Inspection Summary Report - Fountain Primary School and Nursery Unit

Fountain Primary School and Nursery Unit

DE Ref No 201-6564

Inspection Summary Report - October 2025

Fountain Primary School and Nursery Unit provides an attractive and well-resourced learning environment for the children which is underpinned by the school values of learning, equality and inclusion, caring, wellbeing, safety, family and fun.
Over the past two years, there has been a comprehensive review of the school’s vision and values in close collaboration with the whole school community. This inclusive process has laid a solid foundation for an approach to school improvement that is rooted in commitment to these guiding aims and is responsive to the school’s unique context.
The school leadership team has strengthened the approach to whole-school self-evaluation by broadening the scope of the sources of evidence used to inform it. The approach now includes the effective use of a wider range of assessment data, and meaningful and intentional listening that respects and responds to the views of the school community. The staff now need to enhance further the procedures for whole‑school self-evaluation by incorporating first-hand evidence of learning and teaching.
The comprehensive whole-school approach to planning and assessment for successful learning guides effectively the work of the staff and ensures a breadth of experience and progression in learning for the children across the curriculum.
Where learning and teaching is most successful, and where the children are most engaged: the intended learning is clear, meaningful and relevant; lessons are well‑paced, active and appropriately challenging; the children have opportunities to solve problems and work collaboratively on purposeful and worthwhile tasks; and teachers interact skilfully with the children, posing well-thought-out questions that extend the children’s curiosity, thinking and understanding.
The school nurture class (Rainbow Room) has a clear focus on supporting the social, emotional and behavioural needs of the children. The children attending the nurture class have made measurable progress as evidenced by the detailed analysis of monitoring information relating to their social, emotional and developmental needs. Across the school, all of the staff would benefit from further professional learning to equip them with a wider range of strategies to support children with social, emotional and behavioural needs.
The bespoke school initiative “Every Day Counts” is highlighting successfully the importance of full attendance at school, encouraging children to achieve 100% attendance one month at a time. This programme is impacting positively on the children’s attendance levels.
Throughout the school, almost all of the children approach their learning with enthusiasm, engage well, and respond positively to class routines. Consequently, the children make good progress across the curriculum from their individual starting points.
Opportunities for music and the arts are highly valued within the school community. All of the children benefit from the physical, social and emotional skills they develop through the structured Highland Dance programme.
The school values the importance of working in partnership with the parents and continues to be proactive and strategic in exploring ways of enhancing parental engagement. The parents are kept fully informed through, for example, the informative, attractive and accessible school website; monthly newsletters with curriculum updates; and regular use of social media platforms.
At the time of the inspection, the evidence provided by the school demonstrates that the arrangements for child protection align to the current statutory guidance.

Next steps

The staff in Fountain Primary School and Nursery Unit are committed to their vision and the community they serve. The children are learning in an inclusive school environment in which the shared values of the school community are very much to the fore.

The inspection has highlighted a number of areas for action as the next steps for the school to enable it to achieve its vision more fully. These include:

to enhance further the procedures for whole-school self-evaluation, including monitoring the impact of improvement work by incorporating first-hand evidence of learning and teaching; and
to provide staff professional learning opportunities to further equip all staff with the knowledge and strategies they need to support consistently the children who have social, emotional and behavioural needs.

The District Inspector will monitor the school’s progress in addressing the areas for action, as part of ETI’s normal monitoring processes.