Bishop Eden’s Primary – School Handbook 2017/18

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BISHOP EDEN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL

SCHOOL HANDBOOK

2017/18

Bishop Eden's Primary School 73 King Street Inverness IV3 5HX

Tel: 01463 237103

Email: bishopedens.primary@highland.gov.uk Blog: http://bishopedens.wordpress.com/

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Bishop Eden’s Primary School, 73 King Street, Inverness IV3 5HX Tel: 01463 237103 Email: bishopeden.primary@highland.gov.uk Dear Parents/Carers, A warm welcome to Bishop Eden’s Primary and to our wee school family, where working together and showing kindness for each other is a priority. We are a denominational, Episcopal school and provide education from P1-P7. With a school roll of 36 currently, we take pride in knowing all of our pupils and families well and being able to form positive relationships with them, to build secure foundations for their life here and beyond. The link with the cathedral is a really important part of our identity and we value the links we have with the wider community. In our school we aim to develop every child’s skills and abilities through working together and involving children, parents and staff. The following pages only give a brief outline of what we seek to achieve. We aim to work in partnership with parents/carers so your child achieves their full potential. At Bishop Eden’s Primary School, the values we have chosen as most important in our school community are:

Happiness Hard work Team work

Honesty Positivity

Fun

Bishop Eden’s Succeeds Together

If you are interested in sending your child to Bishop Eden’s Primary, please do not hesitate to get in touch! Beth Rodgers Mrs B Rodgers Acting Head Teacher

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The Cathedral Link

St Andrew’s Cathedral, Inverness was founded by Bishop Robert Eden and schools were an integral part of his vision for the developing work of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the Highlands. This was before the days of the universal and compulsory education. A Girls’ School was started in 1854 in a hall in Academy Street and transferred to the present buildings in 1870; the Boys’ School was built adjacent to the Cathedral in 1871. The two schools were merged in 1943 and from January 1944 the resulting mixed primary school was known as Bishop Eden’s School. The School is a denominated one, the buildings are owned by the Cathedral, the Cathedral Authorities being responsible for the external fabric and Episcopal Church holds one right of place on the Parent Council. The school curriculum is no different from that in any other primary school and a general course of religious education is followed, but with reference, as appropriate, to the beliefs and practises of the Episcopal Church. A member of the Cathedral Clergy visits regularly to liaise with class teachers and the Clergy of the Cathedral assist in religious education and participate in other school activities. School services are held in the Cathedral when parents and friends are invited to attend. The importance of the affiliation with the Scottish Episcopal Church and the continuous framework of support it provides is recognised. Much more important than the denominational emphasis is the Christian basis of the whole life of the School. Christian values, responsibility, personal integrity and mutual care are encouraged, special attention is paid to the individual needs of each pupil and great importance is attached to good relations between the School and the pupils’ families. The Clergy of the Cathedral are always willing to assist school families pastorally in any matter in which their involvement is sought.

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School Staff

Mrs Beth Rodgers Acting Head Teacher Teaching Staff Mrs D Ross P1/2/3/4 Teacher Mrs Strange P5/6/7 Teacher Miss A Koukouzela P1/2/3/4 and P5/6/7 (1 day per week plus CCR cover) Mrs S MacAulay Additional Support Needs Teacher Support Staff Mrs E Gribben Pupil Support Assistant Mrs A MacDougall Pupil Support Assistant Mrs J Tarr Pupil Support Assistant (Numeracy) Mrs F Craighead Pupil Support Assistant (Literacy) Mrs R Cameron Children’s Support Worker Mrs K King Clerical Mr P McDaid Facilities Management Assistant Mrs M MacRae Catering Assistant Mrs G Thompson Cleaning Operative

Our School Day

Primary 1-2 9am - 12noon 1.15pm - 3pm Primary 3-7 9am - 12.30pm 1.15pm - 3pm Morning interval 10.40am - 10.55am

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School Uniform All of our pupils are expected to wear school uniform, as it helps to foster a sense of pride in being part of Bishop Eden's Primary School. Our uniform can be bought from the National Schoolwear Centre on Academy Street, Inverness, or can now be ordered online at Florence and Fred (Tesco). Our uniform consists of a red Bishop Eden’s sweatshirt, white polo shirt or shirt and black or grey trousers or skirts. For health and safety reasons children must wear a PE kit or they will not be allowed on apparatus. Their PE kit is t-shirt, shorts and gym shoes or trainers. We would ask that their kit is brought into school at the start of each term.

