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I am pleased to introduce our standards and quality in Invergarven School for session 2015-16. In this year’s report, I will highlight strengths in key areas of our work and share with you our priorities for the coming year. In Invergarven School, our aim is to support every child to reach their full potential. Our work is firmly rooted on core values of happiness, confidence, respect, honesty and responsibility. Through these, and working in partnership with parents and partners, we strive to encourage our pupils to be successful, confident, responsible and to contribute fully to the life of the school and its community. How Evidence was Gathered At Invergarven School the audit process is used to gauge how well we are doing. These processes are based on the model of school self-evaluation set out in the HMIe document ‘How Good is our School 3. Next year we will be implementing the standards from HGIOS4, with a series of self evaluation audits and implementation through all areas of planning, evaluating and self assessment. The information gathered through the audit process assists us in our planning of future developments by helping us to establish

How well we are doing in relation to improving our practice

Our strengths

Our next steps for developing our practice

In evaluating key areas, we have drawn on evidence from a wide range of sources, including: ● Pupil attainment in IEP targets, NQ courses and wider achievement ● A self-evaluation process which includes classroom visits and professional discussions. ● Feedback from questionnaires and evaluations from parents, pupils and staff. ● Evidence of pupil participation and success in many activities. As always the stakeholders of Invergarven have continued to be a massive support over the year. Contributing towards our many events, attending workshops and information evenings and boosting attendance higher than ever at parent evenings. The community have continued to demonstrate the high level of support and staff and pupils at Invergarven are forever grateful. Kimberley Keenan Head Teacher June 2016 t for 2007-200

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Introduction

About our school

Invergarven School is a non-denominational specialist school serving Girvan and the surrounding area. Invergarven provides education for pupils aged 5 to 19. All pupils have additional support needs and in some cases, complex medical and health needs. The roll in 2015-16 was17. 41% of the pupils were Looked After and Accommodated throughout the whole year. All staff at Invergarven endeavour to offer an appropriate curriculum for pupils from primary to secondary school age, incorporating SQA as well as Curriculum for Excellence and Broad General Education. The school offers a developmental curriculum with specific teaching approaches differentiated or elaborated, according to the needs of the pupils. In 2015-16, there were four main classes, with some one–to-one learning areas created in the school to meet the specific needs of some of the pupils. This approach allowed particular pupils to gain the essential input that they required to make progress in their learning.

In 2014-15, there were 4.8 classroom teachers and 9 support staff. The school works closely with other agencies, including school nurse, speech and language therapist and social work. Staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. This ensures that everyone is aware of the needs of the whole child and their families. The school has a supportive Parent Council, currently at full capacity, and strong effective links with the local community. The biggest challenge the school continues to face is the limitations of

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the school building. Therefore, we make effective use of facilities in the local community and our links with other educational establishments in the Girvan cluster. It is wonderful news that the plans for the new school are all in place and location has been confirmed for Coalpots Road. The new building looks fantastic, having equipment that is specifically tailored to the needs of the young people.

Vision, Values & Aims

Our Vision, Values and Aims

Our vision Invergarven creates a school community where we are safe, included and excel in what we do. We are proud of our achievements and are confident in our own abilities. Our values reflect what we believe will create a positive ethos within the school:

Happiness, Confidence, Respect, Honesty and Responsibility.

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Our aims are:

1: To create a positive school ethos that promotes inclusion and equality by:

Encouraging pupils, whatever their ability, to reach full potential

Ensuring relationships are based on mutual respect and understanding

Creating a welcoming and purposeful atmosphere for pupils, parents and staff

2: To provide a stimulating and enjoyable curriculum for our pupils that will:

Cater for all needs and abilities

Be delivered through quality teaching and learning, providing a range of learning experiences

Encourage pupils to develop a positive sense of achievement and pleasure in their learning

Enable pupils to make the best of opportunities presented to them despite their additional support needs

3: To improve the standard of achievement and attainment within the school by:

