22nd – 26th January: Note for our parents

This week we had a really good meeting of our Parent Council and I want to thank the senior pupils, parents and local councillors who attend these meetings.  It really does help to share ideas and shape the thinking of how we keep the school moving forward.  This is a fairly brief blog sharing some ideas with parents on how they can help their children do well at school:

Routines:  routines matter as they provide structure – particularly first thing in the day, on getting home from school, on doing homework and before bed.  Take time to set some routines which work and stick to them.

Peace and time to offload:  Build in some ‘quiet time’ for your child, away from social media and the ‘noise’ of everyday life as well as some ‘chat time’ where they can offload some of the burdens of teenage life

Sleep is essential:  no phone, social media, screen time in the half hour before going to bed, absolutely none overnight and it does not need to be the first thing they go to in the morning

Preparation and processing:  Preparation is about being ready for school both actually (the right books and equipment etc) and mentally (being ready for the ups and downs of the day).  Processing is about stepping back from it and sorting out the important stuff (organising your thoughts/notes, meeting the deadlines, being clear what you need to work on to improve)

Keep channels open: over the secondary years your child grows up and that can bring its challenges.  Many become pretty insecure as they try to figure out who they are, what others think of them and where they are going.  Put social media into that mix and it can be an emotional roller coaster.  We need parents to step back and offer some perspective (not jump in and ride the wave with their child).  Be there for them, listen, let them consider the options and guide them.  Accept that they may make bad choices but be there for them when they do and help ensure they do not keep repeating bad decisions.  But try to be there for them, through thick and thin, as they can feel the world is against them and often it is.

We are here to support families and to help young people “be the best they can be”.  Please get in contact if you need our help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

15th-19th January 2018: No short cuts to success

This week saw the senior school involved in the first week of their prelim exams.  For pupils in S5 and S6 this should now be familiar ground but for our S4s it is the first time they have really faced this intensity of challenge.  I really felt for them because they are facing a new type of challenge as a result of changes made to the National 5 qualifications.  This new challenge has seen unit assessments being removed and the length of the exam being extended.  Several of their exams are now 2 hours and 30 minutes long (without a break).  Indeed some youngsters with additional support arrangements (eg extra time) could find themselves sitting in an exam hall for almost 3 hours!  I know it is a long time since I last sat an exam but it would have been at university and I am pretty sure it was not as long as 3 hours long.  So I have nothing but admiration for the youngsters who are sitting their prelims, particularly those who are facing the new N5 qualifications.

I also have a mixture of appreciation and sympathy for the staff who had to produce new exams and are now starting to mark the pupil answers.  Marking was one of those parts of the job which I never really liked but I knew that to make a success of marking there were no short cuts, you needed to concentrate on the task (the marking scheme and the pupil answers in this case) and be willing to put in the hours.

I also want to highlight the extra miles many of the staff and pupils have gone to in respect of extra preparation.  I have seen a steady flow of seniors arriving to the school when they do not have exams to attend revision sessions organised by their teachers.  I am also aware of many teachers putting additional resources onto Google Classroom and responding to individual pupil enquiries on-line.  I am pretty confident that those who are willing to go the extra mile and put in the hours will see a difference in their eventual results.  Back in August when reviewing the results of the main exams the staff could see a 2-3 grade difference between those who regularly attended extra revision sessions and/or were active in Google Classroom etc and those who did not.

There is a parallel between what I have said above about marking exams and the advice I would give to those who are preparing to sit their exams – there are no short cuts, you need to concentrate on the task and be willing to put in the hours.  I have been really heartened to see so many pupils come in to do extra revision last week.  If they keep doing this through to their main exams in May it will make a big difference.

