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1. The Inspection
HM Inspectors of Education (HMIE) published a report on standards and quality in Berryhill primary school in August 2004. In November 2004 North Lanarkshire Council, in collaboration with the school, prepared and published an action plan indicating how they would address the main points for action in the HMIE report within a two-year period.
In March 2006 North Lanarkshire Council Quality Improvement Officers assessed the extent to which the school was continuing to improve the quality of its work, and evaluated progress made in responding to the main points for action in the original report.
2. Continuous Improvement
The headteacher and staff had worked effectively to take forward the recommendations contained in the report. The school had raised attainment by introducing improvements to programmes. Pupils had access to an enhanced range of information and communications technology (ICT) resources and their experience of ICT had been improved. Pupils had responded well to being presented with an increased level of challenge. The monitoring which promoted staff had undertaken had led to improvements in learning and teaching and in pupils' progress at all stages. Communication strategies within the school had been reviewed and all teachers were now actively involved in decision making. Parents were fully involved at all stages in implementing new developments and were fully committed to the improvements in the school.
The school was now well placed to sustain and build on its achievements.
3. Progress towards the main points for action
The initial inspection report published in August 2004 identified five points for action. This section evaluates the progress made with each of these action points and the resulting improvements for pupils and other stakeholders.
The school and education authority should take action to improve the quality of learning and teaching and attainment. In doing so they should take account of the need to;
3.1 continue to improve pupils' attainment;
The school had made very good progress toward meeting this point for action.
There had been significant improvement in all aspects of attainment. Staff had made effective use of guidelines on target setting and had set challenging targets for pupils. Pupils were now performing in the top 50% of similar schools across the country and some were achieving national levels of attainment at an earlier stage. Effective communication had ensured that teachers were maintaining improvement and that pupils were being sufficiently challenged. A review of national assessment procedures had led to children being tested at appropriate times throughout the year. Targets were monitored by the senior management team. Pupils were being tracked from their performance in P1 and the information was being used to inform parents of progress. Staff training from within the school and from North Lanarkshire Council's Literacy Base had enabled teachers to alter programmes to enable children to meet the requirements of the new National Assessment Bank. The introduction of new curricular materials had led to improvement in programmes and pupil attainment. There was now a shared expectation of standards of attainment across the school and pupils were aware of their achievements. Teachers had compiled examples of good practice and used these to ensure consistency in writing assessments. Where appropriate, other agencies such as area learning support staff had contributed to improvement in attainment. Staff had been trained in co-operative learning, and were using their skills to develop collaborative learning and improve standards. There were plans in place to ensure that attainment continues to improve.
3.2 the school should develop pupils' skills in ICT;
The school had made good progress towards meeting this point for action.
Staff had undertaken a significant level of personal development, to improve their own ICT skills and to enable them to deliver an effective programme using published resources. The school had invested in new computer hardware and software packages. Pupils were now using equipment such as digital cameras to enhance course work. Timetable if ICT equipment and resources ensured systematic and planned use. A dedicated ICT room had been developed and will have a long term positive impact on the school's capacity to enhance children's experience. A school based working group had developed a whole school ICT policy, and a teachers' planner which was being used to plan continuity and progression across all stages. The school should now take steps to embed the use of ICT in tasks relating to all curricular areas.
3.3 teachers should ensure that tasks and activities are sufficiently challenging to meet the needs of all pupils;
The school had made very good progress towards meeting this point for action.
The school had introduced new course materials in English language and mathematics designed to provide more challenging tasks and activities for all pupils. Further improvements in learning and teaching through the development of co-operative learning had helped to engage pupils more fully in their own learning. Teachers taught effectively, providing appropriate tasks and setting high expectations, particularly across English language and mathematics. A whole school approach to enterprise in education was having a positive impact on achievement. Teachers were tracking pupils' attainment and adjusting targets as appropriate, to ensure that the needs of all pupils were being met. Through written and oral comments, teachers were continually challenging pupils to improve. Senior managers were challenging staff through comments in forward plans and responses to submissions from working groups. Teachers were providing challenge for each other through peer assessment of forward plans and by sharing good practice. The development of thinking skills such as mind-mapping was having a positive impact on the school's challenge to pupils.
3.4 the school should continue to develop the school's approaches to promoting positive behaviour;
The school had made very good progress towards meeting this point for action.
Through a series of initiatives supported by appropriate staff training, the school had developed a range of strategies to further develop the school's approach to positive behaviour. A new playground policy, involving non-teaching staff as well as parents, had been particularly successful in reducing the number of disputes and instances of conflict between pupils. Children valued the fair and just approach, resulting in teachers spending less time dealing with playground issues and more time on learning and teaching. Some pupils had undertaken training in "peer mediation" and there were plans to train others, contributing to the development of good citizenship skills. The success of the positive pupil behaviour strategy was evident within classrooms and has had a positive impact on the work of pupils. There were plans to extend the training for pupils' better behaviour strategies to all members of staff. Innovative approaches to positive behaviour have further enhanced the good relationships that existed between staff and pupils. These approaches have enabled children with challenging behaviour to engage fully with their learning and to participate in the wider aspects of school life. A number of strategies had been put in place to engage parents and to further strengthen the home-school partnership.
3.5 the headteacher should work with staff to review the school's communication procedures and ensure that staff feel actively involved in the decision making process;
The school had met this recommendation.
The headteacher and staff had reviewed communication procedures across the school. Effective strategies had been put in place to ensure that all members of staff were actively involved in the decision making process. All teachers were involved in working groups which had been set up to take forward aspects of development work. Strategies for consultation ensured that existing practice was reviewed, developments identified and progress monitored and reported. Communication with staff on a daily and weekly basis had been improved. Weekly bulletins and daily diaries kept staff informed of school issues and events. There were opportunities for staff to engage with each other and with the senior management team both formally and informally. There was consistency of approach in informing parents of matters relating to their children and there were opportunities for parents to feedback on their children's progress. Parents were informed of school events and activities through school and class newsletters. Open evenings and whole school events were well supported by parents who turned out in large numbers. There was a range of out of hours learning opportunities for pupils and these were well supported by children.
4. Conclusion
With effective support from North Lanarkshire Council, staff had responded very well to the recommendations of HMIE and had improved planning, assessment and evaluation in all areas of the curriculum. They had succeeded in improving learning and teaching and in raising pupils' attainment. All staff had been fully involved in the development of the action plan and had supported the headteacher in undertaking the recommendations within the agreed timescale. The school was well placed to continue the improvements achieved to date. North Lanarkshire Council will not publish further reports in relation to the 2004 HMIE report.
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