BA Newsletter PDF Interim Newsletter Sept 2016 | Page 3

Page 3 of 9 Interim Newsletter September 2016  Engaging with Pupils Last session the primary Pupil Council proved very successful in representing the views of pupils to the management team and others, and they gave an excellent presentation to the Strategic Planning Day on their work over the year. The meeting also included senior secondary prefects who made an excellent contribution. However, there is considerably more scope to develop opportunities for pupil to have their say in the school and to make a contribution to the running of it. Our vision for our school going forward has to include the idea that all young people should have the opportunity to express their views and have them listened to. The presence of a strong primary Pupil Council accentuates the absence of any equivalent body in the secondary. It must be a priority this session to create such a body to allow pupils a formal mechanism for having their views represented. Our new Faculty Head of Performing Arts, Mrs Thorne, also has strategic responsibility for developing ‘pupil voice’ in the secondary and we are confident that the school can make significant progress in this area over session 16-17. Mrs Thorne has already put in place ambitions plans for pupils to be involved in a weekly video broadcast to allow them to share pupil news and views.  Supporting Pupils into Positive Destinations This term the school played host to the headteachers and senior leaders from all Perth and Kinross secondary schools to share with them the work we have been doing on careers education. This is still very much work in progress, but we are delighted that the authority has identified us as exemplifying good practice in this area. While schooling is most definitely about more than just turning out future employees, it is critical that we provide the right supports at the right time to ensure pupils make the best possible choices to support their future aspirations. Our approach towards this is about ensuring that all the inputs that we provide to young people - whether through our careers advisor, our guidance staff, or our classroom teachers – are joined-up in a way that provides coherent and progressive support as they pass through school. Other news - Secondary Senior Drama Trip S4-6 Drama pupils enjoyed visiting Dundee Rep Theatre to watch the production of “The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black oil”. Pupils were left inspired and more politically aware. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Volunteers Needed For a number of years Breadalbane Academy has offered pupils the opportunity to undertake The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at all levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold), with around 80 pupils participating each year, the majority of whom go on to complete their Awards. In order to ensure we can continue to offer The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in the future we are looking for additional volunteers, especially anyone with outdoor NGB qualifications or who is able to drive a minibus. If you think you might be interested we would love to hear from you: [email protected] .