Windygoul Primary School Standards and Quality 2014-15

Windygoul Primary School – Standards and Quality 2014-15

Development Plan 2015-16

Contents:

Page 3- Windygoul in Context

Page 4 – 1.1 Improvements in Performance

Page 5 – 2.1 Learners’ Experiences

Page 6 – 5.3 Meeting Learning Needs

Page 7 - 5.1 The Curriculum

Page 8 – 5.9 Improvement Through Self Evaluation

Windygoul Standards and Quality Report

Windygoul in context

Windygoul Primary School serves the community on the South side of Tranent incorporating a wide and varied demographic footprint. The catchment area continues to grow and the school is projected to increase in roll over the next four years. This will require careful planning and is an ongoing priority for the school. Windygoul is co-educational and nondenominational.

Windygoul officially opened in November 2007 as part of East Lothian Council’s commitment to providing buildings to meet the needs of 21st Century Education. The school was formed from the closure and amalgamation of Tranent Infant and Tranent Primary Schools.

Windygoul is increasingly becoming a strong and integral part of the community both educationally and socially. The catchment Secondary is Ross High School and there are nine linked Cluster Primaries. As a Cluster strong links have been made to work together to support the pupils across all schools and have a shared understanding of needs and expectations. The Cluster collaborates in shared projects to build on the sense of whole community involvement.

There is a fulltime Head Teacher, 1 full time Depute and 1 Depute working 4 days a week, 1 fulltime permanent Principal Teacher, 1 part time Permanent Principal Teacher, 2 Acting Principal Teachers and 1 part time Acting Principal Teacher. The PTs all have a teaching commitment, but have time out of class to support the ongoing development of the school. Windygoul has one full time Support for Learning Teacher who is supported by ASN’s and Classroom Assistants in order to meet the needs of the children across the school. Our fulltime Depute and part time principal Teacher jointly share in the responsibility of teaching in our Behaviour Base alongside an Assistant Behaviour Support Officer or Special Needs Auxiliary meeting the needs of allocated pupils from across the Authority.

The Head Teacher has been in post since August 2012 and one of the Deputes since 2011. There are 18 Special Needs Auxiliaries supporting a diverse range of needs within the school and 2 Classroom Assistants who also support the learning at Windygoul. Specialist teaching is provided by a full time P.E. teacher and an additional part time P.E. specialist who joins us two days a week. This investment in specialist P.E. time allows Windygoul as a school to ensure that 2 hours quality P.E. is delivered for all pupils.

Our Music Specialist is with us two days a week and as well as teaching classes, will be using his expertise to establish musical groups within the school. The school have input from a Woodwind Teacher who is with us for part of the morning one day a week and a Strings Teacher who is with us one afternoon a week.

The current roll of the school is: 784. The classes comprise as follows:6 Nursery Classes made up of 2x20 groups morning and afternoon and 1x30 group morning and afternoon, 5 x P1, 3 x P2, 1 x P2/3, 3 x P3, 3 x P4, 3 x P5, 1 x P5/6, 2 x P6, 3 x P7 classes.

