Press Release
"Rich and engaging learning environment" at Foula School
Foula Primary School and its Nursery Class have today (Tuesday) received a positive report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIe). The inspection particularly highlighted the following as areas that are considered to be “key strengths”:
- Relationships and partnerships amongst staff and children are very positive indeed.
- Learning and teaching in the nursery class is of high quality.
- The school’s arrangements for profiling children’s learning and progress are strong.
- The head teacher and her staff are determined to find new and better ways of improving learning and achievement.
During his visit the inspector spoke to a parent form each family and to all children attending the school. He worked closely with all staff, including Foula’s new head teacher, Jeanette Cowie, who took up the post at the beginning of this term.
In the nursery class, the inspector found that “good skills in early literacy and numeracy are being developed through stimulating activities within a rich and engaging learning environment.”
Children in the primary class also benefit from a range of learning activities and “well-planned visits to work alongside peers in other schools”. The report states that: “their knowledge about aspects of life on Foula, including the development of the wind farm, is coming on very well”.
Chair of the Council’s Education and Families Committee, Betty Fullerton welcomed the inspection report. She said: “Today’s report praises the continuing hard work of all the staff at Foula School. It particularly commends the nursery class, which received “very good” scores across the board.
“I am pleased to see the inspectors looking at how well the school uses information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool for learning. Mastering the use of technology from an early age is crucial. It is a skill that all our children must develop if they are to be successful in the future.”
The inspector agreed, in discussion with staff at Foula Primary, ways in which they might continue to improve the school and nursery class. These were:
- Strengthen children’s skills in literacy numeracy and health and wellbeing through regular, planned application across all areas of the curriculum, both in and out of class.
- Review learning and teaching approaches to increase the amount of time spent on individual, sustained and challenging learning, including through the use of ICT.
- Involve children in planning their own learning, taking greater account of their interests and needs to increase their responsibility and independence.
The report concludes that the inspector is “satisfied with the overall quality of provision” and is “confident that the school’s self-evaluation processes are leading to improvements”. The inspector will make no further visits in connection with this inspection.
The full HMIe report is available here:
http://www.hmie.gov.uk/ViewEstablishment.aspx?id=8725&type=2