Kingussie High School inspection report
In one of the first reports published after Her Majesty’s inspectors’ announcement of increased expectations in relation to implementing Curriculum for Excellence, pupils and staff at Kingussie School have received not only praise, but also a clear agenda for improvement.
The inspectors found evidence of a community which was working in partnership to provide satisfactory learning experiences for pupils, especially those with additional needs, and well behaved young people keen to be involved in the life and work of the school. The inspectors also made recommendations to improve the curriculum further, involve young people more directly in their learning, and improve the school’s self-evaluation approaches.
Head Teacher, John Tracey, welcomed HMIe’s recommendations, he said: “The report highlighted some of the school’s strengths and areas for development which we will continue to work on.”
Pupils and staff were praised by the inspectors. Aside from Badenoch and Strathspey’s young people being “…well behaved, polite and willing to learn…”, they received commendation for their work in raising funds for charities, musical talent and abilities in conversational Gaelic. Staff were also praised as “…reflective practitioners, committed to improving their work…” with their development of learning and teaching approaches receiving recognition.
The inspectors however, also found that the school had some way to go to achieve the improvements in the curriculum and attainment desired by all. They indicated that they would work with the local authority to discuss the most appropriate support to build capacity for achieving these goals.
Mr Tracey believes that the report provides a solid platform for further improvement as the school moves further into Curriculum for Excellence. He said: “We remain committed to working with parents, pupils and staff to raise expectations and levels of attainment and look forward to working with the local authority on these.”
Parent Council representative, Jillian Robertson, commented: “The Parent Council recognises that good work is going on in the school but there is a lot to be done over the coming months to improve the learning experience of our children. This process has begun already, with much needed renovations to the school underway. We are keen to work with the staff and the Education Authority to make positive changes.”
The report is published on 20 November 2012.