South Ayrshire Council News

Moira Gray, Head Teacher of Queen Margaret Academy gave a presentation to members of South Ayrshire Council’s Leadership Panel about the HM Inspectors of Education inspection that was carried out in the school in November 2007. The report on the inspection was published earlier this year.

Queen Margaret Academy is a denominational school, which serves South Ayrshire and part of East Ayrshire, at the time of the inspection it had 689 students,. The school has an Extended Support for Learning (ESFL) department that provides support for 36 pupils with additional support needs.

The Inspectors covered key aspects of the school’s work at all stages and evaluated how well the school was raising achievement for all pupils, taking into account the extent to which pupils’ learning needs were met by the curriculum and teaching. They also analysed pupils’ attainment in national examination, the school’s processes for self-evaluation and innovation, and its overall effectiveness and capacity for improvement. The inspection team particularly focused on English, mathematics, biology and S1/S2 science and business education.

Speaking about the inspection Moira Gray, Head Teacher of Queen Margaret Academy said: “The HM Inspectors of Education had access to all areas of the school to observe lessons and ask questions about how the school operates. The inspection was very worthwhile and we have taken on board the comments made in the report. Within our school there is an ethos of honesty, respect and equality. The pupils regardless of their age, religion, educational needs or background work together with all of our employees make best use of the talents and resources within the school.

Every year HM Inspectors visit a sample of primary, secondary and special schools to find out how they are performing. They then publish a report giving evaluations of pupils’ achievements, the effectiveness of the school and the environment for learning. The report also includes evaluations of how well pupils are supported.

The report, that is made available to parents and carers and the wider community, contains important information about the life and work of the inspected school. Reports identify key strengths of a school, its capacity for improvement and set out any points that need action taken. This lets the Inspectors establish how well schools are performing across the country. The Inspectors can then inform Scottish Ministers about the performance and needs of the education system across the country.

At Queen Margaret Academy Inspectors observed teaching, learning and achievement in lessons and other contexts and examined pupils’ work. They analysed responses to questionnaires that they issued to a sample of parents and pupils and to all employees. They interviewed groups of pupils, including representatives of pupil councils and employees. Members of the inspection team also met the Chairperson the Parent Council, a group of parents, representatives of the associated primary schools, representatives of the local community and the school chaplain.

The inspections identified the following key strengths:

• Courteous pupils who welcomed visitors and displayed strong support for each other.
• Inclusion of pupils with additional support needs in the school community and the support provided by pupils and staff, in particular for those receiving support from the ESFL department.
• Partnership of the school with the school chaplain and chaplaincy team and their contribution to promoting a Christian ethos.
• The report stated that the new Head Teacher had brought about a number of improvements in the school. It also showed that the students’ attainments in the Scottish Qualifications Authority National Qualifications compared favourably with other similar schools.

The Inspectors have asked school and the authority to produce an action plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report and to share that plan with parents and carers. Within the next two years the education authority, working with the school, will provide a progress report to parents and carers of the school pupils.

Anyone wishing to study the full report should telephone the HM Inspectorate of Education offices on telephone number 0141 242 0100. Alternatively copies of the report are available on their website at www.scotland.gov.uk/hmie