Please click on this link to view a letter about our return to Lochend on Monday 15th March:

Lochend Return Letter Monday 15th March

Parentline provides emotional, practical and financial advice to families. They are able to provide ‘one off’ support or continued advice and support over an extended time. Details below:

Copy of Learning Update Letter sent 0ut to all parents today

8^th January 2021

Dear Parents and Carers Primary 1 – Primary 7

Information for remote learning from Monday 11^th January – Friday 29^th January 2021

Following the First Minister’s decision to move to remote learning this letter will detail the arrangements we have put in place to support you and your child/children over the next month of learning at home.

Log-In

Every pupil has a log-in to Google Classroom, if you or they are unable to log your on then please contact the school on 01368 863773 so we can support you getting access.

As from Monday 11^th January we will have a class catch-up 3 x week open for 30 mins.  The class teacher will send details of when this will be for each class.   As a school we are expecting every pupil to  log-on at these agreed 3 times, talk briefly to their teacher e.g. ask questions about any work that has been set, sort out any concerns, check in on work completed, etc.

This will then allow us to ensure pupils are engaging with the set work.  We are posting new learning and new material each week, we will be teaching new concepts and developing skills in different contexts of learning.  We recognise that remote/on-line learning is not ideal but we need all of our pupils to be engaging and completing work to ensure they are remaining on track and not falling behind.

Teacher Contact

We are running a Hub at John Muir Campus from 11^th – 29^th January and most of our teachers and support staff will be working on a rota basis working in school or working from home. This will mean that on some occasions the support for remote learning questions will be provided by another teacher from the stage. It might also mean that a member of the Senior Management Team might be taking the catch-up session.

The google login the pupil has is just for them, please can we ask that you do not use this to email the teacher, but use your own email to the admin email box at Dunbar – Thank you.

We ask that in the first instance if you have a question or concern for the class teacher you send it to the admin email: admin @dunbarprimay.elcschool.org.uk and mark it for the attention of the class teacher or the member of management you want to contact. This will mean that it will be dealt with quickly as teachers maybe teaching in the Hub and not check their email until later in the day.

Devices

To support on-line learning we have in the past week delivered 125 laptops and some access devices, as part of the Scottish Government initiative, to support our remote learning offer. We know that sometimes even an extra one is not enough so we will provide chrome books to borrow for pupils who need one.

Can I also ask if you upgraded your old laptop over Christmas and are able to donate your old machine, we would be very grateful to receive any, just contact the school office.

Jotters

More of the on-line learning activities will be work pupils will need to do in a jotter or on paper – we intend doing more handwriting skills, morning challenges, maths problem-solving, writing sentences as part of RWInc and literacy activities that will need a jotter. Some of the extended writing can be done on the laptop and this will also develop typing skills.

We will be leaving jotters for you to collect for your child/children in Knox’s Newsagent, Co-op and Asda.  Some are specifically for P1 & P2  (Purple or Red) others are for P3-P7. Please help yourself and if they run out please give the office a call.

Other Activities

As part of the learning and teaching over the next 4 weeks we will be using our specialists to provide science, German ( P6 & 7) and some musical activities. We will deliver some short assemblies and there will be the usual weekly Google Meet with the teacher and the whole class – this will be decided by each class teacher.

At the end of our last slot of remote learning we surveyed pupils to find out what worked well or what could be improved on. I hope that you will see some changes as we shared these findings with our teachers.  We know that sitting in front of a computer screen all day was not popular, and I couldn’t agree more!  So we will be adding in activities that take children outside or need them to be creative or imaginative, that provide some fun and challenge their thinking.

We have ensured that some of the learning activities can be completed independently by pupils, some will be delivered by the teacher on-line and some will need some adult input.

Dunbar Primary School is here to help and support as much as we can with the remote learning that you will be juggling with alongside your own jobs and ‘lockdown life’.  We do not want to add to your stress so we ask that you fit in the home learning around your family and your situation.  Please call us for advice if you find things are tough, we understand how hard the next 4 weeks will be and working together we can get through it.

Helen Gillanders. Head Teacher.

Website

Resources and help guides and videos have been added today to the school website. Links and resources to  support learning will be added frequently over the coming days and weeks. Please favourite the site and check regularly. Weekly updates will be published each Friday.

