HMIE report – Broomlands Primary School
Tuesday, February 5 2008
Broomlands Primary School and nursery class were inspected in October 2007 as part of a national sample of primary and nursery education.
The inspection covered key aspects of the work of the school at all stages. It evaluated nursery children’s and 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 identified the following key strengths:
- Children’s very good progress in language and communication in the nursery class and the effective support for children transferring from nursery to Primary One
- Pupils’ knowledge about health promotion and their enthusiasm for learning
- Commitment of all staff to the care and welfare of nursery children and school pupils, very good relationships and skilled support for pupils with additional support needs
- Leadership of the headteacher and the school’s strong productive partnerships with parents, local schools, and the wider community.
The inspection team found that, overall, parents were pleased with all aspects of the nursery and school’s work, saying that staff made them feel welcome and treated their children fairly. They felt that the school had a good reputation in the community. Pupils enjoyed being at school and they thought that staff expected them to work hard, teachers explained things clearly and were good at letting them know how to improve their work.
Children in the nursery class were motivated, confident and enthusiastic and could choose from a wide range of activities which engaged their interest.
Staff at the primary stages provided pupils with a broad and balanced curriculum which enabled them to develop a range of skills.
The quality of pastoral care was very good. Staff knew their pupils well and made good provision for their physical, social and emotional needs.
Gillian McKenzie, Headteacher at Broomlands, said: “I am pleased that the report has highlighted the many strengths in Broomlands – in particular, the care and welfare of pupils and relationships with parents and the wider community. The whole school community is now in a strong position to move forward and work has already begun to address the points for action.”
Colin Henderson, Chair of Broomlands Parent Council said: "As Chair of the Broomlands Parent Council I welcome the inspection report and consider it highlights the good practice of the school, its place in the community and the enthusiasm of the staff, as well as the contribution made by the pupils.
“It has been 10 years at least since the last full inspection and this gives the school an opportunity to measure standards and assess development. The areas described as adequate we would consider as development points for current and future school plans."
Both the school and local authority are looking forward to working in partnership to address the main points for action outlined in the report in order to secure improvement:
• address the accommodation issues outlined in this report
• improve the consistency of high quality learning experiences for pupils
• improve the pace of learning and level of challenge to ensure all pupils make appropriate progress
• improve the school’s approaches to self-evaluation, including tracking pupils’ progress and the quality of children’s experiences in the nursery.
The school and the local authority have been asked to prepare an action plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report and to share the plan with parents. HM Inspectors will engage with the school and the education authority to monitor progress, and will undertake a follow through inspection within two years.
Unified Solutions.