Some of the perks of working in the Schools Service are the school visits and meeting all the amazing children that we deliver our programme to.
On Wednesday 8th November I visited a very small school in the village of Morar, on the west coast of Scotland in the Southern Highlands. This school was Lady Lovat Primary School which consists of 23 pupils and 2 members of staff. However, when working with small rural schools I have learnt that joint headship is of second nature; therefore we had a joint delivery with 3 pupils from Inverie Primary School who came over by ferry to join us for the day.
I arrived at the school and was greeted with a warm welcome by all of the children who were so eager and keen to find out who the big green inflatable guy was that I was carrying. I was shown upstairs, offered tea and coffee and then shown to the HT office Fiona MacKellaig (who could not have been any nicer) where I sat for the next half an hour having an unexpected informal chat before the first assembly began. To have a school that was so welcoming and grateful to have the NSPCC come to their school was a very heart-warming experience.
The P1-3 Speak Out. Stay Safe assembly went extremely well, with every child putting their hand up excited to tell me what grown-up they could speak to in or out of school and every child showing me how to sign the Childline number 0800 1111.
After the P1-3 assembly, I went next door to deliver to the older children who received their assembly just as well if not more by them. However, by the time I went back through to the first classroom all of the younger children had started to draw Buddy and write facts alongside Buddy, from the message of which they had just received. This melted my heart and was so lovely to see – children at such a young age really taking in what was being said and excited to show me what they had learnt from Buddy and I.
My trip to Morar and the day I spent with Lady Lovat and Inverie Primary is one I won’t forget in a hurry – from the quirky layout of the school, to the warm and friendly staff, to the brilliant pupils of both schools – I am thankful I have the ability to raise awareness and engage with schools like this.
NSPCC Scotland 