Updates to PVG and Trips

As you may be aware, there have been recent changes to the PVG scheme in Scotland. The PVG (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) Scheme is a national system designed to keep children and vulnerable people safe. It ensures that anyone working or volunteering with pupils in school, or supporting them on trips, has been appropriately checked and approved. This scheme is an important part of how we safeguard our children every day.

These changes mean that anyone supporting children either in school or on trips is now required to hold a PVG for our school. Some people may already have a PVG for other establishments but due to the updated guidelines, you must have a PVG for Hyndland Primary. While we absolutely welcome the emphasis on safeguarding, this update has placed some immediate challenges on how we plan and deliver trips, as we are not currently able to bring members of our wider community in to support pupils without the necessary checks.

Due to limited staffing, this may affect the number and scale of trips we are able to offer in the short term while we work on a longer-term solution and await guidance from the local authority. Please be assured that we are committed to continuing to provide meaningful learning experiences beyond the classroom, and we will keep families updated as we move forward.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding, and ongoing support as we navigate these changes together.

Car Free Zone

A reminder of our Car Free Zone which operates from 8.30am till 9.15am and again from 2.45pm till 3.30pm.

Vehicles are not be permitted to drive in or out when the zone is in operation. We also want to draw attention to an important aspect of the scheme. At the stated times Fortrose Street WILL NOT function as a PEDESTRIANISED ZONE as there are a number of exemptions to the traffic included in the restrictions and some vehicles continue to be permitted within these times. Please see exemptions below.

• Any vehicle displaying a valid School Streets permit
• Council vehicles and statutory undertakers serving properties within the restricted roads
• Emergency services, doctors on call, district nurses, carers and support workers
• Postal service vehicles serving properties within the restricted roads
• School buses and school transport serving the school within the restricted roads
• Public transport
• School Contract Taxis
• Blue badge holders residing at or visiting properties within the restricted roads

For these reasons, it is very important that all pedestrians try to keep to the safety of the pavements whilst moving near our school. Enforcement of the scheme is the domain of the Police only. We encourage you to adhere to restrictions, personally, and show respect and kindness to others. Police will be increasing their presence over the coming weeks and issuing fines to those driving through the zone. The penalty for ignoring the Car Free Zone is currently a £70 fine.

Please note there are alternative places to park such as Peel Street, White Street and Gardiner Street, pupils can enter the school campus via the gate on White Street or the playgrounds on Fortrose Street.

Playground Safety and Supervision

As the clocks go back this week and the mornings become darker, we’d like to remind families about the importance of playground safety and supervision during the Autumn and Winter months.

Please note that there is no school staff supervision in the playgrounds before 9:00am or after 3:15pm. During these times, children should be accompanied by an adult. We would strongly advise against leaving young people unattended in the school grounds before or after school.

For families who need childcare before the school day begins, there are two Breakfast Club provisions (School and Afty) where children can spend time with friends in a safe, warm, and supervised environment. Parents and carers are also welcome to wait with their children in the playgrounds before school starts.

After school there have been some pupils climbing on walls, railings, and bin sheds in Playgrounds 2 and 3. These areas are not safe for climbing or designed to bear the weight of young people or adults on the roof of the sheds. A fall from height could cause serious injury if a child lost their footing or the structure became unstable .

We would also ask that families refrain from taking photographs or recording videos of pupils in the playgrounds. This is to minimise the risk of inadvertently photographing or recording other pupils without consent.

Playgrounds and Gates

There are increased number of families at the pupil lines in the morning (probably caused by darker morning school runs and inclement weather) but this is impacting on children finding it difficult to get to their class lines when the bell rings. As a reminder, we kindly ask all families to stand back from the lines in the morning so that our pupils can line up at the bell and enter school with their teacher without it being too busy. This allows us to ensure a smooth and safe start to the school day for everyone.

To ensure the safety and security of all pupils, we kindly remind families that walking through the playgrounds during the school day is not permitted. The only through route is available when the Afty gate is open—until 9:15am in the morning and again from 3:00pm in the afternoon. Outside of these times, we ask that all parents and visitors use alternative routes and avoid entering the playground while children are outside for learning and play. Could we please also ask that if you arrive at school to collect your child whilst pupils are in the playground that you remain at the gate and call into the office. Staff will bring your child to you.

We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain a safe and secure environment for all our pupils.

Dogs in Playground

We would like to kindly remind everyone about our school’s policy regarding dogs. For the safety and comfort of all our pupils, dogs should not be brought into the playground under any circumstances. This includes dogs being carried or walked through, even on a lead.