School Meals School lunches are served in the dining room in two sittings - P1-2 and P3-7. Packed lunch may be brought to school and eaten in the dining room. Parents are reminded of Highland Council Guidelines advising against glass bottles, tin cans and hot liquids being taken to school. At present a school lunch costs £2.30 a day. Payment should be made on a Monday for the week. Free meals are available to families on some benefits and claim forms can be collected from the school office or from the links below. All children in primary 1-3 are entitled to a free school meal. Menus are sent home on a termly cycle and the current menu can always be viewed on Highland Council website.

http://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/file/6432/primary_school_main_menu Free meals can be claimed in certain circumstances, for information and application form please see http://www.highland.gov.uk/info/899/schools_-_grants_and_benefits/10/free_school_meals_and_assistance_with_clothing

We also provide a snack bar at playtime. Milk 15p, toast 15p, chocolate milk 20p, home bake 25p, fruit 20p. This should be paid each Monday for the forthcoming week.

Transport The school does not provide transport for children. We encourage children to either walk or cycle to school and the school should be notified of any change in travel arrangements made for your child. As part of some of the school responsibilities that the children take on, we have 3 Junior Road Safety Officers, whom, supported by staff, promote safe travel to and from school. Bicycles, scooters, skateboards etc., should not be ridden in the playground due to safety concerns. Thanks for your support in this.

Emergency

Parents/Carers are required to give emergency telephone contact numbers to the school so that in the event of accident, illness or early school closure, the necessary arrangements can be made. Children should be made aware of these arrangements.

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Current Roll Session 2017-2018 (August 2017) P1 – P7 36 pupils The School Year*

*correct at time of print and taken from Highland Council Website http://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/file/15573/highland_school_calendar

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Attendance and Absence

Good attendance is vital if pupils are to achieve their full potential. But if a pupil is absent from school, a parent or guardian should phone the school by 9.30am on the first day of absence. When returning to school after an absence, the parent or guardian must give written reason for the time absent. Permission to leave during the school day: If a pupil needs to leave during the school day for an appointment etc., pupils need to bring with them a note from parent or guardian. Pupils must report to the school reception and ‘sign out’, if returning the same day, they must report again to the reception and sign in. Where at all possible, medical and dental appointments should be made out with school hours.

If pupils fall ill during the day, parents are contacted for them to collect their child, therefore it is essential that we have up to date day time contact numbers and emergency contact numbers for all pupils.

Schools are required to keep an attendance register by law. We have a responsibility for the care and welfare of all pupils during the school day therefore need to know the whereabouts of absent pupils.

When parents are considering whether or not to remove their children from school for a family holiday, they should be aware that such a decision:

will result in a significant loss in classroom experience; will result in a pressure to ‘catch up’ on missed work by pupils; could result in pupils missing assessments with consequential impact on pupils and teachers; could result in the loss of curricular activities; will affect school attendance records and efforts to raise standards of attendance; under the guidance issued at a national level, most family holidays will be coded as unauthorised

absence, only in exceptional cases will the absence be recorded as authorised.

In conclusion, we would ask parents to be aware of these considerations when making decisions on planning holidays during term time. We have enclosed a link to the school term dates on the Highland Council website to aid parents in planning any holidays they may be considering https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/878/schools/32/school_term_dates If parents decide to make holiday arrangements during school term, this should be confirmed in writing to the Head Teacher.

