Context of the School
OUR SHARED SCHOOL VISION: Believe. Persevere. Achieve.
OUR SHARED VALUES: Kindness – Responsibility – Perseverance
OUR SHARED AIMS:
- Aim 1 We encourage everyone to do their best
- Aim 2 Our learning helps us to be responsible and confident and gives us the skills we need to succeed now and in the future.
- Aim 3 We work with parents, carers and the local community to make sure that everyone can be happy and healthy, learn and succeed.
- Aim 4 We are all encouraged to explore our interests and ideas in ways that will help us the most like playing, using technology and learning outside.
- Aim 5 We are kind, caring and respectful to ourselves, to others and to the environment.
OUR CONTEXT THIS SESSION
- School roll: 283 plus 52 pupils in nursery including 12 Terrific Twos
- Two building campus: Main School built in 1898 Nursery and gym hall built in 2018
- 11 classes: with composites at P2/3 and P5/6 and two stream P1, P2 and P4
- 33% of school roll is in receipt of free school meals
- 22% live in SIMD 1&2 and 57% live in SIMD 1-4
- 44% of P1-P7 total roll have one or more Additional Support Needs
- 28% have English as an Additional Language with 39 different first languages (including nursery children)
- 30% of pupils are from minority ethnic families
- 25%-30% pupil transience during an average school session (not inc. P1 and P7)
- 20% of pupils have less than 85% attendance and 37% have less than 90% attendance
- Leadership team: Headteacher, Acting Depute Headteacher, Business Manager (2 days), Principal Teacher (0.58fte), Senior Early Years Officer and Early Years Officer
- 1fte class teacher seconded to Stenhouse Primary for 23-month Principal Teacher role, return of class teacher from YMI Secondment
- Substantive DHT on 23-month career break
- From March 2023, class teacher assigned to nursey to support with early years development priorities
- 0.66 fte Support for Learning Teacher
- 0.44fte PEF funded maths/numeracy support teacher
- PEF funded Citadel Family Support Worker (2 days/ week)
- PEF 2022/23 allocation £101 675 with an underspend of £32 833
- Charitable donation of £20 000 from KPE4 Charitable Trust
HT and DHT provide combined 90-minute weekly RCCT for teaching staff through assembly and music/singing assembly
- Weekly food support continued for an average of 30 families until March 2023 run by Citadel Family Support Worker
- PEF funded Nurture-focussed Pupil Support Officer running Nurture classes, Seasons for Growth group and 1:1 LIAM sessions
- Fully-funded access to over thirty wider achievement clubs over the academic year, tiered funding for all residentials, free theatre trip for all pupils, free or tiered funding for all other trips, and ad hoc support with cost of other items eg; uniform, PE kit, snack, breakfast,
- Identified pupils on Flexible Pathways leading to ongoing reduction in behaviours of concern and zero exclusions this session
- Successful partnership work continues with Multicultural Family Base, Citadel Youth Centre, Pilmeny Development Project, Gold and Gray Offside Football, ASLS inc. Forest Schools, Youth Music Initiative, Illuminate and Historic Environment Scotland, The Green Team, Generation Science, Superpower Agency, George Watsons College, Edinburgh Young Carers, Barbardo’s, NHS
- Family Learning Sessions offered include: Sleep Support, Families Connect, EAL Support, Stay-and-Play Sessions, Open Classroom
| QI 1.3 Leadership of Change: Developing a share vision, values and aims relevant to the school and its community, Strategic planning for continuous improvement, Implementing improvement and change | |
| What have we done? | |
| Our vision, values and aims have been co-created by our stakeholders, are regularly reviewed, simplified and use child-friendly language with supporting images. Our vision, values and aims are shared around the school and in all classrooms, on documents eg; letter heads and email signatures, the school website, school Twitter posts, illustrated in main entrance display, at themed assemblies, through awards and in our everyday language and interactions. A range of data shared with class teachers via the Excel school tracker (soon to be EdICT) at the start of the session, referred to at Tracking and Monitoring Meetings and updated throughout the session. Whole school data shared at CAT sessions. Now in post-COVID recovery planning, our vision, values and aims increasingly shape our decision-making for improvement priorities. Almost all teachers engaged in Practitioner Enquiry and shared their action research and findings with colleagues at CAT sessions. The impact of enquiries focused predominantly in SIMD 1&2 or in receipt of FME and included the effective use of the Sumdog app to improve quick recall of spelling patterns, an adapted version of 6-Minute SEAL for P1 pupils who were struggling to retain basic numeracy concepts and a daily quick start approach to retrieval practice. The sharing sessions produced rich professional dialogue and an increased focus on the use of data to justify and measure the impact of interventions. Almost all staff lead in an area of school development and are encouraged to use new and creative approaches to support improvements in outcomes for learners. For example, our P6 class learned about Leith connection to its maritime past and the role it played in the slave trade and colonization of the West Indies with their Junior Tour Guide project and link to nearby Trinity House Maritime museum. Our Primary 7 class, entered into the Mock Court trials and won two of their carefully prepared prosecution cases which they built over a term learning about Scottish Law and court procedure. Our Skills Development lead successfully set up a range of talks and experiences for every class during our World of Work Week in June. The expertise of parents, local business and friends of the school was utilized to highlight to pupils the skills and personal traits required to be successful in their chosen career path. The school was awarded the Silver Rights Respecting School Award led by our P1b teacher and school Rights Champions. The school was recognised as one with strong