follows.
•
At Standard Grade, pupils achieved consistently better
results in graphic communication than in their other
subjects. Pupils performed relatively less well in science
and social and vocational skills.
•
In home economics at Standard Grade, the proportion of
pupils gaining a Credit award over the last two years was
above the national average.
•
At Higher Grade, A awards in history were consistently
above the national average. Pupils gained poorer Higher
Grade awards in modern studies than in their other
subjects.
•
In secretarial studies at Higher Grade, pupils performed
better than expected on the basis of their Standard Grade
results.
5
Information and
communications
technology
The following were notable features of pupils’ proficiency in
information and communications technology [ICT].
•
Pupils were competent at using general purpose software
on the school’s different computer systems.
•
Pupils were acquiring good skills in accessing careers and
vocational information.
•
Pupils had regular opportunities to consolidate and extend
their ICT skills in business studies, computing and
technical education. They also used computers
successfully in art and design to access information on the
Internet. However, they had few opportunities to use
their skills in most other subjects
•
Pupils with visual impairments were highly accomplished
in, and informed about, the use of a range of technologies
to get round their difficulties.
The planned staff development should enable departments to
make effective use of ICT to enrich pupils’ learning.
4. How well are the inspected departments performing?
English
Attainment
6
The overall quality of attainment was good from S1 to S4. It
was very good in S5/S6. Pupils performed well in their
coursework and there was much very good work at all
stages. Lower-attaining pupils’ writing contained too many
spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. In S1/S2, the
majority of pupils were achieving appropriate national
standards or a higher level. There had been recent significant
improvement. At Standard Grade, Credit awards were at the
national average, but above it for Grade 1. There had been
steady improvement in the proportion of pupils achieving a
General rather than a Foundation award. Achievements at
Higher Grade were well above national averages. Pupils did
better in English than in their other subjects and better than
expected on the basis of Standard Grade performance.
Almost all pupils taking CSYS recently had achieved an A-C
award. The majority of pupils taking NC modules had
achieved full success.
Courses
There was a good S1/S2 course, including some very good
elements. The teaching of listening, reading and writing
required more careful planning. Courses for S3/S4 and S5/6
were very well planned, including new National Qualifications
courses.
Learning and
teaching
The overall quality of learning and teaching was good. There
were several examples of very good teaching. Pupils were
generally very well motivated. Tasks often required
discussion or independent thought, but this was not a
consistent feature for all pupils. Expectations of the nature of
work by pupils in S1/S2 and lower-attaining pupils in S3/S4
were not yet high enough. The teaching of writing was not yet
consistently effective from S1 to S4.
Teachers gave pupils full and helpful feedback and generally
assessed standards of work accurately. They should use a
larger body of coursework to assess levels of attainment in
S1/S2 and develop the assessment of listening.
Management and
quality assurance
The principal teacher led the department very well. He had
taken perceptive and vigorous action to improve the
curriculum and give guidance on learning and teaching. The
assistant principal teacher and the senior teacher gave good
support. There was very good departmental self-evaluation,
leading to clear and significant planning priorities
Priorities for action
The department should continue with its planned
improvements to the S1/S2 courses. It should meet pupils’
learning needs more fully by increasing challenge and
expectations of independent thinking in S1/S2 and for
7
lower-attaining pupils in S3/S4. It should continue to improve
the teaching of writing from S1 to S4.
Mathematics
Attainment
The overall quality of attainment was fair at S1/S2, good at
S3/S4 and very good at S5/S6. At S1/S2, most pupils were
performing well on classwork, but tasks were not always set
at a challenging level. By the end of S2, fewer than half of the
pupils were achieving appropriate national levels. At
Standard Grade and Higher Grade, pupils’ performance in
mathematics was better than in their other subjects. The
percentage of pupils achieving Credit awards was above
national average. At Higher Grade, the percentages of pupils
achieving A awards and A-C awards were well above
national average. At CSYS most pupils achieved an A-C
award.
Courses
Courses were fair at S1/S2, good at S3/S4 and very good at
S5/S6. At S1/S2, the course did not fully ensure continuity
and progression in pupils’ learning.
Learning and
teaching
The quality of teaching was good overall. Teachers gave
clear explanations and used questioning effectively to check
understanding. From S3 to S6 teachers set high standards for
presentation and completion of homework. Arrangements for
assessment were well organised but from S1 to S4
assessment needed to be reviewed and improved. The
review should include assessing pupils’ skills in mental and
written calculations without the use of a calculator.
