Parent Council AGMBellsquarry Primary School

14th September 2015School Motto:

Learn, Believe and you will Succeed

 

 School Motto: Learn, Believe and you will Succeed

Our Vision StatementTo provide education of the highest quality for all pupils which will meet their educational, personal, social, emotional and physical needs enabling them to be successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens who make healthy lifestyle choices and make an effective contribution to society in their present and future lives.

In carrying out all aspects of our work, we will

conduct our business with… Integrity, impartiality, fairness, tolerance and mutual respect We value diversity, promoting social

inclusion in an environment where everyone is welcome

We seek progress through partnership, working closely with people with whom we share a common purpose.

Our Values

Area for Development 1: Curriculum Development/Learning and Teaching: Literacy and Technologies All staff have a greater understanding of the key principles/skills of teaching early to second

level reading. Staff demonstrated this through presenting to parents during a curricular evening

Staff have identified a range of materials to meet the pupils’ needs including Reading Routes and the guidelines for Guided reading.

Staff promoted reading for enjoyment at all levels through a variety of ways such as a literacy assembly, Library van visits, National Book Week.

Staff have begun to engage in the Book Banding process to support better assessment and better targeting by ability.

Staff have used Blooms fans to support guided reading sessions Staff assessed writing in the third term using the Scottish Criterion scale and then moderated

with a level partner leading to a shared understanding of standards and expectations for learners.

Existing good practice in technologies was shared at a cluster CAT resulting in improved planning processes and learners’ experiences. All staff delivered a technology lesson which was then moderated across the cluster.

Technology experiences were extended through the use of the progression pathways as a planning tool, increasing pupil motivation

Evidence indicated that Bellsquarry Primary has begun to make links with businesses linked to technologies such as Lidl and The Larder Kitchen, allowing leaners to make links within real life contexts

Standards and Quality Report:Progress made with our areas for development 2014-15

Area for development 2: Self-evaluation Good progress has been made in further developing procedures for monitoring and tracking and

evidencing attainment through working with the cluster for a consistent approach, showing impact on learners and setting more specific targets in learning.

Teaching staff looked at examples of pupil profiles from other schools and then an improvement group developed a pro-forma which was introduced to children and parents.

Protected time was given over to discuss attainment and set targets for individuals/groups through meetings with SMT, SfL and CTs.

Pupils have shown though profiling and learner conversations that they are more involved in dialogue about their learning

All teaching staff have linked their areas for development with the appropriate GTCS standards and identified professional actions they can undertake to achieve their targets, leading to improved learning experiences for our pupils

Staff are fully engaging in the Professional Update process. Staff are developing areas within their teaching which they feel require development. This, in turn,

provides higher quality learning and experiences for all pupils within our school.

Standards and Quality Report:Progress made with our areas for development 2014-15

Area for development 3: Ethos/Nursery Learner’s Journey documents were made more accessible to parents and pupils Parents have begun to contribute to their child’s wider achievements through adding

to the Learner’s Journey and through dialogue with staff Displays are more engaging and informative for parents and pupils A parent focus group has been set up to increase opportunities for parents to be part

of planning learning within the nursery Monitoring and tracking of observations took place, allowing the nursery teacher to

identify gaps and ensure coverage of the nursery curriculum. Staff in the nursery are more confident in using the West Lothian planning resource.

This has led to improved quality and consistency in planning and is evidenced in children’s learning experiences.

The nursery team worked with the Early Years Development Officer to review and improve the nursery learning environment (indoors/outdoors). Resources are more accessible to children and there are more explicit links within and between curricular areas, making learning more relevant and meaningful to the children.

Standards and Quality Report:Progress made with our areas for development 2014-15

School Improvement Plan: Areas for Development 2015-16

Area for Development 1: Curriculum/ Learning and Teaching

We aim to further develop the totality of the curriculum Review curricular programmes and frameworks for breadth, depth, coherence and relevance Review all aspects of Support for Learning for impact on pupils attainment and achievement Further develop all aspects of technologies Review child friendly targets for all curricular areas to ensure pupil voice and the

development of the curriculum Extend opportunities for vertical learning groups across the school

Area for Development 2: Self-evaluation

We aim to further develop self-evaluation processes and practices To improve the use of profiling to ensure effective and meaningful self -evaluation processes

impact on improvement for learners Learners continue to demonstrate improved ability to evaluate themselves as learners and

use relative and meaningful language as part of the process. The continued development of assessment and moderation will ensure a consistency in

standards. Further review assessment procedures and practices to reflect the broad features of

assessment within Principles and Practices papers To further develop self-evaluation strategies and improvement methodology and

professional enquiry are used to gather evidence of impact, build teacher capacity and improve outcomes for learners.

