Education Scotland inspectors praise pupils at Lochinver Primary School as 'respectful, kind and keen to learn'
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A SMALL north-west Sutherland primary school has passed an Education Scotland school's inspection with flying colours.
The 32-pupil Lochinver Primary School has been scored as "good" in four fields –leadership; learning, teaching and assessment; raising attainment and achievement; and the way it ensures wellbeing, equality and inclusion.
The newly published inspection report describes pupils as "polite, happy children who engaged well in all aspects of school life", and who were "keen to learn and show respect and kindness to each other".
There was also praise for staff with headteacher Colin Masterson, who is also in charge of Achiltibuie Primary School, said to be providing "effective leadership".
The report reads: "As a result of his clear vision for the development of the school, all staff share a focus to support children to achieve their full potential."
It was also noted that school staff, partners and the wider community worked together to "enhance children's learning experiences".
"There is a strong sense of collegiality amongst the staff team. Staff at all levels work closely together to provide a warm, welcoming and purposeful ethos for all."
A team of inspectors visited Lochinver primary in October. They talked to the children, their parents and carers, and also worked closely with the headteacher and staff.
A six point scale is used to evaluate the quality of a school's work, ranging from excellent to very good, good, satisfactory, weak and unsatisfactory.
Inspectors did pinpoint some areas in which it was felt that improvements could be made.
It was recommended that children's learning should be built on what they have learned before and that staff should follow their existing plans to refresh and update the curriculum.
Inspectors also advised that teachers should continue to develop approaches to learning and teaching to ensure "all children are challenged to make the best possible progress".
And it was also recommended that teachers should "work together to develop further a shared understanding of national expectations and standards across all areas of the curriculum".
The report concludes that inspectors were happy with their visit and did not feel there was any requirement to make a follow-up visit.
It reads: "We are confident that the school has the capacity to continue to improve and so we 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."
The full report can be accessed on the Education Scotland website.
