FALKIRK COUNCIL Education Services
Head of Muir Primary School
Head of Muir Primary School and Nursery Class Standards & Quality Report
Dear Parent/Carer
As you probably know, each year the government and the council publish information designed to show how well schools and local authorities are improving pupil performance and achievement year on year.
In similar fashion, we in Head of Muir Primary School and Nursery Class would like to tell you how we are progressing in our school. This leaflet has been designed to do just that. It is our 'Standards and Quality Report' for last session.
Inside, you will find a brief description of our main achievements during the last session. Whilst we do many things in the course of a year, we have focused on what we consider to be the most important areas. I have outlined the school's main priorities for next session.
Under the previous 5 to 14 curriculum guidelines you would have been very familiar with the different levels of attainment from A to E. Along with Falkirk Council Education Services we will be working to replace these assessment indicators and reporting structures with new systems that will better reflect the new national curriculum guidelines.
I hope you find the leaflet helpful. If you have any questions about it, please do not hesitate to phone the school office for an appointment. I will be pleased to offer clarification.
Daniel F. Barrie
Headteacher
May 2011
Highlights of 2010/2011
August September
Miss Smith joined us for our annual Road Safety week A group of pupils represented the school at the Denny and Dunipace Highland Games
October November
Commonwealth Week Ardeonaig
To celebrate the Indian Once again P7 conquered their Games we spent a week fears and spent a fantastic week studying different together at Ardeonaig House - commonwealth countries. The week ended with a fantastic assembly where each class P7 also organised our Children in Need Fundraiser – raising performed something they had learned – a highlight was P3 singing and dancing to Jayho
December January What happened in December……
P1 parents came to share our learning at Family Finish P6 gave us the amazing Xmas Factor for our end of term
service.
Once again Mr Billcliff encouraged
our young stars to take to the
stage in our Talent Show Primary 7 excelled at one of
our best Burns
Suppers ever.
And of course we had a little snow.....
February March
Cross Country runners braved Pupils from all classes worked hard nd the cold preparing for our 2 Green Flag Assessment
Fish came to join P7 at school - they eventually set them free In P2 grandparents came to visit and spent the afternoon finding out what we had been learning
April May
Primary 5 led us in a Our bottle greenhouse is wonderful Easter Service beginning to take shape
A group of pupils took part in the final of the K-nex We challenge at Denny High held a School Teddy Bears Picnic to celebrate the Royal Wedding
Our Priorities for 2010/2011 What we achieved Next steps
Continue to develop active approaches All teaching and learning planned using Review planning formats to ensure to learning throughout the school. experiences and outcomes – weekly plans they meet quality assurance Ensure that all pupil learning organised around literacy/numeracy and requirements and demonstrate a experiences are delivered in line with inter disciplinary learning – plans clearly consistent approach Curriculum for Excellence identify coverage and progress through CfE Continue to develop courses and levels. programmes in line with Pupils confidently discuss their learning and experiences and outcomes. are responding positively to active and co- Review Learning and Teaching operative approaches to learning. Policy to reflect development of Feedback from parental surveys indicates an active and co-operative learning understanding of new developments and the introduction of more active approaches to learning.
