An East Kilbride primary school has received a glowing report following a recent education inspection,

A team from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) visited Hunter Primary during September as part of a national programme of inspections of primary education across Scotland. Councillors on the East Kilbride Area Committee last week (February 2) heard the details of the inspection findings after the HMIE report was published on November 4.

As part of the inspection, HMIE evaluated the school’s leadership of change, learning, teaching and assessment, ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion, and raising attainment and achievement. Inspectors also gathered evidence through questionnaires completed by parents, pupils and staff, classroom observations, and discussions with pupils, including members of pupil council, and parents were also given the opportunity to share their views.

Several key strengths were highlighted at the school, including a strong sense of community and shared values. Children were described as enthusiastic, motivated and proud of their school, thriving as a result of the very positive relationships and caring approach demonstrated by staff. The report also praised the highly effective leadership of the head teacher, noting that he empowers and supports both staff and pupils to identify and lead meaningful change.

Head teacher of Hunter Primary , Gary Campbell, said: “As head teacher of Hunter Primary, I’m delighted and proud of the outcome of the report endorsing our school vision and the development of the all-important values of being happy, understanding, nurturing, truthful, equal, and respectful, which underpin the work in the life of the school and the direction of travel we’re we’re going in. We now know that our self-evaluation is spot on and this is really reassuring and provides us with a mandate to continue to proceed with increased confidence.

“Our ‘heart of Hunter’ vision and the core values are deeply embedded within the life of the school and all children and staff feel valued as a result of highly nurturing, respectful and inclusive approaches embedded across the school. We have worked very hard over the last number of years at Hunter to foster pupil voice and enrich relationships between staff and pupils and parents.

“Overall, I am delighted with the inspection. The inspection experience was extremely positive. The report has been a great boost for the school community and I’m proud that the pace of change we have worked has been formally recognized. We pride ourselves on effective partnership working and positive relationship building and we are confident these strong bonds will support the continued cycle of improvement in Hunter Primary School in the years to come. We have a robust improvement plan going forward and we are confident that this will scaffold the process towards meeting the recommendations given by the inspection team and colleagues in the local authority.”

Councillor Gladys Ferguson-Miller (East Kilbride East) praised the report, and said: “ I’d like to congratulate Hunter Primary School on an excellent education inspectorate report.

“I mean achieving ‘very good’ and both leadership of change and ensuring well-being, equity and inclusion which are quite close to my heart is a clear reflection on major strengths in the school and a high standard of provision and the good evaluations for learning teaching assessment and for raising attainment and achievement show important strengths and a clear areas where you’re continuing to develop. I think overall it’s a very positive report for Hunter. I just want to thank the head teacher, the staff, the pupils for all their hard work and dedication and they should all be extremely proud. “

Councillor Graham Scott (East Kilbride East), said: “I congratulate Gary, his amazing staff, and the pupils of Hunter Primary School for a superb report from the HMI . This is a superb school, superbly led, and is deserving of all the accolades that has been given in this report. So, once again, congratulations to Gary, his staff and management team and everyone involved with Hunter Primary School.”

HMIE further recognised the work of the staff team, commending their strong focus on nurture, inclusion and promoting wellbeing for all children. Inspectors noted that staff plan and deliver a wide range of high quality support to address barriers to learning and wellbeing, with children and families reporting that they feel well supported.

The report also highlighted the effective contexts for learning and achievement provided by staff and partners. A range of lessons, activities and clubs were praised for giving pupils opportunities to practice and apply their skills, helping children experience success and build a strong sense of achievement.

Hunter Primary School received a “very good” evaluation for leadership for change and for ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion. The school was rated “good” for learning, teaching and assessment, as well as raising attainment and achievement.

Inspectors outlined a number of areas for continued improvement, senior leaders and staff were encouraged to further develop their use of evidence when planning school improvement and equity work, ensuring efforts are targeted where they will have the greatest impact.

Teachers were also encouraged to continue developing a shared understanding of children’s achievements in literacy and numeracy, alongside ongoing work to raise attainment and accelerate progress.

Inspectors noted that the areas for continued improvement are already being incorporated into the school’s improvement planning. HMIE confirmed they are confident the school will take forward these priorities effectively and have stated that no further inspection visits will be required in connection with this report.