This section should be used to give brief background information in relation to the type of establishment, its size, location, its management structure and staffing, the school community, SIMD, FME, school roll etc. It should also include some or all of the following: the school’s vision, values and aims; local contextual issues; Scottish Attainment Challenge involvement; the Pupil Equity Fund allocation; factors affecting progress (e.g. staffing changes/issues); and outcomes from authority review/inspection etc.

Our context

Glencairn Primary School was built in 1902 and the building stands centrally in the town of Motherwell. This year we celebrate 120 years. The school building is in good condition and the classrooms are spacious with high ceilings and big windows.

The roll in the school has grown rapidly in the last 10 years. The roll in 2012 was 174 and this session it is 379. The planning capacity is 367 so we are over capacity this session. The classes are organised over 14 rooms and we use our GP room as a Nurture class. Glencairn Primary also has a nursery class which is a full-time nursery situated in the school grounds and is almost at capacity.

The SIMD breakdown for 2022-23-

SIMD 1-2: 37%,

SIMD 3-4: 17%,

SIMD 5-6: 8%,

SIMD 7-8: 14%,

SIMD 9-10: 24%.

The SIMD has not changed much in recent years. The FSM entitlement is 17.2%, lower than the local authority average of 21.5% and clothing grant entitlement is 18%, also lower than the local authority average of 23.9%. The overall attendance percentage is 94.2% which is in line with the local authority average.

Glencairn is a unique school, catering for the needs of 14 profoundly deaf pupils from across North Lanarkshire from P1 to P7. The education of these children is fully inclusive within mainstream classes and many of them are taught by trained Teachers of the Deaf or teachers who are working towards such qualification. The children are taught over 14 classes.

Staffing

The management structure of the school for session 2022-23 is- HT, DHT (responsible for deaf education and the peripatetic team), two acting PTs. The class teacher structure is 14 class teachers and 3 Teachers of the Deaf. Glencairn has 7 ASNAs and a Classroom Assistant. We have a full-time Nurture Teacher and CLD worker (0.6) from our PEF allocation and a Counsellor on a needs basis who workers in the Cluster.

Our community

The school has a very nurturing and inclusive ethos, with very good parental participation. The whole team share the nurturing vision for all and strive to support our most vulnerable children and families.

All children are listened to and their views are taken into consideration when decisions are made. Children are involved in various Pupil Voice groups and have opportunities to lead and to work collaboratively with children from other classes.

Provision of HI- Our 14 HI children are fully included in classes with their peers. They are all taught by a Teacher of the Deaf or are timetabled to be supported by a Teachers of the Deaf and a 0.8 ASNA.

Glencairn has a very supportive and committed Parent Council who are always keen to work collaboratively for the benefit of all of the children.

Pupil Equity Fund

The PEF allocation for 2022-23 is £90,500. This funds our Community, Learning and Development Worker. She works three days per week and has made very good relationships with some of our most vulnerable families. We pay for 50% of our Nurture teacher and this match-funded by NLC.

Vision and Motto

Our Vision was developed by members of the whole school community. Glencairn Primary School is a supportive and inclusive learning community where all children are nurtured to develop skills for life, learning and work enriched by kindness and happiness.

Our Motto developed by the children is Happy, Safe, Included, Challenged.

Our attendance rate in 2022 is 94.2%. We monitor attendance monthly and issue letters to those whose attendance is under 90%. We aim to raise our attendance rate this year to at least 96%. The Local Authority average is 92.8%.

We endeavour to find out the reason for absences if illness is not the case. Depending on circumstances, different approaches are taken to aim to increase attendance rates. SLT and our CLD Worker contact parents regularly when their child is absent. We have introduced some interventions for children who have a pattern of low attendance such as LIAM and Calm Club. We are targeting three families with a pattern of low attendance using a combination of phone calls and interventions from the CLD Worker.

We have the support of the Cluster Family Engagement Worker who will begin working with one of our hard to reach families this week as well.

We value the views of our Stakeholders. The more knowledge held by our Stakeholders, the greater their capacity to support us to enact change by sharing in our Vision. We use Miscrosoft Forms and Padlets to gather views and share ideas and plans.

