Carlton Staff and Governors

Headteacher:   Miss V Hall Be.d(Hons), NPQH
Chair of Governors:   Mr A Arnold
Vice Chair:  Mr D Todd

Education Authority  Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Director of Children and Family Services:
Edna Sutton
Education Offices, Berneslai Close                           Barnsley  S70 3HF
    
Assistant Headteachers:Mrs. B. Stathers  Cert. Ed.  Reading Recovery Cert.
                  Mrs. C. Minett  B.A. Cert. Ed.
Mrs. J. Smith B. Ed. Hons

Teachers:            Mrs. J. Crow B. Ed. Hons
                  Miss J Cleverly B.Ed Hons.                  
                  Mr. R. Smith B.A.Q.T.S.
                  Mr. R. McGilligan B.A.(Hons.) P.G.C.E.
                  Miss H. Warren (PGCE)
                  Mrs. L. Horsley B.A.Q.T.S.
                  Mr. G. Elliott B.A.Q.T.S.
              Miss K. Connor B.A.Q.T.S.
 
Clerical Assistant: Mrs. J. Murray
                  Mrs. A. Briscoe

Cover Supervisors:Mrs D. Liptrot HLTA
Mrs D. Greatorex
Mrs H. Harrison HLTA
Mrs L. Arnold N.N.E.B.

Teaching Assistants:Mrs C. Cox
Mrs J. Harwood
Mrs S. Murray
Mrs L. Cottrell
Miss D. Sagar
Miss E. Hinchliffe
 
Nursery Nurses:   Mrs. J. Pickersgill N.N.E.B.
                  Mrs. C. Green N.N.E.B.
                  Miss. S. Cox N.N.E.B.

Parent Governors:   Mr. A. Allonby
                    Mrs. J Cook
                        Mrs J Schofield 
                    Mrs. A. Mallin
Community Rep        Mrs C Whitehall
                        Mrs R Gallienne

Teacher Gov. Rep:  Mrs. J. Smith
Staff Governor Rep:  Miss. D. Greatorex
 
Admission to School and Attendance
The school admits children according to the revised Code of Admission. Children whose birthday falls between -
a) 1st September and the last day of December 2007 can be admitted at the beginning of the Autumn Term, 2007.
b) 1st January and 31st. August 2008 are admitted at the beginning of the Spring Term (January 2008)
Under the new legislation, parents need to register their child for full time education at the school of their choice by November 14th 2008 if their child will begin School either in September 2007 or January 2008.  
Parents who wish their child to attend Foundation 1 (Nursery) need to register their child before they are three years old, in order to reserve a place for them. Please ring Miss. Hall on 722166 at school.
Visits to see the Foundation Unit (Nursery and Reception) and Key Stage 1 and 2 can be arranged by telephoning school to make an appointment.

School Hours:    
Morning Session      8.55 a.m. - 12 noon
Afternoon Session    1.00 p.m. - 3.15 p.m. (Key Stage 1 and 2)

Attendance                                                                                                     Regular attendance at school is essential for the sound education of all pupils. Whenever a child is absent from school for whatever reason, a phone call needs to be made on the first morning of the absence. This complies with the D.F.E.S. Regulations where absences are authorised for a variety of reasons. When messages are not received we are instructed to register the absence as         un-authorised.
There were 5.6% un-authorised absences and 0.8% un-authorised absences during the school year 2005/06, with 305 children on roll full time, and 58 children on roll in Foundation1 (Nursery), part time.

Punctuality
Punctuality at the beginning of the school day is vital as it shows children that parents value their learning. However, there may be certain times when this is not possible, in which case please ring school to warn us of lateness. In order to encourage regular prompt attendance there is a Class Attendance Trophy for Key stage 2 and a cuddly toy dog, called Carlton, which is the Class Attendance Trophy for Key stage 1 and the Foundation Unit. These trophies are presented in our Monday morning assembly, to the winning classes which have the highest percentage of attendance each week.

