King’s Meadow Primary School
Dear parents and guardians
We give a copy of this handbook to every family with pupils who are due to come to this school.
I hope you will read it and find the information useful. The handbook does not try to cover every situation but aims, I hope, to give general information, and an insight into how we develop school policy and the curriculum. The information in this booklet was correct at the time of going to print but may change to make sure the school runs smoothly and efficiently. If you have any comments or questions please contact me.
Yours faithfully
Brian Smith Acting Head Teacher
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School handbook contents
Basic information about the school 3 Staff 8 Enrolment 10 Educational aims 10 Pupil placement 10 Composite classes 10 The school curriculum 11 Assessment 13 Pupils‟ extra support needs 14 ASL Act 2009 15 Homework policy 16 Extra-curricular activities 18 Communicating with parents 19 Professionals visiting school, sharing information and confidentiality 20 Consulting pupils 20 Child-protection guidelines 20 East Lothian Education Psychology Service 21 Anti-bullying policy 23 Standards of behaviour and attendance 23 School rules 23 Team Teach 25 School policy on clothing and uniform 26 Transport 27 Meals and milk 28 Health and safety arrangements 29 First aid and medical care 29 Occasional and emergency arrangements 31 Parent and staff contact 32 School and community links 32 Community Development Service 33 Outdoor education 33 Educational trips 33 Achievements of pupils 33 Cultural, Community Learning and Development Division 34 Children getting part-time jobs 34 Community Service 34 School committees and working groups 34 Parent Forum and Parent Council 34 Transferring educational data about pupils 36 Parent-teacher association 35 If there is a problem 38 Useful telephone numbers 38 Accuracy of information 38 Index 39
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Basic information about the school
King‟s Meadow Primary School Neilson Park Road Haddington East Lothian EH41 3DT
Phone: 01620 822177
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://edubuzz.org/blogs/kingsmeadow/
Acting Head Teacher: Mr Brian Smith
Following a fire in June 1993, which damaged a major part of the building, the school was rebuilt to a modern open-plan design and has been open in the new premises since August 1995. At King‟s Meadow Primary School we have specific rooms for some areas of the curriculum, such as a music room and computer room, which are fully equipped with up-to-date equipment. King‟s Meadow Primary School is a local-authority non denominational school run by East Lothian Council.
Current Roll At present we have about 358 pupils at this school. King‟s Meadow Primary School caters for pupils (boys and girls) from Primary 4 to Primary 7 (in other words, ages 8 to 12).
Year group rolls Primary 4 Primary 5 Primary 6 Primary 7 81 91 97 89
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School Session Dates Below are the school session dates for 2013/14
TERM 1 INSERVICE DAY 1 Monday 19 August 2013 INSERVICE DAY 2 Tuesday 20 August 2013 Pupils Resume Wednesday 21 August 2013 September Holiday staff & pupils break Thursday 12 September 2013 September Holiday Friday 13 September 2013 (schools closed for staff & pupils) Monday 16 September 2013 All Resume Tuesday 17 September 2013 All Break (October break) Friday 11 October 2013 October break Monday-Friday 14 – 18 October 2013 INSERVICE DAY 3 Monday 21 October 2013 Pupils Resume Tuesday 22 October 2013 All Break (Christmas) Friday 20 December 2013 = 80 pupil days = 83 staff days TERM 2 All Resume Monday 6 January 2014 Pupils break Friday 7 February 2014 February break Monday – Friday 10–14 February 2014 INSERVICE DAY 4 Monday 17 February 2014 Pupils resume Tuesday 18 February 2014 All break (Easter) Friday 4 April 2014 Good Friday Friday 17 April 2014 Easter Monday Monday 21 April 2014 = 59 pupil days = 60 staff days TERM 3 All Resume Tuesday 22 April 2014 May Holiday Monday 5 May 2014 INSERVICE DAY 5 Tuesday 6 May 2014 Pupils Resume Wednesday 7 May 2014 Victoria Day Holiday Monday 19 May 201 All resume Tuesday 20 May 2014 Term ends Friday 4 July 2014 = 51 pupil days = 52 staff days
School Session dates can also be found at: http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/info/860/term_holiday_and_closure_dates/932/school_term_dates
Schools within East Lothian A list of all nursery/primary and secondary schools can be found at: http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/directory/26/primary_schools_and_nurseries
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School times Monday to Thursday 8.45am to 10.25am 10.25am to 10.40am (Break of 15 minutes) 10.40am to 12.10pm 12.10pm to 1pm (Lunch break of 50 minutes) 1pm to 2.00pm 2.00pm to 2.15pm (Break of 15 minutes) 2.15pm to 3.30pm
Friday 8.45am to 10.25am 10.25am to 10.40am (Break of 15 minutes) 10.40am to 12.20pm
Pupil hours = 25 hours a week
All pupils will finish for the lunch break at 12.10pm. They will then be called in for lunch from the playground using a rota system.
Children are not allowed to eat outside the classrooms or dining hall. Litter has been a major problem in the past and, since all else has failed, we now do not allow children to eat anything in the playground as a final answer to this problem.
Playground supervision
When pupils are at school, the local authority is responsible for their safety. The head teacher and staff (including playground supervisors) carry out this responsibility for the local authority. This means that we should take reasonable steps to prevent any pupils being injured and to make sure that accidents or difficulties can be reported to a responsible adult and appropriate action taken.
School entrance
Pupils who approach the school from Neilson Park Road enter and leave school premises at the Neilson Park Road gates. Those approaching by the Butts Path use the gate to the Butts. Please make sure your child knows this. Wheelchair users can get into the building at five points: at each of the four class entrances, as well as at the main door to the school.
Visiting the school
The school has a secure-door system at the front entrance. To enter the school, ring the bell once and wait for a response over the intercom. When you come into the school, turn left to see a member of the office staff, who will arrange for you to see an appropriate member of staff, or phone for your child to come to the main office. Please do not walk straight through the school without clearing this with reception.
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School features
The school is semi-open plan in design, with each class being housed in large, bright and attractive bases. Each base has a carpet and access to a vinyl area for activities associated with art and design, scientific investigations and so on.
The school has a range of „traditional‟ rooms for music, drama and computer use, as well as a support base. This has three rooms, providing accommodation for staff and pupils working in a supported learning environment. The computer room is well - equipped with 22 modern computers all linked to the internet. We also have an extra 42 laptops divided into four „Classes in Boxes‟ – mobile, secure trollies that act as storage and charging facilities. All of the laptops are radio-linked to the internet.
Pupils’ bicycles
A large bicycle shed is at the front of the school. You must provide a suitable lock for any bicycle brought to school and stored in the shed. We prefer pupils not to cycle to school on their own until Primary 6 and 7, or until you are satisfied they can cycle well enough and will be safe.
Car park
There is a staff car park at the end of Neilson Park Road and it is separate from the pupil entrance. Please do not block the main playground gate or leave cars there unattended. If you have to bring your car along the road, please park further away from the school to avoid congestion and to allow fire engines to get to the front of the school building. Do not bring your vehicles down Neilson Park Road when there are children about, for example, at morning assembly, lunchtime and in the afternoon when children finish school.
Links with Haddington Infant School
Children from Haddington Infant School transfer to this school at the end of Primary 3. We want to make sure that this move is as smooth as possible in terms of the curriculum being followed and the wider, emotional needs of children moving from familiar to unfamiliar surroundings.
Both Haddington Infant School and King‟s Meadow follow the experiences and outcomes from A Curriculum For Excellence when deciding what work to cover at each stage of a child‟s education. Towards the end of Primary 3, we hold meetings between Primary 3 and 4 teachers to make sure we discuss anything that might affect class groups and individual children.
