Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to this year’s Standards and Quality review of the work
that has taken place in your child’s school. This year we have
decided to report in terms of the five National Priorities for education,
which were approved by the Scottish Executive. This is intended to
be a far-reaching strategy, which will bring about improvements in
society, both at a local and national level. The strategy makes clear
the responsibilities placed on local authorities and schools to deliver
in the following areas: (click on the national
Priority for more details)
- National
Priority 1: Achievement and Attainment: this relates
to raising standards of educational attainment for all pupils in
schools, especially in the core skills of literacy and numeracy.
This priority area also looks at national levels of achievement,
including examination
results.
- National
Priority 2: Framework for Learning: this priority looks
at how schools are supporting and developing the skills of teachers
to allow them to deliver education that is fit for the 21st Century;
it also relates to the self-discipline of students in schools and
tries to ensure that the school environment is conducive to learning.
- National
Priority 3: Inclusion and Equality: this priority is
all about promoting equality to help every pupil benefit from education
with particular attention to be paid to pupils with disabilities
and pupils who have special educational needs; it also relates to
provision for Gaelic speakers and other less used languages.
- National
Priority 4: Values and Citizenship: this priority focuses
on working with parents to help teach pupils about respect for others
in our communities and to teach about the duties and responsibilities
of citizenship within a democratic society.
- National
Priority 5: Learning for Life: is about equipping students
with the skills and attitudes needed to prosper in a changing society;
it is also about fostering creativity and ambition within the young
people with whom we work.
As
you can see this is an ambitious programme; it is, however, one that
we fully embrace here at Dingwall Academy. The Extended Management
Team, all Heads of Faculty, the teaching staff and auxiliary staff
are utterly committed to this strategy for improvement. In the words
of Nicol Stephen, Deputy Minister for Education and Young People (2001-2003):
“We have to build for the future,
make sure that we have
plans in place to make sure that… the future is going to be
better and brighter for all our pupils and for all our teachers”
As always we hope our
work meets with your approval. On
a final note, I hope you and your families have had a very
pleasant and peaceful summer holiday and are now ready
for the challenges of a new session.
