Aviemore Standards Report 1314 (115kb pdf) - The Highland Council

“Working together to inspire
learning and achievement in
Highland Communities”
Standards and Quality Report:
Aviemore Primary School
The Highland Council
Education, Culture and Sport Service
Badenoch & Strathspey
3 rd October 2013
Aviemore Primary School opened on it’s new site in August 2012 and is part of a
Community building housing the School, Hall, Library and Service point, a privately
run Nursery, Fitness suite, Dance studio and Meeting rooms.
The school catchment is the village of Aviemore and the surrounding rural area
within the Cairngorms National Park.
The roll in August 2012 was 273 with the pupils organised in 11 classes. There is
also Rainbow class catering for children with severe and profound learning needs.
The Headteacher is non-class committed, the Depute Head Teacher has 0.8
teaching commitment and the Principal Teacher of Additional Support Needs has 0.5
class commitment.
Aviemore Primary School has a very positive ethos thanks to supportive staff,
parents and pupils.
Our school vision and values
For each member of our school community to enjoy a safe and inclusive environment in
which to achieve, be healthy, nurtured, active, respected and responsible.

The Core Areas of our Practice
This report summarises the strengths of our school and what needs to improve. We
gather this information throughout the year in a variety of ways so we can make sure
our report is as accurate as possible. We reflect on the progress we have made with
our improvement priorities. We take time to compare what we do with national
examples of best practice. We visit each others’ classes to share standards in learning
and teaching. We look at children and young people’s work to see how they are
progressing. We make use of a range of data and information including attainment
results. We gather the views of children, parents, staff and members of the local
community. We use all of this information to arrive at our view of the quality of
education we provide.
Improvements through self-evaluation Key Themes: Commitment to selfevaluation
Management of self-evaluation
School improvement
What we do well:
• Teaching staff demonstrate high levels of expertise and an increasing eagerness to
share experience and improve individual practice
• Willingness of all staff, based on self-evaluation, to take on development roles
• Good links with other schools in the Associated Schools Group (ASG) to enable
enhanced self-evaluation and meaningful joint working
What we need to work on:
• Involve all teaching staff in professional learning community activities to raise
attainment in maths across the school
• Incorporate regular learning visits by all staff
• Embed sharing standards in self-evaluation to improve learning experiences
• Continue to improve consultation with other stakeholders in our school community
• Further develop links with other schools in the Associated Schools Group (ASG) to
enable enhanced self-evaluation and meaningful joint working
The Highland Council Education Service Quality Improvement Team
Page 2 18/11/2013

Improvements in performance
Key Themes: Standards of attainment over time
Overall quality of learners’ achievement
Impact of the school improvement plan
What we do well:
• High achievement in Literacy
• Children are enthusiastic and eager to learn
• All staff are life-long learners
What we need to work on:
• Raise attainment in Maths (particularly Numeracy) through active learning
• Share Assessment for Excellence testing data effectively to support teachers'
judgements and use these to target support
• Develop tracking systems for Literacy and Numeracy
Learners’ experiences
Key Theme: The extent to which learners are motivated
and actively involved in their own learning
and development
What we do well:
• We have a very welcoming and inclusive ethos
• Across the school children are friendly, welcoming, motivated and generally wellbehaved
• Staff provide tasks and activities which are well planned to meet learners’ needs
• Young people support each other in their learning
• Specialists from the wider community have a positive involvement in learning
• Accommodation and resources are of very good quality
What we need to work on:
• Ensure success criteria are effectively shared and agreed with learners
• Increase opportunities for peer support
• Ensure feedback is made effective through AiFL strategies and specific marking
• Extend regular outdoor learning experiences for all pupils
• Further embed opportunities for pupils to take responsibility for their learning
The Highland Council Education Service Quality Improvement Team
Page 3 18/11/2013

The curriculum Key Themes: The rationale and design of
the curriculum
The development of the curriculum
Programmes and courses
Transitions
What we do well:
• Curriculum for Excellence principles underpin the Curriculum and Learning and Teaching
• Literacy – linking writing/reading activities to social subjects to gain depth
• Introduction of innovative technologies and programmes to meet the needs of learners
• All staff timetable to ensure breadth and balance across the curriculum
What we need to work on:
• Ensure individual challenge is built in to planning through maths challenges and mixed
ability tasks
• Raising attainment in Maths through the introduction of a new core scheme (HAM)
• Allow time for peer mentoring in Maths
• Further develop consistent planning to ensure progression of knowledge and skills at each
stage
Meeting learning needs Key Themes: Tasks, activities and resources
Identification of learning needs
The roles of teachers and specialist staff
Meeting and implementing the
requirements of legislation
What we do well:
• The school has a very welcoming and inclusive ethos
• All staff are caring and strive to include all learners in all activities
• Tasks and activities are well planned and differentiated to meet learning needs
• Early identification of children requiring support
• Pupils with additional needs are well supported
• Strong multi-agency working using GIRFEC model
• Transition arrangements for pupils with Additional Support Needs
• IT is embedded in the learning process
What we need to work on:
• Continue to improve transition arrangements for P7 pupils and from Nursery to P1
• Ensure best use made of additional support
• Monitoring differentiation through peer to peer visits
The Highland Council Education Service Quality Improvement Team
Page 4 18/11/2013

Our Key Strengths
Improvements through Self – Evaluation
• Teaching staff demonstrate high levels of expertise and an increasing eagerness to share
experience and improve individual practice
Improvements in Performance
• Children are enthusiastic and eager to learn
Learners’ Experiences
• Young people support each other in their learning
The Curriculum
• Curriculum for Excellence principles underpin the Curriculum and Learning and Teaching.
Meeting Learning Needs
• Tasks and activities are well planned and differentiated to meet learning needs
Our Priorities For Improvement
Improvements through Self – Evaluation
• Involve all teaching staff in professional learning community activities to raise attainment
in maths across the school
Improvements in Performance
• Raise attainment and improve standards in Maths, particularly Numeracy and Mental
Maths.
Learners’ Experiences
• Extend regular outdoor learning experiences for all pupils
The Curriculum
• Raising attainment in Maths through the introduction of a new core scheme (HAM)
Meeting Learning Needs
• Continue to improve transition arrangements for P7 pupils and from Nursery to P1
Additional Priorities
• Develop tracking systems for Literacy and Numeracy
The Highland Council Education Service Quality Improvement Team
Page 5 18/11/2013