St Francis Primary in Port Glasgow praised by inspectors

Both staff and pupils at St Francis' Primary and Nursery came in for glowing praise following the visit by inspectors from Education Scotland in September.

Marks awarded in the report, published this week, ranged from 'satisfactory' to 'good'.

The school was also told that no further follow up inspections would be required.

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St Francis came in for particular praise in the categories of "learning, teaching and securing children’s progress".

Pupils, teachers, parents and carers were all spoken to about their experience of the school and nursery during the all day inspection.

Both the head teacher, who only took over in January, and her staff were further commended on the day to day running of the school and nursery, which had a 91 percent attendance record for pupils.

The inspectors said: "The staff team work well together. 

"They show a clear enthusiasm and energy to improve experiences for children. They have created a caring and nurturing environment and strive to build positive relationships with all children and their families.

"Respectful and positive relationships between children, and between children and staff are a strong feature of the school."

The inspectors praised the school's respectful and positive relationships. (Image: George Munro) St Francis' Primary serves the Slaemuir, Bardrainney, Mid Auchinleck and Park Farm areas of Port Glasgow and Kilmalcom.

It has 253 children across 10 classes.

The inspection report revealed that 87 per cent of pupils live in the top three groups of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, with more than half eligible for free school meals.

The report added: "Children are very proud of their school. They are polite and welcoming to visitors and enjoy sharing their learning and achievements with others.

"In the nursery, practitioners respond well to children’s interests. As a result, children engage well with nursery experiences both indoors and outdoors.

"We are confident that the school has the capacity to continue to improve and so we will make no more visits in connection with this inspection."

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The inspectors also said there was some room for improvement and identified a number of key areas.

They added: "Senior leaders and staff need to develop approaches to planning children’s learning in both the school and nursery. 

"This includes improving how they check on children’s progress and plan for their next steps in learning.

"All staff should work together to improve approaches to teaching numeracy. 

"Senior leaders should continue to develop teachers’ use of data to drive forward improvements."

Education Scotland says inspection reports like the one for St Francis help schools, local authorities and inspectors judge what is working well and what needs to be improved.

Alongside its regular curriculum St Francis' Primary has also hosted a uniform exchange service since earlier this year. (Image: George Munro) It added: "Following the inspection of each school, the Scottish Government gathers details of our evaluations to keep track of how well Scottish schools are doing."

Head teacher Lindsay Kelly succeeded Jane Stinson at the beginning of this year after Ms Stinson retired in November 2023.

Ms Kelly, said: “We are particularly pleased that the inspectors have praised the caring, nurturing, and welcoming environment here at St Francis, of which we are all very proud.

“Of course, we can always do more to improve the learning experience for our young people and we are continually looking at areas where improvements can be made. 

“We welcome the useful feedback from inspectors as we continue to work together, as a team, to provide the best outcomes for all."