Checks on care will be delayed

Some schools in South Lanarkshire could go more than a decade without a formal inspection.

Education Scotland currently have “no plans” to restart inspecting schools this academic year after standing down that part of their operation following the UK-wide coronavirus lockdown in March.

Carole McKenzie, head of education for school improvement, updated councillors during a meeting of the council’s education committee on Tuesday, August 18.

She said the council will now be forced to rely on self-evaluation to highlight potential areas for concern or improvement.

During the last school year and prior to lockdown, 12 primary schools - including six with nursery classes - and two high schools in South Lanarkshire were assessed by Education Scotland.

No grades of unsatisfactory or weak were given to any of the schools or nurseries inspected while 71 per cent of the areas inspected - also known as quality indicators - in schools and 81 per cent in nurseries were rated as either good or very good.

When compared to other local authorities of similar size, South Lanarkshire was top of the table and achieved a higher number of good or better grades than Aberdeenshire, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland and North Lanarkshire.

However, Councillor Fiona Dryburgh (East Kilbride South) pointed out that “there are a lot of schools that have not had an inspection for five to 10 years”.

Ms McKenzie said: “We are aware of who these schools are and will target some support for schools that haven’t been inspected for a while.

“There are no plans to restart inspections this academic year.

“We will be relying on head teachers and schools ensuring that their own quality assurance procedures are robust.

“The timings between inspections are completely outwith our control.

“We will make sure their is an internal evaluation process. This is not an inspection.”

Meanwhile, councillors have welcomed a Care Inspectorate report on South Lanarkshire’s services for children and young people in need of care and protection despite “adequate” gradings.

Grades of adequate were given in the categories ‘impact on children and young people’ and ‘improvements in the safety, wellbeing and life chances of vulnerable children and young people’.

Grades of good were given for ‘how good is our leadership’ and ‘how well do we meet the needs of our stakeholders’.