All posts by AM Beaton

Pàrantan/Parents

Pàrantan / Parents

PARENTS WELCOME

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

The school encourages parents to be involved in their children’s education by encouraging active involvement in school activities through attendance at parents’ evenings, curriculum evenings, open days, ‘Sharing the Learning’ class assemblies and school events such as concerts etc. Parents are given formal Parent-Teacher appointments twice a year – usually in November and May. Parent-Teacher appointments allow class teachers to meet with parents to discuss their child’s progress and all parents are encouraged to attend at these times.  In addition to these scheduled evenings, we operate an open-door policy to encourage dialogue. Parents are welcome to telephone the Head Teacher to arrange a suitable time to visit the school to discuss any matter which is causing them concern. We are required to abide by health and safety requirements relating to visitor access to the building. It is a strict requirement that ALL visitors, including parents, report to the school office and sign in before progressing through the building. Access to the building must only be by the main entrance. Sgoil-Àraich pupils should enter and exit via the Sgoil-Àraich door.

Parents are encouraged to discuss with the Head Teacher and teaching staff any concerns they have regarding their child’s schooling. The school has an active and committed Parent Council which works enthusiastically and successfully to organise fund raising events and assists the school in its organisation of events throughout the school year, taking into account events which are ongoing within the local community. The Parent Council welcomes parent members to its meetings and encourages parents of all new pupils to the school to get involved.

The school staff also welcome contact with parents of prospective pupils.

The school seeks to be open with its parents about learning and teaching activities and staff members are always happy to meet with parents at a mutually convenient time outside of more formal arrangements to discuss their children’s education with them.

 

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

In Sgoil Ùige, we greatly value partnership with parents and staff. We see the importance of ensuring that parents know how we teach and why we teach what we do. We encourage parents to participate in extra-curricular activities e.g. after-school clubs, sports, concerts and Mod. Many parents and members of the community have expertise and knowledge which can add to the skills and expertise of staff. We try and capitalise on this by inviting them to come into the class and talk to the children, thus enriching the children’s education.

Parents will receive a formal written report on their child’s progress once a year at the start of Term Four. Parents are encouraged to discuss their child’s report with them as children benefit from, and are supported by, the ongoing dialogue about their progress, both from school and from home.  Such dialogue encourages children as they seek to take the next steps in their learning. Seesaw is regularly updated with examples of the children’s learning to share with parents. Pupils also engage in Profiling their learning through a ‘Focus Child’ system. When your child is the ‘Focus Child’, observations, examples of work and ‘Learner Conversations’ will take place and be uploaded to Seesaw. You will be invited to comment on your child’s progress at this time.

Parents of those pupils with Child’s Plans are given the opportunity to meet more regularly with teaching and Support for Learning staff in order to review progress, share information and work in partnership with the school. School staff value very much the good relationships that are fostered with parents through these opportunities to meet and discuss learning and progress.

All parents are encouraged to support their children’s learning at home and supporting children with homework tasks. Advice on this is often given at Parent-Teacher interviews and via Pupil Reports. Teaching staff welcome approaches from parents who wish to know how else they may support their children in their learning. Teachers send home a Curriculum Overview each term which details the planned learning for that term. The Curriculum Overview offers suggestions on how to support your child’s learning at home and also invites parents and pupils to make further suggestions on the activities planned or to let us know of any particular areas of interest or expertise that may be relevant.

As key stages of a child’s education approach e.g. transitions between pre-school and Primary 1 and Primary 7 and Secondary 1, teaching staff work with pupils and parents to prepare them for pupils’ next stages of learning.

The Head Teacher works closely with the Parent Council and shares in an open and transparent way the work of the school. Parents’ views are sought on a variety of issues, including an annual parental survey, with results being shared with the Parent Council. Parents are encouraged to share their views on the school, what it does well, and areas for improvement.

Education Scotland’s Parentzone website (www.education.gov.scot/parentzone) also provides parents with further information as to how they may support their children and become more involved in their education.

 

FORMAL PARENT REPRESENTATION

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

All parents of children attending Sgoil Ùige are automatically members of the Parent Council and are therefore welcome to attend its meetings. The Parent Council usually meets once per term. The current office bearers are:

Chair            Hugh Stewart

Secretary     Lynne Woolley

Treasurer     Mairi Buchanan

Should any parent or prospective parent wish to contact any of the Office Bearers but not have their telephone number, please contact the school in the first instance and we shall arrange for them to be in contact with you directly.