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Positive Behaviour

Bishop Eden’s Primary School follows a positive behaviour scheme called ‘Good to be Green’. This is a traffic light system which helps the children take responsibility for their own behaviour in the classroom and outside. It works on the principle of rewarding and acknowledging good behaviour, as well as identifying unacceptable behaviours. It provides a visual aid to support and promote positive behaviours. The whole school follows the same class rules: Everyone begins each day with a green ‘Good behaviour’ card in their pockets on the chart (shown below.) Pupils who forget the rules are given a verbal warning. If they continue with the behaviour, they will be asked to turn their card to an orange ‘Warning’ card. This gives them a clear visual sign. They are also referred to the rules card to remind them of the expectations. If the behaviour persists, they will be asked to turn their card to a red ‘Consequence’ card. At this time, they will lose 5 mins of Skills Time. Rewards At Bishop Eden’s primary we feel it is important to reward the children who consistently behave responsibly. We would also like to work in partnership with parents. Each week the children who have stayed ‘Green’ all week will receive a stamp on their chart. This means your child has followed every rule all day long. Your praise will encourage your child to work toward even more green days in the future. All children who have been green all week will also be given a raffle ticket. 2 tickets will be drawn at assembly each week to receive a ‘Good to be Green’ treat in the form of a Good to be Green pencil. As further incentive and rewards we will also issue certificates which will be awarded after each 10 ‘Good to be Green’ stamps. Children will be able to work towards a bronze (10 stamps), silver (20 stamps) and gold (30 stamps) award.

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Communication

We pride ourselves on an open door policy. We will endeavour to be responsive to any request immediately, but on occasion may need time to look into the request/concern. We have parents’ meetings twice a year and regular informal times for parents to meet with their child’s teacher. We have regular open afternoons, concerts and performances with families invited into school. We use our school (and class) blog to share information and latest news and have recently developed and new school Facebook page to keep families updated on important dates etc. We also send out letters and newsletters home with important information. A school newsletter is issued every term to all parents. This letter contains features about the life of the school and includes information about important dates and events. Each class also have a termly class newsletter detailing specific learning plans for the term ahead. The school blog is regularly updated and the school’s School Improvement Plan for parents is published on the school blog detailing the school’s self-evaluation and improvement targets. A paper copy of these documents can be obtained on request from school office. We also communicate through parent workshops to demonstrate specific aspects of the curriculum. Reporting to Parents A written report is sent home in June. Parents are welcome at any time to make an appointment through the school office to discuss their child’s progress with staff or to ask for information, support or advice on how best to support your child’s learning. Parental Involvement Parents are encouraged and very welcome to participate in school life e.g. by coming and sharing their talents/interests etc. Please let us know if you are interested in becoming involved. All parents working regularly with children are required to undertake a PVG check. We gather parents’ opinions through questionnaires, focus groups, comments boxes, ‘post its’ for comments at various school events. We also have an active Parent Council through which views and opinions can be shared. Children 1st have a national, confidential helpline, Parentline, providing advice and support to anyone caring for or concerned about a child. http://www.children1st.org.uk/what-we-do/our-services/search-our-services/parentline-scotland/ At Bishop Eden’s Primary School, we pride ourselves in having parents very involved in everything to do with the school. Not only through formal parents’ appointments, reports and open afternoons but also through our thriving Parent Council. Our school benefits from a very dedicated and supportive parent community. Parents are experts of their own children and they themselves were in school once so remember well what worked effectively for them as learners. Parent Council We have a very friendly Parent Council who works alongside the school to try and further the experience for our children. The parent council can be contacted through the school or via the school Blog. The parent council welcome new members at any time and this can be through attendance at meetings or any other support that other parents/carers can offer. We also have representation at meetings from the Cathedral which is very important to support our identity as a denominational Episcopal school.

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Concerns

If you have any concerns about your child’s education and/or their time at school you should contact the school to discuss this with a member of staff. Throughout the year there are opportunities to talk to staff during parent interviews and open afternoons. The school has an open door policy and you should feel welcome to speak to the school at any time. We keep a record of meetings with parents and will complete an action plan to address issues if needed.

Complaints Procedure

If a parent has any concerns they should contact their child’s class teacher in the first instance, or the Head Teacher for more serious issues. The school will always endeavour to resolve issues by listening to parents and seeking solutions in partnership. Should a situation not be resolved, parents can contact the Area Education Office, 01463 702046. Please note that transport is not a school responsibility and any queries should be addressed to the Local Transport Officer, Transport Office. http://www.highland.gov.uk/learninghere/schools/informationforparents/

Placing Requests

Bishop Eden’s is a placing request only school; we do not have a fixed catchment area. To attend Bishop Eden’s you must complete a placing request form and apply via the Education Office Highland Council Headquarters. Applications can be made at any time throughout the year. Placing Requests can be obtained from: http://www.highland.gov.uk/learninghere/schools/informationforparents/

Equality and Inclusion For up-to-date information please see: http://www.highland.gov.uk/info/751/equality_diversity_and_citizenship/313/equal_opportunities In summary, our activities in school should ensure that we: Eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, promote good relations. Activities should not discriminate against any of the following ‘protected characteristics’ age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity. Highland Council Education Service aims to: • Offer education of the highest quality to all young people within a developing culture of inclusion. • Endorse the principles of inclusion, entitlement and equality of opportunity in the development of best practice. • Value the diversity of interests, qualities and abilities of every learner.

