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ROWANTREE PRIMARY SCHOOL
HANDBOOK
2
The School School information 3
About our school 4
Visits to school by parents 4
If your child is absent or sick 4
The complaints procedure 5
Enrolment of children 6
Placing requests 6
Parental involvement Opportunities for you to become involved 9
The parent council 10
School ethos Our values 11
Our role in the community 12
Behaviour 12
School Rules 12
The curriculum The different subjects 13
Religious observance and instruction 14
Assessment 14
Reporting 14
Transition Transition to secondary 15
Support For Pupils Support for pupils 16
Support For Learning Information 17
School Improvement School improvement 19
Our Plans for Future Improvement 20
Practical Information School policies 21
Extra curricular activities 21
Developing our children as leaders 22
The school day 22
Holiday Dates 23 and 24
CONTENTS
3
Name: Rowantree Primary School
Address: 1 Birks Terrace
Dundee DD4 8EJ
Telephone: 01382 307870
Fax: 01382 307862
E-mail: rowantree.primary@dundeecity.gov.uk
Twitter account: rowantreeps
Head Teacher: Mrs Emily O’Neill
Depute Head Teacher: Mrs Sue Han
Early Years Centre Manager: Mrs Carol Storrier
Principle Teacher of Support for Learners: Mrs Karen Britten
SCHOOL INFORMATION
4
Rowantree Primary School is a non denominational school with a current roll of 252 pupils catering
for both boys and girls from Primary One to Primary Seven. The school also has an Early Years
Centre. We do not provide teaching by means of the Gaelic language,
VISITS TO SCHOOL BY PARENTS If you have a concern and to ensure that the person you wish to speak to is available when you call,
please telephone or come to the reception area first to make an appointment. Class teachers are
committed to teaching your child during the school day and therefore need to know of any visit in
advance in order that cover for the class can be planned and provided. Class teachers may contact
you in the first instance and either talk to you over the telephone or invite you in for a meeting.
Bullying/ racist incidents are always taken seriously and these will be dealt with by a member of the
Senior Management Team (SMT) who will investigate further and record if necessary. If the class
teacher is unavailable a member of the Senior Management Team will contact you as soon as
possible. All telephone calls are forwarded to the managers by email.
IF YOUR CHILD IS ABSENT OR SICK
� It is a legal requirement for parents to ensure that their child attends school regularly
and children should only be absent from school if they are ill or have been given special
permission by the Head Teacher to be absent.
� We would hope family holidays would be arranged to coincide with school holidays so that
children do not miss any school time unnecessarily.
� Pupils who have been absent should bring a written explanation for their absence.
� If your child is to be absent you should contact the school on the first day of his/her
absence and certainly not later than the second day.
� An electronic texting system is now used by all Dundee schools. On the first day of
absence a text message is sent when there is no known reason for a child’s absence.
� If, after two days, no satisfactory reason for a child’s absence has been given, the matter
will then be put in the hands of the School Community Support Service. In certain cases
where unsatisfactory attendance has become a problem, a letter may be issued to the
parent(s) concerned detailing authorised and unauthorised attendance figures. If after six
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About our School
5
weeks the child’s attendance has not improved the parent(s) may be called to appear
before the Reporter to the Children’s Panel to give an explanation for the unsatisfactory
attendance.
Please telephone 307870 on first day of absence.
Good Timekeeping is important:
While we recognise that occasionally children may arrive late, we urge that children come to school
on time. The first half hour is when children are settled, registration and dinners done and children
prepared for the day ahead. If a child is late, this then means that they miss out on this vital part
of the day.
THE COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE In the first instance, we suggest that you make contact directly with the school.
This will ensure that your query is dealt with as promptly as possible.
If you wish to talk to your child’s teacher or a member of the senior staff it is generally better to
make an appointment. This ensures that the member of staff is available, that classes are not
disturbed and that pupils’ lessons are not affected.
You can contact the school directly, either
• by email rowantree.primary@dundeecity.gov.uk
• by telephone to the school office on 01382 307870
• by letter to the class teacher or a member of the management team
• by visiting the school in person
• all messages are emailed timeously to the appropriate staff member
What happens if I need further help, or I still have concerns?