Pupils

Pupils are invested in their school and very keen to share ideas on what is working well and what they would like to see changed. The whole school were consulted using Padlet. There were some really positive comment about their experience of school and ideas on clubs that they would like to be part of. Children in the Pupil Council meet monthly and have a notebook to gather views of classmates between meetings.

Parents/Carers

We are increasing our communication to give parents the information needed to be informed on their children’s progress and development. We share our school plans and seek views from parents. We have a well-informed Parent Council who willingly give of their time to support the school. We received many positive comments from our consultative Padlet about their child’s school experience and following the P1 Literacy workshop.

Staff

Teachers were consulted using a Padlet at the end of last session on School Improvement- what has worked and what they think could be a priority for this session. All staff are involved in a School Improvement Group which is closely related to their own knowledge and interest. One or two teachers lead this group and it is not always a member of the School Leadership Team. Staff engage in regular HGIOS activities to evaluate current practice and to help plan future improvements.

Please write a brief summary of your approach to ensuring equity and the progress you have made.

The following key questions could be considered:

Focus on short/medium/long term outcomes. What has improved/changed for young people affected by poverty? What difference did your approach make to the wider tackling poverty agenda? In what ways are you reducing the poverty-related attainment gap? To what extent are you considering long-term sustainability as part of your planning and reporting process?

The key outcomes that can be measured in identifying the gap are attainment, attendance, inclusion, engagement, and participation as well as relationships and resilience.

Long Term Outcomes

·         Increase attention, engagement, and participation in learning for three P1s and one P2 pupil by the end of June 2023. To provide a foundation from which enhancements in academic achievement might reasonably be expected on return to their mainstream class.

·         Build capacity in three P3 children to identify different emotions and to be able to recognise these. The aim is to increase their coping strategies which will reduce their trauma responses.

·         Support a P4 pupil who has suffered trauma to feel safe and included at school. Build on his interests and adapt teaching approaches whilst remaining mindful that he has anxiety and often responds with fight or flight. Work with his parents to recognise his need for security and predictability.

·         Guide and support a family who have experienced challenges in a previous school. Be mindful of their journey and keep lines of communication open. Support them to build friendships and to feel included in the school community.

·         Improve attendance of three children living in poverty which will in turn increase their attainment and engagement in school life.

·         Improve the confidence of five parents to support their child appropriately with homework and class learning.

Medium Term Outcomes

·         Listening and attention skills for children attending Nurture.

·         Friendship building and self-awareness for children attending Nurture.

·         Improved communication among staff and a shared understanding of trauma-informed practice.

·         Staff confidence in ACEL data gathering and recognising what Achievement of a Level looks like at each stage.

·         Termly tracking meetings and triangulation of evidence with robust observation, data analysis and gathering of views.

·         Connect parents of families living in poverty with organisations who can help them to maximise their income which will in turn, improve the children home experiences.

Short Term Outcomes

·         Create a safe and engaging Nurture room where children feel welcome and included.

·         Establish relationships with a key adult and a small group of peers.

·         Staff awareness of the children who live in SIMD 1 and 2 in their class and of the barriers to attendance, engagement, and attainment.

·         Identification of children who would benefit from Nurture interventions and follow through on planned interventions.

·         Build relationships and trust with identified families living in the most deprived areas, which will lead to more positive long-term benefits and meaningful involvement in school life.

What has improved/changed for children affected by poverty?

·         The children who attend Nurture now feel safe and secure in school. For our identified children who are facing barriers to learning and engagement, the nurture teacher and ASNA are key adults to support with emotional regulation and self-reflection. This has had a positive impact on their behaviour in school.

·         The children’s attention and participation as they work on talking and listening skills. Children have opportunities to work in small peer groups and learn co-operative learning skills.

·         The children can begin to identify different emotions and learn strategies to cope in difficult situations in school. A daily routine encourages predictability.

·         The children can have access to healthy food in the Nurture room which develops good eating habits and a greater ability to focus on their learning.

·         Improvements in social emotional and behaviour development are providing a foundation from which enhancements in academic achievement can begin.

·         Improved attendance and time-keeping rate for three targeted children.

·         Improved communication with the parents/carers of the children affected by poverty, which builds greater trust and positive relationships.

·         Equity of opportunity for children in P7 to attend the Outdoor Residential Trip by part-funding the cost for  children in receipt of free school meals.