Holidays
Parents are strongly discouraged from taking children out of school for holidays during term time. All children within the school are given assessments at the end of each term, the spring and early summer Terms in particular, and holidays can be very disruptive of learning progression within their class group. Parents need to fill in a Holiday Form to request their child’s absence during term time, giving their reasons. Under new legislation schools are being strongly encouraged to improve attendance each year. Parents are asked to comply with ensuring good attendance for their child, and to try and avoid holidays in term time. We are unable to authorize any holidays in the first half term of any academic year, and between February half term and the SATS period. Each application for holiday will be assessed in line with the child’s current attendance level.

School Organisation

Appointments and Open Evenings
Parents can see teachers briefly before the beginning of the school day during Morning Task Time at 8.45 a.m. or for a longer talk at 3.15pm when all other children go home. If you would like a lengthy discussion, please write or telephone for an appointment. Open Afternoons and Evenings for parents are arranged in the Autumn and Spring Terms when you can discuss your child’s progress in more detail. At the end of the Summer Term all children will receive a full report on the progress they have made, with indications of what they need to do to improve their performance during the following year.

Arrival at School
When children arrive at school in the morning they wait and play on their own yard area before school begins at 8.55a.m. or go into school with an accompanying adult to undertake a Morning Task. The school accepts responsibility for the children from 8.55a.m. Foundation 2 (Reception) children along with all Key Stage 1 children (Infants) wait with their parents on the patio area outside their classroom. Although the staff are on the premises they need time to prepare their classrooms before school begins. All Key Stage 1 and Foundation Stage children must be collected at the end of the school day by a responsible adult, and are kept safe within their classroom until parents arrive to collect them.

Teaching time.
There is a total teaching time of 24 hours 10 mins in Key Stage 2, and 23 hours 25 mins for Key Stage 1.

School Meals
School meals, which are prepared on the premises, are available each day at a cost of £1.70 per day. We offer a Cashless System for dinners. Dinner money can be paid into our cash machine located next to the Key Stage 2 entrance. Your child will be given their individual PIN number to enable you to check on any payments made.

Healthy Snacks and Drinks Tuck Shop
A Tuck Shop is run by the Year 6 children in the large dining room at morning playtime as part of the Healthy School Scheme. Please do not send your child to school with sweets. All children in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 receive free fruit daily.

School Security
The school has push button locks on doors to maintain control for security purposes, and the Health and Safety Policy Document gives strict guidelines for everyone who works within the school. The Fire Service has given advice recently about security measures and were impressed with the security actions we have taken.
Parents are asked to close all external doors at all times when leaving the premises, so that our children are safe.
Whilst welcoming all parents and visitors to school we are ever vigilant in maintaining the health and safety of our pupils, staff, parents, governors and all visitors to school. As a result we ask everyone who comes to school to visit to sign in at the main office so that we know who is on the premises and can comply with Health and safety and Fire regulations.
 

Our Curriculum
At Carlton Primary School we believe that we offer a broad and balanced curriculum which both excites our learners and ensures they develop essential kills for lifelong learning.
We aim to enable our learners to develop a wider view of the world and at Key Stages 1 and 2 use the International Primary Curriculum to support this.
Through the use of this skills based curriculum our children learn through themes or projects that link together different subject areas (history, geography, design technology, drama, art and music) to provide a more cohesive learning opportunity. The themes include Chocolate, Astronomy, Explorers, Dinosaurs, Holidays etc and, uniquely to this curriculum, include international social skills as a key element to help our children to develop essential understanding of other cultures and countries.

Throughout school and Foundation Unit the curriculum is planned as teams of staff together and delivered appropriately for the needs of the abilities within each class group. Various strategies are used – whole class teaching, group teaching and individual work where necessary. 
Alongside our themes we teach English, Maths, RE, PE, Spanish and Science as separate subjects and link these with our themes wherever appropriate. 
We believe that if lessons are stimulating and challenging with appropriate high expectations for each child this leads to positive and rewarding stimulus to improve further. Personal self-esteem, appropriate praise from teachers and peers with rewards encourage everyone to work hard.

