Grange Academy

Dear Parents/Carers,

We are now coming to the end of our third week of remote learning and hopefully we will start to see an improving situation regarding the transmission rate of this virus in Scotland and the possibility of a return to school as soon as it is safe to do so.  In the meantime I would like to give you a quick update on school business over this past week.

All staff have been working hard to support and progress learning at home.  This week’s school bulletin (see website) highlights a small sample of the creative approaches which are being used to making learning interesting.  We are well aware of the challenges families are facing at this time and we’re doing our very best to provide a meaningful and worthwhile learning experience at home for our young people.

Resources for learning

Our staff have been out and about in the local area delivering resource packs, musical instruments, design folios to pupils and it has been great to hear your positive feedback and suggestions for improvement during our doorstop conversations.  We are grateful to all of our parents and carers for their ongoing support at this time.  Should any pupils require any additional resources to support their home learning (jotters, pencils etc) – please complete the online form available on the school app and the school website.  We’ll do our best to get these to you as soon as possible.

Option Choices (Curriculum)

At this time of year we would normally be starting the Options Process for pupils in S2 to S5.  Staff have been meeting to plan for this activity and we are in the process of collating our Options Information and Guidance to share with pupils, parents and carers.   We will issue an online form to all families for completion and pupils will have additional inputs via their PSE class.

Rebecca and Scott, our Careers Advisors, are also available for contact via our school app or website should you have any questions in relation to Career Paths and Career Education.

Reporting

Work is currently underway to produce tracking/progress reports.  Whilst working remotely staff do not have access to the reporting platforms and therefore tracking information is being collated from teaching staff before being processed on to the software by our clerical team.  Reports will be posted out to families when the process has been completed.

SQA

In addition to the letters issued on the school App yesterday, the SQA is setting up panels of key stakeholders so they can get ‘quick pictures’ of what parents and young people groups think about important issues. For this to work effectively, they are looking for parents and carers of school learners to take part in surveys.  Parents/Carers of S4–S6 learners should sign up through the following link: https://bit.ly/2V3KNAV and young people themselves can take part in the survey through this link:  https://bit.ly/2HJ1UVO .

Pupil Voice

Our Prefect Pupil Voice Team met last week to review what is going well for them and what their challenges are.

What’s going well? – They are enjoying working at their own pace and using new tools (such as online tutorials and pre-recorded Loom videos) to support their learning. They particularly appreciate the helpful feedback they are receiving from their teachers and – where relevant – additional specialist support from staff.

What are the challenges? –  Staying focused and keeping up with learning is certainly a challenge. This has been shared with staff via our Principal Teachers’ Meeting, so that young people’s experience of remote learning continues to inform our reflection and planning.

Our Prefects will be chairing a series of Student Council Focus Groups via Microsoft Teams over the next few weeks, inviting a range of fellow pupils from different year groups to discuss their learning and wellbeing. If you receive a phone call asking your child to participate, please encourage them to do so. If your child would like to be involved, they are welcome to email Mrs Brotherston.

Transition

Grange Education Group P7 Transition Team are hosting a Teams Meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss our planning for P7 Transition around the current Government guidelines.  Ms Sharon Reid our PT ASN is continuing her virtual Transition meetings which she had started before Christmas with families of P7 pupils with Additional Support Needs in all our Associated Primaries.

Supporting engagement in learning

The Pastoral Care Team have this week been making calls to S4-6 pupils who seem be struggling to submit work to staff in some subjects.   We are working in partnership with our families to ensure that everyone is accessing their on-line work and continuing to ensure that every pupil is completing the course work required for all their certificated subjects even though we are not in school.

The Information section in the School App has on-line referral forms to allow you to contact us for advice or support.  Please note that pupils can message their class teacher for support through SatchelOne (previously called ShowMyHomework).

(Please also see the information below on support for Mental Health and Wellbeing)

