Stranraer Academy: committed to caring and supporting young people
Written by author on May 3, 2014
Inspectors praise school for commitment to caring and supporting young people
Young people across the school have been praised for being supportive and respectful of each other and their teachers in an Education Scotland’s inspection report for Stranraer Academy.
In the recent inspection of the school carried out in March, inspectors noted as a key strength the sense of community among young people, staff and parents and commended the school for its commitment to caring and supporting young people.
Improvements in important aspects of performance over recent years, including the impact of the ‘Scotland Reads’ programme, the contribution of pupil support and additional support needs staff in meeting young people’s needs, and the sensitivity of the Aird Unit and Learning Centre staff in meeting young people’s health and learning needs, were also singled out for praise.
Head teacher, Norman Dawson , said, ”I’m pleased that the report noted that, in recent years, the school’s performance in national examinations from S4 to S6 has improved in a number of key measures and the school’s performance now broadly matches or is better than that of schools which serve young people with similar needs and backgrounds. That is due to the hard work put in by all staff, parents and pupils.”
A number of areas for further improvement were identified to help raise expectations and ensure that young people attain as highly as possible. This will involve developing effective ways of monitoring and tracking progress and achievements, improving the consistency of the quality of learning and teaching, the impact of self evaluation and the teamwork and leadership of senior managers to provide a clear sense of direction. Education Scotland is, however, confident that ,with its support and that of Dumfries and Galloway Education Authority, the school will be able to make the agreed improvements.
Julie Currie , chair of Stranraer Academy Parent Council, acknowledges the improvements made and is now determined to encourage parents to become involved in supporting the areas identified for improvement. She said, ” It’s important that support will be agreed ,maintained and measured in partnership with teaching staff, the local authority and parents. We all now need to work hard at making Stranraer Academy the very best that it can be.”