Cuir Fios/Contact Information

Cuir fios/Contact

Head Teacher                           Mrs Ann-Marie Beaton (Acting)

Name of School                       Bun-sgoil & Sgoil-Àraich Ùige

Address                                       Crowlista, Isle of Lewis, HS2 9JE

Telephone                                   01851 822 872

Website                                      https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/es/uigschool

Email                                           uigschool@gnes.net

Head Teacher’s Email           ambeaton1t@gnes.net

Facebook                                   Sgoil Uig

 

Parent Council Email:          murdobuch@hotmail.com

Obair agus Beatha na Sgoile / Life and Work of the School

Obair & Beatha na Sgoile / Life & Work of the School

Developing the Young Workforce through the Life and Work of the School

In Sgoil Ùige, we have developed a ‘Life and Work of the School’ programme to support our children and young people to develop the skills they require for learning, life and the world of work.

Learners need to experience opportunities which are designed not only to raise their awareness of future choices but also raise their expectations and aspirations. They develop the skills for personal planning and making decisions in the context of curriculum, learning and achievement which will prepare them for next stages in life.

This programme should be used in conjunction with the guidelines set out in Learner Participation in Educational Settings (3-18)

Learners should experience activities which enable them to develop the skills and attributes they will need if they are to achieve and sustain positive destinations beyond school. Demands and employment patterns are changing, so it is particularly important for all young people to develop high levels of skill and also an understanding of the world of work, training and lifelong learning so that they can embrace opportunities.

The Skills for Life and Work programme will ensure all pupils are being given the opportunity to learn and develop their skills within the four contexts of learning:

All learners in the primary school are involved in a Pupil Leadership Committee, actively contributing to school improvement and the life and work of the school.

Pupil Profiling

The Life and Work of the School Programme also details how pupils will engage in Learner Conversations and profiling of their learning in order to ensure that they are given a voice in what and how they learn, identifying their own learning needs and developing their skills and language of learning. Please see the full programme below for further information:

Life & Work of the School Programme – Uig

An Curraicealam/The Curriculum

Curraicealam/Curriculum

CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE

As part of their learner journey, all children and young people in Scotland are entitled to experience a coherent curriculum from 3 to 18, in order that they have opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to adapt, think critically and flourish in today’s world. This curriculum is called ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ (CfE).

Children and young people’s rights and entitlements are central to Scotland’s curriculum and every child and young person is entitled to experience:

 

CURRICULUM LEVELS

When children start in the Sgoil-Àraich/P1, they begin their learning journey at ‘Early Level’. They then move through curricular levels as they progress through the school. The visual below illustrates when the majority of pupils might expect to move through the various curricular levels although this can be earlier or later for some pupils in order to ensure that all children receive appropriate pace, challenge and differentiation in their learning.

 

THE FOUR CAPACITIES

The purpose of the curriculum is to help children and young people to become:

  • successful learners
  • confident individuals
  • responsible citizens
  • effective contributors

Collectively, these are known as the Four Capacities. The graphic below helps to flesh out some of the skills associated with each of the Capacities.

 

CURRICULAR AREAS

There are eight main curricular areas in the Curriculum for Excellence. These are:

  • Language and Literacy
  • Mathematics and Numeracy
  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Expressive Arts
  • Social Studies
  • Sciences
  • Religious and Moral Education
  • Technologies

The curriculum is the totality of all that is planned for children and young people from early learning and childcare, through school and beyond. Teacher use the ‘Experiences and Outcomes’ documents for each curricular area in order to plan for progression in all eight curricular areas through the ‘four contexts of learning’. The graphic overleaf illustrates these four contexts.

More information about Curriculum for Excellence can be found on the following websites or by speaking to the Head Teacher or a member of teaching staff:

Education Scotland: https://education.gov.scot/

Education Scotland Parentzone: https://education.gov.scot/parentzone

SQA website: http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/34714.html

The Scottish Government website (there are also Gaelic versions on this site): http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/Schools/curriculum/ACE/cfeinaction

Foghlam Gàidhlig/Gaelic Education

Gàidhlig / Gaelic

Below you will find some information on what Gaelic Medium Education is and the Comhairle’s ‘Gaelic First’ Policy. Please refer to our Gaelic Education Policy for full information on how Gaelic Education is valued within Sgoil Ùige. Gaelic Policy Jan 25

FOGHLAM TRO MHEADHAN NA GÀIDHLIG (GAELIC MEDIUM EDUCATION)

