Standards, Quality and Improvement Plan for Fox Covert Primary School and Fox Covert Early Years Centre

“Fox Covert Primary School is a happy, nurturing place where pupils, parents and staff are actively involved ensuring a positive learning community.”

Standards and Quality Report for session: 2014-2015

Improvement Plan for session: 2015-2016

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Table of contents

Standards and quality report
1 / The school in context
2 /

School’s self evaluation

Improvement plan
3 / Key areas for school improvement

4

/ Cluster improvement plan
5 / Summary of evaluations against key indicators

Standards and Quality Report

1.  The school in context

Fox Covert Primary School was built in 1960 and serves the Clerwood area of Edinburgh. The current school roll is 220 pupils which is spread over 8 classes: P1, P2, P2/3, P3, P4, P5, P6 and P7. The school is part of the Craigmount High School cluster. The school is ideally situated to take advantage of the active outdoor learning opportunities offered by Corstorphine Hill. Our pupils represent a real cross-section of society and this makes for a very stimulating and culturally rich environment. We pride ourselves in having strong co-operative links with parents, a warm, friendly and welcoming atmosphere, and a rich and varied curriculum. The school shares playgrounds, a playing field, hall and dining facilities with Fox Covert RC School. The school is a two-storey building with eight classrooms, an IT suite/Library, teaching base and staff base. The playgrounds and grounds have undergone improvement including development of outdoor classrooms, a sensory garden, pond and seating areas. These developments have been linked to our Healthy Schools & Eco Schools work. The school facilities are used by community organisations in the evenings and at weekends.

The Senior Management team consists of the Head Teacher, 2 Principal Teachers, a Business Support Manager and the Head of Centre of Fox Covert Early Years Centre. One Principal Teacher provides Reduced Class Contact for Class Teachers and has responsibility for Early Years whilst the other Principal Teacher provides Support for Learning for identified pupils 2 days a week as part of her remit. There are eleven Class Teachers, 4 of whom work on a part-time basis. There are 7 Pupil Support Assistants (PSAs) working throughout the school to support learning, teaching and inclusion. The school benefits from having specialist provision in PE for one day a week and from having instrumental input from violin and woodwind instructors. Fox Covert Early Years Centre which has provision for 70/70 3-5 year olds and 15/15 Eligible 2 year olds opened in August 2015. Janie Jones, Head of Centre, has responsibility for the day to day running of the centre and is ably supported by two Senior Early Years Practitioners who have management time for 0.5 of the week. There are 5 Early Years Practitioners who are complimented by 2 Pupil Support Assistants.

