Douglas Primary School and Nursery had been visited by HM Inspectors of Education and their report highlighted outdoor learning as being a great strength of the establishment, with staff making excellent use of outdoor spaces, forest areas and the local environment to provide meaningful learning experiences.

The strong team culture amongst staff and the collaborative ethos across the whole school community were also commended, with particularly strong feedback praising the warm and caring relationships between staff, children and families.

The inspectors appreciated the strong partnership the school has with families and the wider community, noting opportunities for parents and carers to engage in learning through stay-and-play sessions, home learning opportunities, outdoor events and community activities.

The confidence, resilience and independence shown by the pupils was also recognised, and the children were described as highly motivated, kind towards one another and eager to participate in learning, both indoors and outdoors.

A strong point was that the young people are given genuine opportunities to lead change within the school, by helping to make decisions, plan improvements and lead activities for their peers.

“The inspection reports clearly recognised that our children are happy, confident, caring and enthusiastic learners who thrive within our nurturing environment, which is something very special and something we work hard every day to achieve.

“Of course, however, we are always looking to identify how we can improve further and we have welcomed the areas for improvement identified by the inspectors as opportunities to keep moving forward.

“In that respect, it was very encouraging that the inspectors made it clear that they believed the primary school and nursery have the capacity to be successful in continuing to improve.”

Councillor Lynsey Hamilton, chair of the council’s Education Resources Committee, said: “These reports reflect the dedication, resilience and commitment of everyone involved in Douglas Primary School & Nursery’s community — our staff, our families, our partners and especially the children and young people.

“It is quite clearly a place where children are nurtured, included, encouraged and inspired, and that is something that should make them all incredibly proud. I am delighted that their hard work and dedication has been recognised in this report and I have no doubt they will continue to build on their achievements and ensure the school goes from strength to strength.”