Heathery Knowe Head Teacher's Blog

The pupils returned after the long weekend full of enthusiasm and looking forward to the week ahead. Pupils are engaged in active learning across the curriculum as we blend together collaborative and individual learning activities. For example, in Primary One, pupils are taking a multi sensory approach to spelling and can be seen practising letter formation in sand trays and on whiteboards. In Room 7, pupils are clapping and tapping sounds to practise working out how many syllables are in words. In Room 8, learning to write science reports came to life as the pupils made a lucky liquid potion in jars.

Inservice Training for Staff

We have now finalised the agenda for all inservice days based on our school improvement plan.

In November, Rick Walsh (Educational Psychologist) will be leading a course on classroom strategies for supporting pupils with additional support needs including Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

In February, Kathleen Faloon (Literacy Leader) will work with the teachers on developing active approaches to teaching reading. Over the next session there will be changes to the approaches we use to teach strategies for reading. We will have information sessions for parents over the year so that learning at home reflects learning approaches in school.

In May, Nurture Network UK will lead a full day course on becoming a nationally accredited nurturing school. This approach encompasses our promoting positive behaviour, anti bullying strategies and playground approaches. It will take two years to achieve the national award and we are looking forward to the journey ahead.

Anti Bullying 

The first meeting of the anti bullying steering group will take place following the October holiday week and the first task of this group will be to collect more detailed views of parents, pupils and staff in relation to this priority.

We will participate in Anti Bullying Week 2018 (12-16th November) with a wide range of activities in school. Younger pupils will use the theme ‘choose kindness’ and older pupils will use the theme ‘choose respect’. The newly appointed Junior Leadership Team will take an active role in planning activities for pupils.

On the 14th November, ‘Respect Me’ will lead a parent session to which all families are invited. This workshop is designed to increase parent and carer awareness of bullying behaviour and to look at the different ways they can respond if their child is being bullied, or is involved in the bullying of others. This workshop also offers guidance on how schools and parents can work together to create inclusive environments and provide effective support for children and young people. The event is free but numbers are limited so we are initially offering two tickets per family. Tickets can be requested using the link below:

https://goo.gl/forms/WFUxiaTdKGGVoew72

Tracking and Monitoring 

Next week,  we will review the progress of our pupils and will identify pupils who need additional support to achieve. We explore a wide range of barriers to learning including low attendance, specific learning difficulties and  difficulty settling to learn in class. Individual plans are then put in place within the class and school to ensure that all pupils get the support they need to achieve. Mrs Byrne (Specialist Support Teacher), Mr Holmes (Behaviour Support Teacher), Rick Walsh (Educational Psychologist) and Anne Marie Graham (Senior Manager Pupil Support) make up the wider team that support our school to meet the needs of learners.

Football Festival 

Our football team took part in their first festival this week. I was delighted to hear that the pupils represented the school well, showed good team spirit and enjoyed the event. Thank you to Miss Inglis for leading our football team.

House Captains 

Mrs McGee and Mr Scott are putting the finishing touches to our House System and will send home an information letter next week. House Captains will be elected on Friday and we look forward to extending the pupil leadership in the school. House Captains will have responsibility for organising experiences for pupils such as inter house competitions, community and social events. I look forward to working alongside the house captains as we work together to promote positive relationships and behaviour across the school.

Nurture Groups 

Nurture groups provide an opportunity for pupils who need additional support with social skills and settling to learn to practise these within a small group. Our nurture groups will start after the October break using the room that was previously the meeting room on the first floor. During the sessions, pupils will have an opportunity to play team games, talk about feelings and behaviour, listen to stories and share a snack. The snack time provides an excellent opportunity for developing social behaviours such as taking responsibility for setting the table for others, taking turns and engaging in conversation. Nurture group time will be for identified pupils who would benefit from developing skills in these areas. If you are interested in reading more about Nurture Groups then please follow the link below:

https://www.nurtureuk.org/introducing-nurture/what-nurture-group-0

Whats on next week?

