Hunter Primary School 15 September 2011 Background Hunter Primary School was inspected by Her MajestyÕs Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) in May 2010 Following the publication of the report in August 2010, the Head Teacher and staff prepared an action plan to address the main recommendations The school is part of the Calderglen Learning Community and the Quality Link Officer reviewed progress on the action plan and submitted an evaluation of the schoolÕs response to the HMIe inspection report HMIe require that a follow-through report is completed within one year of the initial report and in the case of Hunter Primary School this is the responsibility of South Lanarkshire Council Education Resources The following provides a summary of the progress made by the school in addressing the main points for action included in the inspection report Continuous improvement Since the initial inspection, the school has continued to improve its effectiveness in a number of ways These include: ¥ The school actively promotes health and well being and children are encouraged and supported to lead active and healthy lifestyles The school has achieved a gold award as a health promoting establishment Through their involvement in initiatives to support sustainable development the children have a sound understanding of sustainability and as a result, have achieved an Eco-Schools Scotland green flag ¥ The Parent Council and the school have worked together effectively to develop a strong sense of community The Parent Council is fully involved in the design of the new school The school communicates effectively with the parents through monthly class newsletters, weekly target sheets and information leaflets, for example, Curriculum for Excellence leaflets Parents, carers and business partners also participate in the life of the school through their involvement in events such as the World of Work Day ¥ Citizenship activities provide pupils with the opportunities to develop responsible and caring attitudes towards others The school has highly effective links with members of the local community, enhancing and enriching childrenÕs learning A significant aspect of this learning is through links with ÔGlasgow the Caring CityÕ to support a school overseas The school was awarded South Lanarkshire CouncilÕs Special Achievement award and ÔCaring for Africa AwardÕ from Glasgow the Caring City in recognition of their charity work ¥ The school is promoting achievement in a variety of ways These include participation by P7 in a residential experience and access to a wide range of clubs, such as, cross country running, P3 sports club and garden club Opportunities are provided for pupil involvement in a range of enterprising approaches to learning, for example, participation in ÔMoney WeekÕ and the South Sudan school link project ChildrenÕs wider achievements are celebrated at assemblies and through the Ômagical memoriesÕ display board Main points for action The following offers a brief account of the progress made by the school and the authority in addressing the main action points of the report ¥ Continue to involve children more actively in their learning The school has made very good progress in addressing this main point for action The involvement of teachers in professional development activities such as peer observation and the modelling of best practice have resulted in children becoming more actively involved in their own learning There is now a clear focus on active learning throughout the school Teachers share with children what they are expected to learn from their activities in all curricular areas Children are now much clearer on how to evaluate their own work, discuss their performance, share targets with other pupils, and together with their teachers, set next steps in learning The Head Teacher regularly visits classrooms to ensure consistency in the quality of learning and teaching Increased partnership working between the school and parents is enabling them to become more involved in supporting their childÕs learning New active maths resources have been implemented There has been an emphasis on the development of responsive planning which reflects the childrenÕs interests allowing staff to focus more on specific learning needs Across the school, children are benefitting from the use of educational games to develop and reinforce their learning ¥ Improve self-evaluation to ensure it leads to consistently high-quality learning which meets the needs of all children The school has made very good progress in addressing this main point for action The Head Teacher has taken a lead role in identifying and disseminating best practice throughout the school A timetable of classroom visits is in place allowing best practice to be identified then shared and discussed with all staff for the benefit of children As a result, the learning needs of children and pupils across the school are being increasingly met Staff regularly discuss and review their working practices and the overall quality of provision during staff meetings and in-service days Teachers are encouraged to visit other classrooms to observe learning and teaching, engage in professional discussion and reflect on their own practice These strategies make an important contribution to providing high quality learning to better meet the needs of all children ¥ Address health and safety issues The school has made satisfactory progress in addressing this main point for action The education authority started to build a new school in April 2011 The new school will be ready for occupation early in 2012 and will provide state-of-the-art facilities for education in the 21st Century During the period until the new school opens, the education authority will continue to carry out maintenance to ensure that the accommodation offers an environment which meets the requirements of health and safety legislation Since the inspection, the health and safety concerns contained within the report have been addressed The damage to floor coverings in the hall, corridors, classrooms and stairways have been repaired and these repairs will be monitored to ensure the safety of staff and pupils Conclusion Overall, the school and the education authority have made very good progress towards meeting the main points for action identified in the original report Education Resources will not provide any further report in connection with the original HMIe report of August 2010, but will continue to monitor and support procedures within the school as part of its commitment to ensuring the highest quality education for all pupils For more information please phone 01698 454475 or email education@southlanarkshire.gov.uk If you, or someone you know, would like this information in another language or format, please contact us to discuss how we can meet your needs 07/11 (Pri) 15 September 2011