Dear Family and Friends of Gelston Primary School,
Christmas Donations for the Food Bank
One of our school aims is to BE KIND. We have decided to collect donations for the Food Bank this year. Please send your items in to school by Wednesday 9th December where they will be quarantined for three days before being passed on to Castle Douglas Food Bank.
The Scottish Child Payment
The Scottish Child Payment is now open for applications, prior to the benefit being first paid from February 2021 for qualifying applicants. Attached are a number of documents that may be useful:
Scottish Child Payment Stakeholder intranet article
Scottish Child Payment A5 flyer
Scottish Child Payment poster A4
Further background is available at the following website https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/news-events/news/applications-to-open-early-for-scottish-child-payment
People can apply for Scottish Child Payment from today by visiting mygov.scot/benefits or calling 0800 182 2222.
People may be eligible if they, or their partner, are the parent or full-time carer of a child who will be aged under six on 15 February 2021 and if they get any of the following:
- Child Tax Credit,
- Income Support,
- Pension Credit,
- Working Tax Credit,
- Universal Credit,
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA),
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
Awareness of this additional source of funding is also being advertised via the Councils’ Social Media platforms and in Weekly Bulletins.
Gelston Art Gallery
Mrs Bielinski thought it was a shame that you cannot see pupils’ wonderful art work this year so she has kindly created a video clip for you. Thank you, Mrs Bielsinski!
Wee Dee Gee Colouring Competition Winner!
Congratulations to Bonnie who won the competition to colour in the school meals mascot, ‘Wee Dee Gee’. Here are some photographs of her receiving her prize from Mrs Carol Siberry. Thank you to Mrs Fenwick for organising this.
Equal Protection – information for families about changes to the law
On 7th November 2020 Scots law changed meaning that parents/carers in Scotland can no longer use physical punishment as a reasonable form of discipling their child. Children now have the same rights as adults to be protected from any form of physical assault.
There are lots of different words for physical punishment including:
smacking,
skelping,
hitting and
slapping.
The most important things to know about why the law is changing and what it means for families are:
- The change in law means that you can still stop your child from getting into danger for example grabbing them if they run into the roadbut you won’t be able to smack them afterwards.
- Many families in Scotland already raise their children without using physical punishment. There are lots of different ways to raise your children without physical punishment and you can still choose between these in how you manage your children’s behaviour and bring them up. There’slots of support out there for parents and carers who would like to talk about other options.
- Physical punishment doesn’twork – there have been lots of studies from around the world which show that physical punishment doesn’t teach children to behave differently and that it can make relationships between children and their parents/carers worse.
- Physical punishment can harm children – today we know a lot more about how children’s brains developand it has been repeatedly shown that physical punishment can do long term harm to children’s physical and emotional health.
Everyone now has a duty to act if they witness, or are aware of a child or young person being physically chastised. This is now a crime and if reported as such, will be investigated by the Police just like all other crimes.
If you need to talk to someone about what the change in law means for your family, or managing your children’s behaviour our Children 1st Parentline team can give you free, non-judgmental support. If you need to talk – we’re here for you.
Best wishes,
Mary Lidstone-Scott
Headteacher