School’s self-evaluation

1.1 Improvements in performance

Standards of attainment over time / Overall quality of learners’ achievement / Impact of improvement plan
Using attainment data from INCAS assessments, pupils from P7 who required extra support before going on to High School were identified and were given extra support in the form of small group teaching, working on areas that required improvement through set measurable targets. This was to raise attainment in our most vulnerable learners and boost their confidence prior to transition.
Read, Write Inc resource bought to raise attainment within Literacy in the Early Years. Pupils formed into Reading Teams to give focused and directed teaching. Depute Head for Early Years and SfL Teacher led the teaching and monitoring of effectiveness. All P1 teachers received 2 full days training in RWI.
SEAL used to identify where each pupil is at in terms of Numeracy and then Number Counts planners used to ensure progression and breadth and depth of knowledge.
A wide variety of standardised tests are being used within Windygoul from P1-P7; including PIPS, INCAS, NGRT, GL, STAR Reader from AR, SWST and SEAL. We also participate yearly in the SSLN to contribute to the collation of national data.
Standardised tests are not only being carried out but the data is now analysed by teachers as well as SMT. Regular attainment meetings allow for professional dialogue to support and challenge, next steps for groups and individuals alongside planning and evaluation. A continued ethos of responsibility and accountability by all staff is being fostered through these meetings and expectations are in place for teachers to be challenging and supporting the learners within Windygoul.
Wider achievement is celebrated at a classroom level and at a whole school level. Pupil achievements are celebrated at assembly and photographs are displayed on the TV screen in the foyer of the school. Pupils’ talents are utilised within the school and are encouraged to share these with the school community; for example, P6 pupils being involved in the Staff Nativity and the P7 football team captaining teams for the House Football challenge. P.E Star of the Week is highlighted at assembly. Staff Wider achievement is also celebrated in staff meetings and through newsletters.
For the third consecutive year, teams of teachers and members of SMT have been involved in research and reflection by being part of Professional Enquiry Groups, in conjunction with Stirling University. The teams have used action research to inform and develop their practice and have shared their findings at the end of enquiry showcase and with staff back in school.
High quality, professional discussions happen during CAT sessions. During CAT sessions staff engage with professional research and reading. Staff are beginning to transfer these findings consistently into practice.
All staff continue to be trained in Co-operative Learning and are part of Co-operative Learning Home Teams within CAT sessions. The principles and methodologies of Co-operative Learning are becoming embedded within the whole school community. The pupils’ views of Co-operative Learning were collected and analysed by the Co-operative Learning Working Party and were found to be valued by the pupils. This was also evidenced during our QIO visit where the children were able to talk passionately about how this Co-operative Learning enhances and supports their learning. Pupils will continue to be encouraged to talk about how what they are learning will help them in the future.
Parents and carers attended a very successful Growth Mindset Curriculum Evening which was led by teachers and pupils. This was the highest attendance that we have had at a curriculum evening. Feedback from this evening was extremely positive and showed that our pupils could also be lead learners. A group of pupils were not only involved in delivering a workshop but they also helped create it. They also delivered a longer version of the workshop at a an Authority led Numeracy Conference.
Moderation champion has participated as part of a team visiting 3 Cluster Primaries to share in the Learning , Teaching and Assessment of Numeracy to ensure that there are shared expectations and understanding across the Cluster.
Termly Evaluation focus teachers on teaching and learning, the impact their teaching and learning is having on their learners and to develop next steps for themselves and their pupils.
Continued raised expectations for staff and pupils. Pupils and staff supported to progress and achieve.
Pupils are given opportunities to represent the school in the middle and upper stages. An example of this is at sporting events, including cross country and Inter Scholastic Athletics competition and county swimming competitions. Pupils have also gone on to represent the school at national competitions. Pupils from P4-7 have represented the school at The Edinburgh & Lothians Burns Federation competitions held at Tynecastle High School. Pupils who have been entered have been placed and also received commendations.
Pupils are given a wide range of responsibilities throughout the school including Pupil Council, Eco Reps, JRSO’s, Buddies to support Reading with younger classes and in P7 pupils can go for election as House Captains and Vice Captains.
All P1-P7 pupils were involved in Citizenship Groups led by teaching staff, management and support staff, where pupil voice was heard and the pupils actively planned what their group was going to achieve throughout the year.
School Improvement Plan used during CAT sessions to ensure progress is made. School Improvement Plan traffic lighted as part of evaluation throughout whole year.
Teaching Staff led parts of CAT sessions and In-service days to feedback on work carried out by Working Party.
What are we going to do next?
·  Evaluate and reflect on the impact and progression in place using Number Counts Structures
·  Make further use of evidence gathered from Summative Assessment to track progress in learning across Numeracy and Literacy
·  Focus on using Incas across P2-7 to allow annual comparison of progress data
·  Build on the success of RWI to include new Primary 1intake
·  Monitor measurable impact through use of Driver Diagrams across Literacy and Numeracy
·  Increase the opportunities to share learning across the Houses within the school
·  Continued participation in Cluster Moderation across Numeracy & Mathematics

