Contents

Introduction to Standard and Quality Report 2011-12 3

What is the report based on? 3

Tobermory High School 3-18 Learning Community - Core Purpose, Vision and Aims 5

What was the focus for school improvement in 2011-12? 8

What are the school strengths? 11

Secondary Learning and Teaching 12

Primary School Learning and Teaching 14

Pre-5 Unit Learning and Teaching 20

Priorities for the 3-18 Learning Community 2012-14 23

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Standards and Quality Report 2011-12

The Standards and Quality report for Tobermory High contains an overview of the work of the school in 2011-12. We are a 3-18 school and are continuing to develop a learning focused community that has a sense of being joined up rather than three separate schools within a school.

The purpose of the report is to tell you about the progress we have made in a number of areas over the session and will indicate our priorities for improvement for 2012-13 as part of the three year school improvement plan that is the sister publication of this report.

The report is only a summary of some of the schools’ work. You can find out more about 3-18 learning community by obtaining a copy of the school handbooks for each learning section, pre-school, Primary or Secondary and the whole school improvement plans or by visiting our website www.tobermory.-bute.sch.uk What is the report based on?

Self Evaluation

● Staff worked in Faculty areas to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and learning and the wider opportunities for learning beyond the classroom including inter-disciplinary events.

● Staff continued to develop learning experiences for the new Curriculum for Excellence and assessed these against outcomes. They continued to collaborate and share understanding of the standards of achievement required at each level by looking at examples of students work. This work included a focus on literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing outcomes that are considered across all subjects in the curriculum.

● As part of the monitoring and evaluating, learning visits or observations were made by peers or senior staff to discuss teaching and learning within classrooms and faculties and monitor standards.

● The school asked for regular feedback from staff, pupils and parents/ carers on aspects of the school work

● All aspects of the schools operation were monitored and where appropriate evaluated to see how we could improve.

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Public reports

Evaluation of published reports of exam results from SQA and the SCISWIS inspection of our Pre- 5 unit. The examination data was also evaluated at school and authority level to look at how well we were doing as a school locally and nationally. This evaluation helps inform priorities relating to learning and teaching that need to be incorporated into our school improvement and faculty improvement plans.

Local and National Priorities

3. Council Education Service and national priorities and initiative such as 16 +, more chances, more choices, Curriculum for Excellence management group priorities and the broad general education phase and Skills for Work programmes.

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Tobermory High School 3-18 Learning Community

Core Purpose – this is displayed under our school crest and is: Valuing Achievement, Valuing Community

Valuing Achievement, Valuing Community

Our vision … is to create a 3-18 school that is a learning community, respected and active in the wider community and which prepares all students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes for learning, life and work in the modern world.

Our Key Values: RESPECT

RESILIENCE

CREATIVITY

COLLABORATION

CONFIDENCE

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Tobermory High School 3-18 Learning Community

Tobermory High School is a 3-18 learning community comprising a Pre 5 unit, Primary School and Secondary School. In 2011-12 there were 27 children on the Pre 5 unit register, 69 in the Primary and a Secondary roll of 114. The pre -Five unit and Primary students are drawn from Tobermory and its surrounding areas as we have associate Primaries at Salen, , Lochdonhead and Ferry. The emphasis is constantly on building a community that values achievement at all levels across the school and that values community, school, local, national and global. The Secondary school serves north Mull and each year around half of our S1 students transfer from Tobermory’s Primary school while the remainder make the transition from our associate Primaries. In 2010-11 we also had 9 pupils attending on placing requests from and .

There are currently 27 teaching staff, supported by four members of the learning support team who work in a number of schools and help us meet the needs of all our learners.(ANST) In addition there are twenty four support, catering and janitorial staff , some of whom are part time.

In 2010-11 the long serving Head Teacher, Ms. Jenny Des Fountain and Depute Head, Mr. Bill Baird both retired after excellent leadership of the school and the 2011-12 year has seen two joint acting heads, Mrs. Janice Mitchell (Secondary) and Mr. Richard Gawthrope (Primary) and an Acting Depute, Mr. John Coyle. The management of the school has also been supported by the Principal Teachers and other staff who have stepped up to take on various roles across varying remits. A new Head Teacher, Mr. Craig Biddick took up post in May of 2012.

