Another busy week has gone by with lots to report on!
Parent Council Meeting
On Thursday evening, we had our first Parent Council Meeting of the year and covered some very important topics. The minutes will be circulated to all families once they have been approved but here is a brief summary of some of the key discussions:
- Improvement Plan Priorities were discussed. Staff have reviewed our progress against our improvement priorities last year (in our draft Standards and Quality Report) and agreed actions for session 2023/24 (in our draft School Improvement Plan). These actions will address the need for:
- improved attainment in literacy and numeracy
- increased pupil and family engagement in learning
- increased time for staff to agree shared understanding of standards, with colleagues in and outside of Glassary Primary School.
These priorities and actions were agreed by members of the Parent Council. The final drafts of our Standards and Quality Report for session 2022/23 and Improvement Plan for session 2023/34 will now be discussed and signed off with members of the central education team and uploaded to the school website by the October break.
- There was a very useful conversation around Outdoor Learning and use of our outdoor spaces to support the play-based elements of the curriculum/feedback from Carol Murdoch at LoveOutdoorLearning. We discussed the need for safe and productive play where teachers ensure that children learn how to play and interact positively with others, take calculated risks under adult supervision and gradually develop responsibility and capacity as appropriate to their individual needs. The Parent Council is very keen to support our play-based activities and has committed to using some funds raised to purchase equipment for playground use, which will be chosen after further discussion with school staff. The report from Carol also contains some useful recommendations and will be uploaded to the school website.
- We also had a discussion around proposals to reduce the length of our lunch break by 15 minutes and finish at 3.15pm. A summary of the responses to the parental questionnaire completed in March were discussed and it was noted that 80 % of respondents were supportive of the change. The rationale for the change was discussed:
- To ensure most effective use of the 25 hours of weekly teaching time to support the delivery of our curriculum and improvement priorities
- To allow a reduction in the length of lunch break to ensure that pupils are in the best possible physical and emotional state to learn after lunch and can be supervised appropriately and within our staffing ratios. Teaching staff require an adequate lunch break to eat, have time away from pupils and be able to undertake adaptive and responsive planning in response to pupil needs.
- To ensure that we are in line with other schools in the authority and that staff can access training, joint learning and moderation opportunities with other colleagues within their allocated working time at the end of the school day.
- To ensure that we support all of our families around childcare issues and ensure that working parents can access childcare beyond the school day as required.
Those in attendance at the Parent Council Meeting were supportive of the proposed change, with the agreement that the school will work with individual families whose childcare arrangements may be impacted, to ensure that a solution is found.
It is hoped that the proposal will be now agreed by Education Heads of Service and that change will come into force after the October holidays.
Finally, we looked ahead at diary dates for the year and the date of the Halloween Disco will be Monday 30th October so that it does not clash with the Cubs and Beavers event on Tuesday 31st. This has been amended on the website calendar. We plan that this year, the disco will link to curriculum activities in school and that pupils can make some decorations for the event in classes.
The date of the next Parent Council is Thursday 16th November. This has been added to the website calendar.
Staffing update
I am absolutely delighted to inform you that, following interviews held last week, we have appointed Miss Fraser to the role of Acting Principal Teacher, to cover for Mrs McClymont while she is on Maternity Leave.
P7 visit to Lochgilphead Joint Campus for Smoke Free Me.
The visit to the Joint Campus was a huge success with the P7s demonstrating exemplary manners, participation and attitude; we were extremely proud of them and all three of our P7s volunteered to be part of the activities on stage. The drama was very informative and entertaining. I am sure that the families of the P7s will have heard all about it and be in no doubt that kicking the nicotine habit (or never developing it) is the only safe choice. You can check out the photos in the Gallery! Smoke Free Me – Glassary Primary School
Learning around the school
I have been so proud of the work that our pupils have produced across both classes this week. Check out the cushions that P5,6,7 have made with Mrs McClymont as part of the technology curriculum, the incredible Rock Art designs that the P1 to 4 pupils have created with Mrs Flett as part of their learning about the past and the beautiful Lotus flowers that they have made with Miss Mahmood as part of their learning about world faiths and Buddhism. Learning around the school – Glassary Primary School
Farewell to Mrs McClymont
It was sad to say farewell to Mrs McClymont on Friday but we were delighted to share with her some gifts, cards and good wishes as she heads off to get ready to meet her daughter in a few weeks’ time. You can check out the photos in the Gallery!
Reminder
Family learning questionnaire and Ipay Impact – please remember to make meal choices for the week and to complete the questionnaire.
COVID-19
Infection Prevention
As we go into autumn, Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Government has provided a reminder for school communities. You can find it in the Documents section of our school website or by clicking here: https://www.glassary.argyll-bute.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/September-2023-Public-Health-Reminder-Infection-Control-in-School-Communities.pdf
Have a great week and you know where I am, if you need anything.
Lena