SIP 2015-16: Additional TasksAdditional Tasks 2014-15

 Responsibilities

 Development of French as L1 across all stages to include staff development to support L2 

 Modern Languages coordinator / All staff

 Extend and develop opportunities for Pupil Voice groups / Committees – vertical learning groups 

 Staff and pupils

 Review all Care and Welfare policies to ensure all pupil’s needs are met 

 SMT and SfL teacher

 Continued development of outdoor learning opportunities across the life of the school – curriculum activities, after school clubs and play opportunities.  

 All staff

 Address recommendations from Rights Respecting School Assessment - level 2  

 All staff

 All staff to continue to engage with the requirements of Professional Update to ensure that professional learning leads to high quality experiences for learners 

 All teaching staff

These are computerised assessments for Primary age children which are carried out in a child friendly environment. They are designed to bring a measure of certainty into the education process. They evaluate performance, monitor progress and indicate potential in specific and helpful ways. As a result, teachers and schools are able to provide individual and groups of children with learning opportunities to enable them to achieve their best.

The PIPS (Performance Indicators in Primary Schools) Baseline adaptive tests, establish what children know and can do as they enter Primary 1 and predicts and measures achievement.

InCAS (Interactive Computer Assessment System) provides detailed, age related diagnostic information and recommendations whenever required. These adaptive tests are carried out in P2-P7.

Adaptive Testing

“In Education Scotland we are no longer looking for ‘islands of excellence’. Schools MUST collaborate in order to improve.These collaborations, featured and highlighted in the new HGIOS4 will become an integral part of future inspections and VSE.The commitment of staff and the quality of their collaboration to improve outcomes for all learners will be a key driver for future improvement and a key feature of any school inspection”

Graeme Logan, Strategic Director of Education Scotland

Moving Forward in LearningMoving forward in learning centres on collaboration and networking to achieve

effective school improvement and raise attainment, supporting the principle of improvement as a shared responsibility. Collaboration strategies include practices which increase the capacity of schools and their partners to implement the changes necessary to secure improvement.Collaboration and effective partnership working is the hallmark of West Lothian’s approach not only in Education Services but is central to the corporate ethos of the council.

Staff engage regularly in dialogue with other colleagues and partners (for example, through professional learning communities, cluster activities, planned collegiate meetings or similar) about the impact of curriculum developments on learning and teaching and helping children and young people achieve their learning goals.

Staff have planned opportunities to collaborate across schools

and with partners and to share resources and evolving practice

Staff clearly identify the benefits to learners from planned curriculum change and innovation, including improving the range and quality of outcomes for learners

Our Starting Point – Cluster collegiate working 15-16 Inspection Advice Note

Our Chosen Areas for Development

Nursery and Early Years Topical Science Social Subjects Technologies Art and Design RME Modern languages Outdoor learning Support for learning (GIRFEC)

Development Areas The Totality of the Curriculum

Audit of Current Strengths / Areas for Improvement

An Action Plan in each area to include:

Clear strategy for teaching and learning (including how to address barriers to learning)

Clear skills progression in each area for the benefit of all

Action Enquiry approaches / Practitioner Enquiry Approaches

Built in assessment / self-evaluation opportunities

Floor book tracking of each group’s journey

What do we hope to achieve this year?

We will be engaging in a process of validated self-evaluation (VSE) from the

17-19th November, as part of our commitment to continuous school

improvement. This process will involve a team of two head teachers, an

education officer, an Educational Psychologist and a member of the Additional

Support needs team from West Lothian Council, who will work with us to

observe learning and teaching, engage in discussion with groups of staff,

pupils, parents and partners and consider the varied evidence produced across

the school. The purpose of this approach is to support, extend and challenge

our own self-evaluation and to work with us to refine our points for action and

further improve the quality of our provision and outcomes for learners. We

welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with the external team, to

hear the views of the various focus groups and to engage meaningfully in a

process which will give us added insight into whole school effectiveness.

VSE – Validated Self-Evaluation

Building family and school capacity:

We want our school to have a culture of achievement, where our children have self confidence and reliance to learn. It will take action within, between and beyond schools – involving home/school partnerships and family/community learning. Increased parental involvement will support pupil engagement and motivation. We want to build parent capacity to support learning: relevant, practical, age/stage appropriate, timely support.

Parent Council / Parent Forum Parental Involvement Strategy updated Parent focus groups Self- evaluation Links with the community

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/parentzone/

Partnership with Parents