Recognising that the move to the „big school‟ might be a problem for some children, both schools make sure that any pupils coming to King‟s Meadow have an opportunity to spend a day in the classroom they are scheduled to come to. There are also two social events held with the current Primary 4s. They have an opportunity to meet their future teachers if staff workload allows. As we recognise that you have a need to see your children‟s new school and talk to staff, we have an open evening usually at some point in June. We hold regular area head teachers‟ meetings where both schools can discuss matters such as in-service training, staff conferences and so on.
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Transferring to secondary school
Most pupils at King‟s Meadow will go on to complete their education at Knox Academy. We have a procedure in place to make sure there is a smooth move from Primary 7 to S1. This takes the form of visits by Primary 7 classes to Knox Academy, visits by Knox guidance staff to this school, and discussions between those staff and the Primary 7 teachers here.
We also pass detailed information on each pupil to the secondary school. This proves very helpful in making sure there is a smooth changeover to the new learning and teaching situation that the children will find at Knox.
We will let you know about the transfer arrangements by December of the pupil‟s last year in primary school. The address and phone number at Knox Academy is:
Knox Academy Pencaitland Road Haddington EH41 4DT. Phone: 01620 823387
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Staff
The exact number of staff (teaching and non-teaching staff) changes from session to session depending on the needs and number of pupils in the school.
The general structure for 2013/2014 is as follows:
Acting Head Teacher Mr Brian Smith
Depute Head Teacher
Additional support for learning Specialists Principal Teacher (Art, ICT, Physical Education and Music)
3 Principal Teachers 11 Class Teachers 4 Classroom Assistants 5 Additional Support Needs Auxiliaries
Other staff:
Mrs Lynsey Bryson, School Secretary Mrs Ann Nimmo, Clerical Assistant Mrs Heather McConnell, Auxiliary Mr Eric Purvis, Janitor
Responsibilities of senior staff
King‟s Meadow has a management team that includes the head teacher, depute head teacher and four principal teachers.
Head teacher
The head teacher manages the school for the local authority and is directly responsible for the following: a Deciding what the curriculum covers and the guidance and support of all teachers. b Providing appropriate assessment and monitoring procedures for all pupils. c Providing a secure and safe environment. d Maintaining communications with parents and with outside agencies (local authority, child guidance, social work and so on). e Maintaining the school buildings with appropriate staff and contractors. f Managing how money from the local authority is spent. g Providing advice and reporting to the Parent Council when needed. h Chairing regular meetings of the management team. i Helping and advising student teachers and placing them with supervisory teaching staff.
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Depute head teacher
The depute head teacher, as the name suggests, acts for the head teacher if he is not available. However, he does have certain specific responsibilities, which are as follows. a Supporting the head teacher in decisions regarding the curriculum and in guiding and supporting all teachers. b Taking part in managing the school as a member of the management team. c Carrying out duties of staff development co-ordinator. d Organising excursions, including outdoor education, curriculum-based and sporting fixtures. e Carrying out any other duties the head teacher may give him.
Principal teachers
In King‟s Meadow we currently have three principal teachers plus one additional support for learning principal teacher. Principal teachers have responsibilities as follows. a. Responsibility for the leadership, good management and strategic direction of colleagues. b. Curriculum development and quality assurance. c. Contributing to the development of school policy in relation to the behaviour management of pupils. d. The management and guidance of colleagues. e. Reviewing the CPD needs, career development and performance of colleagues. f. The provision of advice, support and guidance to colleagues. g. Responsibility for the leadership, good management and strategic direction of pastoral care within the school. h. The development of school policy for the behaviour management of pupils. i. Assisting in the management, deployment and development of pastoral care staff. j. Implementation of whole school policies dealing with guidance issues, pastoral care, assessment and pupil welfare. k. Working in partnership with colleagues, parents, other specialist agencies and staff in other schools as appropriate.
Support staff
We have four classroom assistants who provide extra support for learning in the school. One further member of staff provides general support to the teachers and pupils of the school when needed.
As well as the staff mentioned above, the school also has a school secretary, clerical assistant, janitor and cleaning staff appropriate to the size of the school. All these staff members are the direct responsibility of the head teacher.
In-service arrangements
Teachers‟ conditions of service provide training opportunities for staff. There are also opportunities for all staff to take part in continuing professional development.
The conditions of service agreement currently provides the following structure for all teachers. a Five full in-service training days. b 174.5 hours a year of activity time. This relates to their personal development and other professional activities associated with their role. Part of this time is taken up in the structure of the normal school week. (2.5 hours a week, 95 hours each year). The rest of the time takes place after school and on a Friday afternoon.
It is not possible to define exactly what developmental work may be carried out during the course of any session. 9
Enrolment
If you have recently moved or are planning to move into the area, you may visit the school before enrolling your child or children. You should make an appointment with the head teacher, who will try to arrange this at a date and time which offers the best opportunity to have a look round the school and discuss other relevant matters. Pupils at Haddington Infants have their own transfer procedures and the head teacher there will outline the procedure towards the end of Primary 3.
Educational aims
The aims of the school curriculum are not separate from the attitudes behind the teaching and learning process. The way that a school promotes ideals and certain values will reflect on the way that pupils see themselves and the work they have to do. Below is a list of what we feel is essential for the total curriculum we hope to deliver:
1 To provide a happy, caring and stimulating place for children to learn in. 2 To provide appropriate, planned learning experiences in all areas of the primary curriculum so we make the most of and improve the standards of achievement of all pupils within the school. 3 To provide opportunities for all children to develop a positive view of their own place in society in terms of developing self-esteem, respect for others and caring for the environment. To develop the idea of „positive citizenship‟. 4 To help create an atmosphere of trust and respect between the school, the home and the rest of the community by promoting good communications and a sense of the school playing an active part in the community. 5 To make sure that the staff, materials and accommodation provided are managed as efficiently as possible. However, we aim to manage in a way that allows opportunities, where appropriate, for teachers, parents and others to be consulted and to contribute to the growth of the school.
Pupil placement
Normally, children attend the local school known as the district school. If you wish your child to attend a non-district secondary school, information will be sent to your home address when your child is in P7. It should be noted that attendance at an associated primary does not mean transfer to the attached secondary school.
COMPOSITE CLASSES The handbook should include information about composite classes and reference made to the guidelines. A suggested statement is included below-
„There are composite classes in most schools across East Lothian. They help us to deliver effectively within the school‟s budget and are based on pupil age. All classes whether composite or not, contain pupils of different abilities and levels of development. Teachers are expert in how to structure learning for pupils of differing abilities and composite classes don‟t pose any greater challenge than single-year classes. We know that friendship groups are important and we encourage children to mix with their friends at break, through whole-school or stage events. Parents should also create opportunities to maintain friendships and encourage new ones.‟
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The school curriculum
The curriculum is the responsibility of the head teacher who consults teaching staff, the local authority and the various national committees. When you discuss your child‟s progress with the class teacher, you will be able to see some of the books and materials used.
The curriculum we use in the school is called “A Curriculum For Excellence.” It is about bringing life to learning and learning to life. It has been introduced to raise standards of learning and teaching and help improve our children‟s life chances.
It focuses on the importance of knowledge and skills. It offers a broad and deep general education to S3 with options in the senior phase. It promotes the ability to learn – a skill for life that will help young people go on to further study, to secure work and to navigate through life.
It brings real life into the classroom and takes lessons beyond the classroom. It promises to support children in every way possible so that they can fulfil their potential and make the most of their opportunities.
All those working with children and young people will be responsible for delivering skills in literacy and numeracy – skills that unlock other subjects and are vital in everyday life.
All staff will be responsible for young people‟s health and wellbeing and for identifying the personal support a child needs on a day-to-day basis. Parents can ask for help too.