Ensure that the needs of all pupils are Reductions in SLA and SLT provision Respond to authority guidance on met and that children make progress prompted a revaluation of the role of both new approach to IEP‟s. through Curriculum for Excellence resources. SLT role more focused on Implement staff input paperwork Levels as early as possible by targeting assessment and planning for pupils with ASN to IEP progress. Ensure additional support where required – still has direct input with some pupils and identification of next steps in consults widely with staff, parents and pupils learning are clearly identified and on target setting and resources to best shared support individual progress
Implementing new assessment and All staff involved in moderation exercises at Use recording formats and moderation strategies throughout the school, cluster and authority level. Work progress records to track coverage school to ensure pupils make appropriate carried out to define standards and identify and ensure appropriate progress. agreed criteria for matching pupil progress development of core skills. to levels. Staff working groups developed Respond to Education Authority recording formats indicating criteria for guidance on the development of Developing/Consolidating/Secure in core standardised testing and subjects- decision made to delay use of assessment of pupils these terms awaiting guidance from EA
To improve behaviour and pupil Restorative Approaches introduced Continue to implement restorative relationships through the introduction throughout the school, community – all staff approaches to behaviour and development of restorative trained in approach – survey of staff/pupils management in session 2011/2012 practices and parents completed to provide a Review staff/parent/pupil opinions benchmark which will be revisited in March in March 2012 using restorative 2012 survey Staff using restorative conversations to deal Identify and train pupils to with low level behaviour throughout the facilitate restorative school conversations amongst peers. Information leaflet produced and shared with parents promoting the use of Restorative Conversations Feedback from parent survey positively reflected current approaches to manage and support behaviour (the results of this survey can be seen on the school website). To achieve third Enterprising School As the result of a huge amount of hard work To achieve Enterprising School Gold Award and effort on behalf of staff, pupils and Platinum Award in session To achieve second Eco – schools Green parents we were successful in both of these 2011/2012 Flag external accreditations To work toward 3rd Green Flag in 2012/2013 Develop use of Storyline including joint A transition topic has been planned jointly Plan a further topic to enable a two P1/nursery topic for the summer term in Nursery/P1. This year rotation to occur. involves the children from P1 visiting the nursery and nursery children visiting P1 to complete a variety of tasks. This has developed the confidence of both groups and offered reassurance to the nursery pupils – the nursery have become familiar with the rooms, resources and staff in P1 and P1 have grown in confidence by sharing their knowledge and support. This has eased the transition process and has also motivated and stretched the more able nursery children. Develop and involve use of evaluation AW taken on responsibility for Nursery Blog Continue to develop all forms of techniques with parents. which is weekly updated and gives immediate evaluation and to recognise any new opportunity for parents to comment on day opportunities. to day activities in nursery. Comment book available at Open Evenings. Comment book available to visitors in Nursery. Evaluation sheet used with parents and pupils. Newsletters available on nursery blog/school website. All offer opportunity for parental evaluation and comment.
Our Priorities for 2011/2012
School Vision and Values Review school values and aims
Self Evaluation Staff agree a whole school approach to the development and moderation of active and co-operative learning across the school
Curriculum Development Health and Wellbeing – begin to break down e‟s and o‟s into the knowledge, understanding and skills which they contain
Assessment Develop pupil profiling as a means of recording progress and assessment throughout the school
Effective Learning and Teaching Ensure that we have a shared understanding of interdisciplinary learning and review the balance of time spent on IDL and core subjects
ICT Continue to develop GLOW as the key resource for learning and teaching
Your feedback to us ......
Over the current session we have been focusing on delivering all pupils learning experiences in line with Curriculum for Excellence. We have also been concentrating on using more active and cooperative approaches to learning.
Have you noticed any difference? Does your child tell you about the way they are learning – and what do you think about it? Does the work displayed around the school demonstrate a wide range of ways of learning?
