What The Teachers & PSAs Get Up To On In-Service Days

While we all, pupils and staff, enjoyed a day off on Monday, only the pupils continued to have time off on Tuesday and Wednesday. What, you might ask were the teachers and PSAs doing.

Well, on the Tuesday all of the staff attended ALF or the Aberdeen Learning Festival. This is an annual event which is held at the AECC. There are keynote speakers and also lots of seminars on a wide variety of subjects which all of the staff have to sign up to. This year, the Riverbank staff had to attend ALF in the morning and then return to Riverbank, along with staff from Bramble Brae, Tullos and Manor Park Schools to be enlightened in Emergent Literacy. The keynote speaker was the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney. He spoke on raising attainment, closing the gap as well as about the teacher shortage in the north and north east of Scotland.

Wednesday saw the Riverbank staff engage in a whole school audit in the morning…looking at the various aspects of the school and what we deliver to the children. The afternoon saw the the PSAs carrying out the inventory…counting every piece of furniture and equipment in the school. The teaching staff were being familiarised with the Numicon maths resource.