Schools across Perth and Kinross have been commended by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) for delivering high-quality education, strong leadership and nurturing environments that help children and young people thrive.
Inspection reports published during 2025/26 highlight strong performance across Perth and Kinross schools.
HMIE inspected 10 schools in 2025-2026, nine primaries and one all-through school. In addition, there were two reports published for inspections which took place in 2024-2025. There are three reports still to be published for reviews undertaken in 2025/2026.
Several schools received particularly positive evaluations.
Dunbarney Primary School was awarded Very Good for Raising Attainment and Achievement and Good for Learning, Teaching and Assessment. Inspectors praised the school's nurturing ethos, inclusive culture and the very strong progress children are making in literacy and numeracy.
Kettins Primary School also achieved Good evaluations for both Learning, Teaching and Assessment and Raising Attainment and Achievement. Inspectors highlighted the positive relationships across the school community and recognised pupils as confident, articulate and proud of their school.
Murthly Primary School and Our Lady's RC Primary School both received Very Good evaluations for Leadership of Change. Inspectors praised their strong leadership, inclusive ethos and commitment to ensuring every child feels valued, supported and able to achieve their full potential.
Breadalbane Academy was awarded Good for Leadership of Change, with inspectors recognising the school's inclusive ethos, strong community values and commitment to continuous improvement across its all-through learning community.
Across all inspections, HM Inspectors highlighted a number of common strengths in Perth and Kinross schools. These included strong, nurturing relationships, effective support for wellbeing and inclusion, high-quality leadership, robust approaches to raising attainment and a wide range of opportunities for children and young people to develop leadership skills and achieve success beyond the classroom.
The latest figures show a significant increase in the proportion of evaluations judged to be Very Good, rising from 15.8% in the previous inspection cycle covering from 2023 to 2025 to 31.3% in 2025/26. There were no evaluations graded as weak.
Councillor John Rebbeck, Convener of the Learning and Families Committee, said: "These inspection findings are a testament to the hard work, dedication and professionalism of our teachers, support staff, school leaders, central teams and wider school communities. It is particularly encouraging to see inspectors recognising the nurturing and inclusive environments that our schools provide, alongside the strong progress children and young people are making in their learning.
"The reports highlight many areas of excellence, including leadership, attainment, wellbeing and the positive relationships that are at the heart of our schools. While we remain committed to continuous improvement, these findings demonstrate that children and young people across Perth and Kinross continue to benefit from high-quality education and support that helps them achieve their full potential."
The inspection findings are reflected in Perth and Kinross Council's own Quality Improvement Reviews, which identified similar strengths in leadership, wellbeing, inclusion, attainment and partnership working.
Priorities for further improvement, including the continued development of digital learning and ensuring consistently high levels of challenge across all classrooms, will be taken forward through the council's Education Improvement Plan for 2026/27.
