Premnay School Handbook
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Education PREMNAY SCHOOL HANDBOOK SCHOOL SESSION DATES 2013/2014 19/08/2013 to 11/10/2013 28/10/2013 to 20/12/2013 6/1/2014 to 4/04/2014 21/04/2014 to 4/07/2014 - 1 - Welcome Letter Premnay School Premnay Insch Aberdeenshire AB52 6QA Telephone - 01464 820201 E mail - [email protected] Information Line - 0870 054 4999 (school pin no 02 2470) Dear Parent Welcome to Premnay Primary School. I hope that our partnership will be productive and enjoyable and that your child settles quickly with us. We take pride in the fact that this is a happy and industrious school with a real sense of team spirit. We hope that your child enjoys his/her time at Premnay School. The education of a child is far too important to be left to a school alone. Parents have a very important part to play too. The school handbook explains what you can expect of the school and also indicates what the school expects of you in the way of partnership, help and support. Aberdeenshire Council School Handbooks are designed to inform parents of as many aspects of life at Premnay School as we can, and has been written in response to ‘School Handbook Guidance (Scotland) Regulations 2012.’ We hope you find our handbook clear and informative. Please feel free to contact us with any suggestions for improvements. Yours sincerely Mrs Marsali Fraser Head Teacher Please note – “Parent” includes guardian and any person who is liable to maintain or has parental responsibilities (within the section 1 (3) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) in relation to, or has care of a child or young person. Please note that whilst all information within this booklet is correct at the time of printing, it is possible that some items may change during the course of the year. - 2 - CONTENTS PAGE Section 1 – General School Information Contact Information – 6 School Background – 7 Visits of Prospective Parents – 8 Admission/Enrolment/School Zone – 8 Organisation of School Day – 9 School Uniform – 9 Pupil Belongings & Valuables – 10 School Equipment – 10 Arrival at School & Playground Information – 11 School Office – 11 School Meals/Playpiece/Tuckshop/Cakes & Treats – 12-13 Pupil Attendance & Absence – 13-14 Communicable Diseases, Head Lice & Asthma – 15 Emergency Closures/Adverse Weather – 15-19 Parking – 19 School Transport - 19 Section 2 – Curriculum & Assessment School Ethos/Aims/Values – 21 Positive Behaviour Management – 22-23 Bullying & Exclusion – 23-24 Curriculum – 25-26 Policies - 26 Educational Visits – 26 Learning & Teaching – 27 Assessment & Reporting – 28-29 Extra Curricular Activities – 29 Instrumental Tuition – 30 Sensitive Aspects of the Curriculum – 30-34 Section 3 – Parental Involvement/Pupil Welfare & Support Parental Involvement & The Parent Council – 36-37 Communication - 37 Health Care/Dental Inspection & Administration of Medicines – 38-40 Transitions & Transfer to Secondary School – 40 Child Protection – 41 Support for Pupils & Key Worker – 42-43 Support for Learners – 43 Additional Support Needs – 44-47 Concerns & Complaints – 47 Insurance – 48-49 - 3 - Section 4 – School Improvement & Data Protection School Improvement, Standards & Quality & Improvement Planning – 51 Transferring Educational Data – 51-52 Data Protection – 52-53 Parental Access to Records - 53 Section 5 - Annual Updates School Clothing Grants & Free School Meals – 55 Staff List & Class Allocations – 56 Annual Holiday Calendar - 57 Map of Catchment Area – 58 - 4 - Section 1 General School Information - 5 - SCHOOL CONTACT DETAILS Head Teacher: Mrs Marsali Fraser School name: Premnay Primary School Address: Auchleven, Insch, Aberdeenshire, AB52 6QA Telephone Number: 01464 820201 (You can leave a message on this line.) Website: www.premnay.aberdeenshire.sch.uk Email Address: [email protected] Type of School – Primary School Present Roll: 38 For further information about the roll and structure of classes please see coloured section at the back of this book. Denominational Status – Premnay School is a non denominational school. The school does not teach by means of the Gaelic Language. All Aberdeenshire Schools are Co-educational, providing education for both boys and girls. Information Line 0870 054 4999 (school pin no: 02 2470 ) (Please do not use this line to leave messages for the school.) Adverse weather and emergency closure - www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/closures Please see pages 15 - 17 for further information regarding adverse weather and emergency closures. Local Area Office Quality Improvement Officer Gordon House Audrey Hendry Inverurie Gordon House Aberdeenshire Inverurie Tel: 01467 620981 Aberdeenshire Tel 01467 628006 Contact details for Director of Education, Learning and Leisure Mrs Maria Walker Woodhill House Westburn Road Aberdeen AB16 5GB 01224 665420 - 6 - Premnay School Background Information Premnay School is situated in the village of Auchleven twenty-five miles north west of Aberdeen and two miles south of Insch. The school has served the Parish of Premnay for over one hundred