Dounby Community School Review Summary (April 2016)
Lead reviewer: Carol McManus (Service Improvement Officer)
Reviewers: James Wylie (Service Improvement Officer)
Graham Bevan (Service Improvement Officer)
Catherine Diamond (Principal Teacher, Early Years)
Wellbeing, equality and inclusion:
What is working well?
Children are polite and show respect for all, including visitors. Almost all the children in the school like their school. They appear happy, safe and confident in school and know what to do if they are being bullied.Parents recognise that their children enjoy learning at school and almost all parents feel their child is succeeding in school.
Almost all parents feel that they are treated fairly and with respect and recognise that their children enjoy learning and are succeeding in school.
Staff at the school know their children well and work in a collegiate manner to ensure that the wellbeing needs of children are a priority of the school.
What will be developed further?
- A review ofHealth and Wellbeing which will include gathering views of children, parents and the wider school community and working together on developing policies and procedure underpinned by the Rights of the Child and Respect Me frameworks
- In partnership with children and parents the school will work together on a ‘Positive Relationships in School/Anti-bullying Policy’ through sharing existing good practice in own school and other school settings. Gathering views on a yearly basis will ensure that children and parents are fully engaged in this process.
Partnerships
What is working well?
There is effective partnership working in the school such as inter-generational working with the older generation at Smiddybrae and close links with the local church community including the church minister. Fundraising events take place on a regular basis and often involves the whole school particularly parents who show a commitment to supporting the work and life of the school through the considerable amount of fundraising that they are involved in. This has had a positive impact on the learning environment and the varied opportunities that are available to the children which is certainly recognised and valued by the children and staff of the school.
What will be further developed?
- Working closely with parents/carers and the Parent Council to review parental involvement in the school and to work together to further develop stronger partnership working in the future.
- Collectively identifying and planning more frequent opportunities to share good news and celebrate the achievements and efforts of all the children in the school.
Curriculum, personalised support and learning and teaching
What is working well?
Children are happy in their learning environment. Staff have worked together and have worked hard to make sure that the curriculum that the children learn from has a developed programme of study for all the children. They are committed to inclusive practice and work hard to ensure that any barriers to learning or wellbeing are identified and removed where possible to ensure that all children are supported in their learning and wellbeing. Staff plan structured lessons and organise resources effectively and are able to assess where the children are in their learning and share with the children and parents the next steps in learning for the children. There is a very much a ‘can do’ ethos in the classrooms due to the introduction of Growth Mindsets in school.
What will be further developed?
- Continue to develop planning and track planning of learning for individual children and to use recently purchased diagnostic testing to support children and staff further. Through the review process continue to identify and support children who made need additional support within the Getting It Right Framework.
- Continue to develop wider differentiation to address the learning needs of all pupils and continue the work already underway with developing reading further.
Self-Evaluation (SE)
What is working well?
In the Early Years setting regular self-evaluation occurs which informs future practice and develops learning further. The Head Teacher isaware of the drive to improve attainment and has a strong understanding and use of diagnostic data to inform whole school progress inattainment and interventions.
What will be further developed?
- Working with all children, parents, staff and wider partners to have a shared understanding of where the school is, where it needs to go and then work together on planning next steps through regular opportunities to gather views to inform next steps.
Leadership
What is working well?
The well-being of staff is well supported by the Head teacher who shows confidence in his staff. The school is a place where children have opportunities to take leadership responsibilities e.g. Active School’s Sport’s Leadership Awards.
What will be further developed?
- Further opportunities for children, parents, staff and other services/agencies to be involved in developing school improvement on a regular basis and to help support the school in achieving its priorities and to help to identify future priorities as well.
What happens next?
The Head teacher, working closely with children, parents, staff and the Education Service will develop a long term (3-5 year) plan for the school based on the recommendations from the report. Certain actions will be initiated and developed in the first year of the plan that have been identified as requiring immediate attention and other developments that will be developed over a longer period of time but within a set timescale. The priorities in Year 1 will include a review and subsequent action plans on:
- How the school gathers evidence about how well it is doing to inform next steps which fully involves children, parents, staff and other partners
- Ensuring all children’s needs are identified and met.
- Partnership working – particularly developing parental involvement and engagement in the work and life of the school.
- Continuing the work of further developing the learning and teaching of reading
This plan will be reviewed in 6 months’ time (Jan 2017) and 12 months’ time (June 2017) in partnership with the school, Education Service and in conjunction with children, parents and staff and with wider partners where appropriate.