Parkhill School
Glasgow City Council

16 December 2008

This report tells you about the quality of education at the school. We describe how children benefit from learning there. We explain how well they are doing and how good the school is at helping them to learn. Then we look at the ways in which the school does this. We describe how well the school works with other groups in the community, including parents¹ and services which support children. We also comment on how well staff and children work together and how they go about improving the school.

Our report describes the ‘ethos’ of the school. By ‘ethos’ we mean the relationships in the school, how well children are cared for and treated and how much is expected of them in all aspects of school life. Finally, we comment on the school’s aims. In particular, we focus on how well the aims help staff to deliver high quality learning, and the impact of leadership on the school’s success in achieving these aims.

If you would like to learn more about our inspection of the school, please visit www.hmie.gov.uk. Here you can find analyses of questionnaire returns. Where applicable, you will also be able to find descriptions of good practice in the school.

Contents

1. The school
2. Particular strengths of the school
3. Examples of good practice
4. How well do young people learn and achieve?
5. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s learning?
6. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving their school community?
7. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?
8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?
9. What happens next?

4. How well do young people learn and achieve?

Learning and achievement

Almost all young people are happy at school and have positive relationships with staff. Staff treat young people with respect at all times and learners feel valued as individuals. Young people feel very safe and secure in the school. The school is helping them develop in confidence and they feel able to voice their thoughts and opinions. Most young people are fully involved in their learning and find lessons interesting. In a few classes they do not receive enough encouragement to take active roles. Lessons are sometimes too easy and do not appeal sufficiently to their interests. A few teachers use information and communications technology well to motivate young people. This could be further developed across the school.

A number of young people take part in sports, philosophy or social clubs organised after school. These develop their social and life skills. Leisure activities on a Friday afternoon lead to young people achieving Caledonian Awards. Young people have also achieved success through the John Muir Award scheme. The Pupil Council has succeeded in making changes to the school name and uniform, and in getting the toilets refurbished. The school has a very active Eco committee which has gained a Green Flag for the school. Several departments are involved in Enterprise projects, gaining the Glasgow City Council Diamond Award.

In S1/S2, pupils’ achievements have improved in reading and writing. Improvement in achievement in mathematics has been less consistent. During a trial programme designed to improve reading abilities, 20 young people from across the school made significant progress. This programme has been extended to involve the whole school. Staff in all subject areas are now more aware of the literacy abilities of all pupils. Young people use their numeracy skills across the curriculum, for example, in home economics, during enterprise projects and in a very recently developed financial education course. The school is increasing opportunities for young people to achieve National Qualification (NQs) units at Access level. They do not have the chance to gain cluster or group awards. Almost all young people in S5/S6 are working towards bronze and silver levels from the Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network range of qualifications. A few pupils are not working at levels which match their abilities or their levels of achievement in other subjects or at college. For example, some learners who have been able to achieve awards at Standard Grade or Intermediate 1 levels in English are only achieving at Access 2 levels in some other subject areas. The school does not have a suitable system for tracking individual progress. Young people have gained NQs from Access 1 to Access 3 in physical education and make effective use of a nearby sports centre to develop these skills. Young people are achieving their individual targets in personal learning plans and additional support plans but these are not always set high enough to meet their personal and learning needs effectively. Young people are achieving personal success through a wide range of college and work placements. A few young people have gained employment as a result of these courses.

Curriculum and meeting learning needs

The curriculum is designed to provide opportunities to develop a range of skills for learning, life and work. In S1 and S2 young people study a suitable range of subjects which builds on what they have learned in primary schools. In S3/S4, young people begin working on Access units, Standard Grade or Intermediate 1 courses. Staff have established the use of praise cards in all subjects, based on the key features of Curriculum for Excellence. Some departments are working with each other to develop joint studies through community activities and enterprise projects. For example, staff in the social subjects department have successfully worked with staff from most other subject areas during the school’s sustainability project. The school has a shorter week than mainstream schools. This reduces the opportunities for young people to complete their courses or work with others across a wider range of subject areas. Young people in S1-S3 do not have enough access to quality physical education. Overall, the curriculum does not have enough opportunities for young people to make choices or study subjects in greater depth.

Staff plan very effectively for young people to move from school to adult placements, with clearly stated and identified steps for moving on.

When they plan for young people to move from primary to secondary school, teachers are good at sharing information and arranging for young people to visit their new school.

In most subjects the tasks set by teachers match young people’s learning needs. Many experiences motivate and encourage pupils to think independently. In mathematics and social subjects, teachers need to consider more carefully the relevance of the tasks they are setting and how these can meet the needs of all learners more effectively. A number of activities and courses need to be more challenging and meaningful. For example, topic choices could relate more to local history or young people could have access to up-to-date literature in school and class libraries. Young people do not yet have sufficient opportunities to learn alongside pupils in mainstream secondary schools. The school has begun to consider how to make arrangements for them to be included in mainstream classes as appropriate. Staff should continue to monitor their whole school reading programme in order to ensure that more able learners are catered for and that those with specific difficulties are also making the best use of their time. The needs of young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties are not always fully met. Exclusion rates are very high with a number of young people repeatedly out of school for lengthy spells of time. The school recognises the need to take a more active role in meeting the needs of this group of learners. Young people who have autism spectrum disorders are well included into classes in the school. Staff should now develop more specific approaches to meet the needs of these learners. Staff do not always plan effectively enough to meet the needs of all young people.