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2. School’s self evaluation

1.1 Improvements in performance

Standards of attainment over time / ·  Most pupils continue to make good progress in learning from prior levels of attainment in reading, writing and maths. Analysis of assessment data provides staff with diagnostic assessment information indicating strengths and next steps for pupil learning.
·  Pupil attainment is monitored through use of Curriculum for Excellence levels. Most staff report that they are confident in using their professional judgement to measure progress in learning and feel confident in their ability to accurately place children within CFE levels.
·  The impact of planned priorities on improving achievement and attainment across the school is closely monitored through a range of self-evaluation activities.
·  Staff have made a start in planning focused assessments to assess pupil progress when planning longer term learning experiences.
·  Children are provided with opportunities to assess their learning and are involved in planning their next steps in most classes. We now need to work on ensuring that this happens consistently for all pupils in all classes.
·  Moderation of Assessment Folios has taken place by staff to ensure that there is a more consistent approach to evidencing pupils’ attainment and achievement across the school resulting in guidance being produced and agreed. Staff will continue to be involved in moderating pupil work and assessments to ensure that there is a sustained focus on pupils maintaining a consistent high standard of work across the school.
·  Staff have also been involved in moderation work of Literacy within the cluster this session and are developing their ability to recognise achievement of a level using the "significant aspects" of learning. Staff benefitted from the opportunity to work colleagues in other cluster schools to continue to develop a shared understanding of expectations and standards in Literacy. We will continue to build on this and share good practice with cluster colleagues in Maths next session.
·  There is some good practice in a few classes of teachers using higher order thinking skills to develop their own and their pupils’ ability to question texts in reading lessons. We now need to work on ensuring that all staff use higher order thinking skills in lessons to allow pupils to develop their questioning skills and provide further challenge for all pupils regardless of their ability.
·  Big Maths was introduced and trialled by all class teachers to improve pupil ability in mental maths. Staff have expressed many benefits in using this approach including improved motivation and enthusiasm of pupils. Staff are more aware of individual pupil progress and have observed an increased speed in pupils’ ability in mental calculation.
·  This session, a new approach to reading was trialled and implemented by staff to ensure that there is a more focused approach to teaching and developing reading skills across the school. Most staff report that this has led to an increase in independence amongst learners. Some staff have witnessed an increase in the motivation and attainment of pupils within their classes.
·  Staff benefitted from observing colleagues' practice in teaching Guided Reading and have expressed that this developed their confidence in planning and delivering lessons. This has ensured that the skills that children are being taught are more specific. Pupils are more aware of the skills being taught and are able to comment on their ability to use these skills.
·  Literacy Circles were introduced in P4-7 to encourage pupils to further develop their reading skills, as well as promoting both collaboration and independent working. Pupils feel that Literacy Circles has provided them with a fun way of approaching reading tasks at home and that they enjoy the opportunity to share their work with others.
Overall quality of learners’ achievement
Impact of the school improvement plan
What are we going to do next? / ·  Continue to develop the Guided Reading approach in school at all stages to ensure that skills are explicitly being taught and developed in a progressive manner
·  Create a progressive programme of skills in Literacy Circles for pupils in P4-7
·  Continue to provide opportunities for colleagues to share practice and observe colleagues in their own and in other schools
·  Review and develop the use of Heinemann Active Maths and Seal across the school to ensure that we provide curricular continuity and progression
·  Further develop Big Maths Beat That as a Mental Maths approach across the school
·  Develop a Growth Mindset in pupils, staff and parents to ensure high expectations of all children, promoting attainment and achievement
Nursery:
·  Continue enhancing visual mechanisms for recognising and celebrating achievement between nursery and home, including stickers, parent postcards, Stars of Achievement and electronic learning journals.
·  Increase awareness for all parents/carers of our Focus for Learning by displaying a regularly updated ‘We are learning to …’ sheet and by ensuring that short, medium and long-term planning is visible and accessible for all those coming into our centre.
·  Develop reflective practice and regularly record Next Steps within electronic learning journals.

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2.1 - Learners’ Experiences

Learners are motivated, eager participants in their learning. / ·  Most of our learners are motivated and eager to learn, sharing their thoughts, feelings and opinions well.
·  This session, "Learning to Learn" tools have been introduced in classrooms to encourage greater reflection on what, how and why pupils are learning. This is providing greater opportunities for pupils to demonstrate and articulate their learning.
·  Some staff feel that using “Learning to Learn” tools have increased their confidence to use formative assessment approaches in their classroom. There is some excellent practice of pupils using the tools to take ownership of their learning, to select appropriate tools to undertake learning and in supporting them to identify personal next steps in their learning in some classes. We must now ensure that this high quality practice is consistently happening in every classroom across the school.
·  Pupils feel that the tools have made it easier to talk about their learning, has made them more focused in their learning and that the tools allow them to describe and explain the learning which is taking place.
·  Approaches to target setting in core areas still remains variable across the school. Staff are continuing to work on ensuring that all pupils are regularly setting individual or group targets where appropriate.
·  Through engagement in planning, pupils are given good opportunities for personalisation and choice, particularly in Interdisciplinary learning.
·  Pupils experience good opportunities to develop their leadership skills which impact positively on the work of the school and develop valuable skills for life and work. Pupils in these roles are involved in school improvement activities to further improve the practices of the school, supported by teaching and support staff.
·  Every class has responsibility for an area in school e.g. feeding the birds, collecting registers, recycling, collecting meter readings etc. P6 pupils buddy nursery pupils in the summer term to support transition work from Nursery to Primary.
·  Pupils are now benefitting from an increased number of lunchtime and after school clubs including choir, Computer Explorers, dance, cheerleading, football, basketball, netball and JAFFA. Pupils also benefit in Physical Education from visiting specialists such as Edinburgh College for handball, Royal High Cougars for rugby, and Active Schools for dance. This allows pupil to develop their own personal skills and interests within our school community.
·  Parents are valuable partners within our learning community by providing and leading Bikeability training for our P6 pupils, coaching our school netball team and developing our school playground to further enhance the experiences of our pupils.
·  All staff have responsibility for developing Health and Wellbeing across learning. This is provided through specific curricular programmes and in daily interactions within the classroom, playground and other areas of school.
·  A residential experience is provided for P7 pupils in October each year to develop their skills and interests, and provide opportunities not gained within the school context.
·  JASS is being used in P6 & P7 to encourage children to record their personal achievements allowing them to gain bronze and silver awards. This is also used as a transition tool for pupils moving to Craigmount HS where they have the opportunity to gain their Gold award, feeding directly into the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
·  Opportunities are provided for pupils to present achievements and showcase their talents at Assemblies and within their own class. Some classes have an achievement wall for pupils to highlight personal achievements. We now need to ensure that all pupils have equal opportunities to share their achievements in a meaningful way and that we track these achievements as a school.
·  Individuals and teams enjoy a range of successes in local and national competitions in a variety of different areas, e.g. dancing, football, cubs, scouts etc.
Learners make good progress in their learning.
Learners know their views are sought and acted upon. They feel valued.
Learners feel safe, nurtured, healthy, achieving, active, included, respected.
What are we going to do next? / ·  Continue to develop Interdisciplinary contexts for all learners in nursery-P7
·  Develop a manageable tracking system to evidence pupil achievements across the school
·  Provide more opportunities for more pupils to have a leadership role within school, e.g. Fair Trade committee, International Schools committee, Blogging group etc
·  Provide more opportunities for pupils to participate in Outdoor Learning
·  Provide opportunities for all pupils to develop skills in another language
·  Further develop our "Learning to Learn " toolkit to enhance pupil ability to reflect on their learning
·  Create a Growth Mindset culture within our school community
Nursery:
·  Continue to enhance children’s ownership of ‘I can …’ learning achievements and make children aware of their good progress recorded in their electronic learning journals
·  Use mind-mapping as a method of consultation with the children to ensure that children’s voices are heard and are included in Talking Thinking Floorbooks.

