Dear Parent/Carer,

Please view the undernoted in light of the current pandemic. As with many workplaces, our working priorities are changing near daily across the late part of session 2019/20 and the entirety of session 2020/21. It is likely that a revised overview of progress against policy generation and revision will be shared in August 2021.

Original Post – April 2020

You may be aware of the high turnover of staff over the past few academic years. It is also the case that the National and Local Authority policy landscape has changed significantly since many of our school policies were last revised. With this in mind, we have started the process of reviewing all school level policy. In some cases, our policy will reflect exactly National and Local Authority level guidance. In other areas, it will be necessary to provide a school level context from which policy can be understood.

Given that the generation of policy, particularly at school level, should involve consultation, we aim to revise at least three policies per academic session over the course of the next few years. It should be noted that not all policy need be extensive should it satisfy the needs of our school community and our legislative obligations.  I am sure all stakeholders will recognise that aligning all policies with current guidance takes considerable time. We thank you for your forbearance while we work to provide clarity on all aspects of school life.

Please note that our annual School Improvement Plan, Standards and Qualities Report and School Calendar can be found on the homepage of our website, and are always updated annually. Our School Handbook also provides a general overview of school procedures as they relate to the day to day running of the school and can also be found on our homepage.

You can find revised policy on this page of our website:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ea/stjosephsacademy/school-policy/

At the time of writing our policy revision schedule is as follows:

Complete

• Learning and Teaching – Revised 2018/19
• Uniform – Revised 2017/18 (publication online to follow)
• Curriculum Rationale – Revised 2019/20
• Staff Development/CLPL – Revised 2018/19 (publication online to follow)
• Guidance at time of personalisation and choice
  • Will be subsumed within Transitions policy at a later date
  • Available via School Handbook and website news feed for current session

Partially Complete

• Celebrating Success and Achievement – Revised 2019/20
  • Fluid, with updates annually in relation to Award Ceremonies and Extra-Curricular Activity
• Reporting to Parents/Carers – Revised 2018/19
  • Further revision will include Assessment, Homework and Tracking Progress throughout 2020/21 and 2021/22

Ongoing this session – Publication by end of session 2020/21

• School Handbook (Last revised 2018)
• Vision, Values, Aims and Catholicity
• Equality and Inclusion
  • Informed by Scottish Catholic Education Service (SCES) and East Ayrshire Council policy
  • Includes Promoting Positive Behaviour and Anti-Bullying
• Communication, Digital Learning and STEM
  • Including complaint handling procedures
• Pastoral Care, Child Protection and Support for Learning
• Revision to assessment, homework and tracking (as detailed above)

Planned for review during session 2021/22

• School Leaver Support Policy
• Staff Handbook
• Promoting Attendance and Good Timekeeping
• Family Learning and Parental Engagement
• Pupil Leadership

Planned revision post 2021/22

• Developing the Young Workforce/Skills for Work and SDS Partnership Guidance
• Community Engagement and Parish Partnerships
• Self-Evaluation and School Improvement
• Promoting Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing
• 2 + 1 Modern Foreign Languages
• Transitions
• Raising Attainment and Closing the Attainment Gap
• Global Citizenship, Enterprise and Learning for Sustainability

Once all policy is revised, we will move to a refresh schedule on a rolling basis. However, it is anticipated that this will not result in substantial alteration unless our qualitative or quantitative data identifies a need to consult and revise fully.

Click here to return to our main School Policy Page.

Kind Regards

Mr Kane