Angus MacRury

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Friday 3rd November

It has been a busy time at Innerewick lately. We are soon due another Inspection this time of the Nursery by the Care Commission. We have recently started to compile Learning stories for the Nursery children. The response from parents has been very positive. We are currently piloting using I-photo to collate the story and initially we are coming across problems of usability and flexibility which we are endeavouring to overcome. A parental comment yesterday was “magnificent” after taking the Learning Story of his child home. He praise the staff at Innerwick for capturing through the 4 capacities the development and potential of his child. It is good to get this type of feedback as it serves to remind me and the staff at Innerwick that the work we do is greatly appreciated by the majority of parents.

This week we have have had a Health Promoting week for parents staff and pupils. We combined this with walk to school week and every child in the school has enjoyed a 40 minute walk every morning. The walks have been not only physically rewarding but a great deal of Environmental awareness raisng has come from these walks. Yesterday we walked through Innerwick Farm and loked over the gazing cattle at Torness, Barn Ness and Skateraw. Further South we enjoyed the view towards

St Abbs. Walked up the hill to the first valley and looked over the bubbling river below. Today we walked from The school to the New Cemetry at Innerwick where the children stopped for private reflection and rest whilst reading the gravestones of the people of the past.

All week we have been promoting Health and a healthy lifestyle.

On Monday and Tuesday the children after their walk enjoyed an Aerobics session with Katie Forsyth. After that it was smoothie and healthy snack time, which the staff organised all week. All fruit and vegetables for the week were kindly donated by Thurston Manor Holiday Park. Club golf was on offer to the P4-7 after the Aerobics. IN the Afternoon the children were coached in badminton and the p1-3 pupils made flapjacks for the snack on Tuesday. On Tuesday we had a walk, Aerobics, Masic Moves, 110% Creative Dance with Dawn Hartley in the afternoon the P4-7 made soup. On Wednesday after the walk the P1-3 went on public transport to visit the Local Co-op. While they were away P5-7 had a drugs and Alcohol awareness session with PC Hughes. In the afternoon Marjorie Shepherd had exotic Fruit tasting and nutritional guidance for the whole school.

On Thursday after the walk up the Lammermuir the whole school including the Nursery had a Yoga Session with Annie Beattie. While this was on the Enjoy-a-ball with Gordon Stables was taking place in the hall. While the children were occupied the staff and parents benefited from a Health Check with Alision Fielding. The staff also had a Reflexology and Indian Head Massage session with Susan Mothersole. This was organised through SHAW. At Lunchtime we had 18 parents join us for lunch and we gathered in very positive feedback on the quality and meal experience. After lunch we offered parents a Pilates Class taken by Morag MacClure. IN the afternoon the classes had PE and Active Play. On Friday after our walk to the Cemetery the classes had health discussions with the School Nurse about Soapy Stars and Headlice. At the same time Maggie Johnston delivered a road safety presentation with the focus on Cycle Safe. Assembly focussed on the 400th anniversary of the first firework night and Fireworks Safety. This was delivered by a very noisy Powerpoint Presentation. We will be collating feedback from the parents and pupils next week and some of the activities will be repeated through after school activities in January to April where we hope to run a block of Yoga, Enjoy-a-ball as well as our normal Clubs.

In terms of myself I have been attending the Management Development Programme over the past few weeks. The group was a cohesive opinionated bunch and we all really enjoyed the whole four day course. The course run by Clearwater Brookes Ltd is a must for anyone who has a desire to go into School Management. Using the Strength Deployment Inventory by Elias H Porter I am a Altruistic and Nurturing (Blue) person. This means that I am Trusting and if overdone Gullible. Loyal and if overdone Blind. Helpful and if overdone Smothering. Modest and if overdone Self-effacing. Devoted and if overdone Subservient. Caring and if overdone Submissive. Supportive and if overdone Self-Sacrificing. Even I don’t recognise me!!

I have been reviewing the way I prioritise my tasks as a result of this course and I have signed up to participate in the Telephone coaching programme which starts for me next week. I have always found that that I am not confident on the phone and this method of coaching will be interesting for me.

Today I have reorganised my office to start a new chapter in my management career. My inbox is manageable and I am becoming more disciplined with my time.

Improving School Dicipline.

An action plan has been drawn up today to continue takling indicipline in Scottish schools. I am aware that a great deal of this best practice is already in use through out East Lothian schools.

A really good website exists to support schools

At Innerwick we use a number of the six listed below.

Where current best practice is deployed, it works.

1. Behaviour co-ordinators. I trained in Edinburgh as a BECOS and I found that this system of dealing with indicipline really worked.

