An Aberdeen school and nursery class have received a very good report following a recent inspection by Education Scotland.
On visiting Kingswells Primary School and Nursery Class, in the week beginning 13 March 2023 the inspectors assessed the following key areas:
- Leadership of change
- Learning, teaching and assessment
- Ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion
- Raising attainment and achievement
Following the inspection the school and nursery class was Graded 5 - Very Good (the highest grade is 6) in each of the areas assessed, achieving consistency across all sections.
The inspectors found that the joint headteacher team, which comprises two experienced and highly capable senior leaders, have, during their time at the school developed a strong, clear understanding of the needs of the children and families within the school community. They work well with the senior leadership team and the staff team to ensure a caring, nurturing and supportive environment for all children.
All staff were found to have created a very positive and nurturing learning environment, which supports children across all areas of the school. The school community’s warm and encouraging ethos is based firmly on the school values, which are well understood by children. Staff interact respectfully and supportively with children and model positive relationships. As a result, almost all children have developed interpersonal skills including friendliness and kindness.
All teachers plan learning for children using progression pathways based on the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) experiences and outcomes across all curricular areas. This ensures that all children experience a curriculum that reflects the CfE curricular design principles and fulfils the entitlements of all children.
Staff plan their learning for individual lessons and for longer periods of time, clearly outlining learning experiences and approaches to assessment. This includes flexibility to make sure that planned learning will meet the needs of children requiring additional support.
Senior leaders and staff work in partnership were found to with parents very well.
The reported also stated that parents are very supportive of the work of the school and almost all feel comfortable approaching staff and senior leaders with concerns, questions or ideas. It was also found that almost all parents feel that their child is making good progress.
The report also highlighted that:
- parental engagement in supporting children’s learning was promoted by the school using a variety of methods and parental feedback also helped shaped improvements.
- Children experience an inclusive, nurturing and compassionate learning environment where they feel happy, safe and motivated to learn and are treated as an individual.
- There is a strong sense of community across the school.
- Overall, attainment in literacy and numeracy is very good with some children exceeding national expectations across all levels while children with additional support needs are making strong progress.
- For each of the last seven years where data is available most or almost all children at Primary 1, Primary 4 or Primary 7 meet or exceed the expected CfE level as related to their age and stage. Almost all learners, including those with a barrier to learning are making very good progress.
- Children are achieving skills and taking increased responsibility through a wide range of well-planned activities including leadership and communication skills through play, outdoor learning, child-led clubs and activities.
Councillor Martin Greig, Convener of Education and Children’s Services Committee said: "The good inspection results show that Kingswell Primary and Nursery has really benefited from the positive leadership of the head teacher and senior team. Everyone in the school community is helping to ensure that the educational and support needs of the young people are being met as fully as possible. I hope these results provide reassurance of the caring, nurturing environment that is in place at the school."
Vice Convener, Councillor Jessica Mennie, said: “This positive inspection report underlines how well the headteacher team, senior leadership team and indeed all staff at Kingswells Primary School and Nursery Class have understand the needs of their pupils and their families.
“By being nurturing, inclusive and enthusiastic staff at both the school and nursery class are helping give young children a wonderful start in their educational lives.”