East Lothian Courier | News | Primary school continues to struggle

Tuesday, 6th January, 2009

Published: Thursday, 4th October, 2007 09:00

Primary school continues to struggle

WHITECRAIG Primary School continues to perform poorly in key areas, according to a new report published by HMIE inspectors.

The village primary school was inspected in May as part of a national sampling of primary education. Both primary classes and the nursery school were examined by inspectors.

Although there were strengths identified during the inspection, such as “good pastoral care” and “very good facilities and accommodation”, key areas such as primary pupils’ level of attainment in maths and english were deemed “weak”.

Other “weak” areas demanding attention include the teaching process within the school and the leadership of the headteacher.

An action plan has since been drawn up by East Lothian Council and is currently being implemented at the school, which provides education for 119 children.

Councillor Peter MacKenzie, convener of education, defended the school, stating: “We accept HMIE’s comments and have taken them on board. We have drawn up a robust action plan and are already addressing the issues that the Inspectorate raised.

A council spokeswoman added: “The parents are aware of the ongoing work being done at the school and have always been very supportive of staff.

“There have been issues raised before at the primary school and we have been moving forward as fast as we can to deal with them.”

The school’s acting headteacher Mark Melville declined to comment on the report, but a meeting was due to have been held with parents at the school on Tuesday evening to discuss its findings.

Tracey Doran, chairperson of Whitecraig’s Parent Council and Parent Staff Association, told the Courier: “There have been positive changes made since May but I admit that I will be expecting comments from parents.

“I will say that on the surface it’s quite a shocking report but, as a parent myself, I feel very optimistic that all the improvements needs will be made.”

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