H A N D B O O K

2018/2019

Newdykes Road Prestwick KA9 2LB

01292 477121

Prestwick Academy

SECTION A - General School Information Page No. 1

1. Head Teacher Welcome Statement 1

2. School Ethos, Aims and Values 3

3. School Information

Name

Address

Telephone number

Email address

Website

Denominational status

Accommodation and capacity

House structure

Catchment map and area

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4. School Staff 6

5. Management Team 7

6. The School Year and School Hours 8 SECTION B - Teaching and Learning 9

Curriculum for Excellence 9

The Core Curriculum 10

Opportunities for Wider Achievement 12

Homework Policy 15

Assessment and Reporting 16

School Improvement 17

Support for Pupils (Additional Support Needs). 20

Psychological Services 25

Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) 25

Child Protection 25

Planning for Progression (Transitions) 26

Religious and Moral Education 26

Sensitive Aspects of Learning 27

Equal Opportunities and Inclusion 27

Health And Wellbeing (including School Disciplinary Policy) 28

Pupil Council 32 SECTION C – Home / School / Community 33

Parental Involvement and Home School Links 33

Parents as Partners – Parent Council and Parent Forum 33

Choosing a school 34

Attendance 35

Transferring Educational Data about pupils 37

School Uniform Policy 43

Parental Complaints Procedure 44

Public Private Partnership (PPP) Programme 44 SECTION D – Care and Welfare 45

School Meals and Free School Meal Information 45

Footwear and Clothing Grant Information 46

Education Maintenance Allowance 46

Transport Guide to Parents 46

Insurance 48

Valuable Items 48

Use of Mobile Phones 48

Health and Medical Information 50

Data Protection Act 51

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 51

Helpful addresses and websites 52

CONTENTS

1. Introduction by our Head Teacher

It gives me great pleasure in presenting Prestwick Academy’s School Handbook for session 2018/2019. It contains a wide range of information, which I hope you will find useful and interesting.

We aim to provide a meaningful and effective education for all our pupils by creating a caring, and tolerant teaching and learning environment where staff can deliver a curriculum which is responsive both to the need of individual pupils and to those of a changing society. A curriculum which will enable our young people to become successful learners, effective contributors, responsible citizens and confident individuals. Central to this is a strong partnership between staff, pupils, parents and the wider community.

We strive to ensure our young people leave Prestwick Academy with a well- developed sense of their local community, and are fully prepared and equipped to take their place within it.

No handbook in itself can fully or adequately describe a school. If you wish to view our school, hear more about it, or discuss some aspect of our work, then please feel free to telephone, write or arrange a visit. Parents and guardians are particularly welcome. We look forward to working with you to support, guide and motivate your sons and daughters throughout their education in Prestwick Academy, in turn preparing them for life beyond school.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. G Bone Head Teacher

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SECTION A – General School Information

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A Vision for Prestwick Academy Our vision for Prestwick Academy is to equip our young people with the necessary skills, knowledge and positive attitudes to realise their full potential which will enable them to lead a healthy and productive life.

This will be achieved by providing a curriculum for educational excellence and a range of appropriate learning experiences which motivate all our young people to develop fully their academic and vocational potential. Staff will be engaged in high quality professional development activities allowing them to develop effective and innovative approaches to teaching and learning, taking into account developments in educational research and the use of new technology. Leadership at all levels will be of the highest quality and will be directed towards having a positive impact on our young people’s learning.

Our young people will be encouraged to work in a manner which promotes mutual respect for their peers and others within the society in which they live. Pupil progress and school improvement will be enhanced through strong and dynamic links with parents and the wider community. Prestwick Academy will be a caring, supportive learning environment for all.

By instilling adaptability, independence and a strong sense of positive values we will equip our young people to realise ambitions and build a better future for all.

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Honesty

Respect

Equality

Compassion

Responsibility

2. School Ethos, Aims and Values

Our Core Values

Compassion Honesty Equality Responsibility Respect

Prestwick Academy School Aims

1. To create a caring, supportive and welcoming ethos in which all members

of the school community feel valued and which fosters the pursuit of individual and collective excellence.

2. To provide for all pupils a coherent, balanced curriculum which meets their

personal, social, intellectual and vocational needs. 3. To adopt flexible learning and teaching approaches which motivate all

pupils to achieve their potential and which set a basis for lifelong learning. 4. To enhance pupil progress and school development through strong and

dynamic links with parents and the wider community. 5. To deploy human, physical and financial resources as effectively as possible

in support of our educational goals. 6. To ensure the effective delivery of education through systematic planning for

improvement based on a process of self-evaluation and a related programme of staff development.

Prestwick Cluster Core Values

Honesty

Respect

Equality

Compassion

Responsibility

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Address

Name Prestwick Academy

Newdykes Road, Prestwick, KA9 2LB

Telephone Number

Mr. G Bone Head Teacher

01292 477121

E-mail Address Prestwick.mail@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

Website www.prestwick.sayr.sch.uk

Denominational status Non-denominational

Accommodation and capacity Prestwick Academy is a first generation PPP school. Facilities management is done by MITIE who are charged with overseeing the quality of the accommodation. Prestwick Academy has an agreed capacity of 1300 pupils. The roll for this session, 2017-18 was 1157 pupils on census day, September 2017. Each year group from S1 – S4 has a maximum of 240 pupils. Parents should note that the working capacity of the school may vary dependent upon the number of pupils at each stage and the way in which the classes are organized.

House structure 5 House structure – Eriskay, Harris, Lewis, Skye and Tiree Siblings contained in same house. 1 Principal Teacher of Guidance per House and 1 Depute Head per House.

Catchment map and area Details of the school’s catchment area and street names are available for inspection at the school and parents can also access them on the Council’s website at www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk. Catchment map and area available from the School Management Section, People Directorate, County Buildings, Wellington Square, Ayr, KA7 1DR.

3. School Information

Associated Primary Schools Glenburn Primary, Sherwood Road, Prestwick Tel: 01292 473452 Heathfield Primary, Heathfield Road, Ayr Tel: 01292 612123 Kingcase Primary, Nursery Avenue, Prestwick Tel: 01292 473451 Monkton Primary, Station Road, Monkton Tel: 01292 473456 Symington Primary, Brewlands Road, Symington Tel: 01292 690074

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4. School Staff

Head Teacher: Mr G Bone Depute Head Teachers: Mr M Anderson, Mrs M Catterall, Mr G Docherty, Ms A Hall, Mrs A Miller

ART

Mrs McDonald (PT) Ms Hall (DHT) Mr Laing Miss Storm Miss Morrison

BUSINESS EDUCATION

Miss Campbell (PT) Mrs Dunlop (PTG) Miss Howat Mrs Miller (DHT) Miss Milligan Mrs Read COMPUTER STUDIES

Mrs Gillespie (PT) Mrs Allan Mrs Dunlop (PTG) Mrs Woods DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

Miss Sinclair (PT) Mrs Brown Mr Docherty (DHT) Mr Hitchman Mr McAllister Miss McCrorie

ENGLISH

Ms Carey (PT) Ms Allan Mrs Catterall (Acting DHT) Mrs Davey Mrs Kaur Ms Laird Mrs McDonagh Miss McInnes Mrs McIntosh Ms Thomson GEOGRAPHY

Mrs Clark (PT) Ms Bowater Miss Irvine HISTORY&MODERN STUDIES

Mrs Ramage (PT) Ms Alexander Mr Docherty Mr McCabe Ms Rankin HOME ECONOMICS

Mrs Leckie (PT) Mrs Bairstow Mrs Campbell

MATHEMATICS

Mr Clark (PT) Mr Anderson (DHT) Mrs Clark Mrs Happell Miss A Jamieson Mrs H Jamieson Miss McGregor Miss McLean Mrs Marr (PTG) Mrs Finney Mr Zerebiec MODERN LANGUAGES

Mrs Bartholome (PT) Mrs Blackwood (PTG) Mrs Boyce (PTG) Mrs Gibb Ms McCreadie (Probationer) Mrs McKenzie MUSIC

Mrs Dippie (PT) Miss Auld Mrs Hughes (PTG) Mrs Hunter Mrs Miller Instructors

Miss Connell (Violin/Viola) Mr Henderson (Guitar) Mrs Hendry (Double Bass) Mr O’Connell (Cello) Mrs Rietveld Mr Welsh (Percussion) Mr Williams (Brass) PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Mrs Hubbard (PT) Miss Watt Mr Bryden Ms McBride (Probationer) Mr McDowall Mrs Naismith RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Mr Rewhorn (P.T.) Mrs Pham SCIENCE DEPARTMENT BIOLOGY

Mrs McCaig (PT) Mrs Graham Mrs McGoldrick Mrs Clark Mrs Smith

CHEMISTRY

Mr Robinson (PT) Mrs Beatson Ms Hamid-Saleem Mrs Laing Mr Ross (PTG) Mrs Walker

PHYSICS

Miss Ashton (PT) Mr Olesen Mr Robertson SUPPORT FOR LEARNING

Mr Noble (PT) Mrs Gordon Miss A Jamieson Mr Keir Mrs McFadden Mrs Parkinson Mrs Sharpe SCHOOL ASSISTANTS

Mr Brown Mrs Christie Ms Cox Mrs Cunningham Mr Fraser Mrs Gemmell Mrs Rogerson Mrs Simpson Mrs Stevenson ADMINISTRATION TEAM LEADER (PRESTWICK/MARR)

Mrs Rodgers SCHOOL FINANCE OFFICER

Mrs Greig CLERICAL STAFF

Mrs McLean (Senior) Mrs Anderson Miss Brown Mrs Devlin Mrs Miller Mrs Neish Mrs Underwood LIBRARIAN

Miss Milne Mr Fois

TECHNICIANS

Mr Miller – Senior & ICT Mrs Ball (Science) Mr Hall (Design & Technology) Mr McNair (Science) Mrs Poole (Science) JANITORS

Mr A Ramsay Mr G Davidson

SMT Remits

* This may be subject to change

Gordon Bone

Head Teacher

Mark Anderson

(DHT - Skye)

Anita Hall

(DHT - Lewis)

Ann Miller

(DHT - Tiree)

Margaret Catterall

(Acting DHT - Harris)

George Docherty

(DHT - Eriskay)

Learning and Teaching

School Improvement -

Self-Evaluation &

Quality Assurance

Strategic Planning

Performance Information

Liaison with external agencies

(in conjunction with appropriate DHT)

Parent Council

School Handbook

Staff Welfare

Staff Manual

Statistical returns

Health and Safety

LAGAN

DMR with MA

Co-ordination of Pupil Equity Fund Strategy

Policy Development

Staffing with MA

Parental Engagement including Family Learning

Learning and Teaching

Raising Attainment, Attendance Monitoring, Pupil Reports and Managing Behaviour for Skye House

Pupil Voice

Pupil Social Events

DMR with HT

School Fund

Supported Study

PPP Liaison

Timetable

Admissions

School of Football

Award System/ Prize Giving with MC

Staffing with HT

Curriculum with HT

South Ayrshire Campus – consortium

Personal Achievement courses

S2 Electives

Absence Cover

Learning and Teaching

Raising Attainment,

Attendance Monitoring,

Pupil Reports and Managing Behaviour

for Lewis House

Pupil Voice

Pupil Social Events

Managing QA

Stakeholder Engagement/Surveys

PRD/ CLPL – Teacher

Professionalism

School/College

Partnership

Excursions/Transport

Creativity &

Employment

Careers

Promoting Pupil

Achievement

International Educ.

