Attendance & Absence
Leave a comment

Attendance and Absence

If your child(ren) is/are to get the most out of their time in Sir E Scott School, it is important that they attend regularly. You will be aware that attendance rates for schools are now published nationally. The government has given schools guidelines on how absence should be recorded which is reflected in the following advice:

If your child is absent you should inform the school office before 8.50am on the day of absence.

If the absence is liable to last for some time, a note should be sent to the Head Teacher as soon as possible. Arrangements will then be made to cover the absence period, including sending homework which the pupil might attempt.

If you wish your child to be off for a special reason (e.g. to attend a wedding) a note seeking permission should be sent to the Head Teacher. Parents are discouraged from taking their children off school and should be aware that this kind of absence is recorded as an unauthorized absence on your child’s attendance record. Likewise, holidays during term time should be avoided: even if a pupil takes extra work home, the teaching that has been missed cannot be made up.

GroupCall

GroupCall is an automated message service, which informs parents when their child is absent from school without reason. The messaging service is linked to our morning registration system and a recorded GroupCall message or text will be sent out automatically to the contact telephone number to inform you that your child is absent from school. Please listen to the complete message before responding to it. If you know that your child is to be absent then please inform the school before 8.50am and this will avoid a GroupCall message being sent out.

Latecomers

A note or telephone call must be supplied by parents/carers to explain why a pupil is late; however, this does not apply if buses are late.

Complaints, Comments & Suggestions
Leave a comment

Complaints, Comments and Suggestions Procedure
We are keen that you should be completely satisfied about your child’s education and we encourage feedback from parents and pupils. We are, therefore, interested in feedback of all kinds, whether it be compliments, suggestions or complaints. If you have a complaint about the school, please let us know. It is better that these things are shared openly and resolved fairly rather than being allowed to damage the relationship between the family and the school. There will be no negative consequences arising from making a complaint and we will deal with the issue as confidentially as possible. If we have made a mistake we will apologise quickly and clearly and try to put things right.

There are some things which you should take note of in relation to making a complaint:

  • Please make any complaints initially to the Head Teacher. This makes sure that the school knows what is going on and has an opportunity to respond and resolve the issue.
  • If you are unhappy with the service or with our response then you will have the right to take the matter further. You can put your complaint in writing or fill in a complaint form. Completed forms should be sent to: Director of Education and Children’s Services, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Sandwick Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, HS1 2BW.
  • If you are still unhappy after further investigation and reply you can take the matter up with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. The reply will include the contact details.

We communicate with parents in many different ways: we hold parents’ evenings and information evenings (as per the school calendar) use GroupCall and send out termly newsletters; we also have regular contributions to the local newspapers. Parent Council meetings are held twice a term. Success assemblies and worship assemblies are held termly. We also send out letters for specific events to which parents are invited. Currently we are updating our website and welcome any suggestions you may have for improvement. We welcome communication and regularly phone parents and encourage them to e-mail and to phone us with any enquires or concerns.

Should you have any concerns then please let us know as quickly as possible. The contact number and email address are at the front of this handbook.

Parents should be aware that most communications between school and home will be done by email. It is important therefore, that you notify us of any change in your email address.

An email is usually sent to parents to advise of any letters that are being distributed by pupil post; these letters will usually be more important in nature.

Parental Involvement in School
Leave a comment

Our school welcomes parental involvement as research has shown that when parents are involved children do better in school.

We welcome parental involvement at Sir E Scott School (see Parent Council below). We also have parents’ evenings throughout the year and parents’ open days/consultation meetings and awareness raising workshops.

We involve parents as much as possible – for example through the use of the homework diary and year planner enabling parents to support learning at home. We are an open school, so if you have any questions then please feel free to contact us.

We send out regular newsletters (Nursery/Primary and Secondary) and we also encourage you to contact your son/daughter’s class teacher or Pupil Support teacher in the secondary department, if you have any concerns or to pass on success stories.

Pupil Diary and Homework

A diary is issued to all pupils at the start of session. It should be carried everyday and used to note down things done and to do both in and out of school. It is particularly important for recording homework issued by class/subject teachers. This is one of the ways in which we make sure we have direct and easy access to you and you to us.

These diaries are to be used to pass on information quickly and for you to write down any comments you have. We are increasingly trying to ensure that homework is creative, making full use of different resources. It will, at times, involve exercises but also research and personal investigations. Never believe that your child has no homework! There is always work to be learned, books to be read and vocabulary to be learned. Parents are asked to check the homework diary regularly and are welcome to write comments in the Notes section. Periodic checks will be made by the Head Teacher and other staff to monitor homework.

There are a number of very useful and informative websites should you wish more information:

www.educationscotland.gov.uk www.educationscotland.gov.uk
The new national body responsible from 1 July 2011 for supporting quality and improvement in learning and teaching from early years to adult and community learning
www.enquire.org.uk Enquire – the national advice service in Scotland for additional support for learning.
www.LTScotland.org.uk/Parentzone Parentzone – information for parents on all aspects of children’s learning.
www.sqa.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence Latest information on the new qualifications.
www.hmie.gov.uk Information on inspection and evaluation of education provision.
www.employersandyoungpeople.org Making connections with employers to support learning
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/edandtrainingforyoungple

http://www.LTScotland.org.uk/supportinglearners/choicesandchanges/16pluslearnchoices/index.asp

  

16+ Learning Choices programme (learning opportunities for young people from age 16).
www.playtalkread.org Ideas to help parents of young children.
www.parentingacrossscotland.org/publications/top-ten-tips.aspx Top ten tips for parents series, including starting primary and secondary school.
www.homeworkelephant.co.uk / www.bbc.co.uk /schools/www.gridclub.com
http://www.channel4learning.com www.gaelic4parents.co.uk		 Homework/Learning at home
Formal Parent Representation
Leave a comment

The Parent Forum has elected a Parent Council that meets twice during the school term, with representation from nursery, primary and secondary sectors.

The role of the Parent Council is to:

  • Support the school in its work with parents
  • Represent the views of all parents
  • Encourage links between the school, parents, pupils, pre school groups and the wider community
  • Report back to the Parent Forum (all parents are members of the Parent Forum).

Parents/Carers are encouraged to volunteer or put themselves forward to be chosen as representatives of the Parent Council. The Parent Council meets 2 to 3 times per school term.  All meetings are open and parents are welcome to attend.

Parent Council Members
Leave a comment

Parent Council Members are:

Parent Members
Andrew Coghill – (Chairperson)
Tel No – 01859 540 324 Email parentcouncilses@gmail.com
Deborah Coghill – (Treasurer)
Gordon Macleod – Vice Chairperson
Alison MacDonald
Jenna Morrison
Donella Barker
Caroline Chaffer

Community Representatives
Ian Murdo MacDonald
Kathleen Duce

Additional Members
Andy Murray – Head Teacher
Adam Johnson – Acting Depute Head Teacher (Secondary)
Pauline Macleod – Depute Head Teacher (Primary)

Councillors
 Cllr. Paul Finnegan
Cllr. Grant Fulton

Secretary
Mary C Martin

Copies of the minutes of all meetings will be available to all staff and parents of pupils at Sir E Scott School.  Copies will be available from the secretary of the Parent Council, the school, library and school website.

Report a Glow concern
Cookie policy  Privacy policy

Glow Blogs uses cookies to enhance your experience on our service. By using this service or closing this message you consent to our use of those cookies. Please read our Cookie Policy.

Close