Dear Parents, Carers and Families of Crossmichael and Gelston Primary Schools,
I hope that you are well and that you have made the most of the beautiful weather this week whilst exercising and maintaining social distancing. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful area.
I was sorry to hear about the devastation caused by the grass/ forest fires near Mossdale. I was thinking of some of our families who live out with Laurieston area and I am glad that the fires were eventually brought under control.
In this newsletter, I provide advice about learning at home, information about keeping in touch, share your concerns and provide information about targeted pupil plans.
Scottish Government Publication – Learning at Home in Term 4
Last week the Scottish Government published guidance for learning at home during Term 4. Some of the key points from the publication are:
- Key goals are in supporting wellbeing and maintaining engagement in learning.
- Approaches will vary depending on home circumstances, ages groups of children, differing levels of digital technology, etc.
- Not all learning will be done online.
- Pupil Equity Funding can be used to help support pupils who are at a disadvantage (E.g. digital devices, etc.).
- All partners in the education system will work together to support parents of pupils with additional support needs.
- Schools will be considering news ways to support learners with transitions.
- Parents and carers are not expected to home educate in the formal sense.
- Useful links for parents are ‘Parent Club Scotland’, ‘Parentzone Scotland’, The National Parent Forum for Scotland’ and ‘Enquire’.
- School staff must consider their wellbeing too.
- A variety of resources will be available nationally and locally for school staff to use.
The full publication can be found here:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/supporting-pupils-parents-teachers-learning-during-term-4/
Keeping in Touch
Please remember to keep in touch with us. You can email your class teacher, contact me via telephone (07741 686730) or keep in touch via the class Facebook pages.
Older pupils should be emailing their class GLOW groups at least once every week to maintain contact with their teacher and each other. Parents/ carers of younger children should email their teacher once a week or upload photos to the class Facebook page.
Each week, I will be checking in with families who have not been in touch just to make sure that you are okay and that you are able to access the various platforms to communicate. Please remember to contact us if you are having difficulties with engaging your child in learning or if you need any other support, or a blether! We are available during normal school opening times.
Some parents have arranged for video calls between friends. This is a lovely idea and enables pupils to see each other. Unfortunately, due to safeguarding restrictions, school staff are not yet able to host video calls with their class. Some of our teachers have recorded short video messages for their class instead and the feedback from parents has been very positive. We cannot underestimate the need to connect with each other. Please keep in touch.
Parental Concerns About School Work
I have spoken to several families over the last week and everyone has expressed the same concerns.
Firstly, many of our younger pupils are displaying anxiety and having ‘melt downs’ when being asked to do anything associated with school. Children cannot learn if they are feeling anxious or worried. Please look at the resources that I have uploaded to the Partnership Schools website to support you with this. I have found them useful as a parent. The health and wellbeing of our children is more important than anything else. Once they are feeling more settled then try to do activities together at their pace.
Secondly, many parents/ carers are feeling pressurised to home school their child(ren). I do not expect you to teach your child in the same way as we do at school. You already teach your child every day. You are teaching them how to cope with uncertainty, how to build resilience and how to reduce their anxiety. They are learning key life skills from you.
Thirdly, many of you are concerned that your children are not completing the work set by teachers. Please rest assured that we do not expect pupils to complete every task, however, we would like it if pupils could aim to spend 1-2 hours a day engaging in learning. This can be learning set by teachers or learning experienced with you.
Please encourage your child to contact their teacher weekly via email to let them know what they have been doing. (Parents of younger pupils may choose to email the teacher or upload photos to the class Facebook page.)
Diary Dates
Friday 8th May is a non-pupil day (May Day holiday) and Friday 29th May is also a non-pupil day (Staff Inset Day).
Targeted Pupil Plans and Child’s Plan Meetings
Several pupils receive targeted support and have individual pupil plans. We normally meet every 6-8 weeks to review targets on these plans. It is my intention to continue with these meetings although targets will need revised to reflect the current situation. I will be in touch with individual families to discuss how best to approach this whether that is by telephone, video call, via email or a combination of all three.
Please keep safe and as always, get in touch if required.
Best wishes,
Mary E Lidstone-Scott
Headteacher
