Important Dates
- Primary 6 Welcome Afternoon for children to visit their new class and teacher - Thursday 23 June 2022
- Primary 6 Parents’ Information Evening - Wednesday 31 August 2022 Meet in the Tom Fleming Centre at 6.30pm for a talk by Mr Kane and thereafter in the child’s classroom for a talk by the Class Teacher from about 7.00pm – 7.30pm.
Session Dates- see below
Uniform
The Uniform List and Thrift Shop Information can be found on 'my esms'. The Uniform List is also available below and on request from the Junior School Office.
All items of clothing and equipment must be clearly marked with your child’s name.
Appearance
Children should wear Games kit (with tracksuit on top) to school on a Thursday for Games. On all other days, children should wear school uniform (this includes on days when children have PE, when they should bring their PE kit to school and will change for their lesson). On other days children should wear school uniform. A warm coat/ waterproof jacket is needed every day as the children will be outside at break times except in extreme conditions.
We have very high expectations of our children and we expect them always to wear their uniform neatly. Children are regularly reminded to tuck in their shirts/blouses, pull up their socks etc. and we rely very much on parental support to help us to ensure that children can feel proud of the way in which they wear their uniform.
- Jewellery - Girls may wear one pair of discreet gold or silver studs if their ears are pierced. Rings are not to be worn at school.
- Hair - Hair should be of a natural colour and should not cover the face or eyes. Due to the many practical activities, lessons and breaktimes in a day, hair that is longer than shoulder length should be tied back or up for safety and hygiene. Hair accessories should be in school colours (blue, red, black, navy, gold, tartan) and should be functional rather than just decorative.
- Bags - Children must have a school bag which will keep school books and large folders in good condition, separate from swimming kit. It should be large enough to store their individual school laptop in its sleeve (15"x11"x1").
- Reflective strips - can be worn on top of coats, etc. and are available from School Suppliers. Stevensons can also sew the strips on.
- School badges - may be worn on blazer lapels and one other badge may be worn at Class Teacher’s discretion.
- Summer uniform - for Primary 4-7 is to be worn from after the Easter holiday until the October holiday.
Uniform Suppliers
Regulation uniform may only be purchased from school suppliers (stevensons.co.uk)
All sports kit can be obtained from Stevensons or: www.pslteamsports.com
Please note that all PE & Games kit is common to the Junior School and Stewart's Melville College Senior School for boys and The Mary Erskine School for girls.
Second-hand uniform and sportswear is available from the Thrift Shop.
Thrift Shop
- The school has a substantial Thrift Shop and it can be found at 5 Queensferry Terrace.
- It stocks second-hand uniform and sports kit/equipment that caters for all children in the Junior School, Stewart’s Melville College and The Mary Erskine School.
- During term time the shop will be open every Thursday afternoon from 3.00pm - 4.30pm, and on the first Saturday of the month from 9.30am - 12.00pm.
- There are also pre-session shops in the run up to the start of term and times will be published via SchoolPost.
Further information regarding uniform and dates for the Thrift Shop can be found by selecting ‘Uniform & Equipment’ on the Home page of ‘my esms’.
Equipment
Children are required to bring/keep the following in school each day:
- school bag large enough to store their school laptop in its sleeve (15” x 11” x 1”), with water bottle stored separately in the bag.
• an art overall or large shirt (named) – this should be left in school and only taken home when instructed by the Class Teacher.
• tissues
• water bottle
• headphones - if supplying your own rather than ordering through the school they should meet the following criteria:
have a standard earphone jack connection
have an inline mic.
they should not be Bluetooth
they should be low cost
Your child would be expected to keep them in school in their tray/pencil case.
Most importantly, your child should also ensure that they always bring their individual device to school each day fully charged and take it home at the end of every day.
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Children require each day a named pencil case containing:
- a large Pritt stick
- scissors
- ruler (30cm and 15cm)
- 3 sharp HB pencils
- coloured pencils
- plastic eraser
- pencil sharpener
- a highlighter pen
- a simple calculator
- good quality blue rollerball pens e.g. Glide Rollerball Pen or Papermate Retractable Pen (children may use a Sheaffer fountain pen instead if they prefer)
- a simple Geometry Set (pair of compasses and protractor)
To help with organisation, children should have a second small pencil case for Maths which is kept in their Maths bag. It is important that this contains: pencils, a rubber, a sharpener and a 30 cm ruler. Should the Maths bag be lost or damaged there will be charge for its replacement. Felt pens are not required.
