Wemyss Bay Primary School
Wemyss Bay Primary School is in Inverclyde, near the coast, and has almost 200 pupils. The school has won a silver Enterprise award and a curriculum award.
Deputy head Maggie Muir discusses the whole-school programme
When Maggie Muir arrived as deputy head at Wemyss Bay Primary School four years ago, problem solving was not being properly addressed anywhere in the curriculum. To deal with this, a weekly 45 minute session was allocated to problem solving, all teachers were trained in the subject and it became a homework task: pupils are given a problem on Monday, and on Friday they discuss it in class.
Problem solving resources needed attention and financing. The school piloted some materials on behalf of various companies and found A Guide to Better Thinking by Anne Kite particularly useful.
Problem solving is not limited to maths at Wemyss Bay Primary. It expands into other areas, such as citizenship, Personal and Social Development (PSD) and Enterprise. Particular attention is paid to listening skills and working in groups, with pupils deciding which role to play (scribe, reporter, timekeeper, etc) because teamwork will be required in real life.
| Deputy headteacher Maggie Muir discusses the whole-school programme | |
|---|---|
| Description | Maggie Muir talks about devising and resourcing a new problem solving programme, and expanding it into other curricular areas |
| Duration | 2 minutes 49 seconds |
| Windows version |  Windows Media video: Deputy headteacher Maggie Muir discusses the whole-school programme |
| Mac version |  QuickTime movie: Deputy headteacher Maggie Muir discusses the whole-school programme |
| Transcript | Deputy headteacher Maggie Muir discusses the whole-school programme |
Stages at Wemyss Bay Primary School
- P4, Wemyss Bay Primary School
P4 Pupils organise maths week.
- P6/P7, Wemyss Bay Primary School
Problem solving in technology.