Education Scotland has today published the latest inspection report for Happyhansel Primary School and Early Learning & Childcare (ELC), with a combination of ‘satisfactory’ and ‘good’ evaluations
A team of inspectors visited the school in May this year, and spoke to parents and carers, children and staff. The inspection has identified some strengths as well as areas for improvement.
The inspection team found the following strengths in the school’s work:
- The positive, nurturing relationships between children and staff across the school and nursery. These relationships support the health and wellbeing needs of all children.
- Children are friendly, polite and proud of their school, nursery and community. They are gaining a range of skills and attributes through their involvement in activities, events and clubs within the school and the local community.
- The headteacher and all staff work effectively to build links with the Parent Council, partners and the wider parent body. These partnerships are highly supportive and play an active role in supporting the work of the school and nursery.
The following areas for improvement were identified:
- Improve approaches to tracking and measuring children’s attainment and progress. The headteacher and teachers should agree on the robust assessment evidence they will gather to help them judge children’s levels of attainment more accurately.
- All staff should continue to develop a shared understanding of high-quality learning, teaching and assessment. Teachers should ensure that they plan progressive learning experiences in consistent ways to provide all children with the right level of support and challenge.
- The headteacher and teachers should ensure that learning targets for children who require additional support are more specific and measurable. This will help them to identify the interventions which make the biggest difference for children.
- The headteacher should ensure that approaches to quality assurance in the school and nursery are robust. This will support the headteacher and all staff to better identify the school’s strengths and areas for development.
Overall, the school and ELC was graded ‘Satisfactory’ for Leadership of change, Learning, teaching and assessment; and Raising attainment and achievement. The school and ELC was graded ‘Good’ for Ensuring wellbeing, equity and inclusion.
Inspectors have expressed confidence that the school has the capacity to continue to improve and no further inspection visits are planned.
Davie Sandison, Chair of the Council’s Education and Families Committee said: “I want to thank school staff for their hard work and commitment to the children and families at Happyhansel Primary School. I have confidence that the staff, led by the headteacher, will prioritise the areas for improvement to ensure the best outcomes for the children.”
The inspection report for Happyhansel Primary School is available on the Education Scotland website