DUNBLANE PRIMARY SCHOOL

and
NURSERY CLASS
STANDARDS AND QUALITY REPORT
2015-2016
Head of Education - David Leng
Headteacher Sally Kennedy
Depute Headteachers Shirley Gallivan and Sarah Starrs

The following are the national, local and school contexts upon which our School Improvement Plan and our Standards and Quality Report are based.
Throughout this report, these priorities and aims are reflected within our achievements and our areas for improvement in the next session.

NATIONAL PRIORITIES

Achievement and Attainment -To raise standards of educational attainment for all in schools, especially in the core skills of literacy and
numeracy, and to achieve better levels in national measures of achievement including examination results

Framework for Learning -To support and develop the skills of teachers, the self discipline of pupils and to enhance school environments so
that they are conducive to teaching and learning

Inclusion and Equality -To promote equality and help every pupil benefit from education, with particular regard paid to pupils with
disabilities and special educational needs, and to Gaelic and other lesser used languages

Values and Citizenship -To work with parents to teach pupils respect for self and one another and their interdependence with other
members of their neighbourhood and society and to teach them the duties and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society

Learning for Life - To equip pupils with the foundation skills, attitudes and expectations necessary to prosper in a changing society and to
encourage creativity and ambition

STIRLING EDUCATION SERVICE PRIORITIES

Curriculum For Excellence Assessment

GIRFEC Getting it Right For Every Child
The performance of the lowest 20% of pupils
Attendance and Exclusion
Early Years Framework
Raising Attainment for All

OUR SCHOOL AND NURSERY AIMS

In Dunblane Primary School and Nursery Class we aim to:

Encourage and empower children to be successful learners by providing a variety of high quality and challenging learning
experiences.

Offer a motivating and relevant curriculum that will provide our children with life skills and support independence, choice and
responsibility.

Promote and embed our values of Respect, Responsibility, Honesty, Care & Compassion and Fairness & Equality
throughout all areas of nursery and school life.

Develop and maintain positive and effective relationships with children, parents/carers, partner agencies and establishments
and the wider community.

Ensure continuous improvement and positive outcomes for all children which reflect the changing nature of the world around
us.

Foster a sense of pride in Dunblane Primary School and Nursery Class, representing them positively in the local
community and beyond
OUR VISION

Learning today, shaping tomorrow

DUNBLANE PRIMARY SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2014-2015

What were our Improvement Priorities this session?
IMPROVEMENT PRIORITY 1 LEARNING AND TEACHING/ MEETING, LEARNERS NEEEDS: Mental maths
To improve learner performance in the four number processes in mental maths in regular mental maths assessments by April 2016
IMPROVEMENT PRIORITY 2 LEARNING AND TEACHING/ MEETING, LEARNERS NEEEDS: Spelling
To improve learner accuracy and consistency in spelling in progress through Nessy Island target word sets by June 2016
IMPROVEMENT PRIORITY 3 LEARNING AND TEACHING/ MEETING, LEARNERS NEEEDS: Writing
To improve quality and quantity of learners extended writing with each child producing an individually published book
IMPROVEMENT PRIORITY 4 TRAINING AND RESOURCES/ CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT :TECHNOLOGIES
To improve the use of information and communication technologies in order to improve learning experiences for children
NUSRSERY IMPROVEMENT 1: LEARNER EXPERIENCE LITERACY AND LANGUAGE
Maximise positive language and literacy opportunities in order to improve learning experiences for children
NUSRSERY IMPROVEMENT 2: LEARNER EXPERIENCE
To improve learner experience through a shared understanding of high quality provision and how our own learning and commitment contributes to this

Where the following terms are used data supports the statements according to the noted percentages:
All = 100%

Almost all = over 90%

Most = 75% - 90%

Majority = 50 74%

Less than half = 15 49%

A few = up to 15%

WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF OUR IMPROVEMENT PRIORITIES?

IMPROVEMENT PRIORITY 1
SUCCESSES AND ACHIEVEMENTS : What outcomes have we achieved?
How good is our leadership and approach to improvement?

