Donaldson's School

Overview

Education Scotland inspectors visited Donaldson’s School in March 2025 and found it to be an inclusive environment where learners feel safe and cared for. The report evaluates both 'Learning, teaching and assessment' and 'Raising attainment and achievement' as 'good', noting that the school has the capacity to continue improving without further inspection visits.

Strengths

• Staff create an "inclusive and nurturing environment" where relationships are "positive, trusting and based on the promotion of children’s rights."
• Learners are described as "respectful and enthusiastic" who "work hard and achieve their goals," demonstrating their skills and knowledge effectively.
• Staff engage in valuable professional learning to increase expertise in "understanding neurodiversity," which is improving teaching quality and understanding of learner needs.

Areas to improve

• Senior leaders must improve "approaches to assessment and tracking and monitoring" to help learners understand their next steps and long-term goals.
• The curriculum offer requires improvement to provide a "wider variety of learner pathways," including more opportunities for qualifications and awards.

Safeguarding

The report states that the headteacher and staff work together to create an environment where children and young people "feel safe and cared for," with relationships based on the promotion of children’s rights.