Castle work party
Primary school praised
The polite, happy children and the nurturing headteacher and staff at Tayvallich Primary School have been praised by inspector from Education Scotland who visited the school and early learning childcare centre in November.
Now a list of key strengths and areas for improvement has been published online in a letter to parents and carers.
The headteacher and staff have created a nurturing, inclusive ethos across the school and early learning centre. Strong, positive relationships between adults and children are based on mutual respect and understanding.
Polite, happy children work well together in the mixed aged classes. They are keen to learn and show respect and kindness to each other.
Parents feel like valued partners in their child’s learning thanks to successful partnership working between staff and parents.
Staff in the early learning centre provide children with rich, real-life learning opportunities using the local environment and the wider community well.
Children in the early learning centre are provided with opportunities to play and learn with children in the primary school.
Areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from Argyll and Bute Council.
The headteacher and staff should continue developing approaches for planning learning. This will help them to raise attainment further.
They should also continue to “develop and embed consistent approaches to assessing children’s learning.” And continue to work together to achieve consistency in their judgements about children’s progress and attainment.
A spokesman for the Education Scotland team said: “We are confident that the school has the capacity to continue to improve and so we will make no more visits in connection with this inspection. Argyll and Bute Council will inform parents/carers about the school’s progress as part of its arrangements for reporting on the quality of its schools.”
Full details from the letter to parents are published on the Education Scotland website.
The first castle work party of the new year got under way on Saturday February 3.
The weather had looked a bit variable, but that did not deter the volunteers who got together to tackle the workload, with secretary Lorna Rushton saying: “The work went well and we had two more volunteers join in, plus a visitor.”
This month the team demolished and rebuilt the top landing on the rear set of long steps and also spent time working on the orchard, pruning fruit trees, removing brambles and weeding round fruit bushes.
If you would like to help out with the work, contact Lorna Rushton, secretary of Tarbert Castle Trust, by emailing: secretary@tarbertcastle.info
The steps at the west and east end of the castle are 30 years old which means it has taken a considerable amount of volunteer time and effort to keep them safe and maintained in recent years.
Tarbert Castle Trust is grateful to Cour Wind Farm Limited through Fern Community Funds, which has awarded a substantial grant to replace the steps as soon as possible.
The main elements will be built from larch, which should reduce long-term maintenance in the future. It is planned to replace the existing steps on a like-for-like basis, reusing current post holes to prevent any archaeological disturbance.
A considerable amount of material is being ordered and will arrive in stages.
The first flight at the western end of the castle was in a poor state. It was removed and replaced on Saturday January 6. The skilled work was carried out by committed community volunteers, to whom the trust is grateful.
The fixings and handrails are now complete and the western steps are open.
Work will now start on removing the eastern steps. Machining of timber and preparation of parts for on-site assembly by local contractors is in hand.
Volunteer work at the site will take months to complete, but the trust hopes to have it open for visitors, who keep coming and thankfully make donations to assist the work, by this summer.
Volunteers are also helping care for the Hebridean sheep who look after the grass and provide great photograph opportunities for visitors.
Other volunteers have been clearing away rubbish, maintaining the orchard and keeping the pond in good condition.
Lorna Rushton, secretary of Tarbert Castle Trust, said: “Anyone who can help us with this community volunteering work is welcome to join our work parties at 10am on the first Saturday of every month. There are tasks large and small for everyone.”