FAQs

Welcome to our  FAQ page.  We hope you will find it useful.  You are very welcome to call or email the school for any additional information.

Contents

• Pupil Absence
• Pupil Support
• General Communication
• School Transport
• School Transport During Adverse Weather
• School Meals/National Entitlement Cards
• School Dress Code
• Medication in School
• Pupil Illness – during the school day

Pupil Absence

Q: What options are available for contacting the school if my child is unwell and will be absent or has to attend a medical/dental appointment?

A: Please phone the school (01899 222050) before 9.15 am to confirm your child is unwell/or has an appointment and will not be in school. If you prefer you can email the school office instead of phoning. You may still receive a routine absence text message (this is an extra child safety measure) but if you have already contacted the school you will not be required to reply to the text.

If you receive an absence text and you have not already contacted the school you are asked to reply by text, telephone or email as soon as possible.

If your child’s absence continues please phone/email the school office to keep us updated.

If your child will be attending a medical/dental appointment from school you should notify the school in advance and meet them at the school reception area.

Pupils under 16 are not permitted to leave the school unless they are collected by an adult.

Pupil Support

If you would like to discuss your child’s progress or any other issue please telephone and ask for your child’s Pupil Support teacher, Gillian Richardson/ Donal Good (Anderson House); Donna MacKintosh (Burns House);  Stephen Pratt (Wallace House). You can also, if you prefer, ask to speak with the Year Head.

General Communication

Q: How does the school distribute important information to pupils and parents?

A: Communication by email has proven to be a most effective way of sending information home to parents. Where possible please ensure the school has your current email address.

• The school will occasionally send important/urgent information by text message, although we prefer, as far as possible, to use email as there is a cost for each text message. Also the information we can send by text is restricted to a character limit of only 121 characters including spaces; therefore text messages have to be kept very succinct.
• The school website is regularly updated with useful information, including school handbook, school calendar, course information, parent newsletters and minutes of parent and student union meetings.
• Weekly Pupil and Parent/ Community Sway newsletters are published via the school website, e-mailed to parents, put out on twitter and placed in Year Group Classroom noticeboards each Friday.
• Pupil Reports together with letters are issued to pupils in class.
• Useful and/or interesting information is regularly ‘tweeted’ on the school Twitter account @BiggarHigh
• The calendar on the school website includes significant events and pupil reporting and parental consultation evening dates.
• Our Parent Portal App will also increasingly provide up to date information on a range of school events/activities for parents who are signed up to this service.

School Transport

Q: Can my child get on or off a bus at an address that isn’t covered by their allocated bus route?

A: Pick up and drop off points are identified by SPT (Strathclyde Passenger Transport) and based on the registered home address of each pupil as provided on their transport application.

Definition of registered home address: Address of legal guardian.

Each pupil entitled to transport has been allocated a place on a specific bus route. In the interests of safety children cannot swap from one bus route to another.

Q: My child’s bus occasionally departs early/arrives late?

A: The bus contract with South Lanarkshire Council allows for a five-minute variation in pick up and departure times e.g. A bus may leave an agreed pick up point one day at 8am however, it would also be acceptable for it to leave at 7:55 or 8:05. It is important for children to be at the pick up point at the earliest time e.g. pick up time at 08:00, child should be there at 07:55. If the bus is more than fifteen minutes late for health and safety reasons we would encourage pupils to return home and await further information.

Q: What should I do if I am moving house? Will my child still be able to travel on the school bus?

A: If you are planning on moving house you should complete a new transport application form. You can do this online www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk.

You should complete a new application even if your child will travel on the same bus.

If you are moving to an address out-with the school catchment area, your child will not be entitled to free school transport but may be able to apply for privilege transport. Further information about school transport is available on www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk or from the school office

For insurance reasons, your child will not be able to travel on school transport from your new address until the new application is approved so please apply well in advance.

Q: If for any reason my child has to leave school early or stay on beyond normal finishing time, what happens with transport arrangements?

A: If your child attends an after school club and would normally travel home by school bus you are asked to make alternative transport arrangements. If there are any issues that preclude participation in an after school club we would ask that you contact the school to see if there are ways we can support this.

If your child has to leave school for a medical/dental appointment there is no change to the existing arrangements whereby travel to and from appointments is organised by the parent, taking account of the child’s timetable.

Q: My child has complained to me about bad behaviour on the bus. What can the school do about this and how should I report it?

A: Contact our school office, they will take a note of your concerns and report them to the School Management Team. A senior manager will investigate/call you back. Please note that in the first instance it is the parent/carer’s responsibility to ensure good behaviour on school transport.

Q: How do I raise general concerns or issues relating to school transport?

A: Contact our school office in the first instance.