Comments X is so engaged – he can list his days activities with definite areas in which he should improve. His learning log has had the best activities and he has found it easy to compete over the weekend. His topics this year have also grabbed his imagination in content and activities but by far the whole classroom management and decoration. He is fully immersed in his learning. X has become more focused and engaged on her work this year. All the required elements of the programme seem to be supportive of a successful curriculum. The way X shares her learning also supports this style of learning X enjoyed the video and the work involved in making it. The school displays look fantastic. The pupils and teachers must work really hard. Well done all. Feel like my children very involved in Active learning. They have experienced a lot of outdoor learning and enjoyed a lot of practical activities. There is a lot more flexibility in the „curriculum for excellence‟ and it offers opportunities for the different learning styles that children have. Enjoy looking at the photographs that explain how children are learning. Got a wide range of everything within the school Discusses topics she has covered and activities undertaken. Appears to be more interactive approach to learning which I think is good. No obvious detriment to what she is actually learning Displays support the approach the curriculum is designed to deliver Feel children communicate with is letting us know how they are getting on. Always good to see their work around the school Yes my child discusses with me what he has learnt. I think they have a good curriculum and the work is all different Very pleased with everything. Confident that X is going to carry on doing well in school We have noticed a difference, work seems to be more child led, colourful and interesting. Our child tells us what they are learning and shows us often The work seems to be related to “actual” examples which helps the children to engage with the work There is some confusion at times to how spelling is taught but on the whole it seems to make sense There is a lot of fantastic work displayed and can understand why children are very enthusiastic about their work at school and keen to find out more about the topics they are involved in. I liked the hands on approach – the Chinese visitors and lady form Belarus – a real life experience heard from people who were effected The Eco-experience helps he children to interact and remember better what they are being taught Children are more talkative about subjects Notice that there are more cross-curricular activities Child enjoys reading detectives which has enhanced vocabulary skills and comprehension More topics which incorporate art work and made learning more enjoyable The work displayed in the classroom reflects the effort put in by the class teacher and the enthusiasm it has created in child‟s learning
Sharing Information/Reporting to Parents
Collated responses
Open Evening/Morning
1 -Unhelpful 2 3 4 5 6 - Very Helpful
Comments
Fine if this is evening but added pressure for working parents if in mornings Good chance to see the children in their learning environment Did not attend Very useful to allow parents to see their children in their learning environment Always informative Invaluable event where I gain the greatest insight into my child‟s learning and development Good to see in and around classes – evening best as mornings difficult with work commitments Nice to make 2 less formal visits to see topic and work displays I work all day Younger children shouldn‟t be allowed on open morning as very busy Lets you get a feel for what is going on in the classroom but not very individual to your child It‟s good to see what the children are working on Not attended any yet Great ideas as we like to be kept informed of our child‟s progress Need more time with teachers Sometimes too busy – think some people have parents and grandparents attending Enjoy Kids love showing their parents around their class I like to come in to school to see what my child has been doing A bit busy! Hard to get an opportunity to see everything I really enjoyed this evening and all the teachers are so nice and really helpful They are excellent. Seeing my child in her environment is very rewarding Added time to see how your child is progressing
Open Mornings and evenings are designed to offer a different experience to parents from the more formal one to one session. By offering both we hope that we can accommodate all working patterns for parents thus enabling them to attend at least one session. They are important for developing the self-confidence and self-esteem of the children as this gives them the opportunity to share what they do in school first hand rather than through the teacher. They also give parents the opportunity to look around the school to see activities that are offered at different stages of a child‟s school career.
School Website 1 -Unhelpful 2 3 4 5 6- very helpful
Comments
To be honest I don‟t really use the website so wouldn‟t be fair to see Very useful – is kept well up to date I find that I do not go online as often as I‟d like – I have little spare time. To pass on information the newsletter is very, very helpful Very helpful to allow parents to access important school information Not particularly relevant to Nursery class and could possibly be updated more regularly Would be good to have updated more with events/after school activities – could have newsletter on it – all in one place Would be good idea to add important dates for upcoming events and a copy of the recent newsletter Keeps you up to date on school news I often forget to check School dinner menu not clear what colour of week we are on, if you don‟t check every week you don‟t know what colour for what week as no dates given – PDF not clear on dates I‟ve used this on the odd occasion for internet links for learning logs and to check school term dates Good way of seeing things that are happening in school Good source during bad weather Overall good I don‟t go on the website My child enjoys showing me the website This is updated regularly with what the kids have been doing- it‟s lovely to see photos on the site to see what they get up to Not always up to date Could be updated quicker sometimes I think the website is brilliant, the layout is easy and everything you need to know is on the website Very informative Keeps you informed on all the activities the school has been doing
The school website is updated every week after the meeting of the school computer group who write all the articles. We have added most of the assemblies as movies this year to enable working parents who cannot attend to enjoy the assembly. The nursery only has general nursery information on the website as they have a very detailed blog which is updated regularly. However the website does give nursery parents an opportunity to see what sort of activities their child will be involved in when they go to school. We will liaise with the catering staff and hope to get a list of dates for the coloured dinner menus. We have now added school newsletters to the website allowing parents to look back for information when a paper copy has been lost. As this can now be updated from home we will continue to use it during school closures to keep parents up to date with the situation. The format of the website has changed this year and we are slowly finding out what new ideas we can add to the website. We would welcome new suggestions for content.