Careful monitoring of pupil attainment and achievement

Encouraging pupils to work to the best of their ability and helping them to make best possible progress

Promoting an ethos of success within the school

Raising standards of attainment in the core areas outlined in the pupil’s IEP

4: To assist our pupils’ personal and social development and to teach them the values and responsibilities of citizenship by:

Encouraging pupils to become aware of their own feelings and those of others around them

Encouraging in pupils an awareness of the rules in school and of those in the wider community

Promoting independence across all areas of learning

Equipping them with the skills necessary to cope with the challenges they may face and by enabling them to make the best use of appropriate support systems

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5: To promote effective partnership that links home, school and community by:

Involving parents in their children’s education in school and at home

Promoting effective home-school links

Contributing to and being an active part of the local community

6: To develop an effective framework for learning by:

Seeking to provide quality staff development opportunities and review where appropriate

Endeavouring to offer an attractive, stimulating and safe school environment which will promote effective teaching and learning

Encouraging pupils to be motivated and confident.

Our successes and achievements

What outcomes have we achieved?

Improvements in performance Our young people are continuing to make very good progress across all aspects of their development and learning. We have worked hard in 2015-16 to develop robust systems, which allow us to track progress of all our children across the experiences and outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence, from early level through to the senior phase, and also inclusive of experiential and prerequisite skills. In 2015-16 we continued to implement SQA Nationals 1-3, providing Secondary pupils with a bank of qualifications, preparing them for positive destinations. Our pupils continue to be encouraged to be successful, confident learners and are encouraged to be involved in planning their own learning and reviewing their own progress. Pupils self-assess their activities, and some pupils can recognise how they can improve their learning, providing personal next steps that are meaningful to them. Lessons and learning environments are carefully considered to encourage the children and young people to be motivated, enjoy their learning and take pride in their achievements. Our young people show responsibility and contribute effectively to the life of the school and the local community. Pupils experience a wide range of active lessons, indulge in captivating activities, explore outdoors and take advantage of the environment in their community to use as a learning resource. Every pupil has an Individualised Educational Programme with very specific targets for learning across skills for Learning, Life and Work. Evaluations of IEPs show percentages of achievement in targets throughout the year, which can be

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compared to previous years, to show progress over time. The 5 areas targeted in IEPs are: Literacy Numeracy Health & Well Being Employability, Enterprise & Citizenship Thinking Skills

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Attainment: In 2015-16, thirteen pupils successfully achieved over 80% of their IEP targets in these 5 areas. The Primary Department achieved 91% of their targets The Secondary Department achieved 80% of their targets Overall, whole school attainment in targets was as follows:

87 87% 86% 81% 87%

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Literacy Numeracy Health & Wellbeing

Employability, Enterprise& Citizenship

Thinking Skills Overall Attainment

87% 86%

81% 87% 90% 86%

Secondary SQA Attainment: Attainment in SQA courses 2015-16

Number of pupils

Level Subject Unit Name

3 National 1 Personal Development Developing Positive Behaviour

3 National 1 Personal Development Personal Organisation

3 National 1 Life In Another Country Aspects Of Life

3 National 1 Physical Education Taking Part in a Group Activity

3 National 1 Scottish Studies Scottish Studies Award

1 National 1 Food Preparation Baking

1 National 1 Food Preparation Making A Healthy Snack

1 National 1 Physical Education Taking Part In A Water Based Activity

1 National 1 RME World Religions

1 National 3 Computing Science Building Digital Solutions

1 National 3 Computing Science Information Solutions

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Lessons are carefully planned to meet the needs of each of the learners in a style that suits their learning. Individualised Planning is essential to get it right for each child. Timetables are highly structured and offer increasing opportunities for personalisation and choice. Emphasis on the children and young people’s choice and interest is prioritised to ensure interest and enjoyment is sustained. IEP targets take into account the pace and potential of each pupil, ensuring an appropriate element of challenge is placed, but in an achievable manner.

