THE headteacher of an East End school has welcomed a report which recognises the primary’s “caring, compassionate and enthusiastic” pupils and hardworking staff.

Anne Marie McDonald, who is at the helm of Our Lady of Peace Primary in Barlanark, said: “Everyone is so delighted by the report, which recognises our hardworking children and how our nurturing ethos underpins our successes.

“Our children’s wellbeing lies at the heart of how we work here.  It is just lovely to see the staff teamwork highlighted, as everyone always goes the extra mile.”

Education Scotland inspectors said key strengths of the school, which has around 300 pupils, included “the caring, compassionate and enthusiastic children who proudly welcome visitors to their school and demonstrate the school and gospel values well.”

They noted: “They are kind and respectful to each other and adults.”

The report also highlighted “the strong sense of staff teamwork across the school” and added: “They have created a nurturing ethos that promotes positive relationships and improves wellbeing. This results in a highly supportive environment where children engage well in their learning.”

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Mrs McDonald added: “A big part of our work is to provide lots of opportunities for the children, both in and out of school, and this too was recognised.  Our teaching and learning has been deservedly graded ‘very good’ and we aim to keep on improving.”

The inspectors also praised the school’s “highly effective” approaches to STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and digital technologies.

“We were thrilled to be recognised for these, as we understand just how important they are in today’s world,” said Mrs McDonald. “It was the icing on the cake.

“Our Lady of Peace is blessed with respectful children, highly skilled staff and  supportive parents and carers. The inspection report gave us a chance to shine.”

Councillor Christina Cannon, Glasgow’s education convener, said: “This is a very compassionate inspection report.

“I was particularly struck by the caring way in which the school is seen by the inspectors, who make a special mention of staff who have very high aspirations for their school community and children who are, as a result, highly motivated to engage very well in their learning.”

She added: “I love that it identifies how proud the children are of their school and how this spurs them on to learn. Well done to all on such a positive report.”

Areas for improvement, which were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from Glasgow City Council, included a requirement to “continue to use information about children’s progress in learning to ensure all children are achieving to their full potential” and to continue to raise attainment, with a particular focus on children’s writing.

The full report is available on the Education Scotland website.