Improved report for school and nursery

An east Perthshire school and nursery which a watchdog evaluated as weak for some of its provision has improved its standards.

In March last year the Coupar Angus Primary and Nursery School was visited by education inspectors who marked it down when it came to making improvements.

And they classed it as satisfactory for meeting learning needs and its curriculum activities.

A follow-up inspection by Education Scotland was carried out in recent weeks. The watchdog last week reported that it was confident that the school is now heading in the right direction.

In a letter sent home to parents, inspectors say this year’s visit focused on what the school has done to improve.

Education Scotland heard from children, teachers and the head teacher as they looked at the concerns raised in 2016.

The latest report said: “We were able to find out about the progress the school has made and how well this is supporting children’s/ young people’s learning and achievements.”

It added that: “There is now a clear purpose for the curriculum and focus for staff to evaluate changes.

“Almost all children are making appropriate progress in their learning. However the pace of progress is not always consistent across different stages of the school.

“We have asked the school to continue to develop a culture of excellence so that there are consistently high expectations of children at all stages.”

In other positive comments the education visitors said: “Across the school children are now more actively engaged in their learning. Children and parents say that children now have more input into what and how they learn.

“Parents describe children as enjoying their learning more and being enthusiastic about going to school.

“The school has made good progress since the original inspection.

“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.”