By Kirsty Paterson and Local Democracy Reporter,Kirsty Paterson, Local Democracy Reporter

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Members of Falkirk Council’s scrutiny committee were told that in 2024/25, six primary schools and one secondary school were visited by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) and all were found to be ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Members heard that Falkirk’s performance compared very well to the national picture, where around 28 per cent of the 350 establishments inspected by HMIE in 2024/25 were given gradings of ‘good’ or better in all indicators, compared to Falkirk’s 100 per cent. Six of Falkirk’s early learning and childcare establishments were also given unannounced visits by the Care Inspectorate, with all of the areas under review found to be ‘good’ or ‘very good’ and 83 per cent of the measures judged to be ‘very good’. The schools involved were Bonnybridge PS, Moray PS, Wallacestone PS, Bantaskin PS, Antonine PS and Nethermains PS as well as Denny High school. The nurseries were Ladeside Early Learning & Childcare Centre; Bowhouse Nursery Class; Carmuirs ELC Centre; Carron Nursery Class; Antonine Nursery Class and Airth ELC Centre. Both inspectorates use a grading scale that includes: excellent, very good, good, adequate, weak or unsatisfactory. ‘Very good’ means the inspectors find major strengths, while ‘good’ means there are important strengths with some areas for improvement. Director of education Jon Reid said it was a “very positive report”. He told members: “An evaluation of ‘good’ means that there are important strengths within the school’s work that are having a significantly positive impact on almost all children and young people. “It also says that there are aspects of work which require to be improved but the important thing is that they are identified in the school improvement plan and are being actioned.” Mr Reid assured councillors that schools are constantly looking at ways to make improvements and there are other measures of success, such as destinations and attainment, to ensure that pupils are making good progress. Councillor Iain Sinclair, the portfolio holder for education, told the meeting that the education service in Falkirk “had been on a journey” over the past seven years and described it as “a marathon, not a sprint”. He added: “What I take from these reports is that parents can take confidence from the fact that the standards their children and young people are receiving in our schools and establishments across the district is of a good quality, a very good quality and in some cases excellent quality. “That’s testament to the dedicated professionalism of our teams both at the centre and in our establishments in keeping our children at the heart of everything they do. “My thanks go to our staff, our teachers, our educators, our pedagogues, but also to the whole school community – parents, children and young people themselves – for being so engaged in their education. “Education by its very nature is changing and is getting more challenging as the years go on so perhaps keeping this level of high quality education is a difficult thing to do but by jingo we’re managing it. “We’re doing it because we have such a dedicated team of people working for our children and young people.” The committee’s convener, Provost Robert Bissett, said the report showed a “consistently strong performance” across schools and early years and commended everyone involved, thanking them for “being determined to do your best for all our pupils”.