rights-based practice by the assessment team. The school Eco Group led by our P1a teacher was successfully awarded the Outright Campaign Award which was linked to the schools Buddy Class focus on Sustainable Development Goal 3, Good Health and Wellbeing. The Eco Group was also involved in a Wee Wilding project with Thriving Green Spaces in a nearby patch of disused parkland. This area will act as a base for other pupils to study wildlife and minibeasts next session. Our Young Carers have spoken at assembly and we have welcomed Edinburgh Young Carers to raise the profile of Young Carers to our pupils. Our Equalities group led by our Principal Teacher, organised and led on a weeklong biennial focus celebrating Neurodiversity. This included visits from expert speakers, pupils talking about their own experiences of neurodiversity at assembly and all classes recognizing the ‘superpowers’ and challenges of having a neurodiverse brain. The Equalities group also organized and led on their yearly focus on Black History Month in October and ‘Proud’ month in June, which incorporated a talent show, pupils celebrating the part of the their identity they are most proud of and recognizing the positive contribution members of the LGBTQ+ community make to society. Staff continued to focus on the decolonisation of the curriculum, led by the Principal Teacher. Our P7 teacher and pupil Digital Leaders supported the set up of Empowered Learning devices in P5-P7 classes and continue to work on action points towards our Digital School Award. The Pupil Council worked with the Headteacher on running three Pupil Parliament sessions focusing on the playground, reading and anti-bullying. The collected views from the Pupil Parliament sessions have been passed on to the parent council playground development group, our anti-bullying lead and the reading working group lead for next session. Our Health and Wellbeing lead and HWB Pupil Group audited the school’s current practice using the Edinburgh Learns materials and identified next steps for the new session. The group also worked with our Active Schools Coordinator and school nurse to develop a Health Week with a variety of sports taster sessions, a fun run and talks on different aspects of health and wellbeing.Parents views are sought through online surveys three times a year, via the wider parent forum though the parent council and through surveys and focus groups linked to development priorities such Equalities. Our Family Support Worker has begun to support parents to host Coffee Mornings for specific same-interest parent/carer cohorts, such as Arabic-speaking mums, with the aim of developing peer support groups and a means of gathering views from key hard to reach groups. All parent/carer views are taken onboard and inform self-evaluation gradings and identification of new development priorities. The school works in partnership with a number of outside agencies such as Illuminate, SuperPower Agency, Pilmeny Youth Development Group and The Green Team to bring motivating and creative approaches to new learning. Staff contribute to and share collective strengths and areas for development during in-service day sessions, in CAT sessions and through evidence gathered throughout the school quality assurance calendar. Conclusions are drawn from a wide range of evidence including observations, parent, staff and pupil questionnaires, tracking data, demographic data, data over time, pupil and parent focus groups, attainment and attendance data. This creates a clear rationale for future improvements. Teaching staff CLPL on the use of data and AFL and whole staff CLPL on supporting bilingual learners and supporting Autistic learners helps to keep professional discussion focused and next steps agreed | |
| How well are we doing? What’s working well for your learners? | |
| Almost all pupils report high levels of enjoyment, support and motivation in Bingo Ball Blethers with increased use of iPads in class. Many teachers are increasingly creating new and innovative ways of making classroom learning more engaging and effective through OneNote, Teams, Microsoft Office, Linguascope, Sumdog, Scratch and other apps. Pupils are more familiar with the SHANARRI Wellbeing Indicators through regular assemblies and have assessed how they feel during each term through MS Forms and Wellbeing Webs. This data has been collated and shared with staff, the Parent Council and pupils during assembly and is being used to address Health & Wellbeing priorities for next session. Pupils are more familiar with the school Vision and Values and can talk confidently about how they relate to them. Pupils are responding well to links between maintaining a Growth Mindset, aspects of the CEC Building Resilience programme and the school vision and value around perseverance | |
| How do we know? What evidence do you have of positive impact on learners? | |
| 95.4% of P4-P7 pupils report high rates of enjoyment and motivation using an iPad in their learning94.6% of P4-P7 pupils agreed or strongly agreed that they would keep trying even if they found something hard, up 8% on last year and 94.6 pupils stated they try to learn from mistakes, also up by 5% on last year.89.3% of P4-P7 pupils report that most of the time, they are happy in school, up 36% on last year. There is an increase of 19% of pupils to 54% in total who report that they have a choice in what they learn72% or higher of P4-P7 pupils report that adults in school support them with all but one (Nurture) of the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators | |
| What are we going to do now? What are your next improvement priorities in this area? | |
