1st – 5th February

I am very aware that I spend myself in Education.  Although I am a parent my view of the world is through the eyes of a teacher.  I am very aware of the need to help find ways to help describe my world in a way that makes sense to parents and to learners.  In this regard I wish to highlight resources produced by the National Parent forum for Scotland.  These materials explain things to parents and learners in a very clear, visual and brief format.  They include:

Guides for National courses called ‘Nationals in a Nutshell’:  http://www.npfs.org.uk/nationals-in-a-nutshell/

Guides for the new Higher courses called ‘Highers in a  Nutshell’: http://www.npfs.org.uk/highers-in-a-nutshell/

Information to support learning and revision called ‘Pointers for Parents and Pupils’:  http://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/pointersforparents_E1.pdf

Easy guides on how schools assess pupils in P1-S3: http://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/nutshells_assessment_BGE_1506_E.pdf

…and assessment in the senior phase (S4-S6): http://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/nutshells_assessment_E.pdf

Useful summary of the journey learners take through school: http://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/npfs_learner_journey_white.pdf

….. and progression routes in secondary school: http://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/nutshells_progression_E-1.pdf

There is an easy guide to learner pathways in the senior phase and beyond: http://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/nutshells_pathway_E.pdf

a guide to skills: http://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/nutshells_skills_E-1.pdf

… and careers: http://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/NPFS_world_of_possibilities_1509_E.pdf

There are also easy guides to policy initiatives such the National Improvement framework: http://www.npfs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/NPFS_NIF_E-1.pdf

As well as producing helpful resources (such as the 11 examples above) the National Parent Forum are seeking views on topics such as the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence and Anti-Bullying.

We occasionally get paper copies of these resources but I would recommend that you keep this site as one of your favourites and visit it at key times when your child is at school.

 

 

25th-29th January

This week we had the S2 course choice event.  Leading into this event we had seen a lot of media coverage about job losses in the energy sector.  It would have been easy to be pessimistic about future prospects for youngsters.  However a phrase was in the back of my mind as I prepared for meeting the S2 parents – “necessity is the mother of invention”

In essence I am taking this to mean that we will all be inventive when we have to.  Over the last 30 or so years jobs have been plentiful so we have not been forced to look beyond the energy sector for most of our opportunities.  In the next 30 years we will have to look beyond that sector and I have confidence that people in NE Scotland will rise to that challenge.  The skills and talents that we took from traditional industries such as fishing, farming, granite etc and adapted to the hostile environment of sub sea engineering can be adapted again into serving the needs of future generations.

That was the underlying message to S2 parents and needs to be the message we give to the young people.

18th – 22 January 2016

This week saw senior pupils start their prelim exams.  These exams serve several purposes;

  • they give pupils practice for the main exams in May
  • they give us all a clearer idea of how pupils are doing in their course
  • they better inform decisions for levels of study for next session
  • they provide us with evidence in the event that a pupil is unable to sit their final exams

I know pupils and staff work hard for the prelim exams and hopefully this hard work will be reflected in the marks.  If not there is time to do something about putting things right by the final exams.

I had hoped to be in a position to appoint a Modern Studies and a Physics teacher this week.  On the plus side we had a high level of interest in the Modern Studies post and were able to make an appointment at interviews this week.  Unfortunately we had only one applicant for the Physics vacancy and we could not proceed as the person did not fully meet the requirements for teaching in Scotland.  I shall be re-advertising this post and in the meantime we have covered classes with a combination of Science, Technology and Maths staff with relevant qualifications.  For certificate Physics classes there is access to SCHOLAR an on-line resources from Heriot Watt University and also some ‘drop in’ support sessions.  I am also in discussion with the General Teaching Council Scotland to see if we can find flexible routes into teaching.  I am sure there are a lot of very well qualified people who, given a downturn in the local economy, could be attracted to teaching if there was a way in which they could ‘earn whilst they learn’.

Over the next few weeks we have a set of meetings with parents either to discuss progress with individual teachers or to outline course options and career opportunities.  These are really important events which are generally very well attended.  I know many parents and youngsters will be concerned for the future.  What I would say it that is remarkable how quickly things can change.  It is just over 3 years since I took up post and in January 2013 our outlook was optimistic.  Wood Group Kenny had just moved into new offices in our area, GDF Suez and Enquest were putting up new offices and more was planned for Union Street.  The oil price was over $50 and the future looked pretty bright.  We are now in a new reality but one in which talented people can still come to the fore – whether that talent is in a trade, a skill or an academic area.  We have to be resilient, determined and optimistic and we need to instil resilience, determination and optimism in our young people.  In their future we will have a western peripheral route, superfast broadband, cruise liners will be able to dock in Aberdeen, there will be a new exhibition centre, city centre redevelopment and much more.  The jobs people do might be different from the jobs we have seen in the past but people with skill, ambition and drive will continue to thrive.  We need to work together to help young people recognise and to work hard to ensure they can take advantage of these future opportunities.

11th – 15th January 2016

The week started with a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meeting.  The PTA are a really enthusiastic group who seek to arrange events to help parents to meet each other and meet staff.  These events are also intended to raise funds which can be put towards activities which will benefit pupils.  the group met in the learning support area as the PTA had recently donated £200 to help provide resources for some of our more vulnerable young people.  The next main event is a Murder Mystery night on Saturday 12th March at 7.00 and I hope the PTA will be supported in planning the event and/or a good turn out at the event.