National Qualifications are studied by secondary pupils, which promote an ethos of achievement for all. In 2015-16, pupils achieved success in National 1 units/courses and 1 pupil in National 2 units/courses. In 2013-14, we introduced SQA’s Personal Achievement Award to pupils in the senior phase. Pupils responded well with 7 pupils receiving their Bronze Award. We have continued the Personal Achievement Award in 2014-15, with a further 6 pupils achieving their Bronze Award.

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Celebrating achievements in highly emphasised at Invergarven. It is imperative to boost self esteem, belief and confidence in the children and young people. We continue to celebrate each individual child’s achievement through weekly assemblies, personal time with SMT, individualised awards and shared responsibilities across the school. We host our annual Celebration Day every June. Parents and carers are invited along to share the celebration. 2014-15 saw the highest volume of support from the local community, providing a huge boost of personal achievement for the young people. 2015-16 will invite more individuals from South Ayrshire Council such as Quality Improvement Officers, Councillors and Director of Education, to come along and share the pride that the children and young people have in their achievements and success over the year. In 2015-16, we joined Southcraig Campus to deliver the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. Two pupils participated in the Award and demonstrated a mature and positive approach to the process. They also represented Invergarven extremely well, in working alongside peers from another school. Areas for improvement:

Expand on SQA Personal Achievement Awards, ensuring pupils are achieving their fullest potential and are gaining the best possible bank of qualifications for next steps in their future

Work with link schools and local support to include more awards and achievements, such as John Muir Award

How well do we meet the needs of our school community?

Learners’ experiences

Our pupils demonstrate commitment and dedication to their learning. They aware of their Individualised Targets for the year. Staff have a sound knowledge of pupils, their needs and backgrounds, and value them as individuals, adapting where necessary to sensitive and complex situations. We continue to provide a high quality of pastoral care to each individual pupil regardless of their needs or barriers. Pupils are actively involved in decision making through the Pupil Council, Eco Committee, review meetings and target setting. Pupils are involved in making choices of which pieces of evidence should be included to reflect their achievements. 2015-16 saw the introduction of technology to enhance communication for children and young people with communication challenges. Staff use Boardmaker symbols to assist young children in recognising

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instruction and structure. Visual timetables are evident and utilised in all classrooms to share information and events. Social stories are created to reinforce challenging situations and explain the unknown to some of the young people. Eye gaze and switches have been introduced to some of our more experiential children, to provide a voice and choice for inclusion.

All pupils have the opportunity to offer their views on a wide variety of issues. Each young person has key members of staff that they can talk to or confide in. Where appropriate, pupils take part in their annual progress reviews. A’ Have Your Say’ pro-forma helps pupils to contribute effectively. This focuses on how they feel they have progressed and what they feel they could do better, at a level appropriate to the young person. Pupils are always beautifully honest in these settings, which is delightful.

In 2015-16 we worked alongside Girvan Academy Physical Education Principal Teacher to ensure that children and young people are receiving high quality input from mainstream specialists. Every pupil continues to received at least 2 hours of PE each week, despite our limited facilities. We have worked extremely well with Active Schools Coordinator this year to ensure that we are involved and aware of all activities delivered in South Ayrshire. This has included tennis sessions, badminton, boccia, athletic competitions and many more. Pupils participated in a variety of physical activities including horse riding, swimming, football, hydrotherapy, dance, physiotherapy and gardening through out Green Gym initiative. We worked with a range of partners to provide these experiences e.g. Riding for the Disabled, Ayr United Football Club, Active Schools and Adventure Centre for Education. Strong links have been built with these partners and they have become familiar and supportive links in the education of the children and young people at Invergarven.

