Education Scotland Inspection of Glencoats PS 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 Glencoats Primary School by Education Scotland ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Glencoats Primary School was inspected by a team of inspectors from Education Scotland in October 2025 as part of a national sample of education. Inspectors uses different models of inspection and at Glencoats Primary 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 follows: Quality Indicator 2.3 Excellent Quality Indicator 3.2 Very Good 1.3 The inspection report in the form of a letter to parents, published by Education Scotland on 16 December 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. Please note that the inspectorate has since been separated from Education Scotland as part of the Education (Scotland) Act 2025 and therefore this information may also be found on His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in Scotland’s new website. 1.4 The letter to parents identified four key strengths of the school: • In the school and Flexible Learning Resource, children are very happy, motivated and well-behaved across the day. They are thriving as a result of highly positive relationships with staff and outstanding nurturing personalised support. All children feel valued, included and ready to learn each day.
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Page 2 of 4 • The inspirational leadership of the headteacher empowers skilled teaching and support staff to deliver a very high standard of learning and teaching across the school. Planning and assessment are used very well to meet the needs of all children. • In the school and Flexible Learning Resource, staff and partners have embedded highly successful learning experiences and innovative approaches that ensure success and achievement for all children. This includes areas such as skills development, play, digital technologies, learning outdoors and cross-curricular lessons. • In the school, teaching and support staff deliver very high-quality focused and targeted work in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. This is raising attainment and accelerating progress in learning significantly for all children across the curriculum. 1.5 The inspection report also identified two areas for further improvement. • Staff should continue to provide high-quality learning experiences that prepare children very well for life and support them to attain and achieve. • Staff in the Flexible Learning Resource should continue to work regularly with colleagues in similar settings and partners to develop further shared standards and planning. 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 Glencoats Primary 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 Glencoats Primary School approached the inspection in a positive manner and embraced it as a professional learning opportunity in partnership with colleagues at Education Scotland. This inspection report is particularly notable as Glencoats Primary School has received an excellent grade for learning, teaching and assessment which at the time of writing is the first excellent grade achieved in Scotland for this Quality Indicator for a number of years, as well as receiving a
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Page 3 of 4 very good grade for raising attainment and achievement, making this one of the most positive short model inspection reports in the country. ___________________________________________________________________ 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.
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Page 4 of 4 9. Procurement – No procurement risks 10. Risk – No risks identified. 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/LG/JO’N 17 February 2026 Author:: Emma Henry, Head of Education, emma.henry@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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1 | Glencoats Primary School, Renfrewshire Council, 8620024 © Crown Copyright 16 December 2025 Dear Parent/Carer In October 2025, a team of inspectors from Education Scotland visited Glencoats Primary School. During our visit, we talked to parents/carers and children and worked closely with the headteacher and staff. The inspection team found the following strengths in the school’s work. • In the school and Flexible Learning Resource, children are very happy, motivated and well-behaved across the day. They are thriving as a result of highly positive relationships with staff and outstanding nurturing personalised support. All children feel valued, included and ready to learn each day. • The inspirational leadership of the headteacher empowers skilled teaching and support staff to deliver a very high standard of learning and teaching across the school. Planning and assessment are used very well to meet the needs of all children. • In the school and Flexible Learning Resource, staff and partners have embedded highly successful learning experiences and innovative approaches that ensure success and achievement for all children. This includes areas such as skills development, play, digital technologies, learning outdoors and cross-curricular lessons. • In the school, teaching and support staff deliver very high-quality focused and targeted work in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. This is raising attainment and accelerating progress in learning significantly for all children across the curriculum. The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from Renfrewshire Council. • Staff should continue to provide high-quality learning experiences that prepare children very well for life and support them to attain and achieve. • Staff in the Flexible Learning Resource should continue to work regularly with colleagues in similar settings and partners to develop further shared standards and planning.
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2 | Glencoats Primary School, Renfrewshire Council, 8620024 © 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 Glencoats Primary School Quality indicators Evaluation Learning, teaching and assessment excellent Raising attainment and achievement very 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: Glencoats Primary 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. Lisa Marie McDonnell HM Inspector