Shawhead primary HMI follow up report

April 2005

HM Inspectors of Education (HMIE) published a report on standards and quality in Shawhead Primary School in March 2002. In June 2002 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.

North Lanarkshire officers assessed the extent to which the school was continuing to improve the quality of its work, and evaluated the progress made in responding to the main points for action in the original report.

A new head teacher had been appointed in March 2003. The staff had worked effectively to address issues raised in the inspection report. The head teacher had supported staff, taking forward the recommendations contained in the report. The radical change to the accommodation and the stronger emphasis on attainment, programmes of study and monitoring had a beneficial effect on teaching and learning in the school. Parents were encouraged to take a more participative role in their children's learning. There had been improvement in pupils' national test results, which had been assisted by more effective planning. Improvements in the development plan and, teachers' planning and assessment and a more rigorous approach to monitoring had contributed to raising pupils' attainment. The school needs to develop its approaches further, to identify pupils capable of achieving higher standards and to provide a greater challenge through increasing the pace of learning.

The initial inspection report published in March 2002 identified six points for action. This section evaluates the progress made with each of these action points and the resulting improvements for pupils and other stakeholders.

3.1  The education authority and the school should work together to resolve the accommodation difficulties.

The school had met this recommendation

• The accommodation had been improved. A number of specific issues had been addressed and resources purchased to enhance the accommodation. Space for teaching and learning had been increased. An area had been converted into a multi-purpose room, for use as a library and for drama and music. A community room had been established to serve as both a medical room and meeting room. The administration area had been improved, with better use of space, to provide staff and pupils with enhanced services.

3.2  The school should improve programmes of study in English language and mathematics, and pupils' attainment in these aspects beyond the early stages, as indicated in the report.

The school has made very good progress towards meeting this main point for action.

• Pupils' attainment in English language and mathematics had improved. The school had improved programmes in English language. A strategic whole school approach had resulted in an improvement in pupils' attainment in reading. The school library and class library stock had been reviewed. The school library had been relocated and additional books purchased. Personal reading was now a daily feature of pupils' experience and new books had been purchased for pupils to read at home. The school had a clear and helpful statement on reading, and had developed a balanced programme that covered all aspects of English language. Additional materials for mathematics had been purchased and introduced at all stages. The head teacher worked with the area network support staff to identify higher attaining pupils and to raise the pace of their learning. In mathematics, higher attaining pupils used information and communication technology (ICT) materials and additional extension tasks to address their needs. The mathematics programme had focussed on 5-14 targets and learning outcomes and included planned assessment opportunities and evaluations. Information handling using ICT had been introduced and the head teacher had monitored the teaching and learning approaches used for this aspect. Additional materials had begun to improve the balance of the mathematics programme. The mathematics co-ordinator supported the implementation of the problem solving by working with each class. As a result of these actions, pupils' performance in mathematics had improved. The head teacher had monitored the implementation of the programme through observing learning and teaching.

3.3  Teachers should identify more carefully those pupils capable of achieving higher standards, and provide for them work of greater challenge and pace.

The school had made fair progress towards meeting this main point for action.

• National test results were closely monitored and staff received guidance on the identification of higher achievers from a North Lanarkshire network support manager. Pupils were engaged in extension work to meet their needs. Pupils had been encouraged to take more responsibility for learning through a series of activities. Expectations had been raised with more challenging targets set for pupils. This had been monitored and evaluated by the head teacher when discussing staff forward plans with them. Science investigations, enterprise activities and "reading buddies" involving P7 with P1 pupils had helped foster a positive climate of achievement. Increased use of computers embedded the use of ICT across the curriculum.
  
• An officer from North Lanarkshire education department will return in June to monitor further the school's development of its support for learning position statement, and the improvements resulting from the use of materials currently being piloted in the school.

3.4  Teachers should improve planning and assessment.

The school has made good progress towards meeting this main point for action.

New plans for teaching in mathematics included reference to strengths in pupils' performance and next steps in their learning. Balanced time allocations had been agreed for each area of the curriculum and important classroom management and organisational information, including homework plans, was included in all forward plans. These had contributed to improvements in pupils' experience and allowed senior staff to monitor the quality of programmes more effectively. Staff had formally agreed a common approach to forward planning and to assessment. Planning, assessment and evaluation issues were discussed at meetings between class teachers and promoted staff. There had been staff development on formative assessment and different approaches were being piloted. Each pupil had an individual assessment folder which included evidence and assessments in science, mathematics and English language. These were maintained by classroom assistants. Assessment profiles were used effectively for reporting to parents and to provide staff with information about pupils' progress and development needs. Forward plan review meetings included predictions of pupils' achievements in national tests. Tracking by the headteacher helped keep parents well informed about pupils' attainment. ICT software had been piloted in P7 to support the creation of personal learning planning (PLP's).

3.5  The school should review its development plan to take account of the findings of this inspection.

The school has made good progress towards meeting this main point for action.

• The development plan had been re-aligned to meet the recommendations of the HMIE report. The revised format included, success criteria, monitoring strategies, timescales and progress checks, resource allocation and personnel involved, with the recommendations from the report broken down into targets and steps. It provided staff with a clearer framework for improvement. Progress checks ensured that timescales were met and that there was a focus on pupils' attainment.

3.6  The head teacher should develop more rigorous and systematic approaches to monitoring and evaluating planning, learning and teaching and pupils' progress.

The school has made good progress towards meeting this main point for action.

• Staff had agreed a calendar which identified key monitoring activities. Planning and pupils' progress was monitored on a termly basis using national quality indicators to benchmark good practice. Monitoring of the quality of learning and teaching had been embedded in the school's evaluation systems. Class teachers' evaluative statements formed the basis of the current report on standards and quality in the school. Monitoring linked to the position statement had already taken place in almost all classes, which were also scheduled to be revisited later in the term. The school should continue its plans to develop the evaluation of learning and teaching through the process of professional review and development of staff.

With effective support from North Lanarkshire Council's Quality Development Service the school had made significant improvements in addressing the recommendations of the report. Pupils' expectations, attainment and achievement had been raised. Staff had been involved in supporting the head teacher in undertaking the recommendations of the report. However two aspects of the report relating to the provision of additional support for pupils capable of achieving higher standards were at present incomplete. An officer from North Lanarkshire education department will return in June to monitor developments in these aspects.

Michael O'Neill, Director of Education

Cllr Charles Gray, Convenor of Education

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