Clun Primary Prospectus 2011

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Castell-nedd A Port Talbot

CLUN PRIMARY SCHOOL — YSGOL GYNRADD

CLUN

Head Teacher Clyne Mrs Karen Woodfield Neath SA11 4BW Telephone No: 01639 710260 Fax No: 01639 710260 Dear Parents and Carers,

On behalf of the Governing Body Staff and Pupils of Clun Primary School we would like to extend a very warm welcome to you and your child/children and hope that your years spent with us will be both happy and successful. The purpose of this prospectus is to help you know more about life and learning at Clun Primary school.

At Clun Primary School we have a clear understanding of how children learn and continually strive to provide the best possible conditions to facilitate this. We acknowledge that we live in a changing world and that we need to prepare our children for tomorrow’s needs. Consequently, we not only place fundamental value on the traditional 3Rs, but also on the 3Rs of the 21st century:

Resourcefulness (the ability to organise one’s own learning); Reflectiveness (the ability to think about and evaluate one’s own learning); Resilience (the ability to try several strategies and skills in order to succeed).

We acknowledge the importance of developing a caring and stimulating environment, where children’s high self-esteem enables them to take risks in learning and to learn confidently through their mistakes. We teach children that getting ‘stuck’ is not a sign of failure, but it develops strategies for independence. We encourage children to ask questions and for them to learn how to solve challenges and problems.

We make it our business to strive for excellence, empowering children to be happy and responsive. Children are challenged within the delivery of an enriched, creative and linked curriculum. We are an inclusive school that develops independence, responsibility, kindness and good manners through a detailed and extensive personal, social and health education programme.

School Prospectus – Clun Primary School Headteacher – Mrs Karen Woodfield


The best way to understand our school aims and values is to make an appointment and visit the school ‘in action’. This would give first hand knowledge and understanding of what we are aiming for and achieving and of the many facilities on offer.

Please make an appointment to come and experience the environment in which our children learn, so that we can answer any questions you may have.

We hope that this will be the beginning of a long and successful home school partnership between us. Working closely with parents is an important element of our work for the success of each child.

We look forward to welcoming you to Clun Primary School.

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I learn, involve me and I remember

– Ancient Chinese proverb

Karen Woodfield - Headteacher

Mr Peter Jenkins – Chair of Governors


This information in this prospectus is correct and up to date at the time of printing. Some adjustments/ re- arrangements of provision may be necessary during the school year.

School Aims At Clun we believe every child has the right to equality of opportunity and access to the

whole curriculum. We aim to provide a learning environment for every child which:

is safe and secure is exciting, stimulating, challenging and relevant to the child’s interests, imagination and

curiosity develops the confidence and talents of each individual provides care, help and guidance for each child is appropriate and matched to individual needs promotes the qualities of being resourceful, reflective and resilient

A Child’s Needs

For learning to occur a child needs to:

Develop emotionally, intellectually, socially and physically. Be encouraged; be valued for their own specialness. Feel secure in a caring atmosphere. To have freedom to fail as well as experience success. Know there are high expectations of behaviour, endeavour, and quality. Be presented with challenging tasks in which he/she is an active participant acting upon

his/her decisions. Discuss work with others (peers, teachers, parents, visitors). Share the pride in completed work via displays and active presentations. Have a broad balanced coherent and differentiated curriculum. Have first hand experiences. Evaluate his/her own work.


Our Vision

Our aim is the creation of an experiential based curriculum unique to our school and accessible

to all. It will allow all children to learn and achieve through exploration and discovery, excitement and fun. Access to this curriculum, combined with the talent, commitment and enthusiasm of the staff, underpinned by rigorous planning, will enable all children to achieve academically, also to learn about the world, their locality and people around them and become responsible and caring

citizens.


Staffing Structure

Mrs K Woodfield ~ Head Teacher

Teaching Staff

Mrs H M Jones ~ Deputy Head Teacher ~ Year 1 (1st session only) / 2 /3 Teacher

Mr C.Atkins ~ Nursery (am only) /Reception/ Year 1Teacher

Mrs J Williams ~ Year 4/5/6 Teacher

Non-Teaching Staff

Mrs S V Scott ~ Nursery Nurse

Mrs J Jackson ~ Teaching Assistant/ 1to 1 support

Mrs E Owen ~ Teaching Assistant

Administration Manager

Mrs F Williams

School Caretaker/Cleaning Staff/Lunchtime Supervisors

Mr D J Jenkins ~ Caretaker

Mrs S Jones ~ Lunchtime supervisor

Mrs C Jennison ~ Lunchtime Supervisor

Mrs T Jenkins ~ Cleaning staff

Mrs S Curry ~ Cleaning Staff


Governors School Governors are like a board of directors and make decisions about how the school is run.

