Golfhill Primary School
Dennistoun
Glasgow City Council

2 September 2008

Contents

1. Background
2. Key strengths
3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
6. How good is the environment for learning?
7. Leading and improving the school
Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
How can you contact us?

1. Background

Golfhill Primary School was inspected in April 2008 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 innovation, and its 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 Parent Council and a group of parents¹.

The school serves an area of Dennistoun, in the east end of Glasgow and is part of the Whitehill Learning Community. At the time of the inspection the roll was 160. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was well above the national average. Pupils’ attendance was in line with the national average. During the past year, the school had experienced a period of significant change, including two consecutive appointments of temporary headteachers. The school had been decanted, for health and safety reasons, from the original school building into a newly constructed ‘Hutted Village’ in the grounds of Whitehill Secondary School. Due to the absence of the headteacher, the school had been led by two acting headteachers. At the time of the inspection the current acting headteacher had been in post for six weeks.

2. Key strengths

3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?

HM Inspectors analysed responses to questionnaires issued to all parents, P4 to P7 pupils, and to all staff. Information about the responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 2.

Parents were very positive about the school. They appreciated the commitment of staff during the period of transition from the school’s original building to the current accommodation. They felt welcome and believed staff showed care and concern for the welfare of their children. All parents thought that teachers were good at letting them know their children’s strengths and weaknesses. Almost all pupils enjoyed being at school. They thought teachers listened to what they said and that they had a say in deciding how to make the school better. A quarter of pupils thought the behaviour of some pupils was not good. Staff were very positive about all aspects of the school.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Learners’ experiences

The curriculum was satisfactory. The school’s focus on health education had increased pupils’ understanding of healthy lifestyles. Staff had taken positive steps to improve pupils’ skills in information and communications technology (ICT). All pupils benefited from participating in two hours of physical education each week. Pupils had purposeful opportunities to develop their numeracy skills across the curriculum, for example through enterprise education and environmental studies. Pupils from P1 to P3 benefited from opportunities to be active in their learning through play. However, these learning experiences were not yet sufficiently challenging. Some aspects of the curriculum, such as environmental studies and personal and social education, did not provide pupils with a continuous learning experience. Pupils did not have frequent enough opportunities to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in science and technology. The quality of teaching was satisfactory. Teachers shared the purpose of lessons with pupils and reviewed with them what they had learned. In most lessons, explanations and instructions were clear. However, across the school, individual lessons were often too lengthy and teaching approaches were not varied enough. In most classes, teachers did not provide stimulating enough opportunities for pupils to develop their skills in mental mathematics. Teachers did not use the outcomes of assessment effectively to identify pupils’ next steps in learning. Homework was regular and included aspects of topic work which pupils enjoyed.

Overall, the quality of learners’ experiences was satisfactory. The majority of pupils worked conscientiously on tasks which they had been set. Too often pupils were passive learners. As a result, they were not consistently engaged in their learning. The disruptive behaviour of a few pupils constrained the quality of learning experiences for themselves and other pupils. Pupils responded well to opportunities to work together in pairs or groups, for example in problem solving or enterprising activities. However, their skills in working collaboratively were not yet sufficiently well developed. In a few classes, pupils had purposeful opportunities to learn through practical work and investigation. This good practice was not consistent across the school.

Improvements in performance

Overall, the school had made satisfactory progress in improving its performance. However, there was scope for improvement in the quality of attainment in English language and mathematics. The needs of all learners were not being met effectively.

The quality of attainment in English language was satisfactory. Although there had been a dip in attainment in reading and writing in the previous year, there were encouraging signs of improvement. Most pupils were attaining appropriate national levels in reading and writing. Pupils who had not attained the appropriate national levels were making satisfactory progress. The majority of pupils listened well to instructions. Most pupils spoke confidently about their experiences. However, their skills in responding to the views of others in group discussion were not well enough developed. At the early stages, pupils were progressing well in developing their literacy skills. At P4 and P7, the majority of pupils read fluently and had good skills in reading for information. However, their knowledge about language and understanding of vocabulary were limited. Few pupils read regularly for pleasure. Across the school, pupils had not developed their skills sufficiently in writing for different purposes. The quality of presentation of work was good and standards in spelling were improving.

In mathematics, the quality of attainment was satisfactory. Although there had been a dip in attainment levels in the previous year, there were encouraging signs of improvement. Pupils who had not attained the appropriate national levels were making satisfactory progress. Across the school, pupils were successfully developing their skills in gathering and interpreting information from a range of charts. They had conducted their own surveys within different contexts such as environmental studies and health education. However, at P7, pupils did not have sufficient skills in using spreadsheets and databases to interpret and record information. At P1, pupils were making good progress in developing early skills in numeracy. Across the school, pupils were not sufficiently accurate in their mental calculations. At P7, they did not have sufficient understanding of numerical processes such as decimals and fractions. Most pupils across the school demonstrated a good understanding of time. They could successfully identify the properties of two- and three-dimensional shapes. Pupils had frequent opportunities to practise their skills in problem solving but did not demonstrate a sound understanding of how to apply these skills.

At P5, pupils were learning the skills of classification through their science lesson on plants. At all stages, pupils were developing their skills in enterprise through a range of topics. For example, P4 had organised a ‘bring and buy’ sale for parents. Across the school, pupils’ understanding of environmental studies was enhanced through educational visits linked to their topic.

