CHILDREN at a school with fewer than 100 pupils have proved the best things really can come in small packages – by reaching the final in three categories at this year’s Scottish Education Awards.
Redburn School in Cumbernauld are excitedly awaiting the awards ceremony tomorrow to see if they will be taking home any of the prizes.
But whatever the outcome, the school – where pupils have a wide range of complex learning needs – can be rightly proud of their triple nomination.
The school are in the final for the following categories: Raising Attainment in Literacy, Transforming Lives Through Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability.
Headteacher Nicola Lavery said: “It is absolutely amazing.
" We are all really excited but we will have our Oscar faces on in case we don’t win anything.”
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Redburn are partnered with a nursery in Malawi.
In January, Redburn pupils began a project to design an outdoor play area for the nursery and raised funds to ensure the equipment was built – showing the real difference sustainable learning can make.
The children visited different playgrounds and took photos so they could choose the equipment they liked and then went to
the pupil council to plan the fundraising.
Nicola added: “Two of our teachers are going out to Malawi this month.
“Our partner nursery is not special needs but it is the place where all the special needs children in the area will attend.
“It will provide access and participation in education for these very vulnerable children.”
The teachers from Redburn will train the nursery teachers in Africa to teach children with special needs.
Nicola said: “The impact of this project was really huge for our children, helping them to understand about life and people in another country. It was an excellent educational opportunity.
“We are doing a lot of things that are making a real difference.”
Teachers at Redburn know giving the pupils a voice is
important so they have put a huge effort into improving language and communication – believing they are the stepping stones to improving literacy among the pupils.
The school examined the progress of children in communication and language and monitored the impact speech and language therapists had on the school.
They discovered there was little improvement and decided an overhaul was necessary.
Now the speech and language therapists work alongside staff in the classroom and teach parents and siblings to help deliver communication and literacy.
All children have an iPad and every one of the 86 pupils has made progress on this core subject, making them worthy finalists for the Literacy prize.
In addition to placing so much importance on improving literacy within the school, bosses have also identified attracting partners from business and further education as something that can offer major benefits to the children.
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Among those to lend their support are the Richmond Fellowship, who introduced a programme which has resulted in a huge
reduction in acts of violence borne out of frustration and anxiety.
Cumbernauld College are another of the school’s partners and run catering courses every week, which led to the formation of Crumbs cafe – where parents and the wider community can pop in for refreshments and cake.
The cafe also gives children hands-on experience of genuine work situations.
Sportswear giants Nike partner the school by offering work experience, while green-fingered pupils carry out work on a special needs allotment at Palacerigg Country Park, another of Redburn’s partners.
The other finalists, meanwhile, are equally excited to be in contention and are guaranteed to have a fabulous time at the glitzy event.
The theme of this year’s awards is a closely-guarded secret but we can reveal that the Senior Ensemble from Queen Margaret Academy in Ayr will kick off the proceedings and Colin Cloud, the forensic mindreader, will provide the post-lunch
entertainment.
For the second year in a row, comedian Des Clarke will host the awards.
Last night Des said: “I’m delighted to host the Scottish Education Awards once again.
" Education is essential and it’s fantastic to hear all the amazing stories.”
Alan Armstrong, strategic director at Education Scotland, said: “I’m delighted we are so closely involved in the Scottish Education Awards.
“I’m really looking forward to joining the finalists for the 17 awards and helping them celebrate the fantastic work
that is taking place across Scottish education.”