Governors have legal duties, powers and responsibilities. They can only act together, they cannot act individually.

Governors are appointed to help:

School Governors are chosen from:

· decide what is taught

· set standards of behaviour

· interview and select staff

· agree how the school budget is spent

· parents

· school staff

· local council representatives

· community representatives

· people with special skills

Parent governors are elected by parents and are your representatives on the governing body. Some of our governors are also parents of children at the school but are appointed in a different capacity. The governors meet once a term as a full governing body. Governors visit school regularly and each class has an attached governor.

Each Governor sits on one or more committee:

Finance: Sets the strategic long term financial plan and monitors budget income and expenditure over the course of the School financial year.

Curriculum: Meets regularly with subject coordinators to review policies and their implantation. This serves to increase Governor knowledge and monitor the School’s progress against internal, local and national targets.

Staff and Pupil Welfare: Ensures the well being of all children and staff, monitoring liaison with support services.

Personnel: Oversees all staffing matters, including the School’s Pay Policy, Performance Management and appointments of staff.


Premises and community: Sets strategic medium to long term plans for School maintenance and minor improvements using funds delegated to the School. The committee is also responsible for Health and Safety matters.

School Governing Body

Mr P Jenkins ~ Chair

Mrs D Williams ~ Vice Chair

Mrs F Williams ~ Clerk to Governors

Mrs K Woodfield ~ Head teacher

Mr C Atkins ~ Teacher Governor

Mrs S V Scott ~ Staff Governor

Mrs M Billen ~ LEA Governor

Ms H Morgan ~ Co-opted Governor

Mr D Williams ~ Co-opted Governor

Mr G Davies ~ Co-opted Governor

Mr S Hain ~ Parent Governor

Mr I McAlister ~ Parent Governor

Mrs Ceri Anderson ~ Parent Governor

Mr J Gould ~ LEA link Governor

Mrs H M Jones ~ Deputy Head Teacher (Non-voting)


Equal Opportunities We build equality of opportunity into all that we do, with pupils and with staff

We have developed our school as a place where all are valued and respected We provide equality of opportunity in our employment practice We provide learning and development opportunities for all our staff to enable us to fulfil

our commitment to equality We take any complaints about inequality seriously

High expectations, high achievements

The broad and balanced curriculum will stimulate your child to acquire knowledge and develop

individual skills. Children’s achievements are celebrated and everyone enjoys success and praise regularly during their time in school. We encourage children to become independent and confident in both their work and social development. The children are taught by their own class teacher in mixed ability classes with children of approximately the same age. The staffing complement for each class in KS1 is a fully qualified teacher and a trained teaching assistant/Nursery Nurse. Every classroom is fully furnished and equipped with the highest quality learning resources which include computers. The class teacher will get to know your child very well and will be pleased to involve you in their life at school. Children make progress at their own rates and in their own ways. It is important to value them as individuals and to provide learning opportunities that will build on their strengths and overcome their weaknesses.


The curriculum is broad and balanced and provides for the academic, moral, physical, creative and personal and social development of every child. In our schools today we recognise that learning consists of: • Acquiring knowledge • Understanding ideas • Perfecting skills • Developing good attitudes. In order for this to take place the children must: • Become involved with things that interest them • Be active in their learning • Be encouraged to work with each other • Make progress and be challenged in each area of learning • Be encouraged to think and act for themselves and become independent.

The National Curriculum Programmes of Study are divided into Key Stages:

The Foundation Stage

The Foundation Stage makes a crucial contribution to children’s early development and learning.

We provide children with a rich variety of teaching and learning experiences that are appropriate to their needs. The Foundation Stage is about developing key learning skills such as listening, speaking, concentrating, persistence and learning to work and co-operate with others. The six areas of learning that make up the Foundation Stage curriculum are: • Personal and social development • Communication, language and literacy • Mathematical development • Knowledge and understanding of the world • Physical development • Creative development The outdoor environment is also a very special part of the Foundation Stage curriculum. As such it is carefully planned for and available each day. The Early Years Department has its own specially equipped outdoor area/room which is used regularly.


The teaching to achieve these early learning goals will be through first hand experience and structured play. The areas of experience will be linked to the National Curriculum. The teacher and teaching assistant will keep records on children’s experiences and attainments. Assessments of development and learning needs will be ongoing throughout the school year. During the first half of the autumn term the teacher will carry out a baseline assessment for every child. This will establish where they are in aspects of their learning and development and help future planning. The results of this early assessment will be shared with parents at the parents evening in the autumn term. By the end of the year the teacher will have built up an accurate profile of the each child’s development. We encourage children towards reading, communication and mathematical skills from the very beginning. Much of this earlier learning is achieved through carefully structured play. Young children who cannot read or write often express their ideas and feelings through play. It is an important way of developing new skills and building up relationships with other children both individually and in groups. Reading is taught through a variety of different structured reading schemes supplemented with a wide range of other books. Books are organised in a structured, graded way to allow children many opportunities for consolidation of key vocabulary. We encourage parents to work with their child at home by hearing them read on a daily basis and through the children’s ‘Sharing and Learning Books.’ We are always pleased to discuss ways in which they can help their child at each stage of their reading development with parents.

Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7 years) and 2 (ages 8-11 years)

The core curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2 comprises:

English Mathematics Science Information Communication Technology (ICT)

Children also study the subjects below as part of the National Curriculum. These are called foundation subjects.

Art and Design Design Technology (DT) History Geography


Music Physical Education

Children are also taught Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education.

Religious Education Non-denominational Religious Education is provided for all children as part of the curriculum

and is in accordance with the local agreed County Religious Education syllabus. Assembly is an important part of the school day when we meet together as a community. It is a time when we place emphasis on the development of values and attitudes towards each other and the world around us. Assemblies are nondenominational and although they are of a broadly Christian nature due consideration is given to the multicultural society in which we live. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from religious education and collective worship should they so wish. If parents do not wish their child to be taught the agreed syllabus or take part in short acts of collective worship then they should inform us in writing. Their child can then be excused and suitable alternative arrangements made.

Teaching Methods

We use a wide variety of teaching methods according to the needs of the children and the

nature of the activity. They include whole class, small group and individual teaching. Children will usually be grouped according to ability and experience. The groups may be different according to the task and will be flexible to reflect individual strengths.

School times The nursery has one morning class from 8.50 am – 11.15 am Foundation Stage (reception) and Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) begin at 8.50 am, but the classes will be open from 8.45 am to allow parents to give quick messages to the teacher.

Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) begin at 8.50am. All classes finish at 3.20pm

We ask that parents arrive promptly to collect their children.


Extended Care We have a Breakfast club, which starts at 8.10 a.m. Further details can be found on our

website or by asking at the office.

Lunch times

Both Infant and Junior lunchtime is from 12.00 – 1pm. We like to encourage all our children to

have a school dinner. These are cooked on site, in our school kitchen, and from carefully planned nutritionally balanced menus which always include choice. The menus are published at the

beginning of each term. Prices of lunches are published termly in the school’s newsletter. Children may bring a packed lunch instead of having a school lunch.

Parents are asked to ensure that packed lunches are also nutritious and do not contain sweets. If you would like your child to go home to lunch we will ask you to put your permission for this in writing.

Teaching Policies and Planning

The school has a separate policy for each area of the curriculum. These documents have been

agreed by the Governing Body and Staff and relate to how each area will be delivered. Schemes of work relate to what is going to be taught in each particular age group. The staff has agreed long, medium and short term plans to ensure that all subjects are adequately represented both in terms of content and time during the course of the school year and across the Key Stage. Short term planning shows what is going to be taught over a weekly period. Within the medium term plans, certain areas are given much more time than others, this balance is redressed however, in the following half terms. Where it is not possible to integrate a particular subject then these are taught in discreet lessons.


Parents A good partnership with parents is vital to the school’s success as a learning organisation.

When parents and school work successfully together, the results have a positive impact on the child’s development and learning. This can be seen as two-way communication of information, knowledge and expertise. We ask our parents to ensure that their children attend school regularly and behave well when they are there. Parents often volunteer to come into school to help out but if this is not possible there are other ways to be part of the partnership: by taking an interest, supporting children with homework, talking about learning, reading at home, and attending events and assemblies.

We hold information meetings for all parents at the beginning of every new school year and there are regular meetings for parents to discuss their child with the class teacher. Records of Achievement (reports) are written at the end of the school year for every child and sent home to parents. Open days are held so you can tour the school whilst it is working.

The Clun Primary Parent/ Teacher Association (PTA) is another way to help school and get to know other parents. This is a fund raising association with lots of social and community events run on behalf of school. Parents also have representation on the Governing body.

We hope that all parents will enjoy our working relationship and, indeed, parents frequently tell us how much they will miss school when their children move on.

Admissions As a rule children are usually admitted to the Nursery class on their third birthday. This

depends entirely on the places available; parents are encouraged to visit the school before their child is registered.

Those parents who live outside the catchment area for Clyne who choose this school as their preferred placement must make written application to the Governing Body.


School Uniform We believe that the wearing of school uniform contributes to a sense of belonging to the

school community and helps to develop a sense of pride in our school. The agreed uniform is any combination of the following: Boys Girls Yellow polo shirt with logo Yellow polo shirt with logo Grey/ Black trousers or joggers Grey/ Black skirts, pinafore dresses, trousers or joggers Maroon round necked sweatshirt Maroon round necked sweatshirt Sensible shoes Sensible shoes Polo shirts and sweatshirt are available to order from the school. Additional pieces of school uniform are also available to order, please ask at the school office.

