31 October 2006
1. The inspection
2. Continuous improvement
3. Progress towards meeting the main points for action
4. Conclusion
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HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) published a report on the inspection of Rosebank Primary School in April 2005. The report indicated that HM Inspectors would engage with the school and the education authority in monitoring progress and would publish an interim report within one year of the publication of the original report.
Working with the school, the education authority prepared an action plan indicating how they would address the main points for action identified in the original HMIE inspection report. HM Inspectors carried out an interim follow-through visit to the school in June 2006. The team assessed the extent to which the school was continuing to improve the quality of its work, and evaluated progress made in responding to the main points for action in the initial report.
With support from the education authority improvement officer, the headteacher and staff were engaging in good teamwork to tackle areas of the school’s work in need of development. There were signs of general improvement in many of these areas. Overall attainment in reading and mathematics had increased over the last year, while overall attainment in writing remained broadly steady over the same period. The headteacher and depute headteacher had an increasingly good knowledge of the quality of learning and teaching in the school and, along with staff, were tackling specific aspects of attainment which were in need of improvement.
The initial inspection report published in April 2005 identified four main points for action. This section evaluates the progress made with each of the action points and the resulting improvements for pupils and other stakeholders.
3.1 Improve further the programmes in English language and mathematics.
The school had taken some productive steps to address this main point for action.
The school’s stock of fiction and non-fiction texts had been upgraded, and pupils’ skills in research and reading for pleasure showed signs of improvement. For example, pupils in the upper stages were developing skills in evaluating novels and assessing their own responses to stories. The programme for writing had been reviewed. Pupils at all stages were increasingly writing at length to an appropriate standard. New mathematics texts were being used at all stages in the school. Teachers gave regular attention to developing pupils’ skills in mental calculation. Some pupils at the early and middle stages needed to learn simple addition facts more securely. Pupils now had more opportunities to tackle a wider range of problem solving and enquiry activities in mathematics.
3.2 Improve the rigour with which the headteacher and his staff implement the school’s quality assurance procedures.
Together with the depute headteacher and staff, the headteacher was addressing this main point for action purposefully.
The headteacher had drawn up a calendar of monitoring activities and was implementing it systematically. He and the depute headteacher had observed teachers’ lessons and given them helpful advice on how to improve. The senior managers also scrutinised the quality of pupils’ work and spoke to groups of pupils to encourage them to talk about what they had been learning and to gain an overview of learning in the school. There were signs of general improvement resulting from these monitoring and evaluation activities.
3.3 Identify and share best practice in learning and teaching across the school.
Some initiatives being implemented had the potential to have a positive impact on this main point for action.
A ‘peer guider’ teacher who had the responsibility for supporting her colleagues had been put in place. The teacher was also working to improve aspects of the school’s learning programmes. An education authority staff tutor was supporting staff to share good practice in assessing pupils’ writing skills in the early stages and helping the pupils to improve their writing. Support for learning staff were also involved in sharing good practice among teachers in providing suitable activities for pupils with additional support needs.
3.4 Improve tracking and assessment procedures to ensure that learning activities are well matched to pupils’ needs.
Staff were working hard and with some success to address this main point for action.
All staff were involved in the education authority’s ‘Learning Together in Dundee’ initiative. A key aspect of this initiative was to encourage teachers to explain to pupils more clearly what they were to learn, and to help pupils to assess their own strengths and development needs. Pupils’ progress in mathematics was now more regularly assessed. The headteacher and staff were now monitoring and recording pupils’ progress in a range of curriculum areas more systematically. As a result, learning activities were increasingly being well matched to pupils’ needs. The headteacher and depute headteacher were aware of the need for further improvement and consistency in how teachers recorded the results of their assessments.
Senior managers and staff were working well together to improve the school. There were signs of improved teamwork and leadership. The education authority was supporting the school well. As a result of these developments, the school’s capacity to improve had increased. HM Inspectors will carry out a further visit to the school within a year of publication of this report. They will evaluate the progress made in responding to the main points for action in the initial report, and will report to parents.
Douglas Cairns
HM Assistant Chief Inspector
31 October 2006
If you would like an additional copy of this report
Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher and school staff, the Director of Education, local councillors and appropriate Members of the Scottish Parliament. Subject to availability, further copies may be obtained free of charge from HM Inspectorate of Education, 1st Floor, Endeavour House, 1 Greenmarket, Dundee DD1 4QB or by telephoning 01382 576700. Copies are also available on our website: www.hmie.gov.uk.
If you wish to comment about follow-through inspections
Should you wish to comment on any aspect of follow-through inspections, you should write in the first instance to Annette Bruton, HMCI, HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.
Our complaints procedure
If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to Hazel Dewart, Business Management Unit, HM Inspectorate of Education, Second Floor, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA. A copy of our complaints procedure is available from this office or by telephoning 01506 600258 or from our website at www.hmie.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our complaints procedure, you can raise your complaint with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and agencies. You should write to The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, 4-6 Melville Street, Edinburgh EH3 7NS. You can also telephone 0870 011 5378 or e-mail enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.scottishombudsman.org.uk.
Crown Copyright 2006
HM Inspectorate of Education
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