Dunrossness

Primary School

Early Stages:

Nursery Handbook

2014/2015

“Living, Laughing, Learning”

The following information will let you know all about the

Nursery as part of our Early Stages Unit in Dunrossness

Primary School. We hope that you find this useful and look

forward to welcoming you to our nursery and school.

If, after reading this handbook, you have any further

questions then please contact us at school and we will be

pleased to be of assistance.

Dunrossness Primary School

Shetland

ZE2 9JG

(01595) 745440

Email: dunrossness@shetland.gov.uk

Website: www.dunrossness.shetland.sch.uk

School Staff for 2014-15

Head Teacher: Ms Lesley Simpson

Principal Teacher/ASN Teacher: Mrs Andrea Henderson

Class Teachers:

Nursery Mrs Karen Osborn (Wednesdays)

Primaries 1/2 Ms Karen Towers

Primaries 2/3 Mrs Helen Moar

Primary 4 Miss Valerie Hughson

Primaries 5/6 Mrs Sandra Hay

Primaries 6/7 Ms Gina Scanlan

Support Staff:

Early Years Worker Mrs Leona Smith

Early Years Assistants: Mrs Carrie-Ann Bannister (Mondays,

Thursdays & Fridays)

Miss Dhanika Moar (Tuesdays)

Classroom Assistant Mrs Violet Casey

ASN Auxiliaries: Mrs Emma Graydon

Mrs Lee Smith

Mrs Violet Casey

Playground Supervisor/

Admin assistant: Mrs Jacqueline Jamieson

Lunchtime Assistant: Mrs Marion Sutherland

Clerical Assistant: Mrs Miriam Birnie

Janitor: Mr John MacKenzie

Visiting Teachers and Instructors:

P.E. and Swimming Mrs Joan Smith

Music Mrs Annalie Irvine

Art and Design Ms Fiona Burr

Woodwind Mrs Jane Morton

Piano Mrs Moira Peterson

Traditional Fiddle Ms Eunice Henderson

Accordion Mr Peter Wood

Guitar Mr Stevie Hook

Canteen Staff:

Mrs Caroline Tait (Head Cook)

Mrs Jane Flaws, Miss Katherine Henderson, Mrs Marina Smith.

Cleaning Staff:

Mrs Ana Arnett (Head Cleaner)

Mrs Carrie Morrison, Ms Caroline Bennett and Vacant post

Who’s who?

Mrs Leona Smith

Early Years Worker

Ms Lesley Simpson

Head Teacher Mrs Andrea Henderson

Principal Teacher

Mrs Miriam Birnie

Secretary

Mr John Mackenzie

Janitor

Mrs Karen Osborn

Nursery Teacher

Mrs Carrie-Ann Bannister

Early Years Assistant

Ms Dhanika Moar

Early Years Assistant

Our Vision

Dunrossness Primary School: A happy school where everyone is

supported and encouraged to achieve their full potential.

Our Aims

1. To provide a safe, secure, happy and healthy learning

environment where respect is given to all and shown by all;

2. To shape values, promote independence and responsibility and

develop skills for life;

3. To encourage, motivate and support everyone in our school to be

the best they can be;

4. To inspire, reward and celebrate success and achievement in all

areas of learning;

5. To be an integral and responsible element of the whole

community that we are all proud to belong to.

The Curriculum for Excellence

The curriculum in Scotland aims to develop four capacities for

successful learning and living. These are:

Successful Learners

With:

Enthusiasm and motivation for learning

Determination to reach high standards of achievement

Openness to new thinking and ideas.

Confident Individuals

With:

Self-respect

A sense of physical, mental and emotional well-being

Secure values and beliefs

Ambition.

Responsible Citizens

With:

Respect for others

Commitment to participate responsibly in political, economic,

social and cultural life.

Effective Contributors

With:

An enterprising attitude

Resilience

Self-reliance.

A child’s journey through Nursery and Primary school is organised

under the following stages:

Early - In pre-school and in Primary 1

First - By end of P4, but earlier for some

Second - By end of P7, but earlier for some

These stages provide scope for challenge and depth. There is no

pressure to speed through the levels but nor is there any ceilings on

learning. Our focus is very much on individual progress and

achievement.

At Dunrossness we have an integral unit that caters for children

from the time they enter the Nursery at three years until the end

of Primary One. Learning through play is based on the Early Stages

outcomes and experiences from the Curriculum for Excellence.

