26 April 2005
1. Background
2. Key strengths
3. What are the views of parents and carers, pupils and staff?
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
5. How well are pupils supported?
6. How good is the environment for learning?
7. Improving the school
Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
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Logie Primary School was inspected in January 2005 as part of a national sample of primary education. The inspection covered key aspects of the work of the school at all stages. It evaluated pupils’ achievements, the effectiveness of the school, the environment for learning, the school’s processes for self-evaluation and capacity for improvement. There was a particular focus on attainment in English language and mathematics.
HM Inspectors examined pupils’ work and interviewed groups of pupils, including the pupil council, and staff. Members of the inspection team also met the chairperson of the School Board and a group of parents which included representatives of the parent-teacher association (PTA).
The school serves the estates, small villages and rural area to the south-west of Forres. At the time of the inspection the roll was 49. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was in line with the national average. Pupils’ attendance was well above the national average.
HM Inspectors identified the following key strengths.
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HM Inspectors assessed the school’s processes for self-evaluation. They analysed responses to questionnaires issued to a sample of parents, P4 to P7 pupils, and to all staff. Information about the responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 2.
Parents and carers were very positive about the school. Almost all felt that the teachers set high standards for pupils’ work and that relationships between staff and pupils were very good. They said that the school was welcoming and that staff were receptive to their views. While parents felt well informed about the life of the school, some wanted to know more about how the school planned to improve further. A few parents commented on the disruption caused by recent staffing changes in the school and felt that teachers did not deal effectively with some incidents of inappropriate behaviour. Parents believed that the quality of teaching staff, and their commitment to their pupils, was a key strength of the school. Pupils were very positive about their school experiences, and they particularly appreciated the high quality of their teachers. They said that teachers helped them to improve their work, including homework. Staff were very positive about all aspects of the school.
Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements
The curriculum was broad and balanced and of good quality. The school allocated additional time to language and mathematics, and this had been largely effective in maintaining high levels of attainment in these aspects. Through project work P7 pupils had good opportunities to develop their enterprise skills. Overall, the school took good account of the need to develop pupils’ skills in language and mathematics within other areas of the curriculum. This included letter writing as part of an energy project. However, teachers did not yet systematically develop and use pupils’ skills in information and communications technology (ICT), and in listening and talking, across the curriculum. The quality of teaching was good overall and the pace of almost all lessons was brisk. In almost all lessons, teaching was of a consistently high quality and took very good account of pupils’ prior attainment and experiences. Teachers interacted very well with pupils. They kept them fully involved in their learning by sharing with them the purposes of lessons, and through effective questioning and discussion. However, ICT was not used for teaching, and teaching approaches were further limited by weaknesses in accommodation.
The quality of pupils’ learning was very good. Pupils responded to praise and encouragement by being very active, motivated and enthusiastic learners. They regularly worked well together on tasks and were able to work independently, for example in using ICT. In class they were fully involved in lessons. They thought deeply about their work, reflected on what others said, and spoke well of their own views and experiences.
Pupils at all stages were developing a good understanding of how to think scientifically. Teachers challenged them to examine their own concepts and pupils worked together effectively to design fair experiments to test their hypotheses. Younger pupils understood different kinds of weather and were recording trends. Those at the middle stages could identify the main Scottish cities, and had used a website to find detailed maps of parts of Scotland, including the local area. They had also designed and created very good models of play park equipment as part of a technology project. Pupils at the upper stages knew about the very different conditions of rich and poor people in Victorian society, and the conditions in which children lived in those times. They knew how to search the Internet for information, and how to send emails. Most pupils were involved in a wide range of after-school activities, including sports, which gave them useful opportunities to play together. The school developed pupils’ citizenship skills well through giving them responsibilities within classes. In particular, the pupil council was fully involved in consultations about improving aspects of school life, including developing the new anti-bullying policy. This work had resulted in the creation of a ‘buddying bench’ in the playground which helped pupils to play together.
English language
The overall quality of pupils’ attainment in English language was good. In recent years, the school had been generally improving standards of attainment in reading and writing. Almost all pupils were reaching appropriate national standards of attainment in reading, and most were reaching them in writing. A significant number of pupils were exceeding these levels. At all stages, most pupils listened attentively to teachers and to each other and could answer questions on what had been said. Younger pupils were developing spoken language through a variety of activities, including play. At all stages, most pupils were able to convey information and express their views confidently and clearly. However, pupils’ skills in listening and talking varied too much across the school. Most pupils read regularly for pleasure and were able to discuss the main features of the books they had enjoyed. At the upper stages, pupils produced good extended pieces of writing in a range of styles and for a variety of purposes, such as within topic work and in producing pieces for the school newspaper. However, at all stages there were weaknesses in the spelling of some common words and in standards of handwriting.
Mathematics
The overall quality of attainment in mathematics had been consistently very good. Almost all pupils were reaching appropriate national standards of attainment, with almost all at the early stages, and half of those at the upper stages, exceeding these. The few pupils who were not reaching national standards were making very good progress in their classwork. Almost all pupils at the upper stages were able to interpret a wide range of graphs, although they were less confident in using pie charts. While pupils at various stages had carried out simple surveys, those in P7 had not yet used spreadsheets and databases to organise and display information. Pupils at all stages could carry out written and mental calculations in a variety of contexts, including using money accurately. They knew the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes. Pupils at the upper stages were skilled at solving mathematical problems and could explain the strategies they had used.
