7. Improving the school    

Harris Academy was an effective school where pupils' achievements were strongly encouraged and supported. Attainment was rising but the school recognised that further improvement was needed to ensure all pupils achieved their full potential. The headteacher provided the school with very good leadership. He was fully committed to the school and provided it with a clear vision for further improvement. He was highly respected and seen as approachable by staff and pupils. He had developed strong teamwork with his senior management colleagues. Procedures for consulting with and involving staff on areas such as policy development and planning for improvement were well embedded. The views of parents and pupils on current provision and proposals for change were regularly sampled. The headteacher listened to the views of all groups and showed a willingness to implement constructive suggestions for improvement. The longest-serving depute headteacher was highly regarded by staff and undertook his duties effectively. The rest of the SMT discharged their remits well although there was some variation in their effectiveness in implementing discipline procedures for their year group. The SMT displayed a strong team spirit and operated effectively as a corporate unit. While many principal teachers led their departments well, some needed to give a stronger lead in improving learning, teaching and achievement.

The school had good procedures for monitoring and evaluating the quality of its work. There had been a very thorough analysis of examination performance which identified underlying causes of weakness. Staff used this information effectively in their planning process to address deficiencies and implement improvements. Principal teachers had begun to visit classes to observe aspects of learning and teaching. They provided helpful feedback to teachers. Staff were very positive about this process and found it helpful and non-threatening. At this stage the SMT were not sufficiently involved in evaluating provision in departments and their role needed to be more challenging and supportive. The SMT conducted thorough quarterly reviews of progress in implementing plans for improvement. These reviews helped to drive forward many of the improvements sought by the school. Staff had successfully implemented most priorities in previous plans. Departments were making increasing use of quality indicators to evaluate provision. The SMT, and in particular the headteacher, had a very strong awareness of the strengths and weaknesses across the school. During in-service days, SMT members held helpful seminars for staff on aspects of their work. However, the school recognised the need to do more to disseminate good practice as a means of further improving learning and teaching.

Overall, the school was actively and successfully establishing both a structure and a culture of continuous improvement, promoting the idea that everyone within the school community can do better. Learning and teaching had been enhanced through effective developments in ICT. Staff had worked hard to establish positive approaches to pupils' behaviour, and the range of courses provided to meet the varying needs of pupils had continued to increase. The headteacher's leadership and the commitment of staff provided the school with the capacity and the will to continue to improve. The school and education authority should take action to bring about further improvement in the quality of pupils' achievements. In doing so they should take account of the need to:

improve attainment, particularly in S1/S2;

improve the arrangements for meeting the needs of all pupils in S1/S2, those pupils with challenging behaviour and pupils with English as an additional language;

improve the quality of support for learning; and

extend the role of the senior management team in quality assurance to further improve learning and teaching, and to promote greater use of homework.

What happens next?

The school and the education authority have been asked to prepare an action plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report, and to share that plan with parents and carers. Within two years of the publication of this report parents and carers will be informed about the progress made by the school.

Neil Macleod

HM Inspector

15 June 2004