Staff will work together to plan a child‟s „learning journey‟ from 3 to 18. They will ensure young people can learn in a way that works for them, at a pace they can cope with and with enough challenge to stretch them. Staff will support them as they move up from nursery to primary, on to secondary and beyond.
There are new ways of assessing progress and ensuring children achieve their best.
There are qualifications for literacy and numeracy from 2012/2013 and new National 4 and 5 qualifications from 2013/2014, replacing the Standard Grade and Intermediate 1 and 2. Our well- regarded Access, Highers and Advanced Highers will be updated.
Professionals can teach subjects more creatively, work together and with others, and share best practice, ideas and innovation. Ultimately, the aim is to improve our children‟s achievements and life chances, to nurture successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens.
To support these four capacities our school curriculum will encompass the 7 Principles for Curriculum Design:
Challenge and Enjoyment Breadth Progression Depth Personalisation and choice Coherence Relevance
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These Principles for Curriculum Design are delivered through outcomes and experiences in the following curricular areas:
Expressive arts Languages and literacy Health and wellbeing Mathematics and numeracy Religious and moral education Sciences Social Subjects Technologies
Levels Of learning
The experiences and outcomes are grouped into 5 levels
Early – the pre-school years and P1 or later for some First – to the end of P4, but earlier or later for some Second – to the end of P7, but earlier or later for some Third/Fourth – S1 to S3, but earlier for some Senior Phase – S4 to S6 and college or other means of study
For further information parents can find out more at: www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk www.curriculumforexcellencescotland.gov.uk
Religious Observance
Religious observance should provide opportunities for the school community to reflect on, and develop, a deeper understanding of the dignity and worth of each individual and their contribution to the school and wider communities. In recognition of Scotland's Christian heritage, schools are encouraged to use the rich resources of this tradition when planning religious observance. Many school communities contain pupils and staff from faiths other than Christianity or with no faith commitment. This should be taken fully into account in supporting spiritual development. It is of central importance that all pupils and staff can participate with integrity in forms of religious observance without compromise to their personal faith stances.
School assemblies are the most common method for delivering religious observance. There is a clear distinction between assemblies devised for the purpose of religious observance and assemblies for other purposes such as celebrating success. Religious observance might include opportunities for class, year, stage or whole school observance as well as involvement by pupils and others, including school chaplains, in planning and presentation. There is a statutory provision for parents to withdraw children from participation in religious observance. This right should always be made known to parents and their wishes respected. Parents should be provided with sufficient information on which to base a decision.
Where a child is withdrawn from religious observance, schools should make suitable arrangements for the child to participate in a worthwhile alternative activity. In no circumstances should a child be disadvantaged as a result of withdrawing from religious observance.
For more information please refer to: Curricular 1/2005 Provision of Religious Observance in Scottish Schools (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications)
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Multicultural education
There is a growing awareness of the different people and faiths of minority groups in our society. As a result, education must bring in these other experiences.
We want children to be aware of prejudices in, for example, reading books being used. We bring ideas of tolerance, of having respect and some knowledge of other people‟s ways of life into our themes for study in the school.
Instrumental Tuition
Instrumental tuition is offered in P4 (strings) and P6 (woodwind and brass). All children are given a musical ability test at the beginning of P4 and again in P6. This test involves listening to a CD and identifying differences between various musical sounds. Those children who would most benefit from receiving tuition (about 10 each year) are given a letter from the tutor asking their parent/carer if they would like their child to be considered for a place.
Tuition is free and takes place during school hours when pupils are taken out of their normal classes. At present, the school is able to loan stringed instruments but brass and woodwind instruments must be purchased by the parent/carer. If a child gives up their tuition then they will not have the opportunity to receive tuition on another instrument.
There are additional opportunities for children to try for instrumental tuition at Knox Academy, where the same instruments are offered, as well as piano, guitar and percussion.
Assessment and achievement
Assessing pupils in the school is a continuous process that is mainly aimed at finding strengths and weaknesses rather than comparing one pupil with another. As a result, the place of formal tests or exams is secondary to the process [usually carried out each day] where the teacher matches expected outcomes with actual pupil performance on a task. We do this within the context of an agreed policy on assessment that is used throughout the school.
Teachers regularly discuss assessment outcomes with the children and communicate these to parents. They are expected to assess their programmes of work and must record this assessment in their forward plans. Senior staff hold regular meetings with teachers to discuss matters that may arise as a result of these assessments. We meet with parents up to four times a year and encourage them to approach the school if they see any problems developing.
We produce formal pupil reports each year in May/June.
We encourage open access for parents, but would ask that, unless there is an emergency, parents do not ask to see the teacher first thing in the morning. If a teacher thinks they need to speak to you, they contact you and set up discussions in school. If your child needs extra support, we will contact you as a matter of routine.
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We are constantly trying to raise the levels of achievement of our pupils. We have a number of procedures in place to help us to do this. . These are shown below. a In P4, P5, P6 and P7 in English language and maths, we place children into larger, class- sized groups („sets‟) according to their ability. This allows the teacher to focus on the particular needs of one rather than four or five groups. Also, we can support children with special needs more easily. b We have detailed programmes of work that help teachers choose appropriate learning experiences for their classes. c We plan at each primary stage to make sure we have a clear, joined-up approach to class work. d We have put in place initiatives that focus on evaluating the main aspects of learning and teaching. e We have changed the balance of the curriculum (the amount of time teachers give to the five main areas) to allow more time for English language and maths. f We provide extra opportunities for celebrating pupils‟ achievements. g We look at ways to reduce the amount of time for administrative tasks within the classroom.
In terms of improving attendance, our strategy will be to review the reasons for pupil absence - in other words, identifying patterns and so on - so we can come up with an appropriate response to individual situations if this is a problem.
Pupils Who Have Additional Support Needs
All East Lothian schools offer a range of support for children and young people with additional support needs. There are a number of additional services within the Authority that offer enhanced support to pupils with additional support needs.
Provision and resources are accessed through the local authority‟s processes of resource allocation and Staged Assessment and Intervention, in consultation with professionals, the child or young person and their family
The Council‟s Policy document “Framework for Meeting Additional Support Needs” provides a framework for full and effective inclusion of pupils who have additional support needs
There is a range of specialist provision available to meet the learning and development needs of all children and young people. There are outreach teachers who work with those pupils from whom English is an additional language, those who have long-term absence from school due to illness, those who have visual or hearing impairment and also pre-school pupils who have severe/complex additional support needs. There are various approaches used to support children and young people who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. These include in-school support bases, enhanced curriculum groups and input from the Children‟s Services Integration Team.
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The Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2009:
Promotes the involvement of a child or young person with additional support needs and their parents/carers in the decision making process.
Takes account of the views of the child/young person and parents/carers and records these in the Co-ordinated Support Plan.
Says that the child or young person and parents/carers should play a key part and might have a supporter available at meetings.
A young person who has additional support needs or his/her parent or carer can make a placing request to another education authority or an independent school
Permits young people or parents/carers to make a reference to a Tribunal – they can attend or have the opportunity to put their views to the Tribunal if a Hearing is called.
Allows parents of pupils with additional support needs to make an application for Dispute Resolution –the Inclusion & Equality Team provides support on this process.
Promotes Common Ground Mediation collaboration among parents, children, schools and educational services. To use this service parents can contact Inclusion & Equality Team for further information.
This act also makes sure all children have access to the curriculum within mainstream schools. So, for example, a child with hearing or sight difficulties must be provided for.
The Disability Discrimination Act makes it illegal for children with mobility problems or other disabilities to be disadvantaged at school as a direct result of their disabilities. For example, it would be illegal for a school to refuse admission to a child in a wheelchair due to the fact that the school did not currently have ramp access.
