This report tells you about the quality of education at the school1.

We describe how children benefit from learning there. We

explain how well they are doing and how good the school is at

helping them to learn. Then we look at the ways in which the

school does this. We describe how well the school works with

other groups in the community, including parents2 and services

which support children. We also comment on how well staff and

children work together and how they go about improving the

school.

Our report describes the ‘ethos’ of the school. By ‘ethos’ we

mean the relationships in the school, how well children are cared

for and treated and how much is expected of them in all aspects

of school life. Finally, we comment on the school’s aims. In

particular, we focus on how well the aims help staff to deliver high

quality learning, and the impact of leadership on the school’s

success in achieving these aims.

If you would like to learn more about our inspection of the school,

please visit www.hmie.gov.uk. Here you can find analyses of

questionnaire returns. Where applicable, you will also be able to

find descriptions of good practice in the school.

1 The term ‘school’ is used to include the work of the nursery

class, where relevant.

2 Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to

include foster carers, residential care staff and carers who are

relatives or friends.

1. The school

2. Particular strengths of the school

3. Examples of good practice

4. How well do children learn and achieve?

5. How well do staff work with others to support children’s learning?

6. Are staff and children actively involved in improving their school

community?

7. Does the school have high expectations of all children?

8. Does the school have a clear sense of direction?

9. What happens next?

St Thomas’ RC Primary School is a denominational school with a

nursery class. It serves the town of Arbroath and outlying rural areas.

The roll was 138, including 17 in the nursery when the inspection was

carried out in April 2009. Children’s attendance was in line with the

national average in 2007/2008.

staff for children.

support children’s learning.

Children in the nursery class enjoy learning. They are very interested

in the wide range of learning experiences which staff provide. Children

achieve very well across all areas of their learning. Almost all are

becoming independent learners and like to try things for themselves.

They listen well and talk confidently about their own ideas and enjoy

listening to stories or looking at books. Most children recognise their

name in print. They are starting to develop skills in early writing and

counting. Children use numbers appropriately in play and enjoy

solving problems with support. They can successfully sort, match and

make comparisons of interesting natural materials.

Across the primary stages, children are becoming skilful in planning

their learning using mind-maps. They have good opportunities to

make suggestions about what they would like to learn. Many are

successfully developing personal and social skills and their abilities in

sports, music and arts. Those in P7 have developed their confidence

and learned new skills during a recent residential experience. At all

stages, children have a good understanding about healthy foods and

activities. Children in P1/2 are successfully learning about planting

and growing seeds. Across the primary stages, children are making

very good progress in mathematics and listening and talking within

English language. They are making good progress in reading and

writing. Most children attain appropriate national levels in reading and

writing and almost all do so in mathematics. In writing, attainment has

improved over recent years. Children’s attainment in mathematics has

been consistently very strong. In English language, children listen

attentively and talk confidently to adults. Most read well with good

expression and can give their opinions confidently. They are able to

write clearly for a variety of purposes. Children do not always write at

sufficient length. In mathematics, children work well with numbers and

have a sound knowledge of shapes. Across the stages, staff make

effective use of games to motivate children in their mathematics. By

P7, children can use information and communications technology

(ICT) effectively to sort and present information on graphs. They are

confident in problem-solving.

Staff in the nursery class take good account of children’s interests and

views when planning appropriate learning experiences. They organise

a wide range of stimulating indoor and outdoor activities for children,

including many opportunities for imaginative play. Staff provide

regular access to interesting outdoor play areas which helps to

develop children’s confidence in balancing, climbing, running and

jumping. Children learn successfully about the natural world and

about caring for growing plants. In the primary classes, the curriculum

is broad and balanced. Staff are beginning to take account of the

national initiative, Curriculum for Excellence. Teachers plan activities

well so that children can apply their learning in different areas of the

curriculum. For example, children develop their literacy and numeracy

skills in many areas of the curriculum. Across the stages, children

have enjoyed learning about various aspects of Scotland as part of a

“homecoming” project. Visiting specialists help children to develop

skills in art, music and physical education. All children learn about the

importance of healthy lifestyles through regular physical education

lessons and after-school activities. The school’s work with Moving

Images Education successfully encourages children to use language

creatively. Across the stages, children are given opportunities to

develop enterprise skills and to learn about environmental issues.

Staff should plan more regular chances for children to develop these

areas across the curriculum.

Staff in the nursery are very caring and sensitive to the learning needs

of individual children and of their family circumstances. They now

need to involve children more in setting and reviewing their individual

learning targets. In the primary classes, staff work well together to

plan tasks, activities and homework which meet the needs of most

children. In a few lessons, work is too easy for higher achieving

children. Teachers give clear explanations and use questioning well to

check and develop children’s understanding. However, children are

not always clear about what they have to do to improve. Learning

support staff work well with individuals and with small groups of

children. They do not have sufficient opportunities to support teachers

in classes. Children with English as an additional language receive

appropriate support and make good progress in their learning. Targets

for those children with individualised educational programmes (IEPs)

need to be set and reviewed more effectively.