We have a very supportive and active Parent Council. It supports the school in its aims to ensure that all parents are included in aspects of their children’s education. In 2011 the Parent Council worked with the Head Teacher to update school policies on partnerships with parents and there will be future opportunities to look at other relevant policies as a review cycle is initiated. The Parent Council holds an annual Summer Fair that this year raised over £900 toward the work of the school and to provide additional funds for school trips.

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Members of the local business community contribute to school life by providing work experience placements and mock interviews for senior students. Two local firms provide training placements for our S3 and S4 Skills for Work courses. Throughout the year, many members of the community visit Pre 5 unit and the Primary school to contribute to the wider curriculum and help learners build connections with their community. In the Secondary area the Health days and the Equal Futures Conference also help build community and share knowledge beyond the classroom.

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What was the focus for School Improvement in 2011-12

The school improvement plan was written to cover the three year period from 2009-12. The last year of the plan was therefore 2011 and this report is a final summary of the work and what was accomplished.

Over the three year period the Curriculum for Excellence was implemented and schemes of work based on the experiences and outcomes were written for S1 and S2. The broad general education phase for the new curriculum is from S1 to S3 and the final development of new schemes written for S3 will be completed in the summer of 2012.

Work in the improvement plan focused on active learning in Primary and Pre 5 and interdisciplinary programmes were developed from P7 to S3 but also into lower Primary. Courses were structured to maximise opportunities for choice and progression, assessment and recording. Literacy and numeracy content was audited in relation to current provision and new material developed to close any gaps. All curriculum areas were expected to develop and assess literacy and numeracy outcomes as part of their subject teaching in Secondary and this has been an on- going development over the three years.

An additional focus was work to consider the needs of pupils with English as an additional or second language and to embed development work in health and wellbeing outcomes which covers physical and emotional wellbeing across a number of integrated dimensions for personal and social development. The school developed an annual 3-18 Health Day and a mini Health day which included the North Mull cluster schools. A major 3-18 Equal Futures Conference was also developed over the plans lifetime with contributors from the local Mull community as well as national organisations.

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As part of this interdisciplinary focus, opportunities were also developed for interdisciplinary learning as well as aspects of the four capacities and the day is now an annual event.

Primary and Secondary teachers worked together to develop clear strategies for the assessment and moderation of writing from 3-18 and pupil choice, feedback and input into learning. These important aspects of the Assessment is for Learning Project across Scottish schools (AiFL), were trialled and incorporated into the design and delivery of work across faculties and stages.

Assessment is an on-going development priority and the publication of Building the Curriculum 5 by what is now Education gave schools some guidance on new principles in relation to assessing work against the outcomes in the new curriculum documents. The Languages and Humanities faculty led work via a TLC (Tapestry Learning Community group) to help refresh the ideas behind the principles and practices behind the ‘assessment is for learning’ initiative. This work was to assist in moderation but staff also had opportunities to look at record keeping, mentoring and reporting to parents and transition documentation.

Joint staff days were held for staff on assessment in June and August 2010 and this work was reinforced in 2011as work from new curriculum schemes was assessed by Faculties. The school was part of the North Mull Cluster learning academy that successfully focused on building professional expertise in staff. Colleagues worked together developing teaching strategies in relation to rich questioning, feedback and personal learning planning and at Tobermory High quality home learning tasks were developed as the school sort to look at developing autonomous learners and motivation theory. Aspects of this work were also shared with staff by a small working group.

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Support roles in the school in relation to Pupil support and Learning support were discussed and an extended support team developed with better communication and management lines. A second stage in review and development will be carried out in 2012-13. The extended curriculum and flexible routes in relation to the 4 capacities were considered as a fourth target for improvement over the three years. New skills for work courses were offered in Hospitality, engineering and rural skills. In 2011-12 Childcare was offered with the Pre-5 unit used a training centre. These will continue to be monitored and evaluated for quality of outcomes and to ensure they offer positive destination for students who may be early

leavers.

Improved strategies are now in place to ensure all pupils are well supported to leave school at any stage with well defined and realistic destinations according to the 16+ model. As well as meeting these targets the school and Cluster colleagues worked on developing the personal, social and health education programme (PSHE) taking into account the Health and wellbeing outcomes. This was also part of the 3- 18 Health day initiative and min-health day programmes previously mentioned. From 2012-13 the programme in THS will be called personal and social development PSD. The North Mull cluster also audited sexual health resources and information and planned how the SHARE programme was to be delivered across their schools. Further work is required to this aspect of curriculum delivery but some aspects of SHARE were delivered via the Health days.