English
Speaking and Listening
All children are encouraged to express themselves confidently and clearly. They are taught to listen carefully and to recall and represent important elements of what they have heard. Understanding that others may have opinions different from their own and learning to respect this fact is also important.
Reading
Carlton School has a carefully structured approach to the teaching of reading, along with the full implementation of the national Literacy Strategy. We use the core scheme of the Oxford Reading Scheme along with a wide variety of other books to give width and breadth in their reading.
The teaching of phonics is very thoroughly taught and this helps children to develop confidence of using strategies to read new words and a wide sight vocabulary.
We like children to share books with their family, within school and at home on a regular basis, and books need to be returned promptly back at school so that different literature is experienced and enjoyed the next time.
Writing
Children receive various kinds of motivation to stimulate them to write. Teachers carefully plan opportunities for pupil to develop writing skills many of which arise from encouraging and promoting oral skills incorporating a suitable vocabulary, spelling and grammar structure as a very necessary skill for life. Learning to manipulate words can develop a love and delight in controlling their thoughts from pen to paper is enjoyable and rewarding.
Handwriting
Handwriting is taught throughout school linked to a scheme based on the Dyslexia Friendly Strategies, introducing joined letters throughout Key Stage 1 and early Key Stage 2. Ink pens are introduced from year 3 onwards, when appropriate. All pupils are encouraged to develop a clear, even and legible joined up style and in upper Key Stage 2 children develop the ability to select their handwriting style for a range of different purposes from rapid note taking to presentation styles for “finished” work.

Mathematics
This important core subject is taught through the National Numeracy Strategy where children are grouped according to ability to understand the various concepts. Developing lively, enquiring attitudes with sound understanding towards investigations and problem solving is a strong feature of the school. We believe that developing agile minds which can mentally calculate with strategies to decide through estimating whether an answer is reasonable or not, is a necessary life skill for everyone. Developing confidence, in oral skills as well as mental skills, is taught in class every day as part of the daily mathematics lesson.
 
Science
All children have a natural curiosity for everything, which happens around them, and Carlton School plans carefully to further stimulate the enquiring minds of our children. A practical, discovery approach with themes around science topics, which connect to other curriculum subjects, helps children to make sense of what they learn. Asking and answering questions is an important element in developing scientific minds, and lessons give opportunity for children to investigate and experiment, think logically and reason their thoughts verbally to others. Science is taught through separate subjects and also in a cross curricular manner with appropriate links to other areas of study.
 
Information Technology
Carlton School has a suite of eighteen computers connected to the Internet as part of the National Grid for Learning, where the skills of computers can be taught as a whole class, or for children to work individually or in small groups. These are linked to computers within each classroom unit as well as mini-suites between each pair of Key Stage 2 classes. Mini-suites of computers are also provided in every Key Stage 1 class. All classrooms have an interactive whiteboard and there are two networked P.C.s in the Foundation Unit.

Music
We have long standing sound traditions in music, with regular concerts and plays, which are enjoyed by parents and governors at the school. Peripatetic tuition for flutes, clarinets, guitar and piano take place weekly. All children who take on this commitment are expected to practice at home and to attend regularly. We have also had the opportunity for the last two years to offer all of our Year 4 children free tuition in a brass instrument.

Physical Education
Individual achievement and effort, and developing personal skills form the major part of our physical education programme. Children are expected to work individually, in pairs and small groups as well as participating in whole teamwork activities cooperating together. There are six elements in this subject – Games skills, Gymnastic activities, Dance, Athletic activities, Outdoor adventure activities and Swimming.
All children are expected to bring their P.E. kit on Monday and leave it in school until Friday when it can be taken home to be washed. This ensures that children have their necessary clothing for P.E. ready to use.

All Year 4 children take part in swimming activities at Royston Pool, where they receive instruction from qualified swimming teachers. We expect parents to support children in this activity, as learning to swim is an invaluable life skill. There is no charge for lessons, which take place in the Autumn and Spring Terms.

