UN at 70

UN at 70 P4-7 Assembly 30.10.15 from SciennesPS

Sciennes continued our journey to becoming a Rights Respecting School at P4-7 Assembly on Friday 30th October. Mr Howie explained that many of the UNESCO landmark sites around the world, including Edinburgh Castle, were lit up by blue lights last weekend to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. (Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is also 70 this year.) Mr Howie explained the background to the United Nations and Unicef and why they were set up. 193 countries have signed the United Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) but Mr Howie asked our pupils if they believed that all children actually have these rights around the world. He then asked our pupils how they felt about not all children having their rights and to think about what they could do.

Happy Birthday UN at 70 Sciennes P4-7 Assembly 30.11.15 from SciennesPS

The Sciennes community has already taken action to support some Syrian refugee children to have their right to play by fundraising for the P3 Harvest Appeal. £2100 has been raised to fund seven playgrounds in refugee camps and Mr Howie asked everyone to think about what else we could do to help children have their rights locally and globally.

Our House Assemblies on 20th November will mark Universal Children's Day, on the anniversary of the UNCRC, and Sciennes is taking part in the annual Unicef OutRight campaign. OutRight empowers children and young people to play a role in the realisation of their rights and to speak out in support of all children’s rights. This year OutRight will focus on children’s rights in humanitarian emergencies – empowering children to speak out and share their views on protecting children affected by these crises.

Our P7 Sports Captains did a wonderful job of celebrating this week's achievements.

Our first week of using the new wildlife/nature playground area has been a great success and pupils were asked to pass on their suggestions for a name for the area to their Pupil Council rep. We look forward to the offical opening ceremony of our new playground on Saturday 31st October 11.00am-12.30pm.

Article 42 All adults and children should know about the UNCRC
Article 31 The right to play

One World Week - P3 Syrian Appeal

On Friday 25th October at P4-7 Assembly we marked One World Week by sharing how our P3 pupils have successfully led a whole school project with Mercy Corps to change 'Hope into Action.'

Sciennes P4-7 One World Week Assembly 25.10.15 from SciennesPS

To date, the P3 Harvest Appeal has raised a fantastic £2100 which will provide SEVEN PLAYGROUNDS in Syrian refugee camps.

Together, we thought about Article 31: All children have a right to play and thanked everyone for their generous donations.



We looked forward to the opening of our new wildlife garden/corridor/strip on Monday 26th October and have asked pupils to give us their ideas for a name for this exciting new area for outdoor learning which will be available between 12.50pm and 1.15pm Monday to Thursday. Only one gate will be used with the adults who will escort and supervise and pupils were reminded that they must visit the toilet before going across.

We will officially launch Sciennes' Playground on Saturday 31st October at 11.30am.

The Eco Group gave a presentation about their House Pine Cone competition. They weighed all the collections from each class and announced that Lauder is the winning House. Lauder will have an extra playtime as a reward for all their efforts in collecting cones for the new playground area.

Mr Howie explained the significance of our Poppy Appeal. Donations will be accepted for poppies from next week. P7 pupils will man a stall outside the Hall in the morning and at breaks.

Everyone was introduced to our new P7 House and Sports Captains. They take on these roles alongside the rest of our P7 leaders who are all Prefects within school.

Grange – Lewis, Lily, Chiara, Yash

Lauder – Joanne, Saul, Archie, Lena

Sienna – Ammar, Esther, Milenka, Luke,  

Tantallon – Holly, Shawn, Rose, Matthew C 

Article 22 The right to have help if you are a refugee 

Article 31 The right to play

Article 42

Article 42 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child: 
Governments must make the Convention known to children and adults.

Sciennes: A Rights Respecting School

Sciennes Primary began the journey towards Level 1 accreditation of Unicef's 'Rights Respecting Schools Award' in September 2015. This blog will document our progress towards ensuring that everyone in our school community becomes aware of the Convention of the Rights of the Child and that we use it to underpin our values in becoming a Rights Respecting School.

 

Background to RRSA

The Rights Respecting Schools Award initiative started in 2004 and is running in over 600 schools in the UK (primary and secondary). It has demonstrated an improvement in child well-being. Many schools have reported a decrease in bullying, an improvement in achievement and participation, a positive effect on attitudes and global awareness and a more inclusive, caring school atmosphere.

Adults and young people have reported that the language of rights and responsibilities, based on the CRC, empowers them to relate to each other better and to engage in decision-making more collaboratively.

