Abercromby Primary School Follow Through Report
May 2006
This leaflet informs parents of the progress made by the school since the inspection report of June 2004.
Introduction
This follow through report describes the progress made by the school since the report of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) in June 2004. The report has been prepared by the Quality Improvement Officer responsible for the support and challenge of the school. Visits were made to classrooms to talk to a sample of pupils and time was also spent discussing the school's progress with the headteacher and members of staff. The headteacher, staff and pupils were asked for their views on the impact of the actions that had been taken to improve the school since the visit of HM Inspectors of Education. It is clear that all staff have worked hard to ensure that the only point for action contained in the original report was taken forward positively.
The HMIE Report
HM Inspectors of Education (HMIE) had given a very positive report in 2004. Amongst the key strengths of the school identified in the report were:
- 'Highly effective teaching and learning'
- 'Rising attainment in mathematics and English language'
- 'The leadership of the headteacher and the management team'
- 'The professionalism, commitment and skill of staff'
Because of these strengths the HMIE decided that the school had the capacity to keep improving and did not need a further inspection visit. The report contained only one main point for action. The school has made very good progress in addressing this. Staff have worked very effectively as a team to take forward developments which have resulted in very positive outcomes for pupils' learning. Because of the very good progress made, the authority will make no further visits in connection with the HMIE report of June 2004.
One Point for Action
The HMIE report stated that "the school should continue to provide high quality and improving education. In doing so, they should take account of the need to extend pupils' opportunities to be more independent and creative in their learning".
The school has made very good progress towards meeting the one point for action whilst maintaining the key strengths described in the HMIE report.
The school has introduced and developed new approaches to teaching which have strengthened pupils' experiences and ability to work with one another. All staff have been trained in the teaching techniques and use them frequently with their classes. The learning and teaching policy has been reviewed and revised to ensure consistency with new practice. As a result of using the techniques to further their own learning, staff have become confident and enthusiastic when teaching them. Staff have had the opportunity to be fully involved in the developments and have contributed to the identification of the next steps. All staff were involved in a school self-evaluation of the progress made.
Pupils have had frequent opportunities to work in groups, independently of their teacher. During such work, they are fully engaged and active and have developed teamwork skills to allow them to work collaboratively. They have developed an awareness and understanding of the roles required within a team to ensure that it operates effectively.
Senior pupils described clearly and enthusiastically their success in a recent project which they completed independently of their teacher. They were aware of the need to depend on and trust others in order to complete the project. They discussed their respect for the roles that each of them took in leading a school assembly. They were able to describe how they found creative solutions to provide special effects in their presentation and self evaluated their performance against shared success criteria. In this way, they evaluated the effectiveness of their contributions. Pupils' skills in listening and talking have improved and they considered themselves to have become more successful learners as a result of working in this way. Pupils in P7 were able to evaluate the impact of the new techniques on their own learning.
At the early stages, pupils had begun to learn about and value the roles that are required to cooperate with others to achieve the learning outcomes set for them. The wider variety of learning experiences had led to increased pleasure in their learning. Pupils at the early stages worked with purpose and obvious enjoyment. They were provided with further opportunities within play to develop their creativity and talked with enthusiasm about the opportunities to learn in this way. They had learned to share their ideas and to evaluate their own work.
Attainment levels in mathematics and English language rose again in 2005. Attainment trends over the last 5 years show an overall improvement of 8% in reading (75% - 83%), 20% in writing (58% - 78%) and 11% in maths (76% - 87%).
The school aims had been reviewed using Cooperative Learning techniques to seek the views of staff, pupils and parents.
The new national initiative ' A Curriculum for Excellence' describes four outcomes expected for pupils' education;
- 'Successful Learners'
- 'Confident Individuals'
- 'Effective Contributors'
- 'Responsible Citizens'
The actions taken towards meeting the point for action contained in the HMIE report of June 2004 mean that the school is very well placed to ensure that all pupils have very good opportunities to meet the outcomes described in 'A Curriculum for Excellence'.
The headteacher and staff have identified the following next steps for the school:
- to develop a systematic method of tracking the progressive development of pupils' social skills
- to use the criteria developed for effective independent and group learning to monitor and evaluate teaching and learning experiences
- to share the criteria developed with pupils to involve them in the evaluation process
- to make more explicit links with new learning strategies and formative assessment techniques.
The very good progress has been achieved through the continued focus, energy, skills and commitment of the headteacher and staff. The school is in a very good position to build on these developments to manage the national agenda that requires all schools to ensure continuous improvement.
Contact information
Any questions or comments regarding the content of the report should be addressed in the first instance to:
Miss Joyce Ferguson
Headteacher
Abercromby Primary School
4 School Road
Tullibody
FK10 2QA
Tel: 01259 722972
or
Lesley Robertson
Quality Improvement Manager
Lime Tree House
Alloa
FK10 1EX
Tel: 01259 452515
Publications & documents
Contact information
For further information about this page please contact:
Head of Schools and Quality Improvement, Services to People
Lime Tree House, Castle Street, Alloa, FK10 1EX
Tel: 01259 450000 Fax: 01259 452440
Email: servicestopeople@clacks.gov.uk
Or use the on-line contact form.