DoE

Absence Cover

Learning and Teaching

Raising Attainment, Attendance Monitoring, Pupil Reports and Managing Behaviour for Tiree House

Pupil Voice

Pupil Social Events

BGE & SQA: Tracking attainment

Assessment of Children’s Progress

Reporting to Parents

Digital Learning

School Website

Click & Go Co-ordinator

SQA Co-ordination

Exam Arrangements

Absence Cover

Learning and Teaching

Raising Attainment, Attendance Monitoring, Pupil Reports and Managing Behaviour for Harris House

Pupil Voice

Pupil Council

Pupil Social Events

S6 School Captaincy Team including Prefects

Citizenship

Community links

Options process

Primary/ Sec Liaison

Student Regent

Probationers

Award System/Prize Giving with MA

Assemblies/House Assemblies

School Chaplains

EMA

UCAS co-ordinator

Library

Wider Achievement

Absence Cover

Learning and Teaching

Raising Attainment, Attendance Monitoring, Pupil Reports and Managing Behaviour for Eriskay House

Pupil Voice

Wellbeing, Equality and Inclusion

Pupil Support

School Assistants

LAC co-ordinator

PSE

GIRFEC

TAC

Safeguarding & Child Protection

Managing Pupil Behaviour (strategic)

MCMC co-ordinator

Positive Destinations

Absence Cover

Departmental Links: Geography Mathematics Music

Departmental Links: Biology Chemistry Physics

Departmental Links: Art & Design Home Economics Physical Education

Departmental Links:

History/Mod. Studies Business Education Computing

Departmental Links:

English Modern Languages RMPS

Departmental Links:

Design & Technology Pupil Support

5. Management Team

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SCHOOL HOURS

2018/2019

Interval Lunchtime Monday – Wednesday

8:45am – 3:40pm

10:25 – 10:40am

1:10 – 2:00pm

Thursday – Friday

8:45am – 2:50pm

10:25 – 10:40am

12:20pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2018/2019 PROPOSED DATES

First Term Teachers (In-service) Thursday 16

th August

Teachers (In-service) Friday 17th August

Pupils return Monday 20th August

Local holiday Friday 21st September

Local holiday Monday 24th September

Mid Term Close Friday 12th October

Teachers (In-service) Monday 22nd

October

Pupils return Tuesday 23rd

October

Christmas Close Friday 21st December

Second Term Re-open Monday 7th January

Second Mid Term Close Friday 8th February

Local holiday Monday 11th February

Teachers (In-service) Tuesday 12th February

Pupils return Wednesday 13th February

Easter Close Friday 29th March

Third Term Re-open Monday 15th April

May Day Monday 6th May

Local holiday Monday 27th May

Teachers (In-service) Tuesday 28th May

Re-open Wednesday 29th May

Close Friday 28th June

6. The School Year and School Hours

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1. Curriculum for Excellence

Curriculum for Excellence has been implemented across Scotland for all 3-18 year olds – wherever they learn. It aims to transform Scottish education, raise standards of achievement, and provide young people with the skills, knowledge and attributes they will need for learning, life and work in the twenty first century. This is encapsulated in the aim to improve the life chances of every young person in Scotland and develop their four capacities as: successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

Curriculum for Excellence enables professionals to teach subjects creatively, to work together across the school and with other schools, to share best practice and explore learning together.

Teachers and practitioners will share information to plan a child’s ‘learning journey’ from 3-18, helping their progression from nursery to primary, primary to secondary and beyond, ensuring the change is smooth and builds on what they have learned at each stage. They will ensure that children continue to work at a pace that is appropriate for them but which also challenges and supports them to achieve their very best.

Every child is entitled to a broad general education, whatever their level and ability. Every single teacher and practitioner will be responsible for literacy and numeracy – the language and numbers skills that unlock other subjects and are vital to everyday life. All teachers are also responsible for the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Curriculum for Excellence develops skills for learning, life and work to help young people go on to further study, secure work and navigate life. It brings real life into the classroom, making learning relevant and helps young people apply lessons to their life beyond the classroom. It links knowledge and skills in one subject area to another, helping children understand the world and make connections. It develops skills so that children can think for themselves, make sound judgements, challenge, enquire and find solutions.

All pupils are entitled to personal support to help them fulfil their potential and make the most of their learning opportunities with additional support wherever that’s needed.

SECTION B – Teaching and Learning

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2. Curriculum

To reflect the principles of Curriculum for Excellence, the organisational structure of each child’s learning at Prestwick Academy has been updated. The previous curriculum structure has been phased out. S1-S3 pupils will study a Broad General Education through to the end of S3 followed by an S4-S6 Senior Phase curriculum. Throughout the S1-S3 Broad General Education, your child will have the opportunity to build on prior learning from his/her primary school and will continue to experience success across each of the four capacities. To maintain motivation, pace of learning and interest throughout the Broad General Education, your child will have the opportunity to personalise his/her curriculum through choice at the end of S2. To maintain breadth of learning and meet the requirement of a Broad General Education, in S3 all pupils will study courses covering each of the eight Curricular Areas:

Expressive Arts – including art and design, drama and music Health and Wellbeing – mental, emotional, personal, social and physical wellbeing, PE, food and health, substance misuse and relationships, sexual health and parenthood Languages – listening and talking, reading and writing in literacy, English and modern languages Mathematics – including analysing information, solving problems and assessing risk Religious and Moral Education – learning about Christianity, other world religions and developing values and beliefs Sciences – understanding important scientific concepts across planet Earth, forces, electricity and waves, biological systems, materials and topical science Social Studies – understanding people, place and society in the past and present including history, geography, modern studies and business Technologies – including computing science, food, textiles, craft, design, engineering, graphics, and applied technologies

The choice process within each of the Curriculum Areas will take place in February/March of S2. Towards the end of S3, your child will have the opportunity to ‘update’ his/her choices as preparation for Senior Phase qualifications in S4.

Copies of Option Forms can be found on our website.

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In the S4-S6 Senior Phase, your child will continue their ‘learning journey’ through a range of personalised curriculum pathways. As your child progresses through the Senior Phase, he/she will experience a greater depth of learning as well as formal recognition of achievements. We will offer the full suite of new SQA qualifications from National 3 through to Advanced Higher. Advanced Highers are offered in a range of subjects e.g. Maths, Physics and Chemistry.

The overall curricular structure now looks like this:

Previous Curriculum

Current CfE Curriculum

S1 S1 – S3 Broad General Education

S2

S3

S4 S4 - S6 Senior Phase

S5

S6

In recent years, we have expanded our partnership working to meet the needs of learners. Many of our senior pupils’ learning experiences do not just occur in school but beyond, with College options, volunteering and work shadowing/experience placements being available.

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3. Opportunities for Wider Achievement

The school runs a wide range of extra- curricular activities and pupils have gained notable competitive success in many spheres.

SPORT AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

BADMINTON

FITNESS

BASKETBALL

FOOTBALL

DODGEBALL

GYMNASTICS, AEROBICS & FITNESS

NETBALL VOLLEYBALL

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MUSIC

Prestwick Academy has a vibrant and energetic music department with a range of activities taking place both inside and out of the classroom. The music department delivers courses which are challenging, relevant and engaging for the pupils, leading to consistently outstanding examination results. The music department also offers a diverse range of extra-curricular activities throughout the week to allow pupils to develop their skills and talents.

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String Orchestra

The school has an award-winning string orchestra which rehearses every Wednesday morning. The orchestra is led by Ms Connell (Violin instructor) and it has won prestigious awards at both the Ayrshire and Glasgow Music Festivals.

Many pupils from Prestwick Academy also play in the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra, the South Ayrshire Schools Orchestra, the West of Scotland Schools’ Orchestra and the South Ayrshire Jazz Band.

Wind Band

The wind band rehearses on a Tuesday morning and allows pupils to further develop their playing and ensemble techniques. Mr. Williams (Brass instructor) directs this group.

Mrs. Rietveld (Woodwind instructor) directs the Woodwind Group on a Tuesday during lunchtime.

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Choirs

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The school has two choirs which rehearse at lunchtime during the week. The choirs are fully inclusive and offer pupils the chance to learn new and exciting repertoire.

The Junior Choir (S1 and S2) rehearse on Tuesday lunchtime and the Senior Choir (S3-S6) rehearse on Friday lunchtime. Both choirs are led by Mrs. Dippie and Ms. Auld.

In addition to the Junior and Senior Choirs, the Staff Choir rehearse with Mrs. Hunter and have given performances at many school events, including the annual Christmas Concert and as part of the chorus of ‘Hairspray’. Staff members enjoy the good ethos and informal atmosphere during rehearsals.

Voice Factor

S2 pupils can opt to choose an elective period of singing during the week. During this class pupils learn vocal techniques and explore performance through many different musical genres. Pupils also have opportunities to display their achievements at concerts and musical events throughout the year.

Musical Events

The music department is committed to producing high quality musical events throughout the year allowing pupils a platform for performance and to display their achievements and talents.