The school had taken effective steps to assist pupils to develop their wider achievements. Pupils from P4 to P7 had good opportunities to be involved in after-school activities such as football, netball and highland dancing. The netball team had been successful in reaching the finals of the Glasgow City tournament. Pupils used the school suggestion box to contribute their ideas for improving the school. The pupil council met regularly and reported the outcomes of their decision making at assemblies. At all stages, the school placed a strong emphasis on promoting healthy lifestyles. A group of senior pupils had been trained as ‘activators’ and assisted younger pupils in developing their games skills in the playground. A group of P7 pupils worked together to produce a pupil newspaper. Pupils at P7 were developing their social and physical skills in a residential visit to Lochgoilhead with pupils at P7 from other schools in the Learning Community.

The school had made good progress in implementing improvements in ICT and health education and this had increased pupils’ skills and knowledge. However, the school improvement plan had not focused sufficiently on improving the quality of attainment. The planning process was not well enough founded on information derived from self-evaluation. Staff were committed to improvement but had not been sufficiently engaged in self-evaluation.

5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?

There were important weaknesses in the school’s approach to meeting learning needs. In a few effective lessons, teachers matched tasks and activities to the needs of pupils. However, in the majority of lessons, activities were not sufficiently challenging and tasks were not well matched to pupils’ needs. Teachers had taken encouraging steps to involve pupils in setting their own learning targets. However, these approaches were not yet embedded sufficiently in classroom practice. Pupils did not have regular enough opportunities to review and modify their targets for learning. There were clear and effective systems to identify pupils requiring additional support. Parents and pupils were beginning to be involved in establishing support plans. A ‘nurture class’ effectively assisted in supporting identified pupils and helped them to re-integrate into their classes. A range of staff provided helpful assistance to pupils, individually and in small group settings outwith their classroom. However, this support was not sufficiently linked with pupils’ class work. As a result, the potential benefits of team work in supporting pupils’ learning were not fully realised. Pupils who were learning English as an additional language were making good progress in their learning.

6. How good is the environment for learning?

7. Leading and improving the school

Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.

Golfhill Primary School provided a welcoming and supportive environment for pupils. Although there had been a dip in the standards of attainment in the previous year, there were encouraging signs of improvement. There was a need for teachers to use more varied teaching approaches in order to engage pupils more actively in their learning. Staff had taken positive steps to involve pupils in working collaboratively. However, in most classes, these approaches were not yet embedded in practice.

The school had experienced a period of change and uncertainty over the past year, including changes in staffing. The acting headteacher had been in post for only six weeks. She had demonstrated considerable commitment to involving staff in improving the school and had sustained the impetus of developments initiated by the previous acting headteacher. She was well supported by the recently-appointed acting depute headteacher. Together they were taking positive steps to provide staff with clear direction. They had built upon the improvements made by the previous acting headteacher to track and monitor the attainment of pupils. Teachers had recently been involved in ‘quality pairs’, a productive initiative which focused on self and peer evaluation of learning and teaching. The acting headteacher had also visited classes to observe learning and teaching and had provided staff with helpful feedback. Although there was now a positive climate for continuous improvement, self-evaluation had not yet impacted sufficiently on improvement across the school. Teamwork and capacity for leadership across the school was developing well, though still at an early stage. While the school had capacity for improvement, it required support from the education authority to take forward the recommendations of this report.

What happens next?

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. HM Inspectors will continue to engage with the school and the education authority in monitoring progress, and will undertake a follow-through inspection. This will result in a report to parents, within two years of the publication of this report, on the extent of improvement that has been achieved.

Noreen Connaughton
HM Inspector

2 September 2008

Appendix 1 Indicators of quality

The sections in the table below follow the order in this report. You can find the main comments made about each of the quality indicators in those sections. However, aspects of some quality indicators are relevant to other sections of the report and may also be mentioned in those other sections.

This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by inspectors:

Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses

Important features of responses from the various groups which received questionnaires are listed below. Where any one group had five or less respondees then, in order to maintain confidentiality, the analysis is not provided.

How can you contact us?

If you would like an additional copy of this report

Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher and school staff, the Executive Director of Education and Social Work 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, Europa Building, 450 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8LG or by telephoning 0141 242 0100. Copies are also available on our website www.hmie.gov.uk .

HMIE Feedback and Complaints Procedure

Should you wish to comment on any aspect of primary inspections, you should write in the first instance to Chris McIlroy, HMCI, at HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.

If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to our Complaints Manager, HMIE Business Management and Communications Team, Second Floor, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.  You can also e-mail HMIEComplaints@hmie.gsi.gov.uk. A copy of our complaints procedure is available from this office, by telephoning 01506 600200 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 (SPSO). The SPSO is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and agencies. You should write to the SPSO, Freepost EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BR. You can also telephone 0800 377 7330 fax 0800 377 7331 or e-mail: ask@spso.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.spso.org.uk.

Crown Copyright 2008

HM Inspectorate of Education

This report may be reproduced in whole or in part, except for commercial purposes or in connection with a prospectus or advertisement, provided that the source and date thereof are stated.

Footnote

1. Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to include foster carers, residential care staff and carers who are relatives or friends.