| Review school values with all stakeholders to ensure they still align with the school vision and aims. Continue to share the Vision, Values and Aims with all stakeholders as widely as possible including in the playground. More effective use of improvement methodology shared amongst school community to improved understanding of rationale for change and to allow sufficient time to embed changes. More frequent gathering & sharing of data by and amongst all staff, parents & pupils throughout the year to support collective decision-making for future priorities. The launch of EdICT will support with this aim. Be more explicit with pupils about the six principles of nurture and how they are support at Leith Primary so improve learners’ understanding of this wellbeing indicator. Further encourage creativity and innovation amongst staff to improve outcomes for learners. Continuing to embed Practitioner Enquiry and whole staff distributive leadership roles next session will provide opportunities for innovative practice. For example, our Digital Learning lead plans to team teach with staff who are less confident teaching coding skills, our Outdoor Learning lead will support with embedding the use of Loose Parts with classes to develop problem solving and creativity and our Principal Teacher will support with the re-launch of Cooperative Learning with CLPL and class support to develop the success of a whole school approach to developing leadership, social and teamwork skills with classes and buddy class work. A further group of class teachers plan to take up Leadership for Equity CLPL to develop their knowledge and use of data to improve outcomes for learners disadvantaged by living in poverty. An equity working party will develop an overview of how the PRAG is being addressed within the school community. Use Lesson Study Approach or Learning Rounds next session to support peer-to-peer learning. Ensure all teachers take up the opportunity to visit colleagues across the learning community and beyond to enhance understanding of excellent teaching & learning. Continue to maintain effective moderation approaches across the school year within school and across the learning community. Moderation will focus on the teaching of reading comprehension, progress towards achievement of a level in writing, progression within the teaching of measurement in maths as well as informal opportunities to moderate Learning Intentions, CIRCLE Inclusive Classroom Checklist and giving effective feedback. Improve opportunities for learners to engage in critical thinking, building on Pupil Parliament’s use of De Bono’s Thinking Hats | |
| How you would evaluate this QI using the HGIOS 4 | 4 |
| QI 2.3 Learning, Teaching and Assessment: Learning and Engagement, Quality of Teaching, Effective Use of Assessment, Planning Tracking and Monitoring – Including evaluative comment on progress made with the Teachers’ Charter | |
| What have we done? | |
| All classes continue to make regular use of the outdoor green space in front of the school building for learning outdoors. Our Eco Committee has planted vegetables in raised planters which will be used as part of our annual One Planet Picnic in early September. We have augmented our iPad numbers to ensure all second level pupils have 1:1 access, beyond the Empowered Learning expectations. Increased use of Microsoft Office suite of apps, EPIC reader, Sumdog, Kahoot, Scratch etc has improved motivation and engagement for almost all learners especially our more reluctant learners. Resources for PE have been updated and reorganized to match the requirements of the curriculum. All classes have embedded a whole school nurture Non-Negotiables Checklist, built on the Six Principles of nurture-based practice. Pupils’ wider achievement experiences have been recorded on a whole school tracker and those without access to extra-curricular experiences have been prioritized for attendance at the 40+ free clubs on offer over this session. All teaching staff have engaged in Edinburgh Learns Assessment for Learning and Data CLPL. All teachers have undertaken Practitioner Enquiry and have shared their findings with colleagues over two cycles. Teachers have engaged in further in-house CAT sessions focusing on aspects of our own Teacher Toolkit. Strategies from these sessions such as Blooms Taxonomy question cards and WAGOLLs are being well embed in many classes. All staff have undertaken CLPL with the EALS to improve differentiated support for pupils with English as an additional language. Six members of staff have undertaken Edinburgh Learns Numeracy/Maths CLPL and Sumdog training, reporting improvements in their ability to teach beyond basic fact fluency and use the diagnostic and assessment features of Sumdog. All teaching staff have undertaken two or more of the Edinburgh Learns Teachers’ Charter modules (AFL & Differentiation), two teachers have completed three modules and one has completed all four modules. Termly Progress Jotters Week, pupil target setting, regular low stakes assessments, improved use of AFL strategies, termly tracking meetings and regular opportunities for moderation, including with Learning Community colleagues, support teacher judgement and decisions about pupils’ next steps. Stretch aims in P1, P4 and P7 along with regular monitoring of support and progress of those facing disadvantage have ensured gaps are identified early and addressed appropriately. Our Primary 6 pupils have undertaken playground buddy training and support with games play at lunchtimes with younger pupils. All P4-P7 classes have worked with a P1-P3 Buddy Class on the Sustainability Development Goals focusing on Health (Goal 3) | |
| How well are we doing? What’s working well for your learners? | |
| Our digital leaders and ICT Lead have almost successfully completed their action plan and intend to submit evidence towards our Digital School Award Scotland early in next session. Staff have also been trialling and reviewing our new school Digital Learning & Teaching Strategy. Pupils who have previously not engaged in extended pieces of writing find the iPads very supportive and motivating and are eager to share their work with SLT. Pupils continue to find apps like Sumdog an effective means of practicing skills such as times tables and spelling. Teachers are setting pupil-specific challenges and using the assessment tools to measure progress over time. Pupils have engaged well with the Rights-based agenda and are becoming increasingly familiar with the more commonly used Articles from the UNCRC. Pupils are keen to use the emotional check-in systems in class and are keen to use the Zones of Regulation concepts when discussing how they are feeling. Pupils enjoy seeing their progress over a year or a level in their progress jotters and can use these as evidence when evaluating their progress in their Myself As a Learner forms each term | |
