Information on the timings for the parents evening calls on the 30th and 31st March will be sent home with all pupils today (Thursday 18th March).
Please look in your child’s bag for the appointment. If you haven’t received your appointment please give the office call and they will sort it out.
Dear Parent/Carer,
Return to School
We are all very excited to be able to welcome our P4-7 pupils back to school fulltime on Monday the 15th March. The upper floors of our building have been very quiet over the last few weeks and it will be a pleasure to have everyone back in one place.
We would like to thank all parents and carers for the support they have given to all of our pupils with home learning since January. You have all been marvellous, but I am sure you are breathing a sigh of relief that home learning is over for the time being.
As our P4-7 pupils start to return the COVID-19 mitigations that were in place before we broke up in December will continue.
Strict social distancing protocols for adults remain in place. We would request that only one adult per family accompanies pupils to and from school. Adults are still required to wear a face-covering when on the school premises, including the playground. Once you have dropped your child off, we ask that you leave the playground and do not stand and chat with other adults.
Pupils can arrive at school from 8.45 a.m. when the doors will be open. They should not arrive any earlier than this. Pupils should go straight to their classroom and wash their hands in preparation for a 9.00 a.m. start.
Class bubbles, increased hygiene measures and staggered breaks will remain in place. Lunch will be 12.00-12.45 or 12.45-1.30. Please inform the office if your child intends to go home for lunch.
There is no requirement for social distancing between Primary School pupils but pupils and adults will continue to stay 2m distance.
The school will continue to provide all resources needed by pupils therefore there is no need for pupils to bring anything from home. As increased ventilation is still in place, it is a good idea for pupils to wear layers as the temperature may fluctuate throughout the day. Learning outdoors will continue to feature so wet weather gear remains a requirement.
P1 pupils and any siblings will continue to leave from 3.00 p.m. This will be followed by bus pupils at 3.10 p.m. and the remainder of pupils at 3.15 p.m.
At the end of the day we would again ask that, if pick up is required, only one adult per family comes to collect. If there are older siblings in the family please ask them to collect their younger brothers and sisters and meet the appropriate adult outwith the playground. If it is necessary to enter the playground, please stand well back from the school building. Please do not stand within 2m of adults from another household.
The outdoor play equipment is out of use as we have no control over who has used it out with school hours. Please do not let pupils or younger siblings use this before or after school for health and safety reasons.
As pupils do not need to distance from each other please let those who are making their own way home leave through the gates first. Family groups that include an adult should maintain a 2m distance from each other as they leave.
Parking and The Car Park
As the numbers increase again on Monday, we would ask that you consider active travel measures. If you do require to drive to school, please park in a considerate manner. Please do not park on the Zig Zags or over our neighbours drives and be vigilant for pedestrians.
As we have had fewer staff in school and the car park has been quieter, we have noticed an increase in cars entering the car park and pedestrians using it as a short cut. Please remember the car park is for school staff and disabled parking only. Parents, including dropping off, picking up for aftercare, should not use the staff car park. Please do not bring pupils through the car park at the start and end of the day. This is a safety issue and we wish to ensure everyone is as safe as possible.
COVID Symptoms
Please note that all COVID protocols remain in place. Please do not send your child to school if the have any of the 3 symptoms of COVID: high temperature, persistent cough or loss of taste or smell. If your child displays any of these symptoms in school, you will be asked to come and collect your child and have them tested. Your child can only return to school on receipt of a negative test result or after 10 days if you choose not to have them tested. We appreciate it can be difficult to differentiate between normal childhood illnesses and COVID but we do have to err on the side of caution especially in light of the new highly transmissible strains in circulation.
As always, our aim is to give our pupils the best experience in school as possible while keeping everyone in our Bishopton Community safe. This has been a difficult few months for us all. If you or your child is struggling with the return to school or any other aspect of dealing with the pandemic, please let us know. We are here to offer any advice or support or to put you in touch with agencies who can help.
Once again, thank you for your continued support as we all work together through this unprecedented situation.
