Standards & Quality Report - 2013-14

1. Stronsay Junior High
School
Standards and Quality
Report 2013 / 2014
Each year we have a duty to report on the work of the school, outlining the
developments and progress we make to improve the quality of teaching and
learning for all in Stronsay Junior High School.

2. About our School
Stronsay Junior High School provides education for the island’s children from pre-
school at age 3 to the end of compulsory schooling at 16. Pupils can then transfer to
Kirkwall Grammar School, if they wish to do so, or move on to further education,
training or employment. Pupils transferring to Kirkwall Grammar School stay in the
Papdale Halls of Residence, and supporting our young people at this time of transition
presents an additional challenge for the school. Pupils also have the option of
transferring to Kirkwall Grammar School at the end of Secondary 2, although few
pupils do so.
The timetable for the Primary and Secondary Sector is in part dependent on the day
specialist teachers arriving and Loganair’s timetable. Itinerant teachers generally
spend less time in school during the winter as the planes cannot fly in darkness. The
number and length of time each itinerant teacher is on Stronsay is decided centrally by
the Authority.
The number of pupils on the school roll in 2013/14 was:
Primary Sector - 19
Secondary Sector - 20
The learning and teaching team is ably supported by a committed group of non-teaching
staff including a Secretary/Office Auxiliary, Janitor and Kitchen staff. Cleaning roles
are contracted out.

3. Vision Statement
Together our vision is to ensure that everyone achieves their full potential and enjoys being
part of a caring learning community.
Aims
Effective Contributors
To motivate everyone to participate with enthusiasm in the school community and wider world,
to be well organised, dedicated and open-minded.
Responsible Citizens
To encourage everyone to take care of the community and wider world. To do the best they can
in an honest and respectful way.
Confident Individuals
To inspire within everyone self-confidence, tolerance and high expectations.
Successful Learners
To develop a life-long enthusiasm for learning; to have the confidence and ability to work
independently or with others whilst knowing when to ask for help.
Cultural Identity
To see our island as a benefit not a barrier; to embrace and enrich our unique resources -
friendliness, community spirit, heritage, landscape and culture - to help maintain and develop the
island as a great place to live.
‘Proud to belong’. ‘Proud to be a Limpet’.
Vision and Aims – Key words
Respect
Trust
Honesty
Responsibility
Kindness
Manners
Positivity
Sensibility
Inclusion

4. Summary of progress made on the 2013/14
School Improvement Plan
Priority 1 To continue to develop the Curriculum for Excellence.
1. We have achieved the following:
 This was the first year of the implementation of the new National 4 and
National 5 courses in S4. The staff worked hard to develop the courses
to ensure they met the SQA requirements. Samples of pupils course
work were externally verified by the SQA, and this moderated work was
deemed to be at an appropriate level.
 The school continued to refine the Curriculum for Excellence across the
school including the delivery of interdisciplinary approaches between
subjects achieved through theme days which included; Aims and Ethos
Day and Armistice Day. As a staff, we carefully monitored the learning
experiences the learners undertook to ensure we provided a broad and
balanced education.
 To carefully monitor the progress of the learners we have enhanced our
monitoring procedures and have developed a whole school tracking
system. This system allows us to monitor each individual learner’s
progress against national expectations. This includes PIPS (Performance
Indicators in Primary Schools) in the primary sector, Midyis (Middle
Years Information System) in the secondary sector and also spelling and
reading ages.
2. Impact on Learners
 Attainment by learners by the end of S4 exceeded national predictions
 Learners across the school experienced a curriculum which met
expectations of the Curriculum for Excellence
 Learners’ progress has been tracked and where necessary, intervention
has occurred to support a learner’s progress. This process enhanced
attainment and resulted in a significant increase in reading and spelling
ages of targeted learners
3. What we plan to do next
 Refine courses from lessons learnt through the delivery of the new
qualification courses in the first year of their implementation
 Review the staggering of coursework, to prevent hotspots for learners
 Investigate immersion days, prior to the examination (an immersion day,
is a day just prior to the examination in which students are invited to
work with their subject teacher.

