Scottish Executive (government) data about the school can be found on the ParentZone Scotland website.
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Enter the school name in the online form to be taken to Earlston High School's section.

You will then be able to follow links to view:

• HMIE Inspection Report (2001) and Follow-Up Report (2003)
• Fourth, fifth and sixth year exam results
• Attendance and absence tables
• Staying on rates
• Leaver destinations
• Free meal entitlement statistics

EARLSTON HIGH SCHOOL

Standards, Quality & Improvement Plan
2010/2011

This summary report gives parents and the school community an overall picture of our progress last session. It highlights our aims, achievements, and areas for development.

What we aim to do?

• To promote high quality teaching and learning
• To develop confident individuals effective contributors, successful learners and responsible citizens.
• To strive for continuous improvement and excellence.
• To ensure our pupils are safe, happy and achieving their fullest potential.
• To encourage participation in school and community.
• To work collegially within the school community and all school partners.
• To celebrate attainment, achievement and diversity.
• To prepare pupils for life and work.

 In March 2010, HMIe inspected Earlston High School. They confirmed that EHS is a ‘very good school and they identified particular strengths of the school.

Overall, HMIe felt the particular strengths of EHS were :

• Young people’s very positive attitudes to learning, and their genuine pride in and commitment to their school.
• The stimulating and inclusive learning environment supported by high-quality facilities.
• The consistently high standards of attainment at S4 to S6.
• The wide range of partnerships which enhance young people’s learning experiences and meet their needs well.
• The capacity of staff to provide high-quality learning experiences, bring about improvement and promote a culture of ambition.
• The inspirational leadership of the headteacher who, with senior managers, sets appropriately high standards for the school.

Evaluation of progress

1 What outcomes have we achieved?

Overall the standard of pupil achievement is very good.

S4 Attainment (5+ credit level standard grades)

In 2010, SQA attainment was consistent with previous years and remains well above the national pattern.

S5/6 Attainment

Attainment is well above the national pattern, the S5 2010 results were the highest since 1999.

We have improved the achievement of pupils by:

• The new system for recording participation and wider achievement is now fully embedded.
• Junior pupils have established their own e-portfolios using Glow. These are used to record all achievements across the school. It is hoped that in future they will be introduced in P7 and will continue into the High School.
• Senior students continue to participate in a wide variety of committees and make a valued contribution to others. This year the sixth year raised in excess of £7,000 for the three nominated charities.
• Many students have achieved success in concerts, shows, sporting events and debating activities. The production (Hairspray) was outstanding and that complimented a fabulous Christmas and Easter show. We continue to enjoy great sporting achievements across the board. Football, cricket and basketball success was particularly pleasing.
• Duke of Edinburgh continues to attract large numbers with many graduating to the next level.
• The Hall of Fame continues to highlight the many achievements of our young people and staff.
  

Key : EHS = Earlston High School
SBC = Scottish Borders average
NAT = National average across Scottish schools
Com = Comparator schools
N/A = Not Available

We have improved the wellbeing of pupils by:

• Extra-curricular participation remains very strong. For those involved these activities continue to develop confidence, social skills and new friendships.
• The extra-curricular provision continues to grow as new members of staff and parents bring new ideas and skills.
• We continue to be a health promoting school, thanks to the support and encouragement of our partner agencies.
• The majority of S2 participated in the S2 Residential experience. The week helped to cement friendships and develop confidence whilst away from home.

2 How well do we meet the needs of our school community?

Overall we are very good at meeting the needs of our school community.

We have improved pupils’ learning experiences this year by:

• Enhancing our transition arrangements in line with our new curriculum and the need for a progressive 3-18 curriculum.
• Expanding our curriculum to include vocational provision: hairdressing, construction skills and horticulture.
• Introducing accreditation of wider achievement with the assistance of our CLD worker and active schools coordinator.
• Introducing RMPS in the senior school – a key recommendation arising from the HMIe Inspection (March 2010).
• Introducing Core PE to encourage Health and Wellbeing.
• Continuing to run countless help sessions and study clubs, especially for certificated classes.
• Continue to engage with staff, parents, Pupil Council and partner agencies in key decision making.
• Establishing an EHS MUN (Model United Nations) including hosting our first conference in June.

3 How good is the education we provide?

Overall the education we provide is very good.

