Month: January 2025

Hi Vhairi

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector Visit – 13 January 2025

I am writing to express my thanks for the warm welcome and insightful experience during my visit last week. It is clear that you and your staff are deeply passionate and enthusiastic about your work, and I appreciate the time you all took to share your insights with me. The innovative use of floorbooks in capturing and reflecting children’s learning experiences is commendable. I greatly valued the opportunity to see firsthand the positive impact this approach is having.

It was a joy to see children fully engaged in their learning within the warm and homely nursery environment you and your staff have thoughtfully created. I was particularly impressed by the way children were actively exploring and experimenting with their learning in the outdoor areas. And of course I enjoyed getting help to prepare fruit sticks.

Please extend my sincere gratitude to your staff for sharing their work during my visit.

I wish you and your team continued success.

Yours sincerely

Janie McManus HM Chief Inspector of Education

Good morning everyone,

We were extremely pleased to welcome Alan Russell, Chief Executive and Janie O’Neil, Director of Education, to our Early Learning & Childcare Class in November 2024.

Alan Russell shared this statement in his December’s message –

‘I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several schools this year, meeting colleagues who nurture an incredible sense of community and of course chatting to our young people who never cease to amaze and inspire in equal measure. I’ll share some insights and photographs from a great visit to Williamsburgh Primary School and Nursery in my next update but want to take this opportunity to congratulate head teacher Vhairi Cochrane and her team on their hugely positive inspection report which was a real testament to the whole school community and very well deserved.’

 

Link to video highlights of visit –

https://youtu.be/J45yCew73wI

Newsletter Jan 2025

Please see attached the Williamsburgh Primary and ELCC January Newsletter which details what has been happening within the School and Early Learning and Childcare Centre and what is coming up.

Thank you,

The Williamsburgh ELCC Team.

At Williamsburgh we believe that the thoughtful use of technology by adults can engage children in key life skills such as play, self-expression, and maintain young children’s natural curiosity.  It supports the development of computational thinking which will support current and future life success.

When technology is used appropriately it is a very powerful tool for learning, it increases access to learning opportunities for all children and families and can strengthen relationships among parents, families, early educators, and young children.  Technology is more effective for learning when adults and peers interact or co-view with young children.

Renfrewshire Council, invited Williamsburgh Early Learning and Childcare Class to showcase and share good practice with educational establishments across Renfrewshire.

Below is a link to the video created  by Nicola Fraser to showcase how we at Williamsburgh use seesaw to share the learning across our nursery community, and how we give our children the opportunity to share their experiences and take some ownership of their learning journal, by sharing photographs, mark making and recordings. This has given families a child’s view of a day in their nursery experience, and gives children the right to express their views freely (UNCRC Article 12)

Magic Movie 2 2.mov