school improvement report and plan - … · 3 part one – standards and quality report referencing...

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT REPORT AND PLAN

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School: Noss Primary School Head Teacher: Ally Budge Date submitted: June 2017

School Vision, Values and Aims:

Noss Primary School will aim to………

deliver a broad, balanced and inclusive curriculum which allows each child to achieve his or her full potential.

create a happy, safe and stimulating environment in which children can learn, develop and be treated fairly.

promote and encourage a healthy lifestyle to all learners and the learning community

allow pupils to participate in a variety of positive, memorable experiences.

ensure that children will have a greater self knowledge and a greater understanding of the views and needs of others.

foster positive home school links and encourage parents to take an active role in their child’s education.

be a learning community which supports learners, families and staff in lifelong learning.

Make a positive contribution to the life of the community

nvolve and nspire

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Summary of Improvement Report/Plan engagement process:

Full details of engagement activities can be found in the school’s self-evaluation records.

Participants Engagement details

Teachers and other staff In Service Day discussion and priority setting: May 4th

Parents Parent Council Meeting on March 27th

Pupils Pupil Council meeting on May 15th

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PART ONE – Standards and Quality Report referencing your previous Improvement Plan and next steps (complete as

appropriate):

Context of the school: Including some or all of the following: local contextual issues; Scottish Attainment Challenge involvement; factors affecting progress (e.g. staffing

changes/issues); and outcomes from authority quality improvement visits etc.

Noss Primary is a new build school, opened in April 2016 which serves the area of Wick, north of the river. In addition the catchment area includes pupils

from the small villages of Papigoe, Staxigoe, Ackergill and Reiss. The projected school roll for session 2017/18 is 329 and this will be contained within 13

classes. The SCOPE unit located within the school caters a specialist setting for a further small number of pupils with social and communication difficulties.

They are frequently on a split placement between mainstream and SCOPE. The Early Learning and Childcare unit caters for another 100 pupils offering

flexibility in hours to three and four year olds. The school benefits from a dedicated art room, music room and very large gym. The catchment area

encompasses a significant number of areas which are categorised as SIMD 1 or 2 (in the 10% and 20% most deprived areas in Scotland) and this is reflected in

the school roll with more than 100 pupils whose home address is identified in SIMD 1.

What have we done to close the attainment gap?

Parental engagement in the school has been a high priority for the first full school year at Noss Primary. The school has developed social media to engage

parents in a social way in the life of the school and it has been thought that this may be of value in helping to engage parents and help close the attainment

gap. To ensure optimum coverage a variety of social media channels have been developed including Facebook, Class Dojo and the school blog. A visit by a

Quality Improvement Officer in February 2017 noted – “Facebook page up and running. Also class dojos, NOSS PS info page, school blog. Big effort being

made to build up identity of new school.” A number of initiatives have also been introduced to reduce the attainment gap. Paired reading and paired maths

activities with pupils in Primary 1, 2 and 3 who had been identified primarily as a result of their low SIMD was carried out in Term 3. A summative assessment

at the end of these initiatives showed positive results. Poor attendance which is closely correlated with the attainment gap, was looked at in the school.

Letters were sent to a number of pupils with higher absence rates and meetings held with parents of children who had the highest absence rates. Initial

observations are that this intervention has been successful but the situation will continue to be monitored next session.

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Our overall evaluation of the school’s capacity for continuous improvement:

* We are confident in our capacity for continuous improvement ☒

* We have some concerns about our capacity for continuous improvement ☐

Comment: The school has a staff who are conscientious in providing a good quality experience for pupils and are keen to both

evaluate existing practice and investigate ways to improve future practice. We are confident in our ability to make continuous

improvement.

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Quality Indicators from How good is our school? (4th edition) and where appropriate How good is our Early Learning and Childcare?

How are we doing? What’s working well for our learners? (what are the features of effective practice in our school?)

How do we know? What evidence do we have of positive impact on our learners?

What are we going to do now? What actions will move us forward? (improvement priorities highlighted in this area)

How would we evaluate this QI using the HGIOS?4/ HGIOELC six-point scale?

1.1 Self-evaluation for self-improvement

Collaborative approaches to self- Evaluation

Analysis and evaluation of intelligence and data

Ensuring impact on learners’ successes and achievements

All teaching staff have their own set of appropriate of GTCS standards to evaluate their practice against. All classes are represented in the pupil council. All teaching staff use the Highland Council CPD online tool to plan, record and evaluate their CPD throughout the year. InCAS data is analysed annually for individuals, stages and whole school trends. Moderation is carried out both within stages and within whole school John Hattie’s ‘Visible Learning’ research has been used with staff to ensure

Staff are familiar with the GTCS standards and use these annually to self-evaluate and plan new CPD. Pupils are involved in making decisions about aspects of life within the school All staff are completing the online plan and record Collated results. Termly stage moderation meetings and whole school jotter reviews. All teaching staff have copies of the Learning and Teaching Toolkits. All teachers can access and understand the risk matrix and Ts and PSAs know which children are included in the

Staff could use the key questions from HGIOS4 more regularly. Work more collaboratively to evaluate the work of the school as a whole. Staff having shared aspirations and expectations. Use extra PSA time to support PEF children. Have better involvement with parents, carers and families when

4 - Good

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focus is put on measures which will have an impact on children’s learning. All teachers and PSAs are aware of which children within the classes they work with are at risk of disengaging. SMT meet tri-annually with teachers to track individual pupils’ progress. SPPs are used bi-annually as a basis for discussion on children’s progress. InCAS are used with P3, P5 and P7 every year. Parents and children are surveyed biennially about different aspects of the school. HT has a ‘Good Practice’ section on the weekly staff newsletter which highlights this within the school. Teaching staff are all involved in ‘working groups’ to develop area of the SIP. A number of teaching staff attend a local TLC.