In November every year, the music department runs a Young Singer of the Year competition. This highlights the vocal talent within the school and is adjudicated by professionals out with the school community. This is a popular event with 50 pupils auditioning for a place in the final.

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In December, the annual Christmas Concert takes place which showcases the work of pupils, ensembles, choirs and orchestras in the first term.

The Young Musician of the Year competition held in March highlights the excellent level of instrumental playing within the school and allows individuals to compete for the title in a more formal concert setting.

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The pupils of the music department are often invited to perform in the local community. In December 2017, the pupils of Prestwick Academy performed for the Prestwick Rotary Club at their annual Christmas concert. This was a really successful evening and the pupils have been invited back in December 2018.

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School Show

The music department puts on an annual school show which has become one of the most popular events in the school calendar. This year the pupils will be performing in the hit musical comedy ‘The Wedding Singer’. Previous school shows have included ‘Hairspray’ in 2017 and ‘We Will Rock You’ in 2016.

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Hairspray 2017

Th

e W

ed

din

g S

ing

er

2018

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Burns Group

The music department have also started running a Burns Group for pupils to learn Scottish recitation, song and instrumental works. The group performed for Prestwick Burns Club in February 2018. The group is led by Mrs Dippie and Mrs Hunter.

Recording Studio

The music department have a recording studio with state of the art facilities. The studio will be used to record pupils, ensembles and choirs over the coming session. Most recently the music department released a CD in conjunction with their Expressive Arts Showcase which highlighted the finalists of the Young Singer of the Year 2017. The pupils have worked with a sound engineer this year to produce the CD which was a fantastic experience for them.

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LIVELY LIBRARY

A time when pupils can enjoy a variety of activities out with timetabled classes.

Additional opening times may vary according to the library timetable for the following purposes: Rediscover

Reading; Personal Projects; Computer Confidence; Homework Haven

OTHER CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES

ART BADMINTON BRASS BAND CHARITY FUNDRAISING CONCERTS / TALENT CONTEST COMPUTING CLUB DISCOS & DANCES DODGEBALL FOOTBALL DUKE OF EDINBURGH HOMEWORK CLUB JUNIOR CHOIR NETBALL RME / HISTORY TRIP SKI TRIP STEM CLUB STRING ORCHESTRA YEARBOOK WOODWIND ENSEMBLE YOUNGSCOT GROUP MODERN LANGUAGES TRIP

ECO-SCHOOLS GROUP A well supported and very active Environment Group which has a varied programme of activities throughout the session.

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4. Homework Policy

Learning activities undertaken outside the classroom make an important contribution to educational progress.

Homework can be used:

to consolidate work done in class

to complete work unfinished in class

to extend work started in class

to encourage revision

to prepare for work about to be done in class

to foster learning and study skills

The Homework Policy has recently been reviewed and the following is a rough guide to the appropriate amount of homework at various stages.

S1/2/3 2-5 hours per week S4 5-10 hours per week, depending on courses S5/6 10-15 hours per week, depending on courses

The allocations indicated above do not include time spent on study, which clearly becomes a very important issue in S4 and above as pupils prepare for national examinations. A booklet outlining the amounts of homework expected in each subject will be issued at the start of the session.

At the beginning of each session every pupil is issued with a Homework diary. The diary will help the pupil with the planning of Homework. Parents should monitor the use of the Homework diary and are asked to sign it at the end of each week. Our current Homework Policy is under review.

SUPPORTED STUDY

Supported study is available at various points in the year. This initiative involves teachers being paid to provide study support for senior pupils after school. Parents/Carers are notified through text, twitter and our website.

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5. Assessment and Reporting

How is Learning in the Broad General Education Assessed?

Assessment is a central part of everyday learning and teaching for children and young people. Teachers gather evidence on an ongoing and informal basis through asking questions, observing children working together and making comments on their work. Children may assess their own work or that of their classmates. Some assessment is more formal, such as projects, investigations, case studies and tests. The assessment of children’s progress throughout primary school and in secondary S1–S3 is based partly on teachers’ views: their “professional judgement”. In making these judgements, teachers draw on their professional knowledge and understanding of the child using a very wide range of assessment information including standardised assessments.

The professional assessment judgements of teachers are expressed in terms of a child or young person’s progress within and through levels. Most children are expected to have achieved the early level by the end of P1, first level by the end of P4, second level by the end of P7 and third level by the end of S3. Many will achieve fourth level by the end of S3.

All schools in South Ayrshire Council have been using standardised assessments, along with a range of other assessment information for several years, to monitor the progress of individual learners and support their learning. From August 2017, new national standardised assessments were introduced in all schools in Scotland. These assessments will provide an additional source of nationally consistent evidence for teachers to use when assessing children’s progress.

National Standardised Assessments

Every child in P1, P4, P7 and S3 will undertake national standardised assessments covering some aspects of reading, writing and working with numbers. Assessments will be completed online and will be automatically marked by the online system, giving teachers immediate feedback to help children progress. The assessments will be used to help teachers understand how well your child is progressing with his or her learning and to plan next steps. There will be no pass or fail.

The exercises in the tests are adaptive to your child’s response and offer an evaluation of your child’s skills in these key areas. In other words, the system is designed so that if a child is struggling with the questions they will get easier, and if a child is doing well the questions will become more challenging.

A time limit of 50 minutes for each assessment has been set. This is an absolute maximum, to ensure that no child feels an unnecessary time pressure when undertaking the assessments. Your child will not be expected to take assessments covering reading, writing and working with numbers in one sitting. In South Ayrshire, national standardised assessments will usually take place at the end of a year in the summer term. The assessments will, as far as possible, accommodate the needs of children who require additional support.

How is Learning in the Senior Phase Assessed?

Learning in the Senior Phase is assessed using procedures and processes agreed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

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Reporting to Parents

The table below indicates when reports are issued to parents. Interim and tracking reports provide a quick overview of progress to date. The additional ‘Progress’ reports will provide more information for parents and will include comments by staff highlighting strengths and areas for development. Timings of reports are reviewed each year.

October November January February May

S4/5/6 Tracking report (1) issued

S1/2/3 Interim report issued S4/5/6 Tracking report (2) issued

S3 Progress report issued

S4/5/6 Tracking report (3) issued

S1/2 Progress report issued

The Curriculum for Excellence assessment data and the data relating to pupils performance in SQA examinations in the Senior Phase (S4-S6) for South Ayrshire schools is reported to members of the public in the annual performance report, which is published in February each year.

6. School Improvement

The school’s Standards & Quality report is available on our website. This will provide additional information related to our achievements from session 2017-18.

https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/find-a-school/south-ayrshire/8236836 website will provide you with additional information relating to the school.

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SQA Results 2017 S4

S4 achieved the best ever results for Prestwick Academy. The number of A/B awards at National 5 increased by 10% from the previous session. The number of pupils achieving literacy and numeracy at SCQF levels 4 and 5 has steadily increased since 2015. S5/S6 The following figures are the highest over the last three years for literacy and numeracy (S5):

S5: Improving Attainment for All – an analysis of attainment by tariff points highlights an increase for 2017:

Each qualification is given a set of points equivalent to the level of qualification achieved.

The percentage of pupils gaining 1 or more Higher awards has increased by 8% since 2014 results.

More detailed information can be found on Parentzone Scotland and searching for our school (https://education.gov.scot/parentzone/Pages/Search.aspx?k=prestwick%20academy) The following information relates to leaver destinations from Session 2016-17

Measure 2017 SCQF level 4 SCQF level 5

Literacy 99% 90%

Numeracy 95% 67%

Measure 2017 SCQF level 4 SCQF level 5

Literacy 99% 94%

Numeracy 98% 87%

By S5 year group Lowest 20% Middle 60% Highest 20%

2015 231 625 963

2016 194 615 966

2017 283 657 973

SCHOOL LEAVER DESTINATIONS 2017

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7. Support for Pupils (Additional Support Needs)

Additional support for learning

South Ayrshire Council has duties outlined in the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act (2000), and the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (As amended). These include the production of a policy for additional support needs; authority arrangements for identification and assessment of additional support needs; preparation of plans (including a CSP where appropriate); maintain and review additional support needs on an ongoing basis. South Ayrshire Council is committed to a policy of inclusion to carry out these duties of support. The authority is also committed to maintaining a range of specialist establishments and services to support the whole continuum of needs.

What are additional support needs (ASN)?

Some children and young people need extra help in school to make progress. It is the duty of the education authority to support all children and young people with additional support needs. Children and young people may need help with their reading or writing; to make sure they can get into and around the school; or to support their learning through difficult family circumstances. Additional support needs can last for any length of time. Further examples of situations where additional support may be needed for a child or young person who:

o has a learning difficulty; o is highly able ; o has emotional or social difficulties ; o is bereaved ; o is deaf or blind; o is being bullied ; o is not attending school regularly ; o is ‘looked after’ by the local authority.

How do we make sure we can meet the additional support needs of pupils in South Ayrshire?

All children and young people may need additional support at some point to help them make the most of their education. Most children are supported through their own class teacher and appropriate class based strategies and supports.

If a pupil needs more help than the class teacher can provide, then a process of providing the right support begins. We call this staged intervention. Staged intervention is our way of assessing, identifying and then providing the necessary additional support and/ or strategies for a child or young person.

Staged intervention can be broken down into the following stages:

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Stage 1 (a) - In class support

Where additional supports can be delivered through the use of class based strategies/interventions.

Stage 1(b) – In school support

Where a child’s additional support needs require intervention from a specialist teacher (e.g. Additional Support for Learning staff) or targeted support from a School Assistant they will be deemed to be supported at Stage 1(b). An action plan should be created and reviewed.

Stage 2 - Additional support from a service that is universally available

Where support for a child’s Additional Support Need cannot be met solely through school based interventions the school and family may seek support from other universal services . The Named Person will contact the appropriate service/agency to discuss/identify what supports are universally available to meet the identified wellbeing need. Consent from parents and child (12+) will be sought prior to a request being made. An Action plan will be created and formally reviewed.

Stage 3 - Specialist help from a multi-agency team

At this stage a wellbeing assessment will be completed. The Named Person will contact the appropriate multi-agency team, and work in partnership with parents and learners to discuss/identify what targeted supports are required to minimise the barriers to learning.

