Education Scotland’s report on Ancrum Primary published

During their visit in September this year, inspectors talked to parents, carers and young people and worked closely with the head teacher and her staff.

Key strengths

The Inspection team found the following strengths in the school’s work:

• Strength of leadership and teamwork across the whole staff team. Together, staff are improving outcomes for children through the provision of well-structured learning opportunities for children.
• Children who are kind and respectful, who engage positively in their learning and support each other well. This provides a learning environment for children that has a family feel.
• The creative, interesting contexts provided by teachers to support learning and achievement. These are enhanced through the involvement of parents, partners and the local community. This supports children to relate their learning to real-life contexts and their local community. Children are proud of the contribution they make to their village community.
• Staff’s use of highly effective approaches to support children’s emotional wellbeing. These support children to manage their emotions and behaviour very well. This increases their ability to engage purposefully in their learning.

Areas of improvement

The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the head teacher and a representative from the Education service:

• Senior leaders should strengthen approaches to self-evaluation and quality assurance to ensure the accurate identification of improvement priorities.
• Teachers should provide children with increased opportunities to lead their own learning and experience a greater degree of challenge. They should encourage children to become more independent in their learning and raise their aspirations of what they can achieve.
• Senior leaders and staff should strengthen further their shared understanding of national standards and expectations. As part of this work, they should regularly review and discuss children’s progress in learning.
• Staff should raise children’s attainment in numeracy and literacy, particularly writing.

Headteacher Susan Oliver:

“We are delighted that inspectors saw and felt the positive relationships at the heart of everything we do and recognised that our children have a strong sense of belonging because they are valued and cared for by both staff and one another. Inspectors noted a calm, nurturing and inclusive ethos, which helps every child engage fully in their learning, and acknowledged the strong support in place for children and families at all stages.

“The inspection also highlighted how staff make excellent use of the local environment and strong community partnerships to create rich, relevant learning experiences, as well as the important role our Parent Council plays in enhancing opportunities for all our children.

Ensuring such a positive culture is truly a team effort and I would like to thank our children, staff, parents, carers, partners, and local community for their ongoing support in making Ancrum Primary such a special place to learn and work.”

Hermoine Blackshaw, Vice-Chair of Ancrum Parent Council:

“The Parent Council is very pleased to see such a positive HMI report. It is wonderful that the inspectors have recognised the areas in which the school excels, particularly in promoting wellbeing, equality and inclusion, and delivering high-quality learning and teaching. The report highlights the dedication and hard work of the staff, leadership team, and wider school community, which is very much appreciated by parents and carers.

“The Parent Council looks forward to continuing to support and work closely with the Senior Leadership Team as we build on these strengths and focus on the areas identified for further improvement. We are confident that, through continued partnership between staff, pupils, parents and carers, the school will keep moving from strength to strength and maintain the positive, inclusive environment that benefits all our children.”

Education Scotland are confident that the school has the capacity to continue to improve and so will make no more visits in connection with this inspection.