As mentioned earlier the 4 capacities are a key aspect underpinning the focus of the CfE and Primary and Secondary staff worked on ways of recognizing the wider achievements of pupils and how these fit with the capacities e.g. confident individuals. The school offers a very large range of learning opportunities across the totality of the curriculum and evidence of this can be found in this report but also through our website and regular learning community newsletter the THS press. The school has been successful in planning high quality learning experiences using our understanding of children’s learning and development and of learning outcomes. We know and respond to individual needs through our support systems and support particular aptitudes and talents and build on previous learning.

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What are the school’s strengths?

In May 2009, pupils and parents said:

High standards of teaching.

Building self-esteem and social interaction.

Excellent ethos; team-work, good relationships.

Stays abreast of educational developments and tries to make sure all benefit.

Keeps learning interesting and varied; lessons for life.

Supports and encourages our children in everything they do.

Identifies and caters for individual needs.

Encourages children to challenge themselves.

Happy atmosphere, good trips, nice teachers

With the start of a new Head Teacher, the senior leader ship team is to launch a new parent survey in September to gauge parents’ view of where the school is now and where they would like to see it go. (The 2012 Parent Survey can be seen along with the Student Survey, on our website).

This will help the working group looking at parent and student voice within the school improvement plan to look at strategies for improving communication and aspects parents feel need attention. The newly adopted core purpose is – valuing achievement, valuing community and thus there is a strong focus in the school on making a good community even stronger. Next year’s Standards and Quality report will have a full report of the survey results.

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Secondary Learning and Teaching

Analysis is based on pre-appeal data. This data was published on Pyramid in September 2012]

S4 Performance – Level 5

Of the twenty seven (27) students in the year group twelve (12) pupils sat eight Standard Grades. Other course choices were also followed:

Five students studied with Argyll College on the Skills for Work, Int. 1 Hospitality (one student did not pass the final assessments).

Five other students passed Int. 1 Engineering. students sat Int. 1 Physics – 1 A pass, 3 passed at B and another 2 sat and passed Access 3 Physics.

One student, having passed Maths at Credit level in S3, went on to sit the Higher exam this year and passed at A. This same pupil also, through independent study, passed Int. 2 Physics at A.

Overall Standard Grade performance was very pleasing for this cohort:

33% of students achieved 5+ Credit passes

63% of students achieved 5+ passes at General 3 and above

89% of students received 5+ passes at General 4 and above

11% of students achieved grades within the Foundation and General bands but did not reach the threshold of 5+

Additional comments:

The Credit pass rate is slightly below the national average but General and Foundation figures are in line with national data as published. We note that this year group were challenging but they were well managed resulting in better outcomes than target grades predicted based on performance in Prelims. With small cohorts from time to time we have year groups that have to have targeted management and destination pathways are not always academic post S4. The success with these students is not indicated in the Fyfe analysis.

Nine students in this year group qualified for Additional Support Arrangements

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S5 Performance – Level 6

Twenty five (25) students were enrolled in S5 in September. It is noted that five (5) pupils from the cohort had moved on to other educational establishments due to particular talents in music and sport or due to changes in family circumstances resulting in them leaving the island. If we look at overall outcomes and positive destinations - of this twenty five(25), twenty two (22) pupils remained in school and sat exams in May. Almost all students (19/22) were presented for five subjects at either Intermediate 2 or Higher level.

As stated above, achievement in Hospitality is not reflected in our current figures:

Again, overall performance is very pleasing:

36% of students gained one or more A pass at Higher, with two students in this year group each achieving 3 A passes at Higher

77% of students gained one or more pass at C or above at Higher, with three students each achieving five A-C passes at Higher.

40% of students achieved one or more A pass at Intermediate 2.

77% of students gained one or more passes at C or above at Intermediate 2.

Eight students in this year group qualified for Additional Support Arrangements

Additional Comments:

The students who left at the end of S4 were some of our highest attaining candidates at Standard Grade and their moving is reflected in the cumulative table*. The figures for 3+ at level 6 and 5 + at level 6 are adversely affected by the fact that small cohorts at schools such as ours are seriously affected by students leaving – in this case extremely able students. Therefore five and three year trend tables show a serious dip in percentage pass rates for these indicators. Similar dips can be send in 10 year trends and occur naturally as not all small cohorts will be stable. They do not indicate any issues with teaching and learning at the school or our student tracking and monitoring.