| How do we know? What evidence do you have of positive impact on learners? | |
| 93.1% of P4-P7 pupils agree or strongly agree that they enjoy learning new things whilst 90.8% of parents who responded to a recent survey agreed or strongly agreed that their child enjoys learning at Leith Primary School. Pupils who took part in recent focus groups said that they most enjoyed learning through digital technology, learning outdoors, working in groups and working with partners agencies such as Illuminate, Historic Environment Scotland, Mock Court Project and The SuperPower Agency. 85.4% of P4-P7 pupils agree or strongly agree that ‘adults at Leith Primary care about me’, indicating high levels of positive, nurturing relationships between staff & pupils. A recent QIEO visit (15/05/23) confirmed that there were, ‘Strong, positive relationships and interactions between staff and children in all classes. ’In focus groups, younger pupils report high levels of enjoyment learning through quality play experiences. 86.1% of P4-P7 pupils agreed or strongly agreed that they ‘can complete work by myself’ and 88.9% of parents who answered the most recent parent/carer survey agreed or strongly agreed that their child ‘is given the support and/or challenge they need to develop as an independent learner’. Recent QIEO feedback highlighted, ‘Happy children and calm, purposeful environments in all classrooms’88.9% of parents who responded to a recent survey agreed or strongly agreed that their child ‘has the opportunity to take part in groups, clubs and other opportunities outside the classroom’. All pupils involved in Bingo Ball Blethers highly rate the expanded choice of clubs and would like them to continue next session. Teachers’ green rating that ‘learners are confident in using formative assessment strategies’ rose by 11% compared with last years’ rating. Teachers also increased their green rating for the statement, ‘learners know where they are going in their learning’, by 48% to 69%. Teachers also rated green ‘learners are aware of the skills they are developing through teacher talk and the inclusions of skills in learning intentions and success criteria 12% higher than last year; a possible indication of the impact of the Edinburgh Learns CLPL on Assessment for Learning. | |
| What are we going to do now? What are your next improvement priorities in this area? | |
| Embed Practitioner Enquiry as part of a narrower AFL focus on giving effective feedback to learners. Continue to embed effective AFL strategies in classroom practice using support from the EL Team, ongoing collegiate support and focused CAT sessions around high-quality questioning and feedback ensuring consistency of practice throughout the school. Upskill staff in delivery of high-quality PE twice per week, collaborating with Active Schools specialists. Continue to develop and extend support for EAL learners within the classroom with a team-teaching approach from the EAL teacher focusing on supporting curriculum-specific vocabulary Launch the use of EdICT as a tool for staff to track and monitor pupil data across time. Continue to extend staff & pupil skills around digital learning & teaching, achieving Digital Schools Award & Digital Wellbeing Award. Continue to offer and encourage all pupils to take part in a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities and develop a system to track, recognize and celebrate achievement in a coherent, progressive and school-specific way in line with the school vision and values. Continue to decolonise the curriculum and ensure that contexts for learning and relevant and meaningful to the pupils in our school. Continue to audit current practice and identify next steps for a whole school health & wellbeing strategy. Develop improved ways to include pupils and parents/carers in planning for learning and evaluating & sharing progress. . Review current teaching of reading and listening & talking and identify areas of strength and areas for further development. Continue to embed the work of Buddy Classes as an opportunity to develop older children’s leadership and social skills through learning linked to sustainability | |
| How you would evaluate this QI using the HGIOS 4 | 4 |
| QI 3.1 Ensuring Wellbeing, Equality and Inclusion: Wellbeing, Fulfilment of Statutory Duties, Inclusion and Equality – Including Leadership for Equity and The Promise | |
| What have we done? | |
| All school staff have undertaken mandatory Child Protection Level 2 and ASD training this session which ensures that all are up to date with local and national documents and guidance. All staff have engaged in the Mental Health Matters programme delivered by our DHT. 25% of teaching staff, including the Headteacher, have undertaken Leadership for Equity training this session. All staff watched the CEC The Promise launch film and have an awareness of the rights Care Experienced child have as pupils within our care. All school staff have undertaken EAL CLPL this session. The SHANARRI Wellbeing Indicators continue to be shared with pupils and staff at whole school assemblies and through termly self-assessed Wellbeing Webs or MS FormsAll pupils and staff share their awareness and understanding of children’s rights through Twitter posts, assemblies, newsletters, the school website, displays and in the language embedded in our Positive Relationships, Learning & Behaviour Policy. All classes offer daily emotional check ins using the Zones of Regulation programme. Pupils can share their worries through a self-identified Trusted Adult in school or through a Worry Box or Worry Monster in class. Our whole school Nurture Non-Negotiable Checklist and Inclusive Classroom Checklist ensures that all classes have a Safe Space, visual timetable, spare snack and other universal resources available to support pupils’ emotional and physical wellbeing. Many of our support staff are trained in supporting groups and