1. PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT DAY 3RD JUNE 2017
Farr High School
Working together to create a safe and caring environment where all are valued and where challenge and success go hand in hand.
Strengthening partnership with parents

2. Welcome Welcome to our parental engagement day.
The objectives of the day are for parents/guardians
to get a taste of what goes on in lessons at Farr.
to get ideas for how they can support their children in their studies.

3. Timetable for the day 10-10.30 Welcome & introduction
Session 1
11.05 – Session 2
lunch
garden opening
session 3
Round-up including section on DYW

4. The Curriculum
A pupil’s time at the high school will be split into two phases:
The Broad General Education, which covers S1 - S3. During this time lessons will be based on the Experiences and Outcomes of level 3 and 4 of the National Curriculum.
The Senior Phase, incorporating S4 – S6. During these years pupils will study for national qualifications.

5. The BGE CURRICULUM In S1pupils study: 5 periods of Maths
5 periods of English, including the library
3 periods of Science
4 periods of Technology, including ICT
4 periods of Social Subjects
4 periods of Languages (French and Gaelic)
3 periods of PE
1.5 periods of Art
1.5 Periods of Music
1 period of RME
1 period of PD
In S2pupils study:
5.5 periods of English, including the library
4 periods of Technology, including HE
2.5 periods of PE
In S3 pupils study:
4.5 periods of English, including the library
6 periods of Science split between Biology, Chemistry and Physics
2 periods of Technology

6. SQA courses and assessment arrangements
In S4, pupils study 6 subjects, including Maths and English, at National level.
In S5, most pupils study 5 subjects at National and/or Higher level.
In S6, pupils study between 3 and 5 subjects, depending on the level of study.
Link courses, for example Skills for Work Engineering Skills, National 5 and Higher Psychology, are available at Thurso College on Fridays for S4, S5 and S6 pupils.

7. SQA courses and assessment arrangements
Some courses have unit assessments that must be passed.
The assessments and success criteria are set by the SQA but are marked by the class teacher.
Pupils get two chances to pass each unit assessment.
In line with Highland Council guidelines, if a pupil fails the first sitting of an assessment, parents will be notified of the failure and the date of the reassessment.
If a pupil fails the second assessment, they may not be able to achieve the course award that academic year.

8. Homework
It’s difficult to give a definitive figure for how much homework pupils should be doing per night. The average should be about an hour each evening. The nature of homework will vary from subject to subject. Some homework will be based on a project that may span over a few weeks. Other homework will be of a more traditional nature and will be handed in after a short time.

9. Homework
There are a number of reasons why pupils may have difficulty completing homework once in a while:
They may be struggling to understand the work
It may not be clear in their mind what the task involves
They may not have a quiet place to work at home
Other issues arise which makes the management of their time difficult.
Whatever the reason, they must speak to the class teacher or to a member of the SMT as soon as possible so that we can support them in completing the homework activity.

10. Homework
So what if your child doesn’t have any homework? The school website contains lists of websites or activities that pupils can visit. If internet access is a problem, it may be possible to provide supplementary booklets for additional work. Please speak to the class teacher.

11. Study expectations
S5 and S6 pupils will have 5 supervised study periods each week. They will use these study periods to consolidate classwork. It is not a time for doing homework. Pupils need to come prepared to the study classes, with appropriate work and any equipment they need. Some staff put on extra study classes at lunchtime or after school. These may run all year or just at key times, such as the run up to unit assessments or exams.

12. Monitoring, tracking and reporting pupil progress
* October - Monitoring and Tracking report to S4-6 parents * November – Monitoring and Tracking report to S1-3 parents * Early December - S1-S6 parents evenings * February – S4-6 reports to parents and Parents’ Evening * March – S2 and S3 reports to parents and Parents’ Evening * March – options booklets out to S3 – S5 pupils * May – S1 reports to parents and Parents’ Evening