PEF. Evidence in tracking folders. Collated data. Questionnaire results. Weekly newsletters. Outcomes from working groups. Staff have made changes in their practice following on from these TLCs. ‘Classroom Observations’ folder. Evidence of changes put into practice. Peer Observation’ feedback in ‘Classroom Observations’ folder.

planning for improvement. Survey teaching and non-teaching staff. Sharing work done with other working groups. Enable permanent staff (as well as probationer teachers) to visit other schools to see. Survey pupils to see if changes have benefitted their learning.

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Teaching staff are all involved in observations biannually where they self-evaluate their own practice with reference to HGIOS4. Teaching staff are given opportunities to visit each others’ classrooms to share practice on aspects of learning and teaching.

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1.3 Leadership of Change

Developing a shared vision, values and aims relevant to the school and its community

Strategic planning for continuous improvement

Implementing improvement and change

All staff, parents and pupils were involved in producing the vision, aims and values for the school. All class teachers know how to access and understand the risk matrix. Class teachers all know which children in their class are ‘PEF’ funded. Attendance is checked regularly and action taken when necessary. All staff are aware of daily expectations of behaviour and rules around the school. Staff are encouraged to be creative in their thinking and are frequently consulted on a range of issues. All teachers are aware of the developments within the SIP

Questionnaire results. Staff workshop with Educational Psychologists before merging. All teachers know how to use the risk matrix to see which pupils may be at risk of disengaging. Parents of pupils with low attendance written to, and very low attendance had meeting with HT in February 2017. This will be compared to the March-June figure. Staff reminding pupils of appropriate behaviour and reinforcing rules. Initiatives set up by the working groups. Teachers are all part of a

Further promote the school by line of, ‘Involve and Inspire’ within the school community. School vision/aims/values should be reviewed in two/three years’ time. Make the present vision, aims and values of the school more visible. Create a procedure for tracking attendance rates throughout the year and outlining procedures to be followed. The staff have asked if they can have ‘stage’ meetings for moderation next session as they feel these will be as or more useful than looking at work from a different stage. These will be included in the annual collegiate calendar for session 2017/18. Continue with peer visits to look at

4 – good

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and their role within these. Time is allocated in our WTA every year to ensure there is time for self-evaluation, professional dialogue and collegiate learning. All teachers selected one of the ‘Learning and Teaching Toolkits’ to engage in and have worked together in groups to share experiences and ideas. Teachers are actively encouraged to try new things and to think creatively. A good practice section in the weekly staff newsletter often highlights good practice in one area of the school to all staff. Teachers all self-evaluate termly, giving themselves ‘next steps’ to work on. DHT and HT keep track of teachers’ plans and records for their PRD and Professional Update. Teachers all formally self-

working group developing an area of the SIP. Staff are given time to develop initiatives, with an understanding that it takes time for changes to be successful. Working Time Agreement Staff have worked together to share experiences of their chosen toolkit. Staff have visited their peers to see this in action and reflect on what they have seen. During class observations, the SMT look at aspects of the toolkit to gauge if professional learning has made an impact on classroom practice. Evidence in teachers’ forward planning’ folders. Reminder emails sent to teachers regarding the status of their plans and records. Feedback sheets in ‘Classroom

other areas of learning and teaching, as they have been l received positively by staff.

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ELC (in italics)

evaluate their practice at least twice a year, in consultation with a member of the SMT. The SMT monitor each teacher’s forward plans bi-annually to ensure that they show a clear progression of learning for all pupils. All staff, parents, children and partners were involved in producing the vision, aims and values for ELC. Staff are aware of daily expectations of behavior and rules within ELC. Staff are encouraged to be creative in their thinking and are regularly consulted on a range of areas to develop improvements. Staff are actively encouraged to try out new ideas. Time is allocated on a weekly basis during staff’s non-contact time to ensure there is

Observations’ folder. Teachers keep their own self-evaluation sheets. Evidence in the forward planning feedback folder. Survey results/Government and Highland Council Initiatives Staff have high expectations for behavior and this is evident by the children listening and responding to staff. Evidence in fortnightly team meeting minutes. Initiatives set up from working groups. Observations from the ELC Principal Teacher. Planning documentation produced from staff and children. Staff are all part of a working group developing the core areas of the CFX.

ELC aims to be review yearly in May. Continue with working groups, giving staff a different area to look at with a different group of colleagues. Continue with the team meetings on a fortnightly basis as they have proved to be an effective method to discuss children’s learning as well as developments within ELC. Continue to make good use of staff’s non-contact time.

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time for self-evaluation, professional dialogue and learning. Staff are reflective in their approaches and undertake professional development opportunities.

