Education Scotland Canal View Primary School inspection information and statistics: FOI release

Information requested

1. When was Canal View Primary School last seen by an independent inspector? Why so long?

2. What school in Scotland is the longest without inspection? Can I have the top 5 please. I want to see if Canal View and 13 years is a trend or an oversight.

3. Are the Scottish Government comfortable or even aware that a school has been left this long?

4. What are the merits of leaving a primary school in a deprived area this length of time unchecked? Please answer this question.

5. How much PEF money has been spent at this school since PEF was introduced?

Response

1. Canal View Primary School was last inspected by HM Inspectors in June 2008 and the report was published on 14 October 2008. 

Schools in Scotland are selected for inspection each year on a proportionate basis, using a sampling approach and predetermined set criteria rather than a cyclical approach. This is what determines when a school will be inspected.

2. The five local authority and grant aided schools which have not been inspected for the longest period are as follows:

Aboyne Primary School	September 2004
Insch School	December 2004
Rum Primary School	May 2005
Corrie Primary School	June 2005
Happyhansel Primary School	September 2005

You may also be interested to note that the following link provides details of how much PEF money has been allocated to each school for 2021/22 Pupil Equity Funding: school allocations 2021 to 2022. This is publically available information and is published usually on a yearly basis.

3. Details of all local authority and grant aided inspections are published on the Scottish Government website and are therefore in the public domain. In addition Education Scotland’s Framework Document sets out that the scale and priorities of the inspection programme are determined by the Chief Executive of Education Scotland in agreement with the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning.

4. In Scotland, overall responsibility for the quality of education and securing continuous improvement sits with the local authority. There is a three-level approach to evaluating and improving education; schools have a responsibility to evaluate their performance, local authorities have responsibility for the quality of education in their area and the third level is scrutiny activity carried out by HM Inspectors of Education.

5.While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Education Scotland does not have the information you have requested on ‘How much PEF money has been spent at this school since PEF was introduced’, therefore this is exempt under section 17(1) of FOISA.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.