Further information can be found at

www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence

At the very heart of our curriculum planning lies the holistic

development of children and their skills across the curriculum,

building on their previous learning experiences, knowledge and skills.

Children will learn through first hand experiential activities within

play-based situations. In their play, children practise and consolidate

their learning, play with ideas, experiment, take risks, solve

problems and make decisions individually and in small or large groups.

The development of children’s self-image and feelings of self–worth

and self–esteem are central to this process.

The curriculum within the Early Stages is progressive and aims to

meet the needs of all children including those who are at an early

stage of development and those who are more able. The curriculum

will be appropriate to the individual child’s stage of learning rather

than focussing solely on age-related outcomes to be achieved.

Children will be helped to move on to the next stage in their learning

when they are developmentally ready and at their own pace.

In line with the Curriculum for Excellence, learning within the unit is

organised under the following headings:

Literacy and Language

Numeracy and Mathematics

Science

Social Studies

Health and Well-being

Religious and Moral Education

Expressive Arts

Technologies

ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is embedded

within all the above areas and is seen as an integral part of all the

curriculum programmes.

Much of the learning is planned using a cross-curricular approach to

help ensure meaning and relevance and to give fun and enjoyment.

CURRICULUM

Mathematical Development

From the time your child joins us, they will experience a gentle

approach to number recognition, building on knowledge already

acquired. This will lead on to simple addition and subtraction. Work

on colour, pattern, shape, measurement, time and money is all part of

the curriculum and the children will be given many opportunities for

problem solving to give relevance to their learning and to help them

transfer skills between different subject areas.

Reading Development

Preparation for reading through developing visual and auditory

recognition is provided through a variety of play activities. Our

children are encouraged to build an enjoyment of stories and rhyme

through a variety of books, songs and games.

Talking and listening skills are developed through play, structured

activities and the daily routine of the nursery class.

From the very first stages of their time in the unit, children will

have the opportunity to bring home books from the class library for

you to share.

We also have “Storysacks” developed by our staff. These include

stories and resources for you to enjoy together with your child.

During terms 3 and 4, these can be borrowed and changed regularly

to help include you in your child’s reading development.

Throughout all of the subjects, children will be given the opportunity

to play and experiment with a variety of materials and media. Staff

will carefully plan for both free and structured play along with more

focussed group activities.

WHEN WILL MY CHILD COME TO THE UNIT?

From August 2014, every child is entitled to a funded place at a

school nursery class or partner provider for 600 hours each school

year. Normally this entitlement is provided by a child attending five

sessions a week, each lasting 3 hours and 10 minutes during the

normal 38 week school year.

You are under no obligation to send your child for all five sessions

and this can be discussed with the staff at the unit.

The start date for each child is dependent on their date of birth:

Birthday Term beginning

1 March 2011 – 31 Aug 2011 August 2014

1 Sept 2011 until 28 Feb 2012 An agreed date within a

month of the child’s 3rd birthday. Children who attain their third

birthday after 28th February will be eligible to come to Nursery the

following August still allowing two full years of Nursery provision.

Children of three years of age are offered an afternoon session

within the unit wherever possible.

Pre-School Year

All children in their pre-school year are offered a morning session

within the unit as far as spaces are available.

Timings

Each morning session begins with a ‘soft start’ and children can

arrive any time from 8.30am until 9.15am. morning session ends at

11.40am for all children.

The afternoon session begins for all children at 12.40pm and ends

with a ‘soft finish’ meaning children can be picked up any time from

3.05pm until 3.50pm.

Pre-school: 8.30am – 11.40am

Nursery: 12.40pm – 3.50pm

TRANSPORT

Parents are responsible for taking their child to and from Nursery

and Pre-school. No additional transport is provided. If a family is

having financial or physical problems in doing this then help may be

available from the Shetland Childcare Partnership.

The safety of children on the way to and from Nursery is the

responsibility of the parent or guardian. Children must be

accompanied into and collected from Nursery by an adult. Staff

should be informed if someone else is picking up your child. Staff

will not release any child to someone who is unknown to us so please

ensure we know of any alternative arrangements you make prior to

the end of the session in question.

CLOTHES FOR NURSERY

It is a good idea to put on clothes that your child can manage

independently for going to the toilet. Accidents can happen and if

you feel this is a possibility with your child, please send in some

spare clothes in a bag with your child’s name on it.

