Glenrothes school becomes first to gain educational psychology accreditation

John Fergus School has been awarded ‘How Nurturing Is Our School’ status by Fife Council’s educational psychology team. This makes it the first to achieve the accreditation in the Kingdom.

The school was assessed on a number of criteria, including how ithey understood young people’s learning needs and how staff communicated with pupils. It was highly praised for how it approached these requirements.

According to Pamela Kirkum, head teacher, the award comes after work was undertaken between teachers, families and young people at the school.

She said: “This award has taken our whole school community of children and young people, families, staff and partners working together to achieve”.

Staff at the school were praised for their understanding of pupils’ short and long-term emotional and social development needs. Their assessment also highlighted the relationships between staff, pupils and parents as a strength of the school.

Pamela added: “We built on our existing good relationships and practice and strengths to focus on developments that supported further improvements to support our children's learning. Nurture is an approach to meeting the social, emotional and behavioural needs of all young people, with a focus on those who are most vulnerable, in order to more effectively engage them in learning opportunities.”

The report also gave the school plaudits for its learning environment, staff empowerment and use of data within the school.