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Longlevens Infant School

A message from the Headteacher

Choosing the right school for our children is one of the most important decisions

we make as parents. We hope that the information you receive today will help you

make that decision. At Longlevens we are confident that your child will have an

exciting, fun filled three years that will instil them with a love of learning, an

enthusiasm, curiosity and motivation that will enable them to be outstanding

independent learners. As well as this we want all our children to be good citizens

with core values that foster a caring, thoughtful and reflective attitude to the world

around them, the people they meet, creatures they encounter and the

environment. Our recent Ofsted inspection in March 2018, recognised that our

school is “... ambitious for every pupil to achieve the very best standards. (It) has

tackled weaknesses to raise achievement “.

We want you as parents and carers to join with us as partners in this vision.

We look forward to working with you.

Kerry Cunningham

EYFS Family Tree Morning

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Our Drivers

Our drivers underpin everything we do here at Longlevens Infant School.

Our drivers shape our curriculum, how we communicate with each other

and drive the very high standards that we all aspire to.

All of us Together– The family of Longlevens Infants School. We are all in this

together. We have a growth mindset and an understanding that anything is possible.

Child Centred– Activating Joy and playfulness, attuned staff, that affirm understand

and recognise using the right words, a talking school where children feel listened to and

understood, where they develop the language to confidently articulate their ideas. This

alongside a broad spiral curriculum that encourages curiosity, independence and engage-

ment building strong foundations for the acquisition of the knowledge and skills needed to

be lifelong learners.

Creativity– Enriched Environments both inside and out, a curriculum that allows

children to express themselves through their individual talents but that is also exciting,

providing new opportunities and freedom for children. Developing their imaginations and

applying their skills using their knowledge and understanding to make links across different

subjects and genres.

Community– A family place that is fun, happy and safe, with people that respect

each other, understand what is expected of them through the learning powers, feel they

belong, are heard, see themselves and are seen as a

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Pupil Premium

The government introduced the Pupil Premium Grant in April 2011. This grant is additional

to main school funding. The Government believes that the pupil premium, which is in

addition to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying

inequalities between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their wealthier peers

by ensuring that funding reaches the pupils who need it most. The ultimate aim is to ‘close

the gap’ between pupils from different backgrounds.

Although all children in the Infant phase are currently entitled to a free meal this is different

to the FSM entitlement and we would urge you if you are in receipt of benefits to sign up

and ensure the school receives the extra funds to provide for your child’s needs.

Here at Longlevens Infant School, the parents/carers of eligible children work with us to

determine what will best enable their child to meet their potential.

SEND

At Longlevens Infant School we provide additional classroom support, small group focused

support, a pastoral support team which includes a learning mentor to help those at risk of

not achieving their potential. We also have a specialist artist who works in school on

enrichment activities.

If your child needs extra support we will endeavour to meet their needs through our careful

provision mapping and in partnership with you. The parents and carers.

Ofsted report March 2018 “Initiatives to help pupils catch up are having a strong impact in

improving outcomes”.

Hot School Meals

In September 2014 it became statutory for schools to provide a hot school meal each day

for Infant pupils. This is known as Universal Infant Free School Meals. Here at Longlevens

we have our own dedicated kitchen providing meals for our children which was built during

the summer 2014. We encourage all our children

to have a hot meal each day. Special dietary needs

are catered for.

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School Improvement

The school is committed to providing the best possible opportunities for the children in our

care and this means constantly striving to be the best we can be for the children and

families we serve.

This year our priorities for improvement are:

Maximising high quality distributed leadership across the school community in order to secure consistency in provision in a strengthened workforce.

Revising the curriculum to ensure it meets the schools vision and aims and prepares children for future learning.

Create an atmosphere that supports whole school ownership of Be Ready, Be Respectful and Be Safe .

Recognising our PSHCE curriculum as a core subject that develops and celebrates our diversity as individuals as well as a community.

Fun With Friends

Fun with Friends is our Breakfast and After School Club provision which runs Monday to

Friday in term time. The club is a vibrant and happy environment for the children. They offer

snacks, special occasion celebrations, outdoor play/big toys/bikes, story time, arts and

crafts, constructive play and character and friendship building.

Ofsted : ‘The breakfast and after-school club provide good-quality care for working families.

Pupils start and end the school day in a safe, secure and welcoming environment.

Ofsted report: March 2018

A Science Experiment

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School Context

Longlevens Infant School is a four form entry Infant School. This means we have 120 children

in each year group, 30 children per class. Reception (EYFS), Year 1 and Year 2. The school is

located on the northern outskirts of the historic city of Gloucester. The school has strong

links with the local community, with our pre school providers and with our partners at the

Junior School.

Motto

All of Us Together in Forest School

Partnerships

The school has an experienced Governing Body who help the leadership by challenging and

supporting the school in its aim to make the school outstanding. To become a parent

member of the Governing Body you must be democratically voted into office.

We also have a very strong Friends of Longlevens Infant School who help raise valuable

funds for projects the school cannot afford from its own delegated budget. Last year they

helped us fund our new iPads. They also bought new staging for our legendary

performances and bought additional resources for the classrooms, these are just a few

things they have helped us with.