Despite having complex barriers to learning, every young person at the school has been involved in sporting activities throughout the year, overcoming personal challenges and providing support to each other. We attended the Sportsability Events in Kilmarnock and participated in athletics competitions. Invergarven was part of a PAN Ayrshire football tournament where the young people were successful in gaining 1st place and gold medals. This is with thanks to the fortnightly coaching from Ayr United, Stuart Watson, who dedicates his spare time to continuing the coaching of the young people, despite their contract being discontinued. Evidentially health and wellbeing continues to be a priority in supporting all of our children and young people.

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In 2015-16, we continued to deliver Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths by having a concentrated S.T.E.M week with Barr and Barrhill Primary. All three schools worked together in planning and delivering enriched programmes across a week, including all pupils of all stages, ages and abilities. The children and young people are noticeably building positive relationships across the school from the continued work and

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delivery. This year we included STEM Coordinator Jenn from Doonfoot Primary, who enriched the experiences by sharing her knowledge and genuine passion for the subjects. She delivered high quality CLPL for staff involved and even participated herself in the stations of work for the children and young people. The week ended with a celebration and award ceremony, with local Councillors attending to present the awards. The children, young people, staff and communities gain strengths from the working partnership.

Our senior pupil has successfully completed a year of work experience in a local youth café. This provided him with real life opportunities to experience the world of work and engage in a variety of skilled experiences. This was particularly useful and beneficial for the senior pupil, who is moving on to further education next year. The positive partnership that Invergarven has with the youth café has allowed this project to be such a success.

Alongside the work experience for this senior pupil, Invergarven was able to support him in attending a day link class with Ayr College one day per week throughout the year. This was fantastic opportunity to build confidence, skills and allow realistic decisions to be for the next, positive steps in his further education. It is with pride that I share that he is moving on to a full time college placement in August 2016-17. This is a prime example of the positive destinations that Invergarven strive to achieve for their children and young people.

Inclusion continues to be a priority at Invergarven, with pupils attending Girvan Academy Pupil Support Department, Girvan Primary and Southcraig Campus, to share facilities. Staff involved in the inclusive working have built a fantastic working relationship, allowing for more fluid and creative measures of inclusion.

Christmas 2015 saw another successful Christmas Performance delivered by the young people. They performed Frozen for an audience of over 150 people. The parents, carers and local community demonstrated a warm reception in attending the performance and sharing the admiration for the abilities of the young people. It is remarkable to watch the performance and take account of the personal barriers that each individual faces, yet demonstrates a pride and strength in their courage and ability. They continue to inspire the staff and community each year.

Areas for improvement:

Reinvent Record of Achievement to provide ownership and pride from the children and young people

Plan and deliver further community events, demonstrating the appreciation Invergarven has for their support and contribution over the year

Implement real life activities to further develop life skills

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The work and life of our school

How good is the education we provide?

The Curriculum

At Invergarven we ensure that we provide a broad, balanced and well-planned curriculum, which takes account of the 4 contexts for learning. Our pupils have opportunities to experience a wide range of activities supported by out of school visits and events to extend their understanding and develop their skills. We regularly review the curriculum and continue to implement innovative approaches to Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). In 2015-16 a focus was on developing sensory approaches and educational guidelines in line with CfE. This was successfully implemented and coordinated by our new Depute Head Teacher, Julie, who has a wealth of experiential skills and abilities, which complimented the initiative well. This will allow for a broader range of skills and experiences all in line with National Initiatives and Priorities. The Adventure Centre for Education (ACE) has worked with all pupils for a third year running. Senior pupils have been involved in a programme of adventure days including abseiling, gorge walking, canoeing and camping. Junior pupils, including our experimental class have taken part in a Forest School at Culzean Castle, encouraging them to further explore their local environment using their senses. These activities have had a positive impact on confidence and belief in own abilities, encouraging our young people to push themselves out their comfort zone. The activities also reinforce the values of the school and assist in the delivery of cross curricular learning, whilst having fun. We recognise at Invergarven the importance of utilising our local environment combined with the benefits of outdoor learning.