If this is the case you can contact the Education Department Headquarters at Dundee
House. This can be done either by letter, e-mail or by telephone. The address is
Ms Kerry Gethins
Advice and Conciliation Officer
Dundee City Council Education Department
Floor 2
50 North Lindsay Street
Dundee City Council
DD1 1NL
If you wish to telephone , please contact Ms Kerry Gethins on 01382 433477 or email
kerry.gethins@dundeecity.gov.uk
Ms Kerry Gethins is also available as an additional contact if you wish to report a racial
incident.
•
6
What can I do if I am still unhappy?
• Dundee City Council operated a Helpline which will give you further advice. It can be
contacted on 01382 434800. Leaflets about the Helpline can be obtained at any Council
Building.
ENROLMENT OF CHILDREN A notice in the local press will advise parents of future Primary 1 pupils, who reside in the school’s
catchment area, when to enrol their child in school. Parents should then contact the School Office
as soon as possible, when appropriate registration details can be taken. The child’s birth
certificate and proof of address (e.g. A recent Bank Statement or Utilities Account bill) must be
produced before registration can be completed. Parents of future Primary 1 pupils who wish their
child to commence at a school out with their local catchment area should submit a Placing Request
to the Education Department. Placing Request Application Forms may be obtained from and
returned to the school office.
You will then be contacted by the school and notified of an informal afternoon which usually takes
place in mid-June at which parents, children, class teachers, Head Teacher and Depute Head
Teacher meet. At this meeting the organisation and policies of the school, as they affect new
Primary 1 entrants, will be explained. Parents will have the opportunity to ask questions and to
share in informal discussions concerning procedures for starting school.
Parents should note that Primary 1 pupils attend mornings only for the first three weeks of the
school session.
When wishing to enrol older primary children, parents are required to submit a Placing Request to
the Education Department. After clearance through the Office, admission is dealt with by the
Head Teacher or Depute Head Teacher. This usually takes the form of an informal interview
although formal details are exchanged initially. The parent then visits the class which his child is to
join and is introduced to both class teacher and the children. Parents are also welcome at this time
to see round the whole school if they wish.
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS ON PLACING REQUESTS
Education Authorities have a duty to grant placing requests wherever possible. We will
try to grant your request, provided there are places at the school you choose. Requests
for entering either primary or secondary school should be made on the appropriate form by an
agreed date. Any requests made after this date will still be considered, but it is possible that
places in certain schools may no longer be available.
1 Placing requests will be dealt with in the first instance by the Education
Department.
7
2 Placing requests will be granted if there are no grounds for their refusal.
3 If a placing request is granted parents must arrange and pay for any transport to and from
school.
4 If a placing request is refused, that decision will be intimated to parents in writing along
with the reasons for it.
5 The council has the right to refuse a placing request:-
� If placing the child in the school would:-
o make it necessary for the Council to take an additional teacher into
employment
o give rise to significant expenditure on extending or otherwise altering the
accommodation at or facilities provided in connection with the school
o be seriously detrimental to the continuity of the child’s education
o be seriously detrimental to order and discipline in the school
o be likely to be seriously detrimental to the educational well-being of
pupils attending the school
� If the education normally provided at the school is not suited to the age, ability or
aptitude of the child.
� If the Council has already required the child to discontinue his attendance at the
school.
� If the school is a special school and the child does not have special
educational needs requiring the education or special facilities normally provided at that
school .
� If the school is a single sex school and the child is not of the sex admitted to the
school.
6 Criteria for Admission to School
While parents’ wishes will be met whenever possible, if the number of places
in any particular school is limited, priority for admission shall be determined on
the following basis
Priority 1 - children normally resident within the catchment area of the specified school
Priority 2- children not normally resident within the catchment area of the
specified school, but having a brother or sister (or relative
permanently living at the same address as part of an extended
family) Note 1 in attendance at that school.
Priority 3 - children not normally resident within the delineated area of the
specified school and having no brother or sister (or relative
permanently living at the same address as part of an extended
family) Note 1 in attendance at that school.
Note 1 – provided that the member of the extended family for whom the
placing request has been made has lived within that extended
family for a period of at least 2 years.