Evidence of this can be found in the staff’s PDP which are done annually (Aug/Sep) as well as Staff Appraisals which are also done annually (June). Staff are provided with termly individual Staff Support and Supervision Meetings. Minutes are recorded. All documents are stored in staff files.

Develop a link with other ELC settings in Caithness for staff to visit. We will contact ELC setting’s early in September to see if they would be willing to take part in this.

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2.3 Learning, Teaching and Assessment

Learning and engagement

Quality of teaching

Effective use of assessment

Planning, tracking and monitoring

All classrooms have smartboards, laptops and chromebooks available to pupils to enhance their learning. Many classes use the local community and outdoor spaces to enhance their learning, particularly in social subjects. Children of all ages are offered opportunities to be involved in after school activities. Children have visited the local old folk’s home to read and play games with the residents. SMT make visits to all teachers biannually and will, as part of their classroom observations, look at how well children are supported and challenged.

Technology is used every day in classrooms. Pupils can use chromebooks confidently. Website, topic plans. The number of children attending the after school clubs. Feedback from the care home. Photos on the school website. Classroom observation feedback sheets in monitoring folder.

Work more closely with the Countryside Ranger service to develop the use of our outdoor spaces.

4 –good

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‘Learning Intentions and Success Criteria’ is one of our learning and teaching toolkits which teachers have been developing within their classrooms. Teacher clarity has been highlighted as one of John Hattie’s ‘high impact’ factors. ‘Questioning’ is one of our learning and teaching toolkits which teachers have been developing within their classrooms. ‘Feedback’ is one of our learning and teaching toolkits which teachers have been developing within their classrooms. We have used InCAS over the past few years to assess children’s progress. SPPs are allocated biannually to all children and agreed with the SMT. Summative assessments in mental arithmetic and spelling are used at the beginning and end of the year

In classrooms. Peer visits. Children are more aware of what they are learning and how they can show they have been successful. In classrooms. Peer visits. Teachers are using different levels of questioning. In classrooms. Peer visits. Teachers are more aware of how to give constructive and valuable feedback, related to learning. InCAS results. SPPs in tracking folder. These assessments show individual improvements as well as trends in class and school averages.

Continue working with four original Learning and Teaching Toolkits and add the ‘Modelling’ toolkit which was produced by the staff working group. Develop the use of the pupil council, so there is more emphasis on ‘learning’. Survey pupils and staff on what makes a good pupil learner/teacher Formulate assessment tasks for key milestones and a way of tracking these.

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to track progress across the school year. Staff are aware of the maths assessments on the HC Numeracy Blog and these have been used by some teachers. Phonological awareness assessments have been carried out for P1 children and also with a number of older children to see where work needs to be done. Teachers hand in termly forward plans bi-annually to be evaluated by the SMT. Parents were all asked for ideas for spending the PEF money. Parents from all classes have been invited in to work with pupils on active maths or spelling activities. Children are asked to help plan the learning in topic work.

Teachers are more aware of which level children are working at and if they have any gaps/strengths. P1 children are grouped accurately for language/phonics work. Targeted support has been given to some P4-7 children by the ASNT. Feedback sheets in ‘Forward Planning Feedback’ folder. Questionnaire feedback was collated and ideas incorporated into SIP. Feedback sheets from parents show very positive evaluations. Photographs on the website. Children have ownership of aspects of their topic work

Have a shared approach to the expectations of standards. Develop our moderation exercises so that this can be done within stages, rather than with the staff as a whole. Involve pupils more in planning what they would like to learn. Identify a number of ways in which teaching staff can introduce this to their class. Evaluate the effectiveness of the initiatives from our PEF funding next session.

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ELC (in italics)

ELC makes good use of outdoors spaces to enhance children’s learning.

A wide range of resources are on offer for all children to experience on a daily basis. Staff use visuals as a communication aid for all children which proves to be an effective tool to use. Staff share the learning plans with parents which children have been involved in creating. We are using the Highland Council Developmental Overviews to assess children’s progress.

Planning documentation produced by staff and children. Photographs of the children engaging in learning experiences. There are various activities on offer ranging from structured activities to free play. Visuals are evident in the ELC rooms. Parents feedback to staff about the impact this has had on their children through learning journeys, parents appointments, Stay and Play. Children and parents are involved in completing the Development Overviews. The Development Overviews are shared with the Highland Council at the end of each session.

Provide more lose part resources/tools for the children outdoors. Make better use of the local environment to provide experiences for children within Social Studies. (No trips were provided this year due to the large number of children/ flexibility factor. Next session this will be done in base rooms or made up of keyworker groups). As a school we are going to look at each Development Overview to see if there are any gaps in children’s development / learning that we make a focus next session.

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3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion

Wellbeing

Fulfilment of statutory duties

Inclusion and equality

Staff are familiar with GIRFEC and the wellbeing indicators. All teachers plan and deliver a Health Education program, ensuring a broad coverage of the Es and Os from CFE. We only have healthy options to buy at the tuck shop. There is an emphasis on fruit for tuck within the school. All ELC and P1 pupils brush their teeth daily. All pupils participate in two hours PE every week through a mixture of swimming, PE lessons, visiting specialists and Mile a Day. We have many buddy systems established where older children look after or work

Staff use SHANARRI when completing paperwork regarding children requiring extra support. Forward plans and health evaluations. Children can only purchase milk/water and fruit at the tuck shop. Good % of pupils in school have fruit for tuck each day. We know all children in ELC/P1 are brushing their teeth at least once every day in term time. Weekly timetables. There are positive relationships between the older and younger children.