individuals with a variety of social, emotional and communication skills using Socially Thinking, Lego, Talking Time, Time to Talk, Zones of Regulation, Sensory Groups and Sensory Circuits. Our PSO also supports children in Seasons for Growth and LIAM (Lets Introduce Anxiety Management) as well as Snack and Chat drop ins.Staff adhere to our school Promoting Positive Relationships, Learning & Behaviour Policy which highlights the importance of strong nurturing relationships, clear expectations and restorative practice based on children’s rightsAll pupils contribute to their own class charters at the start of each year. Pupil committee reps gather classmates’ views on a range of matters which feed into decision making processes for school development priorities. Pupil’s views are sought prior to CPMs or pupils are invited to give their views in person at CPMs wherever possible. Parents have been offered opportunities to attend open classroom sessions, class assemblies and shows, parent consultations twice a year and specific themed events such as our Healthy Sleep and EAL sessions. Progress and updates are communicated via Twitter, class newsletters, whole school newsletters, Online Learning Journals, OneNote (P5-P7), GroupCall text messages, email, letters, phone calls, informal chats, arranged meetings and end of year reports. This allows us to communicate messages in both universal and individualised ways. Whenever we can, we offer online and in-person translation services for non-English speakers. Termly tracking and monitoring meetings with SLT, class teacher and SfL ensure all pupils’ progress is considered, end of year targets are ambitious and appropriate support interventions are identified and impact monitored for pupils not on track to meet expected levels of attainment. Key groups such as those living in SIMD 1&2, those in receipt of FME, Care Experienced pupils, Young Carers and those with other ASN are also discussed to ensure barriers to learning are being reduced and appropriate supports put in place. Progress of children attending our Nurture Base is measured using Boxall profiles, results shared with teachers and SLT and next steps identified following the Nurture UK and Wellbeing Academy approaches | |
| How well are we doing? What’s working well for your learners? | |
| Staff and pupils report positive benefits of attending the nurture groups such as improved friendship skills, better emotional regulation, increased self esteem and readiness to learn. For some children there has been an increase in school attendance too. Pupils regularly take advantage of the universally available free snack and breakfast items ensuring that there is no stigma around the need for thisThe Mental Health Matters training provided an introduction for new staff and up-to-training for staff who had previously completed the Growing Confidence programme, on themes such as brain development, managing anxiety and trauma and attachment. Staff now share an understanding of the reasons behind some of the behaviours our pupils exhibit and the research that underpins our Positive Relationships policy and procedures and other ASN approaches. All P7 pupils attended the Benmore residential with tiered funding, ensuring the financial costs were not a barrier for families. Class trips were either free or offered at tiered rates to ensure all pupils could afford to attend. Staff are very mindful of looking out for the impact of poverty and disadvantage and finding ways to reduce or eliminate these barriers. EAL learners in P1 have made excellent progress through out the year in developing English as their L2 through the multiple play-based interactions and EYP supported phonic and social groups. Whole school training has ensured new learners’ stage of English language acquisition is quickly identified and recorded in line with CEC guidance and pupils receive the more effective forms of communication support in class. Those involved in the various pupil voice groups are very passionate about their agenda and have benefitted from additional opportunities to share progress with classmates, at assemblies in short videos and through posters and themed weeks. Pupils newly arrived in Scotland, such as our twenty Ukrainian pupils, have benefitted from the use of digital online translators which have supported access to the curriculum and with developing their English vocabulary. All our Care Experienced Learners have access to targeted nurture support and a free Breakfast Club place | |
| How do we know? What evidence do you have of positive impact on learners? | |
| 86.9% of P4-P7 pupils agree/strongly agree that ‘my teacher listens to what I have to say’86.1% of P4-P7 pupils feel ‘most of the time, I am happy at school’92.1% of P4-P7 pupils agree/strongly agree that ‘getting an education is important to me’98.3% of P4-P7 pupils agree/strongly agree that ‘my life is just right’81.5% of parents who responded to a recent survey agreed/strongly agreed that ‘the school helps my child to be more resilient and confident. ’Staff gave a 4.17/5 awareness rating of the direct or indirect impact of poverty on pupils’ learning and achievement70% of pupils living in SIMD 1&2 attained Early Level in numeracy and literacy (0% PRAG), 50% of P4 pupils living in these deciles attained First Level in numeracy and literacy (50% PRAG) and 75% of P7 living in deciles 1&2 attained Second Level Numeracy (25% PRAG) and 50% Literacy at Second Level (50% PRAG) | |
| What are we going to do now? What are your next improvement priorities in this area? | |
| Continue to develop staff knowledge and understanding of promoting own and pupils’ positive mental health and wellbeing w/ CLPL. Expand mental health support for pupils and parents experiencing low mood and anxiety with Place to Be Continue to offer targeted nurture-based support with recruitment of new PSO – attendance now as part of main remit. Create and share a whole school community Health and Wellbeing Strategy and obtain a Silver Sports Scotland Award. Continues to develop our existing identification and support for Young Carers through the We Care Award. Continue to embed Rights-based practice across the school and work towards our Gold RRS Award. Continue to gather evidence for our Fifth Eco Schools Green Flag Award | |