Analysis of attainment data and self- evaluation reflection identified the need to prioritise attainment in mental maths. Attainment in this area is within national averages but
there were patterns highlighted where we could see scope for further improvement.
All staff engaged in training sessions for CLIC mental maths and it was agreed that this would be used as our school progression for mental maths. Many staff used their
professional development time to further enhance their skills and knowledge in this area through cooperative teaching sessions, further reading of the CLIC programme to
understand the CLIC strategies to be taught and engaged in professional dialogue with colleagues in order to support implementation and reflect on practice in order to
ensure the needs of all learners was being met.
Reflective conversations took place with SMT about practice and impact via class observations and discussion at impact meetings. Staff used attainment data using Beat That
assessments to inform these discussions.
SMT and class teachers consulted children about CLIC and used this to reflect on current approaches and support further implementation of our mental maths progression.
Staff suggested changes to the PowerPoint content of CLIC sessions and adaptations to these have been made to reflect this.
Assessment pre and post intervention was used to measure the impact of our work in this area.

How good is the quality of the care and education we offer?

A clear progression is now in place based upon the CLIC mental maths programme. All staff are using this to deliver mental maths and most feel confident in using the
resource and agreed strategies.
In most classes CLIC sessions are being implemented via whole class lessons with pupil need being met through differentiation of activities, use of visual prompts and
supports and teacher questioning. A few children are having their needs met in small groups or individual input sessions supported by teacher/SLA.
There is a focus on developing knowledge of strategies that children are then able to apply in different contexts to support mental maths calculations.
Beat That tests are carried out weekly and are used to track and monitor progress. Assessment data will also inform progress to support next steps in our implementation of
CLIC
School hosted a parent workshop to share the CLIC approach. 44 families responded to our evaluations. All parents scored the event as a 7 or above out of 10 with the
majority rating it as excellent in helping them to understand our approach to teaching mental maths. The majority of parents indicated that their child had shared with them
information on CLIC and/ or had expressed that they enjoyed CLIC.

How good are we at ensuring the best possible outcomes for learners?

Staff have identified that the majority of children have made progress in their CLIC learning and that the majority of children are able to articulate how, where and why they
are using mental maths strategies in other areas of the curriculum. There is improved accuracy and recall of mental maths agility for almost all children.
Analysis of assessment data post intervention shows that most children are making progress in mental maths learning with the majority of children making more than a years
progress within a shorter time period. A few children have attained the same or less.
Many children specifically mentioned that they feel CLIC has helped them make progress in numeracy, this has been indicated on the My Learning Journey self-evaluation
part of their annual pupil report card as well as during SMT learner conversations and on the whole school Learning Journey pupil evaluation tool

NEXT STEPS

Staff will continue to share good practice through observations and dialogue with colleagues.
A few children have indicated that they do not like the CLIC approach/ shared some concern over the times elements of CLIC and it will be important for staff to continue to
take the temperature of feeling within their own class in order to make adaptations to support the engagement and motivation of all.
A few childrens attainment post intervention were not in line with expectation. This will be further explored and monitored to ensure specific interventions are put in place
for those who require it.

IMPROVEMENT PRIORITY 2 LEARNING AND TEACHING/ MEETING, LEARNERS NEEEDS: Spelling

SUCCESSES AND ACHIEVEMENTS : What outcomes have we achieved?
How good is our leadership and approach to improvement?

Analysis of attainment data and self-evaluation reflection identified the need to prioritise attainment in spelling. Attainment in this area is within national averages but there
were patterns highlighted where we could see scope for improvement. Much of the SFL teachers focus was on supporting spelling and we felt it was important to explore
the reason for this/ how else this could be supported
All staff engaged in CLPL sessions to explore quality learning and teaching strategies for spelling
SMT supported reflective conversations of practice and impact via class observations and discussion at impact meetings using assessment data to support this
Nessy Spelling programme was being used as the teaching progression across P5 7 from the start of the session. P3 & P4 staff began to use. P1 & P2 spelling taught using
Jolly Phonics programme.
Identified need to have a clearer whole school spelling policy that incorporated synthetic phonics approaches in the early years and teaching of spelling rules and strategies as
children progress through school and to create a progression for the teaching of the most common words.
Working group established to create whole school spelling policy. This work has been completed and will be fully implemented in August 2016 with aspects of its content are
already being implemented in almost all classes.