On Wednesday we had a practice of our interim fire evacuation arrangements.  At present we do not have access to one of the main stairwells and a section of corridor.  Alternative routes have been identified and checked with our H&S advisers.  It was important that all staff and pupils had the opportunity to practice an evacuation using the interim arrangements.

On Thursday I met with a medal winning athlete Fiona Davidson.  Fiona has trained with the UK cycling team and was the sighted athlete at the front of a tandem in the Paralympics in London and at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.  She is working with us as part of an initiative called ‘Winning Scotland Foundation’.  Between now and summer she will work with a group of around 24 pupils from S3-S5 with a view to helping them to set and achieve ambitious goals.

As a school we have been achieving a fair bit of sporting success of late.  On Wednesday our S1 football team beat Hazlehead Academy to reach the last 16 in the Scottish Cup.  On Thursday a group of our youngsters took part in a NE football event and came home with the trophy.  that evening our S3 football team boarded a ferry to Orkney to play Kirkwall Grammar school in the Scottish cup.  At lunchtime on Friday, in front of a large Kirkwall crowd (and 2 keen Harlaw parents) they put up a great display.  The 5-1 victory has secured them a place in the last 16 in Scotland and a game in Edinburgh against Broughton High School.

20160114_140412[1]Winning pupils and coaches from NE tournament

20160115_121626[1]S3 team before 5-1 win at Kirkwall

6th – 8th January 2016

2016 has started in a pretty grey and wet fashion.  We will all know people who have been affected by flooding and will all be hoping things improve as the year unfolds.

In this blog I am keen to highlight a couple of themes, the first being ‘improvements’.  Many people start the year with an area for improvement (what we call a new year resolution).  I am not a great fan of the new year resolution – if something needs improved why wait until the end of the year to do something about it.  Improvement should be continuous and on-going.  I often say to pupils, staff and parents let me know if there is something you want us to improve.  Don’t wait until it becomes difficult to make the improvement.

The second theme I want to mention is ‘failure’.  Some people are afraid to fail and as a result they do not test themselves to their limits.  Many of the most successful people say they have learned far more from their failures than from their successes.  Some of the most significant breakthroughs come from testing a product to its limits.  So often after a quiz or an exam people say “I knew that but was too scared to say it in case it sounded stupid”.  Failure is a good thing it shows you are pushing yourself and it is an opportunity to learn from your mistakes.

Over the early part of this session I want us to help our young people push themselves to ‘learn from failure’ and to ‘keep improving’.  I also recognise that although I have now been Head teacher at Harlaw Academy for 3 years there is still a lot which needs improved.  I am committed to making on-going improvements and value any views people have on areas we need to work on.

14th – 18th December 2015

I made reference to the fire in the blog last week and in this one I can provide a little more detail of what has taken place this week.  There are things I cannot say as the matter is subject to an on-going police investigation.

In terms of the investigation I can confirm that the police have charged a 14 year old in connection with the incident.  The prompt and professional actions by both the police and fire services is something we have tried to highlight in all our communications on the issue.

‘Group call’ has been a very effective way of keeping people informed and it is essential that parents keep us informed of any changes to information we hold as this may be the difference between getting vital information or missing it.  The local media also took a keen interest in events and I would like to thank them for striking the right note in their coverage.

We were very keen to get pupils back to work as soon as it was safe and practical to do so.  On the Monday there were a lot of contractors in the building trying to clean sooty deposits from the area most affected and to partition off this area from the rest of the school.  As the day progressed we took advice from alarm and electrical specialists and also from health and safety experts.  We also identified ‘back up’ spaces for the two classrooms and library which we would be unable to access.  In the light of all of this advice we made a decision to re-open for all pupils on the Tuesday.  It was nothing short of remarkable that we were able to do so and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to City Council employees and extrernal contractors for their prompt and professional actions.

In one of the media interviews I made reference to the UN convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) highlighting that the actions of an individual had denied 920 children of the right to an education (article 28).  A lot of people had worked really hard to ensure that by the Tuesday these children could enjoy this right again.  It was a vital time of year particularly for our seniors who needed to get university applications away, complete course assessments and prepare for their prelim exams in January.

Although we decided to cancel the Christmas concert we did manage to go ahead with and adapted version of the Chaplains assemblies on the Wednesday.  Our pupils also went ahead with carols in the car park and annual event to spread some festive cheer in the community.  During the week we had also kept going with a Christmas Jumper theme to try and raise funds for a defibrillator in the school.

Over the week pupils, staff and the wider school community had shown great resilience and focus, as a result the interim arrangements had proved to be very effective.  As a result we took the decision to proceed with an adapted talent show at the end of the last day of term.  We were particularly keen to run this event as it was going to raise funds for ‘befriend a child’.  Although we were not quite able to fit everyone in (S1 missed out) it was a fantastic way to end a week which had started so badly.

Much work will be needed to restore areas affected by the incident and when we return to school on Wednesday 6 January 2016 it is likely some areas of the school will be sealed off to allow contractors to operate.  I have every confidence in staff and pupils to adapt to any short term disruption – they have shown themselves to be very resourceful, resolute and resilient.

Can I thank everyone for their support this week and wish you all a safe, relaxed and enjoyable festive break.