Ladeside Primary School and Nursery Class Falkirk Council

Ladeside Primary School
and Nursery Class
STANDARDS AND QUALITY REPORT
FOR SESSION 2008 - 2009
Falkirk Council
Education Services

LADESIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL
CARRONVALE ROAD
LARBERT
FK5 3LH
Dear Parent/Carer,
As you probably know, each year the government and the
Council publish information designed to show how well
schools and local authorities are improving pupil performance
year on year.
In similar fashion, we at Ladeside would like to tell you how
we are progressing and this leaflet has been designed to do
just that. It is our “Standards and Quality Report’’ for
last session (2008-2009).
Inside, you will find a brief description of our main
achievements during last session. Whilst we do many things
in the course of a year, we have focused on what we
consider to be the most important areas. In similar
fashion, I have outlined our main priorities for session
2009-2010.
I hope you find the leaflet helpful. If you have any
questions about it, please do not hesitate to ‘phone the
school office for an appointment. I will be pleased to
offer clarification.
K. Hamill
Headteacher

HOW DID OUR PUPILS PERFORM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND IN
MATHEMATICS DURING SESSION 2008 – 2009?
ATTAINMENT
Reading
Writing
Mathematics
School
EA
School
EA
School
EA
2006/2007
87
85
85
81
92
88
2007/2008
90
85
90
81
2008/2009
Session 2008 – 2009:
Listening attainment: 90% Talking attainment: 89%
EA: 86% EA: 86%
(Note: EA = Average for all Falkirk Council Primary Schools)
These figures demonstrate the excellent work being done at Ladeside Primary
School. Pupil attainment remains high, and I must congratulate all pupils and
staff for the dedication and hard work during session 2008 – 2009 which
contributed to these outcomes.
In all areas, our attainment is above, or equal to, the Authority average.
However, we recognise that, particularly in Writing, our attainment has fallen
and we are looking at reasons for this. A staff Working Group will meet early in
Session 2009 - 2010 to look at ways to improve this area of the curriculum. Some
classes will be using an approach called ‘Big Writing’ which is being promoted
throughout Falkirk Council – I will keep you informed about this.
At Ladeside, we celebrate successes and achievements in the broad and varied
curriculum which we provide. Teachers plan their work to ensure continuity and
progression in an atmosphere where all pupils are encouraged to take
responsibility for their learning and to reach their full potential.
A new and challenging time lies ahead for Scottish Education as we work to
implement ‘A Curriculum For Excellence’ Our aims at Ladeside will be to
continue to work closely with parents/carers to ensure that our pupils are
Confident Individuals, Effective Contributors, Successful Learners and
Responsible Citizens.
I hope you enjoy reading about the life and work of our school. We look forward
to working with you again during Session 2009 – 2010.
Kathleen Hamill
Headteacher
91
87
88
85
83
82
88
88

SOME OF THE THINGS WE PLAN TO DO IN OUR SCHOOL
DURING SESSION 2009 – 2010
• We will continue to develop an enterprising and creative approach to all
aspects of our school work.
• We will take forward ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’ in line with National
and Falkirk Council guidelines focusing on Literacy, Numeracy and
Health and Wellbeing.
• We want to raise the profile of Eco activities at Ladeside and work
towards our Silver Award and Green Flag.
• We are planning to build on our success as a Health Promoting School by
having an ‘Activity Week’ in March, 2010.
• We will seek to promote more parental involvement in the life and work
of the school. We would also like to improve partnerships with the local
and wider communities.
• Staff will continue to take forward their own professional development in
line with our School Improvement Plan. In particular, they will focus on:
* A Curriculum for Excellence
* Co-operative Learning
* Teacher Learning Communities
* ICT across the Curriculum
* Planning for Effective Learning and Teaching
* Active Learning
• We will continue to look at the ways we plan for our pupils to ensure a
consistent approach. We will also continue to share ‘targets’ with pupils
to encourage responsibility for their own learning.
• Active Learning and Co–operative Learning will be further developed
across all stages.
• Our new Language resources [Literacy World and Story World]
will be introduced throughout the school in line with ‘A Curriculum for
Excellence’ and our aim to promote literacy across all areas of learning.

SOME OF THE THINGS WE PLAN TO DO IN OUR
NURSERY CLASS DURING SESSION 2009 – 2010
• We will continue to develop the partnership between school, home and
the local community.
• With the help of parents and friends, we will ‘makeover’ our Nursery
garden to help us take forward our Outdoor Play policy.
• We will encourage our children to be more active by providing a wide
range of experiences. Once again we will have football ‘training’ provided
by Sports Development and our ever popular Mini - Adventure Course!
• We will further develop our transition procedures between Nursery and
Primary 1.
• We are continuing to take forward ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’ and, in
particular, we are focusing on the Literacy, Numeracy and Health and
Wellbeing activities provided in the Nursery.
• ICT skills are still a priority, and we will continue to increase resources
and provide staff training so that children gain confidence in using a wide
range of IT equipment.
• We will again consult with parents/carers about our Nursery ‘plans’
[e.g. visits out of school, healthy eating, social events, etc.] and we look
forward to working with you during session 2009 – 2010.
SOME ACHIEVEMENTS AND SUCCESSES IN OUR

NURSERY CLASS DURING SESSION 2008 - 2009
• Our Nursery girls and boys are very aware of the importance of
exercise. They particularly enjoyed their football skills sessions with
Sports Development and their Mini – Adventure Course which raised
£443 for Nursery funds.
• Everyone in the Nursery [staff and pupils] continued to use and
improve their ICT skills. It’s great to see the computer and the
interactive whiteboard being used with such confidence and
enjoyment.
• Visits out of school were, as always, a huge success! In particular, the
children had a great time and learned a lot on their visits to Torwood
Garden Centre. Following consultation with parents/carers we reintroduced
our end-of- session excursion to Almond Valley – another
great day out!
• We continued to make links with Primary 1 to help the transition
between Nursery and school. In addition to P.1 staff spending time in
the Nursery and Nursery pupils visiting P.1 classrooms and
playground, the children enjoyed going to the Dining Room to eat
their snacks – sitting at the tables they will use when they are in
Primary 1.
• Our Coffee Mornings for parents/carers were very popular, especially
on the days when our Health Visitor came along and joined in the
chat.
• Nursery children have helped raise money for many charities during
Session 2008 – 2009, including CHAS, Strathcarron Hospice, Jeans for
Genes, UNICEF and Motor Neurone Disease. They also raised money
for the Downs Syndrome Society [local branch] from their sale of
Christmas decorations.

SOME ACHIEVEMENTS AND SUCCESSES IN
OUR SCHOOL DURING SESSION 2008 - 2009
• Our World of Work week was a huge success and one of the best whole –
school events we have experienced at Ladeside. Organised by staff pupils
and led by Mrs. Sommerville, this initiative took place during a lovely
sunny week in March, 2009 and was thoroughly enjoyed by children,
parents/carers and friends of the school.
• We continued to celebrate success and to move our curriculum forward
through the four capacities of ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’ – Successful
Learners, Confident Individuals, Effective Contributors and Responsible
Citizens. Our focus on Active Learning was taken forward, especially in
our Early Years classes.
• Our P.T.A. and our Parent Council continue to provide excellent support
for the school. Money raised helped to fund school excursions, discos,
equipment for classrooms and, of course, the very popular visit of the
M&M theatre company for our pantomime in January, each year.
• Staff participated in a wide range of professional development courses in
line with priorities identified in our School Improvement Plan. This
included in-service and twilight courses which focused on, e.g. ‘A
Curriculum For Excellence’, Active Learning, Literacy and Numeracy
across the curriculum, Autistic Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, Storyline,
ICT, School Management, Child Protection and Behaviour Management.
• We continued to monitor and track pupils’ progress and the pace and
challenge of learning across the curriculum.
• As always, we raised a huge amount for charity – around £2000! Thanks
to your kindness and generosity we were able to make donations to
CHAS, UNICEF, Strathcarron Hospice, Motor Neurone Disease and
Jeans for Genes.
• Children in our Support Facility [our ‘Base’] were actively involved in all
school events. In addition, they participated enthusiastically in swimming,
Boccia [a form of indoor bowls] and horse riding.
• We were delighted that many parents/carers and friends of the school
attended school events – our Open Evening, Assemblies, P.T.A. events,
meetings with teachers, Christmas Concerts, sporting events and, of
course, our ever popular Book Fair. Thank you for all your support!