| How you would evaluate this QI using the HGIOS 4 | 4 |
| QI 3.2 Raising Attainment and Achievement Attainment in Literacy and Numeracy, Attainment over Time, Overall Quality of Learners’ Achievement, Equity for All Learners – Including progress made on Stretch Aims | |
| What have we done? | |
| Teachers have continued to successfully embed the Edinburgh Writing Policy using the James Clements approach. Staff report strong levels of pupil engagement in the approach using high-quality picture books as the stimulus. SfL staff have simplified Six-Minute SEAL based on the findings of P1 teachers Practitioner Enquiry. All support staff have had training in Six-Minute SEAL by our Maths Support for Learning Teacher. Tracking Meetings focus on the progress of each individual child with professional dialogue focused around effective supports and interventions at Pathways 1-3 where clear gaps exist. Progress Jotter weeks create a termly snapshot of pupils’ journey towards anticipated progress. Termly adjustment of predictions for all pupils P1-P7 as well as RAGing progress towards predictions ensures that issues around those not attaining expected progress are identified and supported in a timely way. Robust assessment continues to be tracked and monitored by SfL on a termly basis and shared with class teachers and SLT. Regular planned opportunities for moderation continue to strengthen the confidence of teacher judgement. Practitioner Enquiry has allowed teachers opportunities to target interventions at focused groups of pupils underperforming in an area of writing, reading or numeracy. Pupils’ achievements in learning and demonstration of the school values is recognised each week in our assemblies with a Leither of the Week class nomination. Achievements are recognized with a postcard home and a mention on the school website. During our World of Work Week, all classes had two or more speakers from the Leith Primary community, including parents who spoke to children about the skills involved in their jobs | |
| How well are we doing? What’s working well for your learners? | |
| Of those who attained Early Level Literacy in P1, most pupils Second Level by the end of P7.Attainment % from June 2023: Listening & Talking Reading Writing Numeracy Primary 1 90% 87% 82% 87% Primary 4 76% 72% 67% 70% Primary 7 87% 70% 67% 87% Eight pupils have benefitted from access to flexible pathways opportunities such as The Yard, Forest School, Gold and Gray Offside Programme, Pilmeny Development Project ASN Group, the North-East Inclusion Hub and our own Nurture Base to improve inclusion, overall school attendance and reduce school exclusions. All P7 pupils took part in their residential trip to Benmore in May, 32 P5-P7 pupils took part in a two-night ski trip, staying at Lagganlia, both trips offered families tiered funding so that all who wished to attend were able to. All received certificates linked to their achievements. Primary 5 took part in a two-day programme of outdoor team-building activities on Leith Links as part of a class novel study. All extra-curricular clubs were offered free to all pupils thanks to the KPE4 charitable trust donation. All teaching staff offered at least six or more weeks of extra-curricular activity ranging from dance, craft, Lego, chess, coding and drawing, ensuring that many pupils who did not already attend clubs could do so free of charge and often within lunchtimes. Our Family Support worker continued to offer a free, weekly foodbank until the Easter break this session. All pupils received free theatre trips this session with additional class trips either free or with tiered funding options, no questions asked. Additional funding has been made available for ad hoc items such as breakfast and snack foods, free uniform and school clothes, access to local foodbanks and referrals to food pantries. Our Family Support Worker has supported many families with free toys and food packages at Christmas and access to grants for vital items for homes eg; a fridge, washing machine or bed. The success of the Six-Minute SEAL intervention in P1 has led to our Maths SfL teacher delivering training to PSAs so this can be delivered at other stages next session | |
| How do we know? What evidence do you have of positive impact on learners? | |
| Of the 20 P7 pupils who attained Early Level Numeracy in P1 at Leith Primary, all successfully attained Second Level by the end of P7. This was 5% points above the city average. Play-based learning is well established in Leith and has been recognized by our Early Years QIEO as being an example of great practice. Primary 1 literacy and numeracy attainment scores were broadly in line with city averages (+/-1%)Exclusion rates have been reduced to zero this session with use of flexible pathways and partnership work with agencies such as Barnardo’s, Pilmeny YDP and the ASLS. Staff use of restorative practice and a whole school nurturing approach along with recommended CIRCLE document strategies for children with ASN has also contributed to the reduction in dysregulated behavioursOf the children who attended the Pilmeny after school group who were surveyed, all reported that they made news friends, had fun and tried new things. Children reported feeling ‘excited’, ’good’, ‘normal’ and ‘nervous at the start but now not nervous’.Pupils have enjoyed a range of opportunities across the curriculum in which to transfer their numeracy and literacy skills. Examples include P7’s successful involvement with the Mock Court Project, P6’s Junior Tour Guide programme with Historic Environment ScotlandThe use of digital technology (ipads with keyboards and laptops) have had a noticeable impact on reluctant writers’ engagement and motivation and are also utilised by SfL | |
| What are we going to do now? What are your next improvement priorities in this area? | |