Staff and pupils should be more aware of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Look at concentrating on aspects of these through the session. Place special emphasis on eating fruit within the school and reduce the number of bags of crisps eaten. Develop daily tooth brushing to include the P2 age children. Use some of our PEF money to pay for a fitness instructor to come in to school regularly to work with children.

4 – good

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with younger children. PSAs monitor behaviour in the playground at break times. The vast majority of our pupils demonstrate very good behavior and have positive relationships with their peers. Our ASN teacher works with children who need support with SEBD. All staff participate in child protection training every three years. We surveyed parents and pupils in session 2016-17. Mental and spelling test scores are taken twice a year. We have many children with ASD and other learning difficulties in mainstream classes and we also integrate split placement pupils from the SCOPE unit. We have links with schools

PSAs are present in the playground to aid children having difficulties. Classroom observations. Pupil questionnaires. Children with SEBD are supported through regular sessions with the ASNT. Staff know what to do if there is a child protection issue. Parent and pupil questionnaire results in 3.1 box file. Individual scores and class averages are kept. Many ASD children are integrated successfully into mainstream classes with support from PSAs and the ASNT.

A more focused whole school approach could be taken to DYW. Focus on targeted support for children from most deprived areas with our PEF funding.

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from abroad. The diversity of the school community was celebrated at the Christmas concert and in the World Time Clocks in the library which refer to time across the world in locations of relevance to some of the pupils. We participate in fund raising events such as Children in Need as well as events such as Autism Awareness Week. A number of annual awards in the school are specifically based on traditionally non-academic subjects to allow a wider range of pupils to achieve in them All children are able to attend after school clubs for their age group.

Eight pupils said Merry Christmas and a message in their native language at the Christmas concert. The World time Clocks are permanently on display in the library. School website/facebook page Annual awards in school –details in school display cabinet

Develop a link with schools in developing countries. House teams to be introduced to the school. Give pupils a significant role in choosing names and voting for captains and house captains in the school. . Registers for after school clubs should be kept and the number of PEF children attending identified.

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ELC (in italics) Children access fruit and vegetables on a daily basis.

Children access the gym and the outdoors on a daily basis. We get regular visits from the Health Visitors, Child smile, Dental Health Educator to support staff and children. We complete ‘All About Me’ sheets with families. The sheets are reviewed every six months. We surveyed the parents during session 2016-2017.

Children are involved in planning for their weekly snack. Weekly timetables, rotas and photographs. Visitors books/photographs/ planning documentation ‘All About Me’ sheets are stored in children’s Learning Journeys. The health section is stored in children’s confidential file in the ELC Office. Parent questionnaire results.

Children to help grow their own fruit or vegetables for snack in the outdoor ELC area. Contact the local Gardening Club to see if they would get involved in helping staff and children. Contact people from the community to come in and to some special sessions with the children. Such as – Highland Highlife, Zumba Fitness Teacher, PPP Football Coach. Inviting the parents along to some of the sessions to get involved with their child. This would be part of a themed Stay and Play session i.e. Stay and Play - Zumba’ / Stay and Play – Football’. Provide an oral health session delivered by Child Smile/Dental Health Educator in ELC for parents to attend.

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The ELC staff use Building the Ambition - good practice points and case studies to further enhance high quality experiences for the children.

Evidence of using Building the Ambition is clear within staff practices and the evidence gathered.

Continue to make good use of Building the Ambition Guidance.

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3.2 Raising attainment and achievement

Attainment in literacy and numeracy

Attainment over time

Overall quality of learners’ achievement

Equity for all learners

Children use their literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum and in real life situations. We have tracking meetings three times per session, two to discuss allocated SPP levels and one to discuss general progress in literacy and numeracy. Teachers complete transfer documents to pass on to the new class teacher/s. This includes numeracy, literacy and health information. InCAS assessments are carried out at P3, P5 and p7 stages. Data from these is used in a number of ways to track individual progress and school trends. Sharing awards, medals, trophies with their peers. Press cuttings are put on the

Children’s work. Tracking information in tracking folder. New class teachers are aware of where the children are in their learning and where they need to go with them next. InCAS data is used to help allocate SPP levels in P3, P5 and P7. They are also used to group children in class for reading and maths. In classes and at assemblies. Pupil noticeboard in school

P1 and P2 teachers to have attended the emerging literacy workshops. Complete moderation activities in stage groups once a term. Decide on a focus for each meeting. Analyse data from the new national tests in P1, P4 and P7. Establish key assessment tasks to assess progress at key stages. Develop a more structured way of sharing pupils’ out of school. Achievements. Have two points in the year when attendance is checked and action taken if necessary – November and March? Put more focused attention on to

4 – good

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FOR ELC (delete if not applicable) 3.2 Securing children’s progress