The council makes sure that mainstream education is open to all, with pupils with extra needs – including significant extra needs – being education alongside other children of the same age and from the same area. Here we have a co-ordinated additional support team that provides staff and materials to improve the experience of those pupils with extra needs.
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Homework
Encourage your child to talk to you about their learning, what learning is happening at school and do what you can at home to build on that.
Praise your child if he/she is working hard at something or has a achieved something within or out of school.
Encourage any reading Look for opportunities at home to develop literacy and numeracy skills: money, number problems, time, measuring, matching, size, reading, writing, understanding instructions, questioning information. Help them work on tasks on their own and then talk about it with you afterwards
Do things together where appropriate – learn together e.g. if your child has a project or task to do, take an interest and discuss with them what he/she is doing or offer support if this is needed.
It's quality that matters, not quantity - the kind of homework your child does is often more important than the amount.
Even if you have little time, or don't know much about the subject or level your child is studying, you can still be involved. It's not your time or ability, but a positive and encouraging attitude to your child's learning that really matters. Homework is for children to do, not for parents. www.educationscotland.gov.uk/parentzone
Why is homework important? Homework helps teachers to: check your child's understanding of classwork and keep track of their progress.
Homework helps you to: Find out what your child is doing at school and get involved in their learning.
Homework helps your child to: learn how to organise and manage their time take more responsibility for their own learning practise and build on what they have learned at school develop confidence to deal with frustrations, overcome difficulties and solve problems learn and work independently in the future.
What do we do? Homework will be taken from all curricular areas. It can take the form of written work preparation for talks topic work handwriting reading spelling learning tables practical maths.
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How long should homework take?
P4 and P5 1 hour per week P6 1 ½ hours per week
Who is involved? Homework arrangements work well when parents, child and teacher understand the roles they play. Pupil Role Make sure you know what you have to do before you leave school. Discuss your homework with your adult helper. Do the work as neatly as possible. Hand in your homework within time set. Tell your teacher if you found the homework too difficult.
Teacher Role Set useful homework which encourages learning out of school Ensure pupils know exactly what is expected. Monitor and evaluate homework Ensure homework is completed (contact home if concerned) Help parents if they do not understand the task.
Parent Role Provide a quiet area, free from distractions. Ask your child to do their personal best. Praise your child. Provide support and talk through problems. Keep in touch with school using homework diaries/let the school know if there is a problem.
Arranging to talk to the class teacher to discuss an issue can often ease concern.
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Extra-curricular activities
Clubs and events Our children may take part in the following activities after school: basketball; art club; recorder tuition; netball; football; gardening.
We also take part each year in the inter-schools athletic competition, swimming gala, netball competitions and various football competitions.
Visits Our policy is to use visits to support those areas of the curriculum that would particularly benefit.
Environmental studies (history and geography and so on) is the area that has a particular need for children to deal with real situations. As a result, our pupils visit places such as the Royal Museum of Scotland, the Observatory, the Scottish Seabird Centre and other, less managed resources such as the River Tyne, Traprain Law and even Haddington itself! As well as the frequent day or part-day visits that the school takes part in, we have a regular programme of residential trips for our Primary 6 and 7 pupils. All of these are relevant to the curriculum. In 2012/2013, we had the following visits.
Primary 6 Residential week to Innerwick Outdoor Centre in the summer term
Primary 7 Residential week to Dalguise House in the spring term
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Communications and Consultation
The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 amended the definition of "parent" in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to "Parent includes guardian and any person who is liable to maintain or has parental responsibilities in relation to, or has care of, a child or young person".
Effective communication between school and parents is vital. This can sometimes be difficult when parents separate or divorce. If parents are separated or a divorce was granted after November 1996 both parents will retain parental responsibilities, unless the court has specifically removed those responsibilities. In relation to placing requests, appeals against certain educational decisions and access to pupils‟ records both parents will normally have equal rights. Even if a divorce was granted prior to November 1996 the parent without custody may not have lost all rights to information and to be involved in decision-making. The above definition may also give others rights.
Schools will therefore request the names and addresses of both parents at the time of enrolment and at the annual update of data. The parent(s) with whom the pupil resides will automatically receive all communications from the school. If a parent lives away from the family home they will, when the school is first informed of their address, receive a Recorded Delivery letter enquiring whether or not they wish to receive information about their child‟s education. If no reply is received it will be assumed they do not wish to be kept informed and there will be no further communication unless a request for information is subsequently received. If they wish to be kept informed they will receive copies of all communications regarding the pupil including copies of reports and notification of Parents‟ Meetings. The parent with whom the pupil resides will be informed that this is happening.
The school is dependent on the parent with whom the pupil resides supplying the appropriate information i.e. the address of the parent not living in the family home, details of Court proceedings prohibiting that parent‟s involvement in the child‟s education or any other relevant documentation. Parents/Carers should note that children can only be collected from school by the parent with whom they reside unless the parent/carers have authorised an alternative arrangement. If someone else is to collect the pupil the school should be informed in advance.
Scottish Parent Teacher Council
The Scottish Parent Teacher Council is the national organisation for parent-teacher associations and parent associations in Scotland and runs an independent helpline service for all parents. You can contact the Scottish Parent Council by phone or fax on 0131 226 4378, by e-mail on [email protected] or write to SPTC, 53 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2HT.
The school has an active Parent Council [and PTA]. For more information these refer to the section “Cultural and community involvement” later on in this booklet.
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Professionals visiting school/information sharing and confidentiality
Schools can call on professionals from a number of different agencies/services for help and advice. These include Educational Psychologists, Outreach Teachers, Officers within the Inclusion and Equality Division, School Doctor, School Nurse, Careers Advisor and Social Worker and Integration Team Worker. Formal referral to any of these agencies/services would only take place with the consent of parents/guardians. There will however be occasions when issues may be discussed in confidence without formal referral and therefore without such consent. If parents are concerned about this they should contact the school for further information.
In Secondary Schools individual pupils may be discussed at the School Liaison Group. This is attended by representatives from the school, Community Child Health, Community Development, Education Welfare Service, Psychological Services, Integration Team and Children‟s Services. The meeting considers strategies to help pupils having difficulties in school. All matters discussed in these meetings are understood to be strictly confidential. Parents are not invited to these meetings in every secondary school.
Consulting with pupils
Under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 the views of children should be taken in to account when major decisions are being made which will affect their lives. Generally children over 12 are presumed in law to have a view but younger children may also be mature enough to have a view and should be given the opportunity to express it. While schools may not be bound by this they do consult with their pupils and the methods used should be included in the handbook. This could include formal consultation through Pupil Councils, pupils co-opted to Parent Councils, questionnaires, suggestion boxes, review and planning meetings, as well as arrangements to consult with individual pupils at appropriate times (subject choice, exclusions etc.).
Child Protection Procedures
Edinburgh, the Lothians and Borders, including East Lothian Council, have reviewed and re-issued the “Inter-Agency Child Protection Procedures”. The Procedures promote a high level of inter- agency co-operation when working with children who may be in need of protection. Training is available for all staff in East Lothian Council to ensure that their skill and commitment is used effectively in identifying and protecting children who have been abused or may be at risk of abuse. The Procedures will further encourage the partnership that exists between the Department of Education & Children‟s Services, Health and the Police in East Lothian and will help towards building a partnership with parents in carrying out our duties and responsibilities to East Lothian children and young people.
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Psychological services
East Lothian Educational Psychology Service
Educational Psychologists are part of the Department of Education and Children‟s Services within East Lothian Council. They make regular visits to all nursery, primary and secondary schools in the authority.
What do Educational Psychologists do?