Note 2 – Within denominational schools places in each priority category will
be allocated first to children who have been baptised into the
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Roman Catholic Church and thereafter to other children within that
category.
Note 3 – When it is necessary to refuse only some placing requests within
any one of the above categories, priorities will be determined by the
single criterion of distance from the specified school, with priority
being given to children whose normal place of residence is closest
to the specified school.
7 a) Where a parent asks for his child to be placed in a school at the
beginning of the following school year, the Council has until 30 April to
give a written decision, provided that the placing request was received on
or before 15 March.
b) In any other case, the Council has two months to give a written
decision.
8 If a parent does not receive a written decision by 30 April or within two
months as the case may be the Council are deemed to have refused the
placing request.
The parent then has a right of appeal. The parent also has a right of
appeal if a placing request is refused.
9 If a placing request is deemed to have been refused or refused, details
of the appeal procedure will be made available to the parent.
PLACING REQUESTS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING ON THE APPROPRIATE FORM
TO:
Michael Wood
Director of Education
Floor 2,
Dundee House
50 North Lindsay Street
DUNDEE
DD1 1NZ
9
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO BECOME INVOLVED At Rowantree we recognise the importance of the parent/carer as the prime educator of their
child. We hope that parents and carers will always inform us of important events and achievements
in their child’s home life.
We aim to develop and maintain contact with parent/carers through the following:
Parents’ Booklet - Given to all new entrants.
Newsletters/notes - Giving information re school events at least once a term.
Progress Reports - Issued yearly to parents.
Primary 1 intake - Parents come into school with their children to speak to teachers
etc.
Open Days and Evenings - Held twice yearly for parents to discuss pupils progress with
teacher.
School Assemblies - Invitation to assembly given by child’s class.
Curriculum Events - Health Week, Curriculum Afternoon, Open Afternoons, Specific
events e.g. visiting specialists.
Fund raising and social events - Bingo evenings, School Sports, School Concerts.
We have an Open Door Policy that encourages parents to come into school to discuss any concerns
or to offer parents advice on how to support their child’s learning. You are more than welcome to
attend the events throughout the year and also to make an appointment at any time to discuss
concerns/advice/share achievements.
SECTION 2 PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
10
THE PARENT COUNCIL
Contact : rowantree@dundeeparentcouncil.org
The Parent Council is a group of parents who have been selected in accordance with the Parent
Council constitution to represent all the parents of children at our school. Parents of any child at
Rowantree Primary School can seek to be part of the Parent Council in line with arrangements set
out in the constitution. Our Parent Council are known as the Rowantree Buds and members wear
green badges with the word Buds engraved. The Parent Council can co-opt other members as it sees
fit.
The aims of the Parent Council are:-
� To work together with everyone involved in school life - parents, learners, teachers, school
staff and the wider community
� To make sure that all parents have a say in their children's education - and are able to
express their views and wishes
� To build links between the school, parents, pupils, nurseries and pre-school groups and the
community
Rowantree Parent Council meets approximately once each term and meetings are open to all parents.
If you would like more information about the Parent Council please contact the school or visit
www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk
11
Here at Rowantree the staff are committed to providing an excellent, relevant education for all of
our pupils irrespective of race, culture, religion and ability in an encouraging, caring environment
where everyone will feel secure and valued, having their efforts and achievements recognised. The
school aims for our pupils to become successful, confident, life-long, independent learners and
thinkers, developing respect and understanding for each other and the wider world. Our overall
school is that we want –
everyone in school to be happy, safe and the very best that they can be.
At the very heart of this are our school values which are
R - Respect, everyone is treated with respect
O- Opportunities, we will provide different opportunities for our community
W- Well-being, we will look after everyone’s well being
A - Achieving, we want everyone to reach their full potential
N – Nurtured – we want everyone to feel safe and looked after
T- Trust – we value telling the truth at all times
R- Responsible - to look after each other, our things and take responsibility for our own
actions.
E- Equality - everyone will be treated the same regardless of race, colour and ability.
E – Everyone, our values and rules apply to everyone in our school community, the staff, the
pupils, parents and any visitors.