All stationery items should be named.
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Book and Stationery List for Children Entering Primary 6
- Collins New School Dictionary: ISBN 9780008257934 £11.99
- Oxford Primary Thesaurus: ISBN 9780192767172 £12.99
- Collins New 6th Edition School Atlas: ISBN 9780008485955 £9.99
- Stationery in plastic zip wallet including Stabilio Highlighters mixed pack of 4, Pritt Stick 40gms, pencils x 3, scissors, right-handed unless left-handed requested, 30cm ruler, 15cm ruler and an eraser. £7.49
- Earphones £7.00
- Blue Rollerball Pens - Recommended brands: Glide Rollerball Pen @ £1.00 or Papermate Retractable Pen @ £1.30
- Calculator £2.40
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Parents are contacted by School Post during May inviting them to place a stationery and book order. Any items ordered through the School for the start of a new session will be delivered to the children on the first day of the autumn term. The closing date for this has already taken place.
Any stationery item required during the session can be purchased by your child collecting an order form from our Resource Manager.
Games
Alongside the Physical Education Curriculum (provided each week for all children from Nursery) and Swimming (which starts in Primary 3), all Primary 5 to Primary 7 children attend a year group Games session which is an integral part of the school curriculum.
On their respective Games afternoons, the girls go to Mary Erskine at the Ravelston site and the boys travel to the pitches at Inverleith.
There are opportunities for both competitive and non-competitive participation, and those wishing to represent the school and be a part of the team sports on offer will practice during these sessions. Matches against other schools will take place during either their midweek games session or on a Saturday morning and full details of the sporting opportunities for each age group are communicated through a school post prior to the start of the session.
A diary of sports fixtures is posted on the ESMS Sports website sport.esms.org.uk/ to help parents to plan.
Absence from Games
As Games is an integral part of the school curriculum, children who wish to be excused from the session because of illness or injury must bring a note from their parents and give it to their Class Teacher. Children who feel ill during the day and are seeking to be excused should follow the usual procedure for seeing the school nurse. Children who are off Games will remain in school with a teacher until the normal dismissal time of 3.30pm.
Boys' Games
When Games Practices Happen
Boys attend a weekly games practice at Inverleith (EH5 2DW) from 2pm until the pick-up time below:
P7 Wednesday 3:30pm
P6 Thursday 3:20pm
P5 Friday 3:30pm
Boys can be collected from Inverleith at the end of Games or there is a school bus to return them to SMC Front Gates. Any boys not collected from Inverleith on time will be brought back to JS Reception.
Cancellation/Update Messages
Midweek cancellations will be sent to parents via Firefly for Parents app with a copy sent to email addresses registered with the school.
Saturday cancellations will be updated on the Sports website: sport.esms.org.uk/ usually by 7am.
Games Activities
The following Games activities are available to the boys as they move through ESMS JS.
Year Group | First Term | Second Term | Third Term |
P5 | Rugby or Hockey | Cricket or Athletics | |
P6 | Rugby or Hockey | Cricket or Athletics | |
P7 | Rugby or Hockey | Cricket or Athletics | |
Saturday Games
ESMS JS have fixtures or practices on most Saturday mornings, where possible, for each sport. P5 attendance on Saturdays is voluntary but we would ask that P6 & P7 attendance, if selected in a match day squad, is considered to be an integral part of a family’s commitment to the school. Boys must request permission from their Games coach to be absent a week in advance should he be unable to take part for family reasons. Boys playing Elite sport, national or professional level, can request permission on an annual basis from Mr Kane to be excused the school commitment.
