Queensferry CP School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Queensferry Primary School is a happy, vibrant school where pupils thrive. The school is highly inclusive, ensuring that all pupils feel safe and happy.

Pupils enjoy coming to school and are proud to be a part of such a reassuring learning environment. As a result, most pupils make strong progress in their learning from their individual starting points. Most pupils forge positive relationships with their peers and adults alike and demonstrate high levels of respect for one another's cultures.

Pupils know that staff expect them to behave well and respect everyone in the school and the community. Many pupils participate enthusiastically in opportunities to improve aspects of the school. The headteacher provides strong and ca...ring leadership and knows the school well.

She is ably supported by the deputy headteacher and all staff. Staff and senior leaders trust each other and form an effective, successful team. The team works purposefully alongside the governing body to secure improvements for the school.

Together, they understand school strengths and areas for development and plan accurate strategic actions to secure improvement. Staff offer pupils a variety of learning experiences, which help to keep pupils interested in their learning. As a result, most pupils, including those with additional learning needs (ALN), engage well in their learning, make good progress and achieve well.

However, in a few instances teachers over-direct learning and do not provide feedback swiftly enough. This hinders pupils' independence and their understanding of what they need to do next and how to do it. The school's curriculum takes account of pupils' interests.

Teachers and teaching assistants are skilful and support pupils to develop a range of skills well. However, provision to develop pupils' writing and numeracy across the curriculum is less well developed. Teachers are beginning to develop assessment processes suitably.

However, assessment is not used consistently across the school to plan for pupils' next steps in learning. Pupils do not evaluate their own progress. The school places a strong emphasis on supporting the well-being of all.

Leaders and staff adopt a beneficial community focused approach, providing a range of support for individual pupils and their families. Provision for pupils with ALN is comprehensive and leaders ensure that provision is suitably adapted to meet pupils' needs. There is a strong culture of safeguarding.

Recommendations R1 Improve opportunities for pupils to develop independence in their learning including when responding to feedback and understanding their next steps R2 Formalise consistent assessment processes across the school to evaluate pupils' progress and inform teachers' planning R3 Provide regular opportunities for pupils to write at length, improve their writing and apply their numeracy skills across the curriculum