Required Standard

The Award is open for all schools: nursery, primary, middle, secondary and special. For a school to receive the RRS Award, they must show evidence that they have reached the required standard in the following four categories, all of which contain elements contributing to the development of an active global citizen:

1. leadership and management for embedding the values of the CRC in the life of the school.
2. knowledge and understanding of the CRC.
3. rights respecting classrooms.
4. pupils actively participate in decision-making throughout the school.

There are two levels to the Award. Level 1 describes a school which has made good progress across four key aspects of school life: leadership and management; pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the CRC; classroom climate and culture; and pupils’ active participation in decision-making. A Level 2 is awarded to schools which demonstrate that these principles are fully embedded in the life of the school.

P3 Mercy Corps Global Goal 10 Reduced Inequalities 01.10.15

P3 present at Assemblies

On Thursday 1st October Victoria Telford from Mercy Corps came to both P1-3 and P4-7 Assemblies to help P3 launch their Harvest Appeal. Pupils from P3 told everyone at Assemblies about their project to raise money to build playgrounds for Syrian refugees.

Victoria Telford from Mercy Corps

Victoria tells the pupils how Mercy Corps is helping Syrian refugees

After the Assemblies, groups of P3 pupils delivered hand decorated envelopes and asked families to make donations to the Appeal by Thursday 8th October. Great project, P3!

UN Global Goal 10 is Reduced Inequality

Sciennes P3 Mercy Corps Assembly 1.10.15 from SciennesPS

 

Article 22 The right to have help if you are a refugee 

Article 31 The right to play

Serena's Fundraising Cafe

Very well done Serena in P2b, who has raised nearly £20 for the P3 Sciennes' Syrian Appeal with Mercy Corps by running a charity bake sale for her neighbours in the back garden on Saturday 4th October It was all her own ideas and work, including the Serena's Charity Cafe sign, menu and cakes. A tremendous effort! 


Article 22 The right to have help if you are a refugee 
Article 31 The right to play

Cost of the School Day Global Goal 1 End Poverty

Sciennes Primary School is proud to be one of six schools in Edinburgh committed to raising awareness of children in poverty and exploring ways in which we might reduce the ‘Cost of the School Day’. 

We are offering parents the chance to hear from Pattie Santelices, a member of the Health and Well Being team at City of Edinburgh Council, talk about the implication of children living in poverty in Edinburgh. 

The aims of the session are:
* To highlight the scale and impact of child poverty.
* To explore cultural and structural explanations of child poverty.
* To introduce the wider ‘1 in 5’ Project.
* To consider the costs associated with the school day at Sciennes
* To reflect on how we can make education fairer for all 

There are many costs associated with school and education (e.g. uniforms, materials, trips, meals etc...) and together we would like to explore ways to reduce these costs where possible in order to make education fairer for all. 

The presentation will be held on:
Tuesday 6th October 6.30-8.30pm and is repeated on
Wednesday 7th October 1.30 – 3.20pm 
If you would like to attend please email the school: admin@sciennes.edin.sch.uk 

Complementary sessions are taking place with staff and pupils in school. Feedback from everyone will contribute to new Council recommendations and guidance for schools. 

Council plans to beat child poverty

Published Friday, 2nd October 2015

 

Tackling child poverty is the focus of a new awareness drive being spearheaded by the City of Edinburgh Council.

A report going to the Education, Children and Families Committee next week (Tuesday 6 October) shows that just over 21% of children in Edinburgh live in poverty and this figure is forecast to increase significantly by 2020.

Every area of the city is affected with each Council ward having child poverty rates of over 10% and it’s estimated that the cost of delivering services to address the impact in the Capital is around £156m a year.

Next week’s Child Poverty report outlines various actions being taken by the Council to lessen the impact. 

Key areas identified include:
*Developing more flexible and affordable good quality childcare to meet the needs of families on low incomes
*Improving attendance at schools and early years establishments, and the attainment and achievement of young people
*Reducing the attainment gap between lowest achieving pupils and their peers across the city
*Identifying and developing more safe places to play

Other actions include increasing breakfast club provision, working in partnership with food banks to better understand why families in poverty are using their services and further developing family engagement with a focus on strong home-school partnerships.

A major school project – the ‘1 in 5: Raising Awareness of Child Poverty in Edinburgh’ - has already started in five primaries and one secondary school. It aims to identify best practice and changes that can be introduced to make school more affordable for families on low incomes. The project involves working with children, staff and parents to challenge the stigma that affects children living in poverty.