5.  Further develop tracking system to include numeracy and HWB
 Moderation of writing becomes embedded and includes moderation
exercises with Sanday School
 To further review coverage of E’s and O’s to ensure a broad general
education up to the end of S3.
Priority 2 Continued development of self-evaluation across the school
1. We have achieved the following
 Learner profiles have been developed from P2 to S4, also achievement logs
have been developed across the school
 There has been a whole school focus on pupil’s managing their own learning,
setting their own individual targets across the primary and secondary sectors.
 The school staff have implemented the new Professional Review and
Development process and all staff are actively involved in the GTCS
professional update process.
2. Impact on Learning
 Learners are actively involved in their own learning, understanding their
strengths and their areas for development.
 There is clear evidence of learners having enhanced organisation and taking
greater responsibility for their learning across the school. The focus on
managing their own learning has contributed in raising attainment.
 Staff professional training is focused on meeting the needs of the learners in
our care and thus is having an impact on the progress made by the learners.
3. What we plan to do next
 Learner’s parents and staff to evaluate the pupil profiles and to refine their
design to ensure they are meaningful to all
 Target setting needs to be embedded across the school, with a focus in the
forthcoming year on Health and Wellbeing, Literacy and Numeracy.
 The school will further refine the PRD process to ensure evidence obtained
from self-evaluation helps inform further training needs across the whole
staff.
 We also aim to undertake peer observation between staff in Sanday and
Stronsay schools.

6. Priority 3 Development of Leadership skills across the school
1. What has been achieved?
 The school continues to develop leadership opportunities across all
sectors. These have included; Outward Bound Trust expedition,
Fundraising, Pupil Council, Sports Leadership, Sports Ambassadors, one
learner is a member of the National Steering Group for Sports
Ambassadors, Debating Competition, Troot in Shed, Junior Road Safety
Officers, Primary 5’s organising the Book Fair. Interdisciplinary days.
 Staff have also undertaken enhanced leadership opportunities, these
have included; supporting staff through the new SQA verification
processes for National 4 and 5 qualifications, resident staff taking
responsibility in the HT absence, mentoring other staff undertaking
examination courses and also undertaking examination courses to develop
their roles.
2. Impact on learners
 These opportunities for leadership have given the learners the skills to
work as a team and enhanced confidence in undertaking a task.
 The learners see that the skills of leadership are valued within the staff
and also they are part of a learning community in which they see adults
also undertaking learning to enhance their skills.
3. Next Steps
 To further develop leadership opportunities for staff and learners
including the introduction of a leadership award in the secondary sector.
Priority 4 Review the effectiveness of transitions across the school
1. What have we achieved?
 The school works hard in ensuring effective transitions between classes
and sectors occur. We have carefully reviewed the procedures in moving
from Nursery to Lower Primary, Lower Primary to Upper Primary and
moving from Upper Primary to the Secondary Sector.

7.  Priority 5 Continued development of Support for Learning to meet the
needs of all learners across the school.
1. What have we achieved?
 The school has had a focus of meeting the needs of learners with dyslexic
tendencies. This has included an in-service day run by Imogen Kerr the
Educational Psychologist on dyslexia (25th
October) and how to support children
with reading and writing difficulties. Resource boxes have been purchased to
support learners and these are in the key classrooms. Staff across the school
have used these resources to support learning. Pupil specific strategies/ general
strategies have been used across the school including the use of acetates, word
banks, colour coding, and mnemonics.
2. Impact on Learners
 Learners are valuing the new resources and using them regularly to aid their
learning. Analysis of progress made of learners with dyslexic tendencies shows
significant progress.
3. Next Steps
 To continue to embed the use of these resources, ensuring that the boxes
remain complete. Alternative computer software packages and resources
purchased to further support learners.
2. Impact on learners
 The impact on learners of effective transitions is we see them making the
moves effectively and without a negative impact on their academic
progress. Learners seem in the majority of cases, relaxed and excited by
the moves.
3. Next Steps
 We aim to continue to review points of transition and not to take any
transition for granted. We will be focusing on the transition from S4 to S5
in the forthcoming year.