2.1 - Learners’ Experiences

Learners are motivated, eager participants in their learning. / Learners make good progress in their learning. / Learners know their views are sought and acted upon. They feel valued. / Learners feel safe, nurtured, healthy, achieving, active, included, respected.
Pupils are actively involved in planning their learning from Nursery to P7, particularly for Interdisciplinary Learning. Progress of learners is monitored through regular attainment meetings between SMT and Class Teachers and on-going dialogue in classrooms.
Learners are becoming more able to talk about their learning in a meaningful way and are developing the skills to be able to link why they are learning things.This was noted during the visit from The Cluster Moderation Team.
Attachment training took place for all staff within the school to better equip the adults to deal with the challenges facing our pupils. After the training there was a high level of interest in becoming a supportive adult for our vulnerable pupils.
Management Team have a clear Remit of Year Stages they are responsible for. They are responsible for the pastoral needs of these year stages.
Robust transition programme in place between all stages of the Primary School and with the Primary School and Ross High School. Two day transition with new teachers, as far as possible and in the environment that they will be working in. Key ASN’s deliver care specific to the learners’ needs and ensure inclusion in conjunction with the Class Teachers. Parents and pupils have given these transition opportunities a very positive feedback with them stating that they can go into the holidays without worrying about their new classroom environment, peers and staff.
Growth Mindset has been introduced within school with an expectation that all classes use the principles behind it. Parts of CAT sessions have been used to research the effect that Growth Mindset has on the learners.
Pupils have a variety of forums where their views can be heard and are sought. This includes within the classroom setting and whole school setting. Pupil Council and monthly Citizenship Groups are two areas where this happens.
Pupils from across the school volunteer for roles within the school and take their responsibilities very seriously. The Senior Pupil Council were activiely involved in planning meetings for our new school extension and were the first people to visit the site when it was safe enough for a tour.
Views are sought on Learning and Teaching by some Class Teachers reflecting on their own practice and by SMT through Focus Groups, where random groups of pupils are selected to give their views on what is happening within their classrooms linked to the school priorities.
Co-operative Learning is happening across the school from Nursery to P7 allowing all pupils to get their ‘voice on the table’. This feeds into CAT sessions and In-Service days where the same methodology is followed.
P7 children identified from INCAS data to receive focused support in Numeracy. Alongside this, Growth Mindset was used to improve the learners perception of Numeracy and their own self-perception. All learners were questioned about their views prior to taking part in the work and at the end of the work. All learners that were involved reported an improved perception of Numeracy and their ability within it.
SfL focused on improving attainment within Literacy through using RWI at the Early Stages and Fresh Start for the Upper children.
Pupils in P5-P7 take part in JASS Awards and are involved in Community projects and Outdoor Learning led by the Outdoor Education Department. P7 children attend a Residential experience at Benmore Education Centre.
Pupils with Additional Support Needs have the opportunity to go Horse Riding with RDA and DAP Multi Sports. There is also opportunity to access the Sensory Room within the school.
SEBN children attend school camp, with support provided by the SEBN Teacher or BSO. SEBN pupils also attend climbing lessons led by Outdoor Education to encourage team building and trust. This is dependent on positive behaviour in school.
Impact of High Quality PE has been noted and Good practice shared across the Authority and through Education Scotland.
What are we going to do next?
·  Outdoor Learning Newly appointed Acting PT has this as part of his remit and will explore the opportunities to further extend our use of outdoor space
·  After Action Research pinpointing best practice Learning Walls will be evident within all classrooms showing the learning taking place and building on it through reflective comments and evidence being added from the learners as the term progresses. Teachers have been asked to use their creativity to make it fit for purpose within their own classrooms for their own learners.
·  Key people have been identified for our most vulnerable learners and staff will check in with the pupils on a regular basis.
·  Profiles to be composed for these pupils and used as part of the transition programme between teachers and other staff involved in their care.
·  Pupils will have the opportunity to share their learning with parents/carers as a family through Open Mornings
·  Increase the time for Specialist PE to build on the work started and allow extension of skills and support to be offered through team teaching opportunities
·  Pupil voice to be included in Learning Teams Actioning school priority pages and involvement in Parent Consultations
·  Increased opportunities to share learning with home and build on positive partnerships