·         Improved self-esteem and confidence of five parents who have attended the walking group and this has led to a motivation to involve their children in similar activities.

What difference did the approach make to the wider tackling poverty agenda?

·         The support to the parents by the CLD Worker addresses the first NLC Tackling Poverty priority to ‘improve economic opportunities and outcomes’. This ensures families are accessing all funding opportunities and maximising their household income.

·         The approach addresses the second NLC Tackling Poverty priority to ‘support all children and young people to realise their full potential’ by recognising where an equity of opportunity can help them.

·         The approach also addresses the third priority which is to ‘improve the health and wellbeing of our communities’ by ensuring that children are aware of the benefits of healthy eating, fresh air, and exercise. To support their mental health and wellbeing though nurturing approaches and by offering a safe space and key adult. This builds the children’s confidence and aspirations.

·         The fourth priority ensures that through our work with these children, we ‘enhance participation, capacity and empowerment across our communities’. We do this by encouraging independence and an ownership of their feelings and actions. We don’t put a ceiling on achievement, and we provide a range of opportunities to meet their needs. We work closely with the families to ensure they feel supported and listened to.

·         The CLD Worker responds to the expressed needs of identified families and plans what the appropriate engagement will be e.g. adult learning literacy or Solihull parenting. It empowers the parents to understand what supports are available in the community and builds on their confidence, linked to the fourth priority.

In what ways are you reducing the poverty-related attainment gap?

·         37% of our pupils live in SIMD 1 and 2 and 24% live in SIMD 9 and 10.

·         Our attainment gap between the most and least deprived children across P1, P4 and P7 is 7.8% in Listening and Talking, 1.9% in Reading, 3.7% in Writing and 8.8% in Numeracy.

·         We have a poverty-proofing working party and policy who meet to plan annual school events.

·         We have a supply of uniforms and bags that can be accessed by families on a needs basis.

·         We supply free sanitary products for those who need it.

·         Cluster Attainment Teacher works with P4 children who live in SIMD 1 or 2 to reduce the poverty gap in reading.

·         We are working on Listening and Talking skills and in the Nurture room which will have a positive impact when the children work in their classes. This should lead to improvement in other curricular areas as children should be more able to listen, retain knowledge and apply skills across different curricular areas.

·         Children who are supported to recognise and manage emotions will increase their capacity to learn across the curriculum.

·         Number Box interventions are being used to support children daily with basic numeracy in P4.

·         Cluster support teacher works with 4 P7 children who face significant literacy difficulties and who also are affected by living in poverty.

In what ways are you considering long-term sustainability?

·         Staff training in Outcome Star, LIAM, Boxhall Profile and Seasons for Growth will ensure that these interventions can be used as part of our planning and evaluation cycle year-on-year and more children can benefit.

·         Early intervention to ensure best possible outcomes, create good learning and engagement habits as we know that if children can receive the support early, then this can reduce the attainment gap later in their education.

·         Working with families whose children are supported in Nurture to ensure a shared understanding, common language, and collective approach.

·         Connecting families with Third Sector organisations who can support them with finances, skills development and employment.

·         Placing the human rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of education

·         Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing

·         Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy

1.       School and ELC Leadership

2.       Teacher and Practitioner Professionalism

3.       Parent/Carer Involvement and Engagement

4.       Curriculum and Assessment

5.       School and ELC Improvement

Article 28 – right to education

Article 29 – goals of education

Moderation of Writing and Cluster Support for Literacy- Cluster Priority

Parental Engagement linked to Priority 2

Nurture linked to the PEF Plan

·         Most teachers have a leadership role. We have a Digital, Art, Maths and Health Champion this session. Early indications show that staff are sharing ideas and planners, ensuring a consistent approach across all classes. The Digital and Health champions have both embarked on training which is building staff confidence and ensuring information is disseminated amongst staff.

Teacher professionalism–

·         All teachers are using the GTCS profile to record their CPD and PRD meetings are planned throughout the year.

     Parent/Carer involvement and engagement–

·         The re-introduction of face to face Parents’ Evening has yielded a 90% engagement. Parents have also attended an open afternoon, a class assembly, Literacy workshop for P1 and a book swap.

