April 2007

Welcome to our April Parent Newsletter. The main theme for this term’s newsletter is the school planning that is taking place for the new school year. The new school year actually begins on Monday 4th June 2007, with the start of the new school timetable which comes into full effect when our new S1 pupils join us in August.

Traditionally, a lot of planning for the new school year takes place during the summer term. This includes finishing off staffing and timetable arrangements, as well as the details of pupil subject choices for the new S3, S5 and S6 year groups. It is also the time of the year when we put in place plans for those parts of the school’s work that need particular attention in the year ahead.

This year, the school received a visit from Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education (HMIe for short). The HM Inspection Report which followed praises the work of pupils, parents and staff. There are many positive comments contained in the report and HMIe summarise the key strengths of Our Lady’s High School as follows:

• Pupils’ pride in their school.
• The staff’s care for the pastoral welfare of pupils.
• The Headteacher’s and his staff’s commitment to increasing achievement and sustaining strong attainment in national examinations for all pupils, for example by broadening the curriculum and out-of-hours learning opportunities.
• The impact of specialist support on pupils’ learning, including the library resource centre, partner agencies, and the support team for pupils with additional support needs.
• Examples of highly effective teaching and outstanding learning.

HMIe also feel that pupils’ achievement can be further increased by the school:

• improving the quality of education provided by the Mathematics Department;
• leading improvements to the quality of learning, teaching and meeting pupils’ needs across the school in a concerted way;
• using pupils’ views about learning, equality and fairness to improve further the school’s ethos;
• taking full account of pupils’ prior learning and ongoing progress to guide coursework;
• developing a positive climate for self-evaluation, involving all staff in reviewing performance and sharing best practice.

Since the publication of the report in January 2007, we have been putting together detailed plans to address these action points. These plans have already involved detailed discussion and consultation with school staff and with pupil and parent representative groups.

Taking each recommendation in turn, the rest of this newsletter summarises the steps, many of which have already been put in place, which will make up the school’s planning priorities for next year.

Improving the quality of education provided by the Mathematics Department

• The Mathematics Department has been greatly affected in recent years by repeated and numerous changes in departmental staffing. These changes, which have been outwith the control of both the school and the department, have resulted from staffing promotions, retirals and secondments, as well as absences due to maternity leave. The stability of the department has not been helped by the frequent need to employ temporary supply staff when staffing vacancies have existed.
Continuing to do all we can to ensure stability in staffing in Mathematics is a key priority for next year. For example, although the presence of a large number of high quality probationer and student teachers has brought great benefits to the Mathematics Department, we have asked that next year should be a “fallow year” for the department in terms of supporting new teachers.

• The Mathematics Department, along with other subject departments, is reviewing its overall arrangements for learning and teaching. It is important to make sure that courses and lessons are as relevant and interesting to pupils as possible. It is also important that pupils are encouraged to take a greater role in their own learning. Nationally, this is recognised nationally as a big issue in the teaching of Mathematics.

• Some of the ways in which this is being done are to:
o look at ways of celebrating and recognising pupils’ success in their classwork;
o make sure the department receives priority for the purchase of new textbooks and equipment;
o review the arrangements for certificate courses. Some changes are already being made here. Also, some S2 and S4 pupils will make an earlier start to more advanced work and courses.
o appoint a primary-secondary transition teacher as a permanent member of staff. This will help in continuing to improve curricular liaison in Mathematics with associated primary schools and in ensuring the smooth transfer of information on pupils’ progress by the end of P7.
o ensure that next year’s S1 pupils are arranged in classes set by ability from the start of the year;
o make sure that the good practice and high quality resources available in the department are accessible and shared throughout the department.
o Raise the department’s profile by encouraging continuing contribution to whole-school initiatives, for example, in Citizenship activities.

Leading improvements to the quality of learning, teaching and meeting pupils’ needs across the school in a concerted way

• All teaching departments are evaluating their arrangements in the light of the inspection report.

• All teaching departments are using a common approach to planning for next year and these plans are being co-ordinated at whole school level.

• These plans encourage the use of methods which will help pupils to be more involved in their own learning and to take greater responsibility for it. The use of co-operative learning techniques, for example, is a good way of getting pupils to work as a team as well as independently.

• The use of homework diary planners will be relaunched next year, including the reissue of the diaries in a new format.

• Pupils are stimulated and motivated when the pace of learning is suitably challenging. This has been seen, for example, as a result of the introduction of Standard Grade English in S2 this year.

• We are making sure that a full range of S1-S2 ICT skills will be developed through pupils’ work in their individual subject classes.

• The national programme “Curriculum for Excellence” is being developed by all schools at present and this programme also encourages schools to develop new ways of meeting the learning needs of all young people.

Using pupils’ views about learning, equality and fairness to improve further the school’s ethos

• We are looking at ways of making pupils aware that they have a role to play in influencing school decisions on the key issues which affect them. This can be through school pupil councils or by pupils being involved in developing their own learning targets or commenting on course units that they have completed.

• Pupils were recently consulted on arrangements for the use of mobile phones and school social areas and their views included in school policies. A first newsletter prepared by pupils is ready for issue this month. There is now a pupil suggestion box located at the front of the school. All teaching departments have been asked to look at the quality of staff – pupil relationships as part of their review of learning and teaching mentioned above.

Taking full account of pupils’ prior learning and ongoing progress to guide coursework

• Teachers of next year’s S1 classes should have P7 information contained in National Assessment results and school progress reports in plenty of time to allow planning for the start of the new school year. Collecting this information will be a priority during the summer term for our primary-secondary transition teacher.

• Along with other staff, our transition teacher will continue to help co-ordinate work that takes place in P6 and 7 with what takes place in S1-S2.

• We are also looking to make sure that there are good arrangements for the transfer of information between teachers on the progress of pupils as they move from one stage to another in high school.

• It is important that this information on prior learning is used when teachers plan their courses and lessons for pupils.

Developing a positive climate for self-evaluation, involving all staff in reviewing performance and sharing best practice

• All teaching departments will prepare an annual calendar of times when they will look at particular aspects of their work.

• Direct observation of classroom learning will give teachers some further professional opportunities to discuss and reflect on their work.

• Because teachers are busy teaching they do no always have opportunities to see good practice that exists in other classrooms or other parts of the school. We are looking to find more ways next year of sharing good practice among all staff.

What Happens Next?

Although this summary of school plans is a brief one, we hope it gives you as a parent / carer a flavour of the amount of work which has already taken place since the HMIe Report was published last term.

So far, these plans have been developed in consultation with school staff and with pupil and parent representative groups. Any observations, comments or suggestions that you would now like to make as a parent / carer are most welcome. At the foot of this newsletter you will see a list of various ways to contact the school. There is also a brief return slip included with the newsletter which allows you to comment on school plans for next year.

Our report states “HM Inspectors will engage with the school and the education authority to monitor progress in Mathematics. Within two years of the publication of this report parents will be informed about the overall progress made by the school”.

With the exception of confirming progress in Mathematics, this means that HMIe will not revisit the school. Their report about the overall progress made by the school will be made on the basis of information provided by the education authority. Encouragingly, this means that HMIe are confident that the school has the capacity to undertake by itself the recommendations contained in the original report.

We aim to overtake all the recommendations contained in the report by the end of 2008. During this period we will continue to inform and consult in various ways with parents / carers about the progress that we feel we are making. We look forward, as always, to your continuing support in this process.

B,Love
Headteacher

April 18, 2007