• Tracking and monitoring meetings with Graeme Scott (Rooms 1-5) and Kirsty Duff (Rooms 6-10)
• On Wednesday, Jacqueline Wallace (Quality Link Officer) will be in school to support us to analyse the data about pupil progress and finalise the improvement plan
• On Thursday evening, the Senior Leadership Team will attend training at Headquarters about assessing ‘How good is our school?’. We will both be leaving school just after the pupils finish and will pick up any messages on Friday morning.
• We have a teaching student in nursery for the next two weeks.
• House captains will be elected on Friday.

Thank you for your continued support.

Kirsty Duff

 

Our families and staff have set off to enjoy the long weekend and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their hard work as we have settled into a new session at Heathery Knowe PS. Despite the weather, I hope everyone has a chance to relax before we return to school on Tuesday.

School Improvement 

Our school improvement plan for session 2018/2019 is nearly ready to share. It is now being reviewed by our Quality Link Officer, Jacqueline Wallace, and following a meeting to finalise it on the 3rd October it will be published on the school website. In response to the priorities of the school, we have tweaked it to ensure that we can pay immediate attention to the health and wellbeing needs of our pupils (reviewing anti-bullying procedures, reviewing playground procedures and promoting positive relationships and behaviour). Thank you to all parents who have contacted me over the past few weeks to share concerns  or comments as this has helped shape the priorities of the school community and directly fed into the formal school improvement planning document.

As a teaching staff,  we have decided to continue with a literacy focus on reading and spelling. A lot of work was started on this last year and teachers are taking another year to ensure that the development of active approaches to reading and spelling are consolidated before we turn our attention to improving attainment in writing next session. This will secure the improved attainment in reading of all learners across the school.

Open Afternoon

On Wednesday we hosted our first open afternoon of the session. It was lovely to be able to welcome so many people into our school to celebrate their child’s learning and provide an informal opportunity for you to meet the staff working in the school.  We have already received feedback on what is working well and how we can improve for the next open afternoon. If you have not completed the survey yet, it can be accessed using the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd33Wx5dIk4qacZ54Qf2OrwQ_HTEv51cHdkSROG0xr-b-xM9g/viewform

Parent Consultations

The next event on our family engagement calendar is parent contact evenings which will be held on the 9th and 10th October. This is an opportunity to meet individually with your child’s class teacher to discuss their progress and share any concerns. A letter will be issued on Tuesday to parents who are unable to request an appointment using the online link. The link to our parent appointment request form is:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdA11OiH6x4bri2D6m8sie_nPRYJk_Zr20Fd8uo8ZzevOAmig/viewform

Pupil Leadership 

Primary 7 pupils in Room 10 have been very busy preparing for the Junior Leadership Team election which takes place on Tuesday 25th September. I am delighted that nine pupils are standing for election and it shows the confidence our young people have and their commitment to get involved in school improvement. We are already very proud of them for preparing their presentations and wish them all good luck for Tuesday. Primary 7 pupils who are not standing for election have responsibilities as polling clerks and counters. This is a fabulous opportunity for our  pupils to experience democracy in action.

 

Learning Visits 

Recently I have had the opportunity to visit Rooms 6, 7 and 8 to carry out formal learning visits. This is part of our quality assurance calendar and the agreed focus is pupil engagement in literacy. Following the visit, I meet with the class teacher and we have an opportunity to discuss pupil progress, strengths in the classroom and agree the next steps for learners. I have really enjoyed visiting the classes and have observed high quality learning and teaching and positive relationships between staff and pupils. I am looking forward to visiting Rooms 9 and 10 next week. Mr Scott  is visiting Rooms 1-5 during this round of visits.

Looking forward to Christmas 

This year we have decided to present a whole school show on the 11th and 12th December. Miss Harris and Mrs Spence have taken on the role of co-ordinating it and are already beginning to plan ahead to ensure this is a spectacular event. This is a fantastic opportunity to get together as a whole school community and I look forward to seeing it all come together over the next few months.

