Friday 5 March

Dear Parent/Carer,

 

Phased return to school  Following the First Minister’s statement on the phased return to school for all pupils from Monday 15 March, we are now working on developing a timetable that meets the Government guidelines and the Council advice as issued this morning. We will do our best to develop an in-school provision that best meets our pupils’ needs.  This is far from straightforward in such a short timescale and will lead to some compromises with the current online provision. I will contact everyone as soon as we can next week.

 

In the meantime, thank you for your continued support and understanding.

 

Our engagement procedure is in place to identify pupils who are not engaging and to provide support for them. We realise that it is reassuring for you as parents/carers to know how your child is engaging with online learning, and to celebrate success as we know that most pupils are engaging well during these challenging times.

 

As we have now issued engagement reports for all year groups, we have reviewed the current engagement policy and have made the following adjustments:

 

1. Engagement reporting dates:

We will issue engagement reports home via email on the following dates for the remainder of this term:

i.                     S3 to S6 on Friday 12 March

ii.                   S1 and S2 on Friday 19 March

 

2. ‘Next Steps’ to support improvement in engagement:

After review, we have added some more options to support with ‘next steps’ if a teacher has selected ‘occasionally engaged’ or ‘not engaged’ with learning. These will guide pupils on what they should do to improve engagement.

 

3. Letters home for NQ pupils at risk of not completing final work:

Teachers are now able to issue letters home remotely for pupils who are significantly not engaging, and where no improvement has been made since the previous engagement report. 

These letters will be prioritised for National Qualification pupils who need to complete final folios and project work and prepare for final assessments. 

If a NQ pupil has not engaged across a variety of their subjects, please be aware that you may receive several letters from different teachers giving specific details of the concerns and outlining what needs to be done next. These letters are for information only to support your child with their engagement and progress and will be issued through email.

 

We greatly appreciate your support during these times, and we hope that regular communication with regards to your child’s engagement will support them in their learning.

 

If any pupil is finding anything challenging, we urge them to let someone at home know, or contact their class teacher, Key Adult, Pupil Support Leader or Year Head - there is always someone who can help.

 

In the interests of everyone’s safety, Parents are reminded to not enter the school car park to drop off pupils unless there are mobility issues. As an alternative, we would request you drop/collect pupils in nearby quieter streets.

 

Wishing all a lovely weekend.

 

Donald