| Prioritise pupil attendance with consistent Learning Community approach and support from SEF-funded attendance PSO Introduce the use of EdICT to support teachers with accurate use of class data for tracking and monitoringContinue to use Practitioner Enquiry as a focus to improve attainment outcomes for pupils living in disadvantageContinue to develop the use of digital to improve assessment and attainment in numeracy and literacy Re-introduce the John Muir Award and Junior Award Scotland as a way of recognizing outdoor learning achievementsDevise a whole school system of recognizing and celebrating pupils’ wider achievementsIntroduce improved pupil use of assessment trackers for self-evaluation and identification of next steps | |
| How you would evaluate this QI using the HGIOS 4 | 4 |
| QI 2.2 Curriculum: Theme 2 Learning Pathways | |
| What have we done? | |
| We have offered a number of children flexible learning pathways, that build on prior learning, extend skills, meet the specific needs of pupils and reduce exclusions.A very small targeted number of children with a variety of support needs access flexible pathways supported by ASLS and our own support staff. Opportunities include Forest Schools, The Yard, The North East Inclusion Hub, Gold & Gray Offside Football, Barnardo’s, The Citadel Youth Centre, Social Work Assistance, and our own Nurture Base along with short times supported in class.Fourteen children from P4 and P5 attended a weekly skills club run by Pilmeny Development Project focusing on friendship and social communication skills, fine motor skills, emotional literacy skills and confidence building.Multicultural Family Base have supported a group of five BAME children from P3 this session with skills-building and supported social interaction.Seven children with ASN in P4 and P5 have had the opportunity to attend The Yard for one or more terms focusing on positive social interaction and emotional regulation through fine and gross motor play supported by play workers.Nine pupils P6 have been supported by Gold and Gray Offside Football Programme working 1:1 on core literacy and numeracy skills, confidence-building, social interaction culminating in a presentation and leading a coaching session for a small group of peers designed using games-specific IT.A group of six refugees, worked with Sustrans and our Active Schools Coordinator to learn how to ride a bike safely following the Bikeability course.A small group of P3 children have taken part in highly supported group work with The Citadel Youth Club working on social and friendship skills, confidence building and making links with the wider Leith CommunityTen pupils from P3-P7 have accessed our Nurture Base for the whole year one morning per week with a further thirty-eight pupils accessing the base for specific pieces of work around emotional literacy and regulation, social interaction and life skills over six or more weeks.All classes joined together to focus on food technology outcomes and sustainability for our One Planet Picnic celebration in September. Pupils learned about the benefits of eating locally sourced, seasonal foods culminating in a whole school picnic on the Leith Links with homemade, healthy treats made from locally produced Scottish ingredients, including some grown in our raised planters. | |
| How well are we doing? What’s working well for your learners? | |
| Almost all pupils accessing flexible leaning pathways have made progress in a targeted aspect of their developmentPupils report high levels of enjoyment and engagement in these planned opportunitiesOur learning pathway partners contribute to the GIRFEC child planning process by giving their views and suggesting new targets or successful strategies that can be adapted or modelled in the school context to improve outcomes for the young personThere is a high level of successful collaboration and information sharing between partner agencies that leads to overall improved outcomes for learners | |
| How do we know? What evidence do you have of positive impact on learners? | |
| There have been no exclusions during the 2022/23 sessionPrevious pupils with EBSR have improving school attendanceThere has been a dramatic overall reduction in pupils displaying dysregulated behaviours in class SHE portal submissions for incidents where a child has shown significantly high levels of dysregulation have been <5 this session compared to >100 three years agoThere is a reduction overall in the number of pupils who require full time flexible learning pathways this sessionAll but one of our pupils accesses learning within the classroom context for some or most of the week as part of the flexible learning plan8/9 pupils taking part in the Gold and Gray programme successfully achieved the programme outcomesAll pupils in both Pilmeny Development groups report that they have made new friends and there have been reduced reports of bullying from these childrenAll pupils attending the MCFB and Citadel groups show improved social skills and confidence in classPupils attending the weekly sessions at The Yard display improving ability to cope with conflict and can use emotional regulation strategies more consistently (with staff support) | |
| What are we going to do now? What are your next improvement priorities in this area? | |
| Develop improved systems of evaluating and tracking progress for some of the pathways ensuring that targets are clearly linked to the Es & Os and are captured in a holistic wayEnsure that pupils and parents are better aware of the skills they are developing in their flexible pathways so they can contribute to meaningful self-evaluation and identification of appropriate next stepsSupport class teachers to have a better overview of pupils’ overall progression across the curriculum, including in any flexible pathways, so they can make informed decisions about planning next steps for these pupilsContinue to ensure that progress towards attainment in numeracy and literacy remain a core part of a pupil’s learning plan | |
| How you would evaluate this QI using the HGIOS 4 | 4 |
| QI 2.7 Partnerships: Theme 3 Impact on learners (parental engagement only) | |
| What have we done? | |
