Whalsay School Inspection Report

The overall evaluations were as follows:

Quality indicators for the Primary and Secondary Department

• Leadership of Change - Good
• Learning, teaching and assessment - Good
• Raising attainment and achievement - Good
• Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion - Good

Quality indicators for the Nursery Department

• Leadership of Change - Weak
• Learning, teaching and assessment - Weak
• Securing children’s progress - Satisfactory
• Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion - Good

The inspection team found the following strengths in the school’s work:

• Senior leaders’ positive influence as role models, exemplifying good practice and improving the curriculum in the primary and secondary departments.
• Children and young people who are keen to learn, courteous and well behaved, and who demonstrate a strong sense of pride and identity in their school and community.
• Features of high-quality learning and teaching, such as the well-differentiated learning activities at the primary stages, which ensure children make good progress. There is effective support for children and young people.
• The close collaboration with wider partners and the island community, enhancing young people’s experiences and outcomes. Positive examples include the community’s work with the school to maintain the island’s culture, traditions and heritage in, for example, music and craft.

The following areas for improvement were identified:

• Continue to refine the clarity of the vision, values and aims as the foundations of the school’s work. Senior leaders and staff should increasingly work across the different stages of the school.
• Increase the pace of improvements to the curriculum and consistency in high-quality learning and teaching.
• Improve the use of self-evaluation across the school, particularly in the nursery department, as a basis for improvement planning, ensuring that priorities are identified which enhance outcomes for all children and young people.
• In the nursery, develop approaches to planning, observing and assessing children’s learning. Senior leaders should work with practitioners to ensure children make the best progress of which they are capable, and which will enable them to lead and talk about their own learning.

Councillor George Smith, Chair of the Council’s Education and Families Committee:

“Overall this is a good inspection report for Whalsay School. It highlights the positive ethos, effective support for pupils, good links with partners and the island community as well as the qualities of the pupils themselves.

"The report identifies areas for improvement, including in Early Years practice and the school is well-placed to address these, with the Nursery extension also nearing completion and recruitment moving forward to support the expansion of hours. I want to thank school staff for their hard work and I am sure they will continue to improve the quality of the teaching and learning they are providing.”

The full reports for Whalsay School are available on Education Scotland’s website