EQUIPMENT

In addition to the equipment provided within the unit, we ask that

you equip your child with the following:

P.E kit. This should include t-shirt, shorts, and plimsolls.

Plimsolls should be left in school.

Suitable outdoor clothing. Where possible, this should be in

school every day to allow for outdoor play in most weathers.

Please make sure that all clothing is clearly marked with your child’s

name. Thank you!

Please do not bring expensive or very special toys, which may be lost

or damaged, as the school cannot be responsible. It is school policy

that no toy guns or weapons are permitted.

SNACK/MILK

Milk and water are available every day at morning and afternoon

snack time. Children are encouraged to pour their own drink and to

wash up their cup.

Fresh fruit or vegetables are offered as part of snack every day. All

children are encouraged to take part in snack time and to try the

range of food on offer. No child is ever forced to eat something

they don’t like. A contribution of 50p per day is requested from

all parents to cover the cost of snacks, baking, trips, etc. This can be paid daily or, preferably, weekly.

ALLERGIES

It is vital that we are informed of any food allergies that your child

may have. Please do this on the official registration form.

ILLNESS IN SCHOOL

If your child is taken ill at nursery we will try to contact you if

he/she needs to be sent home. We ask that you give us the phone

number of a grandparent, relative, friend or neighbour for us to

contact if need be, in case of emergency or accident. It is important

to keep us informed if you and your emergency contact are both

going to be away and for you to have a contingency plan in place

which you have shared with us.

Please keep the school informed of any change of address, telephone

number and your work phone number. This will help speed up the time

taken to contact you in the case of an emergency or unexpected

closure of the school due to snow, etc.

SICKNESS AND DIARRHOEA

Children suffering from this should remain at home until fully

recovered. It is recommended that children should not return until

48 hours after the symptoms have ceased to help prevent distress

and the further spread of infection. Please see our Pupil Illness

Policy on the school website for more details.

MEDICINES

Medicine is best administered to your child at home. If, however, it

is essential that your child should receive medicine in school, please

contact the Head teacher so that arrangements can be made to

administer medicines. In these circumstances it would be

expected that the dosage for that day only would be sent with

the child. A medical consent form must be completed and signed

by parents. These are available on the school website or from the

school office. If you require suntan lotion to be applied to your child,

please fill in an Administration of Medicines form and send to the

school.

It should be noted that no teacher can be held responsible for the

safety of medicine in the classroom.

PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS

We believe that the more involved you are as parents, the more

successful your child’s learning experience within the unit will be.

We will provide you with a termly report on your child’s progress and

will meet with you on a formal basis twice a year. However, we are

always available to answer your questions and would be pleased to

arrange an informal chat to discuss any questions or concerns you

may have.

Sometimes children are asked to bring in items connected with

topics they are studying (photographs, toys, etc). We welcome

parental input in this area, and, if your job, hobbies or pets could

help us generate interest in a topic, please let us know and we’ll

arrange for you to come in and give the class the benefit of your

expertise.

We also invite parents into the unit for a variety of events including

our Christmas Concert, our Early Stages Unit Assembly, Sports Day

and our Open Day in June. All details of events will be communicated

throughout the year but please feel free to contact us if you wish

further information.

We often need parental help on outings, for some activities within

the unit and in the wider school and its clubs. If you feel this is

something you may like to be involved in and you are willing to go

through a compulsory PVG Check (has replaced the Disclosure

Check), please contact us and we will talk you through the process.

This would be paid for by the Schools Service.

SCHOOL FUND

Funding for Christmas parties, special events, trips out and special

items of equipment is raised through a variety of fundraising events

and enterprises. This is supplemented by donations and funding from

other miscellaneous sources. We will call on you from time to time to

help out at these events and/or donate homebakes or items for

raffles, tombolas, sales, etc.

Any ideas you have for raising funds would be very welcome as we

will need to self-fund more of our activities in the future as Council

budgets are tightened.

PARENT COUNCIL

Parents are represented on a Parent Council that meets six times a

year to assist in fostering good links between home and school and

to develop projects to help children with their learning. We are very

fortunate to have such a committed and supportive Parent Council

who work hard to help with a variety of projects in the school and in

fundraising activities. If you feel this is an area you would like to

become involved with, please contact one of the following members.