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In 2015-16, pupils continued to take on various responsibilities throughout the school, encouraging a sense of community and building on self esteem. Pupils nominate themselves for roles and responsibilities each week including tuck shop monitor, kitchen helper and playground buddies. The young people were responsible for the maintenance of our garden and allotment, led by our Green Gym. Staff ensure that ownership of the initiatives that we lead is taken by the young people, developing a sense of responsibility. Previous year Green Gym training has continued into 2015-16, with some successful working taking place in and around the school grounds. We have continued to run various after school clubs over the year, which most pupils have participated in. In partnership with Girvan Youth Trust, after school clubs included drama, music, art and craft and many more fun activities! We will continue to work with Girvan Youth Trust in 2016-17, building on these successful and inspiring experiences. Following Parent Council discussion, additional after school clubs will run alongside the one hosted at Girvan Youth Trust to reach out to individuals who are unable to attend, once again specifically meeting the needs of the young people. As part of the school improvement plan in 2015-16 assessment and moderation has been given a massive focus. Our working party have successfully created a unique and specific method of assessing the progress of the young people, incorporating the National Frameworks, IEP targets and individual abilities. This has been a

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massive undertaking and collegiate working to create such a unique format that meets the needs of the school, young people and provides very precise information about the progress of each pupil and evidence behind the developments. 2016-17 will see this piece of work being implemented and demonstrate the effectiveness of the work involved. More specific individualised targets will be created following the implementation. Staff have worked well with Cluster and Authority led groups and working parties, which has helped the team to keep sight of local and national priorities. Each teacher has taken responsibility to be involved in a curricular working group, sharing expertise in ASN and also gaining knowledge of approaches in mainstream. Staff are encouraged to visit other establishments to share good practice. All staff have participated in in-house CLPL opportunities and some have been on courses run by external providers. SMT have attended national conferences and ASN specific training. The HT has attended Education Scotland conferences in order to keep a breadth of new implementations and expectations.

Areas for improvement:

Develop new literacy and numeracy programmes of work that will motivate and enthuse the children and young people

Implement the specifically devised tracking and monitoring developed in 2015-16 for literacy and numeracy

Meeting learning needs There is a clear element of pride across Invergarven. Staff are inspired by the achievements of the young people. We feel it that it is essential to provide support and positive working relationships with parents and carers. We have implemented a Drop In Session every Tuesday morning where parents and carers are invited along to meet with the Depute head Teacher to share and concerns that they may have. As well as building positive relationships with parents and carers, staff and pupils continue to enjoy excellent relationships built on mutual respect and trust. In 2015-16, attendance was above the national average, and there were no exclusions. Staff expectations of pupils are high. We promote positive behaviour and support our young people in their personal challenges. In 2016-17, six pupils had Behaviour Management Plans, to ensure consistency of approach throughout the school. Parents/carers were consulted and other agencies involved where appropriate. All staff are trained in deescalating challenging behaviour, to avoid crisis situations. Regular meetings are held to discuss approaches for managing individuals who display challenging behaviour. We have

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a robust system for tracking behaviour and reporting to parents. Strong relationships are in place with multi agencies to ensure support and prompt interventions are in place for any individuals who reach crisis situations. Teachers are very skilled at elaborating their learning and teaching styles to meet outcomes and target to meet the varied needs of individuals. 2016-17 will include parent and carer views and input in IEP setting, to include a holistic approach to targeting specific areas of development. Pupils with complex health needs have Health Care Plans, developed in partnership with the school nurse. The close multi agency working allows for frequent and precise health care decisions to be made in the best interest of the young people. 2015-16 has allowed some very specific health care training by NHS in order to ensure that staff are providing the highest quality of care to the young people with high tariff health care needs, seizure planning and palliative care. It is imperative that all agencies are working together and communicating regularly to get it right for the most vulnerable pupils in the school.