8.  Priority 6 Continue to develop the Nursery provision
1. What have we achieved?
 Our Early Year’s worker has undertaken her second year of the HNC in Early
Years. This has been an enormous task, which she has coped with superbly. The
Early Year’s Worker has also undertaken courses on food hygiene and infection
control.
1. Impact on Learners
 All external agencies who have visited the nursery believe the Early Year’s
Worker is meeting the needs of the children in her care extremely well and it is
clear that they are enjoying and learning from their experiences in the Nursery.
2. Next Steps
 To continue to develop the facilities in the Nursery to meet the needs of
the children in our care
 Priority 7 To ensure that the facilities of the school are fit for
purpose and meet the needs of the Learners in our care
1. What have we achieved?
The school has been able to refine the staffing to ensure it can meet the needs of
the learners. This has included additional allocation of subject time in the following
manner;
 0.2 FTE for Social Subjects to enable the teacher to teach qualification courses
in both Geography and History
 0.2FTE for Art to enable the teacher to teacher qualification courses in Art and
also to provide additional art in the primary sector.
 0.2 FTE for English this will enable us to have three days of English and put us in
line with the other two Junior High’s. These three days are being combined with
two days of Support for Learning to make a full time resident isle post.
 0.1 FTE Music. This post will enable examination courses to occur in Music in the
forthcoming year.
We have also increased our music tuition and now offer;
 Accordion
 Brass
 Fiddle
 Piano
The hope is that we will be able to have a music ensemble by Christmas 2014.
The timetable has also been revised initially from 8 to 6 periods and then after
careful evaluation to 7 periods for the forthcoming academic year. This will

9. ensure a broad and balanced curriculum will be delivered.
A plan has been developed by the authority and staff to develop the school site. This is
a coherent plan which addresses issues across the site. The first phase of this
redevelopment will occur this summer. Resources have been purchased across the
school, including new resources for Home Economics, Science, Music and the Primary
Sector. This will be enhanced in the near future by a generous donation from the
Stronsay Development Trust to purchase additional P.E equipment, ICT equipment and
new books for the library.
2. Impact on Learners
 The additional staffing and resources is already having an impact on the
quality of teaching and learning at Stronsay School. Learners in the
secondary sector are having access to reliable ICT equipment and have
the use whilst in school of an individual laptop which is solely used by
them. The range of courses available at Stronsay Junior High School
remains varied allowing us to meet the needs of individual learners. The
enhanced staffing levels is also impacting positively on the opportunities
available to learners in the primary sector. The new equipment purchased
is also impacting on the quality of the learning experience.
3. Next Steps
 To continue to optimise the use of the enhanced staffing
and resources to further enhance the learning experiences
of our learners.
 To develop the school site to optimise the learning
experience of all learners in our care

10. Successes and Achievements
Existing strengths
The school aims to produce a learning environment which meets the needs of the
learners in its care. We evaluate their progress using a wide range of methods. We
believe that:
 Attainment at the end of S4 continues to be excellent with pupils achieving a
wide range of qualifications.
 Middle Years Information System data shows that the value added by the
pupils through the secondary sector is above the national normal expectations.
 The school has embraced the Curriculum for Excellence and adjusted the
teaching to attempt to fulfil the ethos behind the initiative. Our planning is in
line with the experiences and outcomes and departments have continued to
develop ways of assessing and recording in line with this.
 Learners’ evaluations show they are engaged meaningfully with their learning.
 The school and the community of Stronsay work hard together to provide a wide
range of opportunities to broaden achievements and these include:
o Music lessons in a range of instruments, enhanced by opportunities on the
Island, with musical events in school and in the community to entertain
and celebrate their efforts.
o Sporting activities including after school clubs and the enhanced focus on
this area of the curriculum has contributed to the school winning the
North Isles School Trophy, for the first time in over 10 years.
o The development of interdisciplinary projects/ activities has enabled
learners to embrace new ideas and skills and has resulted in a real
enjoyment of learning. This year interdisciplinary activities have included
Armistice Day and an Aims and Ethos Day in which the community were
actively encouraged to be involved.
As a small school on a small Island we know our learners extremely well and aim to
support them as fully as possible. The health and wellbeing of our learners is
therefore fundamental to all we do. We always strive always to meet their individual
needs.