Getting it right for every child is a national programme to improve outcomes for children and young people in Scotland. It aims to ensure that all children and young people get the help they need when
they need it. This is a significant challenge to education authorities. Getting it right is at the centre of Scottish Government policy for children and young people and is important for our children here at
Rowantree.
Getting it right for every child promotes a shared approach that:
H Builds solutions with and around children and families
Section 3 – School Ethos
12
H Enables children to get the help they need when they need it H Supports a positive shift in culture, systems and practice H Involves working together to make things better This can only be achieved through working in partnerships with parents, the community and other
services, an approach which the school fully embraces.
In Rowantree Primary School we endeavour to raise standards and create an ethos of achievement.
It is our policy to reward the positive efforts of children with praise, stickers, certificates etc on
every possible occasion. To aid this process we set small achievable goals so that children can
attain and succeed.
We celebrate achievements throughout the whole school. We have weekly assemblies where pupils
are presented with special certificates for playground behaviour and PE. We have termly assemblies
to recognise good behaviour though our Good To Be Green system where again children are
presented with special certificates and small prizes. The Head Teacher Award is a special
certificate which is sent through the post and is unannounced. This award is for special
achievements both in and out of school. We always want to recognise out of school achievements so
please keep us informed.
OUR ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY It is essential that the school and the parents work together helping each other to ensure the best
start in life for our children. We would encourage parents to take an interest in all aspects of
school life not just concerning the behaviour of their children but including the children’s school
work, extra -curricular activities such as concerts, fund raising etc., sporting activities such as
netball, football and swimming and so on.
We have active links with the church, the Hub, the Midlin Centre, the Cherry Drop Club, Morrisons,
Asda’s and Dundee College.
Certain standards of behaviour are required for the benefit of all pupils and we are
confident that you will continue to support the school in the maintenance of such standards, which
help to ensure your children make the most of their time in school. We recognise that the majority
of our children are well behaved and this is recognised and rewarded through our ‘Good to Be
Green’ behaviour policy. You will be provided with a separate information leaflet when your child
comes to school. Your child will also sign our Code of Conduct agreeing to abide by our school rules
which are
1. Be kind and polite and always show respect.
2. Take care of each other
3. Take care of everything in our school
4. Always do and be the best because we are the best !
13
The class teacher is responsible for the maintenance of discipline in the classroom but he/she can
refer more serious cases to the Head Teacher/Depute Head Teacher if necessary. In any event
parents will be involved at an early stage when particular problems arise and we would urge you to
co-operate fully with us in those circumstances for the benefit of your child. A copy of the school’s
discipline policy is available for inspection.
Class rules
Each class also negotiates their own class rules (within an agreed whole school context), which are
published and prominently displayed within each classroom alongside the school rules. There are also
agreed consequences that apply to class members who do not keep to the agreed rules.
It is our policy to encourage play as a positive discipline tool. To this end we have similarly
negotiated rules for acceptable playground behaviour and agreed consequences if these are not
kept. We also have Playground Super Star Awards for pupils who play nicely and abide by the rules.
In line with the aims of A Curriculum for Excellence, we at Rowantree aim to make our pupils:
Successful learners Confident individuals
Responsible citizens Effective contributors
CFE continues to be developed throughout the school ensuring that the children experience a
relevant and coherent curriculum. The children are taking more responsibility and are becoming
more confident in discussions as staff begin to have a clearer focus on skills progression. The
children engage in a broad range of opportunities to develop these skills for learning, life and work
with a continuous focus on Literacy, Numeracy and Health& Wellbeing.
There are also numerous opportunities for pupils to develop skills for learning, life and work
through our partnership working and within the classroom itself. Through careful consideration of
skills progression, children are involved in planning the context of topic work. You will be informed
of the key learning skills and the topic through your child’s daily planner. You will also be able to
look at some of your child’s work through the Learning Log which is sent home three times a year.
You can find out more about Curriculum for Excellence from Learning and Teaching Scotland
website
www.educationscotland.gov.uk/index.asp
SECTION 3 THE CURRICULUM
14
If a class teacher raises a concern about your child’s learning needs, this will be discussed with our
Support For Learning Team and if intervention is required ,you will be invited to a meeting to
discuss the way forward.
RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION AND OBSERVANCE FOR PUPILS The programme for Religious Education in our school aims to help pupils learn about Christianity and
other major world religions and to recognise religion as an important expression of human
experience. Pupils will also be encouraged to learn from religions by helping them develop their own
beliefs, attitudes, moral values and practices through a process of personal search, discovery and
critical evaluation.
Parental Rights"Every public school and every grant-aided school shall be open to pupils of all
denominations and any pupil may be withdrawn by his parents from any instruction in religious
subjects and from any religious observance in any such school; and no pupil shall in any such
school be placed at any disadvantage with respect to the secular instruction given therein by
reason of the denomination to which such pupil or his parents belong, or by reason of his being
withdrawn from any instruction in religious subjects."
Education Scotland Act 1980 Part 1 Section 9
Please note that requests to withdraw a child must be in writing.
RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE The school holds weekly assemblies which provide opportunities for pupils to share together and
celebrate as a school community those things which we value. They also provide opportunities for
our pupils to reflect on spiritual and moral concerns. Through this, pupils can increase their
understanding of religious practices and the experience which underlies them. Our school chaplain is
Fay Lamont who regularly joins us throughout the year for assemblies and also provides a
programme of study for all of our classes.
ASSESSMENT At present each pupil’s progress is monitored throughout his or her school career by a process of
continuous assessment. Pupils are involved in the assessment process and are encouraged to make
decisions about their own performance and progress. The school also uses standardised testing
called PIPs at Primary 1 stage and Incas at Primary 4 and Primary 6 stages These results are
analysed by staff and help to plan future learning
REPORTING Each child's achievement is communicated to parents through parent interviews and a school report
in the summer term. Children also keep Learning Logs to share their learning with you throughout
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the year. E portfolios are currently being developed for the Primary 7’s which will follow your child
onto secondary.
A copy of his or her own annual report is put into each pupil’s “Pupil’s Progress Record” folder. One
of these folders is kept for each pupil in the school from the time they enter in Primary 1 until the
time they leave school. The other copy of the report is given to you to keep. When a pupil leaves to
go to another primary school or to secondary school their folder goes with them.
THE ARRANGEMENTS THAT AR E IN PLACE TO SUPPORT PUPILS MAKING TRANSITIONS
AND WHAT ROLE THEIR PARENTS CAN PLAY
TRANSFER TO SECONDARY SCHOOL
Children who attend Rowantree Primary transfer to:
Craigie High School
Garnet Terrace
DUNDEE
DD4 7QD
Telephone 01382 431111
Fax: 01382 431130
E-mail: craigie@dundeecity.gov.uk
If you wish your child to attend a secondary school other than the one allocated, it will be
necessary for you to make a placing request to the Director of Education and appropriate action will
be taken.
Throughout the year, Primary 7 pupils are visited by staff and pupils from Craigie High School who
provide information relating to secondary school life. At the same time, there is an opportunity
for staff to exchange information regarding pupil performance and needs. A two-day visit to
Craigie High is arranged at a later date. This enables our pupils to become a little acquainted with
their future environment.
SECTION 4 TRANSITIONS
16
Since November 2005, there has been a new way of supporting children and young people who are
having difficulties making progress at school. Most children make satisfactory progress in school
and their education can be fully supported by their class teacher.
Some children with significant additional support needs may need the support of an SPI
A very small number of children with significant and long-term additional support needs may need a
Co-ordinated Support Plan as well as an Additional Support Plan. These will be children who also
receive support from people outside education; for example, from health or social work staff.
We have 5 Support for Learning Staff. This means that we have 2 full time teaching staff working
within the enhanced provision and two mainstream support for learning teachers. The staff work as
a team under the guidance of the school’s principal support for learning teacher, Mrs. Karen
Britten.
The school’s policy is to support as much as possible the education of pupils with additional support
needs along with their peer group, in the normal classroom situation. Individually targeted work, at
a level accessible to the child and designed to support learning progress, is normally provided by the
class teacher and SFL staff advise. Progress is monitored from day to day and is regularly
reported to parents who are also consulted if any change in the programme of support is being
considered.
