CONTACTING THE SCHOOL

ContactAddress for Integrated Children’s and Family Services: Aberdeen City Council

Education, Leisure and Sport

Marischal College

Broad Street

Aberdeen AB10 – 1AB

The school address is:

5 Queen’s Road

AberdeenAB15 4YL

Telephone: 01224 322730

Fax: 01224 325463

Email: stjosephsprimary@aberdeencity.gov.uk

● Contact with St. Joseph’s RC Primary School School can be made, firstly by phoning – 01224 322730.Alternatively we can be contacted by email as above.

● The school website is www.stjosephsprimary.aberdeen.sch.uk

● You can follow the school on Twitter - @stjosephsabn

● The school has an Information Line which is particularly useful during periods of severe weather and can be accessed through phoning 0870 054 1999 and using PIN code 011620. Please do not leave messages for the school on this line.

● School promotes close partnership working between staff and parents/carers and should you wish to talk to your child’s teacher or a member of the Senior Leadership Team about matters relating to your child’s education or welfare, I would ask that you firstly phone the school and the appropriate member of staff will either call you back, at a time suitable to you both, and/or set up a meeting to discuss the matter

The Schooloffice

The school office is open during the following hours-

The Schooland Its Context

St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart .It is situated in the west end of Aberdeen serving a wide city centre catchment area and an adjoining part of Aberdeenshire to the south. St Joseph's School is a denominational school and is part of Aberdeen Grammar SchoolAssociated Schools Group

The school building consists of three Victorian houses attached by relatively modern extensions. The school grounds are extensive and feature a large nursery garden, a P1-3 playground, a walled garden with listed greenhouse and a large senior playground with an orchard and wooded area. The school has strong links with its local and wider community and takes every opportunity to enhance children's learning experiences.The site was purchased byACC in 2016.

The current school roll is 380 with 40 places in the nursery delivered over morning and afternoon sessions.. The nursery team consists of a Senior Early Years practitioner and two Early Years practitioners. The current management team consists of a Head Teacher, Depute Head and Principal teacher. There are 15 primary classes this session and a nursery class. Visiting teachers this session include PE and Music. Drama and Art are provided by our own staff. The school receives support from the English as anAdditional language (EALservice).

OurTargeted SupportTeam consists of 0.8fte for Support for Learning and 6 full time PSAs. four further Pupil SupportAssistants support learning in all classes on a planned and needs basis.Together they support pupils from P1 to 7 with a range of additional support needs and manage targeted interventions for identified PEF pupils. We have appointed an Early Years Practitioner to the primary One Year group.They also supervise the playground and dinner hall. Experienced support staff assist the school in the areas of administration, janitorial, cleaning and catering provision.

The building currently allows space for 15 classes and a nursery with additional classrooms currently used for a variety of purposes including; a library, a home-economics room, anASLroom, a ‘quiet room’, and an inclusion hub.

The school benefits from after school club provision provided by Community Link Childcare. In addition to this there is a large separate dining-room and a large gym with a fully functioning stage.

The life and work of the school is very well supported by an enthusiastic and active Parent Council. The Parish Priest visits classes on a weekly basis and provides a great deal of support during the Sacramental preparation of the children. The school prides itself in being welcoming to parents and carers and takes every opportunity to enhance children's successes and achievements through a positive and encouraging ethos

St Joseph’s is a Catholic school , 70% of the pupils are Catholic and almost all other faith groups are represented. The school is very multicultural and has pupils from all over the world. Although situated in the affluent West-end of Aberdeen, the catchment area for out of zone catholic pupils stretches more widely to include some areas of social deprivation. Consequently the pupils come from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds and ethnic groups with 24%of our pupils living in the bottom 4 SIMD centiles and another 46% of our families living in the top two deciles. 23% of our pupils have English as an additional language.

The most recent school inspection took place in 2009 and the Care Inspectorate reported on the Nursery in March 2016. The reports are available at https://www.education.gov.scot and http://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/type-of-care

Our HeadTeacher Mrs Sinead Lindsay will now drive forward the school improvement priorities with revised remits in the Senior Leadership team.