Management and
quality assurance
The principal teacher managed the department well. He
provided good support to staff and had encouraged effective
teamwork. He had established sound procedures for
monitoring the attainment of S3 to S6.
Priorities for action
The department should develop courses in S1/S2 which allow
pupils to progress through national 5-14 levels. Procedures
for closer monitoring of progress and attainment in S1/S2
8
should be developed. The department should improve
courses at S1/S2 and assessment from S1 to S4.
Modern Languages
Attainment
The overall quality of attainment was good at all stages.
Almost all pupils were making good progress in their
coursework. At Standard Grade, pupils were less successful
in French than in their other subjects. In German their
performance had improved. The percentage of pupils gaining
Credit awards was below national averages in French but
above in German. There were indications that pupils’
performance in French was improving. At Higher Grade,
pupils performed better in French than in their other subjects,
but less well in German. Success rates at CSYS were very
good in French.
Courses
At all stages courses were appropriate and ensured progress
in grammar. They were generally well supplemented by extra
material, though there was scope for more demanding reading
texts at S3 and S4. The provision of German for all pupils
from Easter of S1 did not guarantee continuity of language
study.
Learning and
teaching
The quality of teaching was generally good. Almost all pupils
worked well and co-operated effectively with their teachers.
However, the pace of work in some individual lessons was
too slow and lacked sufficient challenge. The department had
a thorough programme of assessment.
Management and
quality assurance
The principal teacher had established a good ethos and good
teamwork. All teachers had high expectations of pupils. The
assistant principal teacher had established good links with the
associated primary schools. Although the principal teacher
monitored colleagues’ work, he needed to extend his
approaches to evaluating learning and teaching.
Priorities for action
The department should ensure that appropriately demanding
reading texts are available at all stages. The department and
9
the school should reconsider the practice of offering two
languages to all pupils from Easter of S1. Teachers should
review the pace of individual lessons.
Modern Studies
Attainment
The overall quality of attainment was good from S1 to S4 and
fair in S5/S6. Attainment in coursework at all stages was
good, but the needs of higher-attaining pupils were not always
met well. At Standard Grade, pupils’ attainment was higher
than that in their other subjects and was significantly so in
1998. At Higher Grade, a majority of pupils gained an A-C
award. They performed less well in modern studies than their
other subjects.
Courses
The S1/S2 course was fair. Courses from S3 to S6 were
good. Staff had a shared understanding of course content
through clear course plans.
Learning and
teaching
The overall quality of teaching was good. Teachers were well
prepared for lessons and managed classes effectively. They
related well to pupils and used questioning effectively. Good
emphasis was placed on developing enquiry skills. In the best
lessons, pupils were encouraged to take part in discussion,
reflect on issues and justify conclusions. Teachers sometimes
needed to ensure pupils were given more challenging tasks,
particularly higher-attaining pupils. Most pupils were well
motivated and interested in their work. More effective use
should be made of assessment to monitor pupils’ progress
and plan next steps in learning.
Management and
quality assurance
The acting principal teacher also had responsibility for history.
Over a number of years he had made a very significant
contribution to the development of modern studies.
Approaches to self-evaluation and development planning
were not yet sufficiently rigorous. In planning for
improvement, targets and expected outcomes should be more
clearly specified.
10
Priorities for action
Attainment should be improved at Higher Grade and
assessment in S1/S2 should be developed further, taking
national advice into account. Approaches to planning for
improvement should be improved.
Music
Attainment
The overall quality of attainment was good. Pupils coped well
with coursework although tasks were not always closely
matched to their needs, particularly in inventing. Presentations
for National Qualifications in music were high. At Standard
Grade, the proportion of pupils attaining Credit awards was
around the national average. At Higher Grade, pupils
performed less well in music than in their other subjects.
Fewer than half of the pupils presented for NC modules
achieved full success. All pupils presented for CSYS in
recent years had been successful.
Courses
The S1/S2 course was fair. Courses at S3 to S6 were good.
S1 pupils needed to play a wider range of instruments. All
courses placed an appropriate emphasis on developing pupils
understanding of key musical ideas. Pupils required more
opportunities to use these key ideas to improve progression in
their inventing skills.