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S6 Performance – Up to Level 7

Of the nineteen students (19) students on roll in September,

Eighteen (18) students completed the year to examination. Again in partnership with Argyll College, one student was presented for Int. 2 Hospitality and Int. 1 Childcare and another was presented for Higher Psychology, (passed at A)

27% of students had one or more A pass at Higher

83% of students gained one or more pass at C or above at Higher.

11% of students gained an A pass at Intermediate 2

33% of students gained one or more passes at C or above at Intermediate 2.

Additional Comments:

In all 38% of students sat one or more Advanced Higher examinations. All students at this level passed at grade C or above. Three of these students had at least one A pass each, with another student gaining two A band 1 passes. Seven students in total were presented for Advanced Higher courses. This reflects the steady increase in the school’s aim to create autonomous learners. The students studying AH courses only have two periods of teacher contact per week, with the rest of their course requirements being met through supported self-study. The success at this level is for this reason, all the more significant.

Cumulative totals for S6 over session 2010/11 and 2011/12 – of the eighteen students completing S6:

88% leave having achieved at least one pass at C or above at Higher

61% leave having achieved at least three or more passes at C or above at Higher

55% leave having achieved at least five passes at C or above at Higher

Nine students in this year group qualified for Additional Support Arrangement

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Additional Comments:

There has been a slight dip in the cumulative figure for SCQF 5 + at level 6 or better from 2010 to 2011 by 8% (a change from 31 to 23%). However analysis would indicate that when dealing with such a small cohort of students that an 8% decrease is not statistically significant and could be due to one disengaged student. Further these figures are unreliable to a large degree because they are based on the census roll for that cohort at the beginning of S4. The overall figure is affected by the number of students who leave the school for other destinations prior to completion of S6 and this alone can cause large percentage drops from year to year. The THS 2009-10 figure was 25%. I also note that the 5+ at level 6 average for Scotland is 25.4%.

The most recent Government statistics(SLDR) on leaver destinations broken down by schools in Argyll Bute shows we had a 100% of our Summer 2012 leavers go to a positive destination.

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Primary School Learning and Teaching

Our Strengths

Interdisciplinary planning is strong and covers the seven principles of curriculum design. Relevant and challenging final outcomes are planned and once achieved are shared across staff.

Pupils and parents are involved in interdisciplinary planning which develops good links and raises awareness of work being covered developing effective links between home and school. Cooperative learning and Aifl strategies are used daily in all classrooms.

Active learning is very good at Early level and accounts for a very high percentage of the learning experiences.

Pupils regularly set and review personal targets and work towards these in class and this is evident in records of class learning and teacher’s records.

Targets are regularly reviewed and communicated through the use of Personal Learning Plans and this year P7s have worked closely with our school librarian to set up personal PLP records online using GLOW and these become part of their transition into secondary. Wider achievements are recognised in the Primary department and displayed on the Achievements board, mentioned in classes and assemblies and also recorded in Personal Learning Plans.

Transitions are good. In both Pre 5 to P1 the Primary DHT and the Primary PT have regular visits and meetings with the Pre 5 Unit and carefully planned visits by the pupils ensure a smooth start at the beginning of the Year. Transitions from P7 into S1 take place throughout the year and are accompanied by quality information sharing with colleagues, pupils and parents.

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Continuous Professional Development

Tobermory Primary Staff have attended the following courses:

 Critical Literacy

 Active Maths

 P1 Development Day

 Kodamba Music Workshop

 Teaching for Understanding

 Film making

 Sessions on ASD and CBT

 French development course

 Mini Kickers

Aspects from these courses have been discussed during staff meetings and have influenced current thinking and practice in the classrooms.

Assessment and Moderation

Writing moderation was further developed as a Cluster with input from Don McAllister. Writing standards were shared with a particular focus on the second level of the new curriculum document.

During the session, Primary Staff also shared developments in the use of VCOP and the Big Write and as a department examples of writing were shared and discussed.

Excellent communication takes place between the Area Network Support Team and the Primary Department. Baseline assessment and other authority initiatives are carried out and the results are used to plan support and interventions where required. Support is delivered through the use of specific schemes such as Toe by Toe and also through team teaching.

CAT tests were also undertaken with the P5s and the results shared with all Primary teachers.

