Education Convenor Susan McGill said, “These amazing results for Riverside Primary School and Cornton Nursery really are a testament to the hard work of our passionate teams in developing aspirational and sector leading practices. We very much welcome these glowing reports and it is fantastic that Education Scotland was able to highlight how much our children are thriving.”
At Riverside Primary School, the outstanding leadership of Headteacher Kay Robertson was found to be encouraging the development of a strong community between staff, pupils and families who are fully committed to doing the very best for their children.
Riverside Primary provides a unique setting for pupils’ educational development by playing host to three Gaelic classes and a dedicated autism provision, which inspectors described as ‘outstanding’, ‘inclusive and respectful’.
The Nursery Class at Riverside Primary was also inspected. Staff are being praised for helping develop secure, creative and very settled children across all sessions who are noted for being very active in their learning within their stimulating and highly effective play environment.
Riverside Primary Headteacher Kay Robertson said, “I am absolutely delighted that the children, staff, parents, and carers of Riverside Primary School have been recognised for their commitment to excellence.
“Reading the report, I am filled with immense pride in each and every one of our children, who constantly blow me away with their achievements and live up to our school vision: to be the best you can. I also feel proud of the huge team effort made by the staff who know that this report reflects not only recent hard work, but more importantly the very high standards of learning and teaching they strive for every single day.
“Finally, this success could not be achieved without the huge parental and wider community support we are so lucky to have here at Riverside.”
In a separate report, Cornton Nursery received glowing praise for staff who are commended for using their effective and experienced teaching style to foster a culture of continuing improvement of outcomes for children who take great joy in their learning.
Staff were found to be committed to making sure families felt included and were encouraged by a manager whose initiation of partnerships has led to improvements for children, families and the wider community.
Head of Cornton Nursery Kate O’Neil commented, “We’ve had much to celebrate this year, and now to be recognised as having aspirational and sector leading practice by Education Scotland is magnificent.”
Children were found to feel valued, responsible and frequently experienced success in their learning with a high level of engagement, while staff were viewed as highly skilled, professional and passionate. The staff team were also seen to focus on making sure they were inclusive of families and the local community.
Kate continued, “This report is a wonderful accolade that reflects the hard work, commitment and dedication from all within our Nursery Learning Community. It is a privilege to work within a community who continually strive for transformational change, in order to bridge the equity gap.”
Both Cornton Nursery and Riverside Primary School Nursery Class were subject to a full inspection by Education Scotland.
Each nursery was inspected using quality indicators (QIs) as outlined in Education Scotland’s “How good is our early learning and childcare” (HGIOELC) document – an inspection model which has been in place since August 2016.