Please note: no jeans, no jewellery, no tattoos, no braids, no nail polish.

Although we have no dress code for coats, we would like to point out that light coloured coats or those with reflective bands or strips are safer in the winter when it is dark by home time.

All children will need to bring a coat to school for outside work and play.

Clothes for Physical Education Children will require a change of clothing, consisting of a T-shirt and shorts for all PE and

Games lessons. All children will require a change of soft-soled shoes plimsolls; for indoor PE or trainers for outdoor games. Children are also encouraged to bring a sweatshirt and joggers for PE during the winter months.


Curriculum Arrangements for Additional Learning Needs

Children who have been identified as having learning or behavioural difficulties are placed on

the Additional Learning Needs register in line with the Code of Practice. Children who have a statement of Additional Learning Needs will receive individual or small group help for part of the school day, within their classroom, or a quieter area within the school building. Those who do not have a statement have an Individual Educational Plan developed by the SENCO (co-ordinator) and the class teacher. All IEP sae discussed and shared with parents at the termly open evenings. All children who have been identified by the class teacher and through an annual audit as having A.L.N. are fully integrated into mainstream classes. Disability – see statement

Pastoral Care Arrangements

The school strives to create an atmosphere that will allow pupils a feeling of care, friendship,

warmth and security. Every member of staff accepts this aim, with the over-riding responsibility being that of the Headteacher. Records of the children’s medical records are kept comprehensively in the School Office. Whenever necessary, the school liaises with other caring agencies, e.g. School Health Visitor, Education Welfare Service, School Psychological Service, Social Services, Dentist, Nurse, and Speech Therapist. Minor accidents are dealt with in the school by qualified First Aides but accidents of a more serious nature and needing medical attention are notified to the parents/guardians/carers. Occasionally an accident occurs when it becomes necessary to take a child to hospital. If parents cannot be contacted, a member of staff will accompany the child to hospital. Parents will be contacted if a child receives a bump to the head however small, and will be wearing a sticker or bracelet when they come home. Children will also bring home an accident slip informing their parents of any accidents that may have occurred during the school day requiring a form of first aid.


Medication

If a child has to take prescribed medicines, we require you to complete a written request form.

No medicine will be administered to a child in this school without written authorization from the parent/guardian/carer. This is due to reasons of safety and is in the best interest of your child. If medicines need to be sent to school and returned home at the end of the day, then it is the responsibility of the parent/guardian/carer to ensure it is collected. All medicines will be kept in the Head teacher’s office or School Office.

School Discipline

We firmly believe that any rules of discipline should be for the general well being, happiness

and safety of the children. The Headteacher, assisted by all the staff is responsible for the discipline of the school as a whole, while the teachers accept particular responsibility for the discipline within their own classroom. This is maintained by staff and pupils entering into a co-operative, responsible relationship with each other. Positive behaviour is celebrated as part of our ‘certificates assembly’ on a weekly basis. However, when rules are broken through misbehaviour, the staff attempt to listen to both sides carefully with a clear view to restoring relationships. Children will be punished where necessary; privileges can be and are withheld. Serious or persistent misbehaviour is always brought to the attention of parents who will be involved in the establishment of achievable targets in order to improve specific areas of misbehaviour. Seriously unacceptable behaviour e.g. where a child is a danger to others results in an Exclusion as and when merited by the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher (in the absence of the Headteacher.)


Attendance

Parents are asked to notify the school beforehand, if the children are required to leave the

school during the day. Children’s attendance is monitored daily by the school and home visits are made by the Education Welfare Officer in the event of long term unexplained absences. All pupils are expected to arrive punctually at school and leave promptly at the end of the school day. Absences should be explained to the school through personal contact, a note or a telephone call. Attendance information for the recent academic year is commented upon in the Annual Governors Report to Parents.

Charging and Remission Policy

Wherever possible, we try to arrange visits for our pupils, relevant to the learning taking

place in school. In principle, all educational visits should be freely available to all children. Parents will however, be asked to make voluntary contributions to cover the cost of entrance fee for educational visits. This is in line with the policy provided by the LEA and accepted by the School’s Governing Body. Goodwill is necessary if activities are to continue. The school will at all times try to keep financial requests to a minimum, without restricting the range of educational experiences offered.


Finally

We would be delighted to welcome you on a visit to our fantastic school. All schools are very

different and choosing the right one for your child is not an easy task. We wish you every success in finding the school that best suits your child’s unique personality, interests and learning needs. NB: The information in this booklet was correct at the time of going to print


Documents

Clun Primary Prospectus 2011