Class Blogs
1 2 3 4 5 6
Comments
Don‟t really look at it but when kids were on residential trip the blog was great Enjoy looking at this with my child and seeing videos of what they have been doing Nice to see children‟s work Unsure what this is really/never looked Great to watch and see activities which have happened in school Nice to see what they really get up to I appreciate all the hard work put into keeping the nursery blog up and running – I wish I had more time to share this more regularly with my child Nice to see what the children are doing especially the video clips Nice to get insight into what goes on in school Kids seem more engaged and wanting to share the work they have been doing in class Some classes have more entries than others so it would be good for them all to have as much Really good idea – lets you see things your child is doing at school on a day to day basis – good fun for the children too Again, I often forget to check This is very good as my husband and myself can see what out child has been doing and they will tell you all about what‟s happening Don‟t visit them on website often as not sure when they are updated and how often Great – love it – kids love to see themselves on the computer I only look at the blog occasionally Think the class blogs are fantastic. It is great to see all the fantastic work the classes are doing Some classes are better than others It is great to see what my child has been doing in class and at special events throughout the school Good to see what they have been doing Information on your child‟s class is good
We aim to keep these developing next year, involving the children with compiling articles and information.
Newsletters
1 2 3 4 5 6
Comments
Great now that these are emailed These are good although sometimes forgotten about at bottom of bag –emailed is better Very informative with schools updates on matters I like regular newsletters – they can be referred back to easily Good source of information- sometimes found at bottom of bag – email is better I enjoy reading about the learning and teaching that has gone on in the month. Dates for diary are useful. Could email be used instead of a paper copy. Very useful – especially now that they are electronic – guaranteed to get them Especially now they are sent in a format those with older computers can access – first half of the year I could not access it Monthly works for me Don‟t always get a lot of notice of things that are coming up Keeps you informed of all school dates that are important – means you don‟t miss anything important Sometimes the kids don‟t bring them home With the busy lifestyle we live the paper newsletter gets put on the fridge and is referenced often Keeps parents up to date In some cases it would be helpful to have dates of activities earlier than start of each month for example Christmas activities and end of term activities – this would make it easier to arrange time off work Sometimes not very clear e.g – wear something red – it did not say with or without uniform. A lot of parents calling each other to see if children were to wear school uniform or not Very detailed with info – dates parents need to know Good for dates of things These can be handed out a little late not giving much notice It would be helpful if at the very start of the letter it had all the dates and events marked Good Communication Good at letting you know dates Always handy to have updated newsletters as this gives me all relevant dates for my diary Print could be larger Good for confirming dates and what‟s going on Good information- especially for dates of holidays etc
The school calendar given out at the beginning of the school year gives dates to allow parents to plan ahead. Unfortunately these occasionally have to change as the year progresses due to circumstances outwith our control, but we do try to keep these to a minimum. Next year the school calendar will be published on the school website to allow parents to check throughout the year. If you do not receive your newsletters by email and would like to, please give us your e mail address to add to our list. Next year school newsletters will be stored on the school website allowing parents to look back for information when a paper copy has been lost. The print is small in an effort to reduce the paper usage in school to support our eco-school policy. If you receive the newsletter by e mail or view through the website the print can be enlarged to the required size. Information given on the newsletters is also shared with the children so they may be a source of confirming information e.g. what‟ wearing something red‟ means.
