Bracoden Primary School
Bracoden Primary School is a small, coastal school in the Northeast of Scotland. The whole school lives out its motto of ‘Strive, believe, achieve,’ in all that it does. This is supported by a strategic vision of professional learning whereby we ‘provide learning experiences for all our pupils, which allow them to recognise their individual potential and achieve their goals.’
At Bracoden we strive to be an excellent school. We set high standards which are non-negotiable, and this has embedded the learning culture for the school. The ethos of commitment and improvement is palpable in every learning context. We ‘develop self-evaluation to promote improvement for all through sharing expertise and good practice.’
The school values – Respect, Enthusiasm, Working together, Aspiration, Responsibility and Determined (REWARD) – are discussed and reinforced daily. They are celebrated every week in pupil-led assemblies. At Bracoden we, ‘promote an ethos which values and supports all individuals, celebrates success and develops respect for all.’ Alongside these, the Getting it Right for Every Child – wellbeing indicators (SHANARRI) – are woven into our school ethos which allows pupils to thrive.
Time to reflect on professional learning is allocated and prioritised each term with the most effective practice disseminated. Teachers are reflective practitioners which leads to profound learning. GIRFEC directs their self-evaluative questioning. Whole school targets drive the key areas for improvement forward and lead to an increase year on year on standards. The quality improvement calendar is set out to prioritise meetings focused on the impact of teaching and learning on all pupils across the school. The school uses Local Authority targets to set their own aspirational targets. We focus on percentages of pupils achieving above the expected levels. Tracking progress and attainment is regularly completed as a whole staff activity. From this, decisions can be made as to where any gaps are and how to close them further.
Pupils’ passions and interests are listened to in order to maximise the impact on learning – data is collated, and the strategic direction of improvement is made. Staff work very closely with the headteacher to shape the direction of school improvement plan. Views from pupils/parents and community members are then fed into this. The learners are central to all strategic decisions made within school. Reflecting on what made the most significant impact and why and how to emulate this across another curricular area e.g. Learning Ambassadors meet with the Head Teacher and discuss findings.
Staff interests and strengths are shared and utilised across the school. Everyone’s achievements are celebrated in school including three members of staff who have worked for Aberdeenshire council for 40 years and 25 years. Any courses/degrees taken amongst staff are shared with the children to show that learning is life-long. A quarter of Bracoden pupils have been involved in Children’s University Scotland where they had the opportunity to attend a graduation at Aberdeen University. Links with schools that are excelling in their practice have been made. Adapting exemplary practice from other countries and sharing it has developed pedagogy – e.g. portfolios from an outstanding primary school in England.
Community members, Parent Council and families play an active role at Bracoden, ‘involves parents and the community as active partners in the education of our pupils.’ A particularly successful example was during the Great War Centenary when a history booklet was researched and made about local veterans. Bracoden pupils worked alongside local community members and young adults from the Boyndie Trust. The proceeds made, bought a Tommy Statue for Gardenstown Village – proceeds to Help for Heroes. Meaningful links and purposeful learning make the bonds between the school and community stronger.
The staff collaborate and enjoy learning from each other. Team teaching/coaching enables teachers from differing age groups to plan/teach/assess and reflect over practice. This has been warmly received as a personal development tool and is having a positive impact on the teaching across the school. Digital professional learning has also been taken forward significantly during the pandemic through the upskilling of staff in the use of Glow and Google Classroom. We remain focused on Health and wellbeing with our well-established Forest School sessions – we won our Eco-flag and the gold Woodland trust award since the pandemic began.
As we continue journeying towards excellence, we look forward to all the learning opportunities we meet, whilst navigating our way.
“Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.