Progress in communication, early language, mathematics, health and wellbeing

Children’s progress over time

Overall quality of children’s achievement

Ensuring equity for all children

pupil noticeboard. Successes are shared on the school website. In terms 3 and 4 we used a buddy system to help specific groups of younger children in P1-3 with their basic literacy and numeracy. Staff are aware of which children are at risk of disengaging by using the risk A small number of staff have attended ‘Words Up’ Training. Most of the staff have attended ‘Emerging Literacy’ Training. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the Curriculum Framework and are actively involved in working groups developing the core

library. School website www.nossprimary.wordpress.com/ Younger children were assessed before and after the interventions. All made an improvement over the four weeks. Staff all have a copy of their class’s risk scores. Evidence in EYP’s practices. Evidence in EYP’s practices. Experiences provided for the children. Documents/work done from working groups. Observations from the ELC Principal Teacher.

supporting children who receive FSM or are in the decile1 SIMD band. Ensure all staff attend ‘Words Up’ Training. If this is not available on the CPD Calendar next session, we will contact Speech and Language to see if they could deliver this training on one of the Sep Inset-Days. Ensure all staff attend ‘Emerging Literacy’ Training. If this is not available on the CPD Calendar, our ELC Principal Teacher will deliver an In-House Training Session.

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area of the C.F.X Children can talk about their learning and what they have been doing in ELC. Children evaluate and plan for their own learning. This can be seen in planning documentation, children’s learning steps, and mind maps. We are using the Highland Council Development Overviews to assess children’s progress Staff share the learning plans with parents which children have been involved in creating. We share WOW moments with children and their parents. Parents and children share their WOW moments out within ELC.

Fortnightly team meetings to discuss children’s learning and development. A wide range of activities and experiences are on offer for the children that match the individual needs according to children’s age and stage of development. Staff are actively looking at the early level plans and completing sheets to ensure a broad curriculum experience is being met.

Parents feedback to staff the impact this has had on their children through learning journeys, parents appointments, Stay and Play. WOW moments are displayed on base room doors and in the Children’s Learning Journeys.

Further develop the use of talking tubs and floor books to support children to map out their learning more. Encourage staff to undertake ‘Mind Stretchers Training’ in regards to floor books and talking tubs. Hold tracking meetings with staff and the ELC Principal at least once a term. As a school we are going to look at each Development Overview to see if there are any gaps in children’s development / learning that we make a focus next session.

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1.2 Leadership of learning –

Professional engagement and collegiate working

Impact of career-long professional learning

Children and young people leading learning

Class assemblies to share learning. All teaching staff are involved in working groups to develop an area of the SIP. A number of teachers attend an out of school TLC within the ASG. One member of staff has completed the Into Headship SCEL course. Three teachers completed the ‘Lead-On 7’ course last session. Two teachers have gained GTCS professional recognition for mentoring. All teaching staff annually self-evaluate using the appropriate GTCS professional standards.

Classes all participating in one assembly every session. Documents/work done from the working groups. Discussions within CDM session about what they have done. Learning and Teaching toolkit being used by teachers. All these teachers are now Principal Teachers. Staff confidence when mentoring probationer teachers. Teachers all work towards whole school initiatives along with developments of their own.

Share learning between classes. Encourage and support any further members of staff to participate in leadership courses. Ensure new teachers who are becoming mentors have access to the appropriate training. Emphasis on engaging with the GTCS standards more frequently than once a year.

4 - good

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Staff work together to moderate learning by looking at jotters/work produced by all age groups. SMT and teachers consider the Learning and Teaching ‘toolkits’ which have been formulated when participating in class observations. All teachers have been involved in peer visits to look at particular areas of Learning and Teaching. Teachers choose which working group they would like to be part of, considering skills, talents and prior experiences. One teacher has completed her ‘Forest Schools’ course. Teachers leading sessions on in-service days/twilight sessions. Our L&T toolkits are all referenced to John Hattie’s research regarding high,

Feedback sheets from these moderation exercises are kept in our ‘moderation’ folder. Feedback sheets in our ‘Classroom Observations’ folder. Change of practice within classrooms. Feedback sheets in the ‘Classroom Observations’ folder. Teachers are happy with the group they are in and have contributed positively to this. This teacher works weekly with a group of older boys on outdoor activities. ASNT - Clicker 6. Teacher - Class Dojo Teacher - Chromebooks Teachers are aware of which influences are of a higher impact than others.

Complete these moderation exercised in year groups/levels rather than a whole school approach. Continue to add to toolkits and formulate a ‘Learning and Teaching’ Policy.

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ELC (in italics)

medium and low impact influences. All teachers keep and update a record of their CPD annually. In most classes, children set termly targets for themselves for literacy, numeracy and HWB. Some teachers have been looking at pupil and teacher expectations and mind sets as part of the L&T toolkit. In most classes, children’s views are sought on what they would like to learn about. Children are involved in planning for their learning and setting their own targets. Children interests are followed to form the weekly plans.

Staff are involved in working groups developing the core areas of the CFX.

Teachers are all aware of their responsibilities for updating their CPD annually. Children keep and evaluate these targets termly. There is evidence of this work within the classrooms and in the conversations staff are having with pupils. Children have directed their learning, particularly in topic work. Documents/work done from working groups. Observations from the ELC Principal Teacher. Fortnightly team meetings to discuss children’s learning and development. Feedback sheets from ELC Principal Teacher on good practice.

Ensure there is a consistent approach throughout the school to children setting targets. Whole staff to look at ‘expectations’ and link to mind sets to explore how best to support children. Look for further ways that children can direct their own learning. Continue on with working groups, giving staff a different area to look at with different groups of colleagues.

