Special school in Tain gets inspector’s verdict after follow-up visit
A ROSS-SHIRE special school told to improve across a number of areas has received the verdict from a follow-up inspection.
St Duthus School in Tain was at the beginning of the year told it had made insufficient progress on issues raised during a previous inspection in 2023, when it was rated weak in two areas.
A follow-up in January of this year said not enough progress had been made and so the school would be revisited before the end of 2024.
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St Duthus Special School caters for pupils with severe, complex and profound Additional Support Needs from a large catchment area from Alness to Golspie and Lairg. The current roll is 18 pupils, aged 3-18.
In a letter published today, Education Scotland says that visit has now taken place with sufficient progress made on all required fronts.
These include improving learning and teaching HM Inspector Emma McFarlane found that teachers “adapt learning to meet most children and young people’s individual needs well” but adds “there is still some variation in the quality of learning and teaching across the school”.
The school, with Highland Coucncil, is asked ti ensure secondary learners “receive their full entitlement to education and aren't disadvantaged compared to their mainstream peers”.
She found that the teachers have a better understanding about the progress young people are making and are sharing this information with parents to help them understand their child's progress.
Raising the attainment level for all “is leading to young people achieving more national awards at higher levels and increasing the number of course awards available to them”, the report states.
The headteacher “has made appropriate progress in involving parents and partners more widely in the life of the school”, the report finds.
A recent information afternoon connected parents with wellbeing support agencies “and was well received”. Parents “reported how well this helped them to gain a greater understanding of the role and support partners can offer”.
And the school is credited with making “strong progress” in creating leadership opportunities for staff. It says: “The headteacher should continue to ensure all staff benefit from professional learning and monitor how well this is improving outcomes for all learners.”
The school is deemed to have made “good progress” since the original inspection and no more visits are planned in connection with that. The council will inform parents about the school’s progress, Ms McFarlane states.