Christmas Party dates are:

13th December – Primary 6
14th December – Primary 5
17th December – Primary 4
18th December – Primary 3
19th December – Primary 2
20th December – Primary 1

Primary 7 will decide whether to have a Christmas party or alternative treat through a class vote. We will let you know the date once it has been agreed.

What’s happening next week?

• Junior Leadership Elections will be held on Tuesday 25th September
• The school football team will travel to Hamilton for the first football festival on Wednesday … Good luck everyone!
• Learning visits will continue across the school
• Staggered break times start with P1-4 having a break from 10.30-10.45 and P5-7 having a break from 10.45-11.00

Thank you for your continued support

Kirsty Duff

We have continued with another fun filled week at Heathery Knowe PS and many of our clubs and activities are getting underway. Miss Houldsworth will lead netball this year and the pupils have already participated in the first session. Miss Inglis starts the football club next week and I know the pupils are really excited about trying for a place in the school team. In the next week or two we will have a reading club, computer club and choir for senior pupils. We will then turn our attention to our younger pupils to ensure pupils in Primary 1-4 have opportunities to participate in extra curricular activities too. I would warmly invite any parents / carers to let us know if they would be interested in leading or supporting a lunch time or after school club.

Communication with Parents 

The @Knoweschool twitter feed is used to share information about Heathery Knowe PS and I am delighted that there are 124 followers already. During the open afternoon and parent consultation sessions we will be seeking feedback on our use of twitter and permission to include photographs of pupils on the accounts. Three class teachers are piloting a class twitter account (Rooms 1, 2 and 6) where they are sharing information about learning and photographs of work at the moment but no pictures of pupils.

Bikeability 

A huge thank you to parents / carers for supporting pupils to prepare for Bikeability. I know that bringing a bike to school can add to an already tight schedule in the morning and I am very impressed that our Primary 5 pupils and families seem to achieve it with such ease. Mr Loveday worked tirelessly to check the bikes and begin the teaching sessions and overall he was impressed with the responsible attitude shown by pupils.

Junior Leadership Team 

Next week, I will be inviting Primary 7 pupils to express their interest in being part of the Junior Leadership Team. All Primary 7 pupils are welcome to stand for election. Pupils in Primary 6 and 7  will each have one vote to elect a team of four Primary 7 pupils to work together with the Senior Leadership Team to improve the school. 

The Junior Leadership Team will focus on three particular areas of the school:

• Teaching and Learning
• Improving the school environment
• Pupil wellbeing

The team will meet with me regularly to discuss new projects and to give feedback from their peers on the running of the school. 

‘The Wee Blether’

This week I started meeting with small groups of pupils from Room 10 to discuss school life, areas for improvement and their ideas to make Primary 7 a fabulous year. Pupils were keen to come and tell me what they thought of our school (although I am sure the box of biscuits helped). I was impressed with the honesty, responsibility and insight that our young people have on life in the classroom and wider school. Next week I will meet with all of the remaining Primary 7 pupils in small groups and then produce a feedback sheet which will also be shared with parents / carers of Room 10 pupils.

Over the course of the year I plan to have ‘a wee blether’ each week with groups of pupils across the school.

Co-operation Cup 

On Friday, a new trophy arrived in school ready for the launch of the Co-operation Cup. Every Friday the Co-operation Cup will be awarded to the class who have the most golden tokens. Golden tokens will be awarded when staff notice our school values in action. When we notice our young people going the extra mile to demonstrate respect, responsibility, honesty and friendship a token will be awarded for the class jar.  I look forward  to seeing which class is awarded the Co-operation Cup for the very first time.

Handball

Last Monday and Tuesday the pupils took part in Handball sessions with EK82 Handball Club. It was lovely to see our pupils actively engaged in sport and demonstrating team work and friendship.

Electives

Electives are now underway and pupils are able to personalise their learning experience by choosing an elective to join. As I walk round the school on a Wednesday afternoon I can see pupils engaged in a wide range of activities including cookery, badminton, art and jogging.

What’s on next week?