All children are required to participate in P.E. activities unless there is a sound medical reason for withdrawal, in which case a Doctor’s note will be needed. All indoor P.E. is performed in bare feet, and all jewellery, including ear-rings, studs and necklaces must be removed. Children will need the appropriate kit, T- shirt (white), black shorts or gym skirt, along with jogging bottoms during winter months for outdoor games. It is advisable for children to have a P.E. kit bag to keep their things tidy. All P.E. clothing should be clearly named, and brought to school on Monday each week so that their kit is available during the week. It can be taken home for washing on Friday afternoon.

The school is fortunate in having two very large halls for games and P.E. activities. Also there is an extensive playing field, which is used for football, cricket, rugby, rounders and athletics. From time to time trainers from Barnsley Football Club and local cricket enthusiasts give training support in these skills. The school believes that children should play games in a friendly manner where good sportsmanship prevails.
 
R.E.
Carlton School follows the Barnsley RE syllabus as recommended by the D.F.E.S. We are a non-denominational school and invite visitors into the school to take part in assemblies and talk to the children to promote a broad understanding of the spiritual, cultural, and moral development of children and for them to be able to acknowledge that we live in a predominantly Christian culture. We feel that children need to develop an understanding of and tolerance towards other religious cultures and faiths as well as learning about how other societies interact socially and spiritually. 
Daily assemblies take place where the whole school, or separate Key Stage groups give opportunity for children to experience a sense of awe and wonder of a spiritual dimension. Our Golden Awards Assembly gives opportunity for all children and staff to celebrate the successes within our school, and these are held every Thursday.
Parents who wish to withdraw their child from assemblies and religious education lessons should speak to the Headteacher.
  
Physical, Social, Health and Citizenship education Sex Education
Keeping ourselves healthy and safe is an area of learning covered by all age groups. This includes sex education, which is taught appropriately to the age and receptability of the children, and an ongoing approach throughout Key Stages 1 and 2. All age groups are given opportunities to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to Citizenship.

In the Summer Term of Years 5 and 6 the School Nurse comes into school to present three DVDs, talks and discussions as part of a health programme for those who are about to leave for Secondary Education. One of these talks is specifically about puberty, and parents are invited to view the film beforehand so that they can discuss it with their child if they wish. Parents who wish to exclude their child from this will need to talk to the Headteacher.
The school has active Class Councils and a School Council – where representatives from each class meet regularly to discuss issues. These meetings are minuted and fed back to classes, staff and, when appropriate, the Governing Body.

Pupils have been trained as Buddies and Peer Mediators to promote citizenship and care within the school. Buddies and Peer Mediators have very responsible jobs of helping to care for other children at playtimes and lunchtimes. They are skilled at befriending children, looking for and including “lonely” children and dealing with squabbles etc. 

Homework and Assessment
Homework
Providing regular homework for all pupils is Carlton School’s Policy regarding homework. All children at Key Stage 1 are given regular reading homework, and at Key Stage 2 children receive specific homework tasks to do. This is to encourage independent learning with revision of what has been taught during the school day. Regular homework helps children in their achievements in school, and the part parents play in encouraging this helps children considerably.

The Government has recommended that for Yrs. 1 and 2 one hour per week is appropriate, and for Yrs. 3 to 6 one and a half hours per week. Children are also expected to read for 10 to 20 mins each evening, from a wide range of materials to widen their knowledge. Parents are expected to support their child in this, by taking them to a library, talking with their child about what they have read, and need to read. Returning certain homework assignments and reading books to school is important. If there are problems regarding your child and their homework please talk to their class teacher so that we can help.

Assessment
All children’s work is carefully planned and monitored throughout the school, and our record system of progress is accessible for all teachers as children progress from year to year. Information concerning each child’s progress helps in planning appropriate input for all subjects, both in the ‘core subjects’ of English, Mathematics, Science and ICT, but in all other areas as well. Details of children’s attainment in core subjects follow each child to their new classes each year and thence to secondary school so future needs can be provided for appropriately in this new school.

National Assessment
All children each year take part in assessment regarding the National Curriculum:-
      Optional SATs at Yr. 3, 4, 5
      Statutory SATs at Yr. 2 (age 7 yrs), and Yr. 6 (age 11 yrs.)