Educational Psychologists work collaboratively with other professionals, parents and carers, to help children and young people overcome barriers to learning. They support school staff to enhance learning environments, to ensure they are effective for all children and young people, whatever their learning needs.
How does an Educational Psychologist become involved with my child?
If you have any concerns about how your child is getting on at school, the first thing to do is share them with school staff. If staff feel that an Educational Psychologist may be able to help, they will contact their link Educational Psychologist for a consultation or invite them to a staged assessment meeting in school. If the Educational Psychologist is going to become formally involved with your child, then parental permission for this will always be sought. You are also welcome to contact the Educational Psychology Service directly if you would prefer.
You can find out more at our web pages on the East Lothian Council website or you can contact on Telephone: 01620 827944 or write to East Lothian Council Educational Psychology Service, John Muir House, Haddington, East Lothian, EH41 3HA
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School Improvement
In order to ensure that we provide the highest possible standards of education for our pupils, we are engaged in a continuous process of self-evaluation. Staff discuss the quality indicators set out in Educations Scotland‟s How Good Is Our School and/or Journey to Excellence and measure our performance against these. We also have twice yearly visits from a Quality Improvement Officer (QIO) who monitors our performance. We encourage parents to become involved in this process through discussions with the Parent Council and questionnaires to parents. Children are involved through the use of our „Children‟s Voices‟ survey programme. The results of this process of self- evaluation form the basis for our Standards and Quality Report.
All of our development work is based upon improving outcomes for pupils and details of this can be found in our School Development Plan (available on our website).
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Standards of behaviour and attendance
Discipline in school
When children are in a learning atmosphere and are busy working, we don‟t have many discipline problems. However, sometimes we may have to refer pupils to a senior teacher, keep pupils in detention or take some other form of disciplinary measure. If this doesn‟t work and problems continue, we will contact you and invite you to school to discuss the particular difficulties your child is experiencing. We have a disciplinary policy in place. If you are interested, you can get a copy from the school office. Please come and discuss any problem (social, emotional, medical) which may affect your child at any particular stage.
Anti-bullying policy
We have an anti-bullying policy which we have developed using East Lothian Council‟s policy and procedures. We record incidents of bullying as part of that policy. We want to get rid of all bullying by using methods such as peer support, social skills, training and so on. Brian Smith is our anti-bullying co-ordinator. Officers from Anti-Bullying East Lothian (ABEL) would also be willing to offer any advice and guidance on preventing bullying.
School rules
We do not have many school rules and the ones we have are to deal with safety. They main issues are outlined below: a No running in the buildings. b No playing on the swings in Neilson Park at the beginning or end of the school day. c To use the main entrance or Butts entrance only. d No long „dangly‟ earrings. e Pupils should stay „on site‟ during the school day.
Apart from these specific rules, we try to use common sense. As far as possible, we do try to encourage children to behave sensibly and to give reasons why we cannot accept particular kinds of behaviour. We also have an interest in how pupils behave when they are not at school. When children are either on their way to or from school, if their behaviour is likely to reflect badly on the image or reputation of the school, we may take action.
We also promote „golden rules‟ – general statements about behaviour that allow us some flexibility.
We know that you would want to be closely involved with us at school if there were serious behavioural problems affecting your child. We do try to encourage a co-operative approach to these matters and welcome you as partners in this.
Excluding pupils for disciplinary reasons
East Lothian Council acknowledges the vital partnership between schools and parents for support, behaviour and guidance of pupils.
We must take pupils‟ views into account in line with the principles of the UN Convention 1989. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (Circular 2/99) covers the rights and responsibilities of pupils in line with the age, maturity and understanding of the pupil.
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In putting the council‟s guidelines and procedures into practice, we must take account of the child‟s best interests. We must give your child‟s education and welfare the highest priority when considering the needs and safety of the school as a whole and the needs of individual pupils. If we need to exclude a pupil, we will get advice from the Director of Education and Children‟s Services and consult other agencies, or psychological services if appropriate.
The council is committed to supporting the head teacher in doing everything possible to make sure there is good behaviour and effective attendance at the school. If there are problems we must do all we can to improve behaviour. This must include a great deal of contact with parents and other agencies.
We will use two standards to judge problems with behaviour:
1 Whether we can educate the pupil effectively given the problems with behaviour. 2 Whether the level of disruption to the education of other pupils is serious enough for us to take action to prevent this.
It is not appropriate to exclude a pupil for not coming to school regularly as this does not meet the two standards above
Temporary exclusion
We may exclude a pupil for up to five working days. The aim of this temporary exclusion is to allow a cooling-off period during which the school, the pupil and the parent can consider and develop ways of improving the child‟s behaviour. If the strategy is to be successful, you, your child and the school must work together. We will do everything possible to welcome you as an active partner in the process of improving behaviour, while recognising that changing behaviour is not easy and will need a lot of support. If we want to exclude a child for longer than five days, the Director of Education and Children‟s Services will make a decision.
Only the head teacher, or in his absence, a depute head teacher, may sign letters dealing with exclusions. The head teacher must make sure that a record is kept of incidents of a pupil‟s difficult behaviour as well as assessments of progress.
It is important to record all the strategies we use to support the pupil so they can stay in school, and keep copies of notes of all meetings with parents and letters to you about behavioural matters. These notes and records should be clear and typed on official notepaper.
Permanent exclusion (removing a child from the school register)
We may recommend a permanent exclusion to the Director of Education and Children‟s Services if we do not believe that we can continue teaching a pupil in the school. We cannot remove a pupil‟s name from the register unless the director has agreed and the pupil is transferred to another school. If we want to recommend a permanent exclusion we will help the Director of Education and Children‟s Services to arrange for the pupil to go to another mainstream school.
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Unacceptable Behaviour
East Lothian Council does not tolerate physical or verbal abuse towards staff. Such abuse is a criminal offence and may lead to prosecution.
It is not possible to give a full list of unacceptable behaviour, which disrupts the class, prevents the teacher from teaching and prevents pupils from learning. However, the following are some examples of bad behaviour. a Physical attacks, intimidation or bullying of any kind. b Spoken abuse (and encouraging others to join in), offensive jokes and mimicking others. c Written material which discriminates in any way. d Refusing to co-operate with others because of their sex, religion, race, cultural background, disability or financial background. e Excluding others from activities because of the reasons given in d above. f Graffiti and wearing badges or slogans.
Team Teach
We pride ourselves in East Lothian on providing a safe learning environment for our pupils. Sometimes, some of our children may get anxious or agitated – we will do our best to help pupils to calm down using communication skills, distraction techniques and removing triggers where possible.
However, there may be times when children need more help to calm down – this may require staff physical support to ensure the pupil‟s own safety, the safety of other pupils and staff, or that property is not seriously damaged. This can require physical interventions. In East Lothian Council, we have adopted the Team Teach approach to manage challenging behaviour. Most of our teaching and non-teaching staff have been trained in the use of this approach.
All incidents where children need to be held to help them to calm down are recorded in school and parents are informed as a matter of course. Children who are likely to need help in this way will have an individual Behaviour Management Plan that will be discussed with you and consistently followed by all school staff. We will also ask you to share this information with other people/agencies supporting your son/daughter, e.g. transport, respite, link family, etc.
If you have any questions about how we manage behaviour at school, or about the Team Teach approach please contact the Head Teacher.
Attendance
Parents are responsible for ensuring that their child attends school regularly, in cases of unsatisfactory attendance, the Head Teacher will call on the Child & Family Support Worker (Attendance) to visit the home and discuss the problem with the parents. If such unsatisfactory attendance persists the Head Teacher, following discussions with the Child & Family Support Worker (Attendance) and other agencies will decide whether the case should be referred to the local Area Attendance Advisory Group. This Group has been formed to make recommendations to the Director on the statutory responsibilities of the Authority with regard to defaulting parents
Lateness
Please make sure your child arrives at school on time. Pupils who arrive late report to the school office first. Please phone the office if you know your child will be late, or write a note. If a child is often late, obviously it will affect their school work. If this happens, the authority‟s welfare officer will contact you to see if they can help.
