Inspection report says Castletown Primary helps children be ‘confident individuals and responsible citizens’
Castletown Primary School’s glowing inspection report, issued today (August 27), highlights key strengths with pupils and teaching staff.
Education Scotland, the Scottish Government executive agency, talked of the main strengths at the school along with areas that could be improved.
Key strengths of the school were laid out in a letter sent to Castletown Primary and have been made available to the public.
The letter states: “Children, who are kind, polite and use the school vision and values well to encourage others to be the best they can be. They are enthusiastic about their school and their learning.
“The staff team, who have high expectations for all children and are committed to improving outcomes for children. They work together well as an effective team to provide children with supportive and motivating learning experiences.
“The headteacher and staff use data well to track closely children’s attainment in literacy and numeracy. They identify quickly where children need further support with their learning and put effective interventions in place.”
It also states that staff provide children with worthwhile opportunities to experience success through their wider achievements which helps pupils become “confident individuals and responsible citizens”.
The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from the Highland Council.
“The headteacher and all staff should protect time to regularly evaluate the work of the school. This will help them to implement change and improvement more systematically.
“The headteacher and staff should continue to develop approaches to planning and tracking children’s learning over all curriculum areas. This will ensure children make the best possible progress across the curriculum.”
It also states that staff should “increase the opportunities for children to undertake planned leadership roles” across the school as this will strengthen children’s voices in leading school improvement.
Education Scotland is confident that the school “has the capacity to continue to improve” and will make no more visits in connection with this inspection. The Highland Council will inform parents/carers about the school’s progress as part of its arrangements for reporting on the quality of its schools.