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A significant strength of the school continues to be the good relationships and multi agency working with a wide range of partners to meet the needs of pupils. I particularly pride the school approaches in early intervention, working in close partnership with the various multi agencies to get it right for the vast array of complex issues contained within Invergarven. The highest level of support, intervention and strategies are provided for the children, young people, parents and carers.

The school fully supports senior pupils who are in transition to adult services. Detailed support plans are in place to ensure that senior pupils take advantage of the support services, choices and chances available post school. We strive to ensure all of the young people leaving school have the right supports guiding them to positive destinations, regardless of their challenges, abilities or disabilities. We work agencies such as Social Work and Adult Mental Health Specialists to ensure that we are covering all areas to ensure a smooth and effective transition. We continue to work closely with Girvan Youth Trust in the Hand in Hand project, providing social activities in and out with school, ensuring that young people with significant barriers have opportunities in the community for social inclusion. It is our vision to break social barriers and stigma to build resilience and trust in the community. Developing social understanding and acceptance of individuals with additional support needs is well underway, but improvements are essential, particularly with the confirmation of the new school development being on the grounds of Girvan Academy. To ensure positive community relationships, Invergarven staff and pupils will sensitively integrate deeper into the community.

The school works closely with parents and carers to address any barriers to learning. There are Parent Afternoons twice per year for parents and carers to discuss their child’s progress and to keep up to date with school projects and initiatives. Staff also communicate with parents/carers through home school diaries, telephone calls and emails. Each class creates a monthly newsletters, reporting on the wellbeing indicators. Parents enjoy being kept up to date on specific class stories. The Head Teacher produces a termly newsletter in order to alert parents and carers to the events of the school, important dates and any important information that may require attention. Parents and carers have continued to be supportive over 2015-16, working well with the school, and appreciating the mutual support.

The school continues to develop excellent links with other educational establishments. Work experience and Community Involvement placements from local secondary pupils benefit both groups of pupils. In 2015-16 we sustained a placement for two Girvan Academy pupils and one Carrick Academy pupil, completing their Community Involvement Qualification. The students were committed and provided a positive contribution to the

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school in their time with us. One Girvan Academy pupil in particular has requested voluntary work at Invergraven to further develop her skills and experiences for her future work. Invergarven is proud to provide support to individuals who require and experiences that may benefit their future decisions in choices of work.

I am particularly proud to share that continued links are in place with past pupils and their families. Regular communication, support and advice remains. It is warming and reassuring to know that the pupils request the contact themselves and ensure that they continue to attend annual events such as Christmas Show and Celebration Days. The impact that Invergarven, the nurturing approach and support from the dedicated team has demonstrated positive and lasting relationships. There are remaining strong links with a family of a pupil who sadly passed away, providing sensitive support and lasting memories of a unique and wonderful individual.

Areas for improvement:

Include parent and carer requests in IEP targets

Host monthly IEP days in class to fully involve pupils in their learning and to raise awareness of progress

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Improvement through self-evaluation (Quality indicator 5.9) We continually strive to improve our self-evaluation process. All staff continue to be encouraged to participate in the audit process which identifies the school’s strengths and development needs. Staff are presented with quality indicators in ‘How Good is our School 3’. All staff were fully involved in working groups to take forward projects from the Improvement Plan. There is strong teamwork throughout the school to drive initiatives forward. Staff work together to plan and deliver effective and appropriate curricular experiences for the pupils. As stated previously, in 2015-16 we set up working parties for Assessment, Tracking and Monitoring and this will be on School Improvement 2016-17 to fully implement.

I promote the School Improvement Plan as a shared responsibility. It is shared with all staff, and we take part in regular reviews to monitor our progress. Priorities are also shared with parents/carers and they are also asked for feedback on our progress. We developed a pupil-friendly summary of our Improvement Plan, incorporating Board Maker symbols. Pupils are aware of how we are trying to improve their learning, and provide feedback at assemblies. A parent information session took place in June 2016 to share the development of the School Improvement Plan, expressing the challenges, progress, changes and positive impact that the implementations have had. Parent and carer feedback is welcomed and taken on board to alter future approaches. I feel that it is vital for parents and carers to feel involved, contribute to and assist in evaluating the hard work of the school.

