Gelston Primary School Parent Council Minutes
Tuesday 9th June 2020( via Zoom app)
Present
Abby,Mary,Emma,Kay,Tanya,Abbie, Pam
Apologies
Justine
Previous minutes reviewed and agreed no issues
Head Teacher’s report
Thank You to our P7 Parents
I would like to thank our P7 parents for their support over the years. I have really enjoyed getting to know you and wish you all the best when your children move on the secondary school. Our loss is their gain!
Learning at Home
I would like to thank all parents for your engagement with us during the school closures. The closed class Facebook pages have proved popular with us all and have been particularly useful for parents/ carers with younger children. Older children have become very adept at using GLOW email groups and Microsoft TEAMS to access weekly activities.
Pupil Health and Wellbeing (HWB) Surveys
Each week we send a questionnaire to older pupils via their GLOW email address. We email this to all parents too and parents help younger children to complete it. We have had a return of approximately 75% each week. Each week, I speak to staff and we identify any pupils and families who may need our support. The Principal Teachers and I then contact families to see what we can do to help.
Digital Devices
So far, we have distributed nine devices across the partnership for pupils.
Stationery Packs
Crossmichael opened for a few hours and I handed out packs to families who dropped by to collect them. Would Gelston like something similar?
Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) in 2020/2021
Allocations are:
Crossmichael = £18,797
Gelston = £4,699
(We are also carrying forward £6,645.59 at Crossmichael and £534.03 at Gelston)
In session 2020/2021 we plan to employ a full time Learning Assistant for PEF interventions – Closing the Literacy Gap (CLG), Closing the Numeracy Gap (CNG) and Fastlane (P4-7 Literacy intervention)
The remainder of this money to support equity for all pupils during Covid-19.
Budgets
Crossmichael
DSM = –£2495
School Fund = £2149.45
Gelston
DSM = £2612.99
School Fund = £1609.32
Staffing in August
We are still working through a number of vacancies across the partnership schools.
At Gelston, we are delighted to announce that Miss Scott is expecting a baby in October. We wish her and her family well. Due to the current circumstances it is unlikely that she will physically return to the building, but she will continue to prepare work from home until her Maternity Leave commences. I am delighted to announce that we are welcoming Miss Nicole Drummond to the partnership as a full time, permanent member of staff. She will teach P1-3 in Gelston next year.
I am also pleased to announce that Mrs Stevens will be increasing her contract to five days a week on a full time, permanent basis. She will be based in Crossmichael next session.
We are advertising a full time, temporary vacancy for the 4th teacher Crossmichael and I hope to conduct interviews before the end of June.
Congratulations to Miss Campbell (Clerical Assistant at Crossmichael) who is expecting a baby in September. Lovely news! This temporary Maternity cover post of 16.5 hours is now advertised.
In August, our classes are going to be:
Crossmichael
P1/2 = Vacancy (currently advertised)
P2-4 = Mrs Burton (4 days) and Vacancy (1 day)
P4/5 = Mrs Glover
P6/7 = Mrs Stevens
Gelston
P1-3 = Miss Drummond / Miss Scott (from home until Maternity Leave commences)
P4-7 = Miss Reid and Mrs Maxwell
(I will be contacting parents/carers who have children in P2 and P4 at Crossmichael to discuss classes.) It is worth noting that it may be some time before children attend their normal registration classes and I will explain this further when I provide an update on the re-opening of schools.
An Update on the Re-Opening of Schools
I completed a walk around of the school buildings on Friday along with three people – H&S, Property Services and Clerk of Works. They were looking at the layout of the building and have put up signage and cordoned off areas to ensure we are following social distancing guidelines.
It is now possible for staff to return where necessary to carry out risk assessments in their own rooms and in communal areas. One of our priorities is in looking at the capacity of our classrooms.
It will not be possible or prudent to enable all pupils to return to school each day. We are looking at a mixture of learning in school and learning at home. Unfortunately, I am unable to state what this will look like and await confirmation from the Local Authority.
We need to maximise the number of pupils who can attend school each day whilst maintaining social distancing. We are also aware that it makes sense for siblings to attend on the same days.
We envisage that each classroom will contain a group of approximately 10+ pupils. Each group will contain a mixture of pupils from different classes and siblings will be together. Your child may not be taught by their class teacher until things return to normal.
It is understandable that we have many questions but until I receive clarity from the Local Authority it would not be helpful to speculate.
Summer term finishes as planned on 3rd July and the 10th and 11th of August are INSET days with some pupils returning on 12th August.
Treasurer’s report
The last fundraiser was the Burn’s Supper held in January where £445.33 was raised in total.
Summary of what reopening of school will look like from Mary
After a walk around the school buildings with H&S, Property Services and Clerk of works, the staff can now access the buildings in order to prepare for the school to reopen on 12th August 2020.
The following guidelines have been agreed so far but things are changing so frequently these could look slightly different by the time we come to open.
- 50% of pupils on Monday& Tuesday each week
- Other 50% of pupils on Wednesday & Thursday each week
- School closed to pupils on a Friday
- Pupils will stay in the same group ie Mon/Tues or Wed/Thurs
- Each room has an estimated capacity of 13 pupils
- Tape every 2 metres has been placed along the corridor
- Siblings can sit together as they have no need to social distance
- School will be deep cleaned in the evening with some cleaning every hour during the day
- Still unsure how lunches will be dealt with -packed lunch or cold school lunch at desk?
Parents will be kept up to date with developments as and when things are finalised.
Parents can keep in touch with their child’s teacher via email, Facebook pages and can also phone or email Mary directly if they have any issues.
P1 and P7 Transition Arrangements
P7 have been sent a letter from Castle Douglas High School this week regarding transitions.
The aim is to have a pre recorded leavers assembly where the P7s have an opportunity to record a video of themselves describing their time at Gelston just as they would have done. Mary is also hoping to have a ‘virtual’ meal on zoom but the details of this will follow.
The new P1’s will be invited to school for a visit – probably the last week of term.
Date of Next Meeting
We decided not to have another meeting before the summer holidays as parents felt that sufficient detail was provided in the weekly school newsletters on the Blog.
