HM Inspectorate of Education Follow-up to the Inspection of Tomnacross Primary School and Nursery Class
The Highland Council

Dear Mr Robertson

FOLLOW-UP TO THE INSPECTION OF TOMNACROSS PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY CLASS, THE HIGHLAND COUNCIL

The report on the above school was published in August 2001. HM Inspectors visited the school in April 2003 to evaluate progress made in responding to the main points for action in the report.

The school and the education authority had made good progress towards addressing the main points for action in the report. As a result, HM Inspectors will make no further visits in relation to the August 2001 report.

I attach an evaluation and brief account of the response made by the school and the education authority to the main points for action in the report.

I am sending a copy of this letter to parents and carers of children currently in the school and the other recipients of the inspection report.

Yours sincerely

Dr Bill Maxwell
HM Chief Inspector
Northern Division

HM Inspectorate of Education Follow-up to the Inspection of Tomnacross Primary School and Nursery Class The Highland Council

Main points for action

1. The headteacher should develop a sense of teamwork and common purpose amongst all teaching and non-teaching staff, pupils and parents.

The school had made good progress towards meeting this main point for action.

The headteacher had put in place a number of effective initiatives to develop teamwork and a sense of common purpose. These included improving communication by means of an attractive weekly newsletter, and taking pupils’ views through discussion groups and surveys. He had successfully involved all staff, both teaching, nursery and support staff, in regular meetings and training events to review and improve the school’s work. Older pupils helped children from the nursery to settle into the primary. The school’s priorities for improvement had been extensively shared with parents. The headteacher should continue to strengthen the school’s approaches to developing teamwork.

2. In collaboration with the School Board, the headteacher should seek to establish a more effective partnership with parents.

The school had made good progress towards meeting this main point for action.

The headteacher had established a Partnership Committee which included parents, staff and pupils. The committee had compiled a database of parents’ skills and, as a result, an increasing number of parents had been involved in the work of the school. Staff had compiled a series of attractive leaflets explaining the work of the school and more were planned. A number of workshops on aspects of the curriculum had given parents good opportunities to learn about the work of the school. All parents received copies of parent-teacher association minutes and had been effectively consulted on safer routes to school and planned improvements to the school buildings. The school should continue to extend its partnership with parents.

3. The school should improve approaches to self-evaluation.

The school had made good progress towards meeting this main point for action.

The headteacher now systematically monitored the quality of learning and teaching and pupils’ attainment through focused classroom visits, and by reviewing pupils’ work. After each visit he had discussed his findings with his colleagues and had provided written feedback. The work of all permanent staff had been reviewed as part of the education authority’s scheme for staff development and review. More extended consultation with visiting specialists on the work of the nursery and on support for learning had led to improved provision. Information from an effective system for tracking pupils’ progress was well used in teachers’ planning. Approaches to auditing the work of the school as part of planning for improvement had been extended and strengthened. The headteacher should continue to develop systematic approaches to monitoring the work of the school.

4. The school should continue to ensure the steady development of pupils’ English language skills from stage to stage.

The school had made good progress towards meeting this main point for action.

The school had acquired a range of new resources and prepared revised programmes of study for English language. Staff had drawn up and adopted effective approaches to developing pupils’ skills in listening, talking, reading and writing at each stage. These included effectively planning the joint development of these skills and the use of interactive teaching methods. Pupils’ English language skills now showed steady improvement from stage to stage. Staff should continue to build on pupils’ developing skills.

The school and the education authority had made good progress towards addressing the main points for action in the report. As a result, HM Inspectors will make no further visits in relation to the August 2001 report.