HMIe report for Kilchuimen Primary School

Kilchuimen Primary School received a very positive report from HMIe inspectors who visited the school in June 2012.  They recognised that children across the school are achieving well and making good progress in their learning.  Teachers in the primary classes plan interesting activities that often enable children to learn together in groups and are very good at planning relevant learning experiences for children, often linked to topical local and national events. In the nursery children are increasingly deciding what and how they will learn during their play and most children listen well to adults and can express their ideas and opinions confidently.

Most children are making good progress in English language and mathematics and are supported well by teachers who give clear explanations and use questioning well to check children’s understanding.

The school was judged as good or very good in the categories inspected.  The inspectors highlighted as a strength the highly-effective way that staff meet the wide range of children’s needs and the caring, supportive and inclusive ethos for learning.  This includes high quality support staff who work skilfully alongside teachers and help children to gain confidence in their own abilities.

Inspectors also praised the commitment of the head teacher and all staff to securing improvements for children, and the friendly, polite children who are proud of their nursery and school.

While a good start has been made to planning maths with Curriculum for Excellence, the school will now focus on improving programmes for literacy and English language in the nursery and primary classes and continue to use Curriculum for Excellence to further develop systems for planning learning and tracking children’s progress. The school will also build upon children’s skills and enthusiasm as learners, by giving them more responsibility for their learning and by promoting a ‘can do’ approach.

Commenting on the report, Head Teacher Wendy Scollay, said: “We are very pleased with the report and I would like to emphasise the importance of the whole school team in achieving such a result.   Together we will continue to move forward.”

HMIe are confident that the school is well placed to improve further and will make no more visits in connection to this inspection.