Tarbat Old Primary and nursery class

Tarbat Old Primary and nursery class were inspected by HMIe in the course of May, 2008.  At the time of the inspector’s visit, the roll was 23 in the primary school and 6 in the nursery class.

Inspectors identified several key strengths on offer to the young people:

• a high quality learning experience in the nursery class;
• a strong commitment from all staff to their pupils in terms of their care and welfare;
• a particularly strong profile of attainment in reading; and
• the quality of support offered to pupils with Additional Support Needs by support for learning staff and the school’s learning assistant.

The surveys of staff and pupils also confirmed a strong sense of community with everyone involved confirming the fact they liked working in Tarbat Old Primary and nursery class.  This positive ethos was also reflected in the views of parents and guardians who emphasised that the school made them feel welcome, offered high quality parents evenings and were particularly complimentary of the nursery provision.

As with all inspection reports, the school has been asked to further develop some areas, supported by the Council’s Quality Improvement Team, including how the school plans for improvement and how to improve monitoring of pupils’ work to improve attainment.

Although only in post for four weeks when the inspectors arrived, Head Teacher Eileen Henderson said: “I am pleased that the commitment and hard work of the teaching and support staff and the enthusiasm of pupils have been recognised in the report.  The report has highlighted many positive aspects of provision within the school and we will work closely with pupils and parents in taking positive steps to address the issues raised by HMIe.”

Chair at Tarbat Old Primary Parent Council, Janice Cameron was also very positive about the published report and said: “I am delighted with the continuous progress and performance shown by both staff and pupils. The dedication of everyone involved within the school and the local community, provides a steady and knowledgeable flow of encouragement for all. I am totally confident that any issues will be dealt with as swiftly as allowable.”