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Involving Partner agencies

The following events or trips involved other agencies.

 Scottish Ballet visited the school in conjunction with Mull Theatre and led sessions for the P1-4 pupils.

 P3/4 took part in a Beach forum at that was led by the G.R.A.B. trust.

 Janet Campbell came in to support the children Gaelic singing in preparation for the local Mod.

 P3/4 and P6/7 visited the research vessel Silurian in conjunction with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust.

 Health Day in September included inputs from the Rugby development officer and drama sessions led by Alasdair Satchell as well as several sessions led by teachers and support staff to promote healthy lifestyles. P7s joined the Secondary pupils for the day taking part in sessions led by ChildLine and also the annual cross country run. The canteen also delivered a special menu that day trying some new ideas including a fruit curry and a beetroot cake.

 P5/6 visited as part of their work on the Clans of Mull.

 P3/4 visited Mull museum as part of their work on Mull and .

 Martin Boyd from the Scripture Union has visited the school on several occasions to discuss a number of themes using stories and song.

 Local artist Dawn Reade worked with P3/4 to create a lino-cut of Tobermory.

Local artist Andrew Talbot helped P3/4 gave a talk on his Paintings and helped the class to create their own.

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 P6/7 visited Sgriob-ruadh Farm as part of their interdisciplinary work on the Highland Clearances, during their visit they milked the cows and used it to make cheese using traditional methods.

 Over the year several parents have visited the school at different stages to read stories which have included some in Polish.

 P3/4 Parents invited in to discuss the Roman Islands that the pupils had made to demonstrate what they had learnt during the Interdisciplinary work on the Romans.

 During Equal Futures Day, workshops were delivered to raise awareness on Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and Amnesty International.

 Working with Babs Whyte our Active Schools Co-ordinator our P7s were trained as Buddies so that they can lead games sessions at lunchtimes.

 The P7s organised a Jump Rope for Heart event with Babs Whyte for all the pupils in the Primary department and raised £645.41

 Health Day in March saw representatives from Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, British Heart Foundation, RNLI and Strathclyde Police lead sessions on staying safe. Pupils from Dervaig Primary joined us for the day.

 In May P5/6 worked with An Tobar’s artist in residence, Emma Herman-Smith and our Forest Ranger Jan Dunlop to create leaves made out of clay, glass and bronze that will form part of a sculpture to be exhibited at An Tobar.

 P5/6 were involved in a Physical Theatre workshop involving a comedy Trio who were performing at Mull Theatre. After a short performance P5/6 were then encouraged to develop their own routines.

 In June P4-7 were visited by James Campbell, a visiting comedian who captivated the pupils with a range of stories.

 Mary Jane Lamont an accomplished Gaelic singer visited the school to coach and sing with our Gaelic singing group.

 Regular whole school Joint Service Team meetings are held.

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Involving Parents

All parents of P1 pupils were invited to join the soft start sessions in the P1/2 to help promote positive first experiences in P1 while at the planning stage of interdisciplinary topics parents have been encouraged to send in their ideas and suggestions.

An Open Morning was held on the 5th October to allow the Parents the opportunity to visit the classes and see the pupils at work. Attendance was very good with the majority of families attending throughout the morning. Among the mornings’ activities P3/4 organised a beach clean in which many of the P3/4 parents’ also took part.

Further, parents were also invited into the P1/2 class to see how the Classroom had been transformed following their Interdisciplinary work on Fairyland.

The Christmas Concert was performed to full house and included performances from each of the classes which helps raise confidence, resilience and self-esteem.

With Burns celebrations a special assembly was held for parents to celebrate the life and times of Robert Burns. Each class contributed to the assembly with chanter playing, piping, singing and poetry. Parents were also invited to see a range of performances at the Mexican themed talent show which saw a number of diverse Primary entries.

An evening of Music and Drama was also held in March were the P5,6,7 Drama club performed a specially written play to parents, P3/4 performed an abridged version of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and the Primary Gaelic singing group performed a couple of numbers to a packed and enthusiastic hall.

All pupils took part in the island sports at Garmony, which involved all the schools on the island, and a number of records were broken by pupils from Tobermory Primary.

Other events

A wide range of events were held across the Pre5 – Primary learning community. These included:

 Scottish Ballet visited the school and led sessions for the P1-4

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 P5/6 organized a Disco which raised £286.52 for the school fund

 P5/6 took part in the International Bookmark Exchange swapping book marks with children from Croatia.

