Dear Families and Friends of Gelston Primary School,
I hope everyone is well. I have no important updates from Dumfries and Galloway Council or from Scottish Government today.
Keeping in Touch
Every week, we will email you a link to a health and wellbeing questionnaire for pupils. This is part of our safeguarding arrangements as we cannot see pupils every day. (Older pupils will receive this via their email account and younger pupils will need your help to fill in the form.) This should be completed by Friday and is required.
If we have had no contact from a child then we will get in touch to check that everyone is okay.
Learning at Home
As the school closures continue I understand that parents/ guardians are anxious that their children are going to ‘fall behind’ academically. Please let me reassure you that we will be able to support your child in closing the gap in their attainment when they return to school. I know that this will not be a ‘quick fix’ but we will do this and your child will continue to make good progress. The increase in our attainment levels over the last 12 months shows that we can do this! In the meantime, we are in contact with families and we are trying our best to put small, manageable programmes of work in place for those individuals with additional support needs.
I meet regularly with staff and we discuss how best to support your child at home without overwhelming you. Feedback from families is varied with some families asking for more online activities and others struggling to get their child to engage with any of them. We need to get the balance correct. I would like to reassure you that the advice from Scottish Government is that we are not ‘home schooling’ our children. We are trying to encourage our children to ‘engage in learning’ – whatever that may look like. It will be useful for your child to access some of the materials prepared by the school because each is set at your child’s curricular level and it is there for you. Please keep in touch with your child’s teacher by email and they will advise you and support you.
Some families are finding it difficult to navigate through pupil activities and many are printing off all activities because of this. This is costly and unnecessary. I have had a discussion with teachers and we are trying to minimise the activities that require ‘printing’. (Often the PowerPoints are to be accessed on screen and it is not necessary to print them. Most of the activities can be done using a pencil and paper too.) Please get in touch with your child’s teacher via email if you are having difficulty in accessing materials online.
Some parents/ guardians have told us that they are spending a significant amount of money on ink cartridges and other materials for their child to learn at home. I have offered to provide packs with jotters, paper and pencils in them that can be collected from the school. I believe that it is the cost of ink that is causing the largest expense. Therefore, I will be raising this at the next Primary Headteachers Strategy Group meeting to see if it is possible to find a way to support you with these costs. In the meantime, please limit the amount that you print off and do not print in colour.
CONNECT (Scottish Parent Teacher Council) Information Sessions
Connect is hosting two online sessions with Enquire, Scotland’s advice service for additional support for learning, on Thursday 21 May. Parents are invited to share their experiences and ask questions. Places are free, booking is essential. You can choose from 2 sessions, 2-3pm and 8-9pm. Please see below.
Connect is also hosting a FREE online information session for parents on Tuesday 26th May. It is titled, “Q&A with Skills Development Scotland Next steps: young people’s options for education, work and training.” Please see the link below.
Please continue to stay at home and stay safe. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best wishes,
Mary E Lidstone-Scott
Headteacher