A team around the child meeting (TAC) will be convened to determine how agencies can provide support.

All children at Stage 3 will benefit from at least one targeted support. Further universal supports may also be part of the support provided to children at this level.

Coordinated Support Plan (CSP)

For a small number of children or young people, a Coordinated Support Plan (CSP) may be needed. This is prepared when there is ‘significant’ involvement from professionals from one or more agencies outwith education that will last for longer than 1 year. For further information see www.enquire.org

Supports available

Educational Services have developed a range of enhanced services to help meet the identified needs of children and young people. These services assist establishments in responding to the additional supports required. These can be accessed throughout the staged intervention process. These supports include:

o Psychological Services; o Peripatetic Services e.g. Visual Impairment and Hearing Impairment; o Home Link Team; o Looked After and Accommodated Service; o Learning and Inclusion Team; o School Support Assistants; o Additional Support for Learning Teachers; o Home Tutoring; o Outreach services from Specialist Centres.

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Educational Services will also access support, where appropriate, from colleagues within the Health and Social Care Partnership in order to address a range of concerns. Where necessary, establishments can access advice and direct support from e.g. Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy.

How can parents help to support children and young people with additional support needs?

As parents/carers, you will be fully involved in both the assessment of your child’s

needs and the plan of any outcomes detailed on your Child’s Plan. Parent’s and

children’s views should be taken into account and recorded through the Child’s

Assessment and Plan. Opportunities are also given by South Ayrshire Council to

parents/carers to contribute to policy and procedure development including the

Additional Support for Learning Parents Forum, engagement during improvement

visits and consultation on the Children’s Service Plan.

Parents should be fully aware of and be involved in the arrangements to support their children. They can bring supporters or advocates to any meeting at school to discuss their child.

What role do children and young people play? All children and young people will have the opportunity to make their views known about decisions that affect them. Children and young people’s views should be taken into account and recorded through the Child’s Plan. They will be encouraged to take part in any meeting where people are discussing thems. They will help to set their own targets and to review these.

How can parents make requests for assessment?

Assessment is a process of gathering information to inform and direct strategy and intervention to support a child’s additional support needs. It should take account of a child’s strengths and areas of difficulty. Assessment can take the form of observations, samples of work, specific assessment tools, discussions with staff involved with children, discussion with the child and parents, etc

As a parent or carer you will be fully consulted and kept informed at all stages of the assessment process by the Pupil Support Co-ordinator or Named Person.

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act (2004) makes sure that parents or young people can ask an education authority to arrange for an assessment or examination. The request can be for an educational, psychological or medical assessment or examination. Requests for assessment must be in writing or some other permanent form which can be referred to in the future. The request should contain the reasons for the request and the education authority must meet this request unless it is unreasonable. Parents can expect a response to such requests within four weeks and will be notified of the person in the authority who is dealing with the request. These requests should be sent to the Inclusion Co-ordinator.

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What can parents do if they don’t agree with the authority? Initially parents should discuss their concerns with the head teacher of their child’s school. If this is not possible, parents can also speak to the Quality Improvement Officer for their child’s school.

Parents can also use ‘Listening to You’. This is an online service which allows you to log concerns and complaints. See www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/listeningtoyou

If the above has been exhausted there are more formal avenues to resolve concerns and disputes including mediation, appeals and tribunal processes. Information on these will be available in schools and also from the education authority.

Where can parents get support and information relating to additional support needs? If parents and young people are still unhappy at the decision, then they should be assisted to know their rights to seek alternative methods of resolving the matter, through mediation, for example or to make a reference to the Additional Supports Needs Tribunal for Scotland. Telephone numbers and webpages are listed below.

Quality Improvement Manager County Buildings Wellington Square AYR KA7 1DR Tel: 01292 612201

Principal Educational Psychologist

Queen Margaret Academy Dalmellington Road Ayr KA7 3TL Tel: 01292 612819

Co-ordinator (Inclusion) Educational Services County Buildings Wellington Square Ayr KA7 1DR Tel: 01292 612406, 612292 or 612504

Enquire Scottish Enquire helpline: 0845 123 2303 Text phone: 0131 22 22 439 Email: info@enquire.org.uk Enquire, the Scottish advice service for Additional Support for Learning provides free, independent and impartial advice through its helpline.

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54 East Cross Causeway Edinburgh Midlothian EH8 9HD Tel: 0131 667 6333 Email: enquiries@sclc.org.uk

The Scottish Child Law Centre provides free legal advice and information for and about children and young people.

Resolve Children in Scotland 5 Shandwick Place Edinburgh EH2 4RG Tel: 0131 222 2456

Advocacy Service

John Pollock Centre

Mainholm Road Ayr, KA8 0QD Tel: 01292 285372

Scottish Child Law Centre

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8. Psychological Services

Educational Psychologists have five key elements to their service delivery including:

Consultation and advice; Assessment; Intervention; Research and training; Policy development;

This can be delivered at different levels, from that of the child to the school or to the local authority. For example, the Educational Psychologist can work with school staff and parents/carers to assess a child’s strengths and difficulties as well as work directly with a child/young person to provide support. They can also work with school staff to support them to develop policies and supports that will benefit all of the children in a school such as behaviour policies, playground supports, etc.

The Educational Psychologist will work collaboratively with many different people to improve the educational outcomes for children and young people. Much of their work involves consulting and working through others, especially those who see the child/ young person on a regular basis such as school staff and parents/carers.

The Psychological Service works within South Ayrshire’s staged approach to supporting young people with additional support needs. The first stage of the process involves support at the classroom level by class teachers and other support staff based within the school. If a school wish to consult or chat to the Educational Psychologist regarding a child, school staff will always ask parental permission first. Once this is provided, the school or psychologist will keep the parent or carer up to date with discussions although it is likely that the parent will be involved in discussions.

If a parent wishes to request the involvement of an Educational Psychologist, they should discuss this initially with staff at their child's school. This could be their child’s class teacher or the school’s Pupil Support Coordinator. The school can then consider what preliminary assessments and interventions may be required to support your child. If further advice or intervention is required schools can arrange a consultation with the school’s educational psychologist. See the service’s website for further details on what a parent can expect from a consultation with an educational psychologist.

If a parent has particular concerns they wish to discuss further with their school’s educational psychologist they can contact the Psychological Service to discuss any concerns. All psychologists are based in Queen Margaret Academy and can be contacted on 01292 612819.

Educational Psychologists maintain consultation notes for children who have been discussed but only open Psychological Service case files if there is to be direct work with a child or family or there is a high frequency of consultations required. Again parental permission is sought prior to opening a Psychological Services case file.

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Each educational establishment in South Ayrshire has an allocated educational psychologist and the details of this can be found on their website: www.eps.south-ayrshire.gov.uk as can other information on South Ayrshire’s Psychological Service.

Information Sharing In South Ayrshire educational establishments /schools we work closely with partner services including in health, social work, police, Children’s Reporter, 3rd

sectors and charities to ensure that children and families receive the help and support they need as quickly as possible. To improve the quality of the services we all provide, we may wish to share information about your child. You may therefore be asked for your agreement to share this information with relevant services. You have a choice about whether or not your child’s information is shared and have the right to refuse to give your consent, in most cases.

In exceptional cases, where we consider that any child is at risk of harm, we may share information, without consent to protect them. All members of staff working in South Ayrshire educational establishments /schools are trained to follow child protection procedures.

If you would like further information please refer to the Ayrshire GIRFEC website: http://www.girfec- ayrshire.co.uk/home/ and the Guide to information Sharing for parents/carers in Ayrshire and Arran. http://www.girfec-ayrshire.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/GIRFEC-Parents-and-Carers-e-guidance- June-2017.pdf

9. Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC)

The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 introduces an approach for all

children’s services to work together to meet every child’s needs. The ‘Getting It Right

for Every Child’ (known as “GIRFEC”) Practice Model is an assessment and

planning framework which centres on the individual and specific needs of each child.

Every child under the age of 18 is entitled to have a Named Person who should be

available to help and support the child and do whatever is necessary to promote, the

child’s ‘wellbeing’. All children have rights in terms of the UNCRC to be Safe, Healthy, Achieving,

Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included, (sometimes referred to as

‘SHANARRI indicators’). All assessments of ‘wellbeing’ needs or what support and

help is needed for a child will take account of these SHANARRI indicators. If a child needs help or support, the Named Person along with parents/carers and the TAC will assess the child’s wellbeing. If the child is receiving additional support or assistance in school, or from other services, ( for example from social work;

health services or 3rd sector or charity partners) then in consultation with

parents/carers the Team Around the Child will assess whether there are any wellbeing needs and if necessary, review the Child’s Plan.

The named person in our school is Mr George Docherty.

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10. Child Protection

School staff provide support to children and young people in their daily work and have a vital role to help protect them from harm. School staff help keep children and young people safe and well by:

o helping them learn about their personal safety, including internet safety; o being a trusted adult who children and young people may turn to for help,

and who will take them seriously;

o identifying when children and young people may need help; and o understanding the steps that must be taken when there are concerns for

children’s and young people’s safety.

The school has a Child Protection Co-ordinator who will co-ordinate the school’s response to concerns for children’s and young people’s safety and where they may be at risk of significant harm. The Authority has a designated officer for Child Protection who will ensure schools work effectively to keep children safe and well. If you have any concerns about the safety and wellbeing of a child or young person, including a ‘gut feeling’, talk about this to the school’s Child Protection Co-ordinator or another member of staff.

11. Planning for Progression and Transitions

Secondary schools have a curriculum framework for all young people from S1 to S6:

The S1/2/3 curriculum is based on the experiences and outcomes from Curriculum for Excellence and provides a Broad General Education. In S3, pupils are given the opportunity for greater specialisation within a curricular area.

In S4, pupils will study up to seven National qualifications. The new qualifications

allow progression from the Broad General Education.

In S5/6, most students will pursue a more specialised course related to their personal

interest, future employment, or entry to further or higher education.

The learning experience in S5/6 allows for a blend of learning opportunities which can include school based courses in addition to attendance at College, volunteering and work shadowing. Pupils can design their learning to allow for progression to positive and sustained destinations beyond school.