Team sheets and fixtures are posted on the ESMS Sport website sport.esms.org.uk/
Saturday Rugby at home (training & matches) takes place at Inverleith
Saturday Hockey at home (training & matches) takes place at SMC Front Lawns
Start times for practices/matches & venues for away matches are posted weekly on team sheets but broadly follow:
Year Group | Rugby at Inverleith | Hockey at SMC Front Lawns |
P5 | 9am -10:15am | 9am -10am |
P6 | 9am -10:30am | 10am -11am |
P7 | 9am -10:30am | 9am -10am |
Games Kit
Boys require the following kit for each activity. School Kit is available from:
Girls' Games
When Games Practices Happen
Girls attend a weekly games practice at The Mary Erskine Astroturfs from 2pm until the pick-up time below:
P7 Wednesday 3:30pm
P6 Thursday 3:20pm
P5 Friday 3:30pm
Girls can be collected from the Craigleith Rise car park at Mary Erskine at the end of Games or there is a school bus to return them to SMC Front Gates. Any girl not collected from games on time will be brought back to JS Reception on the school coach.
Cancellation/Update Messages
Midweek cancellations will be sent to parents via the Firefly for Parents app with a copy sent to email addresses registered with the school.
Saturday cancellation of training sessions and/or fixtures will be updated on the ESMS sports website: sport.esms.org.uk/
Games Activities
The following Games activities are available to the girls as they move through ESMS JS.
Year Group | First Term | Second Term | Third Term |
P5 | Hockey until October then a rotation of four activities until Christmas eg Hockey / Netball / Football / Touch Rugby | Rotation of four games activities eg Hockey / Netball / Football / Touch Rugby | Rotation of Cricket / Athletics/Tennis |
P6 | All girls do Hockey until October Holiday then choose between Hockey or Multi sport programme | Rotation of Cricket / Athletics/Tennis | |
P7 | Choice of Hockey or Netball | Choice of Cricket, Athletics or Tennis | |
Saturday Games
ESMS JS have fixtures or practices on Saturday mornings for each sport. P5 attendance on Saturdays is voluntary, P6 & P7 attendance if selected in a squad, is an integral part of a family’s commitment to the school. Girls must request permission from their Games coach to be absent a week in advance should they be unable to take part for family reasons. Team sheets are posted on the ESMS Sports website sport.esms.org.uk/
Saturday Hockey and Netball at home (training & matches) takes place on the Upper Astros at The Mary Erskine School.
Start times for practices/matches & venues for away matches are posted on team sheets
Games Kit
Girls require the following kit for each activity. School kit is available from:
Sporting Ethos
Mainly for Parents
In the ESMS Junior School staff, parents and children are aware of the need for clear aims and objectives when participating in sport. Our Sports’ Ethos should be seen in the context of a long tradition of sportsmanship in schools and it simply restates basic principles in a rapidly changing world of sport. Good manners on and off games field are essential parts of all inter- school fixtures.
We appreciate the time and effort devoted to sport by adults and children and we hope that all involved will continue to enjoy their participation.
We appreciate punctual pick up of children who are returning from away sports fixtures.
Mainly for children
Sport is about fun - enjoy the games, enjoy the practices and enjoy training.
In sport it is important to have high personal standards and to respect others.
Be generous with your support for everyone involved – remember that everyone deserves to enjoy their sport.
When you are a member of a team, remember always to be supportive of all the boys or girls who are playing with you.
Always try to learn and to improve your performance – that is more important than winning at all costs.
Always do your best.
Always remember to say ‘thank you’ to the referee, to girls and boys from other schools and to your teachers and coaches.
Personal Possessions
Children are encouraged not to bring valuable personal possessions to school and not to carry money with them unless absolutely necessary. There is a Junior School Policy in respect of mobile phones but other than that we do not encourage children to bring valuables to school as they can so easily be lost and are often very hard to trace. Class Teachers will always give parents advice on what is or is not suitable.
Please note that children's belongings, including musical instruments, cannot be insured under the Schools' insurance policy.
'myesms'
The ESMS website is a source of current information and the address is www.esms.org.uk.
All parents have access to the secure personalised site 'my esms' which contains all the information required by parents to plan for the session and to know what is happening across the schools. Each parent will be given a unique username, their email address and a password. Parents can access 'my esms' via a link from the website.
All school emails are usually posted at 6.00pm each evening on 'my esms'.
Parents should ensure that the information about their child/children on 'my esms' is up to date including medical information. Please also inform the school of any changes in family circumstances.
