His Majesty's Inspectorate in Scotland Report Castlehead HS ECSPB
Renfrewshire Council · 12 March 2026
Back to Education and Children's Services Policy Board — 12 March 2026 and its agenda
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Page 1 of 4 To: Education and Children’s Services Policy Board On: 12 March 2026 __________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Children’s Services __________________________________________________________________ Heading: Inspection of Castlehead High School by His Majesty’s Inspectorate in Scotland __________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1. In November 2025, a team of HM inspectors of education visited Castlehead High School. Inspectors assessed the school with a focus on four quality indicators which are referenced in How Good is our School? 4. 1.2. This was a very positive inspection which evaluated quality indicators in the school as follows: Leadership of change very good Learning, teaching and assessment good Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion good Raising attainment and achievement good 1.3. The inspection team found the following strengths in the school’s work: • Young people are a considerable strength of the school. They are confident, welcoming and very proud of their school. They have a strong sense of belonging to their school community and actively seek opportunities to make meaningful improvements. • The headteacher’s authentic, strong and compassionate leadership, ably supported by his depute headteachers, has fostered a culture of ambition, kindness and respect. This is evident in the strong, supportive relationships across the school. Staff at all levels are empowered to lead change. • Teachers work well together to improve how young people learn. This is leading to greater consistency and higher-quality learning experiences across the school for young people. This results in more young people engaging well in their learning.
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Page 2 of 4 • Partners work very effectively with staff to enrich young people’s experiences and achievements. They contribute well to supporting staff to meet the needs of young people. This leads to many young people achieving qualifications from within and outwith the school environment. • Staff in the FLR support young people and their families very well. Young people benefit from bespoke approaches to their learning and nurturing relationships with staff and each other. This leads to them engaging better in their learning, developing confidence and gaining important skills for life. 1.4. The following area for improvement was identified and discussed with the head teacher and a representative from Renfrewshire Council • Continue to develop high-quality teaching and learning across the school. This includes all teachers continuing to work together to develop a shared understanding of each aspect of the Castlehead lesson cycle. • Continue to promote aspects of equality and diversity across the school. This should help develop young people’s understanding of, and ability to, challenge discrimination, prejudice and intolerance when they come across it. • Continue to raise attainment for young people, with a focus on young people in S5 and S6. __________________________________________________________________ 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 inspection report for Castlehead High School. __________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1. Children’s Services welcomes the process of audit undertaken by HMI as supportive to continuous improvement in Renfrewshire’s education establishments. The school team at Castlehead High School approached the inspection in a positive manner and embraced it as a professional learning opportunity in partnership with colleagues at His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in Scotland. 3.2. The report includes one area for further improvement, and progress in addressing this will be monitored by Children’s Services staff through the Quality Improvement Framework. 3.3. The inspection report will inform planned improvement activity and will enable the school to build on the recognised strengths and focus further development on areas for improvement to enable the school to continue to deliver a quality educational provision. ___________________________________________________________________
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Page 3 of 4 Implications of this report 1. Financial None. 2. HR and Organisational Development None. 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. 4. Legal HM Inspectors evaluate 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 None. 6. Information Technology None. 7. Equality and 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 and Safety None. 9. Procurement None. 10. Risk None. 11. Privacy Impact None.
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Page 4 of 4 12. Climate Risk None. 13. 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. 14. Cosla Policy Position None. List of Background Papers The inspection report and additional evidence is published on the Education Scotland website. __________________________________________________________________ Children’s Services EH/LG/JO’N 17 February 2026 Author: Emma Henry, Head of Education, emma.henry@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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1 | Castlehead High School, Renfrewshire Council, 8628939 © Crown Copyright 20 January 2026 Dear Parent/Carer In November 2025, a team of HM Inspectors of Education visited Castlehead 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. • Young people are a considerable strength of the school. They are confident, welcoming and very proud of their school. They have a strong sense of belonging to their school community and actively seek opportunities to make meaningful improvements. • The headteacher’s authentic, strong and compassionate leadership, ably supported by his depute headteachers, has fostered a culture of ambition, kindness and respect. This is evident in the strong, supportive relationships across the school. Staff at all levels are empowered to lead change. • Teachers work well together to improve how young people learn. This is leading to greater consistency and higher-quality learning experiences across the school for young people. This results in more young people engaging well in their learning. • Partners work very effectively with staff to enrich young people’s experiences and achievements. They contribute well to supporting staff to meet the needs of young people. This leads to many young people achieving qualifications from within and outwith the school environment. • Staff in the FLR support young people and their families very well. Young people benefit from bespoke approaches to their learning and nurturing relationships with staff and each other. This leads to them engaging better in their learning, developing confidence and gaining important skills for life. The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from Renfrewshire Council. • Continue to develop high-quality teaching and learning across the school. This includes all teachers continuing to work together to develop a shared understanding of each aspect of the Castlehead lesson cycle.
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2 | Castlehead High School, Renfrewshire Council, 8628939 © Crown Copyright • Continue to promote aspects of equality and diversity across the school. This should help develop young people’s understanding of, and ability to, challenge discrimination, prejudice and intolerance when they come across it. • Continue to raise attainment for young people, with a focus on young people in S5 and S6.
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3 | Castlehead High School, Renfrewshire Council, 8628939 © Crown Copyright We gathered evidence to enable us to evaluate the school’s work using four 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 HMIE’s evaluations for Castlehead High School Quality indicators Evaluation Leadership of change very good Learning, teaching and assessment good Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion 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 HMIE website at Castlehead High School | Inspection Report | His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in 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. Frances E. Graham HM Inspector On behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland