LPS Newsletter

Primary 4s try out their coding skills on our Spheros

We continue to settle in to this busy new school year with further enrolments of new pupils across each stage. To them and their families, another warm welcome to Leith Primary School.

Thematic Review

On Tuesday, we welcomed a small delegation from the CEC central education team who were carrying out a Thematic Review into how we support children who experience difficulty with controlling strong emotions or who can exhibit dysregulated behaviours. The review team are visiting around twenty Edinburgh schools to identify good practice and ensure the development of consistent procedures. The team reported how impressed they were with our clear commitment to getting things right for our pupils and with the consistent, supportive and nurturing practice of staff. We were delighted to hear that the group of pupils who met with the team represented their school well and spoke knowledgably about how things work at Leith Primary School such as our emotional check ins, our use of the Building Resilience programme and whole school use of restorative practice to sort out disagreements between friends. Well done to all of them.

School Improvement Plan

This year, we will be working on a range of development priorities. We will be acting on the recommendations from our Education Scotland school report, focussing on improving a range of teaching and learning strategies and supports for Care Experienced pupils and Young Carers.

We will be supporting pupils with their understanding of internet safety and cyber resilience. Our Digital Leaders will be learning about and sharing ways for people to develop safe and healthy digital habits to protect our mental wellbeing.

Our Rights Respecting School champions will be working alongside our Equalities pupil group to update our existing Anti-Bullying policy and to develop pupil-friendly flowcharts to support pupils to report any instances of racist, discriminatory or bullying types of behaviour.

Finally, we will continue to work with our Leith Academy Learning Community partner schools to develop improvements in the teaching of pupils’ listening & talking skills. We will also develop a learning community approach to supporting children with additional support needs, utilising the expertise of colleagues who work at Prospect Bank School.

Primary 1 Morning Entry Routine

Thank you to all the P1 parents who have followed our request to stand back from the main entrance in the mornings and to allow their P1 child to enter the school building independently. This is a system that has worked very well over the last few years, developing pupil confidence and supporting early independence. All the current P1 children are following this routine very well and happily engaging in the predictable morning ritual of hanging up their jackets and unpacking their school bags with reducing levels of adult support, which is terrific progress. Please can we ask that ALL parents continue to stand well back from the main school steps to allow the pupils the space to make this good progress without their entry being blocked.

Please note, a small number of children with identified additional support needs have agreed arrangements for coming in to school with a parent. These arrangements are made as part of a wider plan of support and will be developmentally appropriate for these children.

If you are finding the morning separation routine tricky or your child is reluctant to go inside without you, please speak to your child’s class teacher or Ms Ferguson, Mr Stuart or Ms Craig for advice and tips to help make this transition as positive as possible. We’re all here to help.

Yellow KIC Forms

Thank you to everyone for returning the data check and yellow KIC forms. If you have not yet done this, please do so as soon as possible. If we do not have this important form completed, your child may miss out on future trips. A small number have important information missing. Mrs Gatton will call any parents for whom this effects this week so we have the correct details for your child on record.

Open Classroom Sessions – Meet the Teacher

You are warmly invited to come along at 2.30pm on Thursday 11th September to meet your child’s new class teacher and join in with some of the learning activities in class. The session is 30 minutes and you are welcome to leave with your child at 3pm. We look forward to seeing some of you then.

Home Learning Grids & Class Newsletters

A reminder that your child’s termly class newsletter and Home Learning Grid can be found on their class homepage on our website.

Google translate is also embedded on our website now so you can read the website content in your home language. Select from the list at the top right of the page.

All the important school events planned over the coming year are listed on our Google Calendar on our homepage too. Just click on one of the events to find out more details.

Welcome to Meta Skills Land

The P3-P7 pupils were introduced to the Skills Development Scotland Meta Skills this week. The Meta Skills are seen to be the key soft skills most desired by employers and further and higher learning institutes in an ever-changing world. It is thought that most children who attend primary school at the moment will most likely have a number of careers in their life, many of which do not yet exist. It is therefore vitally important that we prepare our young people for an exciting but uncertain world where transferable skills and team work will be highly sought after.

This term we will be focussing on these two characters:

Right of the Month

Active Schools

Dear Parents/Carers

Please see attached Leith Primary’s after school sports clubs this term, the booking system goes live on the 8^th of September for most clubs. Mcdonalds football and Cricket are open now for booking as they are external booking sites.

Many Thanks,

Aidan Haughey – Active Schools – Leith Learning Community

Leith Primary – Club Booklet – T1 25.26 Download

Frequently Asked Questions About School Attendance

Q: When does school start and finish?

A: School starts and finishes at different times depending on what year group your child is in.

P1-P2 starts at 08:50 and finishes at 15:00, Mondays-Thursdays. On Fridays, the start is the same, but the children finish at 12:00.

