When I set out to develop our specialist provision within the mainstream setting at Olderfleet Primary, I was clear on one thing from the very beginning: this could not be an add-on. It had to be a true part of our school. A space not set apart, but one that all the children and staff in our mainstream saw as part of daily school life.

“We say don’t smile until Christmas, but in your case you just shouldn’t smile.”

That’s the instruction I was given at the start of my first teaching job when I was a very young looking 21 year old. Behaviour in school was about adult control and pupil compliance.

One of our core values as a school is “We Aim High”, and in Primary 6, this value is woven into everything we do. For our pupils, aiming high means believing in themselves, setting goals, and working hard to achieve them — both inside and outside the classroom.