Curriculum and assessment–

·         Cluster Support and Cluster Attainment for Literacy continues on a needs based approach, currently targeting individuals from P7, P6 and P4. Data has been gathered for the Cluster Dashboard to track the interventions, show progress and identify next steps.

·         All teachers are planning together in Stages and have has experience of moderation in Writing across the Cluster.

·         The Pedagogy Team met with the HT to identify need and will work with all staff this year to build confidence and ensure a consistent approach to Writing and Assessment.

 School and ELC Improvement–

·         The vision of Glencairn ensures that children are supported and included and are nurtured to develop skills for life, learning and work enriched by kindness and happiness.

·         The current class compositions were thoughtfully planned and teachers were well matched to their classes. This has been highly successful for almost all of our children.

·         Bespoke packages of support in the nurture room for identified children from P1 to P7. Early indications show that interventions are having a positive impact for all of the children taking part in the Socially Speaking Programme (5 children), Friendship Terrace (5 children), Lego club (4 children), and Calm Club (10 children over the course of the week).

·         We have resumed a calendar of tracking and monitoring since the end of Covid restrictions. This will ensure consistency in teaching and learning, Q.I 2.3.

·         We have two school priorities and four improvement groups to drive forward change.

·         Almost all members of staff lead an area of improvement or lead a Pupil Voice Group or After School Club.

·         We are working on moderation of Writing across the Cluster and sharing practice. Early feedback indicated that almost all staff found the experience useful.

·         CLPL with the Pedagogy Team on Writing and Assessment.

·         PRDs with the new GTCS profile page.

·         Continue to encourage staff to take on Champion roles to drive forward school improvement.

6. Performance information

·         Learners’ achievements in and out of school are celebrated at weekly assemblies and in class.

·         Pupils play an active role in the school and wider community, and some are taking on leadership roles within the school.

·         Most pupils receive high quality feedback to allow them to accurately understand their progress in their learning.

·         Planning is proportionate and manageable and identifies what is to be learned and assessed.

·         Assessment approaches are consistent across all stages.

·         Assessment is relevant and proportionate and informs improvements in decisions on next steps.

·         Tracking and monitoring discussions take place termly and support the teachers to plan for al of the pupils and discuss specific needs or concerns with SLT.

·         Teachers are growing in confidence to analyse data which focuses on improvement.

·         Staff Self-evaluations from the Assessment and Moderation Team help staff to reflect on their practice.

·         Pupil assessment information is robust and informs planning in Reading and Maths.

·         Tracking information informs teachers’ next steps.

·         Staff CLPL on Digital (Clicker and Sway) and Numeracy (SEAL) are ensuring a consistent approach to interventions and a shared understanding.

·         Tracking information is clear and identifies which children require additional support.

·         Peer Learning Visits to start up this session.

·         Pupil focus groups to start up to discuss progress and feedback in Learning.

·         All staff promote a climate where children feel safe and secure. We work well as a team to support the children when they require targeted support.

·         All staff model behaviour which promotes and supports the wellbeing of all.

·         A majority of staff are sensitive and responsive to the wellbeing of each individual child and colleagues.

·         All staff take due regard for the legislation around wellbeing, equality, and inclusion.

·         Outdoor learning gives children the opportunity to creative and work collaboratively with each other.

·         Our deaf children are fully included in the life of the school and benefit from bespoke learning experiences.

·         Girfme plans focus on SMART targets.

·         Teachers know if children are on the Child Protection register and are aware of Health and Wellbeing concerns.

·         Our PEF Nurture provision is having a positive impact on almost all of the children who go there.

·         Our CLD Worker and Family Support Worker (Cluster) target families living in poverty and whose children have barriers to attendance or engagement.

·         Feedback shows that this is having a positive impact.

·         HT to meet with Barnardo’s to discuss plans for two families funded from PEF.

·         Identified cohorts of pupils will take part in Forest School – Outlet Play Resource and the Reading with Dogs programme

·         LIAM training – Nurture teacher and PT to roll out

·         My Outcome Star training – PT to administer

·         Attainment in Literacy for P1in 2022 was 64.2%. This has fallen three times since 2018, when the attainment level was 78%.

·         Attainment in Literacy for P4 is 54.2%. This has fallen from its peak of 85.3% in 2019 but is higher than the data of 48.8% in 2021.

