 |
 |
||||||||||||||
|
 |
||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
|
Pupil Council Our School places a high priority on listening to our children’s views and to this end we have established a Pupil Council. Each school year pupils in P1 –P7 elect by secret ballot class representatives. The pupils meet with the Headteacher on a regular basis, providing a focused opportunity to consult pupils, as appropriate, on issues relating to making our school the best it can be. Equally, it is an opportunity for pupils to raise matters of concern or make suggestions for improvement and development. This year’s Pupil Council members are:
Last year the council: § Organised fundraising for Sport Relief § Launched a School Nutrition Action Group (SNAG) § Worked towards Eco Schools Green Flag criteria § Introduced a daily healthy tuckshop § Supported the restructuring of school lunch seating § Helped revise the school behaviour policy This year the Pupil Council will be focusing on: § Our work as an § Improvement in school nutrition § The playground § Other issues raised by the pupils § Charity work INCLUSION
The Education (Additional Support for Learning) ( The Act resulted in new procedures and guidance with training for all establishments on the implementation of the Act. We have also provided new resources and information. We have developed a CD-ROM and an ASL website where parents can get a range of information at www.stirling.gov.uk/asl. The Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004 is currently being amended by the Scottish Parliament to strengthen the legislation around the rights of parents and children with additional support needs in relation to placing requests, and to rationalise aspects of procedure. We will update our guidance to reflect these changes when they come into operation. You can get more information, including copies of the CD-ROM from your nursery or school. There is also an Additional Support Needs Parents Forum which meets regularly in EQUALITIES Stirling Council has developed Council-wide policies for diversity, race, disability and gender equality, which aim to ensure that all Council employees are aware of their responsibilities to ensure that no child or young person will receive a less effective service on grounds of ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation. Multi-Cultural and Anti-Racist Education In line with the school aims, we endeavour to teach our pupils to respect all people and to understand that though differences may exist, there should be no barriers between cultures. CHILD PROTECTION The safety of children is everyone’s responsibility. If staff have any concerns for a child or young person’s wellbeing, they have a duty to pass on information that will help keep that child safe. All school staff receive child protection training each year. SCHOOL UNIFORM Gargunnock encourages the wearing of school uniform. We believe that the many advantages to pupils far outweigh any ‘disadvantage’. We are eager to promote high expectations and high standards in all aspects of school life and would wish the school’s dress code to reflect this. Encouraging all our pupils to be smart and readily identifiable as pupils of Gargunnock Primary contributes positively to the school ethos and school security. Our Uniform consists of: § § Pale blue school shirt/blouse or pale blue polo shirt with school motif § Blue and white school summer dress (optional) § Black shoes (preferably not trainers) § Where to get the uniform Most High Street stores sell the general items. School ties, polo shirts, sweatshirts, fleeces and rain jackets with the school logo are available from Logoxpres Ltd, 4 King’s Court, Glentye Road, Broadleys Business Park, Stirling, FK7 7LH, telephone no 01786 447454. Dress for PE In the interest of health and safety we ask that children have shorts, t-shirt and rubber soled sandshoes for physical education (heavy training shoes are not suitable). It would be best for children in P1 – P2 if they kept their soft shoes in a shoe bag that remained in school all the time. Indoor Shoes All children are asked to change their shoes in school. Most children wear gym shoes but children may wear any other footwear that has not been worn on the journey to school. Children leave these shoes in school. By changing their shoes it means that carpeted classrooms are kept free of mud and allows children to sit or work comfortably on the floor without fear of sitting on a muddy footprint. Clearly a successful uniform policy depends heavily on effective parent partnership. We are delighted at and very grateful for the tremendous level of support and encouragement from our parents on this issue. SCHOOL MEALS Lunch Time Our children have a full hour for lunch, this allows for a leisurely lunch and plenty of playtime. Parents can choose to allow their children to remain in school or go home for lunch. Children electing to stay in school may purchase from a choice of three hot lunches, (blue tray, green tray or red tray), a school packed lunch or indeed bring their own packed lunch. Good quality lunches are provided for children and young people in all schools every day. These are prepared in the context of Hungry for Success - a national initiative aimed at improving nutritional standards in school meals, encouraging an increase in uptake and removing the stigma attached to taking free school meals. A four-week menu cycle is provided by the catering service and is changed twice a year, taking into account feedback from customers. All the recipes are nutritionally analysed to ensure they provide a healthy and well-balanced meal. The catering service always tries to accommodate the majority of tastes by offering an exciting and varied choice including a vegetarian option available every day and a range of packed lunches. As well as meeting the requirements of Hungry for Success, all of the food and drink supplied as part of the school meals’ service complies with the requirements of the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) Scotland Act 2007. Menus can be viewed on the Council’s website. There is a continual commitment to introduce new products and improve the school meals service in an effort to entice our pupils and positively