Dear Parent/ Carer,
Unfortunately we are still not able to conduct in person parent appointments. Therefore Parents Evening will take the same format as October 2020; a phone conversation with the class teacher.
These calls will take place on the 30th and 31st March from 3.30 – 6.00 p.m. Class teachers will use the information you provided in October to schedule the calls.
If any of your information has changed please get in touch and let us know.
Appointment information will be sent by the class teacher nearer the time.
In the meantime if there is anything we can do to support you please don’t hesitate to let us know.
P1-3 pupils have settled well on their first day back in school. It has been lovely to have them back in the building and we look forward to welcoming everyone back as soon as we are allowed to do so.
We have received a number of call asking about the start and end of day arrangements therefore I have copied them below as a reminder.
Thank you once again for sticking to the protocols and keeping everyone in our community safe.
Return to School Information
Strict social distancing protocols for adults remain in place. We would request that only one adult per family accompanies our P1-3 pupils. Adults are still required to wear a face-covering when on the school premises, including the playground. Once you have dropped your child off we ask that you leave the playground and do not stand and chat with other adults.
Pupils can arrive at school from 8.45 a.m. when the doors will be open. Pupils should go straight to their classroom and wash their hands in preparation for a 9.00 a.m. start.
Class bubbles, increased hygiene measures and staggered breaks will remain in place. Lunch will be 12.00-12.45 or 12.45-1.30. Please inform the office if your child intends to go home for lunch.
There is no requirement for social distancing between Primary School pupils but pupils and adults will continue to stay 2m distance.
The school will continue to provide all resources needed by pupils therefore there is no need for pupils to bring anything from home. As increased ventilation is still in place, it is a good idea for pupils to wear layers as the temperature may fluctuate throughout the day. Learning outdoors will continue to feature so wet weather gear remains a requirement.
P1 pupils and any siblings will leave from 3.00 p.m. This will be followed by bus pupils at 3.10 p.m and the remainder of P2,3 and P4-7 hub pupils at 3.15 p.m.
At the end of the day we would again ask that, if pick up is required, only one adult per family comes to collect. If it is necessary to enter the playground, please stand well back from the school building. Please do not stand within 2m of adults from another household.
The outdoor play equipment is out of use as we have no control over who has used it out with school hours. Please do not let pupils or younger siblings use this before or after school for health and safety reasons.
As pupils do not need to distance from each other please let those who are making their own way home leave through the gates first. Family groups that include an adult should maintain a 2m distance from each other as they leave.
Dear Parent/Carer,
It has now been confirmed that all P1-3 pupils will return to in school education from Monday 22nd February 2021. Home learning will continue for almost all pupils in P4-7.
The First Minister was quite clear in her announcement that the return to school for P1-3 pupils did not signal a wider easing of restrictions and the ‘stay at home’ message remains very much in place. For employees and employers there is still a legal obligation for working at home, where possible, to facilitate the continued home learning for almost all P4-7 pupils. Therefore there is no expectation that P4-7 pupils, other than those already identified, will return to school at this time.
The return of the P1-3 pupils will be monitored over the next few weeks to assess the impact on community transmission of the new more infectious variants. It is vital, as a school community, we do all in our power to minimise the opportunities for transmission and keep everyone associated with our school as safe as possible. In doing this we have the best chance to see our P4-7 pupils return soon (possible date 15th March).
As our P1-3 pupils start to return the COVID-19 mitigations that were in place before we broke up in December will continue.
Strict social distancing protocols for adults remain in place. We would request that only one adult per family accompanies our P1-3 pupils. Adults are still required to wear a face-covering when on the school premises, including the playground. Once you have dropped your child off we ask that you leave the playground and do not stand and chat with other adults.
Pupils can arrive at school from 8.45 a.m when the doors will be open. Pupils should go straight to their classroom and wash their hands in preparation for a 9.00 a.m. start.
Class bubbles, increased hygiene measures and staggered breaks will remain in place. Lunch will be 12.00-12.45 or 12.45-1.30. Please inform the office if your child intends to go home for lunch.