Although Support for Learning staff are regularly deployed as necessary, the aim must always be to
promote the maximum degree of independence in learning, personal management and social activity,
of which the child is capable.
To cater for children’s needs, our school building has been specially designed to allow access for
children in wheelchairs or for those whose mobility is restricted. In cases where specialised
equipment is identified as being necessary to facilitate a child’s progress within the peer group, the
school and Education Authority will take action to provide it where possible.
SECTION 5 SUPPORT FOR PUPILS
17
SUPPORT FOR LEARNING INFORMATION
As a parent/carer you can access a wide range of information with regard to additional support
needs. The information is available both at your local school and on the Dundee City Council website
on this internet page http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/education/support/
The following are available for you at the above internet page.
• Assessing Additional Support Needs
• Attending Pupil Support Planning Meetings
• Co-ordinated Support Plan
• Dispute Resolution
• Dispute Resolution Referral Form
• Mediation - Parent to Parent leaflet
• Supporting Learning (Dundee City Council Education Department, Support for Learning
Policy)
• Supporting Learning in Dundee
This internet page also has many other leaflets on related topics which might be of interest to you.
If you cannot access the internet, please ask the school office if you would like a copy of any of
these documents.
The Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004 as amended by the 2009 Act came into
force on 15 November 2010. We try to keep all our documents as current as possible. They are in
the process of being revised to reflect the amendments brought in by the 2009 Act to ensure the
information is as up-to-date as possible.
18
Information on additional support needs is also available to you from outside Dundee City Council.
Enquire - the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning
Operated by Children in Scotland, Enquire offers independent, confidential advice and information
on additional support for learning through:
a telephone helpline - 0845 123 2303
an email enquiry service - info@enquire.org.uk
an online enquiry service
two websites - www.enquire.org.uk (for parents/carers and practitioners) and www.enquire.org.uk/yp
(for children and young people)
Enquire also provide a range of clear and easy-to-read guides and fact sheets explaining everything
from 'additional support in the early years' to 'what planning should take place for moving on from
school'.
The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance Ltd
The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance Ltd is a free of charge advocacy service which
provides support for parents and young people from the time they have grounds to make a
reference to the Additional Support Needs Tribunal for Scotland (ASNTS). This service will be
operational from 14 November 2010.
Advice and information regarding this service can be obtained from their website - www.siaa.org.uk
The school focuses on Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) outcomes and related these to
Health and Wellbeing CFE outcomes The staff in school ensure that health and well –being, along
with pastoral care, has a high profile in their learning and teaching. Children take on responsibilities
and achieve well in a range of volunteering and leadership activities. We have developed our Heads
and Prefect system on a more formalised basis with children developing interview and leadership
skills through the process.
A system has been established to identify children who require additional support at times
throughout their school career. The nature of support can vary from academic support to pastoral
support especially for more vulnerable children. We work collaboratively with parents to ensure
that the child’s needs are fully met and that parents and the child are fully consulted. We work in
partnership with various agencies from educational psychologists, school nurse, home school support
19
, NHS and social work to ensure a holistic approach to meeting the child’s needs. Your child may
have a key worker within school appointed and you will be informed of who this person is. You may
contact the school office for an appointment with the designated key worker or with either the
class teacher or sfl teacher.
We have provided school based training opportunities on assessment and behaviour management
which are on-going throughout the year and staff also identify their own needs and continue to
develop professionally through professional reading and attending other courses out-with school.
Staff are leaders of learning and have responsibility for projects and working groups within the
school. Leadership for pupils has been developed through Living in Our School Society Project and
pupils further develop leadership skills through the responsibilities they assume as Heads, Prefects
and members of the Pupil Council. A cluster working group has been set up this session to look at
assessment and an Assessment Champion, is, now in place within our school. The staff went through
a rigorous process of self-evaluation as part of an extended review and action plans devised and
implemented.