Learning and
teaching
The overall quality of learning and teaching was good.
Teachers provided some effective direct teaching. In the best
examples, they set high expectations and a suitably brisk pace
of learning to which pupils responded well. Teachers needed
to ensure that tasks always matched
11
pupils’ differing needs and abilities. They also required to
share assessment information more fully with pupils when
discussing progress.
Management and
quality assurance
The principal teacher provided good leadership. She was
strongly committed to improving pupils’ learning experiences
and attainment. Teachers were making very good progress in
implementing development plan priorities. Good quality
assurance procedures included an increasing emphasis on
ensuring consistency in courses, learning and teaching.
Priorities for action
The department should continue to improve courses
particularly at S1/S2. Teachers should set consistently high
standards for pupils’ learning and ensure that tasks closely
match pupils’ needs. They should also improve the use of
assessment information.
5. How good is the curriculum?
Overall, the quality of the curriculum was good.
The school used national advice to ensure a broad curriculum
in S1/S2. There were plans to improve the S1/S2 curriculum,
taking account of recent national advice. The school needed
to reconsider modern languages provision and increase the
time allocated to religious and moral education to meet its
aims.
At S3/S4, almost all pupils studied eight Standard Grade
subjects. The school needed to audit a number of courses to
meet its aim of providing technological and creative and
aesthetic aspects within pupils’ individual programmes.
At S5/S6, the school was making good progress in
implementing courses leading to the new National
Qualifications. Most departments were providing new Higher
courses and almost all offered Intermediate 2 courses or
National Units. There was good progression from S3 to S6.
12
The school offered a range of CSYS courses. The school
should provide a continuing element of religious and moral
education within the personal development programme at
S5/S6.
6. How good is the learning and teaching?
The overall quality of learning and teaching was good. Most
lessons seen were either very good or good. There were no
major weaknesses in any lessons. Further information about
lesson evaluations is given in the appendix.
Most lessons were well planned and teachers gave clear
explanations and instructions. There were some examples of
very effective direct teaching. Homework arrangements
varied in frequency and variety in some departments. The
school gave pupils very good opportunities to attend
supported study and homework clubs. At all stages, pupils
needed increased pace, challenge and encouragement to take
more responsibility for their learning.
Throughout the school, pupils were well motivated and
worked well in classes. There were some examples of very
good approaches to assessment but some departments
needed to give better feedback to pupils to help them
improve their performance. The use of national tests in
mathematics at S1/S2 should be improved.
7. How well are pupils supported?
Care and welfare
The school gave high priority to meeting pupils’ needs for
care and welfare. Staff knew pupils well as individuals and
provided them with very good pastoral care. There
13
were clear policies for ensuring the safety, health and
well-being of pupils. All staff were very well aware of the
agreed procedures for child protection.
Guidance
Positive features of guidance and pastoral care included the
following features:
•
high quality pastoral care;
•
very good opportunities for pupils to discuss personal
concerns with staff;
•
careful attention to the monitoring of pupils’ attendance
and behaviour;
•
very good arrangements for pupils to obtain vocational
guidance and information about colleges and universities;
and
•
well-established procedures for S4 pupils to have work
experience.
The school’s overall provision for guidance was very good.
The structure, organisation and delivery of guidance work
ensured that there were very good opportunities for members
of the guidance team to maintain direct contact with pupils in
their respective houses. The school had made good progress
in developing arrangements for guidance staff to monitor the
progress and attainment of pupils. It had introduced
procedures to encourage pupils to focus on how well they
were progressing and to reflect on future targets for
improvement. The school now should consider how best to
set, share and monitor attainment targets for all pupils across
the school.
The personal and social education (PSE) programme was
good overall. It covered a suitable range of topics and had
relevant features which enhanced pupils’ knowledge,
14
understanding and skills. Guidance staff should continue to
improve the programme taking account of parents’ and
pupils’ views.
Management and
quality assurance
The assistant headteacher with responsibility for guidance
provided very good leadership. She worked very effectively
with her guidance team.
Support for learning Provision for supporting pupils experiencing learning
difficulties was good overall. Learning and behaviour support
staff worked together to provide a very good range of
services for pupils and colleagues.
The system for identifying pupils in need of support was
thorough but too elaborate.
Strong features of support for learning included the following.