There is no requirement for social distancing between Primary School pupils but pupils and adults will continue to stay 2m distance.
The school will continue to provide all resources needed by pupils therefore there is no need for pupils to bring anything from home. As increased ventilation is still in place, it is a good idea for pupils to wear layers as the temperature may fluctuate throughout the day. Learning outdoors will continue to feature so wet weather gear remains a requirement.
P1 pupils and any siblings will leave from 3.00 p.m. This will be followed by bus pupils at 3.10 p.m and the remainder of P2,3 and P4-7 hub pupils at 3.15 p.m.
At the end of the day we would again ask that, if pick up is required, only one adult per family comes to collect. If it is necessary to enter the playground, please stand well back from the school building. Please do not stand within 2m of adults from another household. The outdoor play equipment is out of use as we have no control over who has used it out with school hours. Please do not let pupils or younger siblings use this before or after school for health and safety reasons.
As pupils do not need to distance from each other please let those who are making their own way home leave through the gates first. Family groups that include an adult should maintain a 2m distance from each other as they leave.
By sticking to the protocols we have the best chance of keeping everyone within our community safe and transmission rates low. This also gives us the best chance of welcoming our P4-7 pupils back at the earliest opportunity.
Once again, thank you for your continued support during this very difficult period. If you have any questions or require any additional supports please do not hesitate to get in touch.
The May in-service day has been moved from Tuesday 4 May to Thursday 6 May. This is to cover election day when some of our schools are used as polling stations. Parents have been sent a letter explaining the date change.
You can read that and check the school holidays dates on the council’s website.
Please remember that this weekend is the February holiday weekend. We hope that you all have a great time and enjoy some time away from your screen.
Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th are holidays and Wednesday 10th is a staff in-service day.
There will be no work posted on Teams for these 3 days.
Please note that the school is closed to hub pupils on these days. Parents of pupils who attend the hub will need to make alternative arrangements for these days.
All school holiday dates and in-service days can be found here.
We look forward to seeing you online or in the hub on Thursday 11th February. In the meantime take care and stay safe.
Please note that next weekend is the February holiday weekend.
Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th are holidays and Wednesday 10th is a staff in-service day.
There will be no work posted on Teams for these 3 days.
Please note that the school is closed to hub pupils on these days. Parents of pupils who attend the hub will need to make alternative arrangements for these days.
All school holiday dates and in-service days can be found here.
Please see the attached letter explaining the remote learning in Bishopton Primary.
Please see attached information regarding Renfrewshire Advice Works Support Services.
If you feel this might be of use to you in any way please contact Mrs McNaught or the relevant DHT.
Please remember, if you are struggling in any way throughout the current lockdown, we are here to point you in the direction of someone who can help. Don’t hesitate to give us as call.
Hi there,
Thanks to everyone for their patience whilst the IT issues were being resolved this week. Things are running more smoothly for the teachers and I hope this is reflected for you at home also.
Some parents have expressed difficulties with opening Word Documents and PowerPoints. The attached letter includes information on how to find the download link for these within Glow.
Please enjoy a well earned rest at the weekend and we look forward to ‘seeing’ everyone again next week.
Hello everyone. We are hoping that the majority of our Teams issues have now been resolved. Hopefully things should start to settle down within Teams and we should be able to get into a routine. If you are still experiencing any issues please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Also we are pleased to welcome Mr McAvoy back today. Therefore from today any parent from P3 or P4 should contact Mr McAvoy if they have any concerns.
DHT numbers are:
Mr Collins – P1&2 – 07541 049686
Mr McAvoy – P3&4 – 07541 063783
Mrs Davidson – P5-7- 07541 063788
Hello everyone. First of all thank you all for your patience during the first week of home learning.
As you will be aware, there have been significant issues with Microsoft Teams over the last week that have affected users, including teachers. This has been very disappointing as all of our dedicated staff in Bishopton had been working tirelessly over the previous days to ensue we were ready to go.
