14 January 2014
Dear Parent/Carer
Udny Green School
Aberdeenshire Council
Recently, as you may know, my colleague 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 shared with us the
school’s successes and priorities for improvement. We looked at some particular
aspects of the school’s recent work, including how writing skills are taught and how the
school is developing learning through children working in groups. 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?
Children learn and achieve very well in your school. They are happy, settled,
respectful and well-behaved. Learning is engaging and appropriately challenging and
so children are motivated learners. They work well individually, in pairs and in groups.
They are responding positively to the increased opportunities to work in groups and to
take on specific roles when they do so. For example, children worked together to
design and test a protective egg carrier using real eggs, testing them for effectiveness
by dropping them from increasing heights. Through learning folders and ‘Weekly
Windup’ jotters, children record what they do well and what they need to improve.
They discuss and plan their next steps with their teachers. Parents are well involved in
this process. All children are part of a school improvement group. These groups have
helped make important changes to the school such as developing a sensory garden
using an award from a national funding body. Children work in their House groups.
For example, they tidied up and developed their school grounds and garden.
Information and communications technology (ICT) is used well to practise and
consolidate learning. The children would benefit from opportunities to use ICT more
creatively, for example, to make animations or movies.
Children’s achievements are well noted and celebrated through assemblies and
prominent displays around the school. The children contribute impressively to their
local community, forming productive partnerships with, for example, other schools,
their local church and the local Rotary Club. They bake for and staff a monthly
community café, hosted in their building, which welcomes local people of all ages.
Children’s literacy and numeracy skills are developing well. Across the school,
children talk confidently and are relaxed when they do so with adults. They could
listen more closely to instructions at times. The school has made good progress in
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Transforming lives through learning
making reading more interesting and challenging for older readers and should
continue to develop such approaches for younger readers too. The school has
successfully reviewed how it teaches writing skills. Children, as a result, write well and
are comfortable in writing for a variety of purposes and for different audiences. They
are also becoming skilled in knowing what to do to improve a piece of writing when
they read it over and edit. Children’s mathematical skills are developing well because
they enjoy learning using real-life examples and linking their learning to other
curriculum areas. For example, some children used real menus to work out an order
for takeaway food and their change. Children understand what makes a healthy
lifestyle. They grow their own vegetables and often cook with them or bundle them up
to sell. They enjoy two hours of good quality physical education each week.
How well does the school support children to develop and learn?
The school supports children very well. Relationships between the school and families
are strong and positive. This helps parents support their children’s learning with
confidence and understanding. Open evenings and newsletters help further build such
confidence. Support staff and external partners work very well together to help
individual children and groups who need more targeted support with their learning.
Children enjoy a broad and balanced programme through teachers’ planning
confidently using Curriculum for Excellence. Teachers are now developing how they
monitor children’s progress in all curriculum areas to match the good work they have
undertaken with literacy and numeracy. They often plan learning in groups which
allows children to take further responsibility for their learning and for that of their peers.
Visiting teachers for music, art and French enhance all children’s learning. Visits out
of school, including a residential experience for older children, and visitors into school,
provide children with a wide variety of ways in which to learn. The school has very
supportive arrangements to welcome children and their families into P1. It also works
closely with Meldrum Academy to ensure children move on to secondary smoothly and
successfully.
How well does the school improve the quality of its work?
Staff reflect thoughtfully on what the school does well and what could be improved.
Children and parents are also involved. Parents contribute very well to the life of the
school and in raising funds for new projects and resources. They could be
encouraged to be even more involved by helping to support further improvements in
learning and teaching. The headteacher has shared her vision well with the whole
school community. There is a strong sense of togetherness and teamwork. Staff work
well together and support each other well with the demands that working in a small
school makes on them. They use the opportunities within the Meldrum schools’ group
to work with colleagues very well for their own professional development and in taking
forward school priorities. The school is central to its community and takes this
responsibility very seriously, making many effective contributions in a number of ways.
This inspection found the following key strengths.



Motivated and well-behaved children.
The role the school plays in its community.
The relationships made with parents to support children’s learning.
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
The leadership of the headteacher and the teamwork shown by staff in taking
forward improvement.
We discussed with staff and Aberdeenshire Council how they might continue to
improve the school. This is what we agreed with them.


Continue to develop the tracking of individual children’s progress.
Continue to develop the role of parents in taking forward school improvement.
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, Aberdeenshire Council will inform
parents about the school’s progress.
Alasdair Eadie
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/Udn
yGreenSchoolAberdeenshire.asp
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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