How good is the quality of the care and education we offer?

A clear progression has been identified Jolly Phonics and Nessy - and policy has been created
Spelling is taught in differentiated groupings in P3 P7 using the Nessy progression. Weekly group lessons are planned and delivered by the class teacher. Rules and
exceptions are explored, animations are used to support remembering and understanding these, children practice using computer games and active learning activities.
There is a focus on developing knowledge of spelling rules and strategies that children are then able to apply to new/ unfamiliar words thus across writing
Assessment data will also inform progress to support next steps in the implementation of our new policy
Policy includes advice to challenge more able learners and support children with additional support needs

How good are we at ensuring the best possible outcomes for learners?

Analysis of CEM data post intervention shows that majority children are making progress in spelling with many children making more than a years progress within a shorter
time period. A few children have attained the same or less. This is positive and we expect this to be further enhanced when the policy is implemented fully in August
Many children specifically mentioned that they feel Nessy has helped them make progress in spelling, this has been indicated on the My Learning Journey self-evaluation
part of their annual pupil report card as well as during SMT learner conversations and on the whole school Learning Journey pupil evaluation tool
Children enjoy the computer based aspect of this programme. There have been some technical hitches with the network based resource and we will move to the online
version in August
Children feel they know where they are in their learning and progress in spelling as they see themselves move through the Nessy Islands.
Staff feel that children are more enthusiastic about spelling learning as a result of the implementation of the Nessy approach

NEXT STEPS

Continued analysis of data/ progress as policy is fully implemented in August

Move to online version in August and provide staff with appropriate support and training in using new software
Provide parents with online account details and usernames to support practice and engagement in spelling learning at home
Analysis of spelling across writing to ensure children are applying what they know/ have learned in a variety of contexts

IMPROVEMENT PRIORITY 3 LEARNING AND TEACHING/ MEETING, LEARNERS NEEEDS: Writing

SUCCESSES AND ACHIEVEMENTS : What outcomes have we achieved?
How good is our leadership and approach to improvement?

A variety of self-evaluation activities and moderation of writing samples were used to identify this priority. It was identified that there was an opportunity to raise
expectations in the quantity of the writing our learners were producing and to motivate learners to engage more fully in the writing purpose
External trainer / expert in childrens writing supported staff CLPL sessions. Staff found these sessions informative and used many of the ideas within their own classrooms to
enhance the learning and teaching of writing.
Our school committed to hosting a book launch in March. Every child would publish and launch a book of their own at this event.
Staff collaborated with our trainer and with colleagues to create storylines matched to their context for learning that children could develop into their own plots
Staff explored texts and resources used by colleagues in other schools to inform their planning

How good is the quality of the care and education we offer?

School hosted a book launch most children had a family member come to school to read their book. These were positively received and many parents commented on how
proud they were of their childs achievements and standard of work.
Teachers targeted writing skills appropriate to their chosen genre. Quality learning and teaching sessions were planned and ensured pupil work was of a high standard, with
plot and description being developed well by the majority of pupils.
Pupils with additional support needs were supported using a variety of strategies with some making effective use of ICT hardware and ICT packages such as Word Talk,
Clicker6 etc
Some teachers/ pupils and parents have reported that the focus on writing a book has motivated pupils to choose to write books of their own at home and in school.
Higher expectations of presentation of work through redrafting process has had a positive impact

How good are we at ensuring the best possible outcomes for learners?

All children in the school created a book of their own. Storylines were used by staff to support children in creating and developing individualised plots
Children are writing at greater length and are including description that engages the reader
Many less able writers benefitted from the process and now see themselves as writers
Pupil pride in their finished product was high and pupils engaged positively in shared reading session with other stages
Teachers report that children are writing at greater length across writing and are transferring techniques taught which is evidenced in class work
Many children specifically mentioned that they feel writing a book gave them a purpose for writing and they feel like real authors on the My Learning Journey selfevaluation part of their annual pupil report card as well as during SMT learner conversations and on the whole school Learning Journey pupil evaluation tool

NEXT STEPS

Teacher expectations of quality, quantity and presentation of writing to remain high