The issues have manifested themselves in different ways intermittently throughout the week. Some users have experienced difficulty with Teams meetings and the ability to join a meeting. Others have experienced issues with uploading and downloading documents. One of our major difficulties has been that teachers have not been able to access assignments on their laptops so we ask that you bear with us while this is sorted out. We have been working around this by posting on the General Channel within the Class Team or via the class blog.
We are also aware that many pupils had issues with opening the recorded PowerPoints or Word Documents. We have been trying to work around this by creating video files and pdfs. Please remember, if you do not have the Microsoft apps on your device they can be accessed free through Glow and downloaded onto your device. You have 5 free downloads on PCs or Laptops and 10 for Mobile devices and Tablets. Just login with your Glow username and password once the app has been downloaded.
If you are having issues with Glow and IT please contact the school and we will do what we can to support you to resolve your issues.
We are all hoping that week 2 is a bit smoother. We are all committed to providing the best home learning experience possible. Please don’t stress or panic if things do not go to plan. Let us know and we will do all we can to address the issues and provide you with the appropriate support.
Dear Parent/Carer,
Further to the announcements made today, in regards to the rules around minimising interactions to the bare essentials to remove as many opportunities as possible for the virus to spread, I would once again like to remind you of the criteria for pupils attending a place in the hub.
In order for a child to attend the hub a child must be identified as vulnerable or both parents (or single parent) must be key workers, who cannot work from home and have no alternative childcare.
On any days when a parent is working from home or alternative childcare is available your child cannot attend the hub. If you were working from home during the last lockdown then the assumption is that you will be doing so again.
By keeping the number of children taking up hub places in school to the absolute minimum necessary during this strict lockdown, we have the best chance to reduce the interactions that allow the virus to spread and ultimately to keep our whole community safe.
Therefore, once again, we ask that you support us in our efforts by following the guidance and attending the hub only if and when absolutely necessary.
Good morning everyone. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that Teams is working better today.
Please remember teachers will have also posted tasks that can be completed away from the computer. If you are having technical issues you can do one of those activities and come back to the computer later.
Parents- Class teachers are busy during the day managing their Teams. If you have any issues please call the SMT on the numbers provided and we will get back to you. You can also email the enquiries email address marking your email for the attention of the relevant member of SMT.
Please remember we are here to help and support you in any way possible. Do not hesitate to get in touch if you are having any difficulties.
Good luck everyone. I know, as always, you will do a fantastic job today.
Update
*We have been informed this is a UK wide issue with Teams this morning. Microsoft are working on it. Fingers crossed for a smoother start tomorrow. *
Good morning. I am sorry that some people are experiencing connectivity issues this morning. As many will remember this happened on the first day of home learning during the last lockdown.
Whilst it is frustrating, we ask that you are patient. It should become easier as they day goes on and the initial rush to download tasks and assignments subsides.
Please keep trying throughout the day. Remember not all tasks require you to be online. Choose another task and work on that while you are waiting.
If you feel like braving the weather you might even choose to go for a walk and look for our outdoor learning cards posted around the village.
Please don’t stress if you can’t get on straight away we do understand that the technology does not always work as we would like it to.
Happy new year to all in our school community and welcome back after an extended winter break. Unfortunately, once again, this is not the start to a new term that any of us were hoping for.
As you will be aware COVID 19 cases are not diminishing and we are all under a strict new lockdown. As a result of this school buildings are closed to the vast majority of pupils and staff in order to comply with the requirements to minimise person to person interaction, to significantly reduce the number of households mixing and consequently to reduce community transmission.
The school will remain open for key worker’s children but only if their job function cannot be carried out from home and there is no alternative childcare option available. If an adult is at home during the school day (including working from home) the expectation is that pupils will remain at home. A very small number of identified vulnerable children will also attend. We hope that in sticking with this and keeping our numbers as low as possible all of our children will be able to return to the school building in shortest time possible.
