Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

The Parent Council meet again on 28 January 2014. 

Latest Newsletter posted

To open the latest newsletter from the Parent Council please click here.

Annual Meeting Parent Forum 9 October 2013

The Annual Meeting of the Parent Forum of Westray Junior High School will take place on Wednesday 9^th October 2013 at 7.30pm at Westray Junior High School.

All parents are automatically members of the Parent Forum and are warmly invited to attend this meeting.  The evening will start with a short presentation about the recent school trip to Poland then tea, coffee & Polish biscuits will be served by senior pupils.   The Annual Meeting will follow and both presentation & meeting will be held in the English Classroom.

After School Clubs & Activities - Good Practice Guide for Volunteers

This guide was published January 2013 by Orkney Islands Council.  This manual is a good practice Guide for volunteers (and staff) when running after school clubs on school premises.  It ensures that you are equipped with the relevant information required for your activities to be a success. 

The Parent Council have in place insurance and a scheme to register volunteers with the PVG scheme. If you are interested in helping out please speak to a Parent Council member, a current after school activities volunteer or the Head teacher.  There are a number of ways you can help.

Anyone interested in setting up an after school group or club should speak with the Head Teacher/Active Schools Co-ordinator  in the first instance.  Contact: Active Schools Co-ordinator on 01856 873535 x 2441/2442 or email active-schools@orkney.gov.uk

Curriculum for Excellence Implementation Plan 2013-14

The CfE Implementation plan for 2013-14 is now available for you to download. 

The implementation plan sets out the objectives we need to achieve, the activities at local level that will be required to achieve these objectives, and the national support that will be available. 

It is designed to ensure that further support is provided in the areas which feedback suggests will be of most benefit. Those include areas such as curriculum planning, approaches to assessment and moderation, tracking pupil progress and profiling. In providing support and guidance in all of these areas, the emphasis will be on ensuring that processes are effective but are also manageable and do not take valuable time away from learning and teaching.  

The plan sets out the additional support being provided for the next phase of the introduction of new National Qualifications and it also outlines actions we need to take to ensure parents have the necessary information and advice to help them support their child’s learning.

Irene Russell, Parental Involvement Officer

T: +44 (0) 141 282 5055,

M: +44 (0) 7985349791

Education Scotland

The Optima, 58 Robertson Street, Glasgow, G2 8DU

www.educationscotland.gov.uk

Great Learning in Scotland

This leaflet explains what happens in school education now and how this approach - known as Curriculum for Excellence - benefits your child.

National Parent Forum of Scotland Annual Conference

National Parent Forum of Scotland extends a warm invitation to: The National Parent Forum of Scotland's Annual Conference for parents/carers and families, Saturday 5 October 2013, at Bishopriggs Academy, East Dunbartonshire.  The theme of this year's conference is Health and Wellbeing.
More information click here

Nationals in a Nutshell

Nationals in a Nutshell: Launch of a new online resource for parents/carers
The National Parent Forum of Scotland is launching ‘Nationals in a Nutshell’, a series of subject-based summaries of the new National qualifications for parents/carers. The first batch of Nutshells is available online on the National Parent Forum website www.parentforumscotland.org (click the ‘Nationals in a Nutshell’ tab)
or use the link https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/NPF/nationals-in-a-nutshell/
The Nationals in a Nutshell will be added to over the coming weeks by additional subjects.

Iain Ellis, Chair of the National Parent Forum of Scotland, said:
“We recently held focus groups with parents and they asked for more information about the new qualifications in advance of August 2014, when current S3s will be the first cohort to experience them. In response, we have organised a three regional Qualifications Plus events for parents/carers, with keynote speakers and a panel of experts, plus time for discussion. We have also put together the first in a series of ‘Nationals in a Nutshell’. These set out how the Curriculum for Excellence journey translates into courses for qualifications. Subject content will always be subject content – what is crucial is how it is delivered to young people to ensure that it is relevant to 21st century life and that it engages them and helps them to learn”.

Next Westray Parent Council Meeting

The next meeting of the Parent Council is due to take place on Monday 20 May 2013 at 7.30pm in WJHS. 

WPC Briefing February 2013

The latest briefing document from Parent Council members to the Parent Forum contains information about the Head Teacher appointment process and can be read by clicking on the link below:-

Briefing February 2013