Gàidhlig language and culture are key to the local community and identity. As a school, we embrace and promote the language and culture in a wide variety of ways. The majority of our pupils are taught through the medium of Gàidhlig, and those who are not join their peers in experiencing aspects of the culture and learning the language. Sgoil Ùige is a ‘Gaelic Rich’ environment where Gaelic can be seen throughout our school wall displays, celebrating children’s work and achievements, and can be heard across the school through whole-school events and a broad range of experiences across the four contexts of learning. We encourage all our children to explore and experience the Gàidhlig language out with the classroom and school environment as much as possible. We have strong links with our local Comunn na Gàidhlig (CnaG) officer who runs a local Sradagan youth club and supports the school with a range of Gaelic activities such as sports festivals and FilmG. Promoting the Gaelic community of our school is vitally important and we ensure this through Gaelic Singing lessons for all, a Gaelic Ceilidh band and participation in local Gaelic sports activities and the Mòd. Our Comataidh na Gàidhlig have recently started up a ‘Cupan agus Ceilidh’ Gàidhlig Community Café which we hope to run once a month to bring together all members of our community to enjoy the Gaelic language and culture in a relaxed and enjoyable way. These cultural events and extra-curricular activities give the parents and pupils opportunities to meet with other GME learners and help strengthen Gàidhlig as a family language. We recognise that the majority of children who go through GME do not have Gaelic at home. Therefore, we encourage parents to listen to Gaelic radie and watch Gaelic TV programs.

 

WHAT IS GAELIC MEDIUM EDUCATION?

Gàidhlig medium education involved the use of the Gàidhlig Language for all teaching and learning across the school curriculum. Gaelic medium education is one of the main ways of achieving or maintaining fluency in Gaelic. This is especially true of children from a non-Gaelic speaking background. The children follow the same curriculum as their peers in the English stream of the school (known as Gaelic Learners). It must be noted that it is not a requirement that parents must speak Gaelic in order to choose Gaelic Medium Education for their child/ren. The aim is to bring our GME pupils to the stage of ‘broadly equal’ competence in Gàidhlig and English by the end of primary 7. Gaelic Medium Education is open to everyone, those who speak Gaelic and those who do not. Pupils who are not Gaelic speakers to start with, indeed who come from non-Gaelic speaking homes and communities, can be brought to fluency in the language through what is referred to as ‘total-immersion’.

 

GAELIC TEACHING METHODOLOGY

From Sgoil-Àraich/P1 until the latter stages of Primary 3, the children are in their total immersion phase of learning where all their class work and homework is completed in Gaelic. Therefore, it is towards the end of P3/the beginning of P4 that English is introduced. In P4 and P5, learning and teaching will mostly be in Gaelic as well as English, in P6 learning will be 60% in Gaelic and 40% in English and in P7, pupils will be learning 50% in Gaelic and 50% in English. All curricular areas are taught through the medium of Gaelic and we make daily use of Active Learning straetgies to develop the children’s language skills. Teachers utilise all available opportunities to develop pupils’ Gaelic skills – through songs, stories, rhymes, games and structured play. Learning is promoted through eye contact, body language, facial expressions and head movement. An oral Gaelic language framework is in place from the Sgoil-Àraich to P7. This is in accordance with the CfE outcomes and helps us monitor and assess the progression of the children’s Gaelic language skills.

 

GAELIC FIRST POLICY

Our local authority has adopted a ‘Gaelic First’ policy, where there is a presumption of pupils being enrolled in GME unless parents specifically request otherwise. Over the past six years, 100% of new entrants to P1 in Sgoil Ùige have enrolled in GME. We support parents who are not fluent speakers in a variety of ways.

Pupils who are not in Gaelic Medium Education are known as ‘Gaelic Learners’. This is to bring unity to the school, where all children receive their entitlement to learn the Gaelic language and engage in Gaelic activities and experiences together.

Parents who are interested in educating their children through Gàidhlig are welcome to contact the school and learn more about it from the Head Teacher.

Luchd-Obrach/Staff

Luchd-Obrach / Staff

Below you will find a list of all staff who are part of the Sgoil Ùige team:

Ann-Marie Beaton                           Head Teacher

Alice Meaden/Gillian Maclean   GM2-4 Class Teacher (job-share)

