About Us
Hayshead School is an integral part of the Arbroath community. We value opportunities for children to develop skills and learn to be effective citizens through engaging with and supporting the work of the local community. Our pupils participate in community events and competitions organized by the local charities and voluntary groups. Partners such as Police Scotland, health services, local charities and Fire Service are regular visitors. Organisations such as NSPCC, SSPCA and Barnardo's deliver assemblies and workshops in classes. Members of the local community are also invited into school to support learning in the classroom and projects. We take part in many fund raising charity events and in recent years have supported Angus Foodbank, Fairtrade, Angus Toy Appeal, Poppy Scotland, Children in Need and Comic Relief.
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Across the school, we have re-focused our approaches on the monitoring and tracking of pupil progress. This was of particular importance given the varied experiences of our children during periods of lockdown and remote learning. Therefore, as part of renewed approach to moderation, we have engaged all staff in termly progress and achievement discussions linked to benchmarks and have captured this in a refreshed tracking system. As a result, we have more confidence around teacher professional judgements and more robust data.
There has been a significant need to support almost all our children with social skills, positive behaviour, and relationships this session as they returned to school and the associated routines and behaviour expectations. Outdoor spaces and resources have been timetabled for all classes to engage learners and to reinforce key social skills. A focus on STEM, partnership with Alba Explorers and skills focussed outdoor learning has been planned and delivered across the school. Learner focus group feedback indicates almost all children enjoyed outdoor learning. Almost all P7 pupils were awarded the John Muir Award because of the partnership with Alba.
We are now able to make more strategic use of Education Scotland’s Learning for Sustainability Framework and promote the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We also recognise that to ensure the best possible outcomes for our children, our staff need to make use of a wide variety of innovative and creative resources and teaching approaches. In Hayshead we engage with How Good is Our School (4th Edition) through learning visits, self-evaluation activities and collegiate discussion of HGIOS4 and HGIOELC challenge questions. We believe that all staff should discover the most effective ways to teach based on reflective practice.
School Improvement Plan
We have high expectations of our learners and have adapted our approaches to learning, teaching and assessment to ensure we provide an enriched curriculum with personalisation and choice and appropriate challenge.
As a result of our self-evaluation the following priorities for improvement have been identified.
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Develop a new relationships policy which promotes higher expectations for all children, clearer routines/structures and increased staff confidence toward inclusive practices.
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Further develop opportunities for staff and pupil leadership.
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Develop a more focused approach to planning, direct observations of learning and tracking discussions to raise attainment, improve moderation and enrich our curriculum.
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