5. How well do staff work with others to support young people’s learning?

The school has developed a strong partnership with most parents. A recently developed speech and language therapy group involves young people and parents in working together. The school has also organised finance education workshops for families to learn about money management together. The school has a very active Parent Council whose members are very proud of the school. Parents are not yet fully involved in planning how to improve the school. The school has very strong links with a range of Glasgow colleges and local businesses which provide young people with extended opportunities for learning for life and work. The school has developed effective partnerships with a range of people and agencies including the community policeman, the educational psychologist and physiotherapist who have provided professional training for staff. Four voluntary reading tutors have been trained by the school to assist with a paired-reading programme. The school has very positive links with the immediate community but could consider developing more active links to youth teams in young people’s home communities.

6. Are staff and young people actively involved in improving their school community?

Pupils are very proud of their school and are very good at supporting each other to do their best. Staff belong to improvement groups in the school. One group in particular has recently made effective changes to the way in which the school identifies its strengths and how it might improve. Departmental plans for improving subject areas do not focus sufficiently on the achievements of young people or link closely to whole school plans. Staff would like to be more meaningfully consulted on school issues. Senior managers observe lessons but do not always reflect appropriately with staff in order to improve the standard of teaching consistently across the school. A new approach to evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of lessons has been developed and may in future enable young people to make better progress.

7. Does the school have high expectations of all young people?

Staff show a very high degree of commitment to the young people at Parkhill. They work together well to support young people in a caring environment. The art department proudly displays pupils’ high quality art work around the school. Most staff are enthusiastic about the life and work of the school and many give up their own time to develop their own subject areas and to set up clubs both in the school and wider community. The janitor makes a very positive contribution to the life of the school by supporting pupils through sports clubs and at a personal and social level. Staff are highly involved in the care and welfare of young people. The school provides young people with regular opportunities to attend a ‘tutor group’ which allows them to meet regularly with a specific staff member to discuss their progress or concerns. The school expects that young people will leave school to gain employment, and in recent years a few leavers have succeeded in getting permanent jobs through contacts made in previous work experience placements. Staff expectations of young people vary across the school and many young people feel that the work in some classes is too easy. A number of young people in the school are achieving less than they could due to the lowered expectations of a few teachers. The school aims should be updated to reflect the current levels of achievement of young people. The school regularly celebrates success through the use of praise cards, assemblies and day-to-day conversations. The school has suitable arrangements for religious observance and has developed very close links with local churches, who are also involved in school project work.

8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?

The headteacher has tremendous pride in the school and is highly committed to the young people of Parkhill. She makes a very strong contribution to the pastoral support of pupils and to working with their families. The senior management team has given the headteacher loyal support. The team is currently going through a period of change and needs time to work more confidently together. They do not have a shared understanding of key priorities and how to secure improvement across the school. A few staff feel that communication between departments to share information on pupil progress, new ideas or good practice is limited. The school has recently made a number of changes which now need to be reviewed and adjusted as necessary to secure long-term improvements. The school recognises that it now needs to set a clear agenda for improvement, involving all staff.

9. What happens next?

We are confident that the school, with the support of the education authority, will take steps to make the improvements needed in light of the inspection findings. The school and the education authority have agreed to amend the school improvement plan to take account of what we found during the inspection. They will inform parents about the school’s progress in improving the quality of education.

Quality indicators help schools and nursery classes, education authorities and inspectors to judge what is good and what needs to be improved in the work of a school and a nursery class. You can find these quality indicators in the HMIE publications How good is our school? and The Child at the Centre. Following the inspection of each school, the Scottish Government gathers evaluations of three important quality indicators to keep track of how well all Scottish schools and nursery classes are doing.

Here are the evaluations for Parkhill School.

We also evaluated the following aspects of the work of the school.

HM Inspector: Angela Edwards
16 December 2008

To find out more about inspections or get an electronic copy of this report go to www.hmie.gov.uk. Please contact the Business Management and Communications Team (BMCT) if you wish to enquire about our arrangements for translated or other appropriate versions.

If you wish to comment about any of our inspections, contact us at HMIEenquiries@hmie.gsi.gov.uk or alternatively you should write in the first instance to BMCT, HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.

Our complaints procedure is available from our website www.hmie.gov.uk or alternatively you can write to our Complaints Manager, at the address above or by telephoning 01506 600259.

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 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 at www.spso.org.uk.

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

Crown Copyright 2008
HM Inspectorate of Education

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.