Book writing and book launch with parents to become a yearly event at Dunblane Primary school to give writing a clear purpose and priority
Use of first draft jotters to support planning and drafting process
Develop fiction/ personal writing progressions to support planning (already have these for non-fiction)
Track progress in writing attainment using learning community spreadsheet and engage in writing moderation activities across the learning community next session to build
confidence in assessing writing at early, first, second, third level

IMPROVEMENT PRIORITY 4: TRAINING AND RESOURCES/ CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT :TECHNOLOGIES

SUCCESSES AND ACHIEVEMENTS : What outcomes have we achieved?
How good is our leadership and approach to improvement?

Strategy agreed in consultation with local authority development officer/ servicedesk technicians on what hardware we should be investing in invested in another computer
trolley with 16 laptops and 2 Ipads in every P1 P2/3 classes and 1 Ipad in every P3 P7 classes. ICT suite will be used for another purpose.
Self- evaluation activities highlighted the need to develop a clear progression in the teaching of ICT and build confidence in using ICT to enhance learning
Working group set up to audit current resources including hardware and software, create a clear progression plan for the learning and teaching of ICT
Discussions with families and children highlighting the need to enhance our current strategy/ approach to teaching internet safety

How good is the quality of the care and education we offer?

All staff now using GLOW for communication purposes including update of website each class has their own page. Many teachers are accessing resources to support
learning and teaching on GLOW.
ICT being used across learning for a variety of contexts and this will be enhanced from clearer progression framework when work of the working group is concluded
All classes participated in E-safety lessons as part of Internet safety Week. P7 pupils benefitted from internet safety workshops from the external provider Caught in the Net
Parent workshop was offered to P7 families on internet safety with approx. 15 families attending.
Use of the website and twitter to share learning with families has had positive reports from parents. Twitter following is now over 750.

How good are we at ensuring the best possible outcomes for learners?

Pupils report that they enjoy and benefit from using ICT packages such as Nessy and Sumdog to support learning.
Pupils with additional support needs benefit from use of netbooks, Ipads, easispeak devices and a variety of software packages such as Natural reader, Clicker 6, Wordtalk to
access learning activities and record their learning. These feature on Childs plans.
Most children are familiar with PowerPoint and Word programmes and use these to record and present their learning.

NEXT STEPS
Much of the work of the working group has to be completed and it is hoped this will be achieved by October 2016
Progression pathways for ICT to be completed including E-safety progression
Social media/ Twitter policy finalised
Children accessing GLOW and pupils taking more ownership of website class blogs
IPad masterclasses staff sharing sessions built in to CLPL calendar to share expertise and ideas

NUSRSERY IMPROVEMENT 1: LEARNER EXPERIENCE LITERACY AND LANGUAGE

SUCCESSES AND ACHIEVEMENTS : What outcomes have we achieved?
How good is our leadership and approach to improvement?

Dunblane Primary School Nursery class have had a display space in the library for 2 months of the year. This is used to celebrate the childrens work and achievements. One
display linked to stories and the other was about families. Opportunities for the public to add comments were offered but none were received.
In November a reading workshop was held for all nursery parents. The session was not well attended. On reflection the wording workshop may have put parents off
attending and future events would be called sharing the learning. Evaluations showed that all parents found the session informative and useful.
Nursery staff led 2 small terrific talkers groups. 10 children benefitted from this language group. The main activity was listening and responding to stories. The children were
developing their skills in turn taking, listening to others, asking and answering questions. Progress was made by all children developing their confidence and ability to listen for
longer periods of time.

How good is the quality of the care and education we offer?

Within the nursery a Literacy Rich environment has been created. Books can be found in all areas of the nursery and link well to the context, activities & displays.
Almost all of children at the nursery experienced one or more visit to the local library. For most of the children this was beneficial as they accessed books for pleasure and to
extend their learning. There were opportunities for all children to listen to stories being read by someone from the library and opportunities for questions were given. All of
the children attending, morning and afternoon children, were able to listen to the full story and then browse for books of their choice. The afternoon children generally are the
young children, received the book bug session. All children were engaged for the full session which comprised of short stories, songs, puppets and rhymes. The 3 children who
did not access the library were all 2 year olds within our nursery. They did not access the local library as we do not yet have buggies for transport

How good are we at ensuring the best possible outcomes for learners?

