THE EDUCATION provision is improving at an Alloa primary school, but more work needs to be done.

Elected members of Clackmannanshire Council's Resource & Audit Committee last Thursday heard how staff at St Mungo's RC Primary School have worked hard to enhance how children learn in class, following several Education Scotland inspections in the past two years.

An Education Scotland visit in June 2014 highlighted how improvements were needed at the school, part of the Scottish Attainment Challenge, as overall, the children's spelling, use of grammar, skills in mental and written calculations as well as mathematical problem-solving were not well enough developed.

The 2014 report, which was published in September that year, also stated that across the school, children's skills of listening and talking to each other in groups were below par and that youngsters were not always sufficiently aware of how they can improve their own learning.

It also turned out that a significant minority of pupils did not always behave well in classes, which had a detrimental impact on other children's learning.

However, a follow-up inspection at the end of last year highlighted that improvements have been made.

The report said children are now more active in their learning and respond well in classes and that there has been a significant improvement in their behaviour.

Staff have enhanced the lay-out of rooms and are developing a clearer and more accurate view of children's progress and attainment. Teachers also developed a nurturing and caring ethos to support the kids' learning.

But, it has been recognised that there has not yet been sufficient progress in boosting the pupils' literacy and numeracy skills.

The report read: “There is still a significant amount of work to be undertaken to ensure staff have a clear overview of children's learning across the curriculum.

“A good start has been made to developing mathematics, reading and health and well being. A continued focus on developing whole school teaching programmes of learning will allow children to build what they already know and ensure sufficient challenge and relevance in their learning.”

Elected members debated the reports and SNP councillor Craig Holden questioned why it took so long for managers to see the problems. The original report said the school needed more support and time to achieve positive outcomes.

Head of education David Leng explained to the councillor that there had been a change of headteachers at the school, said there has been ongoing support from the council's education service and added that officers worked with school management to develop and implement an action plan.

An acting principal teacher had also been appointed to act as a model practitioner and to support improvement.

A further inspection is set to take place this year. At first, elected members were concerned about the frequency of the visits, however, it was highlighted that Education Scotland recently decided to do annual follow-ups rather than biannual and that this is now common practice.

In an amendment, approved by fellow members, councillor Bobby McGill moved that the committee congratulates on areas of progress all those concerned – teachers, parents, children and educational staff.