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Breadalbane Academy Newsletter March 2016 Headteacher’s Address Welcome to our newsletter which is one of the many ways we have of communicating with parents. As you will know, the school has been working alongside parents to review our communications and this work has included an in-depth survey of parents’ views. Since then we have been looking closely at what parents are telling us and how we can make changes to take account of this feedback. I hope you will already have noticed the changes we have made to our newsletter, which we now issue at a frequency of twice a term, reflecting what parents told us they would like. I believe that it paints a vivid picture of a vibrant school in which pupils are allowed many opportunities to be successful, both within and outwith the classroom. If you have looked at our website lately I hope you will have noticed some positive changes there too. These include more intuitive navigation, with a clear link for contacting the school, as well as some Gaelic translations, which reflect the firm place of Gaelic teaching in the school. These are all changes that parents told us they would like to see. In the survey, parents also expressed a strong preference for communication by email, and we have now collated email addresses for almost all parents and begun to use this as a means of communication where appropriate. Email is also a useful mode for parents to communicate with the school, and any parent who has contacted us lately should have received an automated response stating that the school will always aim to answer email enquiries within five working days. Responding to such enquiries was something that parents told us was not always consistent. I would hope that this statement sets out clearly an expectation against which parents can measure our performance, as well as a means by which the school itself can quality assure the service it offers parents. Obviously, we will try to get back to you sooner when circumstances allow this, but the phone remains the best means of communication for enquiries that are more urgent. These are just some of changes that we have made, but there is much more still to be done. I am particularly interested in developing the ways in which we communicate with parents about the real ‘nuts and bolts’ of the school experience – most obviously the curriculum we are imparting and the progress that each pupil is making within this, but more about this another time… Right now, please enjoy our latest celebration of the efforts of our staff and pupils, which I hope you will agree are made abundantly clear throughout this newsletter. John Devine, Headteacher Welcome Jim Liney Lorraine Munro & Jacqui Nixon Departure Sandy Campbell Veronica Lynch Who joins us in our Primary department Currently on supply supporting us in the Art department Maths teacher who will be leaving us at the end of this term Art teacher who will be leaving us at the end of this term John Devine Jenda Westwood Karen Gatehouse Nicola Ross Vicky Marshall Donna Jenkins e-mail us: Phone / Absence line: Headteacher Business Manager Depute Headteacher Pupils & Staff Support (Mhor / Schiehallion House) Depute Headteacher School Improvement – Secondary (Farragon / Lawers House) Depute Headteacher – Nursery & Primary Acting PT Nursery & Early Years [email protected] 01887 822300 online at: http://www.breadalbane.pkc.sch.uk/BA/ @BreadalbaneAcad