| South Ayrshire Council |
|
| Strategy |
- Provision of 11 nursery nurses, 1.5 FTE teachers, 0.5
support for learning, 0.5 clerical assistance and 1 home link teacher
- Appointment of an Early Intervention Project Manager by
secondment of a primary headteacher
- Development of programmes of work in language and number at
P1-2 which harmonise with the pre-5 curriculum
- Provision of staff development
- Development of assessment procedures in P1-2 including the
establishment of a baseline assessment for pupils entering P1
- Effective transfer of information from nursery to P1
- Improvement in the quality of learning resources at the
early stages
- Involvement of parents in supporting children’s
learning at home.
|
| |
| Scope |
- 11 schools serving both urban and rural areas have been
involved in this pilot initiative since August 1997
- A total of 242 pupils at P1 stage are benefiting from Early
Intervention
- From 1 April 1998 additional money from South Ayrshire
Council enabled an additional 4 schools to become involved thus benefiting another
159 pupils and now 15 schools in total.
|
| |
| Achievements and emerging Lessons
|
- Successmaker Computer system designed to develop basic
skills in literacy and numeracy has been introduced to 3 schools
- A programme of parent workshops has been developed for
schools
- Nursery and P1 teachers have jointly attended courses and
are successfully working together
- Baseline assessment has been introduced to schools, results
collated, support provided to pupils and progress made
- A nursery/primary transfer report and pupil profiles have
been produced
- Class libraries are now stocked with up-to-date books
- All schools have developed programmes of study in language
and some maths.
|
| What Lessons Emerge?
|
| The importance of additional
teaching staff in rural schools with multi composite classes. This releases time for
teaching all children in the class |
| Nursery nurse input in P1
classes is proving to be a valuable support to both children and teachers |
| The willingness of parents to
become involved in their child’s learning |
| The home link teacher’s
input is supportive to schools and parents alike |
| A manager dedicated to Early
Intervention enables all aspects of the project to be co-ordinated effectively |
| Staff development has been well
received by teachers and nursery nurses who are enthusiastically carrying out new ideas.
|
| |
| Local Views |
| "In a rural school with
multi-composite classes, additional staffing gives P1 pupils a great start to schools and
gives the others more time too! All children benefit". Margaret Nicol,
Classteacher, Barrhill Primary |
|
| "Early Intervention is
an overwhelming success! Baseline assessment is invaluable - provides path to
follow". Angela Smith, Headteacher, Braehead Primary |
|
| "Parent workshops have
been invaluable and have helped make starting school easy for parents and children".
Parent. |