The report also highlights the importance of income maximisation to raising attainment. Research has shown that the level of household income plays a major role in attainment levels with more initiatives needed to increase wages, encourage take up of unclaimed benefits and other finance-related poverty costs.

Councillor Paul Godzik, Education, Children and Families Convener, said: “Child poverty matters to us all as it damages childhoods, damages life chances and damages society as a whole. Children from poorer backgrounds lag behind at all stages of education so it’s important we do all we can to close the attainment gap.

“We have developed a range of actions to challenge and mitigate the impact of child poverty in the Capital and will continue to work closely with our partner agencies to ensure everything is done to ensure children given every opportunity to have the best possible start in life.”

Alison Noble, Head Teacher at Sciennes Primary School, is one of the schools taking ‘1 in 5: Raising Awareness of Child Poverty in Edinburgh’ project.

She said: “This project provides a valuable opportunity for Sciennes to make a difference and ensure the outcomes for our children are not undermined by poverty and inequality. By taking part we can focus our efforts on addressing the barriers that exist within our community and help us to begin to fulfil one of the objectives in the Scottish Attainment Challenge - to close the attainment gap and provide every child with the same opportunity to succeed.

Our ward includes an area of multiple deprivation so raising awareness of the issues surrounding poverty may contribute to our children making a positive contribution to the school, local and wider community.” 

P3 Syrian Appeal Global Goal 10 Reduced Inequalities 01.10.15

At special Assemblies with Mercy Corps on Thursday 1st October, P3 pupils will tell the school about their Harvest project to help Syrian refugees.

The P3 Communications Group met on Wednesday and this is how they explained the project in their own words:

Primary Three are trying to raise money for Mercy Corps to help Syrian children who are refugees. There is a war in Syria and lots of people have lost their homes. Refugees are people who are trying to find a safe place to live. We are lucky to have lots of things to play with in our playground. We want to help children in refugee camps. We want to give them their own playground. A playground costs £300.

We have decorated envelopes and everyone will get one. Please put some money in your envelope and bring it back to school. We will collect the envelopes from the classes. Everyone in P3 has a different job to do. Some people are envelope collectors, some people are money counters and some people are going to talk at Assembly to tell everyone about our project. 

Thank you from The P3 Communications Team 
 
Look out for more information from the team!


Article 22 The right to have help if you are a refugee 
Article 31 The right to play

 

Global Goals: World's Largest Lesson 25.09.15

On Friday 25th September at the P4-7 Assembly we marked the United Nations' adoption of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development with the 'World's Largest Lesson':

End extreme poverty
Fight inequality & injustice
Fix climate change

Throughout the year, we will help our pupils understand and support the Global Goals and the Articles of the United Nations' Convention for the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) by linking them to our curriculum.

Sciennes Global Goals Assembly 25.9.15 from SciennesPS





The Worlds Largest Lesson Introduced by Malala Yousafzai from World's Largest Lesson on Vimeo.
 

Global Goal 4 Quality Education 18.09.15

On Friday 18th September at the P4-7 Assembly we learned more about our new school wide project "Rights Respecting Schools" and Global Goal 4: The right to a quality education, as well as our own Responsibilities.

We congratulated our new Pupil Council reps and thanked Mrs Sally Nowell for organising the election on Wednesday. The Pupil Council will take a lead role in developing our "Rights Respecting Schools" project. Next Friday 25th September sees the launch of "The World's Largest Lesson" when we will learn more about the Global Goals for 2030:

End extreme poverty
Fight inequality & injustice
Fix climate change

Sciennes P4-7 Assembly 18.9.15 from SciennesPS

Introduction to RRSA and Global Goals 11.09.15

On Friday 11th September we held our first House Assemblies of the new session for P2-P7 and welcomed P2 pupils to their first House Assembly.

This year Sciennes is beginning a school wide project to become a "Rights Respecting School" which links with the United Nations Global Goals, begun in 2000, to:

End extreme poverty
Fight inequality & injustice
Fix climate change
 
On September 25th 2015, 193 world leaders will commit to the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Much has been achieved in the last fifteen years, and 2015 is the halfway point towards achieving the Goals by 2030. Our House Assemblies introduced these projects to our pupils.

Sciennes House Assembly 11.9.15 from SciennesPS