2. Staged Intervention/Framework for Intervention. This is the system that the behaviour co-ordinator work to.

3. Restorative practices

4. The Motivated School. Dunbar Grammar and unbar Primary have been havily involved in this.

5. Solution Oriented School

6. Cool in School. This is currently being rolled out across East Lothian Council Schools. We are attempting to roll this out in a P4-7 composite so a great deal of pre-planning and thought is required.

Euans Sunflower Photo by Euan Aged 3

Last May Euan came home from Nursery and demanded that I get out to the garden and plant his sapling of a sunflower. We planted the sapling and watched, watered and waited all summer. Euan talked about the flower all summer, even concerned that it would die when we were on holiday. Every week we watched it get bigger and bigger. In July we gave it new soil and waited. Euan was enthusiastic about the flower all through the summer and we paid daily visits to it to see whether a flower was emerging. Eventually it got so tall I had to lift Euan up to see. In August it bloomed at over 2 metres tall and Euan felt that a summer of hard work was complete. We took photos of the flower which he took to Nursery, which were then displayed for all to see. His face beamed for about a week.This is what A Curriculunm for Excellence is all about. Many thanks to the Nursery Staff at West Barns

Our Hmie Report is out today.

The Report highlighted the following Key Strengths:

· The Quality of the relationships between pupils and all members of staff

· A high regard for Care and Welfare

· Well-behaved pupils who had a very positive attitude towards their work.

· Leadership which was giving the school a clear agenda for improvemen

The Main points for Action are as follows:

· Improve continuity and progression in pupils learning across the curriculum

· Further improve pupils’ skills in independent learning, including the use of ICT

· Continue to develop approaches to self evaluation to share good practice and ensure continued improvements in Learning and Teaching

· Improve catering arrangements to ensure pupils have a quality lunch

An Action Plan has already been drawn up and the main points for action will be taken to The Education Committee on 26th September. All action points are priorities in the School Development Plan 2006/07. Copies of the finalised Development Plan will be available to download on the school website.

Today has been a day of visits.

At 9:00am I had a visit from Ross Morrison who is helping to oversee the refurbishment of the toilets and cloakroom areas, we spend 30 minutes looking at the works still to be completed.

I had Alan Blackie here on a visit where we discussed the recent HMIe Inspection and the action points arising from it. The report is published tommorow and I will update the blog on the detail. We also discussed and viewed the refurbishment work. We also discussed my contributions to exc-el and how I could move forward with this. After a tour of the school which is currently being reorganised we agreed that the school looks very good despite some displays up yet up in the classrooms.

After lunch I had a visit from A representitive of the construction company overseeing the works in the school. After a 50 minute tour and meeting with him I met with a pest controller who was takling a nest of wasps in the Nursery.

In between visitors I drafted a letter and parental response sheet to go along with the HMIe report.

School website

I have spent a bit of time recently updating the school website which of today has a new address. The new sections are on Health Promoting Schools. A Curriculum for Excellence and Assessment is for Learning. The information is designed to be readily available to parents. We have also put all our updated Nursery Policies online to be down loaded by parents or potential parents. The new school menu is also available. Tommorow a PDF and text report of our HMIe will be uploaded.

The website address is migrating to www.innerwickschool.org.uk shortly.

This year I have decided to change the tact of my blog and report on my thoughts about the job I do and how it is changing.

This session so far I have been a porter, a janitor, a cleaner, a plumbers assistant, a joiner, a clerk of works, an architect, a teacher in P1-7, a headteacher, a social worker, a home visitor and the 2nd week of term has not even finished. How many other roles will I undertake by the end of the session? The job of a Headteacher in a small school job is so interesting and again I have to stress I love the unpredicability of it.

We have had toilet refurbishments taking place at the school. Unfortunately they are not completed as yet. The children are a wee bit disappointed that they toilets are not ready but they will appreciete them more once they are.

ELC has invested a great deal of money in the past 2 years and the school is looking really good.

Tuesday 6th May

Today I have a meeting with Ceri McCrath of Community Windpower who are donatin g a turbine and solar panel to the school as a resourse thatthe children can extract data from to look at the sustaiable power sources. We have to be careful on this one. We are not in support of their development nearby nor are we against it. What we are aiming to do is givre the children as much information as we can about the pros and cons of such projects in Rural area and the potential impact the turbines can have on bird life. We get our photo taken by the Courier.

Later that day I meet with the Kitchen supervisor at DPS to discussour frustrations with the quality of school meals. That said the sevice and product are improving.

12th JUne

Today I get to know the financial position of te school going into next session. Things are not too bad but we do not have a lot of money to splash out.

14th June

I attend the SWAN proposal from Affiniti. THis is really interesting and I listen to why we should but their service it was a real pitch for business. I think we need more, but they have more than matched the criteria that they are bidding for. We will wait and see what BT come up with later next week.

19th June

I have been really frustrated with an ongoing issue that I have to pick up the pieces of every Monday morning. Today in frustration I contact Allan Ross and expain to him my fears about the way the suppoert system is failing some children. He listems to my rambling and is sympathetic to my cause. I thank him for this. We continue to go round in circles...

