HM Inspection: Eccles/Leitholm Primary School
Tuesday, October 25 2005
An inspection of Eccles/Leitholm Primary School, near Kelso, took place in April 2005. The inspection included the implementation of Hungry for Success, a whole-school approach to School Meals in Scotland.
The inspectors identified several very important strengths of the school. These were:
* Relationships with parents and the community.
* The commitment of all staff to providing a welcoming and caring environment for pupils.
* Pupils' behaviour and their positive attitudes to learning.
* The focus given to promoting a healthy lifestyle.
The headteacher, Mrs Jill Freshwater, said, "It was particularly pleasing that the commitment of all staff to providing a welcoming and caring environment for our pupils was recognised, as well as our commitment to promoting a health lifestyle. We recognise that there are areas in which we can improve and are confident of our capacity to deal with the priorities identified in our report."
The Chairperson of the School Board, Mrs Carol Gardner, said: "We are very pleased that the good relations with parents and community were recognised and that pupil behaviour is of a high standard. We shall continue to support the school in future developments."
The inspectors identified several areas for further development by the school. These were to:
* Establish systematic approaches to monitor and evaluate the work of the school in order to improve pupils' learning experiences.
* Improve the quality of learning through involving pupils in monitoring their own progress and setting individual learning
targets.
* Ensure that tasks are sufficiently challenging to meet the needs of all pupils and that the pace of learning is appropriate.
* Develop pupils' skills in problem solving and in information and communications technology.
The Education authority and the school are now working together to take forward the recommendations made in the report.
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