Chairperson/Treasurer: Mrs Jayne Anderson

Vice-Chairperson: Mrs Margaret Birrell

Event Organiser: Mrs Caroline Smith

Members: Mrs Janine Johnson

Mr Hansen Black

Mrs Elizabeth Robertson

Janette Budge

Staff Member: Ms Gina Scanlan

Councillors: Mr Allison Duncan, Mr George

Smith and Mr Billy Fox

Clerk: Miss Kimberley Smith

POLICIES

Our book of Nursery Policies is displayed on the Parent Information

table outside the Nursery. Please feel free to look through this at

any time. Any comments you have to make on these policies will be

very welcome.

CHILD PROTECTION

The security, care and well-being of all our children is our ultimate

priority. We have been trained in the use of and follow the agreed

Shetland Islands Council Inter-Agency Child Protection Procedures.

A copy of these procedures is available for parents online at

www.shetland.gov.uk/children_and_families/documents/ChildProtect

ionProcedures.pdf

Ms Simpson is responsible for Child Protection in our school and will

contact the relevant agency in the event of a child protection

concern.

DATA PROTECTION

All data held regarding your child will be treated in a strictly

confidential manner. As a parent, you are able to access any

information held about your child as laid out in our Open Access

Policy. If at any time you would like to look through your child’s

information folder, please ask a member of staff who will access it

for you to look through.

CONCERNS AND COMPLAINTS

In the event that you have a concern or a complaint about any area

of our service, please discuss this in the first instance with the

Nursery staff. Should you feel that the complaint is unresolved

after this action, you should speak to the Head Teacher, Ms

Simpson. If this does not bring about a suitable conclusion, you can

then contact the Quality Improvement Officer for the school, Mrs

Maggie Spence. A copy of the full complaints policy is available

within the school and in the policy folder.

SHETLAND ISLANDS COUNCIL – Children’s Services

Director of Children’s Services Mrs Helen Budge

Executive Manager (Quality Improvement) Mrs Audrey Edwards

Quality Improvement Officer Mrs Maggie Spence

Schools Service

Children’s Services,

Hayfield House,

Hayfield Lane,

Lerwick,

Shetland. ZE1 0QD.

Tel: 01595 744000

Thank you for reading the above information. If there is

anything you would like clarification on or something we have not

covered, please don’t hesitate to ask. We would like to continue

to improve this booklet and would be interested in any comments

you have on its contents, layout, etc.

Please remember the care and education of your child is a home-

nursery partnership and that means communication must be two

way. If there are any problems or issues you wish to discuss,

please contact us and we will do our very best to help.

The information contained in this handbook was true at the time of printing and may be subject to change throughout the year. You will be kept informed of all changes and amendments.

Dunrossness Primary School

2014/2015 Calendar of Events

AUGUST Monday 18th STAFF ONLY In-Service

Tuesday 19th STAFF ONLY In-Service

Wednesday 20th School Commences for Pupils

SEPTEMBER Tuesday 2nd Parent Council AGM 8pm

Monday 15th Primary 1 children commence full days

OCTOBER Monday 6th Parents’ Evening

Tuesday 7th Parents’ Evening

Friday 10th School Closes 3.30pm – October Holidays

Monday 27th STAFF ONLY In-Service

Tuesday 28th STAFF ONLY In-Service

Wednesday 29th STAFF ONLY Extra In-Service

Thursday 30th School re-opens for pupils

NOVEMBER Sunday 9th School Winter Fair & Teas in the School

DECEMBER Wednesday 10th Christmas Matinee & Evening Concerts

Thursday 11th Christmas Dinner

Friday 19th School Closes 3.30pm – Xmas Holidays

JANUARY Monday 5th School Re-opens

Wednesday 28th School Closed – Up Helly Aa

FEBRUARY Friday 20th School Closed - Occasional Holiday

Monday 23rd School Closed - Occasional Holiday

MARCH Monday 23rd Parents’ Evening

Tuesday 24th Parents’ Evening

Friday 27th School Closes 3.30pm – Spring Holidays

APRIL Monday 13th STAFF ONLY In-Service

Tuesday 14th School Re-opens

MAY Friday 22nd School Closed – Occasional Holiday

Monday 25th School Closed – Occasional Holiday

JUNE Tuesday 23rd School Sports Day (provisional)

JULY Wednesday 1st Leavers’ Assembly, Nursery Graduation and Open

morning

Friday 3rd School Closes 3.30pm – Summer Holidays

Next school year begins for pupils on Wednesday 19th August 2015.