| My Question | Comment | Suggestion related to the school this week is: | HT’s Response |
| I can’t seem to find the link to the school calendar to show events rather than busy | The link has now moved they are below the calendar now; you should see a list of links from August through to next June
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| The calendar links for both August and September seem to both link to August screenshots. Please could we see September’s dates?
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The link has now been sorted, apologies for the error. You should see a list of links from August through to next June
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As part of our commitment to continuous school improvement, our aim this session is to keep parents and carers up to date with the latest school administrative/business news on a weekly basis. As such, this concise weekly HT Update will be published every Friday afternoon with a simple opportunity for you to also feedback/ask questions via the link at the bottom of each Update. Feedback received, where appropriate, will be responded to and published on Monday afternoons on the school website link.
Key messages from this week
Shared HT Role: This week I began, in earnest, with my two year role with Midlothian Council. For the school this means that I will not be in Lasswade almost every Tuesday and Thursday. On these days Ms Mitchell will fulfil the Head Teacher role.
School Calendar: As outlined last week we are working with the Midlothian Digital Team to share our whole school calendar with parents/carers via our website. The current issue is around security settings and only shows events as ‘busy’. As a temporary fix we have put an August and September link at the top of the calendar to allow parents/carers to view events on those months click here
Year Assemblies: On Wednesday and Thursday of this week we held Year Group Assemblies with all students. Our Year Heads delivered a consistent and generally positive, message to all students. Our themes included; reflections on a positive end of term in May/June, an excellent effort to date on school uniform, a reminder of our Core Expectations, the importance of our new school values, Chromebook expectations and finally details on our wider achievement and extracurricular opportunities. All Years also had 1 or 2 bespoke messages relevant to their stage.
Parent/Carer Survey: You may remember that just after Easter 2022 you were asked to complete a survey to gather your views on aspects of the life and work of the school. This is an important part of our work and helps to shape how we aim to improve the school. For example, this weekly publication is a direct response to not enough parents/carers feeling they are informed about what’s happening at school. In June the results were discussed at the Parent Council.
All parent/carers are now able to see the survey results via a post on our website click here.
Parent Council: Details on the dates/times of our six Parent Council Meetings this session are on our website click here. You’ll see from the post that we are adopting a hybrid model of ‘in-person’ and ‘virtual’ meetings this session. The Parent Council is a crucial part of our school and I’d encourage as many parents/carers as possible to attend.
School Photographs: On Monday and Tuesday of next week we welcome Coldwells back into the school. This is the local company we use for school photographs. All students will have their individual photographs taken at some point across either day. These images are then uploaded to our management system where student information is held. Some group photographs will also be taken. As always parents/carers will have the opportunity to order/purchase relevant images. Please see our website for additional information click here.
If you have any feedback/questions relating to this update please submit them via the link below
Feedback here
Take Care
Campbell Hornell and Ali Mitchell, Head Teachers
All our parents/carers were invited to complete a survey on their views on the life and work of the school in April/May 2022. More than one third of our families responded. Thank you to those who took the time to share their views.
In June we discussed the results at our Parent Council Meeting with further discussion and work around some of the themes identified continuing through meetings this session. The results show in many areas of our work most parent/carers are positive about what we do and how it impacts upon their child/children. In other aspects, understandably, we have work to do to improve. This is not a unique situation to be in and applies to all schools and organisations.
The views gathered helps to inform our school improvement planning. Initially this involves looking at the areas where most concern is highlighted and thereafter further discussion and analysis, e.g., we can breakdown response by year groups, with actions identified to address issues wherever possible. In particular we are looking at
In September our School Improvement Plan for the session is finalised and ‘published’ on the website.
This post allows all parents/carers to see the results of the survey, see the link below. You’ll see that comments made by individuals are not included. This is primarily to respect confidentiality.
SM – Parents Response May 2022
| My Question | Comment | Suggestion related to the school this week is: | HT’s Response |
| I get blazers look smart but I personally think and know several parents with the same views, these are very dated, during summer they are uncomfortable and too warm and in winter not enough for heat so jackets need to be worn on top which again makes it very uncomfortable.
I get blazers look smart but I personally think and know several parents with the same views, these are very dated, during summer they are uncomfortable and too warm and in winter not enough for heat so jackets need to be worn on top which again makes it very uncomfortable. |
There is currently a Scottish Government consultation out on school uniform, it closes in October and I’ll mention it again this Friday. That may mean we need to revisit our dress code expectations.
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| Thank you for the introduction of the weekly update. It’s a good way to keep parents in the loop and I appreciate the text link notifications as it can be difficult to remember to check the website for updates. | |
| Disappointed with the removal of the senior blazer. Many S4 pupils have older siblings and are wearing a braided blazer while those without are having to wear junior blazer. I understand that this is due to cost of living but not great for the morale of those having to wear blazer without braiding making them reluctant to wear a blazer at all. | You are correct we looked at it from a cost of living perspective; our supplier wanted in effect an additional £10 for braiding, we didn’t think it was good value.
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As part of our commitment to continuous school improvement, our aim this session is to keep parents and carers up to date with the latest school administrative/business news on a weekly basis. As such, this concise weekly HT Update will be published every Friday afternoon with a simple opportunity for you to also feedback/ask questions via the link at the bottom of each Update. Feedback received, where appropriate, will be responded to and published on Monday afternoons on the school website link.
Key messages from this week
In-service Days: Our staff-only days on Monday and Tuesday of this week allowed us to: re-engage as a group, share important operational information, fulfil statutory obligations (such as Child Protection training) and finally, to consider our ‘mission’.
