Barsail Inspection Report ECSPB 19 01 23
Renfrewshire Council · 19 January 2023
Back to Education and Children's Services Policy Board — 19 January 2023 and its agenda
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2 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Education and Children’s Services Policy Board On: 19 January 2023 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Children’s Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Education Scotland Inspection of Barsail Primary School ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Barsail Primary School was inspected by Education Scotland in September 2022 as part of a national sample of education. Education Scotland uses different models of inspection and at Barsail Primary School the duration of the inspection was the full model which took five days. Inspectors assessed the school, with a focus on four quality indicators, which were: leadership of change; learning, teaching and assessment; ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion and; raising attainment and achievement. 1.2 This was a very positive inspection which evaluated all four quality indicators as ‘very good’. 1.3 The inspection report in the form of a letter to parents, published by Education Scotland on 08 November 2022, 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. The letter to parents identified six key strengths of the school. These were: • The motivational leadership of the headteacher. She promotes a strong sense of teamwork, with everyone involved in progressing the work of the school. She is supported ably by the depute headteacher and the principal teacher. • Children who are friendly, polite and eager to learn. They work well together, support one another and demonstrate the school’s values well. They feel happy, safe and included in decisions about school life.
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3 • The highly effective leadership of all staff and their relentless focus on improving outcomes for children. The increasing opportunities staff provide for children to lead learning and influence the life and work of the school. • Highly effective approaches to developing staff, children’s and parents’ knowledge and understanding of the language of wellbeing, nurturing values and a caring and compassionate ethos. • The rigorous processes for identifying children who may require additional support for learning and the quality and range of support helping children to overcome barriers to learning. • The significant dedication of all staff to professional learning. They focus on research-based approaches to further develop and implement creative learning and teaching. This leads to improving outcomes for children. 1.4 The inspection report also identified one area for further improvement: • Staff should continue to develop approaches to planning, assessment and moderation of learning and teaching to meet the needs of all children. This should include increasing opportunities for children to use their learning in new and unfamiliar situations. 1.5 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 2.1 Members of the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board are asked to note and celebrate the key strengths and recognise the area for further improvement in the Education Scotland report on Barsail Primary School. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Following a pause to inspections due to the pandemic, Education Scotland’s routine programme of inspection of schools and early years settings resumed in September 2022. 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 Barsail Primary approached the inspection in a very positive manner and embraced it as an excellent professional learning opportunity in partnership with colleagues at Education Scotland.
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4 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. It should be noted however that overall, this was an extremely positive inspection report. 3.3 The inspection report will inform planned improvement activity, and will enable the school and wider service, 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 - None 2. HR & 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 cross- cutting theme of improving outcomes for children and families as well as other Council Plan key strategic outcomes, for example: 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 – None 5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology - None 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,
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5 and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety - None 9. Procurement – None 10. Risk - None 11. Privacy Impact - None 12. Cosla Policy Position – N/A 13. Climate Risk - None _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers - The inspection report and additional evidence is published on the Education Scotland website and can be accessed via this link. __________________________________________________________ Author: Susan Bell, Education Manager Susan.bell-hq@renfrewshire.gov.uk 07983 855712
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1 | Barsail Primary School, Renfrewshire Council, 8633223 © Crown Copyright 8 November 2022 Dear Parent/Carer In September 2022, a team of inspectors from Education Scotland visited Barsail 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. The motivational leadership of the headteacher. She promotes a strong sense of teamwork, with everyone involved in progressing the work of the school. She is supported ably by the depute headteacher and the principal teacher. Children who are friendly, polite and eager to learn. They work well together, support one another and demonstrate the school’s values well. They feel happy, safe and included in decisions about school life. The highly effective leadership of all staff and their relentless focus on improving outcomes for children. The increasing opportunities staff provide for children to lead learning and influence the life and work of the school. Highly effective approaches to developing staff, children’s and parents’ knowledge and understanding of the language of wellbeing, nurturing values and a caring and compassionate ethos. The rigorous processes for identifying children who may require additional support for learning and the quality and range of support helping children to overcome barriers to learning. The significant dedication of all staff to professional learning. They focus on research-based approaches to further develop and implement creative learning and teaching. This leads to improving outcomes for children. The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from Renfrewshire Council. Staff should continue to develop approaches to planning, assessment and moderation of learning and teaching to meet the needs of all children. This should include increasing opportunities for children to use their learning in new and unfamiliar situations.
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2 | Barsail Primary School, Renfrewshire Council, 8633223 © 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 Education Scotland’s evaluations for Barsail Primary School Quality indicators Evaluation Leadership of change very good Learning, teaching and assessment very good Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion 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 A more detailed document called Summarised Inspection Findings (SIF) will be available on the Education Scotland website at: Reports page | Inspection reports | 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. Rosalind J Webster Managing Inspector