Everyone with a child at the school is automatically a member of our Friends. They have

several events throughout the year and are always looking for fresh ideas.

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Admission

Children come to Longlevens Infant School from many different pre-school settings. We

work closely with pre-school settings, meeting on a termly basis and working alongside our

colleagues to ensure our children are ready to start school.

In Gloucestershire children are admitted to school at the beginning of the school year in

which their fifth birthday falls. The Local Authority (LA) is the admissions authority and

manages all admissions to local authority maintained schools. The LA send out a letter which

asks you, as parents and carers, to complete a preference form. This must be completed

even if you already have children at the school. Under the terms of the Education Act (1980),

any parent who has been refused a place for their child has the right of appeal. The details

of this are made clear when you receive the letter/email informing you which school your

child has been allocated.

Induction

If you choose Longlevens Infant School and we sincerely hope you do, to help our new

Reception Children settle at school we have a fun and comprehensive induction programme

to make their start of school as smooth as possible. This programme includes:

Information meetings for new parents

Pre-school visits we aim to make contact either face to face or via a phone call with every child’s pre school provider

Welcome booklets for both parents and children with a free nursery rhyme CD to enjoy together.

School based sessions for the children during the summer term including Teddy Bear Story Time sessions and picnics.

Home Visits.

Reception children have a short part time induction in September, but are quickly introduced into school on a full time basis. The structure of the part time induction is reviewed year on year .

The children spend three years with us: Reception which is part of the Early Years Foundation Stage, Years 1 and 2 which are part of Key Stage 1. Following this time most of our children move onto Longlevens Junior School (LJS) who we work closely with to ensure a smooth transition for our children to Key Stage 2.

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The School Day

The bell goes and doors open at 08:50 and the day starts 09:00

09:00-11.45/12.15 Curriculum Time

11.45– 13.15 Lunchtime (This is staggered so each year group has 1 hour.)

13.00/13.15— 15:00 Curriculum time

15:00 end of the school day.

Fun With Friends

The school has their own Breakfast and After School club in The Studio

07.30-08.55 Before school

15:00p.m.— 18:00 after school

Our curriculum is broad and balanced with an emphasis on Creativity, Child Centred and

Community based learning which provides active and inspirational teaching and learning,

ensuring the basics of Reading, Writing and Maths are firmly embedded. Beyond this the

school has much to offer. We have lots of extra curricular opportunities outside the school

day with a variety of clubs, dance–creative and country, athletics, football, art, cross county,

choir, Pyjama Drama, roaring rugby, cricket and Multi-sports to name a few!

We have peripatetic drumming and violin lessons available. We also have our own Forest

School area on site; this has been named ’Go Explore’ by the children. As an Artsmark Gold,

a Sing Up Gold school and a Music Mark school, there is a strong tradition of performance

here whether it’s the Reception Nativity, Year 1 concert, Year 2’s end of year performance,

taking part in exhibitions, taking part in the Shakespeare Festival, singing carols at the

Co-op, performing at one of the dance festivals; there is so much to get involved with.

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Golden Rules Behaviour and Safety

The school is committed to instilling in our children a set of core values and respect of each

other, our school, the community and society at large. The behaviours we expect are taught

explicitly through value based assemblies, the curriculum in Personal, Social, Health and

Citizenship Education (PSHCE) and are modelled by all the staff. We always seek to positively

reinforce and reward positive behaviour. We have quiet, walking corridors which all

members of the community are encouraged to uphold.

To help guide our children we use just three rules and apply all our behaviour teaching

around this model:

Be ready

Be respectful

Be safe

The school has a strong anti bullying and behaviour policy and uses restorative approaches

to help keep children on track with their learning and not to be distracted by unacceptable

behaviour. We encourage children to make the right choices. This system rewards as well as

sanctions behaviour.

Good behaviour is rewarded in many ways in class, and is based on teaching our children the

right attitudes and dispositions through our learning powers. We also praise children’s

efforts with stickers and verbal feedback. We hold a weekly ‘Celebration of Work‘

Assembly where good work and behaviours are recognised through a presentation by the

Senior Leadership Team. Parents of the children who are chosen for the ‘Celebration of

Work’ Assembly are invited to come along on the day.

‘Celebration of Work’

Assembly

to Win It’

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Longlevens Primary Partnership

We work in partnership with Longlevens Junior School in order to ensure that the children

have a smooth transition and a complete primary experience. Whilst both schools remain

independent of each other we work closely together on joint projects involving children and

staff.

Team building

activities

The school is an Artsmark Gold

School. A piece by Year 2.

Gloucester Schools Partnership

The school is a strategic partner in the GSP a

family of schools in the Gloucester area which

work closely together on whole school improve-

ment, procurement ventures and events for

children. Our children regularly take part in

Science Festivals, Sports Competitions, Dance

Festivals, Pupil Conferences, the Shakespeare

Festival and Art Exhibitions. The GSP works hard

to broaden children’s cultural experiences

across the city and we are proud to be a key

partner in this work.