Lesmahagow High School

Overview

The inspection team found a school with a “very positive ethos” built upon “nurturing, supportive relationships” that foster a strong sense of belonging. Young people are described as proud of their school, benefiting from effective community partnerships and calm, purposeful learning environments. The report concludes that the school has the capacity to continue to improve without further inspection visits.

Strengths

• Leadership has created a “very positive ethos” characterised by “nurturing, supportive relationships” and a “strong sense of belonging.”
• Staff maintain “strong, effective working relationships with partners in the community” to provide helpful supports for young people.
• Young people, including those requiring additional support, make “very good progress in literacy and numeracy” due to effective use of progress data.
• The school’s work in “Learning, teaching and assessment” and “Raising attainment and achievement” is evaluated as “good.”

Areas to improve

• Teachers should make “greater use of ongoing assessment” to improve lesson pace and ensure tasks are “appropriately challenging.”
• Staff should focus on improving transition between S3 and the senior phase and work to “improve the quality of passes in National Qualifications.”

Safeguarding

The report highlights that the school’s ethos is built upon “nurturing, supportive relationships that create a sense of inclusion” and “calm, purposeful learning environments,” though it does not provide a separate, detailed evaluation of safeguarding procedures.