•
Staff related well to pupils and used a very good range of
strategies to promote their self-esteem.
•
They kept parents fully informed about their children’s
learning needs and took good steps to involve them in
assisting their progress.
•
All learning and behaviour support staff gave very good
support to colleagues in classrooms and valued assistance
in adjusting programmes and materials to meet pupils’
particular learning needs.
•
The learning support department had made very good
progress in developing approaches to setting learning
targets for individual pupils.
•
Learning support staff involved senior pupils very
effectively in ‘paired reading’ projects and homework
clubs to assist younger pupils to develop their literacy and
learning skills.
15
Some pupils needed more intensive programmes to address
significant difficulties in learning in general and with literacy
skills.
The school had good arrangements for reviewing Records of
Needs and assessing future needs. Senior managers were
putting in place procedures to ensure that education
authorities sent them all relevant documents relating to pupils
with Records of Needs.
Management and
quality assurance
The highly respected principal teacher provided good
leadership. She had established effective teamwork including
visiting services and her staff used a range of appropriate
measures to evaluate their work. However, the range of
support offered should be reviewed.
The Resource
Centre for Visually
Impaired Pupils
The Centre provided very high quality support for pupils with
visual impairment. It had a very positive and supportive ethos
which encouraged pupils’ independence and maturity.
Among the strong features of the provision were:
16
•
the wide range of expertise provided by the Centre’s well
qualified staff and their very good relationships with
mainstream colleagues;
•
pupils who were well taught and confident in using
specialist resources, including sophisticated electronic
equipment, to access the mainstream curriculum;
•
the programmes of induction and personal development
and support for individual pupils;
•
the Centre’s programme to introduce all S1 pupils in the
school to some of the implications of being visually
impaired; and
•
the productive links with parents and other professionals.
The Centre’s approach to specialist assessment was good.
Staff should now build on the very good reports of review
meetings to take forward individualised educational
programmes.
Management and
quality assurance
The head of the Centre was a strong and effective leader who
was highly regarded by staff and pupils. She was ably
supported by two senior teachers who were thorough and
systematic in fulfilling their remits. All staff in the Centre were
informed and united in their commitment to making high
quality provision for their pupils.
The Centre had made very good use of the development
planning process to drive forward new initiatives and maintain
very good practices. Staff worked well together in evaluating
the work of the Centre but they needed to be more
systematic in their approach and make more use of
peformance indicators.
Priorities for action
Guidance staff should continue to develop their role in
monitoring pupils’ progress and attainment. They should
continue take further steps to develop the school’s PSE
programme. Learning support staff and senior managers
should review the range of services offered to staff and pupils
including the support provided for individual pupils with
significant difficulties in literacy. The Centre staff should refine
further pupils’ individualised educational programmes. They
should proceed with plans to be more systematic in evaluating
the Centre’s work.
8. How well is the school managed?
Overall
management and
leadership
The headteacher had provided very strong, skilful leadership
in his three years in post. He had developed very good
teamwork among staff and very strong relationships with
parents and the local community. In consultation with staff
and parents, he had introduced a number of important
initiatives to improve the quality of the work of the school.
17
Under his open, consultative management style he had
developed a culture of improvement, had encouraged
self-evaluation and had introduced a number of strategies for
raising pupils’ achievements.
In addition to the headteacher, the senior management team
comprised the depute and six assistant headteachers. With
the headteacher, they worked very well as a team. The
depute headteacher gave the headteacher excellent support
and the others carried out their individual and collective remits
conscientiously and energetically. As a team, they had made
important contributions in leading policy developments. Most
principal teachers led their departments well and, together
with the senior teachers, made very good contributions to the
work of the school.
The school had appropriate aims which provided a very good
basis for planning improvement and evaluating progress. It
had an extensive range of policies covering almost all aspects
of its work. The school was reviewing its learning and
teaching policy. It should include advice on the contributions
of ICT to learning and teaching, and on raising pupils’
attainment.
Staff development
and review
Many staff had taken part in appropriate staff development
closely related to national and school priorities. The assistant
headteacher co-ordinated effectively the arrangements for
addressing staff development needs. The school was in the
process of implementing the education authority’s scheme for
staff reviews. Sixty-five per cent of staff had volunteered to
take part in a professional review and many felt that it was a
good experience. However, progress in completing reviews
of all staff was too slow.