Parents are strongly advised to ensure that family holiday arrangements do not disrupt their child preparing for, and taking part in SATs, as the information received helps to promote focused input for their child in subsequent years. 

As from September 1991, schools have been requested to publish information relating to the National Curriculum. The following tables are for your information regarding this.

2007 Results:
Key Stage 1                                                       L2 and AboveL2b and AboveL3 and AboveL2 Target
Reading 81%  69%       21%       86%
Writing  81%  60%        19%       83%
Maths  95%  76%        14%       90%
 
Key Stage 2                                                         L4 and AboveL5 and AboveL4 Target
English   81%    31%       70%
Maths   83%   25%       70%
Science  89%   50%      85%
                      

Inclusion
Special Educational Needs
Carlton School has an inclusive policy and welcomes all children whatever their ability, and admission arrangements are the same as for all other children. We feel that the lives of everyone in the school are enriched by the wide variety of abilities and personalities we encounter naturally around us. Children are encouraged to value each other as everyone has some special gifts which need to be valued and celebrated by the whole school. 

If a teacher observes that a child may need extra help, they will discuss this with their parents and the Special Needs Co-ordinator, Mrs B Stathers. Thereafter certain measures and initiatives can be put into place to give them support, by use of a special individual education programme where the child will find success and develop their confidence in their achievements. Discussions with parents take place at regular meetings so that the process is shared and owned by all concerned.

Other professionals may be consulted for further advice and support and parents have knowledge of each stage as this happens. This could be one of several people:- Educational Psychologist, Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, or the Sight and Impairment Services. Eventually a child may have a Statement of Special Needs, with specific targets and extra help will be offered from a Teaching Assistant under the jurisdiction of their class teacher.  
  
If your child has a known learning difficulty or a long-term medical condition, which may affect them at school, please contact your child’s class teacher or Mrs. B. Stathers.

Access to the school
The school has wheelchair access by two doorways onto the infant playground, and also into the nursery, and the general layout is one level throughout KS1. There is also an additional ramped area to enter the Year 1 Class cloakrooms. 

However at KS2 there are steps down into the Key Stage 2 Dining Room from the main classroom areas, and an electronic lift for wheelchairs is provided. We also have a specially designed toilet with facilities for disabled children.

All Key Stage 2 fire doors and cloakroom areas now have a ramp facility for wheelchair access.

 
Enrichment Opportunities
Clubs
Carlton School organizes a variety of extra curricular activities, which reflect the interests of pupils and staff. Over the years these clubs have included: Football, Tri-Golf, Karate, Tag Rugby, Choir Club, Dance Club, Drama Club, Newspaper Club, Mad Scientist Club, ICT Club, Gardening Club and so on. The clubs are offered at differing times of the year and are advertised throughout school and on our weekly newsletter.

Before and After School Club
Carlton pupils are offered the provision of a club, which runs before and after school as well as during the school holidays. The Breakfast Club, starts at 7.30 and runs until 8.45 and provides pupils with a range of exciting practical games and activities to do as well as breakfast. Similarly after school – from 3.15 to 6.00 pupils are provided with different fun activities and a snack for “tea”. Visitors have assessed our provision to be very good and the numbers of pupils who attend are growing. A recent OFSTED report judges our club to be ‘good’ on the framework.

Educational Visits
We believe that learning through real life experiences is an essential part of the provision we offer. As part of this we regularly make visits to places of interest both locally and wider afield. We strive to meet the costs of many of these enrichment opportunities, and those that we can’t offer free of charge, we subsidize wherever possible and aim to keep costs at a minimum. Parents are asked to support these ventures as they provide excellent first hand experiences on which the learning within the curriculum is based. Parents are asked to give “voluntary contributions” towards the cost of some of these visits. Recent legislation on school visits has insisted that children whose parents do not pay for outings should be allowed to attend as well as those who do, but as there is no extra funding for such cases, the whole visit will have to be cancelled. Such a move, we hope will never arise, as we encourage parents to be sympathetic towards the value of involving children in first hand experiences and make every effort to support the school and their child.

