See Gaelic version.

Sgoil-Àraich Lìonail (Lionel Early Learning and Childcare) is situated in Sgoil Lìonail – Lionel School in Nis (Ness) on the Isle of Lewis. Nis is in the north of the island and has a distinct identity, - ‘Niseach’, - with Gàidhlig (Gaelic) language, central to its culture and heritage.

Sgoil-Àraich Lìonail provides early learning and childcare provision through the medium of Gàidhlig as part of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s ‘Gaelic First’ policy. The sgoil-àraich is registered for up to 25 children who are between two years in age to those not yet enrolled in sgoil (school). At the time of the inspection, 12 children aged two years or over were registered for the sgoil-àraich.

The school has no children living in the 20% most deprived Social Index of Multiple Deprivation data zones in Scotland.

The improvement issue

Sgoil araich and sgoil staff used self-evaluation well to identify the curriculum as an area for improvement. They identified the need to develop a relevant and focused curriculum from sgoil-àraich to P7. This was to take full account of the unique context of the sgoil. Staff recognised that children’s fluency in Gàidhlig was positive but could be better. Children were not reaching their full potential in fluency. Staff agreed to prioritise improving progression in total immersion and providing consistently high-quality learning experiences for all children. Staff recognised that learning needed to be more challenging and well matched to the needs of all children.

Sgoil àraich staff recognised the need to ensure that play pedagogy was skilfully developed and carefully planned to deliver robust Gàidhlig language total immersion. They identified that curriculum planning needed to ensure that children developed their literacy and numeracy skills through play and total immersion, as well as other aspects of the curriculum. This is while developing individual children’s Gàidhlig language on the pathway to fluency.

What Sgoil àraich did

Sgoil àraich staff make well-judged use of the Gaelic First policy and the Advice on Gaelic Education (March 2022) to guide and review improvements. Sgoil àraich staff adopted a whole-school approach to improve the ethos of the school, making it more focused on Gàidhlig. Renaming English Medium classes to Gaelic (Learner) gave staff ownership of empowering all children and teachers to learn the language. Children were consulted, with almost all children valuing the opportunity to speak Gàidhlig. All children felt proud of their unique community and Niseach identity. The parent council has a range of members from sgoil-àraich to P7 who represent Gàidhlig Medium and Gaelic (Learners). When consulted on what made the school unique, parents wholly agreed that the Gàidhlig language, the Niseach dialect, songs, bàrdachd (poetry), culture and heritage of Nis were crucial. They identified local landmarks and distinct machair land (moorland) and wildlife that surrounded the area as important to the context of the sgoil.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar adopted play pedagogy as an approach in early years settings and primary 1-2 classrooms. The Comhairle provided professional learning opportunities for sgoil and sgoil-àraich staff. Staff implemented play and total immersion pedagogy across early and first level. Importantly, play was through total immersion, with an increased emphasis on stories, songs and ‘rannan’ (rhymes) in early year classes. Staff used picture prompts, repetition and children’s use of repetitive stories to develop and reinforce language and support children’s understanding and engagement. Children listened well to familiar stories and enjoyed retelling, by acting out and joining in with repeated phrases. This helped internalise grammatical structures and developed children’s fluency and literacy skills. Staff used music and song to develop and enhance children’s language learning. Practitioners in the early years increased the role of music and singing songs in the total immersion setting. While children play, adults interact regularly with them, building communication, phrases and vocabulary through Gàidhlig. Adults in the setting have a crucial role in play through Gàidhlig. They intentionally enable children to hear and interact in the language all the time to help them absorb Gàidhlig in a planned and progressive way.

Early years practitioners use ‘An Leabhar Mòr’ (The Big Book) well to plan learning using children’s interests to explore themes. They also have useful progression pathways for literacy, numeracy, and health and wellbeing to guide planning for children’s learning. These take account of Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes. Staff track children’s progress in knowledge, skills and understanding in literacy, numeracy, and health and wellbeing thoroughly. They track children’s progress in Gàidhlig using specific language acquisition framework and national Benchmarks. This ensures robust progression for children. The Gàidhlig language framework moves at pace through grammatical structures that are embedded in total immersion. At early level, the Gàidhlig language framework builds on communication and vocabulary through themes that can be incorporated into play. Staff use word-banks in planning to ensure there is a planned approach to language acquisition. This ensures that children develop an appropriate ‘briathrachas’ (vocabulary) that is rich in local words and dialect.

Staff quality-assure their Gàidhlig practice through play using the Advice for Gaelic Education. Staff make well-judged use of this Advice to review and guide their approaches to play. They customise play in Gàidhlig differently to that for English, with Gàidhlig language development as a priority. Staff prioritise careful adult intervention and modelling of the language. This provides children with the necessary language skills to continue their play in Gàidhlig and improves their snack time experiences; for instance, children sit around the table to maximise the use of Gàidhlig language in an authentic context. Practitioners maximise all opportunities to develop children’s progression in language. They ensure that children who have fluency from having Gàidhlig at home experience more challenging learning.

Partnerships with the Comunn Eachdraidh Nis (historical society) and affiliated “Day Club” (a social club for senior citizens) are founded in the sgoil-àraich and built on in P1. Members of the Day Club are invited to the sgoil-àraichto play games and share history whilst conversing in Gàidhlig. This enriches children’s experiences through Gàidhlig.

What the sustained impact has been

Children are proud of their strong Niseach identity as a sgoil. The sgoil values are strong and embedded in children’s actions. Children relate their school experiences to the values. Staff are fluent speakers of Gàidhlig. Their pride in the Niseach identify permeates their teaching and contributes to the ethos of the school.

Children’s language and fluency has improved, as a result of improvements to total immersion, play pedagogy and planning progress in the curriculum. Practitioners check and assess robustly using the Gàidhlig Language Framework and national Benchmarks. They identify children’s next steps in language acquisition well. This consistent approach helps to strategically build on children’s language. Practitioners also build on the children’s language skills intentionally and responsively through play. As a result, the pace at which children’s language is being developed has increased.

As a result of these approaches, almost all children in the early level are on track to achieve their listening and talking Curriculum for Excellence outcomes in literacy and Gàidhlig. Staff used focus groups and observations to support their judgements.

Staff identify and provide support for children who need additional support for their language learning. They create individual targets for children.

Staff measure children’s engagement. They develop interventions to improve this through further support in the class, using local authority apprentice schemes for raising attainment.

Parents are pleased with their children’s progress and fluency in Gàidhlig. They are actively involved in the sgoil-àraich. Staff use online profiles to evidence children’s use of their local context to build their skills. The children are proud of their school and their Niseach and Gàidhlig identity.