Rousay Pupils are ‘keen to learn’

An inspection by Education Scotland has found that pupils at Rousay Primary School are 'confident, friendly children, who are keen to learn and contribute to the school and wider community'.

The findings of the inspection have been published on the Education Scotland website today (Tuesday 23 January).

Inspectors identified the key strengths of the school as:

• The welcoming environment, resulting in confident, friendly children who are keen to learn and contribute to the school and wider community.
• The strong commitment to continuous improvement in the nursery, leading to the successful introduction of the provision for two year olds.
• Children's engagement and enjoyment of early literacy skills in the nursery.
• The effective support provided to children when joining the school, and as they move on to secondary, enabling them to settle quickly and manage these transitions.

Areas identified for improvement were:

• Continue with plans to develop approached to self-evaluation, ensuring the involvement of the whole school community and an increased pace of change.
• Increase children's ownership and independence in learning, developing their understanding of themselves as a learner.
• Continue to develop the curriculum in line with national guidelines, taking due account of the school's unique context and the islands it serves.
• Through the use of effective planning, tracking and monitoring, improve levels of attainment across the school.

The school will now take forward its areas for development with support from senior officers in the education service. Education Scotland has said they do not plan to make further visits to the school as a result of this inspection.

Carol McManus is a Service Improvement Officer with the Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing Service. She said: “This is a positive inspection for Rousay Primary School. The results reflect the hard work and commitment of pupils, staff and the wider community and we can look forward with confidence as we work together as a team to put in place the improvements suggested.”

Education Scotland is the Scottish Government executive agency responsible for supporting quality and improvement in Scottish education, securing the delivery of better learning experiences and outcomes for Scottish learners of all ages.

Each year, they inspect and report on the quality of education in a sample of early years and childcare settings, primary schools, secondary schools, special schools, all-through schools, community learning and development services, colleges, and residential educational provision.