Uryside School’s community support commended by inspector
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The head teacher and staff of Uryside School and Nursery have been praised by an inspector for the support they have shown to the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Learning hubs set up during both lockdowns were applauded in a letter to parents and carers following a visit by Education Scotland.
The report said: “During the first lockdown, staff set up a learning hub and welcomed children and young people from other local schools.
"They worked tirelessly to ensure all children and young people felt safe and cared for during this very challenging time.
"During the second period of lockdown, staff provided a well-attended learning hub for their own pupils.
"They also continued to provide a successful remote learning programme to support children at home.”
HM Inspector Jackie Maley also highlighted staff distributing food parcels to families and undertaking wellbeing check-in door-step visits as well as daily check-ins with pupils to support anyone struggling with the impact of the pandemic.
This approach continued when face-to-face learning returned.
Virtual whole-school community events such as an online sports day and a ‘reading for enjoyment’ month were well received by children, parents and carers.
The impact the Early Years Senior Practitioner has had in improving collaboration amongst staff, creating a culture of learning and development, and leading improvement in the nursery was also acknowledged in the inspection.
Throughout the school, the report also noted how children were enjoying the freedom of learning independently and how they were becoming clearer in their strengths and next steps in learning.
Councillor Gillian Owen, Aberdeenshire Council’s education and children’s services committee chair, said: “I am absolutely delighted that the work that staff from Uryside School have done to help keep children safe and ensure they are coping during the most challenging of times has been recognised in this inspection.
"It is fantastic to see the lengths to which the staff have gone to make sure the community is supported in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Committee vice chair Rosemary Bruce added: “I am thrilled to read about the improvements both to the primary school and the nursery in this inspection report.
"It is great to see so much progress acknowledged by the inspector.”