 In November, the school gained the Eco Schools Green Flag and the primary contributed by having members on the Eco committee as well as making regularly recycling, monitoring healthy snacks, composting and saving electricity.

 Tobermory High raised £337.99 as part of Children in Need day. Pupils came dressed in spots and took part in a number of competitions as well as purchasing home baking at break.

 P5, 6 and 7 visited Glasgow to see the Magical Adventures of Peter Pan at the Pavilion. The Transport Museum and the Science Centre were also visited.

 In March a primary disco was held to raise funds so subsidise school trips. A total of £224 was raise through the sale of tickets and home baking.

 P3/4 launched their ‘Mull and Iona activity book’ at our local bookshop. The book has sold over 350 copies to date and has been their bestselling book for the past three months. The money raised helped to finance their trip to Callander House and the Antonine Wall as part of their work on the Romans.

 In May, members of the P6/7 badminton team achieved Bronze and Silver awards from Badminton Scotland after develop their skills throughout the year.

 At the end of May, P6 and 7 attended a week residential course at Dukeshouse wood near Hexham with all the other P6 and 7 pupils from the island. During the week pupils face activities and challenges to develop, resilience, confidence and teamwork.

 In June, all classes took part in Tesco fun run and collectively ran over one hundred miles.

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Pre-5 Unit Learning and Teaching

Throughout 2011-12 Tobermory have developed the following:

Early Level Literacy Skills

- A&B Reading Initiative - Regular rhyme times to develop phonological awareness. - Rhyme of the Week to encourage parents to read nursery rhymes to their children. - Using ‘Beat Baby’ from ‘Walk the Talk’ to develop awareness of rhythm. - Introduction of more formal phonic teaching in P1 based on SYNTHETIC PHONICS - Implementation of Kodamba Music practices to enrich experiences with sound and rhythm - Sound of the Week at the writing table - Mark making is encouraged by providing variety of materials eg. sand/ shaving foam/ brushes. Pens/finger paint. - Daily story telling sessions - Shared finish in Pre5 where parents are invited to read stories to the children. - This practice is continued into P1/2 - Pre 5 have initiated a book lending system called BUSY BOOKWORMS where children are encouraged to traffic light their opinion of the book - In P1 Storysacks follow on. - I CAN Early Talk Programme to promote communication skills and general language development. - Developing Higher Order Questioning to enrich talking experiences - Pre 5 developed ‘Question of the week’ for a term to ensure different types of questions were used. - P1 teacher also did this. Evaluation. - Opportunities for writing experiences within the role-play area.

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Links with the wider Community_

Parents are invited to become involved in planning and participating in learning and teaching experiences across units of planned work. Their views and opinions are also welcomed through feedback forms/questionnaires and ‘Suggestions Wallet’.

Pre 5 have established strong links with our partner agencies. GIRFEC

Student achievements and information are relayed through Parent Information Wall / Pre 5 information sheets /interactive photo frame and school webpage

Children have regular visits from members of the community and they make regular visits within the local area which are relevant to their learning.

Examples

- Visiting Glen Isoal (home for the elderly) to sing carols. - Visit a local farm - Inviting parents to a Daffodil Tea where staff and Health Visitor delivered workshop to parents. - Participation in the school Christmas concert - Visit to the local theatre - Visit to the coastguard - Investigating materials in the High School lab - Involved with Eco-schools, recycling, the wormery and planting vegetables - Joint street party with P1/2 to celebrate the Jubilee - Pre 5 Mini-Olympics

Planning and Assessment

Key strategies implemented in relation to planning and assessing work is as follows:

- Child at the Centre Quality Indicators CfE Outcomes and Experiences. - PLAN DO REVIEW Approaches to planning. - Developing strategies to ensure children have skills they need to develop emotional resilience. Implementation of our ‘Circle of Friends’ 23 VALUING ACHIEVEMENT, VALUING COMMUNITY

- Learning through active play- both child led and adult led activities - Adopted LONG TERM MEDIUM TERM - Children at the centre of the learning –consultation on what they would like to learn - Talking and Thinking books to record children’s ideas at the start of learning - We invite parents to offer suggestions for experiences and invite them to support the learning - Share learning intentions - Weekly evaluations of children’s learning ‘What went well’ and evaluation of tasks - Monitoring and observation records - Effective Questioning - Learning Journeys to record achievement and identify next steps - Children’s comments as part of ‘active displays’.