School
development
planning
The quality of development planning was very good overall.
The school plan had realistic priorities but needed to identify
timescales more precisely. Priorities for improvement had
been identified by a careful audit of the work of the school
and agreed with staff and parents. Departmental plans related
18
well to the school plan but some required to state objectives
more clearly, indicate more definite deadlines for the
completion of tasks and define more rigorously how success
would be measured.
Approaches to
improving quality
Arrangements for quality assurance were good. The
headteacher held effective annual reviews of the departments.
The depute headteacher systematically reviewed progress in
meeting objectives and members of the senior management
team, through their links with departments, supported
improvements and reviewed SQA results. The senior
management team were now planning to monitor learning and
teaching rigorously and systematically.
9. How well does the school perform overall?
Overall, the school provided pupils with a well rounded and
high quality education. Attainment at all stages was good.
The senior management team and staff demonstrated a clear
commitment to improve further the effectiveness of the
curriculum, learning and teaching and quality assurance.
Key strengths
•
The very strong ethos, with very good relationships
between teachers and pupils and strong teamwork
throughout the whole staff.
•
The strong performance in Standard Grade and Higher
Grade examinations in some subjects.
•
The partnership with parents and the School Board.
•
The very high quality of pastoral care.
•
The learning support department’s involvement of senior
pupils to assist in improving younger pupils’ literacy skills
and learning.
•
The provision for pupils with visual impairments.
19
•
Main points for
action
20
The leadership of the headteacher and the effectiveness of
the senior management team.
In addition to addressing the priorities for action identified in
this report, the school and education authority should act on
the following recommendations.
•
The school and the education authority should take
appropriate steps to improve some of the toilets.
•
The school should continue to develop further its
strategies for raising attainment, especially at S1/S2. In
particular, it should increase the pace of learning and set
pupils more challenging tasks.
•
The school should improve aspects of the curriculum as
indicated in this report.
•
The headteacher and senior management team should
develop a more coherent system for monitoring pupils’
progress and attainment.
•
The school should continue to develop its strategies for
ensuring quality including the systematic monitoring of
learning and teaching.
HM Inspectors will return between one and two years after
the publication of this report to assess progress in meeting
these recommendations. The school and education authority
have been asked to prepare an action plan indicating how
they will address the main points for action in the report and
to share that plan with parents.
J Brown
HM Inspector of Schools
on behalf of HM Chief Inspector of Schools
Western Division
6 March 2001
See Performance Indicator data overleaf.
21
Appendix
Indicators of quality
We judged the following to be very good
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The school’s ethos
Communication with parents
Partnership with parents and the School Board
Organisation and use of resources and space
The school’s management of devolved finances
Quality of pastoral care
Quality of curricular and vocational guidance
Effectiveness of leadership of the school
Effectiveness of promoted staff and senior teachers
The school’s approach to evaluating its own work
The school development plan
Implementing the school development plan
We judged the following to be good
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Provision of accommodation and facilities
Provision of staff
Provision of materials and equipment
The structure of the curriculum
Effectiveness of the learning support
Implementation of Special Educational Needs legislation
Guidance role in monitoring pupils’ progress and attainment
We judged the following to be fair
• The school’s arrangements for staff development and review
We judged the following to be unsatisfactory
• No aspects were found to be in this category
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Quality of the lessons observed
HMI also evaluated the quality of the lessons observed. The
overall quality of lessons was very good in 46 % of cases,
good in 42%, and fair in 12%. There were no unsatisfactory
lessons.
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How can you contact us?
Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher and
school staff, the Director of Education, local councillors and
appropriate Members of the Scottish Parliament. Subject to
availability, further copies may be obtained free of charge
from the office at the address below or by telephoning 0141
242 0100. Copies are also available on our web site:
www.scotland.gov.uk/hmis
Should you wish to comment on or make a complaint about
any aspect of the inspection or about this report, you should
write in the first instance to Frank Crawford, HMCI whose
address is given below. If you are unhappy with the
response, you will be told in writing what further steps you
may take.
HM Inspectors of Schools
Europa Building
450 Argyle Street
GLASGOW
G2 8LG
Crown Copyright 2001
Scottish Executive
This report may be reproduced in whole or in part, except for
commercial purposes or in connection with a prospectus or
advertisement, provided that the source and date thereof are
stated.
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