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5.3 - Meeting Learning Needs

Tasks, activities and resources / ·  Termly attainment meetings between individual staff and Senior Management ensure that there is professional dialogue and planned action to implement appropriate strategies to provide support and challenge for pupils. The Monitoring and Tracking format used by staff has been further developed this session to include standardised testing information and to highlight both summative and formative assessments being carried out by class teachers.
·  Class Teachers identify the highest and lowest 20% in Maths, Reading and Writing with support and challenge for these groups of children being agreed, implemented and evaluated through termly attainment meetings.
·  Support is timetabled and prioritised for identified pupils across the school. Liaison involving Support for Learning, Class Teachers and Pupil Support Workers ensures that support strategies are in place and that the impact of this is being monitored. We work closely with parents to provide valuable support to address specific needs and provide positive outcomes for children.
·  We have very good relationships with parents, carers and our partner agencies. Staff work well in partnership to ensure that there is an effective shared understanding of the needs and improved outcomes for pupils.
·  The school has successfully and proactively developed a wide range of very effective partnerships to support the needs of pupils and their families. Therapists, Psychologists, CLD colleagues, social workers and health professionals all help to plan interventions and jointly seek to improve their work through review and evaluation. This allows pupils’ needs to be well met through working in partnership to support pupils emotionally, physically and educationally.
·  P7 pupils worked with our Educational Psychologist to develop their understanding of fixed and growth mindset as part of their transition to High School.
·  We work in partnership with other schools and Early Years establishments to ensure a smooth transition for pupils from Nursery-P1 and from P7-S1.
·  All staff are very clear about their responsibilities to protect children. They are alert to circumstances and signs that children may be at risk and respond promptly, at all times, to ensure that those who need immediate help get this without delay.
Identification of learning needs
The roles of teachers and specialist staff
Meeting and implementing the requirements of legislation
What are we going to do next? / ·  Continue to ensure that there is appropriate challenge and support for all of our learners in all lessons
·  Use our Learning Assistant allocation to effectively support audited needs. Review throughout the year.
·  Teaching staff and Pupil Support Assistants to meet termly with SfL teacher to continue to ensure that effective support is in place for learners
·  Plan for CPD opportunities linked to our school priorities for our Learning Assistants
·  ASD training will be undertaken by all staff
Nursery:
·  Develop further next steps in learning in conjunction with parents and carers using electronic learning journals
·  Continue to develop ways to identify individual learning needs supporting children through use of visual resources, e.g. further implementing Emotion Talks as a resource

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