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Staff access training via CPD Calendar/ In House Training sessions. One EYP recently created the BA Childhood Practice Degree. Another EYP, is in her final year of the BA Child and Youth Studies Degree. Staff are reflective in their approaches and undertake professional development opportunities. Children are involved in planning for their learning and setting their own targets. Children interests are followed to form the weekly plans.

Feedback on training from staff on Noss ELC Training Evaluation Sheets. Discussions about what they have done with their new knowledge/sharing new knowledge with colleagues. Evidence of this can be found in the staff’s PDP which are done annually (Aug/Sep) as well Staff Appraisals which are also done annually (June). Staff are provided with individual Staff Support and Supervision Meetings termly. Minutes are recorded. Children can talk about their learning and what they have been doing in ELC. Children evaluate and plan for their own learning. This can be seen in planning documentation, children’s learning steps, and mind maps. A wide range of activities and experiences are on offer for the children that match the

Develop a link with other ELC settings in Caithness for staff to visit. We will contact ELC setting’s early in September to see if they would be willing to take part in this. Further develop the use of talking tubs and floor books to support children to map out their learning more. Encourage staff to undertake ‘Mind Stretchers Training’ in regards to floor books and talking tubs.

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individual needs according to children’s age and stage of development. Staff are actively looking at the early level plans and completing sheet to ensure a broad curriculum experience is being met.

2.2 Curriculum: Theme 3 Learning Pathways

Class teachers pass on information to receiving teachers at the end of term and complete a transition class for the class so new teachers know where children are in their learning. Social studies topics have been organised throughout the school to give a coverage of the main broad areas within it. Maths and reading have a central scheme at its core and this helps to ensure that a suitable progression is taking place within learning. Pupils learning is made meaningful and enriched though visit to relevant sites

Transition sheets Choices available for each year group in social studies. Core texts and progression through these as evidenced in forward planning folders. Class visits tracked through EVOLVE system Record mof contributions to schools in

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in the local community. The school takes part in local and national fundraising.

Malawi and Uganda as well as national fundraising days.

2.7 Partnerships – theme 3 Impact on Learners The impact of parental involvement on improving children and young people’s learning.

We have concentrated on engaging parents in social media this session with a Facebook page which is regularly updated and a school blog which has weekly updates. A monthly newsletter also details much of the events within the school. Parents receive a termly newsletter from each class outlining the learning which will take place in that class during the term and how they can help. A Reading at Home Initiative the Wizard of Nozz was carried out over 16 weeks last session and over 120 children participated in this at home. Parents were invited in to visit classes in Terms 3 and 4 and

The Facebook page is a very popular page and has been found to be an excellent way of contacting parents. It is currently “followed” by 806 people. Letters are published regularly and punctually. More than 100 children participated in this book reading initiative. A post evaluation exercise identified that from the 116

Develop social media to include parent tip videos which pupils will help produce, Have a parent tip/engagement sheet each month which sets a little challenge for pupils and parents to work on. Look at repeating this and developing participation in some way.

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take part in lessons. parents who visited school and took part in some classroom activities, they all enjoyed it, thought it gave them a better understanding of the classroom and enjoyed it. Responses were very positive.

Repeat this parent involvement process this session.

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PART TWO – School Improvement Plan

Summary: Key School Improvement Priorities (add further rows if required):

Improvement Priority Title Relevant QI(s) and Theme(s)

Developing a range of practices within the school to increase aspiration, expectation and enjoyment of learning

2.3 Learning, Teaching and Assessment DYW

Developing aspects of Health And Wellbeing in the school

3.1 Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion

A focussed approach to reducing the attainment gap in Noss Primary.

3.2 Raising Attainment and Achievement

Complete a detailed action plan for each of these agreed priorities on the following pages (add more pages if required).

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In depth action plan #1

Teaching and Learning: Developing a range of practices within the school to increase aspiration, expectation and enjoyment of learning

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Linked to QI/Theme: 2.3 Learning, Teaching and Assessment 3.3 Increasing Creativity and Employability

Linked to National Improvement Framework Priority (check any that apply):

Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy ☒

Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children ☐

Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing ☐

Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people ☒

Linked to National Improvement Driver (check any that apply):

School Leadership ☒ Teacher Professionalism ☒ Parental Engagement ☐ Assessment of Children’s Progress ☐

What difference will it make for learners? (what impact do we expect to see?):

Learners will;

have engaged in a number of DYW activities over the course of the school year.

have clearer aspirations of jobs they may wish to do in the future and the skills they will need to do them.

have had the opportunity to take on a role in an enterprise activity.

have higher aspirations and expectations in learning in school

have been given a broad range of experiences to enable them to achieve appropriate milestones

ELC children will have access to a well resourced area in the school library on a weekly basis.

Success criteria (how will we know if the change has been an improvement?):

Staff will have a better understanding of ways to develop children’s aspirations.

Staff will demonstrate they have high expectations for the standard and quality of work produced by pupils.

Pupils will be more aware of jobs which may be available to them in later life and the skills they will need to do these jobs.

A DYW policy for Noss Primary School will be formulated.

Staff will have a bank of key assessment tasks which they will use to assess pupils’ progress.

Staff have a fuller understanding of areas to develop in the ELC from looking at the developmental overviews

ELC library sessions in the school library will be well attended.