This session we have concentrated on promoting Positive Behaviour Management through our Good
to Be Green strategy with a reward to the cinema for those children who achieved their Ruby red
award. The strategy was presented and discussed with parents at our open ‘Meet the Teacher’
events at the start of the session. Another strategy that has been rolled out across the school is
the introduction of Soft Start giving pupils an opportunity to settle in to school before starting
formal lessons. In November we had a very successful Open Evening for parents to look around the
school and meet with staff. Chris Scott, our lead Educational Psychologist also presented at this
event in which over 100 parents participated in his workshop on Developing Motivation and Confidence focusing on behaviour. Parents gave very positive feedback and this open event was followed by another workshop presented by Chris Scott and the more formal individual parents /
teacher evenings in February. The school of course, welcomes parents at any time and individual
appointments can be given to suit parents. We continue to work hard on improving communication
and promoting partnerships and have a twitter account for parents and staff :
rowantreeps@twitter. We are also establishing better links with the community, especially with the
Hub, Dundee College , the Cherry Drop and the local library.
Improvements in pupils performance is based on the teachers’ on-going assessment of their pupil’s
knowledge and understanding, skills, attributes and capabilities as described in the experiences and
outcomes across the curriculum. Our planning is based on the principles of CFE, promoting greater
breadth and depth of learning with a clear focus on developing skills and knowledge. Learning
SECTION 6 SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
20
intentions and success criteria support the pupil who is encouraged to reflect and set next steps.
Through the use of Learning Logs, staff have gathered evidence of pupil progress. Teachers use
both formative and summative assessments to show where the children are and to plan next steps.
Class teachers moderate pupils work and cross mark across stages. This is to be developed further
into whole school and cluster moderation.
The cluster CFE Assessment Project established an Assessment Champion for each school who
offers advice on moderation and the use of NAR to staff. The project looked at the standardised
tests of PIPs and Incas and developed staff knowledge and understanding of analysis through CPD
activities for staff. The group also devised a range of strategies to support the current ABLE
framework and staff assessment techniques. Professional dialogue is encouraged throughout the
school in staff meetings, workshop activities and through professional support visits.
The school focused on Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) outcomes and related these to
Health and Wellbeing CFE outcomes. The school had an HMIE inspection which focused only on
GIRFEC and the feedback was very positive. The staff in school ensure that health and well –being,
along with pastoral care, has a high profile in their learning and teaching.
The school uses standardised testing called PIPs at Primary 1 stage and Incas at Primary 4 and
Primary 6 stages. Analysis of the Pips results in primary one show that although both classes
started below both local and national averages for their age group, by the end of the year the
majority of primary one pupils had made average progress with some making good progress. At P4
stage Incas results show some pupils are not achieving their potential whilst others are working
above their potential and making good progress. Through careful analysis of Incas results for P6
pupils, the results reflect that some of our pupils are achieving their potential and that the literacy
results are better than numeracy.
We gained the Silver Award for Health Promoting School which was presented to the school by our
pupil members of the Health & Well Being Committee in August 2011. We are now working towards
our Gold Award. We also submitted a draft portfolio in June 2012 to Tayside Health Board for
recognition as a Healthy Working Lives Organisation and have been awarded the Bronze Award.
OUR PLANS FOR FUTURE IMPROVEMENT
We have 4 main projects in our plan
1, Developing the curriculum
2. Learning, Teaching and Assessment.
3. Quality Assurance and Leadership
4. Partnership Working
We want to continue developing curriculum for excellence, improving your child’s learning. We want
to introduce skills days to improve your child’s concentration and keep him or her interested in
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learning. We want to develop your child’s independence skills ensuring your child in becoming more
involved in his/her own learning. We want to raise the standards of achievement making sure that
we all work together to make sure that your child reaches his her potential. We are currently
reviewing how children learn to read and will be introducing reading skills to promote the
development of critical literacy.
We want to make learning fun. Staff are currently training in cooperative learning methodology and
using the approach in the classroom. We want to make sure that our lessons meet your child’s needs
and will use responsive planning where appropriate.
We want to develop leadership skills across the school with staff leading working groups and pupils
taking responsibility for leading their own learning We want to improve our systems of gathering
and recording evidence. Staff will undertake mandatory training e.g. Fire Safety and Asthma
training, this keeps the staff and children in our care safe.
In partnership, we want to build a community around both Rowantree and our neighbour St Vincents.
We want to do this by reviving the community festival in 2013 and work with other agencies. We
want to involve you in the life of our school, keeping you informed and giving you opportunities to
come into school and see what we are doing.
