Inspectors praise strong relationships between young people and staff at Fife high school

A report by Education Scotland published this week following a visit to the town’s Viewforth High School recognised these strong relationships as a key strength of the school which supports young people “to have a positive attitude towards their learning”.

Inspectors praised the headteacher’s “effective leadership” in creating a supportive climate for learning.

The strengths and weaknesses of Viewforth High were assessed in a recent visit, and inspectors said they are “confident” that the school has the capacity to continue to improve and no more visits will be made in connection with this inspection.

The report contained positives including praise for staff in the department of additional support who use their knowledge of young people’s strengths, interests and needs to provide effective learning experiences, leading to the pupils engaging “very well” and “making good progress with their learning”.

The range of opportunities for students to achieve and gain skills-based qualifications, developing a broad range of valuable skills for life was also acknowledged.

The inspectors rated both learning, teaching and assessment, and raising attainment and achievement as “satisfactory” and identified some areas of improvement.

Inspectors said teachers should plan more appropriate learning set at the right level of challenge for students while ensuring activities are engaging, motivating and relevant for all. Staff should continue to improve the young people’s attainment, including improving the regular attendance of all young people at school. The school’s level of attendance is currently below the Scottish average.

The inspectors recommended that staff in the department of additional support should continue to develop the use of individual targets in learning for pupils, helping them to plan learning and monitoring their progress.

Lisa Moore, headteacher at Viewforth High School, said: “I’m very pleased that the inspectors noted as a key strength the strong relationships between staff and pupils. Good relationships are key to making sure we can bring out the best in all of our young people.

"We want everyone to achieve all they can, and we aim to provide the supportive atmosphere and range of learning experiences that our young people need to succeed. Inspectors noted that the staff in our Department of Additional Support are helping our young people to engage well and make good progress with their learning.

"I’m very proud of what we are achieving at Viewforth HS. We know there are some things that we can do better, and all of the areas for improvement had already been identified, and we are working to address these.

"We are continuing to work with the Education Services to ensure we have everything we need going forward to make these improvements. I’m confident that Viewforth will continue to go from strength to strength.”