Helmsdale Primary noted for use of local surroundings in 'satisfactory' report
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An east-Sutherland primary school has been praised for its use of the local environment following an inspection earlier this year.
A visit from Education Scotland in March resulted in a "satisfactory" evaluation for Helmsdale Primary School, across two key indicators – learning, teaching and assessment, and raising attainment and achievement.
The school, which serves a catchment area from Forsinard to Loth, currently has 48 children on its roll.
Inspectors noted that over the past year and a half, periods of staff absence had led to changes in staffing, and that children had experienced some disruption due to closures arising from severe weather and building issues.
But despite the disruption, the school was noted for its strengths in two areas – consistency of learning, and its use of the local environment.
The Education Scotland report stated that improvements made by the acting headteacher had resulted in greater consistency of learning and teaching. The school's ability to track children’s learning progress had also been strengthened as a result of the changes.
The school's use of the local area and community partnerships to "enrich children’s learning experiences" was also noted for its effectiveness, particularly in outdoor learning settings.
Three areas were identified for improvement, and were discussed with the headteacher and a representative from The Highland Council during the visit.
Inspectors advised school leaders to improve their approach to planning in each curriculum area to ensure that children build on their prior learning more effectively as they move through the school. It was also advised that staff should ensure that assessment forms part of the planning process.
A recommendation was made that the school develop further a shared understanding of national expectations and standards when it comes to children achieving across all areas of the curriculum.
Lastly, in a bid to raise children’s attainment in literacy and English, and numeracy and mathematics, inspectors recommended that staff should prioritise developing children’s writing skills.
A Highland Council spokesperson said: "We are pleased that the inspection team highlighted the good progress made in our work to strengthen the consistency of learning and teaching and improve procedures to track children’s progress in learning.
"As a school community we look forward to working together to address any areas for development that have been highlighted as part of the inspection processes and continue to be ambitious to achieve the very best for all our pupils.”
