Motherwell school to receive follow-up HMIE inspection visit

The team from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) in Scotland said Glencairn Primary in Motherwell had made “insufficient progress” since the original inspection but acknowledged the pace of change had “increased significantly” since the appointment of a new headteacher.

The inspectors will return within nine months, and will write to parents informing them of the progress the school has made.

After an inspection visit in June 2025, HMIE in Scotland set out a number of areas for improvement agreed with North Lanarkshire Council.

They said the school should “improve approaches to evaluating the work of the school” and on the return visit, concluded that Glencairn Primary had made some progress in this area.

The report, which is available in full on the HMIE in Scotland website, added: “As much of the work is still at a very early stage, there is insufficient evidence available to evaluate fully the overall impact on the school.

“The headteacher has taken prompt, well-judged and decisive action to allocate resources more effectively to support improvement.

“She has introduced robust systems and procedures that are beginning to have a positive impact on the day-to-day work of the school.”

The inspectors found that communication within the school and with parents is improving, including the introduction of the Glencairn Gazette, a helpful source of information for parents about the work of the school which highlights how parents can get involved, and the Parent Council are now better informed about the purpose of Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) and how it is used.

The inspectors said some progress had been made around senior leaders and staff working together to ensure all children experience consistently high-quality learning and teaching. 

They reported: “Across the school, children benefit from warm, positive relationships with staff. Almost all children are polite and respectful to staff and visitors. Overall, the climate for learning is now more purposeful and calmer.”

Following the original inspection, staff undertook a wide range of professional learning to help improve approaches to learning and teaching.

The inspectors said: “There are early indications that this work is starting to have a positive impact on children’s engagement and attainment.”

The report also noted: “Staff in the nursery have taken positive steps to improve the learning environment.”

In the original inspection, the school was advised to “improve approaches to supporting children in mainstream classes who require additional support with aspects of their learning.”

The follow-up report said: “The school has made some progress towards addressing this area for improvement.”

It also said: “Staff have made a positive start in raising attainment in literacy and numeracy.

"Since the original inspection, there has been an increase in children’s attainment at early level. Most children in P1 are on track to achieve expected levels in literacy and numeracy. At P4, most children are on track to achieve first level in literacy with a majority on track in numeracy. At P7, a majority of children are on track to achieve expected levels in literacy and numeracy.

“At a few stages across the school, there remains a significant number of children working below expected levels. Senior leaders and staff need to ensure that they continue to take the necessary actions to support these children to make better progress in their learning.”