12. Religious and Moral Education

Parents from religions other than Christianity may request that their children be permitted to be absent from schools in order to celebrate recognised religious events. Only written requests detailing the proposed arrangements will be considered. Appropriate requests will be granted on not more than three occasions (days) in any one school session and the pupil noted as an authorised absentee in the register.

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The search for meaning, value and purpose in life is a challenge for us all. We hope that many aspects of school life will be of assistance to the pupils as they embark on this quest, but the contribution made by Religious and Moral Education is of particular importance.

All pupils in S1 to S4 have one period each week. They will be encouraged to become aware of a wide range of religious interpretations of personal experience and to develop an attitude of open enquiry and awareness of prejudice.

Religious observance is fostered through the monthly involvement of our School Chaplains in S1 and S2 House Assemblies and Year Assemblies for S1 - S6. The chaplains are most welcome in the school at any time and they will operate a

counselling service for any pupils who feel that they would like to discuss a personal problem with someone outside the teaching staff.

13. Sensitive Aspects of Learning

Prior to sensitive aspects of learning such as sexual health being taught, letters will be sent home informing parents. The aim of this approach is to raise parental awareness just in case any questions or discussions suddenly arise in the home as a result of the learning taking place in school.

14. Equal Opportunities and Inclusion

In terms of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and national law and policy, our school is committed to respecting children’s rights to have equal opportunities and to be included.

The national legislation around equal opportunities and social inclusion includes:

Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014; Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004 (as amended

2009) ‘the ASN Act’; Equality Act 2010; Disability Discrimination Act 2005; Human Rights Act 1998; Children(Scotland) Act 1995.

South Ayrshire puts this into practice through the following core beliefs:

Presumption of mainstream: All children and young people have the right to

an education within a mainstream school (Standards in Scotland’s School Act 2000);

Most inclusive option: Wherever possible, children and young people will be provided with an education within their own community and/or within their own catchment school (the ASL Act);

Staged intervention: If there are concerns about how a child or young person is coping within a mainstream placement, the model of staged intervention will be followed and this may include Team Around the Child meetings to assess and plan with available resources (the ASL Act). There is a particular focus in gathering the views of children, young people and their parents relating to the support required to minimise barriers to learning;

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Links to community: If it is agreed that a placement outwith a child’s community is appropriate to meet their needs, it is important to consider ways in which a child can maintain links and relationships with peers from their own community (the ASL Act);

Involvement of child and parent/carer: It is vital that the child,young person and parents/ carers are involved in all of these processes, and that the child or young person’s views are taken account of in any decisions made. (UNCRC) (the ASL Act)and the Children (Scotland) Act 1995);

ASN legislation: all processes and meetings will comply with the timescales of the

ASN legislation.

Each school has a Pupil Support Coordinator who along with the Named Person (if this is not the same individual) has responsibility to ensure each child’s needs are met. They will work alongside Pupil Support staff within their own school and also centrally. Central staff include Inclusion Co-ordinators, ASN teams, Psychological Services and Quality Improvement Officers.

At Prestwick Academy, we strive to ensure that every pupil is treated fairly and is given an equal opportunity to reach his/her potential, regardless of sex, race, colour, creed, ability or circumstances.

Current Priorities include:

identifying underachieving groups and putting strategies for improvement in place;

giving all pupils access to study support;

training senior pupils* as peer helpers to support other pupils who are experiencing problems;

promoting a caring and tolerant ethos in the school;

encouraging all pupils to participate fully in the life of the school. All staff have a responsibility for promoting equality of opportunity and social justice, inside and outside the classroom, with Guidance Teachers offering support for individuals.

Mr G Docherty, DHT, co-ordinates Equal Opportunity developments in the school.

* Every first year pupil will be assigned a sixth year peer helper, who will meet with him/her regularly and offer support in the settling-in period.

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15. Health and Wellbeing

Guidance Structure

Pupil Support - Guidance

The aim of the guidance system is to support all pupils to gain as much as possible from the opportunities that Curriculum for Excellence in Prestwick Academy can provide. Guidance Teachers are subject teachers who have special responsibility for the personal, social, and curricular and vocational needs of groups of pupil within the school. Time is made available to allow Guidance staff to carry out their duties.

There are 5 houses in the school - Eriskay, Harris, Lewis, Skye and Tiree. Each house has one associated Principal Teacher of Guidance with the exception of Eriskay House which has two PT Guidance staff. Guidance teachers also work closely with the DHT and Pupil Support Teacher assigned to each house. Pupils are placed in house groups which are directly related to a particular house e.g. the pupils in 1E1 are in Eriskay House; those in 2T2 are in Tiree House. The pupils in a particular House group all have the same Guidance Teacher, who will stay with them throughout their time in school.

Each pupil would usually have one formal interview with his/her Guidance Teacher every session. However, pupils are encouraged to speak with their Guidance Teacher if there are any concerns. Similarly, parents can arrange to meet Guidance Teachers by telephoning the school to make an appointment.

Remits of Guidance Staff The structure of Guidance in South Ayrshire schools is shown overleaf.

Managing Pupil Behaviour

The purpose of the discipline system is to help secure and maintain

an environment in the school which fosters a positive approach to

learning and allows individuals to pursue their education with a

minimum of disturbance and distraction.

The keynote is pupil self-discipline and responsibility which should be promoted and reinforced by the pupils’ overall experience of school, both inside and outside the classroom.

This means providing for each pupil in every class educational activities which are appropriate to their needs, abilities and interests.

(Note – the current school positive behaviour policy is currently under review).

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Remits of Guidance Staff

Eriskay (Green) Harris (Red) Lewis (Blue) Skye (Purple) Tiree (Yellow)

PT Guidance Mrs Pham Mrs McGoldrick Miss Naismith

Mrs Marr Mrs Dunlop Mrs Blackwood

Mr Ross

Remit

Pastoral care of Eriskay pupils Tracking and Monitoring Health Promotion Organization of TAC meetings S5 PSE Co-ordinator HWB – Mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing UCAS Co-ordinator

Pastoral care of Harris pupils Tracking and Monitoring Departmental forms and stationery S1 PSE Co-ordinator School Counsellor Liaison HWB – Substance Misuse UCAS Co-ordinator

Pastoral care of Lewis pupils Tracking and monitoring Requisition S4 PSE Co-ordinator Careers Education Co-ordinator HWB – Choices and Changes UCAS Co-ordinator

Pastoral care of Skye pupils Tracking and monitoring Peer Helping Co-ordinator S3 PSE Co-ordinator Rights Respecting Schools Attendance and Latecoming HWB – Relationships, sexual health and parenthood UCAS Co-ordinator

Pastoral care of Tiree pupils Tracking and monitoring S2 PSE Co-ordinator ‘Go For It’ Challenge HWB – Substance Misuse Equality and Diversity UCAS Co-ordinator

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The Code of Conduct below indicates what is expected of pupils at Prestwick Academy. We feel sure that, with the support of parents, this code can provide a sound basis for achieving a positive learning environment in Prestwick Academy.

Code of Conduct

The class teacher is responsible for everything that goes on in the classroom so listen to them and follow their instructions

In the classroom you are expected to

Arrive on time

Come prepared

Remove outdoor clothing

Switch off and put away phones and

MP3s

Follow instructions

Drink only water

Do not eat or chew

Respect other people

Respect your environment

Be safe

Concentrate on tasks set

Remember to follow the teacher’s instructions at all times

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Disciplinary Sanctions

There are occasions, of course, when pupils are in breach of the code of conduct.

The following is a list of the more commonly applied sanctions (not in strict order of severity):

1. Verbal reprimand 8. Parental contact by telephone or letter 2. Re-seating within classrooms 9. Parental involvement through visit to school 3. Written punishment exercises 10. Pupil sent home – to return with parent 4. Temporary removal from classroom 11. Exclusion to the Behaviour Base 5. Interval-lunchtime detention 12. Formal exclusion – up to ten days 6. On report – behaviour/attendance

Timetable 13. Formal exclusions – totalling over 30 days –

referred to the Local Authority. 7. Report to Depute Head Teacher

Key elements in dealing effectively with pupil misconduct are:-

regular communication of information about

pupil indiscipline within the school

accurate record keeping

of developing incidents

acting early, to

‘nip problems in the bud’

support of misbehaving pupils through

Guidance, Behavioural Support and Joint

Assessment Team

clear channels of referral

within school hierarchy

using sanction appropriate

to the misconduct

partnership between the home and school in

trying to secure acceptable conduct

Joint Support Team

This Group consists of Guidance Staff plus representatives from Psychological Services, Social Work and other relevant external agencies. It meets regularly to discuss strategies for supporting pupils for whom there are serious concerns.

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16. Pupil Council

Consultation with pupils about their views on their school environment and their learning is important and valuable to our school. We recognise that giving young people a “voice” as partners in the process of school improvement, leads to more effective learning organisations.

Pupil Councils are one means of ensuring that young people develop positive attitudes and an opportunity to take part in “real life” decision-making within their own school setting.

Questionnaires and focus groups are also used as a means to gather the views of pupils.

Further details about Prestwick Academy’s Pupil voice Strategy can be found in the Prestwick Academy Pupil Voice working document on the school website. In addition, the Pupil Council Charter outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Pupil Council.

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1. Parental Involvement and Home School Links

Our school website is constantly updated to share information with parents. We use a range of media to communicate with parents e.g twitter, e-mail and text. Parents have been encouraged to share a contact e-mail address whereby letters etc can be sent electronically to minimise the need for paper. We also provide paper copies of letters.

As Curriculum for Excellence has been developed, additional information evenings for parents have been organised to ensure parents are kept up to date with progress.

Where possible, we also hold other types of information evenings for parents. Eg, ‘How to support your child’s learning in the home’ event has been delivered to parents of S4/5 pupils.

Parent focus groups are also organised during the session to gather views on certain aspects of their child’s schooling. Questionnaires are also issued during parents’ evenings to seek the views of parents.

A healthy home-school partnership is essential to ensure we provide the best opportunities for our pupils.

1. Parents as Partners – Parent Council and Parent Forum

Parent Councils are the formal representative body for parents with children attending school. Parent Councils are different in each school to enable them to meet the needs of parents locally. Parents are welcomed to be:

involved with their child’s education and learning;

be active participants in the life of the school; and

express their views on school education generally and work in partnership with their children's schools.