Coaches
SCHOOL COACH SERVICES PRIMARY 4 – PRIMARY 7
For the benefit of families, we operate morning and afternoon services to and from:
- Balerno/Colinton
- Bathgate/Livingston
- Ratho/Corstorphine
- Eskbank/Liberton
- Kirkliston/South Queensferry/Barnton/Cramond
- Dalgety Bay
- Dunbar/Haddington
- Dunfermline/Rosyth
- Larbert/Linlithgow
- North Berwick/Musselburgh
- Trinity
- West Linton/Penicuik
- Haymarket
Junior School children are supervised at 420 Club between the end of classes and the departure of homeward buses
Details of each route, pickup/drop off locations, prices and timetables are contained in the Coach Service information, which can be viewed on ‘my esms’. All transport charges are paid via the Extras Account.
In line with the ‘Safer Routes to School’ scheme we also have a shuttle bus each morning at 8.20am from Craigleith Rise to Queensferry Terrace. The cost of this is 96p per journey if booked as a regular trip and £1.19 on an ad hoc basis. Parents who have children in the Junior School on both sites may find this helpful. Our hope is that it will reduce traffic and congestion at both sites.
If you have any queries regarding the coach services please contact the Transport Coordinator on 0131 311 1166 or coaches@esms.org.uk
Parents and Security
All visitors to either site are required to sign in at Reception at Queensferry Road and Easter Ravelston Office. Parents delivering and collecting children are not required to sign in but if you are coming in during the day for any reason it is important that you obtain a visitor’s badge. All visitors to the sites wear these badges and children are asked to speak to a teacher or to another member of staff if they see any adult on site without a visitor’s badge.
All employees of the school also wear their own particular badge so that they can be easily identified by children who might not otherwise know them. It is important that parents understand and accept the significance we attach to our children’s security on site and your co-operation in ensuring that you always wear a visitor’s badge out with delivering and collection times is appreciated.
Photographs of Children
Individual and Class photographs are taken every year of all children in the Junior School and can be purchased by parents. We also take photographs informally of children involved in various activities throughout the session and these are often displayed around the school.
Photographs and images of children can also be used in official school publications such as the school Prospectus and promotional leaflets. All parents are given the opportunity to let us know if they do not wish their child’s photograph to be taken for such purposes but it must be understood that such a decision taken by parents would mean that their child or children could not be photographed as part of a team or group.
Parents are also given the right to refuse permission for their child’s image to be used on our schools’ website or on our social media sites. The names of individual children never appear on the website and we are of course aware of the potential for the misuse of such photographs.
Fees, Academic Scholarships and Extras
Fees can be paid in advance or by Direct Debit.
Parents who encounter difficulty paying fees are always encouraged to contact the Bursar as a matter of urgency so that he can offer advice and make practical suggestions. If you have to remove your child from school then one full term's written notice must be given. Means-tested financial support may be made available to parents of children as they move into S1 of either of the two Senior Schools.
Academic Scholarships
Up to four academic scholarships are available for children as they move from Primary 7 to Senior 1. A series of pre-scholarship assessments is held during the first term and between 15 and 20 boys and between 15 and 20 girls are recommended as suitable candidates for the scholarships as a result of these assessments. Parents of children in Primary 7 receive a letter in October explaining the structure and organisation of the scholarship examinations.
Extras Account
Any additional expenses incurred by your child during the session, including such items as the cost of local trips and school photographs are charged to your Extras Account after you have signed the appropriate consent form. The Extras Account is invoiced four times a year, and is normally collected by Direct Debit in October, January, April and July.
e-plus (Early Birds, After School Club and Holiday Club)
‘where education and care are one’
www.esms.org.uk/fees/wraparound-care
We are aware that many families have to juggle work, home and school commitments and e-Plus aims to offers an innovative approach to childcare.
There are a number of services available:
Early Birds: Nursery – Primary 3 7.45am – 8.30am
After School Club: Nursery – Primary 7 from the end of the child’s school day.
Holiday Club: Nursery – Primary 7 8.15am – 6.00pm (a timetable of when bookings open will be on ‘my esms’ under Holiday Club from the start of session.)
If you require any of the e-Plus services, please log on to ‘my esms’ and go into the e-Plus section and complete the online booking form.
Should you require further information about the services on offer, please do not hesitate to contact our e-Plus Administration team eplussecretary@esms.org.uk 0131 347 5844.