Learning Logs
1 2 3 4 5 6
Comments Generally these are good but some tasks seem like homework for the parents rather than child – especially in P2 Allow children to be creative and learn at the same time A very good home/school link and my son and I enjoy looking/working with the learning log Very good Excellent form of homework – allows kids to be creative while learning My husband and I thoroughly enjoy looking through the profile – our child enjoys sharing what she can do Really like doing these with the children but think it can be too much when there are other things like reading detectives as well So far don‟t feel they are too hard or time consuming for P2 level Current teacher gives more info/guidance at front of jotter that is helpful. I still feel work guidance is more parental push/confusion than pupil led as it should be My child finds this very distressing sometimes. I feel that they are given too much considering they spend all day at school Perhaps some examples of outstanding work should be put on the website Good way to present the weekly homework but at times feel it is sometimes too much. Also very dependent on the day it is given out as to how easy it is to complete It‟s good to pick and choose what night suits best Very easy to understand – my child enjoys homework this way The logs are great as we fit the homework around other activities I find this is good – lets me know how my child is learning and progressing Great way to display work and nice to keep I‟ve always been in favour of learning logs – great way for kids and parents to do together I hate when they have to make something – that is homework for me! I think these are good and I can see the difference in my child‟s approach to learning but there is a lot to do each week and it is hard to fit in to family life At times there is a lot – extra on top of learning log exercises/reading book Work could get more noticed by teacher All letters and information relating to learning logs has made homework clear and easy to understand I find that learning logs take up a lot of time as I don‟t believe in homework at weekends. It doesn‟t leave a lot of time to practice things they may be genuinely struggling with A great way of reinforcing the work done in school. I like the way they are issued weekly as this provides ample time for both parents to be involved Not sure it the best way for P1- okay for older children My child enjoys the learning logs as he can fit homework around other activities knowing he has the full week he can plan it well Very hard to complete during the week as some tasks are large Certain parts of learning logs we don‟t feel needed for homework – English and Maths are essential Sometimes seems an awful lot of work outwith school when there is also a project to do learning logs should stop until the project work is completed to allow time for things other than homework(at age 10) I prefer the old style homework. Learning Logs could be used as an additional fun activity Homework in the Learning Log style is designed to give the children as much personal choice as is possible – a major component in the Curriculum for Excellence. By giving it out over a weekly period and also giving all tasks out at one time the children can choose a time when it suits them best to complete the homework. This accommodates children‟s social activities and while some people choose to do the homework during the week, others prefer to do it at weekends. The amount of tasks given are similar to the more formal daily homework given previously. The children go over the homework with their class teacher when it is given out and suggestions and ideas are given then. Ideally the children should complete as much of the homework that they can independently, but parental help is appreciated. The main focus of the Log is to re-inforce the learning that has gone on in school and the children do enjoy choosing the way that they can learn and present their work. Many parents and pupils enjoy the variety of tasks incorporated into the Learning Logs and feel that it is an excellent preparation for their later school life.
Family Finish (P1 and 2)
1 2 3 4 5 6
Comments Unaware what this is This puts pressure on parents and is difficult when work fulltime – don‟t agree with this Very helpful as gives parents a chance to see children if they have missed or cannot attend open morning Don‟t know what family finish is Good opportunity to see children in their learning environment Enjoyed these at first but found it very difficult to get to now with working full time – feel pressure as don‟t want your child to be only one with no one. Open morning/evenings let us see work in class and learning logs are giving opportunities for working jointly with child on topics Unfortunately difficult to attend due to work commitments but kids like it Was disappointed al late cancellation of 25th March family finish as had put in for time off work specially Not that useful really and also not comfortable with the fact that some children have no family in and so get a bit upset Unable to attend as I work every Friday This is a great way to be able to spend time with the children during school – they can show you what they do etc It‟s a great way to see how this class is taught and it gives ideas on how to carry this out at home Loved attending – gives parents a chance to see what children are learning Kids love it – think parents do to I think this definitely makes you feel part of your child‟s education but I think once per term would be enough. Head of Muir has so many things going on that I feel part of things even without family finish I‟ve never heard of this and have 3 children – 1 of which is in P7 Enjoyed when my kids were in P1/2 Family finish is good but this year there have only been 2 so far A lovely idea that lets parent see what the child‟s school day is like
Family Finish is way of developing the home/school partnership especially when children initially come to school. It is designed to let parents see what activities are going on in school so that they can encourage and support their children at home. Many parents find it an excellent source of information for choosing games and activities that are supportive to their children at home. We do appreciate that many parents work, but we have opened the sessions up to other adults, so grandparents, aunties, uncles or friends are welcome also. We work with the children to explain that not everyone has a visitor but have always encouraged parents to involve other children without a visitor to play the games or make the activity. The teacher is also around to support any children who need it. We have to apologise this year for not starting as soon as we should have. It does not normally start until after the October holiday and due to high levels of absence and the bad weather it was postponed until the new year. We will hope to address this next year.