In the afternoon I meet Glen our Active Schools Co-ordinator. I sign the children up for a few new and different learning experiences next sessions after I waffle on about my "problem" with golf. Poor man just listened and smiled.

20th June

Ruth is her on her last visit as she is dropping Innerwick next session for the bright lights of Musselburgh. I feel eally badly prepared for this meeting and feel that I have wasted her time coming here. I apologise for being in post HMIE flatness. I assure her that all outstanding work will be completed by the weekend. I have enjoyed the visits from Ruth, we both started with ELC at the same toime and the learning curve has been steep at times. Her support has been of a very high standard and I thank her very much for her invaluable contribution over tha past 2 years. I know she will miss the coffee and Christmas play.

In the afternoon I spend about £2000 on intoducing reading material for P1-3 in the form of Storyworlds. We have evaluated this scheme and feel that it will work well for us.

21st JUne

I am shown around Musselburgh Burgh by Lis Imrie. I m very grateful fotr all the time Lis spent with me. I can see there has been a lot done in the school and still more to do.

22nd June

Today it is Sports day. The afternoon begins in glorious sunshine and eveything runs really well until the skies open and we are forced to abandon the day. We arrange to continue on Wednesday next week. After school I meet with a couple of parents regarding a bullying incident.

Friday 23rd June

I am being interviewed for the Acting Headteacher post at Musselburgh today. I feel the interview goes well but I do not get the job.

In the afternoon I stay really late anf I forward my Sand Q and Develpment Plan to Ruth.

15th MAy

Today it is my turn to be on the receiving end of EDR wuith DOn. WE discuss te recent inspection and look at my strengths and development needs. We discuss the EDR process and I chat to him about getting better at organising my priorities and time. THis is a real juggle as a teaching head as you have to wear so many different hats in a day. It is really easy to lose sight (or avoid) the things that are important. As a parent of a child in pre-school I question aspects of my childs school, yet can ignore the very things that I question. Don suggests

TUesday

Start the day with a Staff meeting. At 11:30 I observe a child at another school who has been referred to the Moderation panel. I find this a very interesting experience. In the afternoon I attend the ICT Management meeting where we discuss the Wide area networks proposed for the Authority. I think we should go all the way for the best and fastest we can get, on the other hand I understand that the cash is not there to make this work. Why can we not get this type of thing right? There are fantastc resources available to us if we had the speed and connectivity. The LTS website has fantastic resources on it but we cannot acces or utilise it due to the cart being before the horse. Why do schools in Scotland not get E -credits that we can spend? Do Scottish Local Authorities compromise Educational connectivity to pay for other things. There is still along wat to go before we can convince the local and National politicians that connectivity to schools should be prioritised.

17th May

Today I have a meeting with Ross Morrison to dicusss the renovation of the school toilets. This is a projct that the pupil council took ahead and it is great to see that there letter writing is paying off.

18th May

Today I am in West Barns having a meeting with the P6/7 children from Innerwick Stenton and West Barns who are all travelling to York for a week at the end of May. The meeting goes well and I get the feeling that the children are getting excited.

24th May

Today I am at the Authority Moderation panel and it is my last one as I have sat for 2 years on this panel. I am glad that I have been party to this decision making process. Some of the decisions over tha past 2 years have been very hard. Some have been very frustrating too.

25th May

Today we have a Science roadshow in for P1-4 looking at minibeasts. The show goes really well and the follow up work in the classes is of a very high standard.

In the afternoon I chair the Cluster Heads meeting.

29th-2nd June We are all in York

Day one we visit Beamish and have a great time on the tram and getting soaked eating our lunch.

At 5:30 we arrive in Scarborough at the Hotel. We immediately name it Faulty Towers. Everyone settles in.

Day 2 We are heading into York to the Minster after a tour and a workshop we make our way through the Shambles to the Castle Museum. It is then on to the York Dungeon. Scary Stuff. In the evening we 10 pin bowl in Bridlington.

Day 3 We make our way to York via EDen Camp. What a superb place to visit. I could have stayed all day. After Eden we headed to York to visit Yorvik and have a ghost tour of the city. In the evening we have Bridlington leisure pool all to ourselves. I try out the flume in order to chechk the risk assessment.

Day 4 We are in the Sea Life Centre in Scarborough until lunchtime. In the afternoon we make our way to Flamingoland and have a great time on all the scarey rides you can thingk of. In the evening we have a really fantastic Disco in the Hotel.

Day 5 We are heading home but stop of at Hartlepool Quay on the way back. What a fantastic place to visit. The children really enjoy the tour odf the boat. We arrive back at 6pm after a really busy week. The total cost of this trip for pupils was £150 a real bargain.