School Mission Statement: As part of our review and refresh of our school values we have updated our School Mission Statement. It is as follows, ‘Lasswade High School is committed to nurturing, inspiring and empowering our students and staff to learn, progress and achieve at the very highest standard. We believe in our values; creativity, effort, kindness and respect and work together as a community to provide all our students with opportunities to succeed and reach their goals. Our school leavers are equipped and ready to contribute positively and embrace the challenges of being a local, national and international citizen.’ This statement is an important reference point for our staff and will help as we continue to move the school forward.
School Calendar: We are working with the Midlothian Digital Team to share our whole school calendar with parents/carer via our website. The current issue is around security settings and only shows events as ‘busy’. This calendar should allow you to see term/holiday dates, Parents’ Evenings, Reporting dates, school events, Parent Council Meetings e.t.c. We are working hard to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
New S1: We welcomed 292 new First Year students on Wednesday morning. They created a positive impression in June on their Induction Days and again this week. They have been supported by their S6 Buddies this week. From Monday we scale back this support. Any concerns/questions you have regarding your child’s start to school please get in touch with the school via email, lasswade_hs@midlothian.gov.uk, and mark your email for the attention of ‘ Mrs Brown DHT. She will direct any issues to the relevant staff from there.
Welcome Back: This session we used our school tannoy to allow students to maximise their in-school time on their classes/subjects, to welcome back students, and offer a gentle reminder around some key expectations. These included school day timings, dress code expectations and Covid-19 mitigations. Year Assemblies are scheduled for next week.
Student Re-coursing: All requests for re-coursing have now closed. Our aim is to complete all re-coursing by Wednesday 31st August at the latest. Miss Petrie is leading on this
Dress Code: Thank you for your support regarding school uniform, student compliance has been impressive with work ongoing to maintain, and also improve, this great start to the session. Our initial feedback would be please double check your child’s footwear. Shoes should be all black. Having said that, next Friday is a ‘dress down day’. Given the cost of living challenges, we make a recommendation regarding the amount students and staff should consider as a donation, however, students should only donate what they can.
If you have any feedback/questions relating to this update please submit them via the link below
Take Care
Campbell Hornell and Ali Mitchell, Head Teachers
Students should now have their results. If they think their grade is incorrect they might be able to appeal. This post should help students navigate the process.
Given the size of the school we do expect a large number of enquiries from students. We will look into each enquiry. Some enquiries will be straight forward and processed quickly. More complex situations may require more time to look into them, with not all staff returning to school until Monday 15th August. Please be patient in these circumstances. Although SQA timelines on appeals are ‘tight’ we do have the capacity to meet their deadlines.
Firstly, students should check their estimate grade – this was emailed to students by the school before the end of term in June. If the final grade is lower than an estimate an appeal is possible. For example, if the estimate grade was a B, but the final exam grade is a C students can appeal.
To find out more about what’s involved in the appeals process, please access the SQA’s Appeals 2022 document which outlines this year’s procedure. SQA-Appeals-2022-guidance-for-learners (1)
Priority appeals apply to school leavers who need an appeal to access a UCAS university or college place starting this year. Priority appeals can be submitted directly to the SQA (this is advised and gets things moving more quickly), or by contacting the school via lasswadehs-sqa@midlothian.education.
The student deadline for submitting priority appeals is Tuesday 16th August. The school can submit a priority appeal up until Friday 19th August. The SQA will resolve these by Monday 5th September.
Non-priority appeals, i.e., for those staying on at school, can be submitted directly to the SQA (again, this is advised and gets things moving more quickly), or by contacting the school via lasswadehs-sqa@midlothian.education.
The deadline for students submitting non-priority appeals is Tuesday 30th August. The school can submit a non-priority appeal up until Friday 2nd September.
Getting Your Exam Results
You will receive your exam results on Tuesday 9th August. Your certificate will arrive in the post and, if you have signed up for MySQA, you’ll also receive a text or an email with your results on this day too.
Can I Appeal?
If, when you get your results, you think your grade is incorrect you might be able to appeal. Firstly, you should check your estimate grade – this was sent to you earlier this month. If your final grade is lower than your estimate you can appeal. For example, if your estimate grade was a B, but your final exam grade is a C you can appeal.
You can appeal by registering directly with the SQA, or by getting in touch with school to do this for you.
To find out more about what’s involved in the appeals process, below you’ll find the SQA’s Appeals 2022 document which outlines this year’s procedure – as they differ from previous years.
SQA-Appeals-2022-guidance-for-learners (1)
Priority Appeals
If you are a priority appeal candidate – this means that you need an appeal to access a UCAS university or college place starting this year – then you should register directly with SQA. We will then submit the evidence for you and contact you to let you know it has been processed. The deadline for submitting priority appeals is 19th August. The SQA will resolve these by 5th September and communicate the outcomes directly with UCAS.
Non-priority Appeals
Non-priority appeals can be submitted directly to the SQA, or by contacting the school via lasswadehs-sqa@midlothian.education.
The deadline for non-priority appeals is 2nd September.
Course Choices
If, following your results, you need to reconsider your courses choices for next session, there will be a short window of opportunity to do so. Please remember, coursing changes will only be considered in exceptional circumstances and where a student requires a particular course/grade for specific reasons (eg. entry to further/higher education, training etc) and not because they have changed their mind from the original course choices allocated. A Google Form will be made available prior to the return to school in August, via Google Classrooms, and students should complete this this as soon as they become aware that any change of course is required.