The school had very effective procedures to keep pupils safe and healthy. All staff understood child protection procedures. At all stages, pupils were aware of the need to eat healthily. The school was working towards becoming an accredited health-promoting school. Pupils understood the dangers of smoking, and those at the upper stages were also aware of issues concerning the use and misuse of drugs and medicines. Staff showed great care and concern for pupils throughout the school day. Pupils felt able to approach any member of staff if they had a problem of any kind. They used the school’s suggestion box to contribute ideas on how to improve the school. The suggestion box was also available for pupils to inform staff confidentially of any concerns they had. Teachers dealt quickly and sympathetically with the rare occurrence of challenging behaviour by any pupil.
Staff quickly identified any pupil whose progress or attainment was too low, or who had other additional support needs, and arranged to give them effective additional support. These pupils had very well designed individualised educational programmes (IEPs). The IEPs included appropriate short- and long-term learning targets, as well as support strategies for the class teacher and parents. The school regularly and effectively reviewed these learning targets and support strategies. Additional out-of-class support for pupils with IEPs was given by a class teacher, the headteacher and classroom assistants. These measures were helping those pupils to make better progress in their learning. An early years language support teacher gave valuable specialist support. Within classes, teachers matched tasks and activities very well to pupils’ needs. They often set activities within real-life or relevant contexts, and this successfully improved pupils’ motivation and the quality of their learning. Classroom assistants worked very effectively with groups and individuals within classes to further support their learning.
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Quality of accommodation and facilities |
The overall quality of accommodation was good. The school buildings were attractively set in extensive grounds, which were well used for playground games and sports. Security arrangements were appropriate. One building housed a large room and the hall. These were spacious and well used for physical education, music and drama. The main school building was in good condition and contained attractive displays of pupils’ work. Staff had made it welcoming to parents and visitors, despite the very small entrance hall. There was good provision of modern networked computers which allowed individuals and pairs of pupils to use them well in their learning. Two of the classrooms were spacious. The third was smaller and lacked chalkboards. Sound carried between it and adjacent classrooms, and this was distracting to pupils on occasion. |
Climate and relationships, expectations and promoting achievement and equality |
Relationships between all members of the school community were very positive. All were very proud of the school. Teachers had high expectations of what pupils could achieve. The school celebrated pupils’ success at assemblies, and teachers praised pupils’ good work. At P7, pupils had begun to record their own progress and identify the next steps in their learning. However, overall, pupils were not clear about their levels of attainment, future learning targets and what they needed to do to achieve those targets. As a result, pupils were not able to share fully in their teachers’ high expectations for attainment. All members of the school community were treated fairly. Staff were actively developing the skills pupils needed to live in a multi-cultural society through good implementation of the school’s racial equality policy. There were weekly opportunities for religious observance. |
Partnership with parents and the community |
The school had formed a very good partnership with parents and the community, and shared the purposes of its work with them. Reports to parents on their children’s progress were very informative. The School Board was active in its support of the school and had been involved in resolving recent transport difficulties. Members of the PTA organised successful events to raise funds for school trips. Parents used their skills and knowledge to give additional and effective support to the school, for example in the arts and crafts club and the teaching of German in classes. The school gave parents opportunities to comment on school developments, including materials to be used for teaching pupils about healthy living and relationships. |
Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.
The headteacher, along with teaching and other support staff at Logie Primary School, showed a high degree of commitment to their pupils and were providing a very good standard of education. They worked hard to give pupils a high quality learning experience and to give additional support to those who could benefit from it. In addition, all staff were constantly striving to improve further their skills and knowledge. Almost all pupils in turn responded very well to the care and commitment shown by staff, by being polite, well behaved and active learners. The school was a focus for learning and extra-curricular activities in a diverse rural community. Attainment levels were high, though there was scope to improve standards of writing, and to ensure that skills in listening and talking were developed more systematically. There was also scope to raise pupils’ expectations by involving them more closely in monitoring their own attainment and identifying what they needed to do to improve.
At the time of the inspection the headteacher was about to leave to take up a new post within the Education Authority. She had led the school very well for thirteen years, and had been responsible for creating the school’s inclusive, caring ethos. She had been successful in improving pupils’ learning, attainment and achievement. She monitored pupils’ classroom experiences and gave useful feedback to staff. All staff in the school shared her commitment to evaluating their own practice in order to improve the quality of pupils’ learning. They monitored the progress of individual pupils so that additional support could be given where required. Staff also carried out audits of the school’s performance using national quality indicators, and used the results of these to identify accurately the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Teachers discussed their own classroom practice, and knew their own strengths and how they could improve. They had begun a programme of observing one anothers’ lessons in order to develop this further. Teaching and support staff regularly took part in professional development activities. These had helped them to work more effectively with pupils, especially those with additional support needs.
Main points for action The school and education authority should continue to provide high quality and improving education. In doing so, they should take account of the need to:
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What happens next?
As a result of the high performance, the strong record of improvement and the very effective leadership of this school, HM Inspectors will make no further reports in connection with this inspection. The school and the education authority have been asked to prepare an action plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report, and to share that plan with parents and carers. Within two years of the publication of this report the education authority, working with the school, will provide a progress report to parents and carers.
Brian Stewart
HM Inspector
26 April 2005
We judged the following to be very good
We judged the following to be good
We judged the following to be fair
We judged the following to be unsatisfactory
Important features of responses from the various groups which received questionnaires are listed below.
What pleased parents and carers most |
What parents and carers would like to see improved |
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What pleased pupils most |
What pupils would like to see improved |
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What pleased staff most |
What staff would like to see improved |
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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 Educational Services, 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, Longman House, 28 Longman Road, Inverness, IV1 1SF or by telephoning 01463 253115. Copies are also available on our website www.hmie.gov.uk .
If you wish to comment about primary inspections
Should you wish to comment on any aspect of primary inspections, you should write in the first instance to Frank Crawford, HMCI, at HM Inspectorate of Education, Europa Building, 450 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8LG.
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 600265 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 2005
HM Inspectorate of Education
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