The nursery class created a lending library for all children. This comprised of a wide range of books. Most children accessed the lending library at least once. The Majority
children accessed the lending library 3 or more times. Children could be heard recommending books to their friends and sharing reasons as to why they might enjoy it. Children
were often the instigators of borrowing and selecting the books and could be heard asking their parents for another book. 8 children regularly accessed the lending library and
it became part of a nursery routine. The books were refreshed twice a term and children were involved in the selecting of these new titles. The families have shown respect
to all the books borrowed. This is also evident in the nursery.
The transition process started in term 3 with Primary 6 pupils coming to participate in paired reading sessions with the nursery children. The impact of this was that the nursery
and Primary 6 pupils were comfortable taking on the role of the buddy. This reinforced what the nursery staff were working on with the children good sitting, good listening
and the layout of a book.

NEXT STEPS

All children will visit the local library for 1 session by Christmas. In terms 3 and 4 individuals will be identified for future visits based on individual needs and interests. Such as
the benefit from the walk to the library, listening to stories, browsing for books and based on what the library has on offer.
Continue to use the local library display space for 2 months of the year. The nursery will advertise this more to parents using the school website, notice boards and providing
information slips. Rather than lifting the display from the planning wall the nursery will use a gallery approach. This will be more child lead and they will be more involved in
how this looks.
Continue the lending library and ensure that all new parents are aware of this facility. This can be highlighted at the curricular evening in September. Introduce a weekly
session in the nursery where children share the book they have borrowed and talk to a small audience about the book. This should encourage more children to want to
participate in accessing the lending library.
Continue to keep a spread sheet of borrowers and track children who are not using the library and try to address this.
At the curricular evening in September pointers on how parents can support their child will be shared along with the leaflet used at the workshop this session.

NUSRSERY IMPROVEMENT 2: LEARNER EXPERIENCE

SUCCESSES AND ACHIEVEMENTS : What outcomes have we achieved?
How good is our leadership and approach to improvement?

The nursery team had 3 new members of staff start during this session. Staff are using the Stirling Council Vantage programme to book onto relevant courses. All staff attended
network meetings, courses and in total the nursery staff attended 23 courses through Vantage. All staff completed appropriate evaluation forms and highlighted their next
steps and impact.
All staff had a specific area of responsibility to develop within the nursery.
During recent PRD meetings all staff commented on positive teamwork. All staff members feel that they can ask any other colleague for advice, guidance or clarify.
Quality Assurance observations were planned for in the nursery monitoring calendar. Observations of staff took place and professional dialogue between staff informs their
next steps.
An Induction Folder was created this session to support new staff starting at the nursery. This ensured all staff were given the appropriate information which was the same for
everyone.

How good is the quality of the care and education we offer?

Our nursery Senior ECE has been asked by the council to share the planning process used at the nursery as this was seen to be good practice. She has been involved in
creating guidance linked to features of effective planning. This will be shared with other staff within the Authority at future in-service days.
Throughout this year 8 different nurseries have visited our nursery class to see good practice

How good are we at ensuring the best possible outcomes for learners?

Regular meetings in the nursery have been opportunities for staff to share good practice and to ask for advice. Specific time was set aside at in-service days and after work
meetings to look in detail at Building the Ambition. Sections 1, 2 and 3 were looked at in detail as a staff in the November and February in-service days.
Cluster nursery meetings were re-established and have taken place twice this session. Dunblane nursery class is also part of the councils improvement partnerships with
Croftamie and Acrewood nurseries. These have been useful connections to share good practice and to participate in quality dialogue.

NEXT STEPS

To plan for sections 3-8 Building the Ambition to be looked at in detail in session 2016-17.
Peer reviews to be formally introduced in the Quality Assurance calendar and to be a critical friend.
Using time off the floor to carry out learning visits to other establishments.
As a next step for the improvement partnerships trio, staff from the nursery will visit the other establishments.

We hope you found this report both informative and worthwhile.

We thank you for your support this session and look forward to
your continued and extended support next year.