As a school, with a newly formed senior management team we are currently revising and updating
school policies and will inform parents when completed. We endorse the authority policies which
can be accessed via
www.dundeecity.gov.uk
EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES Currently this session we have the following on offer for children
• Hockey Club
• Football
• Basketball
• Book club
• Pets protectors
• Healthy Eating
• Art and craft
• Dance
• Glee
SECTION 7 SCHOOL POLICIES AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION
22
• Choir
And various sporting activities as offered by Sports Development
DEVELOPING OUR CHILDREN AS LEADERS Children take on responsibilities and achieve well in a range of volunteering and leadership
activities.
Children from Primary 2 upwards can be elected as pupil council members for the session. Their
classmates vote for who they wish to represent them. As members of the council, the children work
in partnership with the SMT to develop the school and take forward new initiatives.
We have developed our Heads and Prefect system on a more formalised basis with children
developing interview and leadership skills through the process. The Primary 7’s run an election
campaign during the first term of session and the whole school community votes for who they wish
to be Head Boy, Head Girl, Depute Head Girl and Boy. The remaining primary 7 pupils then complete
and application form and submit with references to be interviewed by the Heads and the SMT for
the position of prefect. The prefects and the Heads take on additional responsibilities throughout
the school from helping to supervise the little ones during wet intervals to helping lead at
assemblies. They play a vital part in school providing good role models to all pupils.
THE SCHOOL DAY
9.00am – 10.30am
Infant break - 10.45am – 11am
Upper break – 10.30am – 10.45am
10.45am/11am – 12.15pm (lunch 12.15pm – 1.15pm)
1.15pm – 3.15pm
� Severe Weather Conditions - for example, the school being closed through bad weather.
This would be communicated to you through Radio Tay Snowline which operates on
frequencies 1161 AM and 102.8 FM in time for you to make alternative arrangements.
� Emergency involving individual children, in the first instance we would try and contact you
or the person designated as your emergency contact. It is therefore essential that you
keep us informed of any change of address or phone number of yourself or your emergency
contact.
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The school has a safety plan and an evacuation policy, which is available for inspection.
SCHOOL DATES SESSION DECEMBER 2012- JUNE 2013
Christmas Holiday Start Mon 24 Dec 2012
End Fri 4 Jan 2013
Spring Term Start Mon 7 Jan 2013
Thurs 7 Feb 2013 In Service Day (4)
Fri 8 Feb 2013 Mid Term
Holiday
Mon 11 Feb 2013 Mid Term Holiday
End Thurs 28 March 2013
Fri 29 March 2013 Good Fri Holiday
Spring Holiday Start Mon 1 April 2013
End Fri 12 April 2013
Summer Term Start Mon 15 April 2013
Mon 6 May 2013 May Day Holiday
Fri 24 May 2013 In Service Day
(5)
Mon 27 May 2013 Victoria Day
Holiday
End Fri 28 June 2013
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SCHOOL DATES SESSION AUGUST 2013-JUNE 2014
Autumn Term Start Staff Mon 12 Aug 2013 In Service Day (1)
Start Pupils Tues 13 Aug 2013
End Fri 4 Oct 2013
Autumn Holiday Start Mon 7 Oct 2013
End Fri 18 Oct 2013
Winter Term Start Mon 21 Oct 2013
Thurs 14 Nov 2013 and
Friday 15the Nov 2013
In Service Days
(2 and 3)
End Fri 20 Dec 2013
Christmas Holiday Start Mon 23 Dec 2013
End Fri 3 Jan 2014
Spring Term Start Mon 6 Jan 2014
Thurs 13 Feb 2014 In Service Day (4)
Fri 14 Feb 2014 and
Mon 17th Feb 2014
Mid Term
Holidays
End Fri 28 March 2014
Spring Holiday Start Mon 31 March 2014
End Fri 11 April 2014
Summer Term Start Mon 14 April 2014
Fri 18 April 2014 Good Friday holiday
Mon 5 May 2014 May Day
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Fri 23 May 2014 In Service Day (5)
Mon 26 May 2014 Victoria Day
End Fri 27 June 2014
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