All parents / carers are automatically members of the Parent Forum at their child’s school. As a member of the Parent Forum all parents can expect to:

receive information about the school and its activities;

hear about what partnership with parents means in our school;

be invited to be involved in ways and times that suit you;

identify issues you want the parent council, to work on with the school;

be asked your opinion by the parent council on issues relating to the school and the education it provides;

work in partnership with staff; and

enjoy taking part in the life of the school in whatever way possible.

SECTION C – Home / School / Community

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The Parent Forum decides how their representatives on the Parent Council are chosen and how the Parent Council operates. Parents are encouraged to volunteer or put themselves forward to be chosen as representatives of the Parent Council if they wish. The main aims of the Parent Council are to:

support the school in its work with pupils

represent the views of parents

promote contact between the school, parents, pupils, providers of nursery education and the community

report to the Parent Forum

be involved in the appointment of senior promoted staff

raise funds for the school for the benefit of pupils (in some schools the PTA/PA fulfils this role).

Parent Council Acting Chairperson – Mr Euan Terras - prestwickparents@gmail.com

For more information on parental involvement or to find out about parents as partners in their children’s learning, please contact the school or visit the Parentzone website at www.parentzonescotland.gov.uk.

The PTA is mainly responsible for arranging events for parents/carers and raising funds for the school. Volunteers are welcome – please contact the PTA if you wish to help.

The Scottish Parent Teacher Council is a national organisation for PTAs and PAs in Scotland, Parent Councils can join too, and it runs an independent helpline service for all parents. They can be contacted by phone on 0131 474 6199, fax 0870 706 5814 or email on sptc@sptc.info or write to SPTC, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB.

National Parent forum of Scotland - enquiry@parentforumscotland.org The National Parent Forum of Scotland has been set up to give Parent Councils and parents an opportunity to discuss and raise educational issues of mutual interest or concerns at a national level.

2. Choosing a school Under the placing request arrangements parents have the right to choose a school other than the catchment school for their area. This is known as a placing request and application forms can be obtained from the school office or the Council Offices at Wellington Square, Ayr, telephone 01292 612268. Unfortunately it is not possible to guarantee that a placing request will be successful but parents will have the right of appeal should it be unsuccessful. Full details of the placing request arrangements are contained in the application form.

You should be aware that if you decide to make a placing request your child would no longer be automatically considered for a place in their catchment school.

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TRANSFER/ENROLMENT

Pupils who attend the associated primary schools, and those coming on a placing request, are enrolled directly from their primary schools. Parents who are considering sending their child to Prestwick Academy are welcome to telephone the school to arrange a visit.

In May, meetings of parents and some Prestwick staff will be held in the associated primary schools. Then, in June, there will be an opportunity for all parents to see round the school, and pupils will have a two day experience of their first year timetable.

We shall do all we can to ensure that the transition from primary

school is as smooth as possible.

ROLL CAPPING

The intake of pupils into S1 is restricted to 235, with 5 places retained each year for pupils who move into the catchment area during the school year.

In practice, this means that:

The maximum number of pupils we can take into S1 next session, and each

subsequent session, will be 235

In the event of placing requests bringing our S1 intake to more than 230 (235 – 5 retained places) then South Ayrshire Council’s placing request policy will be invoked to determine the successful applicants.

If you would like more information regarding the new arrangements, please contact the school.

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3. Attendance

Section 30 of the 1980 Education Act lays a duty on every parent of a child of ‘school age’ to ensure that their child attends school regularly. Attendance must be recorded twice a day, morning and afternoon.

Regulation 7 of The Education (Scotland and Placing Information) (Scotland) Amendment etc Regulations 1993 requires each child/young person’s absence from school to be recorded in the school register as authorised: eg approved by the authority, or unauthorised; eg unexplained by the parent (truancy) or excluded from school.

FAMILY HOLIDAY NOT AUTHORISED BY THE SCHOOL

The majority of family holidays taken during term time will be categorised as unauthorised absence. However, it is acceptable under exceptional circumstances for schools to authorise a family holiday during term time. Such circumstances may include:

A family holiday judged to be important to the well-being and cohesion of the

family following serious or terminal illness, bereavement or other traumatic events

Where a parent’s employment is of a nature where school holiday leave cannot be accommodated (eg. Armed services or emergency services)

A family holiday classified under the ‘authorised absence’ category should not include such reasons as:

The availability of cheap holidays

The availability of desired accommodation

Poor weather experienced during school holidays

Holidays which overlap the beginning or end of term

Parental difficulty obtaining leave (with local judgement applied in cases where evidence is provided by the employer that it cannot accommodate leave during school holidays without serious consequences)

EXTENDED LEAVE WITH PARENTAL CONSENT

Where most family holidays will be recorded as unauthorised absence (see below), extended leave with parental consent will not be considered the same as a family holiday. Extended leave with parental consent will be recorded separately outside the figures for attendance and absence, and include circumstances such as:

Extended overseas educational trips not organised by the school

Short-term parental placement abroad

Family returning to its country of origin (to care for a relative, or for cultural reasons)

Leave in relation to the children of travelling families

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ADVICE TO PARENTS Schools will now follow-up all instances of pupil non-attendance in order to accurately record the reason for absence using the coding system. It would be extremely helpful in this regard, if parents contact school at the beginning and end of the absence period – indicating their awareness of the absence and reason for absence at the beginning of the period and expectation of return to school at the end of the absence period. Where no information is provided absences will be considered to be unexplained and therefore recorded as unauthorised.

When your child returns to school following a period of illness a letter should be sent to the school and include the following information:

Pupils name

Class or year group

The dates of the absence

The reason for the absence

Signature of parent/carer

The school has an automated messaging system for absence. When pupils are absent and the school has received no notification, parents are contacted by text or e-mail, where this information has been supplied to the school, and asked to phone in with a reason. Further details of the service will be issued to new parents prior to transfer.

LATECOMING Latecoming causes disruption to classwork and is a particularly unwelcome habit to acquire in preparation for leaving school. Parents will be informed of any unsatisfactory pattern of latecoming, and your support in preventing this is greatly appreciated. Parents/carers will be informed by text if their child has arrived late for school.

4. Transferring Educational Data about Pupils

The Scottish Government and its partners collect and use information about pupils to help to improve education across Scotland. This note explains why we need this information, how we use it and what we do to protect the information supplied to us.

Why do we need your data? In order to make the best decisions about how to improve our education service, Scottish Government, education authorities and other partners such as the SQA need accurate, up-to-date data about our pupils. We are keen to help all our pupils do well in all aspects of school life and achieve better examination results. Accurate and up-to-date data allows us to:

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plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of all pupils,

plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of specific groups of pupils,

better understand some of the factors which influence pupil attainment and achievement,

share good practice,

target resources better.

Data policy Information about pupils’ education is collected through our statistical surveys in partnership between the Scottish Government and Local Authorities through the ScotXed Programme which aims to help schools and Local Authorities by supporting efficient collection, processing and dissemination of statistical information. The Scottish Government then provides analysis of the data to support research, planning, management and monitoring of education services as well as to produce National Statistics publications.

Education data within Scottish Government is managed effectively by secure systems and is exploited as a valuable corporate resource, subject to confidentiality restraints. As part of its data policy, Scottish Government will not publish or make publicly available any information that allows individual pupils to be identified, nor will data be used by Scottish Government to take any actions in respect of individuals. Data is held securely and no information on individual pupils can or would be made publicly available by Scottish Government.

The individual data collected by Scottish Government is used for statistical and research purposes only.

Your data protection rights

The collection, transfer, processing and sharing of ScotXed data is done in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998). We also comply with the National Statistics Code of Practice requirements and other legislation related to safeguarding the confidentiality of data. The Data Protection Act gives you the right to know how we will use your data. This note can give only a brief description of how we use data. Fuller details of each individual ScotXed survey, including the purpose of each and the published data, can be found on the ScotXed website (www.scotxed.net).

Scottish Government works with a range of partners including HM Inspectorate of Education, Skills Development Scotland and the SQA. On occasion, in order to help meet our aim of improving our education system, we may make individual data available to partners and also academic institutions and organisations to carry out additional research and statistical analysis to meet their own official responsibilities. Any sharing of data will be done under the strict control of Scottish Government, and will be consistent with our data policy. This will ensure that no individual level data will be made public as a result of the data sharing and that these data will not be used to take any actions in respect of an individual. Decisions on the sharing of data will be taken in consultation with relevant colleagues and individuals within and outwith Scottish Government. At all times pupils’ rights under the Data Protection Act and other relevant legislation will be ensured.

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Concerns If you have any concerns about the ScotXed data collections you can email the national statistics office at statistics.enquiries@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to The ScotXed Support Office, Area 1B, Victoria Quay, Leith, EH6 6QQ. Alternative versions of this page are available, on request from the ScotXed Support Office, in other languages, audio tape, Braille and large print.

Want more information?

Further details about ScotXed are available on the ScotXed website, www.scotxed.net., which contains a section on ‘frequently asked questions’ at

https://www.scotxed.net/ScotXed%20Website%20FAQ/ScotXed%20Website%20FA Q.aspx

CODE DESCRIPTION - Present

W Work Experience

V Educational visits

V Day and residential visits to outdoor centres

V Interviews and visits relating to further and higher education

P Medical or dental appointments

V Debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions arranged by or in conjunction with the school

V Activities connected to Psychological Services

V Off-site school medical examinations

O Other Attendance out of school (e.g. college)

S Study leave

B Sickness with educational provision

J Late ( arrives in first half of opening)

K Late (arrives in second half of opening)

~ In school but not in class

Authorised Absence Absences in the following categories will be classified as authorised:

F Sickness with no educational provision (medically certified)

D Sickness with no educational provision (self certified)

A Bereavement

Q Short-term exceptional domestic circumstances

A Religious observance

A Meetings prior to and in court

A Attendance at or in connection with a Children’s Hearing or Care Review

A Weddings of immediate family

A Agreed debates, sports, musical or theatrical productions not arranged by or in conjunction with the school

A Sanctioned extended absence in relation to children of travelling families

A Lack of transport – including due to bad weather

E Family holiday – authorised by the school

X/Y Exclusions

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Unauthorised Absence Absences in the following categories will be classified as unauthorised:

U Unexplained absence

U Truancy (unauthorised absence from school for any period as a result of premeditated or spontaneous action on the part of pupil, parent or both)

G Most family holidays during term time

N Other unauthorised absence

R Exceptional domestic circumstances (unauthorised)

T Reason for absence not yet known (absence will be re-coded when this information is provided)

Other Codes Used

H Holiday

C Closed (eg. election)

I In-service

Z Extended leave with parental consent

M Missing – this may appear on individual attendance summary reports where the period by period calculation determines that this is the case.

