General Information From East Lothian Council

Developed School Management Scheme

Please see the following reports from East Lothian Council regarding the Devolved School Management Scheme:-

Update to the Scheme of Devolved School Management – 2022
Devolved School Management Scheme 2022-23
Devolved School Management Scheme – Summary Edition – June 2022

Communication With Parents

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 amended the definition of “parent” in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to “Parent includes guardian and any person who is liable to maintain or has parental responsibilities in relation to, or has care of, a child or young person”.

Effective communication between school and parents is vital. This can sometimes be difficult when parents separate or divorce. If parents are separated or a divorce was granted after November 1995 both parents will retain parental responsibilities, unless the court has specifically removed those responsibilities. In relation to placing requests, appeals against certain educational decisions and access to pupils’ records, both parents will normally have equal rights. Even if a divorce was granted prior to November 1996 the parent without custody may not have lost all rights to information and to be involved in decision-making. The above definition may also give others rights.

Schools will therefore request the names and addresses of both parents at the time of enrolment and at the annual update of data. The parent(s) with whom the pupil resides will automatically receive all communications from the school. If a parent lives away from the family home they will, when the school is first informed of their address, receive a Recorded Delivery letter enquiring whether or not they wish to receive information about their child’s education. If no reply is received it will be assumed they do not wish to be kept informed and there will be no further communication unless a request for information is subsequently received. If they wish to be kept informed they will receive copies of all communications regarding the pupil including copies of reports and notification of Parents’ Meetings. The parent with whom the pupil resides will be informed that this is happening.

The school is dependent on the parent with whom the pupil resides supplying the appropriate information i.e. the address of the parent not living in the family home, details of Court proceedings prohibiting the parent’s involvement in the child’s education or any other relevant documentation. Parents/Guardians should note that children can only be collected from school by the parent. If someone else is to collect the pupil the school should be informed in advance.

Child Protection Guidelines

Edinburgh, the Lothians and Borders, including East Lothian Council, have reviewed and re-issued the “Inter-Agency Child Protection Guidelines”. The guidelines promote a high level of inter-agency co-operation when working with children who may be in need of protection. Training is available for all staff in East Lothian Council to ensure that their skill and commitment is used effectively in identifying and protecting children who have been abused or may be at risk of abuse. The Guidelines will further encourage the partnership that exists between Social Work, Education, Health and the Police in East Lothian and will help towards building a partnership with parents in carrying out our duties and responsibilities to East Lothian children and young people.

Inter-agency Child Protection Procedures Edinburgh and the Lothians

National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland

Consulting with Pupils

Under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 the views of children should be taken into account when major decisions are being made which will affect their lives. Generally children over 12 are presumed in law to have a view but younger children may also be mature enough to have a view and should be given the opportunity to express it.  While schools may not be bound by this they do consult with their pupils and the methods used should be included in the handbook.  This could include formal consultation through Pupil Councils, pupils co-opted to Parent Councils, questionnaires, suggestion boxes, review and planning meetings, as well as arrangements to consult with individual pupils at appropriate times (subject choice, exclusions etc.). 

East Lothian Council Policies

Attendance Policy:

POLICY – a positive approach to improving attendance

Exclusions:

ELC2 A Positive Approach to School ExclusionsFINAL

Employment of Children

Children under the statutory school leaving age can only be employed within the terms of the bye-laws on the Employment of Children. These regulations do not permit the employment of children under 13 years of age, and for those over the age there are limits on the hours and type of employment which are allowed. Parents and employers must both complete an application form for an employment permit before the employment begins. Forms and information are available from the school office. Further details can be obtained from the Department of Education & Children’s Services, Inclusion & Equality, John Muir House, Haddington, EH41 3HA. 

Occasional and Emergency Arrangements

In the case of emergency closure, pupils will be sent home or remain in school, depending on home circumstances. In the case of pupils who travel by contract buses, winter conditions occasionally make it necessary to allow early departure and parents should have emergency arrangements made at home to receive the children at such times.

Transferring Educational Data About Pupils

The Scottish Government and its partners collect and use information about pupils to help to improve education across Scotland.  This note explains why we need this information, how we use it and what we do to protect the information supplied to us.

Why do we need your data?

In order to make the best decisions about how to improve our education service, Scottish Goverment, education authorities and other partners such as the SQA and Careers Scotland need accurate, up-to-date data about our pupils.  We are keen to help all our pupils do well in all aspects of school life and achieve better examination results.  Accurate and up-to-date data allows us to:

• plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of all pupils

• plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of specific groups of pupils

• better understand some of the factors which influence pupil attainment and achievement

• share good practice

• target resources better

Data Policy

Information about pupils’ education is collected in partnership between the Scottish Government and Local Authorities through the ScotXed Programme which aims to help schools and Local Authorities by supporting efficient collection, processing and dissemination of statistical information.  The Scottish Government then provides analysis of the data to support research, planning, management and monitoring of education services as well as to produce National Statistics publications.

Education data within Scottish Government is managed effectively by secure systems and is exploited as a valuable corporate resource, subject to confidentiality restraints.  As part of its data policy, Scottish Government will not publish or make publicly available any information that allows individual pupils to be identified, nor will data be used by Scottish Government to take any actions in respect of individuals.  Data is held securely and no information on individual pupils can or would be made publicly available by Scottish Government.

The individual data collected by Scottish Government is used for statistical and research purposes only.

Your data protection rights:
The collection, transfer, processing and sharing of ScotXed data is done in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998). We also comply with the National Statistics Code of Practice requirements and other legislation related to safeguarding the confidentiality of data. The Data Protection Act gives you the right to know how we will use your data. This message can give only a brief description of how we use data. Fuller details of the uses of pupil data can be found on the ScotXed website (www.scotxed.net).

Scottish Government works with a range of partners including HM Inspectorate of Education and the SQA. On occasion, we will make individual data available to partners and also academic institutions to carry out research and statistical analysis. In addition, we will provide our partners with information they need in order to fulfil their official responsibilities. Any sharing of data will be done under the strict control of Scottish Government, which will ensure that no individual level data will be made public as a result of the data sharing and that these data will not be used to take any actions in respect of an individual. Decisions on the sharing of data will be taken in consultation with colleagues within and outwith Scottish Government.

Concerns:
If you have any concerns about the ScotXed data collections you can email the Senior Statistician, Peter Whitehouse, at Peter.Whitehouse@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to The ScotXed Support Office, Area 1B, Victoria Quay, Leith, EH6 6QQ. Alternative versions of this page are available, on request from the ScotXed Support Office, in other languages, audio tape, braille and large print.

Professionals Visiting School/Information Sharing and Confidentiality

Schools can call on professionals from a number of different agencies/services for help and advice. These include Educational Psychologists, Outreach Teachers, Officers within the Pupil Support Division, School Doctor, School Nurse, Careers Advisor and Social Worker. Formal referral to any of these agencies/services would only take place with the consent of parents/guardians. There will however be occasions when issues may be discussed in confidence without formal referral and therefore without such consent. If parents are concerned about this they should contact the school for further information.

In Secondary Schools individual pupils may be discussed at the School Liaison Group (SLG). This is attended by representatives from the school, Community Child Health, Community Development, Education Welfare Service, Psychological Services, Integration Team and Social Work. The meeting considers strategies to help pupils having difficulties in school. All matters discussed in these meetings are understood to be strictly confidential. Parents are not invited to these meetings in every secondary.

Complaints Procedure

Most complaints can and should be resolved at school level. If you have cause for concern, the first person to approach will normally be the Head Teacher. If parents remain dissatisfied then the procedures contained within “Resolving Complaints” should be followed.