• I will continue to meet with Primary 7 pupils to continue ‘the wee blether’ about improving school and classroom experiences.
• Our Specialist Support Teacher, Mrs Byrne, will start on Monday. This week she will meet class teachers and begin to plan for pupils.
• Mr Scott and I will visit classes as part of our self evaluation process.
• On Wednesday afternoon at 2.20pm, parents / carers are welcome to visit school to see the classroom area and meet the teacher.
• Mrs French returns to school for a ‘Keeping In Touch’ day on Thursday and we look forward to welcoming her back to work in November.

Thank you for your continued support

Kirsty Duff

The pupils and staff at Heathery Knowe PS will be enjoying a well earned rest this weekend after a very busy week. The disco was the first social event of the year for pupils and it was a lovely opportunity for me to speak with the children in a less formal setting … I have even been taught the ‘Baby Shark’ dance which was undoubtedly the highlight of my week.

The classes all have well established learning routines in place and strong relationships are developing between teachers and their new pupils. Before the September weekend Mr Scott and I will have visited all classes with a focus on pupil engagement in literacy. We are really looking forward to these visits and spending a longer period of time in classes and with pupils.

Raising attainment of all learners

Mrs Elaine Byrne is our Specialist Support Teacher and will be based in Heathery Knowe PS on a Monday all day and a Thursday morning. If your child was previously supported by Mrs Dey then Mrs Byrne will start  to work with them again next week. Specialist Support Teachers work alongside class teachers to provide additional support and guidance in meeting the needs of all learners. Mrs Byrne will be supporting our school to develop play based learning and assess/ put in place effective interventions for pupils with specific needs.

We are really looking forward to welcoming Mrs Byrne to our team!

Superstars and Champions

This week we were able to celebrate the success of our first Champions and Superstar of the session. These certificates are related to our overall school behaviour policy. Well done to all pupils who received awards this week.

Toy Appeal 

We are continuing to develop play based learning  and establish a nurture room at Heathery Knowe PS. If you have any dressing up clothes, games, toys, puppets, lego, cushions etc that your child no longer uses then we would be delighted if you could donate them to us so that we can use them in school to support our learners.

Sports

We are working closely with Active Schools to ensure that we promote sport across the school. All pupils will have an opportunity to try Handball next week in partnership with EK 82 Handball. We have entered teams to Sports Hall Athletics, Netball, Football and the Handball Festival.

Pupil Leadership

We are training sixteen Primary 6 pupils as sports leaders and they will be ambassadors across the school community. They will be working to develop football opportunities for Primary 3 and 4 pupils over lunch breaks.  Next term we will be focusing on sport opportunities for our Primary 1-3 pupils.

Mr Scott is leading the review of our lunch hall procedures to ensure that lunch time is as calm as possible. The lunch hall is small for the number of diners we welcome each day but with the help of some Primary 7 lunch hall leaders there are plans in place to try and ensure that it is an enjoyable experience for all.

What’s on next week?

• I will be meeting with Police Scotland to begin to discuss partnership approaches and how they can support the development of our anti-bullying procedures through pupil education and promoting a culture of respect for all.
• I will attend an anti-bullying workshop at South Park Primary School to see how they are tackling the issue of bullying and share ideas with the leadership team at South Park.
• Our staff are meeting together to begin to review how we promote positive relationships and behaviour in school and respond to incidences of aggression. This is a series of four meetings to ensure that we are working together to promote settled behaviour at all times.
• Mr Loveday and Miss Harris will attend a full day Masterclass on learning and teaching and then will support our teachers to develop new approaches to teaching and learning.
• Miss Deans and Miss Harris will attend a full day course on developing Active Literacy approaches at Primary 2 and 3. We are looking forward to the new ideas they bring back to Heathery Knowe PS

Thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

 

It has been another very busy week in Heathery Knowe Primary School. I would like to take this opportunity to thank pupils and parents for making me feel so welcome in my new post as Headteacher. I am beginning to put faces to names and match parents to pupils in the playground. I have had the opportunity to show many visitors around the school in the last few weeks and we are always complimented on the welcoming school ethos and well mannered pupils.