For those of you who have experienced the previous lockdown, you will know that we will be using Microsoft Teams through Glow to deliver our remote learning. New pupils will have been introduced to these platforms by their class teacher. All pupils have access to Glow and the Teams app can be downloaded to a variety of devices. Previous Blog posts detail how to do this but if you have any problems please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we will support you to get your child logged in to Glow and Teams.
Each stage(P1-7) will share their outline for home learning with you. Some have already done this and others will over the next day or so. As a school we are trying to balance the current guidance on home learning with the feedback we received from parents during the last lockdown.
Teachers will provide an offering that is as close to a school day as possible. This means a timetable will be issued and home learning activities provided in line with the timetable. This will include a mixture of “live’ teacher interactions though Team Meetings, teacher recorded lessons to view online, links to other online recorded lesson and opportunities for independent learning tasks.
Previous feedback from parents indicated that there was a flexibility required in the timing of tasks due to the sharing of devices between siblings and availability of adult supervision within the home. As a result we will structure the majority of tasks so that they can be completed at a time that is suitable to each family circumstances. Teachers will give advance warning of ‘live’ sessions. They will work with colleagues to avoid clashes with siblings as much as possible.
We understand how difficult this is for families and we are here to support you as much as possible. If you have any issues with connectivity, access to IT or the home learning please get in touch with us. I (Mrs McNaught) will be in school each day and can be contacted on the school number. Mr Collins is currently supporting P1-3, as he will be mostly working from home he can be contacted on 07541 049686 during normal office hours. Similarly Mrs Davidson is supporting P4-7 and can be contacted on 07541 063788. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require any form of help or support.
Pupils who are in school will follow the same programme that has been provided for those at home. They will have access to the class Team in school and will complete the tasks provided by their own class teacher. Groups of pupils in school will be supported by a teacher to access and complete the learning provided by the class teacher.
Attendance- School attendance will continue to be recorded on a daily basis. Therefore it is important that your child checks in with the teacher on the check in post each morning. If your child is ill and is unable to participate in school work then we ask that you follow the normal procedures and call the school office before 9.30 to let us know.
I’m sure it will take us all a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of this so please be patient while we get everything up and running. This is not an ideal situation for any of us and we must all work together to ensure the best outcomes for the young people that we all care deeply about.
Be assured we are all working flat out to give your child the best home learning experience possible and we are here to support you too as you grapple with this. If you have any concerns at all please get in touch using the numbers provided.
Please continue to check the school blog and social media channels as we will provide updates on a regular basis.
Dear Parents/Carers,
The school office is receiving a high volume of calls this morning as there seems to be some confusion over the hub places in school. Some people are under the impression that pupils can attend school should their parent wish them to. This is not the case.
The overarching policy aim of these exceptional school closures, is to reduce the number of children, young people and adults from different households interacting in- person within communities (including schools) as far as possible, in order to prevent COVID-related harms. If it is possible for children to be cared for safely and have their learning supported sufficiently well at home, that approach should be preferred.
To be clear, in order for a child to attend the hub a child must be identified as vulnerable or both parents (or single parent) must be key workers who cannot work from home and have no alternative childcare. If there are any days when a parent is working from home or alternative childcare is available the child should not attend the hub.
When in the hub, classes will be staffed on a rota system. Pupils attending will be supported by a teacher but will access the same learning as their classmates and provided by their own class teacher.
As stated above, the aim is to minimise the impact of the spread of COVID-19 amongst our school and community and to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible.
Therefore we ask that you support us in our efforts by following the guidance and attending the hub only if and when absolutely necessary.
As, in line government expectations, most staff from school will be working from home, the following mobile numbers can be used during school hours to contact the relevant DHT.
During Mr McAvoy’s absence Mr Collins will cover P1-3 and Mrs Davidson will cover P4-7.
Mr Collins can be contacted on 07541 049686
Mrs Davidson can be contacted on 07541 063788
Mr Collins and Mrs Davidson will also use these numbers to make outgoing calls when they are working from home. It might be worthwhile to take note of these numbers so that you recognise it as a school call should we need to make contact with you.
