Dear Parents and Carers,
An external validation visit was undertaken at Kewaigue Primary School on 12th and 13th February 2024 as part of a programme of external validation of schools commissioned by The Isle of Man Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC). The aim of the external validation visit was to promote continuous improvement and to deliver consistency, share best practice and deliver positive outcomes for children and young people. The visit was undertaken by two external, independent external validators from Tribal Education.
External Validators looked at a wide range of evidence presented by school leaders, including the school self-evaluation, and sampled the work of the school during the visit. These activities were focussed on key areas based on the self-evaluation of the school and included visits to a cross-section of lessons, meetings with staff and pupils, gathering the views of parents where appropriate and scrutiny of documentation.
During the visit, external validators considered key areas of focus which were explored in collaboration with school leaders to validate school leaders’ own evaluations.
The focus for this external validation visit was ‘The Quality of Education’.
Kewaigue school is a caring and nurturing community based on a solid foundation of leaders and teachers developing relationships and trust to support successful learning. Each young person is recognised and valued as an individual and the school encourages children to take ownership and responsibility and apply this both within school and the wider community. This is evident through the opportunities pupils have to lead initiatives and the confidence they present when they speak to visitors.
Pupils are provided with numerous opportunities to flourish, whether for example leading assembly on a topic that they are interested in or leading and participating in clubs led by other pupils. Pupils in Years 3 – 6 spoke with enthusiasm about the opportunity to perform in a play at their local High School. The school recognises the value that application of learning beyond the classroom gives to your children. School leaders and teachers are considering how trips and experiences linked to focus curriculum areas for all year groups can further enrich the learning experience for your children.
Pupils are aspirational at Kewaigue school and are keen to celebrate what they achieve in both their learning and contributions to the life of the school. The positive achievement of children across Kewaigue school is recognition of the personalised offer delivered by committed teachers.
The school is quite rightly encouraging your children to embrace challenge and develop the skills of resilience and reflection, these are key to aid independence and success in future lives.
Leaders and teachers are proactive in supporting your children to develop these key skills and will continue to work in partnership with you to support and nurture these key life skills both at home and in school.
Teachers ensure the learning experiences are engaging for your children through links to previous learning and topics which gain interest. Pupils are confident in recognising their strengths and areas for development and can reflect on these. The school is encouraging pupils to make supported choices across the curriculum which will encourage ownership for learning as they move through the next stage of their education.
The school is aware of the need to develop lesson planning so that it includes opportunities for children to think about how they learn, including how they learn from mistakes, as well as what they learn.
Parents who were spoken to as part of the external validation process were overwhelmingly positive about the school and appreciative of how the school nurtures and encourages every child. Parents could articulate the accessible, ‘open door’ approach, where teachers engage with parents openly to support learning.
The areas of growth identified above, as part of the external validation visit, are being reviewed and actioned by the school as part of a continuous cycle of self-evaluation.
Nicola Morris
Lead Validator
External Validation Team