The vision, values and aims of Pitteuchar West are reviewed regularly through consultation with pupils, staff and parents.

Our educational aims for your child include the following:

• To promote high standards of learning and teaching through a broad based curriculum which is delivered within a caring and supportive environment.
• To enable each child to enjoy learning and become an increasingly confident and independent learner.
• To work in partnership with parents.
• To promote links with the wider community within which the school operates.
• To respond to educational change to meet the needs of the 21st century.

In our efforts to achieve these aims you can expect from us:

• A high level of professional expertise, interest, enthusiasm and respect.
• An efficient and effective service.
• Up-to-date methods and equipment.
• Regular contact with parents and a willingness to listen to your viewpoints. All our stakeholders work together:

Our school ethos is based on the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child.   We have the Bronze UNCRC Rights Respecting School Award and have completed the UNICEF Outreach Programme.

We are an Emotion Works accredited school, where GIFEC sits at the heart of all we do.

• Values
• Respect
• Friendship
• kindness
• Helpfulness
• Inclusion (letting everyone join in)
• Effort (trying our best)
• Honesty
• Make everyone welcome and included.
• Give opportunities for pupils to be involved in decision making.
• Provide opportunities for friendships to grow.
• Provide learning experiences which are interesting and which take place in different settings and cater for different learning styles.
• Provide good resources and to care for them and use them well.
• Provide a safe learning environment.
• Respect privacy.
• Encourage each pupil to try their best and to recognise their achievements and attainment.
• Build links with the local and wider community.

Our Vision statement Is :

Believe to Achieve

Welcoming Everyone Successful Together

We promote kindness, with the simple message 'Kind to ourselves, kind to others, kind to our environment'.

The school is a modern one-storey building which was erected in the mid nineteen seventies and is set in attractive grounds. It has a flat roof which had required frequent maintenance, but a programme of refurbishment is now complete.

The school is equipped with a video entry system to safeguard against unauthorised entry to school and all authorised visitors wear identity badges. Inside, the building is divided into three main light, bright open plan wings which are connected by a Central Hall and an Administration Corridor.

Infant classes and middle school classes are accommodated in the two larger wings, off which there are side rooms for withdrawal and music etc, wet areas for art and craft activities and space for class libraries. The third smaller wing is situated at the end of the administration corridor and accommodates the upper school children. It has ample space for a variety of learning activities and resources and there is also a small kitchen contained within the wing.

Each wing has its own cloakroom and toilet facilities and there are water coolers in each area.

The large, central hall is multi purpose and is used for PE and Drama, assemblies and presentations and also serves as a dining room where children are served school meals made on our own kitchen premises or eat packed lunches brought from home.

The school is well resourced to promote modern learning and teaching methods.

Within the school grounds there is a separate Nursery Building which accommodates 38 children in each of the morning and afternoon sessions. This was erected in 2000 and is also a light, bright, modern building set in its own recreational space.

Our school grounds have been developed as part of a planned policy to utilise them to extend learning and teaching beyond the confines of the building. Play areas include grass and hard surfaced spaces, some with playground markings and ball walls to encourage a variety of games to be played. There are also “quiet areas” where children can sit or play quieter games. These are attractive areas with flower beds and shrubberies and a variety of playground sculptures called “Westies” which have been designed by the children to act as meeting places and places to leave coats etc.

In the summer we are able to make use of extensive grass areas to encourage larger scale games to be played and also open up wilder areas for children to use and develop a sense of the importance of ecology and environmental responsibility.

The school and grounds are monitored by a CCTV system which helps prevent vandalism.

P1 - P7 8.55 am - 12.35 pm 1.35 pm - 3.15 pm
Morning Interval 10.35 am -10.55 am
Lunch Break 12.35 pm - 1.35 pm

School uniform is available to order online at www.alansantryschoolwear.co.uk throughout the year. We also keep a limited amount of stock in school. There are sweatshirts, polo shirts, ties, fleeces and waterproof jackets, we have also introduced a gym kit. All items are embroidered with the school logo.

Children are expected to dress appropriately for school and plain black, grey or navy-blue school trousers or skirts.

We would ask that all children have a pair of suitable shoes that can be worn indoors, and these should be left in school. Children can change into these when they arrive in the morning. These can also be used for PE activities.

Children also require a PE kit through the week, and they will be told when this is required by the class teacher. Timetables can change on a termly basis and children will be informed in advance of when these sessions are.