Peebles High School improvement plan made after inspection

A team of inspectors from Education Scotland visited the school in October last year.

The subsequent report, published in January, painted a mixed picture.

Overall, the school was rated as ‘satisfactory’ for both learning, teaching and assessment, and for raising attainment and achievement.

In her conclusion, HM inspector Patricia Cameron said: “As a result of our inspection findings, we think the school needs additional support and more time to make necessary improvements.

“We will liaise with Scottish Borders Council (SBC) regarding the school’s capacity to improve.

“We will return to carry out a further inspection of the school within 12 months.”

When members of SBC’s Education Sub-Committee meet on Wednesday (April 23) they will be asked to endorse an improvement plan.

It has been drawn up by the headteacher to address the key recommendations in the Education Scotland report.

Inspectors found that senior leaders and staff needed to improve the planning of learning, teaching and assessment in broad general education.

It was also deemed that the strategic leadership of the school required improvement.

“Senior leaders should monitor and evaluate the work of the school more effectively to identify priorities for improvement,” the report says.

A number of strengths were also found.

The report noted that the school community continued to “show resilience in response to ongoing challenges”.

The existing school was extensively damaged due to a fire in November 2019 and is being demolished. A new community campus will be built on land previously used as school playing fields.

The report also highlighted that “strong relationships between almost all staff and young people result in positive learning experiences”.

Additionally, inspectors found that staff had maintained high levels of attainment for the majority of young people in the senior phase and were beginning to implement approaches designed to raise the attainment of all learners.