We have improved the education we provide this year by:

• Extending our use of ICT, especially Glow to enhance teaching and learning. This development has been invaluable for home working, especially when the school is closed for whatever reason.
• Students have experienced a significant number of cultural and educational visits to theatres, conferences, events and trips. All of which have broadened the experience of learners.
• Invaluable in-service training has allowed staff to become familiar with the principles of CfE. Departments have adapted courses to address the new experiences and outcomes of CfE.
• Significant progress has been made to develop and embed literacy and numeracy across the curriculum. Further work is required on Health and Wellbeing to get it to the same point.
• S1 students enjoyed developing new skills through challenge options. These blocks took place twice throughout the session. Feedback was extremely positive about the experience and the variety of options available.

4 How good is our management?

Overall our management is very good.

We have improved our management this year by:

• Our new middle management structure (faculty heads) is now embedded. Each has a clear idea of how they wish to move whole school priorities forward such as Eco-schools, citizenship, enterprise, etc.
• All Faculty Heads engaged in CPD to develop skills and understand their new role.
• The use of SEEMIS (Managements Information System) has been extended to include referrals and reporting.
• Our curriculum remains very good and continues to develop in line with Curriculum for Excellence.
• Teaching and Learning methodologies are changing in line with CfE. Staff regularly engage in sharing good practice opportunities.
• Glow has been successfully rolled out across the school and its use is growing extensively.

5 How good is our leadership?

Overall our leadership is very good.

We have improved our vision and leadership by:

• Embedding our vision, values and aims into our daily routine, including amending policies and procedures.
• Developing leadership at all levels through pupil councils’ individual year group ideas as well as specific groups.
• S6 continue to take on a high level of responsibility through committee work, prefect, buddy duty and head team duties.
• Staff have taken responsibility for a variety of initiatives – literacy and numeracy development, glow, sharing good practice, transition work, as well as new extra- curricular clubs/experiences.
• With the support of CLD, we have planned an accredited leadership course for introduction to S6 next session.

6 How good can we be? What is our capacity for improvement?

Overall our capacity for improvement is very good.

We are confident we have made improvements in:

• Learning and Teaching through the development of our junior curriculum in line with CfE. As well as introducing RMPS to the S5 curriculum. We have increased our use of Glow.
• Reporting to parents/pupils through our use of SEEMIS to track and record pupil progress.
• Pupil concerns through the roll out of SEEMIS referrals across the school.
• Development of the curriculum particularly for these more suited to vocational type activities.
• Fully engaged with partners, and stakeholders in planning for improvement.
• Increased the vocational provision in the middle school including Hairdressing, Construction and Horticulture.
• Increased the number of accredited award schemes.
• Reviewed our emergency evacuation procedures in light of the HMIe inspection findings.
• Continued to reinforce our school’s vision, values and aims in our daily life of the school.
  

7 What is our capacity for change?

EHS continues to strive for excellence in all that it does. Teachers are committed to the school; they set high standards and provide a wealth of extra support for our young people. Pupils are keen to do well and there is a strong, inclusive community. Parental involvement is high and community links are developing well. SMT see learning and teaching as the core business and regularly review how to improve aspects of the school. Our new accommodation provides us with an excellent environment in which to embrace the curriculum of the future.

8 What do we plan to do during session 2011-2012?

Through evaluation with stakeholders and partners, we have identified a number of key areas that we think would improve our school even further.

We aim to:

• Continue to develop the curriculum in line with CfE, in particular the senior phase.
• Expand the provision and responsibility for all of literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing.
• Extend the use of Glow, including Glow blogs.
• Devise a winter leavers’ programme (June – December) to include a wide variety of experiences and outcomes.
• Review the homework procedures and policy in conjunction with stakeholders.
• Continue to extend the provision of Youth Achievement Awards across the school with the support of partner agencies.
• Explore accreditation of work experience.
• Develop enterprise skills across the school through a range of activities. Devise an enterprise course for implementation for 2012.
• Raise awareness of environmental issues through an Eco group, linking with the community as well as establishing a school garden.

We trust you find this leaflet helpful and informative. All our work is centred on how we can make things better for our pupils. As always, we welcome suggestions from pupils, parents and staff on how we can further improve our school.

M Strong

Headteacher (September 2011)