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What exactly are we going to do? (detail of specific actions) (ELC in italics)

Staff will be involved in looking at existing research on expectation and aspirations.

Appropriate literature will be identified and staff will then work collectively to identify

practice within the school which will have a positive impact on aspiration and expectation.

Each class will identify termly an activity or task which will increase pupil knowledge about

the world of work and important employability skills.

Term 3 will host a ‘Jobs at Noss’ week where there will be a concerted whole school

approach to looking at the world of work.

A school policy, based on Developing the Young Workforce will be drawn up.

Each class in the school will be involved in some type of ‘real life’ enterprise activity once

per session.

Develop key assessment tasks for staff to use at points throughout the year.

Continue to look at, and put into practice, ideas from the Learning and Teaching toolkits.

Develop the ELC library and school library with non-fiction books which relate to the world of

work.

Develop the ELC section of the main library with bright attractive books and attempt to

advertise it through parental recommendation. Ensure that role play areas in the ELC reflect

the world of work.

As a school we are going to look at each Development Overview to see if there are any gaps

in children’s development/learning that we make a focus next session.

Who will lead this? (detail of responsibilities and timescales)

HT/DHT and all class teachers – throughout session

Class teachers will identify early in the session

HT/DHT/class teachers – Term 3

SMT – Prior to Easter 2018

Class teachers

Working group of staff led by SMT with a PT taking this

process forward.

Nursery Manager, PT

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Monitoring and evaluation procedures (how will we know if our success criteria have been met

and what evidence will we have to inform our next annual School Improvement Plan Report?):

The SMT will see evidence of raised expectations during class visits.

Children will be able to talk about a range of jobs they have learned about and know what

skills they will need to do these.

A DYW policy will be produced.

Staff are using the key assessment tasks to track pupil progress.

Review Developmental Overviews over the summer

Set up ELC library time early in school session.


SMT during class observations

Assessment tasks to be worked on throughout session.

Format to be agreed on by October break.

Assessment tasks to be completed by Easter 2018

Equity implications: (how will you ensure that pupils experiencing disadvantage will not be adversely affected by this improvement project?)

Much of this priority looks at raising aspirations and expectations which will be an important factor in helping to reduce the attainment gap.

Staff wellbeing and pastoral support implications: (how will you ensure that this improvement project does not impact negatively on staff wellbeing and workload?)

Time has been allocated in the WTA to allow staff to engage with these tasks as part of their continuing development.

Creativity opportunities: (how can opportunities be included in this project to address the development of creativity skills in pupils?)

Pupils will be involved in decisions made on DYW activities and in choosing an enterprise topic.

Expected resource needs (including costings if applicable): Allocation of Pupil Equity Funding should be referenced in this box, if appropriate:

This resource may require some additional funding related to purchasing resources in the ELC and infant stages to support play related to the World of Work - £400

Purchase on no fiction books related to the world of work for ELC library and school library - £300


Improvement Priority title: Developing aspects of Health And Wellbeing in the school

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Linked to QI/Theme: 3.1


Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy ☐

Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children ☐

Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing ☒

Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people ☐


School Leadership ☐ Teacher Professionalism ☐ Parental Engagement ☒ Assessment of Children’s Progress ☐


Learners will;

be eating fruit for their tuck more often.

participate in regular physical exercise

be more willing to try new foods and try to eat all their lunch in the canteen more often

have a greater understanding of the importance of brushing their teeth twice a day.

Help choose and be assigned to a house team in the school as an incentive to work for their team.

Brush their teeth every day in Noss ELC


The % of children across the school who eat fruit for tuck will rise in session 2017-18.

The children will be able to utilise the playground/netball court/MUGA and traverse wall regularly.

There will be less food waste in the school canteen.

Children will be more aware of the importance of regular tooth brushing.

There will be a reduction in tooth decay.

A house team system will be established and Primary 7 pupils will take part in elections for house team captains.

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Increase the % of pupils eating fruit for tuck.

Provide more choices of fruit at our breakfast club.

Use a targeted approach for daily physical exercise to increase the physical fitness of pupils.

Increase the opportunities for physical activity in the playground. Install a traverse wall.

Reduce fussy eating in the canteen and reduce the amount of food wasted. Award ‘clean

plate champion’ stickers and Dojo points for P1-3 children who clean their plates at

lunchtime for five days.

Using a targeted approach for part of the session, have every class participate in Zumba

lessons twice a week.

Pupils in the school and the ELC will participate in ‘Noss Smile Month’ in January 2018 to

support and encourage tooth brushing and dental care throughout the school.

Introduce daily tooth-brushing to both Primary 2 classes in session 2017-18.

Establish four house team names. Involve pupils in this choice. Involve Primary 7 pupils in

standin g for lelections. Use the house point system as an additional motivator in school.

Ensure daily tooth-brushing is taking place in our ELC

Provide an oral health session delivered by Child Smile/Dental Health Educator in ELC for

parents to attend.

Children to help grow their own fruit or vegetables for snack in the outdoor ELC area.


Class teachers to keep numbers – older children to work

out %

DHT to organise this.

DHT, canteen staff and PSAs on dinner duty.

Zumba instructor employed by school. DHT to timetable.

Jan – March 2018

Mrs A Bruce and Mrs K Mackay.