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Pupil absence
Please let us know by 10am if your child is to be away from school. When your child returns to school after being off, please send a note to the class teacher.
If you want your child to be off school, you must send a written request and the head teacher will send you a written reply through your child. The Scottish Executive has said that permission for pupil absence during term time should be granted only in exceptional circumstances. You can get a full statement about this from us if you ask.
School policy on clothing and uniform
School dress
School should provide an appropriate learning experience for all children within a disciplined structure. We see a dress code as supporting this by: a Increasing the sense of pupil identity with the school. b Easily identifying children with the school when they are outside the school itself. c Developing a partnership with parents when making decisions about what is appropriate for children to wear to school. d Contributing to the idea that sees school as providing a mainly working environment rather than a social environment. e Reducing competition between children (particularly among the older age groups) in terms of clothing style and „labels‟ worn.
You can buy school uniform direct from school. Sweatshirts, fleeces, joggers and polo shirts (a white, blue or grey shirt worn under a sweatshirt) are all on sale. A plain dark-coloured (navy, grey or black) pair of trousers or skirt should be worn. Footwear does cause some difficulties. We do recommend shoes rather than trainers, but we know it might be difficult – for a number of reasons – to meet this requirement. Pupils need a separate pair of indoor shoes for inside the school („gym‟ shoes or training shoes). They can use these for PE and drama lessons. Please make sure the soles of the shoes will not mark vinyl floors.
Please label your child’s clothing.
Face and body piercings
Face and body piercings have become a real cause for concern in some schools and we would appreciate your support in not allowing your child to come to school wearing these items. Some piercings can create real risks for pupils in the playground and in the course of many school activities. It is your responsibility as a parent or carer to make sure that any jewellery, studs and so on are made safe for school.
Face and body piercings can be dangerous and we have had problems with pupils becoming infected and needing treatment. There is normally a period of around six weeks after piercing before any studs or other jewellery can be removed. We would ask you to think about this if your child wants to have a piercing done and try and avoid this during the school term.
We would value your support in discouraging young people from body or face piercing that would put them at risk at school or would go against the school dress code. If pupils have piercings that may be a risk or break the school code, we will ask you to sign a disclaimer accepting responsibility for that.
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PE kit
Your child will need a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and gym or training shoes. Your child‟s teacher will tell them on which days to bring their kit.
Assistance with Provision of School Clothing
The Council operates a scheme of provision to ensure that a pupil is sufficiently and suitably clad to take full advantage of the education provided. Families in receipt of Income-Based Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance will qualify for such a scheme. Other cases may be considered in the case of exceptional personal circumstances. Parents who wish to apply for the scheme should complete an application form which is available from the Education & Children‟s Services, Inclusion & Equality, John Muir House, Haddington, EH41 3HA.
Transport and road safety Transport
The authority‟s current policy is to pay the travelling expenses of those pupils going to the district school from within the catchment area who live more than two miles from that school. Bus passes are issued to those where there is public transport, and we arrange transport if there is no public transport. If there are empty seats on the bus, we usually provide these for pupils who are not normally entitled to free transport. However, you must apply for a place each session. We will withdraw these places if pupils who qualify fill the places. You can get application forms for a bus pass from the education office based in Haddington.
We will also pay travelling expenses in the case of any pupil who has to go to a school other than the district school, if that pupil lives far enough away. If appropriate, we provide free travel for pupils who receive special education. We may also consider requests for help with travel in exceptional circumstances, for example, if the road between home and school is seen as dangerous by the authority (through consultation with the police road-safety department) and where there is no public transport available. If you chose to send your child to a school other than the district school, you will not receive help for travel to and from school.
Road Safety
In East Lothian there are currently almost 15,000 nursery, primary and secondary school pupils. In 2009, 24 school age children were injured on East Lothian‟s roads, four seriously. Nearly 33% of all pedestrian casualties occurred (2009) to children in the 5-15 year age group.
East Lothian Council working with Lothian and Borders Police and other agencies are committed to reducing the numbers and severity of road casualties. They have identified a number of important initiatives to help reduce the number of road casualties. These will require a notable change of behaviour by everybody, particularly from drivers in built-up areas.
These initiatives aim to reduce the number of car journeys to and from school by pupils, parents and staff to:
Encourage children to walk or cycle to school, thereby improving the safety for the pupil on the journey to school. Provide pupils and parents with appropriate training to allow them and their children to journey to and from school safely. Improve pedestrian safety in and around school. Raise awareness amongst pupils, parents, and staff of the wider health and environmental problems associated with increase car use. Improve the local environment for everyone by reducing pollution, congestion and addressing safety issues around the school.
Parents are asked to review their current or intended mode of travel to and from school and consider whether or not it should be changed or modified to help the school, pupils, staff and other parents to reduce the number of child casualties. (Statistical source: Road Casualties Scotland 2009) 27
Meals and milk
School meals A hot meal consisting of soup and a main meal or a main meal and pudding, each option costs £1.90.
Please send money for a meal in a purse with the pupil‟s full name and class written on it.
Free School Meals Under the Council Committee for Education policy, children in attendance at schools under the management of the Council are entitled to free school meals if their parents are in receipt of Income Support or Income-based Jobseekers Allowance or Income Related Employment and Support Allowance or Child Tax Credit but NOT Working Tax Credit with an annual income of less than £15,860 or Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit with and annual income of less than £6,420. No other children are eligible for free meals. Further information can be obtained from the Department of Services for People, Business Unit, John Muir House, Haddington, EH41 3HA.
Further information can be found at: www.eastlothian.gov.uk/info/594/benefits_education_and_schools/1366/school_clothing_and_free _school_meals
Packed lunches
There is room in the class bays for children to eat their lunches.
Lunchtime supervision
In the summer pupils may be able to eat packed lunches at the tables in the garden. We assume that children will stay on the premises at lunchtime.
Milk
Free milk will be available to all children in nursery education and to children of primary-school age in special schools if their parents receive Income Support. We can provide milk to any other child of primary-school age at primary and special schools at a reduced cost.
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Health and safety
The Education & Children‟s Services Department has prepared statements of safety policy for all areas of its responsibility in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. School staff are fully instructed in their responsibilities in this respect, and safety regulations apply to aspects of school life, both on and off the premises. It is expected that pupils will behave responsibly and comply with all safety requirements. The support of parents in promoting good practice in health and safety matters is of great importance to the school.
First aid and medical care
Pupils with disabilities
All pupils with disabilities take a full part in the life of the school. We provide wheelchair access at five points in the building – to the front of the school next to the main entrance and at each of the four primary stage entrances. Once inside the building everything is on the level.
Illness or accidents in school
We give first aid on the spot for minor accidents. Mrs McConnell, a member of the auxiliary staff, deals with this. If the injury is serious, or if symptoms develop, it is our policy to phone you. You can then take your child home or to the doctor or hospital. You must let us know about any change of address, phone number or emergency contact. Please send a note to the class teacher so that we can contact you at all times if needed.
Pupil’s medicine
If your child is being given medicine and needs to take this during the school day, we will ask you to fill in a request form – Administration of Drugs – which will allow a member of auxiliary staff to give the medicine to your child at the appropriate time. We will do our best to give the medicine at the time given. All medicine should be clearly labelled with your child‟s full name and class, and your child should hand over the medicine to the class teacher or the member of auxiliary staff each day.