Junior Road Safety Officers  (JRSO)

Our pupils have opportunities to lead different projects and this week the new Junior Road Safety Officers (JRSO) have been elected. Last year’s JRSO representatives worked with Mrs McGee to lead an assembly and I am delighted to be able to let you know that Kayden, Hannah and Mia are our new Junior Road Safety Officers. I am sure they will do a fantastic job in educating all pupils on road safety and contributing to our travel plan.

A special thank you to our retiring JRSO representatives from last year.  Cameron and Tyler have passed over the baton and now look forward to other leadership opportunities in school.

House System

We are currently reviewing our house system in school to ensure that it supports our overall behaviour policy and  provides opportunities for pupil voice. Mrs McGee is working with Primary 7 pupils to nominate house captains and review the system. We will have another update shortly.

Football 

The football league is now up and running for P5-7 pupils. We are now developing a football skills area for our P3/4 pupils to engage them in sport during break and lunch. Mrs Robertson has worked very hard to get the league running and I am sure the pupils are looking forward to participating in it over the school year.

Electives 

Electives run on a Wednesday afternoon and it is an opportunity for pupils to personalise their learning by choosing an elective of interest to them.  It provides opportunities to work with pupils and teachers from other classes. Our pupils have all made their selection and Mrs McGee is currently working behind the scenes so that it starts smoothly this week. Electives are linked to our promoting positive behaviour system so if your child loses some of their elective time they will be provided with a meaningful alternative learning activity until they are ready to join the group.

School Improvement 

The Scottish Government launched the School Information Dashboard this week.  This provides a range of core data about all schools in Scotland is provides information about attendance, engagement and achievement for each school. The link to the dashboard is below. Once you have opened up the link there will be an introduction on the screen and the middle tab ‘Primary Dashboard’ will then allow you to choose South Lanarkshire Council and Heathery Knowe PS to see our data.

The link to the dashboard is:

https://public.tableau.com/profile/sg.eas.learninganalysis#!/vizhome/SchoolInformationDashboard-Primary/Introduction

Treat Me Well 

I attended the launch of ‘Treat Me Well’ anti bullying strategy along with all South Lanarkshire Council headteachers on Friday 31st August. Using the school value of ‘respect‘ we will review Heathery Knowe’s anti bullying procedures. The theme of the launch was focused on education to prevent bullying, accurate recording of incidences of bullying and clear procedures in place to address any reported bullying incidents and developing this at school level is our priority this term.

What’s on this week?

• We would like to welcome Elizabeth Naismith the school as a temporary supply teacher.
• The teachers will be working with colleagues from across Calderglen Learning Community. NHS Scotland will lead a professional learning session on children’s resilience and how we can support pupils in school.
•  We start a block of rights based education. Pupils will be learning about their rights as children and older pupils will also be considering how this affects children across the world.
• The PTC have organised a fundraising disco for all pupils on Thursday night.

Thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

 

 

Our week

We have finished our first full week of the new session and I imagine there are some tired pupils (and teachers) this weekend. Thank you for your continued support with the high standard of school uniform across the school. 

 

There was plenty of rain this week and I would like to take this opportunity to let you know our procedures for rainy days:

• If it is raining before the school day starts then the pupils can line up inside the cafeteria at 8.50 and go along to class from there.
• If it is a wet interval or lunch then pupils remain in class and are monitored by our Primary 7 pupils. We are continuing to work with our Primary 7 monitors to support them in taking on this leadership role in school.

Skills Force 

Primary 7 started working with Skills Force this week as part of the Prince William award. This is a great opportunity for pupils to develop personal skills and confidence as they prepare to move on to secondary education. We receive a weekly report from the Skills Force leader and I was delighted to read that our pupils “showed great listening skills and respect for one another”. This is something that we will continue to foster within our Primary 7 group across the school year.

