Education Scotland visited High Mill Primary in June and published their findings in September, which were then presented to councillors on the Clydesdale Area Committee on October 29.

The inspectors evaluated the learning, achievement, teaching and assessment, as well as how attainment was raised, and also analysed questionnaires issued to parents, pupils and all staff.

Class lessons were observed and the team interviewed groups of pupils, the pupil council and staff, as well as speaking with parents and children while working closely with the head teacher.

The report highlighted a number of strengths within the school, including the head teacher and acting principal teacher working well with an enthusiastic and motivated team, which has influenced children to feel valid and encouraged them to do their best.

As well as this, the effective use of digital technology by the youngsters to enhance their learning was noted as they have developed a range of skills that they have applied successfully across the curriculum.

And inspectors highlighted that staff have improved children’s outcomes in numeracy.

Head teacher Kristine McDonald, praised the staff and pupils, saying: “Not only am I incredibly proud to be the head teacher of High Mill Primary, I am delighted to be here to represent the school with regards to our very positive HMI inspection. High Mill is a unique and special place. Our children – with almost all residing in areas of high deprivation – are curious, eager to learn, talented, resilient and compassionate.

“We are proud to serve some of South Lanarkshire’s most vulnerable families. Despite being located in the centre of Carluke, we pride ourselves on having a distinct village school ethos. This means, every child, every family and every member of our staff is known and valued and central to our community. This deep-seeded sense of belonging is the foundation for everything we do and was recognised by the inspection team who said all staff place children at the centre of practice and that foundation could not stand without our staff.

“I must publicly acknowledge my incredible team of teaching and support staff; the commitment to our children and their family is truly inspiring, and the professionalism, dedication and deep- seeded compassion they show every day goes far beyond expectations. They work tirelessly to create a supportive and constructive learning environment that the inspectors noted as a core of our school.

“Speaking on behalf of the team, we recognise that inspection is by nature an intense and rigorous process, as it should be. However, it provided scope to deeply reflect and to challenge our thinking. Overall, it was an extremely positive experience and we all agree that the report captures the ethos of our community and our positive relationships perfectly.”

Councillor Poppy Corbett (Clydesdale West), praised the report, and said: “I’d just like to congratulate you, it’s particularly nice to hear that so many pupils feel safe at the school, especially in this day and age. I can only congratulate you once again; fabulous report and well done to everybody involved.”

Inspectors highlighted a few areas of improvement for the school which included teachers developing more approaches to improve the quality of their feedback to children in order to help them understand better the next steps in their learning.

As well as this, inspectors said that senior leaders and teachers should develop further approaches to learning and teaching to ensure they provide appropriate challenges for all children across the curriculum.

The areas for continued improvement are already being incorporated into the school’s improvement planning.