Inspection praise for Forres Academy staff

FORRES Academy staff have been praised for their efforts to continue to raise pupil attainment and implement a greater variety of teaching approaches.

School inspectors have issued their follow-up findings after they visited the Academy last April, during which several areas for improvement were agreed with the school and Moray Council. Recently, a further short follow through inspection was completed to assess how the school has implemented these improvements.

Praise is given to the middle leadership team who are responsible for supporting young people’s learning and wellbeing. This is alongside the new House structure and House Assemblies beginning to have a positive impact by celebrating the success of students.

The letter highlights that while more progress is needed to strengthen the strategic leadership of the school, senior leaders have engaged successfully with parents, staff and young people to refresh the school values and have created a detailed school improvement plan that begins to address these areas.

The inspectors also highlight that the quality of learning, teaching and assessment remains an area for continuing improvement, where more engaging activities that support young people’s motivation need to be introduced.

Overall, the updated report found that the school has made insufficient progress since the original inspection, however, they acknowledge the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) within the school building meant time and resources were concentrated on ensuring effective mitigation measures were in place and continued education with as little disruption as possible.

Education Scotland will liaise with Moray Council on these improvements and a further inspection will be carried out within the year.

Forres Academy’s head teacher, Jan Sinclair, said: “This has been an unprecedented year for the school with the discovery of RAAC back in August.

“I couldn’t have asked more of the young people, staff and parents over this challenging time, they’ve coped remarkably well.

“I’m clear as head teacher of what needs done and we hope for a more settled period of time to ensure improvements, many of which are already underway, are providing the best outcomes for our pupils.”

Moray Council’s Chief Education Officer, Vivienne Cross, said: “It's acknowledged that the current session has been an unsettled time for all at the school and I commend pupils and staff for their continued resilience.

“However, we know how important it is to ensure the best possible outcomes for our young people and so we'll be working at pace with the school to ensure that progress is made.”

The full letter can be found on Education Scotland's website.