Leith Walk Primary School

Opening in 1876, Leith Walk Primary School is one of the oldest primary schools in Edinburgh. We are located in a busy city centre location and our building is listed. We currently have 245 pupils in the primary school.We also have both a morning and an afternoon nursery class, each of which can have a maximum of 60 children, including provision for some eligible 2-year-olds.

The corridors and the classrooms offer a bright, attractive environment for our pupils. The building is subject to continuous on-going improvement of facilities. In addition to a full complement of classrooms, the school is well provided with rooms for other specialist purposes. There are currently separate rooms for music, drama, support services such as Support for Learning and English as an Additional Language, a hall which is used for Physical Education and Assemblies, and a library.

The school is well resourced and enjoys extensive links with the local and wider community. We enjoy a successful partnership with our Parent Council which is open to all parents.

Pupils, staff, parents/carers and the wider school community work together to achieve the best possible outcomes for all of our pupils. We value the diversity of our school and this adds to the positive ethos in school. We also enjoy parents/carers and the wider school community visiting school to share their experiences and skills to support learning and teaching.

Our vision for Leith Walk Primary School is that we are:

“Rich in Diversity, Building Strength Through Creativity and Achievement. We are fully committed to excellence in teaching and learning and celebrate the achievements of our stakeholders. As Citizens, we are committed to the Values of Wisdom, Justice, Integrity and Compassion. We are Lifelong Learners who can think critically about what we know and learn, to bring about innovations and positive change in society. We set ourselves the highest expectations to demonstrate that we are an ambitious, thinking school. We are prepared to embrace whatever our future holds and to contribute in meaningful ways.”

We aim to create a happy, secure and caring environment where all stakeholders: Pupils, Staff, Parents/Carers and the Wider School Community are Valued, Motivated and Encouraged to Be All They Can Be……This is the ideal. Dignity for each individual is at the heart of our ethos.

We want every child and young person to have an enjoyable, fulfilling life in a nurturing, healthy and safe environment. We will encourage children and young people to achieve their potential, and beyond, and make a positive contribution to society.

We recognise each child as an individual, valuing their strengths and challenging them to achieve their next steps in learning.

We ensure that our pupils feel able to express their views and opinions about their learning and are involved in decisions around improving our school.

We will encourage our pupils to think critically and question what we know and learn, in order to create independent lifelong learning dispositions, which will enable them to embrace change and new contexts with confidence.

In order to achieve this, we will also ensure that our children are; safe, nurtured, healthy, achieving, active, included, respected and responsible.

All of us in Leith Walk Primary School and Nursery Class, working with partners, take an holistic approach to promoting health and wellbeing, one that takes account of the stage of growth, development and maturity of each individual, and the social and community context. We are fully committed to “Getting it Right for Every Child.”

We are an “Open School” where Parents & Carers feel able to come in to school to discuss concerns, express their views and share in their child’s learning.