“Nurtured” pupils at Papdale Primary are “polite and proud of their school”

Papdale Primary pupils are polite and proud of their school with good staff relationships underpinning a supportive learning climate, a recent inspection has found.

Learning, teaching and assessment and raising attainment and achievement was rated as “good”, by HM Inspectors of Education with leadership of change and ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion said to be “satisfactory”.

Overall, the report was very positive with Inspectors saying they are confident that the school has the capacity to continue to improve and, as such, will make no more visits in connection with this inspection.
In May 2023, a team of inspectors from Education Scotland visited Papdale Primary School. During the visit, they talked to parents and carers, children and worked closely with the headteacher and staff.

The Inspection team found a number of strengths within Orkney’s largest primary school:
• Children are polite, respectful and very proud of their school.
• They take part in learning activities with enthusiasm and are eager to contribute their ideas to improve their school.
• Children benefit from positive and mutually respectful relationships with staff. This underpins the supportive climate for learning where children feel valued, known as individuals, and nurtured.
• Staff use effective approaches to improve children’s literacy skills. These are improving attainment in literacy outcomes for children.
The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from Orkney Islands Council.
• Senior leaders should continue to develop their approaches to evaluating and improving the work of the school.
• They should involve all members of the school community more regularly in improving the work of the school.
• Teachers should continue to develop a shared understanding of high-quality learning, teaching and assessment. This will help to ensure that children experience high-quality learning and teaching across the school.
• Staff should develop a shared language of wellbeing to support children more consistently to discuss and improve their wellbeing.
• Staff should develop children’s understanding of the importance of equality, valuing diversity and difference in society, and challenging discrimination. This will help children develop respect and understanding for others.
The inspection findings will be published on the Education Scotland website at https://education.gov.scot/ on 27 June 2023.

Papdale Nursery staff praised by Inspectors for ensuring “happy, settled, confident children” in their care

The staff at Papdale Primary School Nursery Class have been praised for their ongoing work in ensuring children within their care are “happy, settled, and confident who greatly enjoy their time at nursery”.
That’s according to HM Inspectors of Education who rated all quality indicators for leadership, learning, teaching and assessment, wellbeing, equality and inclusion and securing children’s progress as “good”.
The nursery was inspected during May this year, when Inspectors visited the facility and spoke with parents/carers and worked closely with the manager and practitioners.

The Inspection team found the following strengths in the setting’s work:
• The leadership of the manager who motivates all practitioners to continually improve their practice to ensure the best learning experiences for children.
• Improvements in the nursery take place at a pace which ensures they become part of daily practice.
• Practitioners who have developed positive relationships with children and families. They have made a nurturing, inclusive environment for children to successfully play and learn. This has led to happy, settled, and confident children who greatly enjoy their time at nursery.
• Practitioners who have a sound understanding of how children can learn through play. This has led to the creation of a rich, meaningful, enabling learning environment with high-quality experiences and opportunities.
• Strong partnership working with other professionals which leads to families being well supported by both nursery staff and other professionals.

The following areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the manager and a representative from Orkney Islands Council:
• Further develop leadership roles for practitioners and children. This will effectively support the on-going and continuous improvement of the setting.
• Continue to develop approaches to learning, teaching, and assessment, including the way practitioners interact with children. This will help ensure that learning is at the appropriate level for all children.
• Continue to ensure that the progress of learning targets for all children, including those who require additional support, are clear and measurable. This will help them to identify the interventions which make the biggest difference for children.
Inspectors confirmed that the nursery has the capacity to continue to improve and, as such, will make no more visits in connection with this inspection.

The Council’s Chair of the Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, Gwenda Shearer, said: “I am delighted to see the foundations being instilled in our young children attending at nursery at Papdale are of such great quality and thereafter as they move onto the primary department.

“In addition to the learning experience, it is so vital that our children are made to feel happy, settled and nurtured from the very outset, giving them a wonderful early educational experience.
“Many congratulations to the Papdale Nursery Class and Primary School teams for these excellent inspection reports.”
The inspection findings will be published on the Education Scotland website at https://education.gov.scot/ on 27 June 2023.