HMIe report - Farr Primary School and Nursery Class

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) inspected Farr Primary and nursery class, Sutherland in the course of September, 2008.  At the time of the inspection visit, the roll was 30 in the primary school and 4 in the nursery class.

The HMIe report published today is one of the first in the North area to be published under the new and streamlined format.  More compact than previously published reports, it has more detailed feedback available to the Head Teacher and the Council prior to publication. Several key strengths were identified as being on offer to the young people in the school and nursery:

• polite, well mannered and enthusiastic children;
• positive relationships and interactions between staff and children; and
• a wide range of positive learning experiences in the nursery.

Other notable features identified by the inspectors included staff already working together to examine how best to employ the new Curriculum for Excellence framework to enhance learning for pupils, good links with a wide range of partner agencies such as the speech and language service and good transition arrangements with the secondary school.  Finally a clear agenda for improvement has been identified by the acting Head Teacher to both address the action points and further improve the learning experience for all the pupils in the Farr Primary School community.

As with all inspection reports, the school has been asked to further develop some areas, supported by the council’s Quality Improvement Team, including increasing the pace of learning in the school allied to a broader curriculum, improving communication with parents and a more systematic use of self evaluation to identify further improvements.

Jane Kitchener, Acting Head Teacher said: “We were pleased our key strengths were recognised and acknowledge the areas to be addressed. Our current improvement plan identifies some of the issues and action to address them is already in progress.  The positive teamwork that exists within the school will provide a sound basis for developing strong community links.

“The opportunity to engage in professional dialogue with the Inspection Team was appreciated by all the staff. Feedback and advice was readily given and has provided us with additional guidance towards greater improvement.
“My personal thanks go to a very committed team who work together to make the best provision for the children in Farr Primary.”
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