| Parents/carers have been consulted on our drafty Anti-Bullying Policy, Learning & Teaching Toolkit and Rights Respecting Schools and views have been taken onboard in the final version. A parental focus group have had the work of the pupil voice groups presented to them and feedback sought on a variety of matters. The parent council are kept abreast of school development priorities and progress towards planned outcomes. The wider parent/carer forum receive a yearly simplified version of the school improvement plan and are asked to contribute feedback at regular intervals. Updates towards progress are shared via the school newsletter which is sent directly by emails and published on the main school website and via Twitter. Staff share termly newsletters with parents and termly home learning grids which encourage parents/carers to collaborate with their child on aspects of their learning. Parents/carers are invited to open classrooms mornings where they can join in with learning tasks with their child and speak informally to their child’s teacher. Parents are invited to attend class assemblies where class learning can be shared in this way. Parents are invited to attend sessions focusing on supporting the development of reading and numeracy in P1 and parents are also invited along to Bookbug sessions. Parents/carers are invited to attend two Parent/Carer Consultations with their child’s class teacher to discuss their progress and look at their child’s Progress Jotters and their child’s self-evaluation in Myself As A Learner. Parents/carers are invited to contribute to their child’s learning targets based on discussion and agreement with the class teacher alongside their child. P1-P4 parents are updated on their child’s progress towards their learning targets via their Online Learning Journals. P5-P7 pupils share their progress with home using OneNote and Teams. Parents can contact their child’s teacher at any time via Online Learning Journals or email to discuss their ongoing progress at anytime. Meetings can be arrange either by the class teacher or by the parent on request. Parents are encouraged to participate in the life of the school in a number of ways such as accompanying pupils to their swimming lessons or other class trips, by volunteering to talk about their job at events such as World of Work Week, by sharing specific skills with classes as some did during our Out Right Campaign Week focusing on the health sector. Our active parent council support the school in a variety of ways such as organising a Welcome Picnic at the start of each session for any new family who has joined the school. They organize and manage individual and class photos, a Halloween Disco Christmas Fayre and Easter Family event amongst of other activities. Subgroups have taken on the development of the school playground and the re-establishment of the school library group, which was abruptly halted due to the covid lockdowns. Our Citadel Family Support Worker engages parents on a 1:1 and small group basis during the two days she is based at the school. This session she has run a parent sleep hygiene session in her capacity as a qualified Sleep Therapist. She also planned the delivery of an eight week Families Connect programme with one of our EYPs (postponed to the new session due to illness). She also feeds into decision making about policies affecting parents such as our recent School Attendance Policy. Our partner agencies such as The Citadel, Barnardo’s Social Work, MCFB support parents at meetings and CPMs to ensure that their views are fairly represented and taken into account when planning next steps for their young people. | |
| How well are we doing? What’s working well for your learners? | |
| Pupil sharing events such as open classrooms, assemblies, performances and sports days are regularly well attended by pupils’ parents and carers and is a visible motivator for pupils to do their best and share their progressPupils enjoy sharing their learning with parents/carers using digital devicesParents are keen to support their child’s attendance at flexible learning pathway opportunities and consistently speak favourably about the positive impact they have on their childOur pupils benefit from additional funding from the parent council to attend the Christmas show at the Lyceum, a universal reduction to the cost of the P7 residential and the purchase of resources such as new books and a subscription to Linguaphone to support Modern Foreign Language development across the school.Pupils attend parent council run-events such as the Halloween Disco, Christmas Fayre and Welcome Picnic in large numbers and see these as highlights of the school’s social calendar. | |
| How do we know? What evidence do you have of positive impact on learners? | |
| Parents/carers agreeing or strongly agreeing that, ‘the school keeps me informed about my child’s progress’ has increased by 21.8% on last year’s score at 74.1% 81.5% of parents/carers agree or strongly agree that ‘the school provides information about parenting support and programmes’87% of parents agree or strongly agree that they ‘feel supported to engage actively and meaningfully in my child’s learning’99.2% of pupils agree/strongly agree that ‘my parents and carers really care about my education’ | |
| What are we going to do now? What are your next improvement priorities in this area? | |
| SLT are working partnership with our Family Citadel Worker and an Arabic member of staff to establish an Arabic-speaking parents group as a first step towards widening the representation of parents/carers views (Arabic being the most commonly spoken L1 after English at Leith Primary)Improved tracking of parent/carer attendance at sharing/learning events so we can better identify who we are not consistently reachingDigital Leader run parent/carer events to support access to MS Office and use of iPads to support learning (one of our outstanding outcomes from our Digital Schools Award action plan)More frequent opportunities to visit classrooms and join in learning activities with pupilsIncreased opportunities to consult with the wider parent forum on shaping policy and planning with a more representative focus group of invited parents | |
| How you would evaluate this QI using the HGIOS 4 | 4 |
Believe. Persevere. Achieve. 