News / Positive inspection report for Aith junior high
AITH Junior High School has received a positive inspection report in which its head teacher and his deputy are praised for demonstrating a “clear vision” for the school.
HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIe) visited the west side school in September 2015 to assess the school’s nursery, primary and secondary departments. There is a total school roll of 183 pupils from nursery up to S4.
The inspectors found that the school boasted a strong sense of community and a very positive ethos, with young people taking a great pride in the school.
It said head teacher Michael Spence was well supported by deputy head James Garrick.
In recent years Shetland Islands Council has floated the idea of shutting the junior high’s secondary department and sending secondary school pupils to the Anderson High School – something councillors may choose to revisit as the local authority continues to seek budget savings.
SIC children and families committee chairwoman Vaila Wishart said: “I’m pleased with this HMIe report that reflects the hard work of the staff and pupils at Aith Junior High School.
“There is strong leadership within the school which, combined with partnership working, contributes to the strong attainment of pupils.”
The HMIe inspection identified the following key strengths at the school:
- Confident children who are well motivated to learn;
- Positive relationships, a supportive, inclusive ethos and a good sense of the local community;
- Use of the local environment and positive partnerships to enhance learning;
- Strong attainment in national qualifications at S4;
- Staff use of professional learning to improve experiences for children.
Inspectors found that children in early years were articulate, showed empathy and were developing literacy and numeracy skills. In primary, children had developed good reading, writing, numeracy and mathematics skills
They also noted that the secondary curriculum from S1 to S3 was planned well and designed to provide a broad general education.
Staff place a high priority on creating a supportive learning environment and meet regularly to plan activities and set learning targets for pupils. Children plan targets and track their own progress within individualised education plans.
Inspectors also noted that the librarian makes a “very positive difference” to the quality of literacy across the school; the active schools coordinator enables pupils to improve their fitness and participate in sports festivals and competitions, and music, art and drama clubs are well-attended, developing children’s skills in maintaining and understanding Shetland culture.
Questionnaires were issued to parents by inspectors to gather their views about the school, and received a high and supportive response. Inspectors also found the parent council as proactive, linking well with the school’s pupil council and was involved effectively in planning improvements.
The areas inspectors felt the school needed to improve were:
- Improve the curriculum across all stages taking account of prior learning;
- Continue to improve learning and teaching across the school;
- Develop further approaches to monitoring and tracking progress aged three to 16.
The inspectors rank schools using six ratings: excellent, very good, good, satisfactory, weak and unsatisfactory.
The primary and secondary department rated ‘good’ on improvements in performance and in meeting learning needs, and ‘very good’ on learners’ experiences.
The nursery class was rated ‘good’ in all three of those categories, while the whole school and nursery’s curriculum was rated ‘satisfcatory’ and its improvement through self-evaluation was rated ‘good’.
The full report can be found on Education Scotland’s website here.
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