5. School Uniform Policy

South Ayrshire Statement

Given that there is substantial parental and public approval of uniform, schools in South Ayrshire are free to encourage the wearing of school uniform. In encouraging the wearing of uniform, account must be taken in any proposals to prevent any direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of race or gender. Any proposals will be the subject of widespread consultation with parents and pupils. Against this background it should be noted that it is the policy of South Ayrshire Council not to insist on pupils wearing uniform or having specialist items of clothing as a prerequisite to their attending and engaging in all of the activities of the curriculum.

There are forms of dress which are unacceptable in school, such as items of clothing which:

potentially, encourage faction (such as football colours);

could cause offence (such as anti-religious symbolism or political

slogans);

could cause health and safety difficulties, such as loose fitting clothing, dangling earrings, are made from flammable material for example shell suits, in practical classes

could cause damage to

flooring;

carry advertising, particularly for alcohol or tobacco; and could be used to inflict damage on other pupils or be used by others to do so.

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SCHOOL DRESS CODE

The school dress code was revised with the following considerations in mind:

every pupil should be readily identifiable as belonging to Prestwick Academy in Scotland, nearly all high-achieving schools have a high standard of school

dress the dress standard in other local primary and secondary schools will have some

bearing on how the community judges the dress standard in Prestwick Academy the dress code should reflect adequately the range of parental opinions and

financial circumstances senior pupils have an important function as role models the desirability of avoiding school dress becoming an expensive ‘fashion parade’

The basic items of school dress are:-

school tie appropriate to year group school blazer (expected by S1 & S6)

white or black shirt/blouse black skirt

black trousers black school sweatshirt/v-neck jumper/cardigan

appropriate black shoes (no logo) black outdoor jacket

For P.E. the kit is:-

unisex t-shirt unisex shorts or female short,

3 ¼ leggings, training shoes

(these should not be worn as footwear to school, not available from website) Lockers can be hired from the P.E. Department.

Suppliers All uniform including PE kit is available from Trutex, 75 Dalblair Road, Ayr, KA7 1UQ. Tel: 01292 291024. School ties are all available through the school. As an alternative to PE kit, pupils can wear black t-shirts/shorts.

The following items are deemed to be unacceptable:-

any garment carrying advertising or not in a school colour any forms of football colours

jeans, tracksuits or other casual wear denim or leather outer clothing

hooped earrings (for safety reasons)

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6. Parental Complaints Procedures

If you have any comments or complaints please approach the Head Teacher in the first instance. If the Head Teacher does not resolve the issue to your satisfaction, you should:

Visit one of South Ayrshire Council’s Customer Service

Centres, or any local office

Phone South Ayrshire Council Customer Services Team on 0300 123 0900

Email: listeningtoyou@south-ayrshire,gov.uk

Write to: Customer Services, South Ayrshire Council, Freepost NAT 7733, Ayr, KA7 1DR

Anyone can make a complaint to us, including the representative of someone who is dissatisfied with our service.

7. Public Private Partnership (PPP) Programme

Prestwick Academy has been replaced with a modern school, which enhances the learning experience of all our learners. The school building is now managed under a 30 year contractual arrangements with Education 4 Ayrshire Limited (E4A), which includes ongoing repairs.

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SECTION D – Care and Welfare

1. School Meals and Free School Meal Information

Children of parents receiving Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based), Child Tax Credit (only where income is less than £16105), Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit (where income is less than £6420) where earned income is £610 or less per month, Universal Credit, income related element of Employment and Support Allowance and support under part V1 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are entitled to a free midday meal. Information and application forms for free school meals may be obtained from schools, customer service centres and from Educational Services, County Buildings, Wellington Square, Ayr KA7 1DR , Telephone 01292 612465.

A cafeteria system is operated in the dining hall area in the main foyer and a full range of hot and cold meals are available.

A cashless catering system operates in the school using National Entitlement

Cards or PIN numbers. Parents can now use ipayimpact to add money to

their childs account.

Accommodation is available for those who prefer to carry a packed lunch.

Menus are rotated on a 4-weekly basis and can be found on South Ayrshire Council’s website, www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/schools/meals.htm together with price lists.

As well as the traditional 2-course meal consisting of soup and main course for approximately £2.20, snacks such as toasted sandwiches, paninis, filled rolls, sandwiches and baked potatoes are available. Sub-Central and Pasta-Pronto products are also available. Pupils should also check regularly for weekly meal deal offers.

Pupils are reminded that they can pre-order their lunch in the morning, meaning they can collect it from a designated area without having to wait in a queue.

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2. Footwear and Clothing Grant Information

Children of parents receiving Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance (Income Based), Child Tax Credit (only where income is less than £16105), Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit (where income is less than ££16105 where earned income is £610 or less per month. Universal Credit, income related e lemen t of Employment and Support Allowance, Council Tax reduction or Housing Benefit are entitled to a footwear and clothing grant. Information and application forms for footwear and clothing grants may be obtained from schools, customer service centres and from Educational Services, County Buildings, Wellington Square, Ayr KA7 1DR Telephone 01292 612465.

3. Education Maintenance Allowance

Pupils who stay on at secondary school after the statutory leaving age may be eligible for an Education Maintenance Allowance. The allowance is subject to a learning agreement between the pupil and the authority and pupils..

Information and application forms may be obtained from schools, from Educational Services, County Buildings, Wellington Square, AYR KA7 1DR Telephone 01292 612232 and www.south- ayrshire.gov.uk/schools

4. Transport Guide to Parents

South Ayrshire Council has a policy of providing free transport to all secondary pupils whose main address is more than three miles and primary pupils whose main address is more than two miles from their catchment school by the recognised shortest safe walking route. Parents who consider they are eligible for free school transport should obtain an application form from the school, Educational Services, County Buildings, Wellington Square, AYR KA7 1DR Tel – 01292 612284 and www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/schools. These forms should be completed and returned before the end of February for those pupils beginning school in August to enable the appropriate arrangements to be made.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) organise mainstream school transport on behalf of South Ayrshire Council. If you have any concerns or complaints relating to the service provided you should contact the school who will forward your complaint to SPT alternatively you can e-mail SPT at school.transport@SPT.co.uk.

Applications may be submitted at any time throughout the year but may be subject to delay whilst arrangements are made. The appropriate officer has discretion in special circumstances to grant permission for pupils to travel in transport provided by the authority, where spare places are available and no additional costs are incurred.

Children who have Additional Support Needs and/or particular medical conditions may also be entitled to free school transport. The school can advise you on how to access this support.

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Where free transport is provided it may be necessary for pupils to walk a certain distance to the vehicle pick up point. Walking distance in total including the distance from home to the pick-up point and from the drop-off point to the school in any one direction will not exceed the authority’s limit (see above paragraph). It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure that their child arrives at the pick-up point in time. It is also the parent’s responsibility to ensure their child behaves in a safe and acceptable manner while boarding, travelling in and alighting from the vehicles. Misbehaviour could result in your child losing the right to free transport. The education authority does not provide transport for those pupils in receipt of a placing request.

Privileged seats

Pupils who are not entitled to free school transport may apply for a privileged seat. A privileged seat is where there is a vacant seat on a dedicated school contract. Parents can make an application for a privileged seat by submitting a letter to Educational Services, County Buildings, Wellington Square, AYR KA7 1DR at any time during the year. Parents should note that privileged seats are allocated in October and are not available on local service contracts. Privileged seats can be withdrawn if an entitled pupil requires transport and cease at the end of each school session.

School Buses

Special buses convey pupils from and to Adamton, Monkton and Symington on each school day. In addition, some pupils travel by taxis. Pupils are issued with tickets which should be carried each day. If, for any reason, pupils miss the special bus, they will require to travel on the normal service bus as fare-paying passengers.

5. Insurance

South Ayrshire Council holds Public Liability, Employers’ Liability and Officials Indemnity Insurance. In addition, South Ayrshire Council has an on-site and off-site activities insurance policy. Further information regarding insurance and an appropriate claim form can be obtained from the school or Educational Services, County Buildings, Wellington Square, AYR KA7 1DR, telephone 01292 612294.

6. Valuable Items

The Council is concerned at the level of claims being received regarding the loss of pupils’ clothing and/or personal belongings. Parents are asked to assist in this area by ensuring that valuable items and unnecessary expensive items of clothing are not brought to school. Parents should note that the Council does not carry insurance to cover loss of such items and any claims submitted are likely to be met only where the Council can be shown to have been negligent.

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7. Use of Mobile Phones

Mobile phones are expensive and there is the possibility of large bills being run up if they go missing. We therefore discourage pupils bringing them to school and cannot accept any responsibility for their safekeeping.

If parents need to contact their children in an emergency then this can be done through the school office with the personal contact to broach sensitive issues that this allows.

If, however, pupils bring mobile phones to school they should follow the guidance below:

Phones must be switched off at all times other than at the interval and lunchtime

Video and camera phones must not be used at any time within school to take photographs

If a phone goes off in school the pupil will be asked to switch it off immediately. If this happens again the pupil will be asked to switch the phone off and give it over to the teacher who will put it in a safe place until the end of the lesson, when it will be returned. Persistent breaching of this may lead to the pupil being banned from bringing a mobile phone to school

For School exams all mobiles must be switched off. If a mobile phone goes off during the exam the offending pupil may be removed from the exam to prevent further disruption.

Under no circumstance can a mobile or WAP enabled phone or any other electronic communication device be taken into an exam room during an SQA exam. If a pupil is found in possession of any of these items (even if switched off) then their entry for that exam will be withdrawn and therefore they will not get an award.

Since we do not have the facility to store numbers of mobile phones pupils should not bring them into school during exams.

