A GREENOCK school has been rated one of the best in Scotland after achieving rare ‘excellent’ gradings.
Whinhill Primary received top marks from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (HMIE), with the head teacher’s inspirational leadership, the staff’s outstanding approach to teaching and the highly motivated children all highlighted.
Inspectors awarded the school the highest ‘excellent’ grading across all four of the key assessment areas — leadership of change; learning, teaching and assessment; ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion; and raising attainment and achievement — a feat that is rarely achieved anywhere in the country.
Head teacher Liz Ruddy said: “I’m absolutely delighted with our inspection report and it’s a testament to the dedication and professionalism of the staff who are a joy to work with.
“It’s also a reflection on the hard work of our pupils and the support from their families and the wider Whinhill family.
“Our children are very much at the heart of what we do not only in terms of teaching and education but in the decision-making because they play an active role in how their school is run.
“I am bursting with pride for everyone involved and will enjoy celebrating this incredible achievement with the pupils and staff.”
Inspectors said key strengths of the school included the “outstanding and inspirational leadership” of the headteacher. The report states: “She has embedded the school vision and values over time and brings them to life. She is supported by the highly effective senior leaders. Together, they have created an aspirational culture, underpinned by the school vision. As a result, children, parents and partners are empowered to lead and secure school-wide improvement and positive change.”
The report also singled out the staff’s “deep professional understanding of highly effective learning and teaching”, continuing: “They have an outstanding approach to learning and teaching across the school, particularly in listening and talking. As a result, children make sustained strong progress and there is consistently improving attainment across the curriculum.”
Inspectors said the children were very well behaved, articulate and very proud of their school, adding: “They are highly motivated, engaged in their learning and experience success.”
There were “highly effective approaches to children’s wellbeing and inclusion” and the whole school community had worked together to develop highly inclusive practice and a nurturing environment so that all children are “very well supported to achieve and thrive”.
There were also highly effective approaches to celebrating the diverse backgrounds and cultures within the school. The report states: “Staff plan an extensive range of opportunities for children relating to culture, sport and citizenship. Children develop confidence and cultural identity through celebrating the school’s many diverse home languages. Children make meaningful use of Gàidhlig [Gaelic] across rich language and cultural contexts.”
Michael Roach, interim director of education at Inverclyde Council, said: “The inspection report at Whinhill is a significant achievement for the whole school community.
“The report, which is one of the best ever written about a Scottish school, recognises the exceptional quality of education provided to the pupils, their families and the wider community.
“We are delighted that the excellence we knew to be part of the daily educational offer has been validated and recognised by HMIE.
“Whinhill is a truly comprehensive school, serving the centre of Greenock and this report shows what can be achieved over time through the clear, visionary and inspirational leadership of head teacher Liz Ruddy alongside the dedication and commitment of the whole staff team.
“A key feature of this report, however, is how the pupils themselves are involved in leading their learning and school improvement, to create the highly inclusive and innovative school they attend. We are very proud of them all.”
Inspectors commented that the staff have ‘created an aspirational culture, underpinned by the school vision’ which meant that ‘children, parents and partners are empowered to lead and secure school-wide improvement and positive change’.
They added: “The whole school community has worked together to develop highly inclusive practice and a nurturing environment.
“As a result, all children are very well supported to achieve and thrive.”
The school celebrated the glowing report with a special assembly on Tuesday morning when the pupils found out their school is ‘top of the class’ with the help of balloons and the screening of a video.