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Assessment and Reporting

Assessment is an important part of the teaching and learning process and evaluates a child’s progress. Assessments assist and provide information to pupils, parents and staff in how to raise attainment. Assessments are carried out if a variety of ways for different purposes. It can be daily and ongoing observational assessment by teachers or a summative assessment at the end of a block of work. It may provide information on pupil progress, to diagnose an area of difficulty or to communicate to patens and pupils their areas of strength or concerns. We involve children in what is to be learned and how to achieve it. Meaningful feedback to children from teachers helps them to self/peer assess their work and make improvements. Bishop Eden’s Primary School, along with other Highland schools, undertakes some standardised assessments; InCas testing in P2 and P5 and the new Scottish Standardised Assessments SNSA for P1, P4 and P7 (as per education guidelines). This gives the teachers extra information to match against the ongoing information they have.

Achievements We celebrate achievement in our school through weekly assemblies and skills time. Certificates and other rewards are used, along with House points and treats, and class Dojos. We celebrate achievements from home through sharing success and displaying this on our school achievements wall. This underpins our ethos of a positive approach to everything we do at Bishop Eden’s Primary. As a result, we feel our pupils celebrate each other’s successes, strive to do better themselves and have pride in our school. We may be a small school but we have a big heart! We use Emotional Literacy approaches throughout the day to communicate with each other. Every day each class has a check-in and whole class breakfast. This is so we can nurture the pupils in developing a caring attitude to each other and meet the social/emotional needs of our children better. We know as a school that if a child is happy and feels safe they will achieve more.

Committees We offer a number of roles and responsibilities in school and a variety of opportunities for pupil voice. The Pupil Council, Eco Council and Learning Council meet regularly to discuss ideas and school improvement and we have been successful in retaining our Green Eco Flag. Junior Road Safety Officers and school Buddies also play a very important role in our school. Being part of a committee and seeing a development through is an important aspect of citizenship and global learning. We think it is important to care for each other and our environment.

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Curriculum Bishop Eden’s Primary brings learning to life for pupils. We endeavour to create as many rich contexts for learning as we can for the pupils. This makes their learning more exciting, more memorable and more likely to be retained. Curriculum for Excellence aims to achieve a transformation in education in Scotland by providing a coherent, more flexible and enriched curriculum from 3 to 18. The curriculum includes the totality of experiences which are planned for children and young people through their education, wherever they are being educated. The purpose of the curriculum is encapsulated in the four capacities - to enable each child or young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor. The curriculum aims to ensure that all children and young people in Scotland develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they will need if they are to flourish in life, learning and work, now and in the future. The attributes and capabilities of the four capacities are outlined below:

The attributes and capabilities can be used by establishments as a guide to check whether the curriculum for any individual child or young person sufficiently reflects the purposes of the curriculum. To find out more visit: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/thecurriculum/ Curriculum areas The curriculum areas are the organisers for ensuring that learning takes place across a broad range of contexts, and offer a way of grouping experiences and outcomes under recognisable headings. The experiences and outcomes describe the expectations for learning. Taken together, experiences and outcomes across the curriculum areas sum up national aspirations for every young person: the knowledge and understanding, skills, capabilities and attributes we hope they will develop. The eight curriculum areas make their own unique contribution to developing the four capacities. Each does so both within its own disciplinary contexts and through connections with other areas of learning.

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The eight curriculum areas are: Health and wellbeing, Literacy, Numeracy and Mathematics, Expressive Arts , Religious and moral education, Sciences, Social studies and Technologies Bishop Eden’s Primary provides children with many opportunities to learn outside the classroom where possible. We are very lucky to be situated in the middle of the city which means we can easily walk to places in order to enrich our learning experiences. Some of the links we have made to enhance our learning experiences are: Inverness Library, Inverness Museum, My World of Work, Bellfield Park, Christian Youth Centre, Eden Court, Inverness Tennis and Squash Club, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, shops and restaurants within the city centre and local businesses. We are continually making new links for the benefits of our pupils and so we can engage with a wider school community.

