Parents may make a placing request for their child to attend any school of their choice
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ENROLMENTParents who wish their child to attend this school should call at the school personally or telephone to make an appointment to see myself or Mrs. Furlong. If a prospective pupil lives in the catchment area then the child will be enrolled in the school provided there is capacity. If the pupil lives outside the catchment area then parents are asked to make a placing request through our School Business Manager. Placing Request forms are available from our school office. When your child is ready to begin school for the first time, you will be asked to bring him/her to school for registration during the week beginning 12th January. You will also need your child’s birth certificate and proof of address i.e. a utility bill with your name and address on it. GCC will make announcements in the press alerting you to these dates. Also look out for our own school’s literature in your child’s nursery or playgroup and in the local library. Class teachers visit pupils in their nurseries in March/April and our new pupils make visits to our school during the summer term. In this way children have the opportunity to meet their new classmates and become familiar with their classroom. All Primary One pupils are “buddied” with an older child (who will be in Primary 7 when your child starts school). We continually receive very positive feedback from parents and pupils about how successful this initiative is in assisting pupils to settle into school. While the children are working with their new teacher, parents are invited to spend time with myself and Mrs Furlong in order to become more familiar with school routines, and the content of the Primary One curriculum and explanations of the approaches used to encourage learning. It is also an opportunity to meet all the other new mums and dads and various external professionals associated with the school eg the school nurse. For parents convenience we prepare a booklet with specific relevant information for parents of primary one pupils. A large variety of written guidance leaflets are available for parents on many subjects- for easy access of all these are displayed outside the lower school dining hall. 
CURRICULUM At Battlefield, staff continuously review the curriculum we offer to ensure balance and breadth and to provide an education for all pupils which is appropriate to age, aptitude and ability. In all subjects, we try to offer a range of activities suited to the child's interests and needs. We offer all our pupils equal opportunities. At Battlefield we aim that our pupils become: successful learners confident individuals responsible citizens and effective contributors It is important therefore that our curriculum helps our pupils to see the links between various curricular areas. They are encouraged to appreciate how learning in school links to real life and to their future as active citizens. Our aim is to assist and encourage our pupils to become lifelong learners. The school is currently still implementing the strands of the national 5 –14 development programme in all areas of the curriculum but this session we are actively adapting this programme in line with advice from the Scottish Executive. Our curriculum includes study of Language, Mathematics, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Religious and Moral Education, Science, Social Studies and Technologies. We will be looking at each of these areas and reviewing how we organise learning so that we maximise connections between subjects in order to make learning more meaningful and relevant for our pupils.
LANGUAGEAll facets of language - talking, listening, reading and writing are given equal status. Children are encouraged to take part in and lead discussion with others through the use of pictures, stories, tapes, radio, television, ICT software and textbooks. From Primary One children are helped and encouraged to express themselves clearly and fluently. The main reading schemes used in the early stages are “Story Worlds” and “All Aboard”. A problem solving approach to reading is encouraged with various strategies developed for each child to use, including look and say, phonic analysis and use of context clues. A school devised phonic scheme is used to introduce letters – this compliments the order they appear in reading books. Emphasis is on the telling of stories, encouraging pupils to listen carefully in order that they can question and speculate about letters, letter shapes and sounds. Children are also asked to participate in a variety of supplementary activities e.g. playacting, working with magnetic letters, reciting rhymes, singing nonsense songs...etc. We have an excellent home- school reading initiative in the lower school where we use highly attractive story bags to help parents gain more confidence in enjoying reading with their children. This is a service we have extended to more parents this session. The teaching of reading has also been a developmental priority in the middle school and upper stages of the school. Our core reading scheme is “All Aboard” however this is largely supplemented by the city’s New Horizon’s curriculum materials. In addition a large variety of additional, attractive reading resources are available including textbooks, paperback novels, information texts ... etc all aimed at increasing and developing pupils’ higher order reading skills. There are fiction libraries in all classes. This session, we continue to develop our central information / media library for the upper school where pupils have ready access to a wide range of information books and ICT resources to support class topics. We have a well stocked, attractive, infant information library and story zone on the ground floor. Reading for pleasure is actively being promoted through an initiative called Scotland Reads- Volunteers have been trained to work with pupils in the school assisting learners to gain confidence and fluency. Written Language is a school priority and pupils are being encouraged, supported and stimulated to express themselves confidently and appropriately in various forms. This session all teachers have been working on equipping pupils with the skills and knowledge required to allow them to improve their own writing. Infant pupils are encouraged to write some simple words, then sentences and rapidly increase their writing confidence. This method is called “Have a go”. In the upper school pupils concentrate on developing and enhancing all facets of functional, personal and imaginative writing. The handwriting scheme used throughout the school is based on “Gourdie” style although many teachers are now using the Penpals electronic resource to develop improved presentation skills. All planning and assessment takes account of the current 5 -14 levels. National Assessments and a variety of standardised and diagnostic tests are used as part of on-going assessment. Pupil progress is recorded systematically and shared with parents and other teachers as is appropriate.
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