The Senior Management Team closely monitors the work of the school in a variety of ways including formal planned observation of classes. Forward plans and IEPs are also monitored and feedback is given to staff. In 2015-16 a more time efficient and less labouring approach was introduced to monitoring IEPs and attempt to lessen workload for teachers. This involved a team meeting with professional dialogue. This proved to be more beneficial in many ways. SMT also used a learning round approach to monitor learning and teaching. This reduced the intensity and obvious changes to staffing in the classroom, thus avoiding inaccurate observations. This is evidence of how we adapt to gain accurate feedback, observations and knowledge that learning and teaching is of a high standard.

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As stated previously parents and pupils are asked for feedback on the work of the school through end of year information session, questionnaires, evaluations and ‘drop-ins’. The feedback is collated and discussed at staff meetings to devise methods of incorporating the suggestions. It is important that parents and carers feel that their views are taken seriously and make a difference.

All pupils feel they are safe, healthy, active, nurtured, achieving, respected, responsible and included in the life of the school. We will continue to gather the views of our young people through discussions, questionnaires and evaluation activities.

Areas for improvement:

Reinstate GIRFEC across the school, emphasising the importance and benefits of the Named Person

Staff become familiar and confident in HGIOS4

How good is the management and leadership of the school?

There is a clear strategic vision to improve the work of the school. The pupils are at the centre of all plans to improve. Clear vision, values and aims are regularly reviewed and shared. Emphasis was delivered during

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weekly assemblies on the school values, ensuring that the children and young people had a good understanding and shared their thoughts and contributions. The Senior Management Team encourages all staff to take on roles and responsibilities, from PE co-ordinator, Communication Champion to Display Coordinator. Staff feel that their contributions to school improvement are valid and valued. We ensure that we channel the individual strengths of the staff team to provide the best outcomes for the school. There is an ethos of teamwork in the school based on trust and collective responsibility. There are monthly whole staff meetings and fortnightly teachers’ meetings. All staff are supported and challenged, and individual talents and skills are taken into account during the planning process. Staff take part in a PRD process, identifying targets for the year. Following the Head Teacher’s experience at Columba 1400, a coaching approach is used to ensure that staff feel listened to, express their opinions, concerns and worries and are not directed by opinions of management. This has been a beneficial experience for both the Head Teacher and the staff. It is important that there are clear expectations set by the SMT to lead a successful team of inspiring, quality rich teachers. As Head Teacher I continue to aim for share responsibilities, demonstrating trust in my team and promoting leadership opportunities to develop and promote the capacity of my teachers and pupil support staff. It is vital that staff are on board with the vison and values of the school to ensure that the children and young people of Invergarven receive the highest standard of education, meeting their specific needs and challenging them to reach their fullest potential. Areas for improvement:

Allow time for reflection on individual staff comments and feedback

Boost individual teacher’s strengths and ensure leadership opportunities are available

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What is the school’s capacity for improvement?

In 2015-16 the School Improvement Plan had focus on devising and implementing new approaches to educating our children and young people with a much more specific plan, including a whole new sensory guideline and assistive technology. It saw stronger working relationships between our teachers and those in the local authority, sharing knowledge and expertise, both ways. It also saw National Frameworks being successfully implemented into the ASN sector in a creative and manageable way. Our Improvement Plan for 2016-17 will continue to focus on our journey to excellence, with further curriculum development, implementing new programmes f work and innovative methods of supporting one another in the authority. Through robust self evaluation and developing knowledge and trust in HGIOS4, the school will become more secure and confident in its delivery of education in ASN. Stakeholders will remain as highly valued contributors to the school and through a shared approach, demonstration of success, celebrations of achievement and the strive to move forward as an inspirational team will see Invergarven succeed in its plans for 2016-17.

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