Youth Music Initiative 

Primary 5 pupils started working with Ms Dolan this week as part of the Youth Music Initiative. The pupils work in two smaller groups and it was impressive to see the level of concentration and effort that our pupils were showing when  working together on musical activities.

Photographs 

We are working hard to find alternative ways of sharing our learning with families which comply with the GDPR legislation.  Mrs McGee is trying to set up a locked photo gallery on the website for each class. We will hopefully be able to demonstrate how this could work at the PTC meeting on Tuesday.

 

The next Parent Teacher Council meeting is on Tuesday evening. I will provide a Headteacher report to the PTC which will be available to all parents on the website and school app.

Included in the headteacher report will be:

• Communication with parents update
• Parking and congestion update
• Consultation on the dismissal of pupils to avoid the bottleneck at the one side of the school at home time
• Consultation on playground zones and activities to promote settled and safe behaviour

All parents are welcome to come along to Parent Council Meetings.

What’s on next week?

• Jacqueline Wallace (Quality Link Officer) will visit the school and support us in finalising our school improvement plan for this session.
• Our new Educational Psychologist, Rick Walsh, will visit the school and we will begin to plan for the year ahead.
• On Friday the school will be represented at the launch of ‘Treat me well’ and ‘Respect Me’ anti- bullying strategy for South Lanarkshire Council. Following this we will be reviewing our school based procedures and anti-bulling education for pupils as an immediate priority.
• We will have a planned fire drill this week to ensure that everyone knows the procedure and assembly points across the school. Primary One will be prepared in advance for this. If your child has individual needs and will find this change to routine unsettling, please let us know and we can reassure them during the process.

Thank you for your continued support. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with the school if you have any queries or concerns.

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

Welcome

We have enjoyed a very busy start to the year at Heathery Knowe PS and I would like to extend a warm welcome to the families of our  42 new Primary 1 pupils. Each class is settling into their routines and getting to know one another.  Miss Harris and Miss Meek have joined our teaching team. Miss Harris is teaching Room 5. Miss Meek is an additional teacher to the school funded through the Pupil Equity Fund and will be offering additional targeted support for pupils in the areas of literacy and health and wellbeing.

School Improvement 

We have four main priorities for improvement which were identified last session. These are:

• To raise attainment in writing for all learners
• To improve teaching and learning using responsive teaching approaches
• To raise attainment in all areas of the curriculum by developing approaches to tracking and monitoring the progress of learners.
• To improve health and wellbeing of learners through universal and targeted approaches (including nurture, anti bullying policy, supporting transitions, developing the play strategy).

We are in the process of engaging in further consultation with parents and colleagues to identify strengths and areas for improvement. You can contribute to this by completing the survey using the following link:  https://goo.gl/forms/Oyrntq2w1sePzEHK2

Communication with Parents

A letter will be issued to all parents using pupil post on Monday outlining the ways we are sharing information with parents. We are using twitter, our app, the website and this blog to share information.

You may have spoken with me in the playground before or after school this week. I will be in the playground each morning and afternoon. Please come and say hello and if we need a longer appointment then we can arrange to set one up for a suitable time. If I am out of school then Mr Scott or Mrs McGee will be available to take a message.

What’s on next week?

I am meeting a Senior Manager Pupil Support to take forward the development of nurturing approaches in school. We are planning to develop a nurturing space on the top floor to use when pupils need a quiet space to settle to learn.

Craig Allardice (Active Schools Co-ordinator) is coming in to discuss many ways in which we can participate in local sports and festivals over the next school session.

Jacqueline Wallace (Quality Link Officer) will visit to support us in planning for school improvement with a particular focus on learning and teaching.

The Youth Music Initiative starts for Primary 5 pupils and Skills Force starts for Primary 7 pupils.

 

Kind regards

Kirsty Duff

 

 

I am pleased to welcome you to Heathery Knowe Primary School Headteacher’s blog.  We consider enjoyment, creative thinking and excitement to be at the heart of learning and teaching and I am delighted to be able to share this with you through my blog.

Yours sincerely,

Kirsty Duff