encourage them to choose the healthy options that are on offer. Special diets can also be appropriately catered for and parents should contact the Head teacher to discuss their child’s special dietary requirements. The cost of a school lunch is £1.70 in primary schools and £1.80 in high schools. Some families may be eligible for free school meals. An application form may be obtained from the school or printed off the Council’s website. This form should be completed by the parent or guardian and returned to the nearest local office or Viewforth, Paying for lunch Lunches are normally ordered and paid for on a Monday. If your child is absent lunches should be ordered and paid for on their return. Payment can be made by cash or cheque, which should be placed in an envelope along with your child’s order form. ATTENDANCE It is important that the school and parents work together to achieve good attendance as there is a strong link between good attendance and achievement and. The school aims to encourage attendance by creating a welcoming and supporting ethos. If there are difficulties with your child’s attendance, the school will contact you to discuss ways of resolving this. If your child is unable to attend school due to illness or for any other reason, we ask that parents should notify the school as early as possible in the school day. Parents should also give careful consideration to the impact on a child’s education of taking holidays during term time. All schools are required to record attendance and absence of pupils and report on these figures to parents, the Council and the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government’s guidance – Included, Engaged and Involved: Attendance in Scottish Schools - issued to all local authorities in December 2007 provides guidance on how attendance and absence at school is recorded. This document clarifies that the majority of family holidays taken during term time will be categorised as unauthorised absence and that schools may only authorise a family holiday during term time under very exceptional circumstances. There is a strong link between good attendance and achievement. Quite simply a child who is not in school does not learn. Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve their potential. Persistent latecoming also causes regular interruptions for some classes. It disrupts learning and teaching not only for the latecomer but for the whole class. At no time during the school day should a child be removed by a parent from the school without informing the staff of the school. This includes lunchtime “disappearances”. If a child is reported missing we will try to contact the parents or we will ask for help from the emergency contact or neighbours. If we fail to locate the child the Police will be informed. Please help us to keep your child safe. Poor attendance falls into the Council’s Staged Intervention Framework and action will be taken to address patterns of poor attendance. TRANSPORT Stirling Council provides free transport to children: · under 8 years of age who live more than two miles from school · 8 years of age and over who live more than three miles from school SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE Forth Valley NHS Board has a statutory obligation to provide a health service for all school-age children in Stirling Council area. The aim of the service is to make sure that all children are in the best possible health to benefit from their education and to provide the Education Authority with advice about the spread of infections and the promotion of good health. Staff from Parents will be given the opportunity to meet the named nurse for the school when their child enters the school in Primary 1. This will involve the parents completing a health questionnaire for the child and requesting an appointment if required. All children may be seen at other times to have their height, weight and vision checked. If you have any concerns with your child’s health, which may affect their education, then an appointment can be arranged with your named nurse again by contacting the department at the telephone number below. School staff, with parental permission, can request an appointment with the named nurse at any time. Hearing is no longer being tested in school and teachers and parents are encouraged to report any concern about hearing especially in Primary one children. The named nurse will also offer health promotion sessions within the school setting at agreed times with the school. If you wish further details about the content of these sessions then this is available by either speaking to the teacher or contacting the named nurse at the telephone number below. The school doctor (Community Paediatrician) sees children with additional support needs or with any significant ongoing medical or developmental conditions affecting their education. School staff and parents can request a consultation with the school doctor at any time. All children entering P1 will receive an oral health pack containing a toothbrush, toothpaste and an oral health advice sheet. A dentist from the Community Dental Service will carry out a dental inspection of your child at P1 and P7 and can arrange for dental treatment to be offered to those children unable to register with a general dental practitioner. The School Health Service can be contacted at:- Area Community Child Health Department Livilands Telephone: (01786) 434059/Fax (01786) 434479 Infectious Diseases Colds, flu and gastro-enteritis are the most common infections affecting children of school age. It is important that you keep your child off school in the early stages of flu and while they still have diarrhoea. It is also important that your child understands how to prevent picking up and spreading such infections. You will be able to get further advice about good health from your named school nurse or staff in your Health Centre or GP Practice. For advice about early detection and treatment for other infectious diseases e.g. chickenpox and mumps please consult your GP or Health Visitor. Head Lice Head lice are spread through head to head contact at home, while playing or in school. Regular combing of your child’s hair using a head lice detection comb is the best way to catch