Before closing this blog I want to mention two other brief but important things:

  • Visit to Park Inn Radisson – on Wednesday morning around 90 of our S3 visited Park Inn by Radisson.  The visit was to speak about skills employers look for in a general sense and look at opportunities in the Hospitality sector in particular.  Our hosts put on a fantastic visit and our pupils returned with a much clearer idea that whilst qualifications matter so do things such as; punctuality, reliability, honesty, following instructions, getting on with others, communication, numeracy, IT skills, adaptability, flexibility, desire to learn and hard work.  Hopefully when teachers ‘nag’ on about these sort of things the S3 pupils might understand it not only matters in school but it is preparation for what lies ahead in the world beyond the school gates.
  • New advice on Jewellery – W have received new advice on jewellery and piercings which relates to PE and to other activities were jewellery/piercings could cause injury.  I sent out a group call to parents and asked staff to implement it with immediate effect.  A coup of the new advice is attached here Safety advice jewellery and piercings

8th – 12th January 2018: Recognising and realising the rights of all young people

Firstly welcome back and best wishes for 2018.  I want to start with a curious thing about 2018 as a year – it marks a point when all adults in the world were born last century and all children were born this century.  2018 is also identified as being the year of the young person.

It therefore was perhaps no coincidence that I chose to start the year with assemblies which looked at the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  It is not the first time I have spoken about UNCRC and it certainly will not be the last.  The articles of the UNCRC sit behind most of the legislation relating to children from the Scottish Government.  UNCRC is ratified by every country in the United Nations with the exception of USA.  It is also supported by all of the leading faith groups in the world and is not aligned to any political doctrine.

In my assembly (January 2018 assembly) I emphasised that the 42 articles of the convention could be grouped under 4 main headings: survival, protection, development and participation.  By raising awareness of their rights we help children to survive, we help ensure their protection, we support their development and we actively encourage their participation.  I hope to prepare an information sheet for all pupils, parents and staff to ensure we are all recognise and realise rights of all the youngsters who attend Harlaw Academy.

The assembly went on to look at how these rights translate into day to day life.  The role adults play as ‘duty bearers’ – there to help youngsters to benefit from their rights but also to offer guidance/support and act in the best interests of the child/young person.  The role of children as ‘rights holders’ and our expectation that they will see their rights as being valuable and worth looking after.

A point I emphasised was that in our school it was often other children who denied them their rights.  Examples included:

  • disrupt education by turning up late and/or misbehaving in class (article 28 – education)
  • damages toilets/property, drops litter in corridors ( article 24 – clean/safe environment)
  • bullies someone by hitting them, calling them names or making comments on line (article 19 – protection from harm)
  • exploits them by asking them to do something uncomfortable eg sexting (article 16 – privacy/dignity)
  • uses peer pressure to stop them from doing something they might enjoy (article 36 – exploitation)

I asked pupils to be willing to speak up for their rights and to tell if they see things which happen to other children which denies them the survival, protection, development or participation which their rights should give them.  As we see in other aspects of life it can sometimes be difficult for the ‘victims’ to speak up and we need others to call out the unacceptable behaviour.

In school UNCRC sits behind/above our three behaviour statements:

  • Respect People: we will consider the health, safety and well being of ourselves and others
  • Respect Learning: we will be on time, on task, trying our best and achieving success
  • Respect Community: we will have a positive impact in school, locally and in the wider world

These statements informed a leaflet on expectations which is available here for your reference Expectations flier January 2018

Harlaw Academy was the first, and at the time the only, Secondary school in Aberdeen to gain level 1 (Silver) of the UNICEF UK Rights Respecting Schools Award and we are looking to gain level 2 (Gold) of the award later this year.  Harlaw Academy is a school which emphasises respect and this is emphasised in our behaviours and expectations.  It is a school in which we want all teachers, families and young people to act to ensure the rights of all young people are recognised and realised.

Prelim Timetable 2018

The prelim exams in Harlaw run from Monday 15th January until Friday 26th January.  S4, S5 and S6 pupils will be on study leave for the duration of the exams and should only be in school to sit exams or to study/work on their courses.  Designated study rooms for this purpose continue to be available and the list of study rooms is on the Information section of the website and is displayed on noticeboards in school.

Pupils who take courses in other schools/Aberdeen College have been asked to check with their host school/college if classes are running as normal during this period.  If classes are running Harlaw pupils are expected to attend these classes unless they have a scheduled exam on that day.