P3-P7 starts at 08:50 and finishes at 15:15, Mondays-Thursdays. On Fridays, the start remains the same, but the children finish at 12:25.

Q: What do I do when my child is late for school?

A: Please note that the school office opens at 08:30. Therefore leave a message on the answering machine, calling 0131/554 4844, or alternatively text on 07860 029 682 or email admin@leith-pri.edin.sch.uk

Your child will then walk through the school’s main entrance, and the office staff will let them in, giving them a pink slip. This way the class teacher knows that the office team is aware of your child being at school. Your child will be marked as late on the register.

Q: What do I do when my child is going to an appointment?

A: We encourage families to make appointments outside of school hours, wherever possible. If your child has a planned appointment, please e-mail us at admin@leith-pri.edin.sch.uk to inform us in advance. Alternatively, you can call the school office on 0131/ 554 4844. Our office team will share this information and update your child’s attendance with the information you have given.

Q: What do I do when my child becomes unwell?

A: As soon as you know that your child is not well enough to attend school, call the school office on 0131/ 554 4844. You can do this on the morning of your child’s absence or the night before, leaving a message on our answer phone.

Q: What do I do when I would like to take my child out of school for a holiday?

A: Ahead of your travel, please e-mail us with the planned dates and reason for your trip at admin@leith-pri.edin.sch.uk or call the office team on 0131/ 554 4844. Please note that holidays during term time are not encouraged and, in most cases, will be recorded as unauthorized. If we are concerned about your child’s attendance due to repeated absence, we will contact you to discuss the matter.

Q: What do I do when I want to take my child out of school because of family circumstances?

A: School can approve exceptional circumstances for up to 10 school days. Please email our office team at admin@leith-pri.edin.sch.uk providing details about your planned dates and reason for your trip as early as possible.

Approved absences can include religious observance, weddings, funerals, and other exceptional domestic circumstances.

For periods of more than 10 school days, approval from Edinburgh City Council is required. You will need to fill in a form called “Absence Request due to Exceptional Circumstances ” which is available to you at the school office.

Q: What do I do if I am worried about my child’s attendance?

A: If you have any questions or want to talk about anything to do with your child’s absence or lateness, please ask to see our community Attendance Pupil Support Officer, Ms. Veronika Sladek, who is present at school on Tuesdays.

We will do everything we can to help you improve your child’s attendance. In some circumstances, we will refer you to Educational Wellbeing Services who are able to provide wider family support.

Q: What do I do if I need support in filling out application forms, having parenting concerns, or money worries?

A: Please feel free to reach out to our Family Support Worker who is present at school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

They can offer practical advice and support with family routines, children’s behavior, parenting concerns, financialconcerns, or well-beingchallenges.

They can provide a listening ear if you are feeling stressed or worried, unsure who to turn to.

They will be happy to help with filling in forms, applications, or accessing other services and support available to you in Edinburgh.

Leithers of the Week

Well done to all these hard working Leithers! We’re very proud of you.

Klara	Primary 3A	Klara has been supporting her peers in class and in the playground. Well done!
Caelan	Primary 3A	Caelan has shown perseverance and commitment in every task and is always looking to challenge himself. Well done!
Hazimah	Primary 3B	Hazimah has shown great focus this week! She has concentrated on her activities and ignored distractions from others. Well done Hazimah, you’re a great example to your classmates!
Oskar	Primary 3B	Oskar has demonstrated our spotlight skill of integrity! He makes good choices, follows the school rules and always tells the truth. Well done Oskar, your’re a good example to your classmates!
Mason	Primary 4	For showing amazing perseverance in numeracy and producing high-quality work.
Darcie	Primary 4	For being an example to the class by always showing our three school values – Kindness, Responsibility, and Perseverance. Well done Darcie!
Liam	Primary 4/5	Liam has been showing what it is to be a Leither. He demonstrates the school rules and values in all he goes.
Balques	Primary 4/5	Balques shows the school values of kindness, perseverance and responsibility in everything she does. Well done!
Emma	Primary 5	For showing a positive attitude and including others.
Sam	Primary 5	For working extremely hard this week and producing excellent written work.
Scarlett	Primary 6	For showing perseverance towards our work on time and contributing to class discussions on the topic.
Henry	Primary 6/7	Henry has been persevering with his joined handwriting – even though he finds it tricky! – and is focussing on his jotter presentation. Well done Henry!
Amelia	Primary 6/7	Amelia has shown kindness to a new pupil in our class by offering to be a class buddy. She has also been a fantastic learning expert and helped others with work they are stuck on. Well done, Amelia!
Belle	Primary 7	For taking pride in her learning and demonstrating our school values.
Jack	Primary 7	Jack is always kind and respectful to everyone. He takes the time to listen carefully and understand other people’s ideas and opinions. Thank you for being such a great role model!
Kaleb	Primary 7	Contributing ideas and answers in class during teaching time and class discussions. Kaleb has been very engaged in his learning this week.