School Transport During Adverse Weather

Q: How will I be notified if a bus is not running?

A: During Adverse Weather, parents are asked to check for bus updates on the school and council websites and twitter feed, in addition to watching out for text messages to the nominated main parent/ carer contact. We will also endeavour to get updated information messages out via text, Parent Portal and through our twitter feed which can be viewed on our website.

Q: If a bus does not take my child to school in the morning, due to adverse weather, and I bring my child to school will a bus take him/her home?

A: If a bus does not run in the morning and you make a decision to bring your child to school, depending on the weather situation across the school day you should be prepared to also collect in the afternoon as in certain situations the bus companies may not be able to run a homeward bound service. Please note that all decisions re. school transport are made by the contracted bus companies and not by the school but any communications from our bus providers will be relayed to pupils/ parent as soon as is practical.   

Q: How will I be notified if the school will not be open to pupils?

A: It is only in the most extreme of circumstances that the school would be closed at the start of the school day. School closures will be published on the South Lanarkshire Council website. The school makes every effort to have someone in the school office by 8.00 am during adverse weather. Where possible, parents will be notified by text message if a decision is taken not to open the school. A message may also be posted onto the school website, Parent Portal and the school twitter feed.

School Meals/National Entitlement Cards

Q: What does my child do if they are entitled to free school meals and has lost their NEC Card?

A: You/your child should telephone 0303 123 1015 as soon as possible to request a new card. All pupils are issued with a pin number for the canteen. The office can re-issue the pin if it has been lost.

To replace lost or damaged NEC cards please phone – 0303 123 1015. A new card will be sent to your home address.

Q: What does my child do if they are not entitled to free school meals and have lost/forgotten money?

A: Your child can speak with a member of school office staff who will issue a note for the canteen. The canteen can be re-imbursed the next school day.

School Dress Code

Q: How do I purchase school dress code items?

A: Dress Code details are outlined in our policy (see ‘Policies and Documents’ tab on home page). There are two suppliers of badged school items.

ALJ Industrial supplies have a shop in Lanark and an online facility www.aljonline.co.uk: Shop address is: 27 St Leonard Street, Lanark; 01555 665715.

Brown & Out based in Peebles have an online shop www.brownandout.co.uk Online purchases will be delivered to the school office. Please allow approx. 2 weeks.

Medication in School

Q: What if my child requires to take medication during the school day?

A: Please phone or email our school office and they will confirm procedure and forms required.

Pupil Illness – during the school day

In all cases of reported illness, the parent/ carer has the main responsibility for the care of their child. Once any child has reported ill and the office staff make contact with parents any subsequent decisions about care and treatment lie in their hands. 

If any pupil feels unwell at any point during the school day they will be released from class to report to the school reception where their name will be taken and they will be asked to go to the dedicated medical room (Sick Bay) in the first instance. 

Usually at this point the emergency contact number will be used to explain to the parent/ carer that their child is unwell and to ask for advice as to how to proceed. In most cases the named contact parent will make arrangements for their child to be taken home at the earliest convenient opportunity. 

In some cases, if a pupil reports unwell they may simply need some time out of class to get some fresh air/ drink of water etc and then will return to class. 

In some cases, where a pupil has previously reported concerns of a similar nature (e.g. headaches) the parent will have been asked to complete a ‘permission to issue medication form’ and any office staff/ first aider can safely issue the appropriate medication from a stock provided by the parent. 

In most cases after being given the medication, the pupil can return to sick bay for a short period of time before then returning to class; however, if their situation does not improve it would be most likely that at that point the parent would be contacted and arrangements made to collect the pupil and take them home. 

Where it is considered appropriate, one of our qualified first aiders may be called to give basic medical advice/ apply basic medical treatment (usually in relation to a P.E. incident). Our First Aiders are fully trained in basic first aid but do not have any medical qualifications. We have had occasions where parents have assumed that the advice of the first aider is similar to that of a qualified medical practitioner and this is not the case. Our First Aiders will always recommend that, after checking, if any pupil is considered seriously unwell or injured it is the parent’s responsibility to ensure the pupil concerned is checked out further either by a GP or by being taken to A and E. 

Obviously in extreme cases the school would call for paramedic support and contact the parent at the earliest opportunity to advise them of our decision. 

On the rare occasion where none of a pupil’s emergency contacts are available the school will act responsibly ‘in loco parentis’ and take decisions re. treatment procedures and pathways in what we see as being in the pupil’s best interests at that time until such time as contact with a parent/ other emergency contact can be made. 

On that note can I ask all parents/ carers to ensure that emergency contact details are kept as up to date as possible as there have been occasions where we are aware mobile numbers in particular have changed from the contact numbers we have on the system.