The prelim exams will be discussed at assemblies for S5 and S6 pupils on Monday 8th January and S4 pupils on Tuesday 9th January.  It is important that all S4-6 pupils attend these assemblies.

Please click the links below to access the prelim timetable and exam guidance for pupils.

 

Harlaw Academy Prelim timetable 2018

 

Prelim Guidance for Pupils

 

27th November – 1st December 2017: Value and support our staff

As you may know I serve on the General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS).  This is the professional body who oversee the professional standards of the teaching profession in Scotland.  GTCS play an active role in initial teacher education, in the registration of teachers, in their on-going professional learning and in setting the framework to monitor the fitness to teach.

In my particular role I serve on the full council and the Education Committee.  I have also been involved in panels which have assessed candidates for Head Teacher qualification and which have determined whether new routes into teacher training meet accreditation standards.  A great deal of this work is about ensuring schools across Scotland have sufficient numbers of high quality teachers.

As Head Teacher of Harlaw Academy a significant part of my job is to try and ensure we manage to recruit really good teachers and to support them to do their best.  I am very pleased with the quality of teachers we have and their incredible commitment to the children and families associated with Harlaw Academy.  I really appreciate all the very positive comments about the teachers I have received from parents at the recent parent’s nights.  I also appreciate seeing the large numbers of pupils taking part in the many additional opportunities offered by staff (see my blog of last week for some examples).

I want to acknowledge the fact that teachers are working really hard to keep up with continual change in the education system – this year for example there have been massive changes in our National 5 courses and there are new ‘benchmarks’ which mean they are having to redesign their S1-S3 courses.  Alongside these massive changes our staff have began to use Google classroom and this should ensure pupils and parents can have unprecedented access to learning away from school.  Teachers are also at the ‘front line’ of ‘safeguarding’ our young people – whether that be serious child protection issues to a host of other things which cause young people upset/loss of confidence.

Alongside this we have a range of other really professional non teaching staff who do a brilliant job looking after our pupils (and teachers) and playing a key role in the day to day work of the school ( admin, canteen, janitors, technicians, librarian, PSAs, instrumental instructors, careers advisor, youth workers, counsellor and others).  I am every bit as keen to ensure that their work is acknowledged and appreciated as much as that of teachers.  Each makes a contribution which makes the difference for a young person/family.

Whilst the vast majority of pupils and parents are brilliant and acknowledge the support they receive from staff there are times when this is not the case.  It is not uncommon for me to be excluding pupils for being abusive to staff (teaching and non teaching staff) and from time to time I am also having to contact parents who have been abusive to teaching and non teaching staff.

Our young people deserve the best education available and in order to do this I need to be able to attract and retain the best staff available.  Nobody will be attracted to a place where pupils or parents are abusive to staff and any staff we do have will want to leave if the workplace is not supportive.  So my message is to value and support our staff because this will mean that they will stay with us and we will keep attracting new staff if we need to.

If you think we get it wrong please let us know in a polite way – because we really do want to get it right for every child.

20th – 26th November 2017: There is a lot going on @ Harlaw_Academy

I am going to say very little by way of introduction to this blog – other than to note it is share information about some of the activities taking place in the school.  Beyond that I will let the actions (extracts from our weekly bulletin) speak for themselves:

BIOLOGY DROP IN – Tuesday’s session is open to all pupils studying biology. Come in to ask a question, try some practice papers or finish any outstanding assessment work 12:50-1:25 in C31.

RIGHTS RESPECTING AWARD – Can all Rights respecting ambassadors please attend a meeting on BOTH Monday 20th at Lunchtime and Thursday 3.15 – 4/4.15. Both meetings will be held in A33 attendance is essential in preparation for the upcoming event.

NEW EXTRACURRICULAR OPPORTUNITY – Mr. Nelson is going to start a social running club for ALL abilities and ALL ages. The first session will take place on Thursday the 23rd of November after school, please bring suitable footwear and clothing for running outside.

