Firth Primary School

Overview

Inspectors found that staff approaches to developing reading and writing skills are motivating children and positively impacting attainment. The school benefits from a strong focus on professional development and highly relevant leadership opportunities for pupils. While the primary school’s learning and assessment are evaluated as ‘good’, the nursery class requires improvements in assessing progress and safeguarding knowledge.

Strengths

• Staff successfully motivate children in reading and writing, which is “impacting positively on children’s attainment.”
• A “strong focus of staff on developing their professional skills” creates “stimulating learning environments” where children enjoy learning.
• Children develop a “wide range of skills for learning, life and work” through “highly relevant leadership opportunities” in pupil voice groups.
• The Care Inspectorate rated nurturing care, play, learning, and leadership in the nursery class as ‘good’.

Areas to improve

• Staff should “continue to develop approaches to assessing children’s progress and attainment” to better understand national standards.
• The headteacher and teachers must “monitor carefully the impact of all interventions” to identify those making the biggest difference.
• Nursery staff should “increase opportunities for children to develop their literacy and numeracy skills” and improve evaluation of learning experiences.

Safeguarding

The Care Inspectorate requires the provider to ensure the manager and staff have the “required skills and knowledge in relation to recognising and responding to child protection concerns” to safeguard children from harm.