·         P7 attainment in Literacy was 58.8% in 2022. This is also sitting at its lowest level since 2019 when the level was 82.9%.

·         Attainment in Numeracy for P1in 2022 was 69.8% which is at its lowest level since its peak of 92.7% in 2018.

·         In 2022, the attainment in Numeracy for P4 was 70.8% which is lower than the peak of 91.2% in 2019.

·         In P7, the Numeracy attainment level was 67.6% and this is lower than the peak of 74.3% in 2019.

Attainment trends over time-

·         P1 Literacy attainment from 2019 to 2021 fell by 0.7% and then fell again by 9.1% between 2021 and 2022.

·         P4 Literacy attainment from 2019 to 2021 fell by 36.5% and then increased by 5.4% between 2021 and 2022.

·         P7 Literacy attainment from 2019 to 2021 fell by 15.5% and then fell again by 8.6% from 2021 to 2022.

·         P1 Numeracy attainment from 2019 to 2021 fell by 16.4% and then fell again by 5.8% between 2021 and 2022.

·         P4 Numeracy attainment from 2019 to 2021 fell by 19.1% and then fell again by 1.3% between 2021 and 2022.

·         P7 Numeracy attainment from 2019 to 2021 fell by 4.5% and then fell again by 2.2% between 2021 and 2022.

·         Literacy and Numeracy interventions-

·         Cluster Support Teacher- targeted P4 and P7 reading and spelling interventions.

·         Cluster Attainment Teacher- targeted P4 and P2 Reading and Spelling interventions.

·         Cluster Resource Teachers- started a programme of support in Writing but were both required to cover classes.

Progress-

·         Attainment information from the dashboard indicates that children are not making progress and for most subjects and year groups, the progress is decreasing.

·         Data gathered six months later in January 2023 indicates that our attainment is now 88.1% for the current P2 cohort- an increase of 23.9%.

·         For the current P5 cohort, Literacy attainment in January 2023 is 69.5%, an increase of 15.3% in six months.

·         In Numeracy and Maths, data gathered in January 2023 shows that in the P2 cohort, 92% have now achieved Early level, an increase of 22.2%.

·         In the P5 cohort, 79.5% have achieved First level. Catch-up Numeracy is starting for these 10 children.

·         Possible factors contributing to our current attainment rate-

·         Staff changes every year.

·         A better understanding of the Benchmarks.

·         Professional Learning around moderation and assessment leading to more accurate judgements.

·         A more robust tracking system is now in place.

·         2021 results are after the COVID-19 Pandemic which had a negative impact on attainment overall.

Attainment Gap-

·         Our Attainment gap in 2022 in Listening and Talking is 7.8%; in Reading is 1.9%; in Writing is 3.7% and Numeracy is 8.8%.

·         The attainment gap is not very wide as overall levels of attainment have decreased over time.

·         Train the ASN assistants in Number Box and Rainbow Reading and timetable them to carry out these interventions.

·         Share tracking information with parents and carers.

·         February 2023- Due to a budget review, staffing increase now allows us to plan some targeted support in Literacy and Numeracy.

·         This will continue for the rest of the school session.

·         Cluster Attainment Teacher has a new post and will be finishing her group work at the end of February. We need to plan for the groups that she was working with.

·         Literacy Coach assessing pupils to determine areas of difficulty – YARC, PHAB2

·         Literacy Coach to attend termly sessions – Feb to support writing

·         Portfolio of evidence gathered to support Literacy Consultations

School/centres should evaluate aspects of their work using the following core Quality Indicators (QIs).  Levels should be assigned using the national 6 point scale. Where there has been a recent (post- August 2016) HMIE inspection, the levels awarded should also be included. Please note that the level should relate to the entire QI and not a specific theme.

It is anticipated that schools will follow the advice of How good is our school? 4^th edition (page 11) and self-evaluate using all of the QIs over a period of three to five years. Accordingly, if the school is working on another QI as part of its cycle of continuous improvement, it should also be noted and a level assigned.

This section should articulate with the school improvement plan for the forthcoming session or plan cycle. It should focus on a small number of key improvement priorities which will be expressed as outcomes for learners (as they will appear on the strategic overview of the new improvement plan).