Education Scotland school inspectors note improvements in Easter Ross primary and nursery
A primary school in Easter Ross has shown "improvement" since its latest education inspection, a new report has revealed.
Education Scotland had "set out a number of areas for improvement" at Tarbat Old Primary School and Nursery in Portmahomack back in August last year.
And in a recent follow-up inspection, the organisation identified a number of areas where it had seen improvement.
In the report from the follow-up visit, which was published this week, the inspectors noted that there had been "some progress since the original inspection".
They continued: "We will ask for a report on progress within one year of the inspection. This report will inform any decision made by Education Scotland regarding further engagement. This may include another inspection visit."
In the original inspection the school had scored two "good" and two "satisfactory" ratings, while the nursery had scored three "satisfactory" and one "weak" - with the “weak” rating being recorded in the nursery's "learning, teaching and assessment".
But inspectors said that they had since seen improvements in several areas - including in the "quality of learning, teaching and assessment across the nursery", as well as the "opportunities for leadership for all staff and children" across the school and nursery.
And they added that children in the nursery were making "good progress" in their learning in the wake of the improvements.
The report said: "The acting headteacher and local authority representatives have supported practitioners very effectively to make well-judged improvements to learning, teaching and assessment.
"Practitioners have worked closely with health colleagues to develop their interactions to support the development of children’s vocabulary. Practitioners now ask a better balance of questions which extend children’s learning.
"They have a strong focus on giving children time and space to be creative and curious in their play and learning. Practitioners extend children’s vocabulary well.
"As a result, all children are making good progress in their learning and development."
They added: "The acting headteacher has developed robust processes for tracking the attainment and achievement of all children across the school and nursery. She meets practitioners and staff termly to discuss the progress and attainment of all children.
"In the nursery, staff track children’s progress against local authority developmental milestones effectively. In the school, staff track children’s progress in literacy and numeracy well.
"In the school, staff track children’s progress in literacy and numeracy well. Together, staff identify gaps in children’s learning and provide appropriate targeted support."
They continued: "The acting headteacher should now develop the tracking of children’s progress across all areas of the curriculum.
"In the school, teachers are at the early stages of tracking the skills children are developing through their wider achievement activities in and out of school."