INTERHOUSE S1 BASKETBALL – FRIDAY 24th NOVEMBER – The next Interhouse will be on Friday 24th November, and is S1 Basketball.  Sports Captain’s will be collecting names for teams, all forms must be returned to the PE Department by Thursday.

SENIOR BASKETBALL – Training on today after school in the games hall. Next game in Monday 4th December away to Bucksburn

JUNIOR BASKETBALL – Practice is on Wednesday lunchtime.  S2/3 tournament Thursday 23rd November at Harlaw. S1 festival is Monday 27th November after school at Beacon Leisure Centre.

 SHOEBOX APPEAL – I am looking for any donations for this appeal. Shoeboxes, Christmas wrapping paper, stationary, toiletries, socks, scarves, gloves, small games and toys.  All S2 pupils are taking part in this during PSE.  All items gratefully accepted. Boxes to be completed by first week in December.

S3 COMPETITION “OUR WORLD” – Modern Languages, Thursday 23rd November – Could all pupils mentioned in the list get registered first to their Period 5 class on Thursday 23rd November before being taken to the Hall.

S1-S3 BADMINTON LEAGUE  Any pupils from S1-S3 who would be interested in representing Harlaw at the Active Schools Regional Badminton Qualifiers on 27 November from 4pm-6pm at Cults Academy please see Vicki in PE Dept. at break today or Mr Connor at Badminton Club at lunchtime.

READERS & WRITERS CLUB  If you love reading and writing, come along to the library on Thursday at 12.50pm to find out about the latest writing competitions and how you can take part in the Grampian Children’s book awards.  Pupils are welcome to come and read or study quietly.  The computers will be available for homework only – please book in advance.  Sorry, but no games.  Doors closed from 1pm.

FRIDAY FILMCLUB  On Friday we’re watching comedy gem, “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray, 12.30-1.25pm.  Don’t miss it!  Bring your packed lunch – but no hot food.  Doors close at 12.40pm.

GAMING CLUB   This weeks’ gaming club will be for S1 pupils only! All welcome. Friday lunchtime in B36

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD  Inchgarth Community Centre are looking for volunteers to help with a new youth group starting on the 19th January.  Anyone still looking for Volunteering for their DofE award should get information from Mrs Cooper or Mr Whyte.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD  Pupils registered for Gold should come to a meeting on Monday 27th November at 12.45p.m. in B6. A full attendance would be appreciated

SCRIPTURE UNION   Scripture Union Friday lunchtime C41 1pm, all welcome

INDOOR ROWING  Congratulations to all those that took part in the indoor rowing competition. Harlaw came 16th out of 32 schools in Scotland. A particular mention to the following pupils who placed well in the competition:

  • Darren Barbour (1V1) who placed 28th out of 345 S1 boys in Scotland
  • Sadie McTamney (2W1) who placed 23rd out of 146 S2 girls in Scotland
  • Chris Bardas (4V2) who placed 2nd and Jakub Zbikowski (4C1) placed 6th out of 139 S4 Boys in Scotland.

MODERN LANGUAGES IN THE ARMY   All S3 pupils will be taken to the Assembly Hall during their French lesson on Friday morning in order to attend a presentation given by Sergeant Clare Stoddart. This will give pupils an excellent opportunity to ask questions and know more about army jobs and the relevance of languages.

 LEOS SNOW BALL – 14TH DECEMBER The annual snow ball is being held from 7-9.45pm on 14th December for S5&6 pupils. The Leos are looking for staff to come along to help supervise. Even if it was just for an hour, it would be much appreciated.

DODGEBALL CLUB   The Dodgeball Club is on every Friday lunchtime in the games hall from 12:45 – 1:15pm.  All pupils are welcome.  PE kit must be worn.

It is an impressive list and you can follow more on various school twitter feeds the school uses.  It is also a way of us promoting Children’s Rights and in particular the following articles from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

  • Article 4 – we need to do all we can to make sure every child enjoys their rights
  • Article 6 – the right to life and to develop to your full potential
  • Article 15 – the right to meet other children and join groups
  • Article 28 – the right to an education
  • Article 29 – to develop talents and interests to the full
  • Article 31 – to relax, play and take part in a range of activities

13th – 17th November: What do you think?