Why are some children at school?

We are providing in-school supported learning for the community of Dunbar children of key workers and also for our families who require support for a variety of circumstances.

As always, if your child is attending school for the
critical childcare, please do not send them if they have any Covid-19 symptoms and should self-isolate and book a test for them.

Requests to Borrow Chromebooks

As stated above we have distributed 125 Chromebooks this week, however we can still send out devices still available for students who require access for home learning.
Please contact admin@dunbarprimary.elcschool.org.uk to request a
device, giving the name of the child that it should be allocated to. Chromebooks can be collected only by prior arrangement, pick up times are between 10am and 12pm on Monday 11th January. Collection at a later time may be possible and can be arranged
with the office at John Muir. Please note that these additional devices must be returned when schools open in the same condition as when they were issued.

Supporting Families During Lockdown

During the first lockdown, our Senior Leadership team worked  hard to help pupils and their families. We will do our best over the coming period to support you and your family. Please contact us if there are concerns or issues you need guidance with.
Please note that the school office  in John Muir Campus is manned and calls can be made on 01368863773.  There will 2 members of the Senior Leadership team available on call everyday to support the children in and out of the school. We will respond to calls as soon as we can.

Dunbar Primary Parent Council

The next Parent Council meeting will be held online on Tuesday 12th January at 7pm.  Please e-mail parentcouncil@dunbarprimary.elcschool.org.uk if you would like to attend.  Click below for the agenda and minutes of the previous meeting.

Agenda – January 2021

Minutes of December 2020 Meeting

 

 

In School Learning Places

Dear Parent/Carer,

As a result of the First Minister’s announcement on Monday 4th January 2021, schools will be closed to most children other than children of key workers and the most vulnerable until 29th January 2021.  This is a change from the initial statement from the First Minister on 19^th December 2020 which required a phased return to school.

Due to the extended period of school closure, East Lothian Council has reopened the application process for key worker children to access places for in-school learning and childcare from Monday 18th to Friday 29th January 2021.  This online application process is for new applicants who did not apply in the first round in December 2020.  Those who have confirmed places already will roll over in to extended period and do not need to reapply.

Priority will be given to those key workers in category 1 and category 2 where both parent/carers are key workers or where there is a single parent who is a key worker.  Information about the category definitions can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-school-re-opening-arrangements-for-january-2021/pages/children-of-keyworkers/

Wherever possible, parents/carers should make use of informal childcare arrangements in line with the Scottish Government Guidance.

Any parents/carers who believe they are key workers under criteria set out by the Scottish Government will be invited to complete our online application.  This link to this application can be found here: https://eastlothianconsultations.co.uk/education/january2021-keyworker-application-2

Kind regards

The Education Support Team

P1 enrolment arrangements 2021

Parents and carers would usually visit school buildings with supporting paperwork to undertake enrolment. Due to essential restrictions in place to limit the number of people entering school buildings, this is not possible in the current climate.

Instead, letters were posted on 8 December 2020 to all families with age-eligible children who currently attend a local authority nursery or partner provider advising that a place is being held for their child at their catchment primary school.

No further action is needed from the parent or carer if the details are correct and the school is the family’s preferred option. Address details have already been cross-checked against council tax records to remove the need to provide paperwork.

Parents and carers can still apply for a catchment place at at one of the county’s four denominational primary schools by completing an online application where documents supporting the request can be securely uploaded.

Parents who would like their child to attend a non-catchment school, can make a placing request by downloading, completing and returning a non-catchment placing request form by 31 January.

If you live in the East Lothian Council area and your child is not attending a funded Early Learning and Childcare provision as outlined earlier on this page, you should register your child for P1 at their catchment primary school using an online application form before 31 January 2021.

Executive Director for Education and Children’s Services Lesley Brown said:

“The priority has been to manage the P1 enrolment process in a way that is safe for families, schools and staff.

“If the details and choice of school within the letter are correct, no further action is needed.”

Parents/carers who did not receive a letter by 18 December should email: schoolplacements@eastlothian.gov.uk 

Full information including links to the relevant forms is available online.

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/dunbarprimary/