HT, SMT and CTS

Mrs M Burnett will take responsibility for ELC

Monitoring and evaluation procedures (how will we know if our success criteria have been met

and what evidence will we have to inform our next annual School Improvement Plan Report?):

% of children eating fruit at tuck time will be kept

Children at breakfast club will try new fruits

There will be less food waste at lunchtimes in the P1-3 sitting.

The number of children we have at ‘high risk’ of tooth decay will decrease in P1 and P7.


Primary 7 pupils to take responsibility for collecting in

weekly fruit % from start of session

Senior class to take responsibility for looking at waste

in dining room. Prior to Christmas 2017

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Staff employed specifically for breakfast club. Extra staff member employed for tooth-brushing in P2. Instructor employed to give Zumba classes from October-

March. PSAs timetabled to support P1-3 lunches and encourage ‘clean plates’.


Pupils can be involved in ‘Noss Smile Month’ by designing posters etc. Pupils can also be involved in clean plate award sticker design. Pupils mcan be involved in

developing the house team identities.


Zumba instructor – Extra fruit at breakfast club -


Improvement Priority title: A focussed approach to reducing the attainment gap in Noss Primary.

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Linked to QI/Theme: 2.3 Learning, Teaching and Assessment 2.7 Partnerships 3.2 Raising Attainment and Achievement


Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy ☒

Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children ☒

Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing ☐

Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people ☒


School Leadership ☐ Teacher Professionalism ☐ Parental Engagement ☒ Assessment of Children’s Progress ☐


Learners will;

benefit from having more targeted supported in their basic literacy and numeracy

be able to share their learning with their parents more regularly

benefit from working together with their parents on a shared task at home and at school

attend school more regularly


PEF children’s literacy and numeracy attainment will increase

Parents will indicate that they feel better equipped to help their children at home

PSAs will feel equipped to be able to support children better in literacy and numeracy.

Attendance for PEF children will improve form session 2016-17 to 2017-18

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Develop videos for social media which will give parents tips and hints on appropriate

learning approaches

Develop monthly parent tip sheets which will provide a set of ideas which are designed to

have a challenge for pupils and parents to engage in together.

To put more PSA support into all classes at writing time to support the PEF children.

Provide time for teachers to train PSAs on supporting basic literacy and numeracy, to enable

PEF pupils to receive daily individual tuition on basic literacy and numeracy themes.

Provide time for teachers to train PSAs on how to assess pupils’ basic literacy and numeracy

skills.

For PEF pupils to take part in targeted paired reading and maths sessions both as tutors and

tutees.

Invite parents in to classes for ‘learning visits’ to see what their children are doing in school

but also to give them ideas of how to help them at home. Personally invite parents of PEF

children in to class if they do not sign up to this initially.

Attendance and lateness for PEF children will be looked at in November and May. Any

parents with children below 90% attendance or with significant late attendances will receive

a letter. If the attendance is below 85% they will be asked to come in to school to discuss

this.

Every class in the school to work with an expressive arts expert to work on a project which

will serve as the basis for a range of cross curricular learning. An exhibition of work

produced will result


HT, PT

HT

DHT to timetable PSAs to deliver this.

DHT to timetable PSAs to deliver this.

HT/DHT to organise supply cover

Miss Gray term 1 to co-ordinate assessments/resources

HT/DHT to organise further supply cover

Terms 2 and 3. Working group to organise.

Term 2 and term 3 (after Feb weekend) Mrs S Sinclair

PT and class teachers to organise.

DHT to study attendances/late attendances and

produce letter. HT to meet with relevant parents.

HT to organise expressive arts worker in conjunction

with Pupil Council.

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Monitoring and evaluation procedures (how will we know if our success criteria have

been met and what evidence will we have to inform our next annual School Improvement Plan Report?):

Look at assessment results for PEF children.

Look at the % of PEF children who complete the family challenge activities.

Look at the % of PEF children who are achieving appropriate levels in writing.

Survey parents after the class learning visits and at the end of the year.

The attendance of our PEF children who are below 90% in November will improve from Nov-

May.

Pupil and staff survey on engagement with the expressive arts worker,


Class teachers/PSAs to complete assessments.

Class teachers/SMT to look at overall school results.

SMT to look at SPP levels in November and May.

Mrs S Sinclair PT and SMT.

DHT to monitor attendance


Many of these activities are aimed at PEF children so they will not be disadvantaged, they will positively gain from them.


Extra PSA time to support basic literacy and numeracy and to carry out assessments will ease staff workload.


Children can produce the videos for social media. Within the monthly tip sheets, there will be opportunities for creativity.


Teacher time to organise programs of activities at start of session – 5 weeks at £1000 per week - £5000 Teacher time to organise activities throughout the year, assist with Facebook learning tips videos and parent participation One day per week = 25 days = £6060 70 hours PSA time per week for 40 weeks x £15 hours £42,000 Expressive Arts specialists to work with a block of three to four classes to produce art works £2500 x 4 - £10,000 Zumba dancing blocks – 2 x 6 week blocks - £800 Art Materials, Clay, Mounts, Frames etc £3000 Card , Flash Cards, Numicon Maths Resources, Supplementary Reading Material £4000Subscription to Sum Dog with priority for PEF pupils. £1350 Larger supply of fresh fruit at Breakfast Club £5 per week x 40 = £200