AN INSPECTOR’S report identifying the need for additional support at Mill O’Forest School is one of the items on the agenda for this week’s meeting of the Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee.
At the time of the inspection visit on May 26, the school roll was 248 pupils across 10 classrooms. Some 29% of the children require additional support with their learning, while 15% receive free school meals.
The report by HM Inspector Stuart Cathro was published in September. Both learning experience and achievement of outcomes at the primary school were flagged:
teaching and assessment – weak
raising attainment and achievement – weak
The nursery, however, fares better:
learning, teaching and assessment – good
securing children’s progress – good
A new acting head teacher was appointed at the school last October, following: ”A significant number of staffing challenges at all levels in recent years.”
While the summarised findings describe deficiencies in various aspects of teaching, areas showing improvement are also noted.
”Children, staff and parents highlight concerns about the impact of dysregulated behaviour, bullying and safety. Staff’s work on promoting positive behaviour is beginning to have an early impact on improving children’s positive behaviour and reducing dysregulated behaviour. As a result, in a majority of lessons, children’s behaviour impacts positively on their learning.”
The full report is available online
At tomorrow’s meeting, councillors are asked to comment on the report which concludes: ”The school needs additional support and more time to make necessary improvements. We will liaise with Aberdeenshire Council regarding the school’s capacity to improve.
”We will return to carry out a further inspection of the school within one year of the publication of this letter.”
The Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee meets in Viewmount tomorrow, Tuesday October 28 at 9.30am. The full agenda is online.