Parent and carers' update - Friday 28th October

Dear Parents and Carers, 

It has been great to have all our pupils back in school after the holidays and we are looking forward to a great term! 

Mr Neil Ewing 
Acting Head Teacher 


Today’s update contains 9 notices 

1. Pupil safety  
2. Papdale Halls of Residence Newsletter 
3. Family Fridays @KGS 
4. Breakfast@KGS 
5. E-sgoil Study support for senior pupils 
6. Attendance 
7. S5/6 Parents Evening 
8. Cost of Living Crisis Support Scotland 
9. S4-6 pupils: SQA Additional Assessment Arrangements for pupils who need additional support in SQA exams. 
​
1. Pupil safety 
With the clocks going back this weekend and a return to dark mornings and evenings, we will be going over road safety and getting on and off buses safely etc in assemblies. If can we ask parents to reinforce this message too, that would be really appreciated. 
2. Papdale Halls of Residence Newsletter  
The Autumn Papdale Halls of Residence Newsletter can be found here in the external resources section: 
https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/E/papdale-halls-of-residence.htm 
3. Family Fridays @KGS 
Over the course of this session the Parent Council would like to invite parents into KGS on Friday mornings for school visits. The visits would be in small groups and run between 10am and 11am. Each visit would include a tour of the school in action, a chat with the Senior Leadership team over a cup of coffee, and a visit to some classrooms.  The next visit will be on Friday 18th November and parents can email [email protected] by Wednesday 16th November to book a place.  
4. Breakfast@KGS 
Breakfast is available for pupils from 8.20am. The breakfast menu is on the school website and includes toast and cereals with hot food such as filled rolls and scrambled eggs available on demand. 

Securing the Best Outcomes (Joe McCall) 

5. E-sgoil Study support for senior pupils 
A reminder that Webinars in Maths, English, Social Subjects and Science subjects have started. All other subject webinars will start in the week beginning October 31st. 
Registration for Evening Webinars will be via the link below. 
(Pupils must log on to Glow before accessing the link to the registration form, and should check the timetable carefully before choosing the webinars they wish to attend.) 
https://www.e-sgoil.com/study-support/ 


Promoting Positive Behaviour and Relationships (Mr Harvey) 

6. Attendance 
Over the coming weeks we will be speaking to some pupils and families in order to support attendance. Below is a reminder of the OIC guidance that we will be following to support young people and families with regular school attendance: 

We do work hard to ensure that we are aware if there are valid reasons for a pupil being absent or late, and where this is the case, support our pupils to catch up.    
However, there is no doubt that poor attendance may significantly impact on achievement, as does poor timekeeping. We would ask that parents and carers are particularly mindful of this and continue to support us in ensuring that absenteeism is kept to a minimum, where possible, and that pupils are in school on time.   
7. S5/6 Parents Evening 
There will be an S5/6 Parents Evening in school next Tuesday. Emails have been sent to allow you to book appointments. If for any reason you can’t attend, then get in touch. We look forward to welcoming you into school. 
Securing the Highest Level of Universal Support (Ms Devlin) 
8. Cost of Living Crisis Support Scotland  
A new Scottish Government website has been launched to signpost advice and financial support available to people in Scotland. It includes information about support with increasing energy bills, Scottish and UK social security payments and benefits, support with housing costs, payments for families, as well as where to get further advice, benefit calculators, and wider health and wellbeing information. The website can be accessed at the link below: 
https://costofliving.campaign.gov.scot 
9. S4-6 pupils: SQA Additional Assessment Arrangements for pupils who need additional support in SQA exams. 
School staff are in the process of having discussions with S4-6 pupils with a learning difference, eg. dyslexia and ASD regarding special arrangements needed for their Prelim examinations in January 2023 and SQA examinations in May 2023.  
At National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher levels staff can make a request to SQA for the following:  

• extra time 
• a staff member or reader pen to read exam scripts 
• a scribe  
• a prompt  
• a small room out with exam room with a small group of pupils 
• a word-processor to type scripts 
• digital papers - papers in a pdf form format. 
• scripts printed on yellow, blue, green, pink or purple. 

 
Your child’s class teacher needs to provide the SQA with evidence that the special arrangement (known as an accommodation) is needed on a day-to-day basis in school to access class activities, tests and assignments and that it has made a significant positive impact on their attainment. 
In addition, the KGS Curriculum Support department needs to provide the SQA with evidence of a specific learning need, for example dyslexia, visual impairment, ASD etc. 
Please ask your young person if they feel they need these accommodations to discuss them with their class teacher.  If your young person is unsure if they meet the SQA criteria, please ask them to speak with Ms Marie Phillips in room GO38.