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Priorities for the 3-18 Learning Community for 2012-14

The key priorities for the three year period covering this strategic plan (2012-14) are:

1. Curriculum for Excellence – Broad General Education phase (BGE) / Primary– Completion of work on developing curriculum structures that support the ethos of a broad general education from S1-S3 and developing on-going mechanisms of review and development. Final decisions will need to be made about option structures within S4.(This has been completed and Parents informed. All structures are now in place). The Primary school will focus on using the seven principles of curriculum design to further develop the curriculum at Early, First and Second Level, develop the outside learning environment and continue to work upon embedding numeracy across learning through the use of active mathematics.

2. Curriculum for Excellence - Senior Phase – develop successive curriculum plans and schemes of work, including assessment models that support the new senior phase courses up to S6. Assessment models will include plans for moderation and quality assurance leading to positive verification of internally assessed work. The Senior phase model for delivery of new national qualification has been communicated and is now in place.

3. Assessment P7 - S3 – develop a coherent assessment and reporting model that supports learner development through description of progress in relation to breadth of achievement, meeting new challenges in developing skills and knowledge and in the ability to apply knowledge to different contexts. Work on assessment will also focus on supporting professional develpment around standards or criteria based assessment in relation to knowledge, understanding and skills. A common currency for describing levels within formative and summative assessments will be developed initially within the BGE phase and then for use at other levels. Assessment of cross-cutting themes will be encouraged and supported with work to be carried out on sharing standards and levels. This work could also extend into goals developed with member schools of the North Mull cluster. It is also proposed some work on SOLO is considered as an approach to evaluating and feeding back to students. Assessment will also need to focus on how wider achievement is recorded and profiled with an emphasis on transition stages. (The school is hosting two inspectors from HMI who want to look at our innovative assessment model).

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4. Learning and Teaching – Visible Learning /Best Evidence Practice project. The focus of this strand will be on developing reflective practice through consideration of Hattie’s work on effect sizes. After a period of training and development relating to the use of teaching strategies with high effects sizes and work on learner feedback, teachers and support staff will be encouraged to develop an action research cycle based on adoption of context based efforts to improve learning and teaching. Intensive professional development will take place via the delivery of the Visible Learning programme from Osiris Education. The Visible Learning Programme’s main focus is on developing classroom feedback to enable teachers to see learning through students eyes and at the same time develop the capacity of students to be their own teachers. Staff will be encouraged to actively use effect sizes to measure the effect of teaching strategies in the classroom. It is hoped as part of this work some staff will lead on sharing and developing strategic knowledge of teacher practice that has been shown to be highly effective and assist other staff to develop individual practice in a collaborative model. The working group will also be asked to consider how we might develop a focus on students ‘theory of self as learners’ through the use of tools such as ELLI. This would be targeted at the transition phase at S1 and into S2 via the personal and social development programmes. Training and resource implication will be looked at toward possible implementation in year 2 or 3. Further, the Principal Teacher forum will work as a group around monitoring and evaluation practice that assists learning and teaching through developing a collaborative and context driven calendar for monitoring and self-evaluation and a set of resources that are use across all faculties. 5. Review - Management of Systems/ Services– Some areas of internal management will be included for review during the three year period. These plans will be flexible and reactive in relation to workload, need, staffing and resourcing. This work will largely be done via the SLT and co-opted staff involved in those areas taking into account the WTA.

6. Pre-School service improvement agenda will be included as a separate section in the plan but they will still have an opportunity to be part of other development areas.

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7. Joint areas of improvement planning with the North Mull cluster will be developed across areas of common interest over the three year period.

All areas of development will be referenced in relation to the Quality Indicators (HGIOS) and national priorities. The working time agreement will need to take account of the management structure of the SIP. The improvement plan is designed to involve distributed leadership and staff planning and collaboration. Faculty plans will reflect the key priorities and PT will report back on progress via the PT Forum which will include the PT Primary as a member. Many of the improvement development strands overlap and reinforce one another.

For a commentary on these priorities visit - www.tobermory.argyll-bute.sch.uk

A copy of the school improvement plan 2012-14(Year 1) (PDF version) will be found under Parent Information.

Or you can contact the Head Teacher Mr. Craig Biddick 01688 301 000 (Office hours)

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