School Improvement Both the School Improvement Plan and the Standards and Quality Report can be accessed via our Blog http://bishopedens.wordpress.com/ and as a hard copy in the school. Our key strengths and areas for improvement are clearly defined in these documents along with our action plans for change. The pupil council take these and change them into a child friendly format so that they also know how they can help the school improve. If you would prefer to receive any of these documents in a different language please contact the school and it can be translated for you.

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Transition

Nursery to Primary Bishop Eden’s does not have a dedicated nursery; as a result we enrol children who have attended many nurseries around Inverness. In the run-up to starting Primary 1 we have a series of visits for pupils and parents so that they get to know the staff, pupils and the school before starting in August. These transition visits prove to be very beneficial for everyone and it means that the pupils are well prepared for starting school. Within School Transition also takes place within the school when pupils move from one teacher to another or from one classroom to another. Again much work is done with the pupils to prepare them for such a change. In Bishop Eden’s Primary we use a programme called Resilient Kids which helps children build resilience when dealing with transitions at any stage and indeed into their teenage and adult life. Primary to Secondary Pupils from Bishop Eden’s Primary will go on to any secondary school in Inverness depending on their catchment area. We can feed into all the secondary schools although our closest one is Inverness High School and most of our pupils do go there. Staff from receiving secondary schools visit in early Primary 7 to begin transition, they offer a variety of meeting, events and activities for the pupils and parents. Some pupils will have needs which require them to have enhanced transition. This is organised between Bishop Eden’s and the receiving secondary school and supports children who need a little extra help. Primary to Primary There will be times when pupils move to another primary due to a house move or other domestic situation. When this happens, all confidential records kept at Bishop Eden’s for the pupils are posted directly to the receiving school on their request. Any completed class work may be given to the pupils, parents and/or school.

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Additional Support Needs

Bishop Eden’s Primary is dedicated to meeting the individual needs of all the pupils in our school. All staff are highly skilled in ways of engaging with pupils and bringing out the best in their learning. First and foremost learning needs are met in the classroom by the class teacher; this will be done through differentiation and matching ability to activity. All children need support to help them learn. Some children require more help than others. We follow The Highland Practice Model staged approach to assessing, identifying and supporting additional support needs. In this model every child has a ‘named person’ who is responsible for making sure that the child or young person has the right help to support his/her development and well-being. We have a dedicated Additional Support Needs Teacher – Mrs Sonia MacAulay, with us for 2 days a week. In addition, many of our Pupil Support Assistants work with small groups and individuals throughout the week to support their learning and meet their specific needs. We have a range of resources for supporting specific learning difficulties and use them when it is most appropriate for each pupil. If you have a concern about your child in primary school please contact your child’s class teacher in the first instance or the ‘named person’, who will usually be the head teacher. In a secondary school, the named person will usually be the Principal Teacher Guidance/Pupil Support. Sometimes a Child’s Plan may be put in place to help organise, monitor and regularly review your child’s progress. If you wish to find out more about The Highland Practice Model or the Child’s Plan you can access more information at: http://www.highland.gov.uk/learninghere/supportforlearners/generalguidance/planning/ Partner Agencies We work very closely with our partner agencies and our Practice Lead, Clare O Donnell comes into the school regularly to review supports in place for children. This is a partnership with Social Work and Clare will often attend support meeting for children. We try as much as possible to have Support Meetings on a Thursday and often there will be representation from Health, Social Work and Police. These meetings are essential in bringing together services for the benefit of the pupils. We work closely with Community Paediatricians, School Nurses, Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists, Dental Nurses, Social Workers and Community Police. They visit the school regularly and work with the children in a variety of ways. Often they act as advisors for support or in relation to referrals and requests. If required, there are a number of outside agencies which can be contacted to work with individuals or groups. Some of the agencies we have worked with in the last year are: Action For Children, Children Service Workers, Crocus Group, CAMHS and Pupil Support Services. More information can be found at: www.chipplus.org.uk click on Education.

Whilst the information in this handbook is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the

accuracy of the information.