All members of staff who have agreed to be trained in giving specific drugs to pupils suffering from epileptic seizures or severe allergic reactions will be covered by East Lothian Council‟s public liability policy.
Dentist and doctor appointments
Let the school know about any dentist‟s or doctor‟s appointments. Normally, pupils should bring a letter (signed by the parent) stating when and where the appointment is. The letter must also say whether someone will be taking the pupil or not. If for some reason this is not possible and you phone us, we will ask you for the same information and will also ask you to confirm your identity, for example, the child‟s date of birth as an extra safety precaution.
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The school health service
Throughout your child‟s years at primary and secondary school, a team of specialist health service and education department staff will be seeing them from time to time to make sure that they benefit as much as possible from all that school life has to offer. The school health service is part of the community child health service and has direct links with those who carry our health checks on children before they start school.
Many different services are provided. The school health team take confidentiality very seriously at all times. The staff involved make every effort to work closely with parents and with others caring for your child, both at school and in other branches of the health service.
Some of the staff concerned and the parts they play are as follows.
School nurses are involved with promoting health and education, preventing ill health, immunisation, health surveillance and screening. The school doctor will deal with any possible problems and will let you know if any further action is needed. The school nurse may be helped by a health assistant.
The school nurse acts as an important link between home and school. She visits the school regularly and has contact with teachers to find out whether any pupils have health needs that need tackling. The school nurse can link with other members of the health team, in the community or in hospital, concerned with a child‟s health. The nurse reviews the notes of all children in primaries 1, 4 and 7 and S3 as well as those of all new pupils.
We issue an information booklet about the school health service to any new pupils coming from outwith the Lothian area.
We also ask you to fill in a health questionnaire about your child at Primary 1, 7 and S3 and ask if you would like your child to have a medical consultation with the school doctor. The school doctor is trained in community paediatrics and is part of a team of doctors, including a consultant community paediatrician, for your area.
The doctor may ask for your permission to examine your child if their medical records are incomplete or if the doctor particularly wants to check on their progress. We will invite you to be present at any medical examination and keep you informed if the school doctor wants to see your child again or thinks that they should be seen by your family doctor or a specialist in paediatrics. You can, if you want, arrange for your family doctor to do the examinations instead of the school doctor but they may charge you a fee for this.
The school doctor will be pleased to see you and your child at a convenient time if you are worried about your child‟s health or their general progress at school.
The audiometric team, who check children‟s hearing, will not visit the school. Instead they run a local clinic providing appointments for all school-aged children who need a hearing assessment. These children include:
All children who are due to have a routine retest as a result of being found to have a hearing loss at a previous test in school or as a pre-school child. All school age children newly referred for assessment.
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The school medical officer will let us know the result of any assessment.
The speech and language therapist can provide assessment and, if necessary, treatment if you, a teacher, your GP or the school doctor feels that your child may have a speech or language problem. If you have a question about dental services, contact:
Director of Community Dental Service 16 Duncan Street Edinburgh EH9 1SR. Phone: 0131 667 7114.
We hope that the school health service can, together with you, contribute to your child‟s overall wellbeing and development. Please contact the head teacher if you need to see the school doctor or school nurse, or if you want any more information.
Medical problems Please let us know about any medical or dental problem, which may affect your child in sch
Occasional and emergency arrangements
Wet weather
On wet days, please do not send the children to school too early in the morning. If the weather is very wet at break time and lunchtime, we keep the children inside the school when senior staff, playground supervisors and senior pupils help to supervise.
Staff development
Education is a lifelong process, and staff development continues through regular staff meetings, evening courses, school in-service (generally one or two days each term) full-time seconded courses and national courses. We will give you information on any closures which may affect your child.
Closing school early
Very occasionally, we need to close early, for example, if the heating fails and in extreme weather conditions. We will normally give you notice but in an emergency this may not be possible. Your child should know where to go if they are sent home early – whether home or to a friend‟s house.
Council policy is to use the media, particularly Radio Forth and Radio Scotland, to broadcast messages about schools.
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Parent and staff contact
Your child’s progress
At present, we give you four opportunities each year to discuss your child‟s progress with the class teacher. Normally, there is one session in October and another in March. You can arrange further discussions by making an appointment to see the class teacher or any member of the management team. In June we send you a written report on your child‟s progress.
General school matters
We send out newsletters each month to keep you informed of pupils‟ activities and school events.
Parent help
We always welcome help from parents in school. Please consider whether you want to help us by joining a work party, for example, to repair books; helping in the library; coming with us on school trips.
There are a few activities that parents currently take part in. Please let the school know about areas in which you think you can help.
The partnership between home and school
We can support and help the children in our care in many different ways. Your help in educating your child as they grow up is invaluable in a range of activities, for example by encouraging them in the following ways: a Discussing and reading with them. b Using the local library. c Taking the child to places of interest. d Promoting good study habits at home. e Joining one of the local clubs or organisations. f Developing skills in everyday tasks, for example, letter-writing, buying things, caring for pets and simple repairs.
School and community links
The school is a community in itself but is also part of the wider community. We value links with organisations in the town, individuals who work or provide services in our area and who might be willing to provide an opportunity to let the children know about „real life‟ situations, workplaces, jobs people do and so on.
A number of speakers visit classes to speak about their work. This too may be an area in which you can help. Please let us know.
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Community Development Service
The Community Development Service supports and organises a wide range of activities for all ages both within and outwith school premises. If you are interested in this service, please contact Helen Bruce on 01620 827403.
Outdoor Education
Outdoor Education is provided to school through the East Lothian Outdoor Education Service based in Unit 3, Musselburgh Racecourse Complex, Balcarres Road, Goosegreen Road, Musselburgh, East Lothian, EH21 7SR. The aim of the service is to provide first class experiences of outdoor education for schools and other groups and to offer a support and advice service for outdoor activity in East Lothian.
Educational trips
As part of the planned programmes of work, we arrange appropriate educational trips. We ask parents to contribute part of the cost. We will send letters when necessary. We would not deny any child an outing due to the family not being able to afford it. If there is a problem, please let the head teacher know and we can make arrangements. We often ask parents to help with visits and other activities, and parental help here is particularly welcome. Please let the class teacher know if you would like to help. We plan all educational trips according to East Lothian Council‟s guidelines.
Achievements of pupils
It has been the custom of the school to take part in locally sponsored competitions run by various businesses and organisations. These have included art, poetry and writing competitions in which the school has generally performed at a very good level.
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Cultural and community involvement
Cultural Services can facilitate enhanced learning opportunities for children through provision of and support of:-
School Library Service Instrumental Music Tuition Drama provision/Theatre Educational visits in Museums/projects. Study Support and After School Activities Sport
The Service is committed to facilitating access to the widest range of creative and learning opportunities and supports a broad range of information services and access.
Children getting part-time jobs
Children under school-leaving age can only be employed within the terms of the bye-laws on employing children. These regulations do not allow children under 13 to be employed. For those over that age, there are limits on the hours and types of employment which are allowed. Parents and employers must both fill in an application form for an employment permit before employment begins.
Community service
We have had a long history of activity in the area of charitable fundraising.
We have also collected materials for schools in the third world countries to use, for pensioners (harvest time) and have contributed books and toys towards various fairs held locally for charitable purposes.
School committees and working groups
It is our policy to involve all staff in the decision-making process. Various working groups deal with different areas of the curriculum and other aspects of the school. The groups offer advice to the head teacher on proposed changes to the existing curriculum of the school.
Parent Forum and Parent Council
The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act 2006 encourages and supports more parents/carers to become involved in their children‟s education.