Last week I wrote a blog about ’empowering pupils and parents’.  It was a very well timed article because this week we have been asked for our views on two very significant sets of proposals which have possible implications for our work and our plans.  They are:

  • TOM – which relates to the way Aberdeen City Council will work.  It proposes a restructuring of the Directorate/Committee structures, transformational change in the way people access services and an overall saving of £125m over the next 5 years.  It is referred to as the Target Operating Model (TOM) and is out for a 3 week consultation with staff prior to going to full council in December.
  • Education Act – this is a statutory consultation on a new education bill.  It suggests a range of changes to the system including; a head teacher charter, regional collaboratives and the creation of an Education Workforce Council, changes to how we work with parents and pupils.  These proposals have a 12 week consultation period as this is required before the Government can produce an education bill and seek Royal approval in the spring of 2018.  Further details are attached and can be viewed at: https://consult.gov.scot/learning-directorate/education-scotland-bill/

It is very important that pupils, parents and staff are made aware of the consultations and their views are taken into account in my responses.  I am particularly keen to ensure is that any proposals complement our agreed plans and can be managed in a transformational way ie in a manner and at a pace which the system can absorb and adapt to.

I plan to offer ‘drop in’ sessions at which pupils, parents can get a brief presentation on the two proposals and discuss our possible response.  Details of when these sessions will take place will be issued separately.  I am also happy to receive any comments you might have either verbally, by e-mail or in writing with a view to incorporating these into a school response to each consultation.

I would particularly urge parents and youngsters to look at the government consultation which has three specific sections you may be interested in commenting on; pupil participation (section 3), parental and community engagement (section 2) and new responsibilities for Head Teachers/Head Teacher charter (section 1).  I have listed them in this order as the first two are relatively brief and clear.  The third is a bit longer and more detailed but it is really important to pupils and parents as it relates to the powers I have and the way in which I use these powers.

I really do want to know what you think and encourage you to give me feedback or attend one of the drop in sessions

 

6th – 9th November 2017: Empowering pupils and parents

This week we have tried to improve two very important aspects of the school – our work with pupils and parents.

I want us to go well beyond just consulting pupils and informing parents – I want to empower both groups to make a meaningful contribution to school improvement and to play an active role in raising attainment for all.

In this blog I want to set out how we take this work from where it is now to a whole new level.

Pupil Participation:

a) In classes I am asking staff to make the learning more ‘visible’ and to increase opportunities for pupils to give and receive feedback on the learning.  There is now a lot of research which says the more pupils take ownership of their learning the better they learn.  That is a strong focus for our staff this session and I hope pupils take the opportunities to own and take direction for their learning in classes.

b) Across the school we have moved the from a pupil council who took their issues to me and expected me to fix or reject them.  We now have a Pupil Forum which every pupils is a part of – they can give their views to their class representative (soon we hope ideas can go into a google space for classes too). Class representatives meet once a term in house groups (the House of Representatives) to share common ideas.  Each house captain then meet with the head prefects in the Pupil Senate to take forward the really big ideas.  So far this would be similar to what happens in any school.  What is different in our approach is that at every level pupils are empowered to take decisions – to adopt an idea, to implement an idea or to reject an idea.  They can do this without asking me – they even have been allocated money to truly empower them.  This work is beyond anything happening in the City at present and is closely linked to our work on promoting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – giving pupils a voice in things which affect them.  On Wednesday I was asked to do a presentation to all the City Head Teachers to outline our approach and I am happy to attach a link to the slides I used for my presentation Harlaw Academy pathways to participation November 2017.