11. Priorities for future development
The school, through the evaluations it has undertaken has produced a School
Improvement Plan and within this plan the following priorities have been highlighted:
 Strategic Priority 1: Development of the Curriculum for Excellence
 Strategic Priority 2: Continue development of Self Evaluation across the
school
 Strategic Priority 3: Development of Leadership across the school
 Strategic Priority 4: Continue the development of Support for Learning
for all learners throughout the school
 Strategic Priority 5: Continue the development of the Nursery provision
 Strategic Priority 6: Ensure the facilities of the school are fit for
purpose to meet the needs of the learners in our care
Gender, Disability and Race
GENDER
When considering issues re attainment by boys and girls the small numbers of pupils
attending Stronsay Junior High mean that it is not possible to report on attainment
without identifying individual pupils.
DISABILITY
Because of low numbers it is impossible to disaggregate these figures on the basis of
specific types of support needed without risking identifying individual pupils. Figures
are therefore reported for the group as a whole.
RACE
Numbers of pupils from minority ethnic groups at Stronsay Junior High School are very
low and it is not therefore possible to report on attainment without identifying
individual pupils. The Authority has collected data on the achievement and attainment
of minority ethnic pupils for Orkney as a whole and will report on this in the Authority
equality report.
Exclusions. There were no exclusions this year.

12. Work and life of the School
In 2013/14 the following opportunities have occurred:
 Visit from STEM representatives – Science Workshops
 Upper Primary attend Tag Rugby Festivals
 Young Ambassadors trip to Inverness (3 pupils attend)
 Secondary trip to Loch Eil Outward Bound Centre
 Visit from Road Safety Officer
 Visit from Careers Officer
 Armistice Day – whole school involved
 School Photos taken
 Children in Need Event – Pudsey Bear visits
 Visit from Suzanne Hargreaves (L T Scotland) – focus of Health and
Wellbeing.
 Harvest Festival
 Book Fair
 S4 pupils Work Experience Week
 Orkney College deliver 1st
Aid courses for S2/3
 Christmas Dinner for pupils, staff and parent council.
 Christmas Carol Service in Church
 Aims and Ethos Day
 Visit from KGS/Hostel/Careers staff
 Rugby training for all pupils
 P7 pupils attend Hockey Festival
 S4 Leavers’ Ceremony
 Puppet Workshop visit
 Screen Machine visit (P1 – S1)
 Instrumental Course
 Bridge Building Competition
 Primary Athletics Event in Kirkwall
 AfYD fishing trip to Mainland Orkney
 P7 Birsay Trip
 Debating Competition in Stromness
 School Sports Day
Also, Football Club, After School Athletics.
Regular visits from:
 French Assistant
 Catherine Johnson (Active Schools)
 Catherine Diamond (PT, Early Years)
 Imogen Kerr (Ed Psych)
 Laura Cunningham (SLT)
 Mrs Sullivan/Mrs Hamilton/Mr Hudson (instrumental instructors)