Staff have productive links with a wide range of agencies and

individuals outside the school. For example, the active schools

coordinator successfully encourages children to participate in a wide

range of sports, including golf. Parents provide very good support for

the school and for children’s learning. Many have helped to improve

the school buildings and grounds. A few parents contribute very well

to the after-school activities and clubs. Parents receive helpful

information about their child’s progress and about the curriculum,

including sensitive health issues. Recent open-afternoons were highly

successful and gave parents very good opportunities to see their

children’s learning experiences and work. Staff prepare children well

for making a confident move from nursery into P1 and from P7 into

secondary school. The school responds to any complaints quickly and

effectively.

Children are very good at taking on responsibilities across the school.

At all stages, including the nursery classes, children participate well in

the pupil council and regularly plan how to make the school better.

They have worked well with the ‘eco’ group and staff to improve the

playground by creating attractive garden and quiet areas. In classes,

children have regular opportunities to reflect on their learning. Staff

respond well to children’s views. Children feel that they have a say in

making the school better. Staff work well together to improve the

school. They have appropriate opportunities for professional

development and share good practice effectively with each other.

Senior staff regularly visit classes and provide staff with helpful

suggestions for improvement. The school’s strong self-evaluation

procedures have resulted in improvements in the attainment of most

children. Staff are aware of the need to monitor all children’s progress

more thoroughly to build more effectively on their prior learning.

Children are very proud of their school. Together with all staff, they

are very welcoming to visitors. Staff have high expectations and have

very good relationships with children and their families. Children’s

wider achievements are celebrated well at assemblies and in wall

displays and newsletters. Children in the nursery and primary classes

behave well and treat one another with respect. They work well

together and share resources fairly. Almost all are well motivated to

learn. Children feel safe and very well looked after. They have

confidence that staff will deal effectively with any incidents of bullying.

All staff know the children well and provide strong pastoral support and

care. They encourage children to keep healthy and sample different

healthy foods in the tuckshop. All staff are aware of the school’s child

protection procedures. They promote children’s spiritual development

and work well with the school chaplains to provide regular

opportunities for religious observance. Children have good

opportunities to develop their understanding of other cultures.

The school successfully shares its aims and values with staff, parents

and children. The headteacher, well supported by staff and by her

depute headteacher, has led many important developments to improve

children’s learning and achievements. Under her leadership, staff feel

well led and well supported. They have good opportunities to take

responsibility. Many contribute well to wider school life and initiatives

to improve the school. The school provides very strong support for

children and their families. It is well placed to continue to improve

through building on existing good practice.

As a result of the very good quality of education provided by the

school, we will make no further visits following this inspection. The

education authority will inform parents about the school’s progress

as part of the authority’s arrangements for reporting to parents on

the quality of its schools.

We have agreed the following areas for improvement with the school

and education authority.

with additional support needs, including those with individualised

educational programmes.

effectively on their prior learning.

At the last Care Commission inspection of the nursery class there

were no requirements

Quality indicators help schools and nursery classes, education

authorities and inspectors to judge what is good and what needs to be

improved in the work of a school and a nursery class. You can find

these quality indicators in the HMIE publications How good is our

school? and The Child at the Centre. Following the inspection of each

school, the Scottish Government gathers evaluations of three

important quality indicators to keep track of how well all Scottish

schools and nursery classes are doing.

Here are the evaluations for St Thomas’ RC Primary School and

Nursery Class.

Primary school

Nursery class

We also evaluated the following aspects of the work of the school and

nursery class.

HM Inspector: Alistair Brown

16 June 2009

To find out more about inspections or get an electronic copy of this

report go to www.hmie.gov.uk. Please contact the Business

Management and Communications Team (BMCT) if you wish to

enquire about our arrangements for translated or other appropriate

versions.

If you wish to comment about any of our inspections, contact us

at HMIEenquiries@hmie.gsi.gov.uk or alternatively you should write in

the first instance to BMCT, HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm

House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way,

Livingston EH54 6GA.

Our complaints procedure is available from our website

www.hmie.gov.uk or alternatively you can write to our Complaints

Manager, at the address above or by telephoning 01506 600259.

If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our

complaints procedure, you can raise your complaint with the Scottish

Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO is fully independent

and has powers to investigate complaints about Government

departments and agencies. You should write to SPSO, Freepost

EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BR. You can also telephone 0800 377 7330,

fax 0800 377 7331 or e-mail: ask@spso.org.uk. More information

about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website

at www.spso.org.uk.