Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Education Services is eagerly anticipating the start of a new academic year.
New P1s
Schools across Dumfries and Galloway will welcome more than 1,500 new P1 pupils this week. It’s a busy week but the schools are well prepared for the new intake and teachers are looking forward to getting to know their new pupils. It’s exciting for the pupils as they start out on a lifelong learning journey, with no-one being able to predict where it will lead.
Probationer Teachers
Dumfries and Galloway Council welcomes 64 probationer teachers, 39 in primary schools and 25 in 12 of our 16 secondary schools, building on the previous success of introducing newly qualified teachers to the region. As they begin their careers, they are supported by teaching colleagues and other education authority staff while they bring innovative ideas, creativity and enthusiasm to classrooms.
School Meals
Dumfries and Galloway Council currently offers free school meals to all P1 pupils. Providing a good start in life for all our children is a priority for Dumfries and Galloway Council. Free school meals ensure that every child in P1 can have a nutritious and healthy lunch each day, prepared with as many local ingredients as possible. This encourages children to make healthier food choices and to develop lifelong healthy eating habits. From January 2015, free school meals will be available to all P1, P2 and P3 pupils.
New School Buildings
The new Langholm Primary School opened its doors to pupils after the spring holiday, providing a modern learning environment for nursery and primary aged pupils, on a campus shared with Langholm Academy, providing an ‘all through’ school. Over the summer holiday, further work has been done and the school now has a synthetic football pitch, for school use during core hours and community use outside these, and a kitchen for producing school meals, with dining facilities shared by primary and secondary pupils.
Councillor Jeff Leaver, chairman of the Education Committee, said, “The start of a new academic year is always an exciting time for schools across our region. The new P1s are eagerly embarking on a great journey of discovery. Our probationer teachers are preparing to make a positive difference to the lives of young people. Our school meals are encouraging children to make better food choices. Our school buildings are at the centre of our communities, offering an appropriate environment in which to learn. On behalf of Dumfries and Galloway Council, I wish every pupil and education employee across our region a happy and successful year.”