13. Copies of Limpet Articles for 2013-14 session:.
STRONSAY JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
On Monday 9th September 2013, Craig and Julia from STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics, not Steamed Tatties Earn Money as we guessed!) came
all the way up to Stronsay from Dundee to teach us ‘How to make the perfect poo’. You
will need:
 fork/spoon
 bowl
 funnel
 sealable bag
 very long thin plastic bag tied at one end
 sieve
 porridge oats/weetabix
 milk/orange juice
 banana
 vinegar
 gravy browning
Method:
 Put breakfast food into bowl. (The bowl represents your mouth.)
 Add drinks and vinegar. (Vinegar represents saliva.)
 Mash up mixture using fork (=your teeth) and place it in the bag (=your stom-
ach).
 Seal bag and mash up further (=stomach acid).
 Carefully pour mixture into the long tube through the funnel (=small
intestine).
 Add gravy browning while pouring (=bile).
 Mash up a bit more to get rid of lumps.
 Sieve back into the bowl to get rid of water using spoon (=large intestine).
 Dispose of mixture (=Go to the toilet)!
We found out about peristalsis (muscles squeezing food down your oesophagus to your
stomach) and that digestion takes about 12 hours. Your poo is very important be-cause
it can tell you about your health! Craig and Julia, if you’re reading this, thank you very
much. We had a great afternoon!
Upper Primary
Stronsay JH School

14. Stronsay Junior High School would like to invite the whole community to our:
Aims and Ethos Day
 Join us and be part of celebrating our school
 Open classrooms:
 Creating and planning the outside area
 Jolly phonics
 Science
 French
 Social Subjects
 Join us at 10am for Break time, Soup and Sandwiches, and our Celebration
Assembly
AIMS AND ETHOS DAY – FRIDAY 7TH FEBRUARY 2014
Our Aims and Ethos day began with a short assembly to share with everyone the
school’s new Vision and Aims which have been chosen by everyone. The key words are
Respect, Trust, Honesty, Responsibility, Kindness, Manners, Positivity, Sensibility and
Inclusion. Pupils were split into their groups and moved to their first activity.
The day was arranged into a circuit of four activities. These were Outdoor areas,
Dressing up, Phonics and Bridge building.
In the Outdoor area activity, Catherine Diamond first of all asked us what we liked to
do outdoors. e.g. jumping, swinging, climbing etc. She showed some pictures of out-door
areas. Then we had to design and make our ideal play area in a tray and make it as
creative as possible. Materials we used included green fabric (‘grass’), moss/heather
like material, stones, clay, cocktail sticks and wood. People started to make their
outdoor are-as. It was fantastic and a good chance to show off our skills and put
forward ideas.
Mrs Barber led the Dressing up activity. She asked us to look at the Smartboard. She
showed us some pictures and asked us if we knew what period in time they were from.
We picked somebody from each group to dress up as something we saw in the pictures,
for example, a caveman or a Roman soldier. We used all sorts of materials to make the
costumes. Finally, we got the S4s to judge our costumes with a mark out of 5.
Elizabeth’s group won with Amber dressed as a Flamenco dancer. It was educational,
interesting and fun.
Bridge Building – Mrs Rose led a quiz about Newtons and forces. If we got 6 or more
correct answers we could earn more materials to build our bridge. The materials were
an extra metre of tape, 10 extra art straws and 2 extra pairs of scissors. The bridge
had to hold at least one plank of wood. Some groups didn’t get to put wood on their
bridge. At the end, Mrs Rose put weights on the plank of wood to see how much weight
it could carry. It was excitingly enjoyable! John, Eoan, Millie and Andy’s group won.
Phonics – We learned the sounds of the alphabet with Mrs Evans and there was a song
to go with it. It was fantastically fun! We also played a spelling game where we had to
listen to Mrs Evans. She said the words, then we tried to make them. It was great fun
to do. We played another game which was like Corners. Someone was a frog. The frog

15. said a word, there were 4 lily pads with a certain amount of word endings and you had
to go to the lily pad that had the right ending of the words that the frog said. If you
went on the wrong lily pad you went out of the game.