We understand many of our families have beloved pets, but not all children are comfortable around dogs, and some may have allergies or anxieties. To ensure a safe and inclusive environment for everyone, we ask that dogs remain outside the school gates at all times.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in helping us keep the playground a safe and welcoming space for all our pupils.

Parent Portal

All families should be able to access Parent Portal, this is done using your mygov account which you would use to pay for your council tax and any council bills.

This system allows us to send out permission forms, check your personal details for our annual data check and send out parent evening appointments.

Please see the details below on how you can sign up to Parent Portal.

Parent Pay

All families should be accessing Parent Pay; this is where you can choose your child’s school lunch and pay for trips. Please remember that even if your child has access to the universal free school meals offer from P1-P6 there is a cost associated with Breakfast Club unless families are in receipt of free meal entitlement benefit. You can check your balance on ParentPay at any time using your log in details.

We are encouraging all families to have access, if you do not have access then please contact the school office to get your pupil specific log in details.

Snack Guidelines

Please do not send pupils to school with lollipops as snacks or treats. Children usually have their snacks during play times, and there may be other children running and playing near them. Lollipops pose a risk to injury in this circumstance and are not recommended snacks. We would also like to remind everyone that we encourage healthier snack choices.

We kindly remind all families that children should not share snacks with their classmates. This is to ensure the safety of all pupils, as many have allergies and food intolerances.

Additionally, while we truly appreciate the thoughtful gestures, we ask that families refrain from sending in whole-class sweet treats for birthdays or special occasions. With a wide range of allergies and dietary requirements, it is difficult to accommodate everyone safely.

We have a high number of pupils requesting snacks at break time every day; while we want to ensure that nobody is hungry at any time in school, we are also aware that providing no mid morning snack might be a family choice. To make sure we are supporting carer decisions, we will be in touch to check we have your permission to give snacks if it is necessary on a recurring basis.

This is a reminder that our school has a NUT-FREE policy.

We have a few young people with significant and severe nut allergies. It is very important we reduce the risk of being in contact with nuts as much as possible.

Please ensure snacks sent to school are nut free. Please check ingredients and only pick items without nuts – with particular attention to popular items such as chocolate spreads, and cereal/granola bars.

Thank you for your understanding and support in keeping all our children safe and included.

Mobile Phones and Electronic Devices

Mobile phones, alongside other forms of technology are changing the way and speed in which we communicate. They can provide security and reassurance; however there are also associated risks.

We would prefer that mobile phones in school are kept to an absolute minimum, but are happy to support parental choice in allowing pupils to bring their mobile phones to school provided that they follow a few simple guidelines and understand that the school is not liable for loss or damage to mobile phones on our premises. This includes school trips and extra-curriculum activities – mobile phones are not permitted on residential trips.

• Where possible, mobile phones should not be brought into school.
• If as a parent you wish your child to bring a phone to school, mobile phones must be switched off before entering the playground at the start of the school day and handed into the pupil’s class teacher; handsets will be locked away during the school day and collected at the end of the day.
• Mobile phones should not be used before or after the school day on school grounds to take images or record other pupils.
• Children are not allowed to use their mobile phones on site at the start or end of the school day – unless permission from school staff (or attending supervising parent) is given.
• Children should not bring any electronic devices into school, including iPads or smart watches connected to other devices (unless agreed between parents and a member of the SLT.) Please note that this includes any watches with a recording function.

We have noticed an increasing number of pupils wearing smartwatches to school. While pupils are permitted to wear them, they must not be connected to a device during the school day. Additionally, smartwatches are worn at the pupil’s own risk, and the school cannot take responsibility for any loss or damage.

In line with Glasgow City Council’s PE policy, pupils will also be asked to remove their smartwatches during PE lessons for health and safety reasons. We appreciate your support in ensuring that our school remains a safe and focused learning environment for all.

Valuables

Please try to ensure young people do not bring expensive items to school, which they/you find very valuable. We recommend simple basic design water bottles, lunch boxes, school bags etc. They can often be mislaid, or become lost or get broken. If they are special items, this can feel particularly upsetting.

The same is true for toys and other personal items, if they are brought to school. We do NOT recommend such additional items are brought to school, unless there is a particular reason which would be discussed with the child’s teacher.

Thanks for your support with this.

Document and Application Signing Requests

While we appreciate that many families require letters to support applications, visas, international administration and passports, and many other services require payment for this service, our Senior Leadership always do their best, as a matter of goodwill, to meet family needs. However the volume of these requests has increased significantly and are often required as a matter of urgency, so we respectfully ask that any requests are submitted in writing to the headteacher with a minimum of 10 working days notice.