The main aims of the Act are to: Help parents/carers become more involved with their child‟s education and learning Welcome parents/carers as active participants in the life of the school Provide easier ways for parents/carers to express their views and wishes
To help achieve these aims, all parents/carers will automatically be members of the Parent Forum at their child‟s school and will be entitled to have their views represented to the school, education authority and others, through a representative Parent Council for the school. As a member of the Parent Forum, parents/carers will have a say in selecting their Parent Council (the representative body) to work on behalf of all parents/carers at the school. An outline of the Parent Council meeting dates should be included where possible.
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The role of the Parent Council is to:
Support the school in its work with pupils Represent the views of all parents/carers Encourage links between the school, parents/carers, providers of nursery education and the community Consult with and report back to the Parent Forum.
The new Parent Council arrangements came into effect from August 2007. For more information on the Parental Involvement Act or to find out about parents as partners in their children‟s learning please contact the school or Val McIntyre, Principal Officer, at the Department of Education & Children‟s Services on 01620 827228 or [email protected] or visit the Parentzone website on www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk or East Lothian Council website on www.eastlothian.gov.uk
Chairperson School Debbie Strachan Email: [email protected] Donna Guy King‟s Meadow Primary School Members Haddington, East Lothian EH41 3DT David Anning Phone: 01620 822177 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Martin Hayman Hazel Gilfillan Email: [email protected] King‟s Meadow Primary School Haddington, East Lothian EH41 3DT Nicola Sales Phone: 01620 822177 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Juliet Wilberforce Mark Lambert King‟s Meadow Primary School Haddington, East Lothian EH41 3DT Phone: 01620 822177 Email: [email protected]
Parent-Teacher Association
We have an active parent-teacher association, which is involved in a number of activities throughout the school year, including promoting fundraising events, social gatherings, and helping out within the school. If you would like more information, contact the depute head teacher in the first instance.
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Pupil and home information.
Transferring educational data about pupils
The Scottish Government and its partners collect and use information about pupils to help to improve education across Scotland. This note explains why we need this information, how we use it and what we do to protect the information supplied to us.
Why do we need your data?
In order to make the best decisions about how to improve our education service, Scottish Government, education authorities and other partners such as the SQA and Careers Scotland need accurate, up-to-date data about our pupils. We are keen to help all our pupils do well in all aspects of school life and achieve better examination results. Accurate and up-to-date data allows us to:
• plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of all pupils, • plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of specific groups of pupils, • better understand some of the factors which influence pupil attainment and achievement, • share good practice, • target resources better.
Data policy
Information about pupils‟ education is collected in partnership between the Scottish Government and Local Authorities through the ScotXed Programme which aims to help schools and Local Authorities by supporting efficient collection, processing and dissemination of statistical information. The Scottish Government then provides analysis of the data to support research, planning, management and monitoring of education services as well as to produce National Statistics publications.
Education data within Scottish Government is managed effectively by secure systems and is exploited as a valuable corporate resource, subject to confidentiality restraints. As part of its data policy, Scottish Government will not publish or make publicly available any information that allows individual pupils to be identified, nor will data be used by Scottish Government to take any actions in respect of individuals. Data is held securely and no information on individual pupils can or would be made publicly available by Scottish Government.
The individual data collected by Scottish Government is used for statistical and research purposes only.
Your data protection rights
The collection, transfer, processing and sharing of ScotXed data is done in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998). We also comply with the National Statistics Code of Practice requirements and other legislation related to safeguarding the confidentiality of data. The Data Protection Act gives you the right to know how we will use your data. This note can give only a brief description of how we use data. Fuller details of each individual ScotXed survey, including the purpose of each and the published data, can be found on the ScotXed website (www.scotxed.net).
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Scottish Government works with a range of partners including HM Inspectorate of Education, Careers Scotland and the SQA. On occasion, we will make individual data available to partners and also academic institutions and organisations to carry out research and statistical analysis. In addition, we will provide our partners with information they need in order to fulfil their official responsibilities. Any sharing of data will be done under the strict control of Scottish Government, which will ensure that no individual level data will be made public as a result of the data sharing and that these data will not be used to take any actions in respect of an individual. Decisions on the sharing of data will be taken in consultation with relevant colleagues and individuals within and outwith Scottish Government.
Concerns
If you have any concerns about the ScotXed data collections you can email the Senior Statistician, Peter Whitehouse, at [email protected] or write to The ScotXed Support Office, Area 1B, Victoria Quay, Leith, EH6 6QQ. Alternative versions of this page are available, on request from the ScotXed Support Office, in other languages, audio tape, Braille and large print.
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If there is a problem
A local answer
We can sort out most problems and complaints in school. You should contact the school as soon as possible to tell us about your complaint. It is always best to tell us immediately, but remember we may not be able to meet you right away.
You can expect an acknowledgement within 2 working days if the school receives a complaint in writing. If you telephone, we can normally arrange for someone to respond to you by telephone within 2 working days.
If a meeting is required, this will be held within 7 working days, with a written response sent to you within 10 working days.
If parents remain dissatisfied then the procedures contained within “Resolving Complaints” should be followed.
Useful Telephone Numbers The undernoted staff are based within the Department of Services for People, John Muir House, Haddington, EH41 3HA.
Executive Director of Services for People Don Ledingham 01620-827596 Head of Education Vacancy Head of Children‟s Well-being Sharon Saunders 01620-827881 Quality Improvement Manager Sheila Ainslie 01620 827572 Principal Psychologist Vacancy 01620-827587 Business Manager Richard Parker 01620-827494 Principal Inclusion & Equality Officer Fraser Parkinson 01620-827961 Parental Involvement Act (Parent Val McIntyre 01620-827228 Forums/Councils) Free School Meals and Clothing Grants, EMAs, Fiona Brown 01620 827415 Pupil Placement, Home to School Transport Policy School Lets Frances McInnes 01620-827811 Service Development Manager, Development Gill McMillan 01620-829910 Team (Planning)
The undernoted staff are based at Randall House, Macmerry Service Manager (Children‟s Services) Marion Wood 01620-827881 Integration Team Raymy Boyle 01620-829909 Area Resources Manager, Children‟s Services Celia Borland 01620 827930
Further information can also be found at: http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/info/827/education_and_learning
The Scottish Government can be contacted at: Scottish Government Education Department Victoria Quay EDINBURGH EH6 6QQ Telephone Number 0131-556-8400 www.scotland.gov.uk/
Accuracy of Information The information contained in this booklet was accurate as December 2012.
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School handbook index
Additional support needs 14 Health service 30 Assessment 13 Homework policy 16 Attendance 25 In-service arrangements 9 Auxiliary and other staff 8 Knox Academy 7 Basic information about the school 3 Lunchtime supervision 28 Bicycles 5 Meals 28 Bullying 23 Medicine for pupils 29 Car park 6 Multicultural education 13 Child-protection guidelines 20 Music 13 Clubs and events 18 Outdoor education 33 Communicating with parents 19 & 32 Parent Forum and Parent Council 34 Community Development Service 33 Parent-teacher association 35 Complaints 38 Playground supervision 5 Composite classes 10 Problems 38 Consulting pupils 20 Professionals visiting school 20 Promoted staff responsibility 9 Curriculum for Excellence 11 Pupil placement 10 Dentist and doctor appointments 29 Religious observance 12 Discipline 23 Roll of school 3 Dress code 26 School rules 23 Early closure 31 Scottish Parent Teacher Council 19 East Lothian Education Pyschology 21 Speech and language therapist 31 Service Educational aims 10 Staffing 8 Employing children 34 Team Teach 25 Enrolment 10 Term dates and holidays 4 Entrance 5 Times 5 Exclusion 24 Transferring educational data about 36 pupils Extra-curricular activities 18 Transport 27 First aid 29 Uniform 26 Haddington Infant School 6 Visiting the school 5 Health and safety 29 Visits and excursions 18 & 33
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