16. Page 3 of The Stronsay Limpet - Issue 104 February 2014
To finish off the day a final assembly was held. The vision and aims key words were
represented by the Upper Primary acting out small sketches about responsibility and
the Secondary pupils producing ‘stills’. Mr King handed out Bronze, Silver and Gold
merit certificates to primary pupils. James and Matthew played a few tunes on their
accordions, ably assisted by Jack on guitar and Molly on fiddle. They then accompanied
the whole primary singing Edelweiss. It was all really good. Mr King then handed out the
secondary merit certificates. Some secondary pupils also received First Aid
certificates and certificates for the Loch Eil trip, from the Outward Bound Trust, for
their achievement and participation in the trip. Finally, it was announced that Diane had
been accepted as part of the new steering group for Scotland for Young Ambassadors.
We would like to thank Mrs Diamond, Mrs Barber, Mrs Rose and Mrs Evans for creating
the activities. We would like to thank the community for supporting the day and taking
part. We had a delicious lunch made by Arna and Wilma. Thanks to everyone who made
the day so educational and fun. We are ‘Proud to Belong, Proud to be Limpets!’
PRIMARY SCHOOLS ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
THURSDAY 29TH MAY 2014
Pupils were selected to represent Stronsay School as competitors in the annual
event held at the Pickaquoy Centre. We were lucky enough to land a beautiful, sunny
day! Pupils chose a run (100m or 1500m), a jump (long or high) and a throw (cricket
ball or shot putt). Everyone gave their best and performed really well. Congratulations
to John Smith who managed 7.06m in the 9-10 years boys’ shot putt, winning gold!
Well done to everyone!
M Dennison

17. NORTH ISLES SPORTS SANDAY, SATURDAY 28TH JUNE 2014
Stronsay triumphed at this year’s North Isles Sports event, held in Sanday, overall
winning the Schools’ Cup (including the netball), Men’s football and Tug o’ War! A HUGE
well done to all involved!
Team work is promoted through regular staff meetings. These take the form of whole

18. staff and departmental meetings. The school has used its available resources to the
best effect, ensuring specialists are available to teach the appropriate subjects.
Classroom Assistants have a weekly opportunity for consultation with the Support for
Learning teacher. This is used to provide guidance and training.
The school has also had a several changes in staff:
Miss Lorna Reid/Mrs Shona Firth covered Mrs Brown’s maternity leave
Mrs Vivia Leslie/Mr Angus Ross covered English
Mrs Bowen covered Support for Learning
Mrs Wishart covered Home Economics during Mrs Evans’ maternity leave
Inclusion and Equality—promoting equality
The school is aware of its duties, general and specific under the Race Relations
(Amendment) Act, the Disability Discrimination Act and the Equality Act 2006.
Equality issues are discussed and ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic diversity is
recognised, valued and promoted as a positive feature of the school. There is no
barrier to participation in activities through culture and language, disability, race,
religion, sexual orientation or additional support needs.
All staff are informed about the legal aspects of racial discrimination and are aware of
ensuring that there is no racial harassment or sexual discrimination. Equality issues are
addressed through the PSD curriculum. Circle time is used in primary classes and anti-
bullying/anti-racism are some of the topics for class discussions and assemblies.
We believe that the promotion of equal access to sport is an important priority.
Our Active Schools Coordinator plays a key role in our developments.
Access to the school buildings and classrooms for disabled pupils is assessed regularly
and necessary improvements identified.
Vision and leadership
The school continues to embed its new aims and vision into all it does. These aims are
displayed throughout the school and are fundamental to the life of our establishment.
Leadership opportunities have been developed across the school as we continue to
develop as a learning community. The role of the Parent Council in supporting the
development of the school is fundamental to its success.
Conclusion
This has been an exciting year for the school, with many new developments. The
excellent achievements of the learners at the end of S4 are a testament to the hard
work of the learners, parents and staff throughout this challenging year. It has been
wonderful to see the support of the community of Stronsay in the life of the school. I
look forward to another exciting year ahead.

19. Andrew King , Head teacher