Confidence Creativity Citizenship Fetterangus School Handbook Session 2012-13 Contact details for Director of Education, Learning and Leisure Quality Improvement Officer Maria Walker Helen Cowie Woodhill House Old Infant School Westburn Road Prince Street Aberdeen Peterhead AB16 5GB AB42 1PL 01224 665420 01779 473269 EDUCATION & RECREATION 1 CONTENTS PAGE Section 1 – General School Information Contact Information – 5 School Background – 6 Aims and Philosophy- 7 Visits of Prospective Parents – 7 Admission/Enrolment/School Zone – 7 School Dress – 7 Pupil Belongings & Valuables – 7 School Meals - 7 Pupil Attendance & Absence – 9 Emergency Closures/Adverse Weather - 11 School Transport - 15 Section 2 – Curriculum & Assessment School Aims and Philosophy – 17 Behaviour Management – 19 Anti-Bullying - 20 Curriculum – 22 Assessment & Reporting – 24 Homework- 27 Sensitive Aspects of the Curriculum – 28 Section 3 – Parental Involvement/Pupil Welfare & Support Parental Involvement & The Parent Council – 32 Health Care/Dental Inspection & Administration of Medicines – 34 Child Protection – 36 Support for Pupils & Key Worker – 37 Support for Learners – 38 Educational Psychologists – 39 Concerns & Complaints – 43 Insurance – 43 2 Section 4 – School Improvement & Data Protection School Improvement, Standards & Quality & Improvement Planning – 46 Transferring Educational Data – 46 Data Protection – 47 Parental Access to Records - 48 Section 5 - Annual Updates School Clothing Grants & Free School Meals – 50 Statistical Data – Annual Holiday Calendar 50 Plan of the School - 51 3 Section 1 General school Information 4 GENERAL INFORMATION Type of School : Fetterangus School is a non-denominational, co- educational primary school. Address: Fetterangus School 19 Ferguson Street Fetterangus PETERHEAD AB42 8HD Telephone No: 01771 623568 E Mail: [email protected] Website www.fetterangus.aberdeenshire.sch.uk Information Line 0870 054 4999 (School p.i.n. 02 1680 ) Staff: Mr J W Black - Head Teacher Mrs T Black - Teacher Mrs S Purdie - - Teacher Mrs S Findlay - School Administrator Mrs E Will - Pupil Support Assistant / Clerical Mrs E Whyte -Pupil Support Assistant / - Cleaner Mrs A Anderson - Catering Supervisor Mr S. Gerrard - Janitor Visiting Specialist: Art Mr Harris Teachers Drama Mrs Potts-Vialettes French Ms Lynch Music Mr Park / Miss Breton PE Mr Witt Science Miss Gibb Health&Well-being Mrs Bruce Learning Support MintlawAcademyTeam School Roll: 24 Pupils Families in school: 18 SCHOOL MEALS - SESSION 2012/2013 Cost of single dinner ticket ...................... £1.95 Cost of book of 10 tickets ...................... £19.50 SCHOOL DAY 9:15-3:15 (Interval 10:55-11:15, Lunch 12:30-1:15) 5 School Background Fetterangus School, located at the east end of the village, opposite Chalmers Institute, has been part of the community for more than 100 years. It serves the village of Fetterangus and the immediate environs. The original building is now the Early Stages classroom and the post-war extension made provision for the senior class, the office, the staff-room, the library/GP Room, the dining-hall/gym and the toilet facilities. At the end of the Session 2011-12, 3 pupils transferred to Mintlaw Academy. The classes were arranged as follows; Primary 1-3 11 pupils Mrs. Black Primary 4-7 13 pupils Mr. Black / Mrs. Purdie The School has a current allocation of 29 hours of Pupil Support assistant time. Learning Support is provided by a member of the Mintlaw Academy SFL team. Pupils are supervised during the morning and lunch intervals. Janitorial support is in place one afternoon per week and the School is further supported by a part-time School Administrator, a Cleaner and a Catering Supervisor. School lunches are prepared at neighbouring Pitfour School and are transported for serving at Fetterangus. The School has an active Parent Council, elected from the Parent Forum at the beginning of the Session, along with the Fetterangus School Events Committee. Both encourage the involvement of parents in the work of the School. Through the Pupil Council and various sub-groups, pupils are also directly involved in the decision-making and improvement of the School. The School operates its budget in line with Aberdeenshire EL&L guidelines. Creating an ethos of achievement is central to what we do and we work hard to establish an environment in which all our pupils, staff and members of our community are able to achieve their potential and expectations. The School was inspected by HMIE in March 2004. TRANSFER TO SECONDARY SCHOOL Pupils from Fetterangus transfer to Mintlaw Academy at the end of P7. Close co-operation exists between Mintlaw Academy and all feeder schools. Pupils tackle learning programmes, devised jointly by Mintlaw Academy and the feeder primary schools, in the upper stages of primary to ensure all pupils on entry to S1 have had consistent learning opportunities. 6 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 can be viewed at www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/local/map.asp?type=school_area&id=151085559 . 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 Fetterangus 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 Mintlaw 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 SCHOOL DRESS The wearing of traditional school uniform is completely optional but children are encouraged to wear school sweatshirts. Clothing should be smart, to encourage the children to take a pride in their appearance but must also be practical and comfortable enough to withstand the rigours of school activities. Children should always bring a change of clothing for P.E. Where possible, all items of clothing should be labelled with the child's name. 7 Parents of children in early stages are encouraged to put a change of pants, and skirt/trousers in a clearly labelled bag that can be left in school in case of emergencies. Guidance and permission will be sought around the extent to which parents wish to be informed about such incidents and the supervision of the changing of clothing. Valuables . For security reasons, all money should be kept in a purse/wallet with a neck strap/belt or in a "bumbag" and not be removed from the child's person except for gym, when provision for safe keeping will be made available. It is not recommended that items of value be taken to school. The wearing of earrings during P.E. activities is discouraged because of the risk of injury to pupils. Children who are unable to remove earrings are required to have them taped over during P.E. sessions. Disruption can be reduced by delaying the piercing of ears until the summer holidays or until pupils are old enough to remove the earrings themselves. French café morning 8 SCHOOL MEALS It is the Authority’s policy to provide meals and facilities for the consumption of packed lunches in all schools where these are required. Attractive menu and information leaflets are provided to all Aberdeenshire school pupils and parents. These can also be found by following the link below. http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/schools/school_meals/index.asp Please make cheques payable to Aberdeenshire Council. Parents should be aware that they can request a special diet for their children if there are medical or religious reasons for doing so. Children who require Medically Prescribed or Modified Diets, with parental/guardian assistance, should be identified during the admission process. Procedures are set in motion to accommodate these diets by parent/guardian completing Admission Form D available from the school administration office. The school aims to encourage young people to enjoy food which is both attractive to them and nutritionally sound whether this is a school meal, a packed lunch or a snack. We would appreciate your support in achieving this aim. Pupils will eat in the general purpose hall under the supervision of the lunch time supervisor. Children are required to have a ticket for a school meal which can be purchased singly or in a book of ten. Tickets will be on sale each Monday morning and are valid throughout the school year. All cheques should be made payable to Aberdeenshire Council.