Winchburgh Primary School West Lothian Council School Handbook Information Revised January 2021 Revised January 2021 forward Welcome to Winchburgh PS Mr Ian Harvey, Head Teacher Welcome to Winchburgh Primary School. It is my privilege to serve as the Head Teacher at Winchburgh and I welcome you as a parent/carer, visitor or interested member of the community. This handbook is updated annually, or as required, and is designed to give you some of the key information about our nursery and school and will hopefully answer any questions you may have. The handbook is issued to all parents/carers of our new children in Primary 1 along with anyone who joins us over the course of the year. While we endeavor to include all the most relevant information there may be queries you have either before or when your child is at nursery or school. We are a welcoming school with an open-door policy and both myself and the wider staff team are happy to meet with you to discuss any points, queries or concerns you may have at the earliest opportunity. We can be contacted face-to- face, by telephone or via the school email address. I hope that the following information will be useful to you before and during your child’s time at Winchburgh Primary School. Welcome to our school community. Ian Harvey, Head Teacher DURING THE COVID-19 Pandemic some alternative arrangements, including staggered start and end times are in operation – the full entitlements to provision are still available but require to be delivered in a flexible way for the safety of all. Further details or enquiries can be made via the school email address: [email protected] SCHOOL INFORMATION West Lothian Council Mission Statement ______________________________________ 1 West Lothian Council Values ______________________________________________ 1 1.1 School Vision, Values & Aims ____________________________________________ 1 1.2 School Contact Details ________________________________________________ 2 1.3 Nursery/ELC and School Day ___________________________________________ 2 STANDARDS 2.1 Attendance _____________________________________________________ 3 2.2 Ethos and Behaviour ______________________________________________ 4 2.3 School Dress Code ________________________________________________ 5 ETHOS 3.1 Equality and Fairness ______________________________________________ 6 3.2 Partnership and Communication with Parents _____________________________ 6 3.3 Parent Council & Fundraising sub-committee ______________________________ 7 CURRICULUM 4.1 General ________________________________________________________ 8 Pupil Profiles _____________________________________________________ 9 4.2 Instrumental Tuition _______________________________________________ 9 4.3 Use of the Internet _______________________________________________ 10 4.4 Assessment and Reporting _________________________________________ 10 4.5 Support for Learning ______________________________________________ 10 ADMISSIONS, TRANSITION & CLUBS 5.1 Admission Procedures _____________________________________________ 11 5.2 New Entrants to P1 _______________________________________________ 11 5.3 Transfer to Secondary Education ________________________________________ 12 5.4 Extra – curricular activities ___________________________________________ 12 HEALTH & SAFETY AND PUPIL WELFARE 6.1 Medication in Schools _____________________________________________ 13 6.2 Emergency Contacts and Arrangements ________________________________ 13 6.3 Meals and Milk __________________________________________________ 14 6.4 Security _______________________________________________________ 14 6.5 Photography ___________________________________________________ 15 6.6 Child Protection Guidelines _________________________________________ 15 6.7 Playground Supervision ____________________________________________ 15 6.8 Transport ______________________________________________________ 15 6.9 Car Parking ____________________________________________________ 21 6.10 Requested Early Release of Pupil _____________________________________ 21 6.11 Data sharing _____________________________________________________ 21 6.12 Feedback, Concerns and Complaints ___________________________________ 23 section 1 West Lothian Council Mission Statement “Striving for excellence…working with and for our communities.” West Lothian Council Values ■ Focusing on customer needs ■ Being honest, open and accountable ■ Providing equality of opportunities ■ Developing employees ■ Making best use of resources ■ Working in partnership 1.1 School Vision, Values & Aims At Winchburgh the success of every learner is central to our purpose, aims and values. Our Vision is Every Learner Achieving Their Full Potential. Our Values are: Kindness, Effort and Respect We promote these core values in all aspects of school life and encourage all to be: Respectful, Safe, Ready to Learn Our vision and values are embodied within our Aims to: ➢ create a welcoming, nurturing and supportive environment where all achievements are celebrated ➢ be aspirational, pursue excellence and maximise potential ➢ develop skills for life and the future by fostering determination, growth-mindset and resilience ➢ listen to and consider all points of view; promoting honesty, tolerance, trust and positive relationships ➢ work in partnership across our school, partners and the wider local community EXCELLENCE AND EQUITY ATTAINMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT To raise standards of educational attainment for all in school, especially in the core skills of literacy and numeracy, and to achieve better levels in national measures of achievement, including examination results. FRAMEWORK FOR LEARNING To support and develop the skills of teachers, the self-discipline of pupils and to enhance school environments so that they are conducive to teaching and learning. INCLUSION AND EQUALITY To promote equality and help every pupil benefit from education, with particular regard paid to pupils with disabilities and special educational needs, and to Gaelic and other lesser used languages. VALUES AND CITIZENSHIP To work with parents to teach pupils respect for self and one another and their interdependence with other members of their neighbourhood and society, and to teach them the duties and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society. SKILLS FOR LEARNING, LIFE AND WORK To equip pupils with the foundation skills, attitudes and expectations necessary to prosper in a changing society, and to encourage creativity and ambition. 1 section 2 1.2 School Contact Details Winchburgh Primary School and Nursery Class Glendevon Park Winchburgh, Broxburn EH52 6UE Head Teacher: Mr Ian Harvey Depute Head Teacher: Mrs Jillian Hailstones (Acting) Telephone: 01506 890202 Email: [email protected] School Website: https://winchburghprimary.westlothian.org.uk School term dates and holidays can be accessed online at www.westlothain.gov.uk/schoolholidays The school does not provide teaching by means of the Gaelic language as spoken in Scotland. Further details for those who require this provision can be option from the Pupil Placement Section e-mail [email protected] or phone 01506 280000 1.3 Nursery/ELC and School Day NB – DURING THE COVID-19 Pandemic some alternative arrangements, including staggered start and end times are in operation – the full entitlements to provision are still available but require to be delivered in a flexible way for the safety of all. ELC / Nursery Class Monday – Thursday (AM) 08:00 – 12:45 Monday – Thursday (PM) 13:15 – 18:00 Full Days (2 days per week) 08:00 – 18:00 School Monday – Thursday 08:50 – 10:50 11:05 – 12:45 13:30 – 15:15 Friday 08:50 – 10:50 11:05 – 12:25 2 section 2 2.1 Attendance Regular and punctual attendance at school help to maximise pupil experiences and ensure that each child accesses the full entitlement to formal education provision. There may be times where your child is late or absent from school and in keeping with all schools, we would ask you to notify the school at the earliest opportunity or by 9am on the first day of absence. An answerphone system is available 24 hours a day to allow you to leave a message about an absence. Where an absence is more than a couple of days we will agree with you how often we would like you to keep in touch. Please help us develop in your child a regular habit of good time keeping. If circumstances arise when your child will be unavoidably late please provide a note of explanation. The school enters pupil absence electronically using codes for particular reasons for absence. To ensure an accurate record is kept it is important that should your child be absent, you provide an explanation for that absence either by telephone, email or by letter/note. Our school has a system which sends out an automated text message or phone call to an emergency contacts in cases of unexplained absence. Parents/Carers and schools must work in partnership in order to benefit from early notification of unexplained absence from school. The Scottish Government has issued a directive informing local authorities that, due to the impact absences during term-time have on children’s learning, any such absences will be recorded as unauthorised. Family holidays should therefore where possible be taken out-with term times. If, in exceptional circumstances, you wish to take your children out of school, you must make your request to the Head Teacher in writing. If you become aware that your child may be absent from school for a considerable length