this possible problem at an early stage. The only way to be sure that your child has head lice is to find a live louse. If you find live lice, get the correct lotion from your doctor, health visitor or pharmacist. Shampoos and other treatments are not effective. One treatment is two applications of treatment lotion seven days apart. If this is not followed correctly then re-infection is likely. Advise all family members and close friends of your child to check and treat only if live lice are found. Don’t be shy about advising others of this possible problem as you would tell family and friends about other infections which might affect them. Regular combing of your child’s hair with the head lice detector comb is the best protection as it allows you to detect and then treat speedily. Further advice can be obtained from the Health Board head lice leaflet which is available in all schools and health centres. Health Promotion Our school is committed to promoting a healthy lifestyle to all pupils and staff. This year we achieved level 2 accreditation as an INSURANCE INFORMATION
1. Public Liability Pupils’ Property a) Parents’ house contents policy may give some measure of cover for personal effects of family members. b) It is suggested that parents may wish to consider taking out additional individual personal cover. c) Pupils should be encouraged not to bring valuables to school. The general rule is that pupils bring property to school at their own risk. There may be situations where the school accepts responsibility for pupils’ property, but otherwise the Council is not responsible if property is lost, damaged or stolen in school. 2. Personal Accident Cover – Educational Excursions Persons Covered: Organisers, members, employees, children and others travelling on excursions or trips organised by the Council. When Covered: Whilst attending any activity involving a journey outside the premises of the School organised by or on behalf of the Council under the supervision of a responsible adult appointed thereby. If you require further information please contact the Council’s Insurance Team on 01786 442889. COMMENTS AND COMPLAINTS Stirling Council is committed to quality services for its citizens and communities. As part of this commitment we have Talkback, a comments and complaints scheme, which allows us to find out how we are doing so we can put things right and improve services. There may be times when you are not happy with the services we provide. We want to give you the opportunity to discuss any concerns with us and to find a solution which will be in the best interests of your child. Talkback provides a 3 stage approach: Stage 1
If you have a concern about your child’s education or early learning, please contact the headteacher in the first instance. You can do this in person, by telephone or in writing. The school will aim to give you a quick but thorough response from staff who know most about your child. Stage 2
We hope that we can resolve your concerns easily and quickly at the time they arise and with the person concerned. In some instances, however, you may feel that your concern or complaint has not been resolved. If you are unhappy with the outcome at Stage 1, please contact Children’s Services in Viewforth, Children’s Services will arrange for your concern to be reviewed. We will acknowledge your enquiry within 4 days. We aim to look into the issues you raise and find a solution within 15 days. Stage 3
If you are still unhappy with the outcome of the Service review of your concern, you can contact the Council’s Corporate Complaints Officer who will look into how Children’s Services has dealt with this. The Corporate Complaints Officer is based within the Chief Executive’s Service, Viewforth, ASSESSMENT Children are assessed continuously as they progress through the school. By continuous assessment we aim to: - Improve the quality of teaching and learning for all pupils - Enable a continuum in provision for pupils across the range of stages through Primary and into secondary school - Enable more effective reporting to parents and pupils National Assessments We implement National Assessments to confirm children’s level of attainment and to provide an overview of how the whole school is performing. Testing is currently carried out only in reading, writing and mathematics. When do we test? Our policy is to test pupils when they have successfully completed a programme of study for one specific level, before moving on to do work for the next level. The class teacher will use his/her professional judgement, based on evidence, to decide if a child is consistently performing at a specific level of study. When this is so, the child will be tested. A child should not be presented for a National Assessment unless the teacher judges that they are likely to attain that level. Children can be presented for testing at any time throughout the school year. The overriding factor of when a child should be tested is determined by the child’s progress. Implementing testing In accordance with national Guidelines tests are administered as part of the normal class routine. Generally groups of children will undertake testing during their usual language or maths block. Every effort is made to help the child feel secure. Children will be told that this is an important piece of work or indeed a test, depending on age. The success criteria will be shared with them beforehand so that they know exactly what is expected of them. Clearly how this is done will differ from year to year as it will be presented in an age appropriate manner. Retesting children Sometimes a child doesn’t achieve the level expected. When this happens the teacher will examine the child’s response to ascertain where the weaknesses are and talk sensitively with the child and parents if appropriate. A programme will be put in place to address these weaknesses and when the teacher assesses that the child is now confident and competent re-testing will occur. There is no specific time scale as to when this retesting will happen; it will be determined by the child’s progress. Informing parents As children achieve a level they will bring home a coloured certificate letter detailing their achievements. School policy is that this will be done