Education inspectors have published their latest report on a council-run primary school in Shotts.
St Patrick’s Primary School received ratings of “good” in two categories, with the nursery class assessed as “satisfactory”.
It was also agreed that the school has capacity to continue improvement without any need for further intervention, so no follow-up inspections will be made at this time.
Strengths highlighted by inspectors included the positive learning environment thanks to effective leadership from the head and senior staff.
The report states: “Staff know their children well as learners and identify gaps in their learning quickly. In a majority of lessons learning is set at different levels of difficulty.
“Teachers use appropriate activities and tasks to meet the needs of most children. In most lessons, teachers use a range of resources and teaching approaches to motivate and engage children successfully.
“In these lessons, children have opportunities to develop their creativity and curiosity.
In almost all lessons, teachers provide clear instructions, explanations and share the purpose of the learning. This ensures that children understand what they are learning.”
The senior staff members also earned praise for their careful monitoring of progress made by all children, which was helping to improve results.
The children themselves were described as “confident, well behaved and proud of their school” while enjoying “respectful and warm” relationships across the community.
Some recommended areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the head teacher and North Lanarkshire Council.
The report added: Children and staff benefit from the strong partnership working with the local parish, community groups and other partners. These partnerships provide valuable support to the school community.
“As a result, learning experiences and understanding about the world of work are enhanced across the curriculum for all children.
“Most teachers provide timely verbal feedback to children about their learning. This helps children to make improvements in their work. In all classes, staff use praise and positive language to support children.
“A few teachers provide effective written feedback to help children improve the quality of their work. Senior leaders should now ensure all teachers provide high quality feedback to support children to achieve their personal targets.
“This will help children to make further progress across the curriculum.”
Inspectors would like to see improved approaches to learning and teaching, including lesson planning and play, as well as increased attainment. They suggested this could be achieved by giving staff more opportunities to share and learn from their experiences.
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