St Charles’ Primary School and Language and Communication Resource (LCR) is a denominational school in the west end of Glasgow. Currently, the school roll is 232 children across nine classes in the mainstream and four classes in the LCR. The majority of children live in Scottish Index Multiple Deprivation deciles one to three. Over 60% of children are placing requests to the school.

The improvement issue

The headteacher and staff identified digital learning as a key area for improvement. The school’s existing technology was outdated and insufficient to prepare children effectively for the demands of a 21st-century workplace.

What St Charles’ did

Recognising the need for urgent action, leaders formed a team of teachers dedicated to digital enhancement. This team visited schools where technology was being used successfully. Insights from these visits, aligning with the ‘How Good is Our School? (HGIOS4) quality indicators, were instrumental in shaping the school’s initial digital learning strategy. This also included initial professional learning for staff, ensuring alignment with the General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) professional standards.

Key areas for development were identified as:

• infrastructure and resources;
• building staff capacity;
• building pupil capacity; and
• parental engagement.

With the support of the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF), the school purchased 66 iPads for pupil use and two routers over the first two years, significantly improving infrastructure. Additional resources were introduced to support and develop children’s coding and computational thinking skills, essential elements in Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). Staff were provided with iPads from the local authority so that they could familiarise themselves with them. Leaders ensured that teachers were given space and time for professional learning before digital learning became a focus of classroom observations. This was crucial in supporting the GTCS ‘Professional Standards for Career-Long Professional Learning’, and it ensured that staff were equipped to integrate digital tools effectively in teaching.

Pupil Digital Leaders were selected through interviews and encouraged to attend an after-school coding club. These children also participated in citywide events following the announcement of Glasgow’s Connected Learning Programme. Staff trained children in using an online platform to share their learning regularly with their parents. This gave parents real-time insight into their child’s learning.

Staff worked in partnership with colleagues from other schools and the local authority to develop further their confidence in using a range of digital programmes and resources. For example, 3D printing, book creator applications and coding platforms. Staff successfully use these resources to enhance their learning and teaching approaches.

As a result of these efforts, St. Charles received national award, marking a significant milestone in the school’s digital journey.

With a significant turnover of staff in recent years, professional learning remains a priority. Three teachers have trained as learning coaches to support colleagues in using digital tools effectively in the classroom. These efforts are aligned with the ‘Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning’, ensuring continuous improvement in staff digital competence. Digital tools are now integral to planning and assessment at St. Charles. Staff are also using the local authority’s monitoring and tracking tool to assess attainment over time, with the potential to use this system for reporting to parents.

What the sustained impact has been

The impact of these digital initiatives is evident across multiple areas of the school’s work.

There has been a noticeable improvement in children's digital skills, particularly in coding, communication and problem-solving. The engagement of Pupil Digital Leaders in specialised areas such as artificial intelligence, website management and coding has increased their digital competence.

Professional learning opportunities have allowed staff to integrate digital tools effectively into teaching and learning. Teachers regularly reflect on their practice during Professional Review and Development (PRD) sessions, furthering their alignment with the GTCS Professional Standards.

The school’s use of digital tools and social media has led to greater parental involvement in children’s learning.

The introduction of digital planning, monitoring and tracking tools has streamlined the assessment process, providing clearer insights into pupil progress. Pupil engagement has increased, particularly in upper primary, where assessment and feedback processes are enhanced.

Overall, the digital strategy at St. Charles has had a transformative impact on teaching, learning, and engagement, with clear evidence of improvements in children’s outcomes, increased staff capacity and stakeholder collaboration. Teachers have developed highly effective approaches to ensure innovative and creative pedagogical practices. These ongoing efforts continue to support the school’s mission to prepare pupils for a digitally connected world, in line with Scotland’s educational vision and the Professional Standards.