19 June 2012
Dear Parent/Carer
Carleith Primary School
West Dunbartonshire Council
Recently, as you may know, my colleagues and I visited and inspected your child’s
school. During our visit, we talked to parents and children and we 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 well
children are making connections in their learning and being prepared for their
futures. We also looked at the effectiveness of the ways children are involved in
improving the school. As a result, we were able to find out how good the school is at
improving children's education. This letter provides details of what we found out
during the inspection.
How well do children learn and achieve?
Children at Carleith Primary are highly motivated and enthusiastic learners who
benefit from a very positive and caring environment. They talk about their school as
having a “family feel” in which they are respected and valued. Children recognise
the importance of a healthy lifestyle and enjoy taking part in lunchtime and after
school clubs. They work in groups, including with peers from other stages, to
discuss and share ideas in learning. At all stages, children have a responsibility on a
committee of their choice. In these situations, children support each other very well
and are developing effective skills that they will use in the future. Notable examples
include planning, working with others and, increasingly, independence in making
decisions. Staff are beginning to talk more regularly to children about how well they
are learning and achieving. As a result, children are becoming more aware of what
they do well and how they can improve. At all stages, children are ready to be even
more independent in their learning.
Children are achieving well in English language and mathematics. In other subjects,
the school is developing new ways of assessing to take account of Curriculum for
Excellence and to enable a clearer picture of children’s progress to be captured.
Children are demonstrating confidence in talking through group work and by having
opportunities to make presentations. This includes presenting information on
learning to you as parents at curriculum evenings. Almost all children read
confidently appropriate to their age. By the upper stages, children explain well the
techniques that authors use. Overall, children write articulately for a range of
Education Scotland
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Transforming lives through learning
purposes but now need to produce more extended pieces. Across the primary, most
children are making secure progress as they move from stage to stage in
mathematics. The younger children are developing strong skills in problem solving.
By the upper stages, most children are confident in working with decimals and
fractions.
How well does the school support children to develop and learn?
There are many major strengths in the way that staff across the school support
children to develop and learn. Staff show very high quality care and support to
children in the school. Relationships between children and staff are very strong and
reinforce important values. Children who need extra help with their learning are
making very good progress. Learning assistants support individuals and groups very
well. On occasions, children could be set activities which challenge them better in
their learning. Staff are successfully using Curriculum for Excellence to develop
innovative ways to support learners. Interesting projects help children to make
connections between different areas of their learning, and provide opportunities for
them to develop and apply their literacy and numeracy skills. Teachers need to
continue to use the experiences and outcomes to ensure full coverage of a broad
range of subjects. This, in turn, would enable children to develop their skills,
knowledge and understanding in a more progressive way as they move through the
school. An educational authority award has recognised that a range of partners
contribute to children’s learning in real-life situations. This includes focus weeks on
careers and money. Visits, such as to Strathleven House, help children to explore
the heritage and culture of Scotland.
How well does the school improve the quality of its work?
We are confident that the school is well placed to continue to improve the quality of
its work. The headteacher has been very successful in building the staff as a team
who are very committed to improving outcomes for children. Together staff reflect
and effectively lead projects. They discuss and share practice with colleagues in
other schools, including for sharing standards in assessment. Some staff have taken
on leadership roles in developing national assessment materials. Support and
janitorial staff also enrich children’s experiences. Children lead improvements in the
school through committees. Their efforts have resulted in the school gaining
fairtrade status and a green flag as part of the Eco-Schools Scotland award scheme.
As parents, you are consulted and many of you provide valuable support with
fundraising events. There is now scope for children, parents and partners to have a
more central role in reviewing key aspects of the school. The headteacher gives
teachers detailed feedback on their work using a range of approaches for
self-evaluation. This feedback now needs to be more evaluative to build on the
school’s many strengths and to secure continuous improvement.
This inspection of your school found the following key strengths.
•
•
Confident, highly motivated children who are supportive of each other.
Staff’s enthusiasm and collegiate approaches to developing high-quality and
enjoyable learning experiences.
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•
The headteacher’s leadership in developing the school’s very positive, caring and
inclusive ethos.
We discussed with staff and the education authority how they might continue to
improve the school. This is what we agreed with them.
•
•
Continue to plan and develop the curriculum to ensure progression in children’s
skills and knowledge.
Continue to develop the school’s approaches to evaluating its own work to
ensure continuous 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. The local authority will
inform parents about the school’s progress as part of the authority's arrangements
for reporting to parents on the quality of its schools.
Joan Esson
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/Ca
rleithPrimarySchoolWestDunbartonshire.asp
Please contact us if you want to know how to get the report in a different format, for
example, in a translation. You can contact us
at enquiries@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to us at BMCT, Education
Scotland, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way,
Livingston EH54 6GA.
If you want to give us feedback or make a complaint about our work, please contact
01506 600200, or write to us at the above address or e-mail:
feedback@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk.
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