Information and Opt out Options

Dear Parent / Carer:

This is a letter to tell you about a national online Health and Wellbeing (HWB) census involving primary 5 (P5) to secondary 6 (S6) pupils’ throughout Scotland. The Census will be carried out in school time and wants to hear from all pupils to help drive continuing improvements in educational outcomes for children.

This information will be shared with the Scottish Government (SG) to assist them in planning and implementing national policies and to target resources better. East Ayrshire Council will gather, process and analyse the HWB Census data for statistical and research purposes only.

 What does the Census ask?                                                

 The Census questionnaires are designed to be stage appropriate, and will ask pupils about a range of topics, such as:-

• School – how you feel and how you are treated by people
• How active you are and when you go to bed
• Eating and Drinking
• Electronic devices and the internet
• Your friends
• Bullying
• People you live with and your family
• Smoking, drinking and drugs (S2 – S6 only)
• Your life, your experiences and how you feel about things
• Sexual health (S4 – S6 only)
• Where you live and your life at school

At the beginning and end of the questionnaire pupils will be informed that if any of the Census questions have made them think of any problems then they should speak to their parents / carers / teacher / support worker.

Although individual pupils complete the Census, the questions in the Census are not validated for individual diagnosis, reports or the assessment of children / young people.

How will the information be kept confidential?

Pupil responses to the Census questions will remain confidential to protect all pupils, and access to any child identifiers would be severely restricted to those on a strict need to know basis. Any additional information that would directly identify a pupil, such as the pupil’s name and address, are kept separate from the data generated by the responses given in the Census. Schools will be provided with school, authority and national level results based on grouping together pupil responses.

The individual pupil data which will be shared with the SG, for statistical and research purposes only, will include a child identifier (but not a child’s name or address).

 Is the Census compulsory?

 The Census is not compulsory. The opt-out options are outlined below:-

1. Parent / Carer (of children up to the age of 16) – If you do not want your child to complete the census contact the school office by MONDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 2021.
2. Pupils – Pupils will be asked if they would like to take part. Even if pupils begin the Census, they do not have to finish it if they wish to stop at any time. They are then able to request (if desired) that their answers up to that point are not included in the final dataset.

To access additional information about the Census and to view the Privacy Statement please visit the link below:-

https://www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/pupilcensuses

It was lovely to have a visit from Mrs Bell from The Robert Burns Academy today!  She visited P5, P6 and P7 giving the children an introduction to woodwind instruments as well as a solo performance.  From the 12th November she hopes to begin tuition in school.

Should your child be interested in starting lessons please complete the link below:

https://eastayrshi.re/MusicTuitionEOI

Make sure you click the “proceed” button to be taken to the website.

Parents will then need to ‘sign in’ to/create an East Ayrshire account to fill the form in and make sure “woodwind” is selected as the instrument  of choice.  Anyone who doesn’t get an offer of an instrument straight away will be placed on a waiting list until another instrument/space becomes available.

Due to the success of the community club in Term 1, we will be opening our playground to allow a new multi sport club for our P4-7 pupils to take place on Wednesdays 4pm-5pm (Starting 27th October). This will be organised and run by Active Schools.

If you would like to register your child visit the following website:

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/Newcumnock1/

About this Event

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills announced on 22 June 2021 the intention to replace the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and remove the function of school inspection from Education Scotland.   Professor Ken Muir, University of the West of Scotland, has been appointed to act as an independent advisor to the Scottish Government to consider and advise on the implementation of these changes and consider all functions currently delivered by both the SQA and Education Scotland.

Professor Muir wants to hear the views and ideas from all those with an interest in Scottish Education.   This webinar is an opportunity specifically for parents and carers with children and young people in education, to hear first-hand about this reform work, to express views and ideas about the kind of education system we want to see in Scotland for the future and to ask questions of Professor Muir.

When

The virtual webinar session will take place on Wednesday 27^th October from 6 30 p.m. till 8 p.m.

How to book

Please use the link below to sign-up for the event.   The event will be held via Microsoft Teams Live and the link to join will be sent the day before to the email address used by participants to register.

Please click here to book – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/193601315747

This week we have been having a Right Blether about article 16 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Please see below:

ilunch went great! We all took part in a boxing session as well as participating in some outdoor learning activities like bug hunting. Everyone who attended got provided with a packed lunch, and new families got an activity pack to take away.

Adam and Laura

Please see below a summary of this session’s School Improvement Plan for session 2021-2022.  Thank you for your support during our consultation exercises.

You will find our full School Improvement Plan for session 2021-2022 and last session’s Standards and Quality Report in the DOWNLOADS and DOCUMENTS tab within ALL ABOUT OUR SCHOOL tab at the top of the page.

As you know we are a PATHS school.  We deliver PATHS wellbeing programme across the school from P1-P7.  This involves teaching our children Positive Alternative Thinking Strategies in a bid to promote positive behaviour and wellbeing.

At the end of last session all of our Classroom Assistants were trained to ensure consistent delivery of the programme across the school.

This session I am delighted to announce that some of our P6 pupils have taken on a leadership role and have been appointed PATHS Buddies.  Their role is to support the younger children in the playground by helping them to find friends, play fun games and support them if they feel overwhelmed.

At the beginning of the session our P2’s and P3’s found the walk along the ECC lane a bit daunting in the morning.  Our Buddies have worked hard to support the wee ones by meeting them at the gate prior to 9am and walking them along into the playground or school on a wet morning.  As a result we have had positive results and some great feedback from parents.  Keep up the good work P6!