and twenty years from the same site. Within the village there is a pub and restaurant and a well utilized Village Hall. Premnay School is a very attractive traditional granite building with new slate roof. One of our two classrooms is inside the main building along with a kitchen servery, staff room, an office and toilets. The other classroom is housed in a mobile unit situated in the playground area. Outside the children can play on a large tarred area bordered by grass and trees. We also make use of the excellent play park situated next door to the school and bordering the school car park. The play park was refurbished in 2002 with Lottery funding and has some excellent play equipment as well as providing excellent space for ball games. Like all Aberdeenshire Schools Premnay School is co-educational providing education for both boys and girls. The school is non-denominational catering for Primary pupils aged from 5 – 12 years. The current role is 38 pupils who are educated within two classes. One class is for Primary 1-3 pupils and another for Primary 4-7 pupils. The Head Teacher is class committed sharing the class with a part time teacher and there is another full time teacher in the other class. Specialist teachers help with the delivery of Art and Design, PE and French. We also have a visiting specialist who provides support for learners. The school also works closely with a range of other support agencies and volunteers in order to provide the best possible experience for children with additional support needs. The staff are supported by 1 part time Pupil Support Assistant, 1Pupil Support/Clerical Assistant, 1 part time school administrator, 1 kitchen staff, 1 cleaner and a part time janitor. Premnay is dual zoned and on leaving Premnay Primary School the pupils transfer to The Gordon Schools, Huntly or Inveruries Academy, Inverurie . Premnay School is part of the Huntly Community Schools’ Network and works closely with the other schools in the Network. Community links are a valued part of school life. The school has a very supportive Parent Council. The Parent Council supports school improvement activities and also raisse additional funds to provide many extras for the pupils in the school. Devolved budgets are managed in accordance with authority guidelines in order to support planned improvements in the school. HMIe last inspected the school in 2006, with a follow up visit in 2008. - 7 - For further information about classes and teachers please see the section at the back of this handbook. VISITS OF PROSPECTIVE PARENTS Prospective parents can contact the School Office and request an appointment to come and visit the school/ and meet with the Head Teacher. During this visit you will get a tour of the school and have an opportunity to ask any questions and discuss any particular needs for your child(ren). Admission/Enrolment Primary Admissions New entrants to P1 are enrolled early in the calendar year for entry to school in August. This is for children who will be five on or before the school start date in the middle of August. Those whose fifth birthday is between the middle of August each year and the end of February the following year may also be admitted to primary one in August the previous year. Details of the enrolment dates are advertised in the local press by Aberdeenshire Education, Learning and Leisure Department. Further information is available at www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/parentscarers/information/choosing.asp Parents of children joining the school in classes other than P1 or in the middle of a school session should contact the head teacher who will agree a start date for the child and make arrangements for the parents and child to visit the school. School Zone A map showing the school zone/catchment area is included at the back of this booklet. Please note that children who live within the school catchment zone are automatically entitled to a place in school. Please use the zone map to check whether or not you live within the Premnay School catchment. If you live out with the zone, the Education (School and Placing Information) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 will allow you to seek admission to the school. The main point to note is that out of zone admissions are not guaranteed and pupils out of zone are not entitled to free transport. They are also not guaranteed a place at Bigschool Academy and parents would need to submit a further placing request before transition to S1. Further information is available in Notes for Parents Aberdeenshire Council www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/parentscarers/information/NotesforParents2012.pdf - 8 - ORGANISATION OF THE SCHOOL DAY The school day begins at 9.00am The lunch break is at 12.30 until 1.30pm The afternoon session begins at 1.30pm The school day ends at 3.15pm The morning interval for all pupils is at 10.45am – 11.00am SCHOOL UNIFORM Most of our pupils wear navy or grey trousers or skirts with a light blue or white blouse, shirt or polo shirt and a navy blue sweatshirt, jumper or cardigan.