Head teacher says making pupil welfare her top priority was key to turning school around

Inverclyde Academy is one of the most improved schools in the country, with a substantial increase in the number of pupils achieving five or more Higher passes.

Head Denise Crawford says her aim has been to improve the life chances of all her pupils and the school community.

Together with her staff she is investing in the health and wellbeing of the children in her care so they can go on to succeed once they leave the secondary.

Sixty per cent of her pupils live in areas classed as the most deprived places in the country.

But Ms Crawford refuses to let that bleak statistic define her charges - and the approach has paid dividends.

She said: "I tell our pupils every single week at assembly, you are not a post code.

"We are all individuals and we can all achieve.

"This hasn't been overnight, it has been a long term improvement.

"We are delighted to encourage our pupils to sit five Highers.

"Gaining five and going to university will give them the chance to get into the better wage bracket and improve their familial chances."

Inverclyde Academy now offers a number of different ways to learn, including opportunities for work placements and other kinds of innovative training.

Proud head teacher Denise said: "We care about our pupils, not league tables.

"We have pupils who are equally clever who are sitting four highers and others maybe doing a placement because that suits their learning best."

Inverclyde Academy also has a support system in place for all pupils which includes a trained counsellor, using cash from government pupil equity scheme funding.

Denise told the Tele: "I think all pupils need support.

"There is a stress on them if they are trying to get five Highers and grades to get a university place.

"You need to make sure the help is there.

"But we support the communities and families as well.

"One of our priorities is to involve our parents - we take them with us."

The passionate teacher says she has taken the school and wider community to her heart since her arrival.

She said: "When I came for my job interview, I parked my car in the town centre but I didn't know where the education department office was.

"I was dressed in all my finery and I asked a woman in the street.

"She said she didn't know either but her brother worked there and she would phone him.

"I thought right there and then, 'this will do me, this looks like my kind of town'.

"I grew up in a high rise in a council housing estate like Larkfield.

"My mum was a cleaner and my dad was a steel worker.

"I come from a town just like Greenock."

One of her first tasks was to identify the specific needs of her pupils and families.

The school quickly put in place free breakfasts for all pupils and staff.

Denise added: "If you are not nourished you can't learn.

"Health and wellbeing is our priority."

Mental health was also singled out as a big issue by pupils, so funding has been spent on counselling and initiatives to support them.

Mrs Crawford paid tribute to her team for all their hard work and says that the transformation could not have happened without them.

She said: "I want our pupils to achieve but it is all about the team I have in place.

"All my staff feel the same way.

"Our staff are always there for pupils and are so committed."