Parent Council AGM Bellsquarry Primary School 14th September 2015 School Motto: Learn, Believe and you will Succeed

Learn, Believe and you will Succeed  School Motto: Learn, Believe and you will Succeed Our Vision Statement To 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.  

Our Values 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.

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

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 Tasks   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 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

Adaptive Testing 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.

Moving Forward in Learning Moving 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. “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

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

What do we hope to achieve this year? 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

VSE – Validated Self-Evaluation 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.

Partnership with Parents 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/