in a low key manner. Levels of attainment will also be reported at parent’s evenings and in the pupil’s annual progress report. Levels of Study Level A should be attainable by the end of P3 by almost all pupils Level B should be attainable by some pupils in P3, but by most children in P4 Level C should be attainable in the course of P4 – P6 by most pupils Level D should be attainable by some pupils in P5 – P6, but by most children in P7 Level E should be attainable by some pupils in P7 – S1, buy by most children in S2 Level F should be attainable in part by some pupils, and completed by a few pupils in the course of P7 – S2. WHAT DO OUR CHILDREN THINK OF OUR SCHOOL? Some of our children have compiled the following, written especially to give new pupils and their parents a flavour of our school. Our School I love our school. It is small but you know everyone in it and we are all very kind here. Our playground is huge and it is really fun to play in. There are play toys as well, like skipping ropes and footballs out every play time. Zoe Paterson – P5 Gargunnock Primary is a fantastic school for learning. We cover many topics. We also do very well at the basics like maths, reading and language. Sam Christie – P7 Our school lunches are brilliant Catherine MacLeod – P3 I like our school because of our Eco improvements. Everyone in the school pitches in - P1 & P7 do litter picking, P2/3 do composting and P4/5 do gardening. Luca Berits – P6 I like the school’s Pupil Council, it is well organised, meetings are frequent and it discusses relevant topics. The only bad thing is that sometimes you miss important lessons. Ruaraidh Scott – P6 Our school is lovely Katie Young – P5 Carra Gulland – P5 On Fridays we have music at lunch and we have Golden Time and Assembly. We have good school values and we follow them very well. We have after school clubs. I like the work in our school because it is enjoyable and fun. Maisie Ferguson – P4 At our school we have a “buddy system”. We help our “little buddy’” learn, being a “big buddy” is like being an older sibling and it feels good to see the little buddy playing with her friends and having fun. Rowan Bovill – P6 The Interactive Whiteboards are good because there are Maths and other educational games Joe Clayson – P3 The break is really good because there is a good variety of toys to play with and there is lots of space. The staff are very kind and helpful as well. When I am outside I play horses with Kate, Carra and Hana. Nadia Miller – P5 We also have a Pupil Council. I am in the Eco group. Pupil Council is a good idea. Harvey Pizey – P4 The first day I came loads of people were saying “Hi, come and play with us”, so my point is everyone in the school is kind and caring. This is a great school. Aiden Monaghan – P7 All the rewards are very good. It gives you a chance to feel good and proud of yourself. Kate MacLachlan - P5 Learning is great. Sums are really tricky but I always find the right answer out! Struan McCallum – P1 2009-2010 School Dates
Transferring Educational Data About Pupils
Education authorities and the Scottish Government Education Department have collected data about pupils on paper forms for many years. We are now working together to transfer data electronically through the ScotXed programme. What pupil data will be collected and transferred? Data on each pupil is collected by local authorities. The data collected and transferred covers areas such as date of birth, postcode, registration for free-school meals, whether a pupil is looked after by his/her local authority, additional support needs, attendance, absence and exclusions from school. Pupil names and addresses are collected by their school and education authority but they are not passed to the Scottish Government. Your postcode is the only part of your address that is transferred. Data is held securely and no information on individual pupils can or would be published by the Scottish Government. It is used for statistical and research purposes only. Providing national identity and ethnic background data is entirely voluntary. You can choose the ‘not disclosed’ option if you do not want to provide this data. However, we hope that the explanations contained in this message and on our website will help you understand the importance of providing the data. Why do we need your data? In order to make the best decisions about how to improve our education service, the Scottish Government and education authorities 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 exam results. Accurate and up-to-date data allows the Scottish Government, education authorities and schools 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 that influence pupil attainment and achievement, · Target resources better. 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 message can give only a brief description of how we use data. Fuller details of the uses of pupil data can be found on the ScotXed website. The Scottish Government will not publish or release any information that allows an individual pupil to be identified. Data will not be used to take any actions in respect of any individual pupils. Data will only be shared with bona fide partners, such as HM Inspectorate of Education and the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Any sharing will be done under conditions of strict control and with the prior agreement of the Data Controller. Concerns If you have any concerns about the ScotXed data collections you can email the Data Controller, Peter Scrimgeour, at EDData.Controller@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to The ScotXed Support Office, , Area 1B, Victoria Quay, Want more information? Further details about ScotXed data exchanges are available on the ScotXed website, www.scotxed.net. The website also contains answers to commonly asked questions about ScotXed.
Where schools have 9 openings per week, please note that all local authority and national figures are based on 10 openings per week, and so are not directly comparable.
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT STATEMENT 2008/09
Use of this information in this website is governed by the licence agreements. We are not responsible for any Viruses or spam you may pick up from this website.
| Site Map |