7. Education Scotland Inspection of Gleniffer High School - ECSPB 21 08 25
Renfrewshire Council · 21 August 2025
Back to Education and Children's Services Policy Board — 21 August 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Page 1 of 4 To: Education and Children’s Services Policy Board On: 21 August 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Children’s Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Education Scotland Inspection of Gleniffer High School ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Gleniffer High School was inspected by Education Scotland in March 2025 as part of a national sample of education. Education Scotland uses different models of inspection and at Gleniffer High School the short model approach was deployed. Inspectors assessed the school with a focus on two quality indicators which are referenced in How Good is our School? 4 Quality Indicator 2.3 Learning, teaching and assessment. Quality Indicator 3.2 Raising attainment and achievement. 1.2 This was a very positive inspection which evaluated all quality indicators as ‘ Quality Indicator 2.3 Good Quality Indicator 3.2 Good 1.3 As part of the inspection model the following area was also reviewed: Quality Indicator 2.1 Safeguarding Education Scotland do not attach an evaluative grade to this. Instead in the Summary of Inspection Findings there are evaluative statements provided which are positive and contribute to the overall school ratings. 1.4 The inspection report in the form of a letter to parents, published by Education Scotland on 10 June 2025, is attached as an appendix to this report and is also available from the Director of Children’s Services or from the Education Scotland website.
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Page 2 of 4 1.5 The letter to parents identified three key strengths of the school. • The caring supportive relationships between young people and staff that create a welcoming and nurturing learning environment. • Senior leaders’ approaches to encouraging close partnership working. Successful partnerships are developing young people’s employability skills and contributing to sustained improvements in the number of young people who achieve positive destinations. • The strong focus by staff on providing a wide range of courses that meet the needs of learners who may require additional support. As a result, increasing numbers of young people are attaining qualifications at Scottish Credit Qualification Framework levels 3 and 4. 1.6 The inspection report also identified three areas for further improvement. • Continue to develop the ‘Gleniffer toolkit’ to support teachers in embedding greater consistency in approaches to learning and teaching through professional learning and collaboration. This will help to improve further the quality of young people’s learning experiences. • Continue to improve approaches to the planning of learning. Teachers should make full use of all available information about young people to ensure that all learners make the best possible progress. • Continue to improve attainment at National 5 and Higher. This should include a focus on more young people achieving high quality passes. 1.7 There is an agreed set of procedures for responding to inspection reports which will support the school and Children’s Services to plan how these areas for further improvement will be addressed. Actions are detailed within the school improvement plan which is shared with parents and carers. In addition, the school will be supported in its improvement journey by Children’s Services. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1. Members of the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board are asked to note and celebrate the key strengths and recognise the areas for further improvement in the Education Scotland report for Gleniffer High School ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1. Children’s Services welcomes the process of audit undertaken by Education Scotland as supportive to continuous improvement in Renfrewshire’s education establishments. The school team at Gleniffer High School approached the inspection in a positive manner and embraced it as a professional learning opportunity in partnership with colleagues at Education Scotland. ___________________________________________________________________
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Page 3 of 4 Implications of the Report 1. Financial – No financial implications 2. HR & Organisational Development – No HR implications 3. Community/Council Planning – engaging with, and learning from external inspection, ensures that our Renfrewshire is thriving. High standards of education provision ensure that children and young people are given the best start in life so that they promote and contribute to a more prosperous, fairer society. It also ensures our Renfrewshire is well – by providing an environment which encourages care, welfare and development, establishments play a crucial role in developing children and young people so that they become responsible citizens. The inspection process also supports delivery of the Council Plan crosscutting theme of improving outcomes for children and families as well as other Council Plan key strategic outcomes. Economy Equipping all children and young people to achieve success in life Fair Creating inclusive and supportive learning environments for children and young people. Embedding children’s rights in our decision-making processes 4. Legal - The short inspection includes a focus on QI 2.1 Safeguarding. In evaluating this QI, one of the themes that HM Inspectors evaluate is the school’s Fulfilment of Statutory Duties related to attendance, exclusions, ASL Act and Associated Code of Practice, Bullying, Equality Act, Health and Nutrition, and Gaelic education. 5. Property/Assets – No risks to property/assets. 6. Information Technology – No information and technology risks. 7. Equality & Human Rights – The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – No negative impacts on health and safety. 9. Procurement – No procurement risks 10. Risk – No risks identified.
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Page 4 of 4 11. Privacy Impact – No impact on privacy. 12. Cosla Policy Position – N/A 13. Climate Risk – None. 14. Children’s Rights – This links to, Article 12 (respect for the views of the child) Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously. This right applies at all times, for example during immigration proceedings, housing decisions or the child’s day-to-day home life. Article 28 (right to education) Every child has the right to an education. Primary education must be free and different forms of secondary education must be available to every child. Discipline in schools must respect children’s dignity and their rights. Richer countries must help poorer countries achieve this. Article 29 (goals of education) Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment. List of Background Papers - The inspection report and additional evidence is published on the Education Scotland website. _________________________________________________________ Children’s Services EH 18 July 2025 Author:: Emma Henry, Head of Education, emma.henry@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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1 | Gleniffer High School, Renfrewshire Council, 8628831 © Crown Copyright 10 June 2025 Dear Parent/Carer In March 2025, a team of inspectors from Education Scotland visited Gleniffer High School. During our visit, we talked to parents/carers and young people and worked closely with the headteacher and staff. The inspection team found the following strengths in the school’s work. • The caring supportive relationships between young people and staff that create a welcoming and nurturing learning environment. • Senior leaders’ approaches to encouraging close partnership working. Successful partnerships are developing young people’s employability skills and contributing to sustained improvements in the number of young people who achieve positive destinations. • The strong focus by staff on providing a wide range of courses that meet the needs of learners who may require additional support. As a result, increasing numbers of young people are attaining qualifications at Scottish Credit Qualification Framework levels 3 and 4. The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from Renfrewshire Council. • Continue to develop the ‘Gleniffer toolkit’ to support teachers in embedding greater consistency in approaches to learning and teaching through professional learning and collaboration. This will help to improve further the quality of young people’s learning experiences. • Continue to improve approaches to the planning of learning. Teachers should make full use of all available information about young people to ensure that all learners make the best possible progress. • Continue to improve attainment at National 5 and Higher. This should include a focus on more young people achieving high quality passes.
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2 | Gleniffer High School, Renfrewshire Council, 8628831 © Crown Copyright We gathered evidence to enable us to evaluate the school’s work using quality indicators from How good is our school? (4th edition). Quality indicators help schools, local authorities and inspectors to judge what is working well and what needs to be improved. Following the inspection of each school, the Scottish Government gathers details of our evaluations to keep track of how well Scottish schools are doing. Here are Education Scotland’s evaluations for Gleniffer High School Quality indicators Evaluation Learning, teaching and assessment good Raising attainment and achievement good Descriptions of the evaluations are available from: How good is our school? (4th edition), Appendix 3: The six-point scale. A more detailed document called Summarised Inspection Findings (SIF) will be available on the Education Scotland website at: Gleniffer High School | Inspection Report | Education Scotland What happens next? We are confident that the school has the capacity to continue to improve and so we will make no more visits in connection with this inspection. Renfrewshire Council will inform parents/carers about the school’s progress as part of its arrangements for reporting on the quality of its schools. Jacqueline Gallagher HM Inspector