School needs more council support

26th January 2007, 12:00am

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School needs more council support

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/school-needs-more-council-support
A glasgow school has been given a damning report by inspectors. Learning, the curriculum, and teaching at St Ninian’s Primary in Knightswood were all deemed weak, after HM Inspectorate of Education visited the 249-pupil school in September.

“The strengths of St Ninian’s Primary School were significantly outweighed by many important weaknesses,” said the report. “The school did not provide a sufficiently high standard of education for pupils.”

The highest ratings were confined to attainment in maths and accommodation and facilities - and they were judged to be no more than adequate. Every other aspect was viewed as weak, or unsatisfactory in the case of pastoral care, climate and relationships, and leadership.

“The pace of learning was often too slow and some pupils had difficulty remaining engaged or on task for extended periods of time,” said the report. “Pupils were not used to working without close supervision, and their skills in working with others to improve their learning were not well developed.”

Inspectors noted staffing had been problematic at the school, with a “very recent substantial change in teaching staff” resulting in seven new temporary teachers being appointed at the beginning of the session, and a depute headteacher appointed as acting head. “Relationships among staff have broken down. The acting headteacher had not gained the full confidence of all staff.”

Inspectors did not see the school as having capacity for improvement without greater support from Glasgow City Council. The Catholic school was also criticised for not teaching enough about other faiths and cultures.

St Ninian’s and Glasgow City Council will prepare an action plan, to be shared with parents, and inspectors will publish an interim report in a year’s time.

“A new headteacher and principal teacher are now in post,” said a spokeswoman for the authority. “A new depute headteacher will be appointed next week. Additional funding has been allocated to ensure that assessment procedures and reporting to parents at St Ninian’s are improved.”

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