Education Scotland Inspection of Ralston PS ECSPB
Renfrewshire Council · 31 October 2024
Back to Education and Children's Services Policy Board — 31 October 2024 and its agenda
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Education and Children’s Services Policy Board On: 31 October 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Children’s Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Education Scotland Inspection of Ralston Primary School ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Education Scotland Inspection of Ralston Primary School and Early Learning and Childcare Class was inspected by Education Scotland in May 2024 as part of a national sample of education. Education Scotland uses different models of inspection and at Ralston Primary School the short model approach was deployed. Inspectors assessed the school and Early Learning and Childcare Class with a focus on two quality indicators which are referenced in How Good is our School? 4 Quality Indicator 1.3 Leadership of Change Quality Indicator 2.3 Learning, teaching and assessment. 1.2 This was a very positive inspection which evaluated quality indicators in the school as follows: Quality Indicator 1.3 Very Good Quality Indicator 2.3 Very Good 1.3 This was a very positive inspection which evaluated quality indicators in the Early Learning and Childcare Class as follows: Quality Indicator 1.3 Good Quality Indicator 2.3 Good 1.3 As part of the inspection model the following area was also reviewed:
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2 Quality Indicator 2.1 Safeguarding 1.4 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. 1.5 The inspection report in the form of a letter to parents, published by Education Scotland on 27 August 2024, 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. 1.6 The letter to parents identified four key strengths of the school. • Senior leaders and staff work together very well to ensure a strong culture of positive relationships across the school and nursery. As a result, confident and articulate children are motivated, co-operative and independent in their learning. • Staff ensure there are very effective approaches to raising attainment in reading and writing. As a result, children make very strong progress in English and literacy across the school and nursery. • Children learn from very positive approaches to high-quality play in P1 and P2. Teachers plan exciting activities that allow children to develop their curiosity and creativity. • Children benefit from a culture in school where their many achievements are encouraged and celebrated by staff. The headteacher and staff ensure these are carefully tracked to ensure that as many children as possible benefit from enriching experiences. 1.7 The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from Renfrewshire Council. • Building on the highly successful approaches to raising attainment in literacy, continue with plans to further develop children’s attainment in numeracy. • Continue to develop approaches to planning in the nursery to ensure there is a clear focus on learning to promote further children’s understanding of their learning and skills development. 1.8 There is an agreed set of procedures for responding to inspection reports which will support the school and Children’s Services to plan how the area for further improvement will be addressed. Actions are detailed within the school improvement plan which is shared with parents. In addition, the school will be supported in its improvement journey by Children’s Services. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations
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3 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 on Ralston 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 Ralston Primary School approached the inspection in a positive manner and embraced it as a professional learning opportunity in partnership with colleagues at Education Scotland. 3.2 The report includes two areas 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. ___________________________________________________________________ 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
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4 4. Legal - The full model inspection includes a focus on QI 3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equity and inclusion. 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. 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. __________________________________________________________ Author: Emma Henry, Head of Education, emma.henry@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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1 | Ralston Primary School and Nursery Class, Renfrewshire Council, 8625522 © Crown Copyright 27 August 2024 Dear Parent/Carer In May 2024, a team of inspectors from Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate visited Ralston Primary School and Nursery Class. 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. • Senior leaders and staff work together very well to ensure a strong culture of positive relationships across the school and nursery. As a result, confident and articulate children are motivated, co-operative and independent in their learning. • Staff ensure there are very effective approaches to raising attainment in reading and writing. As a result, children make very strong progress in English and literacy across the school and nursery. • Children learn from very positive approaches to high-quality play in P1 and P2. Teachers plan exciting activities that allow children to develop their curiosity and creativity. • Children benefit from a culture in school where their many achievements are encouraged and celebrated by staff. The headteacher and staff ensure these are carefully tracked to ensure that as many children as possible benefit from enriching experiences. The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from Renfrewshire Council. • Building on the highly successful approaches to raising attainment in literacy, continue with plans to further develop children’s attainment in numeracy. • Continue to develop approaches to planning in the nursery to ensure there is a clear focus on learning to promote further children’s understanding of their learning and skills development.
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2 | Ralston Primary School and Nursery Class, Renfrewshire Council, 8625522 © 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) and How good is our early learning and childcare?. 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 Ralston Primary School and Nursery Class Quality indicators for the primary school Evaluation Learning, teaching and assessment very good 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 Quality indicators for the nursery class Evaluation Learning, teaching and assessment good Securing children’s progress good Descriptions of the evaluations are available from: How good is our early learning and childcare? Appendix 1: The six-point scale This letter and a more detailed document called Summarised Inspection Findings (SIF) will be available on the Education Scotland website at: Ralston Primary School | Inspection Report | Education Scotland
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3 | Ralston Primary School and Nursery Class, Renfrewshire Council, 8625522 © Crown Copyright We gathered evidence to enable us to evaluate the early learning and childcare setting using the quality indicators from A quality framework for daycare of children, childminding and school- aged childcare. The framework supports settings, providers and inspectors to assess what is working well and what needs to be improved. Following the inspection of each setting, the Scottish Government gathers details of our evaluations to keep track of how well early learning and childcare settings are doing. The Care Inspectorate evaluations are also used by local authorities when considering how settings are meeting the national standard for funded early learning and childcare. The Care Inspectorate’s evaluations for the early learning and childcare setting are: Detailed evaluations Evaluation Key question 1: How good is our care, play and learning? good 1.1 Nurturing care and support good 1.3 Play and learning good Key question 3: How good is our leadership? good 3.1 Quality assurance and improvement are led well good Requirements made by the Care Inspectorate for the early learning and childcare setting. Areas for improvement made by the Care Inspectorate for the early learning and childcare setting. During the previous Care Inspectorate inspection, the setting had two requirements and three areas for improvement. From these, all requirements and all areas for improvement have been met. As a result of this inspection, there are no requirements and no areas for improvement. Previous requirements made by the Care Inspectorate for the early learning and childcare setting. Action taken to meet each requirement
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4 | Ralston Primary School and Nursery Class, Renfrewshire Council, 8625522 © Crown Copyright 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. Graeme M Brown Malcolm Wilson HM Inspector Care Inspector