8. Use of Social Media

Online social media tools can be excellent for supporting teaching and learning, providing exciting opportunities for schools to engage, communicate and collaborate with pupils and the wider community. Their use is carefully considered by the school to ensure the safety of the school community. The benefits of using social media tools should significantly outweigh any concerns and schools should be able to demonstrate the steps they have taken to reduce any identified risks.

In South Ayrshire we want to support collaboration amongst teachers and pupils and therefore we promote and support the use of the common platform, Glow.

If pupils are using online communities where they self-register the school will encourage them to read and follow the terms and conditions of the site and ensure they are aware of how to stay safe online.

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When using any form of social media to communicate with pupils (including Glow) staff will ensure that they:

o only share information that they would be willing to share in school or a school-related setting;

o maintain a formal, courteous and professional tone when communicating with pupils;

o maintain professional boundaries ; o do not exchange personal information such as phone numbers

and personal e-mail addresses; o do not discuss their private and personal relationships with pupils; o take care to avoid becoming personally involved in pupils’ personal

affairs; o decline pupil-initiated ‘friend’ requests; o manage their privacy settings and keep them under review; o report any inappropriate use of social media by a pupil or concerning a

pupil to their Head Teacher or line manager.

The school has a clear and documented process in place for the reporting and recording or inappropriate use of social media.

9. Health and Medical Information

Illness And Injuries

If a pupil should be taken ill or suffer an injury during the school day, every effort will be made to inform the parents at home or at their place of employment as soon as possible so that they can come to school or arrange for the child to be taken home. A member of the school staff will render first aid as required. In cases where urgent medical attention is required, the pupil may be referred to Ayr Hospital, and parents will be contacted as a matter or priority.

Special Medical Conditions

Parents will be sent a form when their children are in P7 so that they can pass on any relevant information regarding their youngster’s health. In particular the school should be informed where:

pupils have a continuing medical condition, e.g. epilepsy, diabetes

special medication has to be taken at school on a regular basis for a short or prolonged period of time

Such information will be published in confidential lists to all staff. Parents are asked to inform the Guidance staff if/when this information requires to be updated.

Please note that pain-killing drugs such as aspirin are not provided by the school.

School Nurse

School Nurse, Ann Mackay, can be contacted for confidential advice on health matters by telephoning 01292 665736 or by e-mailing Ann.Mackay@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

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Health Promotion and Nutrition

Children and young people need the right balance of food and nutrients to develop and grow. Healthy Eating is about getting that balance right and all our menus are nutritionally analysed to meet the Scottish Government Schools (Health& Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 and promote key messages to improve diet to positively influence current and future health.

The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 and the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008 build on the achievements of Hungry for Success by establishing standards for all food and drink in schools.

The focus is on getting the balance right and helping pupils make informed choices. A wide range of appealing healthy food and drinks are promoted through marketing, education and active encouragement.

We educate and encourage children and young people to opt for healthier choices, not only in school but also outside school.

Further guidance can be found at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/222395/0059811.pdf

10. Data Protection Act

About Us and How we will use your information

Each year parents are asked to complete the Annual Data Check and a Disability

Monitoring form to allow the school to update the information held about children and

young people .The information will be processed by South Ayrshire Council as local

education authority, having a main business address at County Buildings, Wellington

Square, Ayr KA7 1DR. You can contact the Council at our postal address, by

telephone on 01292 612223 or by email. The Council’s Data Protection Officer can be

contacted at the above postal address, at the above telephone number, or by email at

dataprotection@south-ayrshire.gov.uk. The information you submit will be used to provide educational services in terms of our

statutory functions as education authority. Personal information which you supply to us

may be used in a number of ways, for example:

• for teaching, registration, assessment and other administrative duties; • to make the appropriate contact in an emergency; • to target resources appropriately.

Sharing information

The information may be shared with other services or public bodies for statistical,

operational and analysis purposes. For example, with other Council services areas

and external partners which may include Universities and similar organisations for

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research purposes , Glow (the national secure intranet for schools), Scottish

Qualification Authority, Skill Development Scotland, Strathclyde Partnership for

Transport and Transport Contractors (where appropriate), Ayrshire Valuation Joint

Board (Electoral Register pupils over the age of 14 years only) NHS Ayrshire and

Arran in relation to health programmes in school, CRB online school payments

(school meals and schools trips) annual data collections by the Scottish Government

and provision of national assessments and examinations. The Council has a duty to protect the public funds it administers and to this end, we

may check the information you provide with other information we hold and share your

information with other Council Services and other local authorities, for the purposes of

protecting public funds and to prevent or detect fraud or crime.

In South Ayrshire we respect parents’ and we respect parents’ and children’s’ rights to

privacy and confidentiality and will ensure that we share information in compliance with

Data Protection and Human Rights laws. If we consider that an individual is at risk of significant harm, we may share

information with Police Scotland, social work services or health services without

seeking consent from the individual, and in accordance with our legal duties.

Your Rights and Further information

Your information will be retained in line with the Council’s retention schedule and

securely destroyed when the retention period has expired. http://www.south-

ayrshire.gov.uk/documents/doc%2020170329%20scarrs%20schedule%20v2.0.pdf

Parents have the right to request access to their child’s education record under the Pupils’ Educational Records (Scotland) Regulations 2003.

11. Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 enables any person to obtain information from Scottish public authorities. The Act applies to all Scottish public authorities; Scottish Government and its agencies; Scottish Parliament; Local Authorities; NHS Scotland; Universities and further education colleges; and the Police.

Public Authorities have to allow access to the following information: o The provision, cost and standard of its service; o Factual information or decision-making; o The reason for decisions made by it.

The legal right to access includes all types of ‘records’ information of any data held by the Scottish public authorities. From 1st January 2005, any person who makes a request for information must be provided with it, subject to certain conditions.

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Organisation Address Telephone Number

South Ayrshire Council

Care, Learning and Wellbeing www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk

County Buildings

Wellington Square

AYR KA7 1DR

0300 123 0900

Local Councillors who are the only elected representatives directly responsible for Children and Community in the area.

Mr Hugh Hunter

Mr Ian Cochrane

Mrs Margaret Toner

Mrs Helen Moonie

01292 612616

01292 612471

01292 612637

01292 612289

Customer Service

Centre (Clothing

Grants/ Free School

Meals)

172 - 176

High Street Ayr

KA7 1LU

0300 123 0900

Skills Development Scotland Carole Millar

37 Carrick Street

Ayr

01292 281421

Community Education Office School Lets

Room M9

County Buildings

Wellington Square

Ayr KA7 1DR

01292 612655

Useful websites: www.education.gov.scot/parentzone/

www.hmie.gov.uk

Although this information is correct at the time of printing, there could be changes affecting any of the matters dealt with in the document:

before the commencement or during the course of the school year in

question

in relation to subsequent school years

12. Helpful Addresses and websites

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Educational Services

Privacy Notice (Pupil Records)

As the ‘data controller’ for the personal information – or data – we hold about you, South Ayrshire Council decides how your personal information is used/processed, and what it is used for. This statement provides more details about this and provides information on how to get in touch with us if you need to know more. Your personal data – what is it?

Personal data is information relating to a living person who can be identified from that data. Identification can be based on the information alone, or in conjunction with any other information. The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR). What Personal Data will we collect from you?

We will only collect the personal information we need to provide you with relevant information, services and support. The personal data we will collect includes:

Name Language

Date of birth Religion

Address Asylum status

Email Parents in armed forces

Gender Disability

Ethnicity Health conditions How will we use your information?

Your information will be used in a number of ways:

for teaching, registration and assessment

to ensure all aspects of a child/young person’s education is managed and monitored appropriately

to ensure that a child/young person’s health and well-being is managed.

to ensure that a child/young person is transported to school safely and is able to fully take part in school activities.

to ensure that appropriate education benefits can be processed

to ensure the rights of pupils in schools

What is the legal basis for using/sharing your information?

Processing is necessary in the performance of a task carried out in the public interest namely for the Council’s Education authority to provide an efficient and effective school pupil education service which is a statutory obligation for the Council. Who will we share your information with?

Where necessary your information will be shared with: Social Work and Community Learning and Development NHS Ayrshire & Arran Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Transport Contractors Ayrshire Valuation Joint Board (Electoral Register) CRB – online school payments

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Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) Skills Development Scotland Wilson Webware (Curriculum for Excellence Machine) Glow – schools intranet Groupcall – text messaging Scottish Government National Entitlement Cards

How long do we keep hold of your information?

We keep your personal data for no longer than reasonably necessary. Our retention periods are as follows:

Type of Records Retention Period

Pupil Progress Record Current plus 5 years

Child Protection Date of birth + 75 years

Looked after Date of birth + 100 years, or for 25 years from date of

death if child dies before attaining age of 18 years

Additional Support Needs including any

Child’s Plan (Co-ordinated Support

Plan)

Date of birth + 25 years

Note that the Co-ordinated Support Plan should be

destroyed when the school/centre is notified by

central administration. The centrally held plan will be

retained for 5 years after the plan is closed.

Educational Psychological Service Date of birth + 25 years

What are your rights? The lawful basis for your processing/using your personal data directly impacts which rights are available to you. For example, some rights will not apply, in this case we are not required to:

erase your personal information. enable the right to data portability

However, you do have the following rights and can ask us to:

correct your personal information if it is inaccurate; complete your personal information if it is incomplete; restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances

You also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information. Do you require this statement in a different format?

Please contact us if you require this information in an alternative format. How can you get in touch with us?

If you wish to obtain any records held by the Council relating to you, or if you have any general data protection queries, please contact the Council’s Data Protection Service at:

Data Protection Officer South Ayrshire Council County Buildings Wellington Square Ayr KA7 1DR

Email: DataProtection@south-ayrshire.gov.uk

Telephone: 01292 612 223

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Are you dissatisfied with the way your Personal Information has been handled?

If you are unhappy with the way we have dealt with your personal information, you can complain to the Council’s Data Protection Officer using the contact details noted above. If you remain dissatisfied after contacting us, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner (https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/): Information Commissioner’s Office – Scotland Email: Scotland@ico.org.uk 45 Melville Street Telephone: 0303 123 1115 Edinburgh EH3 7HL