Rhona MacNeil                                GM5-7 Class Teacher

Nick McLean                                     GL2-7 Class Teacher

Margaret-Joan MacLeod            RCCT Teacher

Maureen Murray                            Support for Learning Teacher

Rhona Davis                                    Nursery Play Leader

Ruth Mason                                     Relief Nursery Key Worker

Heather Cameron                         Support for Learning Assistant

Hannah Stewart                            Education Attainment Apprentice

Kathanna Latimir                         School Assistant

Michaela Macdonald                  School Assistant

Fiona Callan                                   Cook

Susan Stringer                              Kitchen Assistant and Cleaner

Ashley MacDonald                      Piping Instructor

Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy

In session 24-25, Sgoil Ùige is placing a strong emphasis on developing positive relationships and a relational approach between all stakeholders. We aim to involve all pupils, parents and staff in decisions relating to learning and school development and ensure that all stakeholders demonstrate our school values of spèis (respect), sunnd (wellbeing), seasmhachd (perseverance) and àrd-amas (ambition) at all times. Pupils’ achievements across the curriculum and beyond will be celebrated through ‘Rionnag na Mìos’ (Star of the Month) Assemblies, Tìde Teòclaid Teth (Hot Chocolate Time) with the Head Teacher and our Wider Achievements and ‘Life and Work of the School’ displays.

House Captains led their houses in linking our School Values to the UNCRC Rights of the Child. House Captains then sought the views of all children in their houses to come up with ideas for a School Charter based on what children should do to ensure these rights are respected and what adults should do to ensure these rights are respected. Our new school charter was then created and can be accessed here School Charter

Our Pupil Council then used the UNCRC Rights of the Child alongside our school values to create a Playground Charter which makes it explicit how children and duty bearers (the adults that work in the school) will ensure that all children have access to their rights in our playground. This can be accessed here Playground Charter

Further information on how we are developing positive relationships and a relational approach between all stakeholders can be found in our School Improvement Plan which is available on the ‘Ar Sgoil/Our School’ > ‘Plana Leasachaidh na Sgoile/School Improvement’ tab of this website.

In Sgoil Ùige, we believe that each child has a right to the best education which can be provided in a partnership between school, parents and the community. We therefore aim, through strong, consistent and fair management of pupil behaviour, to establish a happy, secure and purposeful environment in which each child may develop his or her full potential. Providing this good learning environment is an important precondition for pupils achieving the highest possible levels of attainment. Every child is therefore asked to conform to the expectations of the school and parents are kept informed so that they can support the systems in use.

School staff aim to put the emphasis on praise and reward for good behaviour.  We also seek to involve our pupils in determining rules for their own classrooms through class charters and encourage all our pupils to participate fully in the life of the school.

Both teaching and non-teaching staff seek to be consistent in their approaches when working with our pupils in and out of the classroom and seek to do all that they can in order to ensure a positive learning environment exists for all pupils.

Polasaidh Obair Dachaigh/Homework Policy

Homework Policy

All parents are encouraged to support their children’s learning at home and supporting children with homework tasks. Advice on this is often given at Parent-Teacher interviews and via Pupil Reports. Teaching staff welcome approaches from parents who wish to know how else they may support their children in their learning. Teachers send home a Curriculum Overview each term which details the planned learning for that term. The Curriculum Overview offers suggestions on how to support your child’s learning at home and also invites parents and pupils to make further suggestions on the activities planned or to let us know of any particular areas of interest or expertise that may be relevant.

For more information on Sgoil Ùige’s homework policy, see below:

Uig Homework Policy

Polasaidh Ana-Burraidheachd / Anti-Bullying Policy

Anti-Bullying

The pupils and staff of Sgoil Ùige have recently created a new Anti-Bullying Policy based on the guidance document ‘Respect for All: The National Approach to Anti-Bullying for Scotland’s Children and Young People’, 2024 (linked below). Pupils were consulted and came up with a simple procedure for immediately handling any instances of bullying as detailed below:

This procedure was then added to our full policy which can be found on  Sgoil Uige Anti-bullying Policy 2025

The school aims to provide a safe and caring environment for all who enter its doors and in which each child feels valued, confident and secure. A range of issues relating to relationships, tolerance and emotional health are regularly discussed as part of the Health and Wellbeing programme and children are encouraged to discuss any problems, worries or concerns they may have with their teachers and/or other adults in the school as soon as possible.

We would strongly encourage parents to inform the school immediately if they become aware of any incidents of bullying. This will help the school to deal with the situation and agree the best way to support the child inside and outside the school.

The school’s Anti-Bullying Policy is in line with local authority guidance which can be accessed at CNES Anti-Bullying Policy

https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/advice-and-guidance/2024/11/respect-national-approach-anti-bullying/documents/respect-national-approach-anti-bullying-scotlands-children-young-people/respect-national-approach-anti-bullying-scotlands-children-young-people/govscot%3Adocument/respect-national-approach-anti-bullying-scotlands-children-young-people.pdf