Kind regards,

Robert Johnston

~~~

Support for mental health and wellbeing

5 steps to mental wellbeing

Research tells us there are 5 steps we can take to support our mental wellbeing: connect, be active, keep learning, give to others and be mindful.

• NHS Inform 5 Steps is a good resource for ideas and support;
• Scottish Government’s Clear Your Head is also attractive and easy to use;
• SAMH promotes the same 5 key actions; and
• Young Scot caters specifically for young people.

 If you or your child would like to try mindfulness, there are excellent free resources on Headspace website, app and YouTube.  At Grange Academy, we teach the .b mindfulness curriculum (from the Mindfulness in Schools Project) in PSE, and 3 videos we use (to support improved focus and good sleep) are available at .b mindfulness videos.

For adults, the Oxford Mindfulness Centre (which provides training courses for our staff) offers free guided meditations.  If you’re interested, it’s worth following MiSP and Oxford Mindfulness Centre on Facebook and Twitter as they regularly offer free resources and courses for adults and young people.

If you’d like to understand why mindfulness is so often recommended for wellbeing, there’s a short YouTube video which explains.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran Keeping Well During Covid-19 advice page has links to advice and support for adults, children and young people.

East Ayrshire Council

EAC Mental Health and Wellbeing  web pages are devoted to mental health and wellbeing and give links to local and national organisations.

The Council has developed 2 booklets (to support people to turn away from suicidal thoughts) which provide links to organisations which give expert assistance with a variety of challenging personal, social, health and financial issues. Directory of support for young people   Directory of support for adults

Helplines

Breathing Space (delivered by NHS 24) 0800 83 85 87 is available 24 hours at weekends (6pm Friday – 6am Monday) and from 6pm to 2am on weekdays (Monday – Thursday).

If you are feeling distressed, in a state of despair, suicidal or need emotional support outwith these hours you can contact Samaritans on 116 123 available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you are ill and can’t wait until your GP surgery re-opens you can call NHS 24 on 111. For an emergency ambulance you should dial 999.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Following the First Minister’s statement, it is clear there will be an extended period of remote learning during which teachers will provide online support and resources for children to continue their learning while staying safe at home.

Across our school community, parents, carers and young people will have experienced a range of responses to this news: from relief to resignation and, perhaps, disappointment.  Nonetheless, Grange spirits remain high. Our School Bulletin is bursting with examples of effective partnership between our young people, yourselves – their parents and carers – and our hardworking teaching and support staff.

We know these circumstances are challenging for everyone, and we’d like to share with you some advice about learning from home drawn from our recent experience, from listening to you and from educational research

Please remember that you’re not expected to be your child’s teacher. You’re already doing a far more important job! We are grateful that you are supporting your child to do what their teacher asks.

We hope that the advice and links below are helpful.

Kind regards,

Audrey Brotherston
Depute Head Teacher

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL LEARNING AT HOME

Plan and use a schedule
We recommend young people follow their school timetable as far as possible (with flexibility for family circumstances such as when devices are being shared). Teachers set work at the start of the day, and are generally available to support your child online during class time. By establishing a daily routine, we emphasise that learning remains a priority. Parents and carers can help by setting clear expectations for when daily schoolwork is to be completed and leisure activities are allowed. The Education Endowment Foundation’s video Supporting Daily Routines suggests including regular times for the daily activities which support good learning such as bedtime, getting up, screen breaks and exercise, as well as time to talk. The EEF has also published a Supporting Home Routines checklist which may be helpful for younger children.

Ensure you and your child can access Satchel One (Show My Homework) to keep track of daily classwork, deadlines and any important assignments. Check that your child can log into Glow. If there is a problem, contact the school via our School App Information Tab (download School App for Parents).

Set up and organise a work space
Give your child a specific place to work that is as comfortable and free of distraction as possible. Check they have the materials they need for remote learning such as a laptop or tablet, pens, paper, and any additional supports such as spectacles or overlays. If sourcing any of these is an issue for you, let the school know. You can contact your child’s Guidance Teacher via the School App. If you have a busy house, headphones can be useful to minimise external noise.

Encourage and support learning
To engage successfully with learning at home, all children will need some input from a parent or carer. How much will depend on their age, ability and temperament. You know your child best. They may need prompting to begin work; they may benefit from a short “brain break” to refresh before resuming work, or they may need encouragement to “stick with it” and complete a task. If you can, offer your child support and guidance, answer questions, help explain instructions and – if they want you to – review their final work. If you’re working from home, or have other caring duties or demands, do what is manageable for you. Resist the urge to provide correct answers. Modelling problem-solving skills will help your child more, so ask, “What could you do to work that out?” Encourage your child to work in the way they learn best and to keep in touch with their teacher by submitting work and asking questions. If you can, highlight when your child is working on independent learning skills such as planning ahead, organising their work, meeting deadlines, asking a question or responding to feedback from their teacher. Praise them for developing skills which will help them in their learning, life and work. If this is an uphill battle, let us know, and we’ll be glad to help.

Be forgiving
Even young people who enjoy school and are normally on top of their coursework may be struggling to manage without the face-to-face support of teachers and the daily routine of school attendance. Don’t be too alarmed if your child sometimes appears less motivated than usual. Whilst being clear with your child that not engaging with school for the next month isn’t an option, be forgiving of your child and yourself.

You might try

• allowing reasonable choices about how they will carry out their learning
• pointing out strengths (e.g. managing the technological aspects of remote learning) and recognising efforts
• involving your child in discussion about how they may overcome the problem
• rewarding them when you see that they are taking action

Online Resources

There is further advice at https://www.parentclub.scot/articles/helping-your-teens-learning-home

The National Parents Forum of Scotland has produced a variety of resources including Learning at home in lockdown.

Our own Mr Smith on Parentclub.scot advises being prepared, encouraging young people to be present and active, chunking the tasks, rewards, reviewing progress and keeping in touch with the school.

For parents and carers helping teens with their wellbeing https://www.parentclub.scot/articles/supporting-older-children-and-teens-during-coronavirus has good resources.

Young Scot has good wellbeing self-help resources for young people https://young.scot/campaigns/national/coronavirus

We use mindfulness within our PSE curriculum to promote wellbeing for young people. Here is a good practice to manage unhelpful thinking and promote good sleep Beditation. Headspace’s meditations on YouTube and their free app are also helpful Mindspace Mini Meditation.