Written Reports
1 2 3 4 5 6
Comments
Would be better if we had 2 per year Report cards are really good and really informative Excellent to see your child‟s progress although 1 per year is not enough Have not received one as yet Good form of communication to know your child‟s progress – more than 1 a year would be better Good to have some specific info on progress in different areas Would like more reports – 1 per term, however I believe of any problems the teacher would inform us More indicators to each level achieved /work covered would be helpful Disappointing that we no longer get one prior to parents evening. It is helpful to know your child‟s strength so you can prepare for meeting Fairly useful to get an idea of your child progress however still do not give very much information Very easy to read and understand Think they could have more information Happy with Could be a bit more detailed It is good to see how well my child is coping Covers a lot Would prefer to return to 2 written reports instead of 1 Disappointed at these reports being reduced to once a year. When they were given out in November this gave you a chance to see what could be on in order to help your child Good log for feedback to see progression throughout the year Good to see how your child is progressing There was no report in November which I felt there was no starting point for the parents evening. I also think have more written reports would keep parents more informed
This was the first year that a report was not given out in November prior to the Parents Evening. This was on instruction from the Council as the Assessment process for children is changing in line with the new curriculum. To ensure that all the information necessary is included in the new format it has had to undergo a rigorous scrutiny and as it is still not quite ready we are using last year‟s temporary format for the summer reports. The curriculum and its assessment are new to staff and parents alike and will no doubt develop as soon as both parties become more aware of the content and delivery of the Curriculum for Excellence.
Parents Evening
1 2 3 4 5 6
Comments Would be better if we had 2 per year Good opportunity to discuss child‟s development and progress Very useful although as with reports only one a year – also time - I feel theses would be better later in the year – Jan/Feb Again excellent to learn how your child is progressing, more than 1 per year would be beneficial – possibly later in term when kids have settled in Could have a bit longer with each teacher Good to have some specific info on progress in different areas Need longer than 10 minutes to speak to teacher As usual 10 minutes never feels long enough to cover all aspects of education – face to face discussion is always better than written reports Always nice to have 1-1 time with class teacher who knows your child well Ten minutes doesn‟t seem long enough to discuss your child‟s progress and it always seems to be running late for this reason Good opportunity to discuss child‟s progress and any issues however some issues don‟t seem to get dealt with afterwards It‟s helpful knowing where your child‟s strengths and weaknesses are Only attended one which was good It‟s a good way of 1-2-1 time with the teacher to discuss my child‟s progress Need more than 10 minutes Find this is a great way of seeing how my child is doing in class and allows me to ask questions Happy with Teachers always very helpful – maybe just a bit more guidance for parents to help their child I sometimes feel we could do with 2 parents evenings Great opportunity to discuss any queries / issues with teacher Very informative in how your child is getting on within classroom environment and relates to others Would like longer and 2 per year Great to have personal feedback on child‟s progress Should get more time with teacher on the night and any ongoing problems should be brought up to parents before parents evening so parents can do something about it Start very early in the evening for parents who work The parent‟s night we attended was very informative and allowed us to ask questions about our child‟s progress. We feel that there should be a second opportunity to do this within the school year Held a bit early in term 10 minutes perhaps not long enough with no previous written report to indicate concerns Excellent but longer would be beneficial as kids get older Face to face with teacher is good to ensure your child is doing well or not 10 minutes at a parents evening is not enough time to discuss your child and even though there are open evenings and mornings I think it would be beneficial to have more parents evenings. I think it would be better to talk to the teacher rather than just looking at work November has been chosen for the one to one parents evening as by then the teacher feels that they have had your child for enough time to know their strengths and needs well. The times offered are over a period of time and try to accommodate working hours. If there are any specific problems which will take you over the allotted 10 minutes then arrangements can be made to meet with the teacher at a later date.