August 2024 Head Teacher Update - Welcome Back 23 August 24

We warmly invite you to join the next Parent & Carer Voice Meeting taking place on Tuesday 10th September at 7pm in the School Information Centre. Just head to the main reception and you'll be given directions to the Information Centre. If you haven't been to a Parent & Carer Voice Meeting before, the format is as follows. There is no pressure to speak and questions are welcomed.

• 7pm - Welcome and yearly report by Anne Fraser, current Chair of Parent & Carer Voice
• School Update presented by DHT/HT

Previous meeting minutes are available to read here.

Would you like to be involved with the Parent & Carer Voice?

We are all volunteers and you are very welcome to join us. At this AGM we will be looking for a new Chair to step up. Feel free to get in contact if you would like to find out more. The PCV meetings take place around the start of each term. Meetings alternate each term between online and in person. There are currently 11 members of the PCV and we currently communicate via a WhatsApp group with any queries or questions raised. The Chair then may have further comms with the school if required. Likewise, the school will reach out to the PCV to capture representative views of our families when making key decisions in school.

There are currently 2 key areas of focus and activity for the PCV

The Balwearie Lottery & Fundraising to Support Teacher Bids

Currently the Balwearie Lottery is a monthly prize draw that all parents and carers can sign up to for as little as £2 per month. Each month 50% goes to the school and 50% of the prize fund goes to the lucky lottery winners. All school funds raised go to support the teacher bids.

Teacher bids are the requests teachers make for additional equipment and subsidies for trips and learning. This is outwith Fife Council statutory funding for the school but any funding the PCV can raise for the school massively helps the teachers and pupil provision.

So if you would like to support and sign up for the lottery - click here

If you would like to find out more about the Parent & Carer Voice - click here

If you would like to come along to the next meeting, you will receive a warm welcome! Tuesday 10 September, 7pm, Balwearie Information Centre

Mission Statement

We have been working hard over the last few months to consult with staff and learners about the purpose of education at Balwearie High School. This was followed by our consultation with all staff on our School Mission Statement - who we are and how it feels to be part of our Balwearie community. We have shared this with all learners during our 'Welcome Back' assemblies on Wednesday morning this week. Our mission statement is:

Together, we value innovation, inclusion and diversity. ​

Within our learning community, we feel safe, nurtured and respected. ​

We enjoy rich and varied learning opportunities that ensure we are well-prepared for an ever-changing future. ​

School Improvement Priorities 2024/25

As promised, please find a link to our school website where you can view our School Improvement Plan. As shared at the end of last term, our priorities are summarised below. The detail of the plan can be found by clicking on the various links when you open the document from the school website. I hope this approach will meet the needs of our families and help you look at the plan in as much (or as little!) detail as you wish. The plan was the focus of our 2 in-service days earlier this week and will continue to be our priority as we move into the new school session.

Curriculum and Pathways:

• reviewing our S1-3 curriculum and our interdisciplinary learning approaches
• linking with industry partners to support our curriculum review in each faculty

Learning, Teaching and Assessment:

• ensuring our lesson starters are engaging and plan for learning opportunities
• ensuring our lesson plenaries are evaluative and capture learner feedback

Wellbeing and Inclusion:

• embedding our refreshed Promoting Positive Relationships Policy and staged interventions
• removing barriers for all learners in the classroom environment
• using the language of wellbeing

School Uniform

Huge thanks to all our parents/carers who have supported so many of our learners to arrive ready to learn, including wearing school uniform. We have updated our school uniform expectations to reflect our approaches to inclusion and equity and to ensure all learners can be ready to learn and feel comfortable doing so.

Our updated school uniform information is now available on our website. This details what is acceptable as part of our school dress code. We have reiterated this message during Year Group assemblies again this week.

A wee reminder that hooded tops should be removed in classes if worn to school and we ask that no 'heavily branded' tops/trousers etc are worn as part of uniform.

You can order one of our quarter-zip tops by following the link below, which can be kept on in classes for learners who prefer this option. Black non-hooded tops that make our school tie visible can also be kept on in classes.

Building Works and Refurbishment News

Our new car park is well underway, with full planning permission having been approved. This work will conclude by around the October break and will include some new footpaths and safe routes for staff, learners and visitors to access the school grounds. Our old English Huts have been removed too. We've also got loads of new furniture in many of our classrooms, with a priority being the top floor classes and 'J Block' spaces that did not receive new resources during the last phase of refurbishment. Some pics and even a time lapse video of the hut removal will give you an idea of how things are looking now (our Photography Studio is still a work in progress...watch this space!).