Invergarry Primary School inspection

Staff showed considerable care for and commitment to the pupils and used praise effectively to recognise pupil achievement.

Standards in English Language and Mathematics were very good and good respectively and standards were continuing to improve. There were some very good examples of teaching but identified weaknesses in the curriculum resulted in the overall needs of pupils not always being met well enough. The school had taken positive action to ensure the welfare of pupils and a clear programme of health education was in place. It was recommended that up-to-date training on matters of child protection should now be progressed.

The school ethos was judged to be very good and there was a high level of support from parents, the School Board and the wider community, including the school chaplain and the local priest.

Pupils enjoyed using the rocky hillside for play but this area was identified as containing a number of potential hazards. As a result, the authority has been asked to address this issue at an early date.

However, important weaknesses were identified in the leadership and management of the school and despite significant authority support priorities for improvement had not been well implemented. There was a lack of whole school systems to support staff and too little had been done to monitor the progress of pupils or the quality of learning and teaching. Inspectors judged that the school had not shown that it had the capacity to improve without the on-going support and challenge of the education authority

Miss Catherine Stoddart, head teacher, said: "I am very pleased that the pupils very good performances have been recognised by the inspectors."

School Board Chair Douglas Stewart said: "I am pleased that the inspectors have recognised the very good and supportive partnership which exists between the school, parents and the wider community of Invergarry."

The school and education authority will now prepare an action plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report.