Mrs McNaught will be in school everyday and can be contacted on the usual number -0300 300 0147
We hope that this is helpful to you. Please remember if you have any concerns do not hesitate to get in touch. We are here to assist you in any way possible.
Please note the arrangements for those pupils attending the Bishopton Primary Hub starting Thursday 7th January.
Children should attend during normal school hours 9.00-3.15. Staff will be available in the playground tomorrow morning to direct pupils to the correct entrance. Please note this may not be the entrance that they would normally use. Pupils attending the hub will be in a new bubble. Hubs will be staffed on a rota basis and pupils will not necessarily have their current class teacher. Staggered breaks and lunches will follow the same pattern as Term 1 and 2. A free school lunch will be available for those pupils who are entitled.
Pupils will be able to bring their own devices and connect to the temporary network if they would rather use their own.
The purpose of school closures is to minimise the opportunity for community transmission, therefor only the staff directly involved in the hub will be in school on any one day. As per the government guidelines all other staff will work from home supporting the home learning.
In order to keep everyone in the community safe please keep in mind the following government guidance when considering the days your child should attend.
If you have any questions regarding the hub please call the school and we will be happy to respond.
As always our primary goal is to keep all in our community safe and healthy during these worrying times.
A reminder that the school will be open for vulnerable pupils and pupils of keyworkers only from Thursday the 7th January. The school is closed to all other pupils from Wednesday the 6th January. Home learning will commence on Monday 11th January.
To qualify for a place in school, both parents must be keyworkers, or a single parent keyworker, and have no other childcare options.
Keyworkers are defined as:
In light of the announcement on Monday the 4th January, if you have applied for a place but no longer require it due to the fact you are now working from home, please phone the school on Wednesday 6th January to let us know.
Dear Parents/ Carers,
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a good new year and to say how disappointed we all are not to be welcoming everyone back to school on Wednesday. As always we support any decision that keeps all those in our school community as safe and well as possible.
Following today’s announcement the school is making plans to support remote learning during January. Home learning will be through the MS Teams platform and you child will need to log in with their Glow login. If they have forgotten this over the holidays you can fill in the form on the school website for it to be reset.
If both parents are keyworkers, or if you are a single parent keyworker, and you have no other childcare options, you can apply for a hub place by filling in the form here. Applications should be made by 5p.m on Tuesday the 5th January.
We will keep you updated with more information as it becomes available and look forward to seeing everyone when it is safe to do so. Please take care. Information on how to contact the senior management team during this latest lockdown will follow in the next few days.
Following the Scottish Government announcement regarding the changes to the reopening of schools in January 2021, please follow the link below for more information.
Please note no pupils will attend school on Wednesday the 6th January. If you are a key worker and wish to apply for childcare/in-school learning for the period of the 7th – 15th January you should do so by clicking on the link in the Renfrewshire website.
All other pupils will start home learning on the 11th January. In-school learning for all will not resume until at least the 18th January. We will be in touch on the 7th and 8th with more information regarding this.
We will keep you updated with more information as it becomes available.
Dear Parents/Carers,
On behalf of all staff at Bishopton Primary I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
How we celebrate this year will be very different from other years but I sincerely hope that you are able to take some time to relax and recharge over the next few weeks.
This has been a very strange time for us all but as a school we have really appreciated your support and encouragement throughout this very difficult time.
Our pupils have been amazing and their kindness and generosity to each other and the community has been outstanding.
We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Wednesday 6th January.
Once again thank you, take care and stay safe.
The staff- Bishopton Primary
Dear Parents,
Just a reminder that parents should not be communicating with class teachers through their child’s Glow email address or through the class Team. Glow is solely for pupil and staff use.
Communication should be directly from the parent’s own email address and should, in the main, be directed through the bishoptonenquiries@renfrewshire.gov.uk email address. If a teacher has agreed to communication from a parent through their Glow email address please be mindful of the fact that are only obliged to respond during working hours, outwith teaching time.
If you have an urgent enquiry during the school day you can call the office and speak to the relevant depute who will be happy to follow up with the class teacher.
Thank you for your support.