Parental Engagement:

Harlaw parents are really good at attending parent meetings, at letting us know when things are not going great and when supporting the school.  But a challenge the school and the Parent council have set ourselves is to take our work with parents to a different level.  Google classrooms is one way in which we want to open the learning up to parents.  We have also listened to you and will move from the 4 ‘skinny’ reports of recent years back to a fuller report to you.  We are using group call more, have taken in a new booking system for parent’s nights and are beginning to use survey monkey to gather parent views on things.  These are all significant pieces of work but as with our work with pupils we are keen to go even further because we feel parents are one of the keys to improving the school and helping raise the attainment of our children.

Working with the parent council we agreed to change the format of Parent Council meetings.  The Parents asked if we could include in the meetings more detailed information about one specific aspect of the school – they suggested the example of Maths/Numeracy.  So on Thursday evening we had our best attended Parent Council meeting ever – 45 parents, 2 Councillors, 4 staff and 3 pupils.  The hour set aside for Maths/Numeracy flew past (indeed it over-ran a bit).  The Maths staff were so good at taking parents through a range of on-line materials and at offering parents advice on how to support/encourage their children with maths.  This was followed by a school report (delivered by our Head Prefect, Harry Kilner) with an open Q&A with David Innes, Head Teacher and Fiona Lawrence, Depute Head – parents were encouraged to ask anything about the school they wished and as a result of the discussion and other feedback we will continue to improve the school and our systems.

Sustaining a relentless focus on school improvement:

Both of these pieces of work are ground breaking and yet we are only a start.  We are going to sustain a relentless focus on school improvement in partnership with our parents and pupils.  We want to respond to the voices we hear regularly from but we also want to hear from more of the quieter voices or the voices which are silent at present.  Empowering all of our pupils and engaging with all our parents has the potential to make a massive difference in terms of school ethos and pupil attainment.

(I have been unable to include reference to a great visit our S3 pupils had to the Airport this week or the visit of another group to the Town House as part of our business link with the City Council or the first match for my own S3 football team on Thursday – all of that will have to wait until next week).

30th October – 3 November: Update to pupils, parents and staff

I wish to use this blog to update pupils, parents and staff on a situation which arose on at the end of the week.

On Friday morning we were made aware by the police of an image which had appeared on social media and which they were investigating. Our actions in such a situation are clear:
1) ensure our pupils and staff are safe
2) maintain the work of the school
3) assist the police with their enquiries
4) keep people informed

We have procedures we follow to keep pupils safe and on this occasion it included having staff strategically positioned at interval and keeping pupils on site. We are very fortunate to have very professional staff (teaching and non teaching) who are willing to go to any length to protect young people and keep things calm so that the learning can continue. I cannot praise them highly enough for the actions they took on Friday.

Whilst it was initially unclear where the image came from I can now confirm to pupils, parents and staff that it originated outwith the school. I can also confirm that the section of the press report on Saturday suggesting police “swooped on the school and made an arrest” is not correct. Beyond this I am unable to comment on the police investigation.

Because of our actions to ensure our pupils and staff were safe at interval and the nature of social media we received calls from concerned parents raising all manner of ‘rumours’. Given what we see happening in the world these concerns from parents are understandable. We felt it was important to get a message out and whilst I was unable to say a great deal in this communication it did reassure people the school was running as normal.

I also made contact with the Parent Council chair and jointly we decided to cancel the PTA ‘fright night’ event planned for that evening. Before lunchtime we sent out a second message to offer further reassurance and to confirm ‘fright night’ was cancelled. Throughout the morning we were also keeping in contact with both Aberdeen City Council and Police Scotland.

A sad reality of our world is that we have to prepare for all sorts of possible situations. Colleagues in the Home Office, Police Scotland and Aberdeen City Council have worked with schools to develop approaches to a range of situations. On Friday morning we had to implement some of these approaches and as a result people remained safe/calm and the work of the school continued normal.

We will reflect on what more can be done to keep parents informed but in a world of social media it is difficult to get the communication right as some people know little/nothing and others are picking up all sorts of stories. I will work with parents to see how we might improve the wording of messages to parents.

I trust this update provides; more context/clarity around what happened on Friday and also gives further information about the general approach we take. Finally, I hope the update provides reassurance to pupils, parents and staff around our ability to respond promptly and effectively to such situations if/when they arise.