Residential Visits
Key Stage 2 children are offered the chance of attending a residential visit for three to four days duration. Many parents find that this experience is very valuable to the emotional development of their child as they encourage self awareness, independence, responsibility and maturity by being away from the home environment for a short time. 

Forest School Facilities
We are fortunate to be able to offer our pupils Forest School activities in all year groups. Forest School activities are outdoor learning opportunities that take advantage of a forest or wooded environment. We have three members of staff trained in these strategies and have ran Forest School Adventure Days for all of our Foundation Stage children for two years. We are now able to roll this out for all year groups. We are able to take advantage of our superb grounds for these activities as well as regular visits to Silverwood at Silkstone.

Polytunnel
A recent addition in school has been our 50 foot polytunnel. Here we can offer different opportunities for our children to learn about the environment, sustainability and healthy lifestyles. The children can take advantage of this facility during playtimes and lunchtimes as well as planned learning activities as part of the timetable. The children sow seeds to grow fruit and vegetables, care for them and then harvest the produce to supply our own school kitchens. We often have small animals, chicks and ducklings for children to care for too.
 
Conduct
Discipline
All children are expected to conduct themselves in a manner, which shows respect for themselves, others with whom they come in contact, and the surroundings in which they learn. They are encouraged to think of Carlton School as ‘ours’ together and we all care responsibly for the place, which is our home during the day.

Ofsted commented on the high standard of behaviour within our school. Children are encouraged to accept responsibility for the rules and understand the reasons for them, and praise and rewards are given for acceptable behaviour. When problems occur children are counseled into reflecting upon their actions, and the consequences these actions have on others. Discussions takes place about ways to improve and ‘buddy’ support in helping this to happen is sometimes arranged.

Recognition for achievement and success in all areas including behavior is given through our weekly Golden Awards Assembly.
 
The Governors expect parents to assist teachers maintain high standards of conduct, by supporting the school in trying to promote good behaviour at all times. All children have a right to feel safe, receive respect, be treated fairly and honestly and as such they are expected to give similar responses towards others as well. The Code of Conduct information sheet at the end of this booklet sets down these expectations for you to read. Within this all parents have firm structures for upholding a sound moral code of behaviour for home if they insist their child upholds these at school.

Persistent misbehaviour requires parents to co-operate with the Headteacher and staff in establishing appropriate measures. In rare instances of extreme misbehaviour, the Headteacher and Governors may require that the parents pay for deliberate damage or even that the pupil be excluded from the school for a period of time. In all cases the Local Authority procedures are followed and ratified by the Governing Body. Payment for damage, which is deliberate, follows the L.A. guidelines for charges and remissions.


Our School Rules
We listen to people, we do not interrupt
We are honest; we do not cover up the truth
We are gentle,we do not hurt anybody
We try to work hard, we do not waste time
We look after property; we do not waste or damage things

Behaviour Policy
We aim to promote good behaviour at all times by ‘catching our children being good’ and rewarding them for this. At times when children choose not to keep our school rules we have a range of sanctions from having a quiet word through to exclusion, which we use only in extreme cases and following the authority guidelines.
Incidents of poor behaviour are recorded in our behaviour files for ‘Structured’, during lesson times, and ‘Unstructured’ during playtimes. The children’s actions are recorded three times at Blue Stage, three times at Yellow Stage and three times at Red Stage. At the end of each stage a letter is sent home to inform you of your child’s behaviour and you may be asked to meet with members of school staff to encourage an improvement.
Uniform and Equipment
Dress
The parents of Carlton School have chosen grey, white and red as their school colours and the pride in wearing them gives our children a family identity. We encourage a pride in belonging responsibly and insist that parents support their corporate decision in choosing a uniform policy in this way. All clothing should be named.
We have introduced a dress code for the children attending the Foundation Unit. The colour is different to that in the rest of school to ensure that all in school can identify the youngest pupils when they move around school.

Foundation Unit Dress Code:
Boys – navy jumper, navy or white polo shirt, comfortable trousers or shorts
Girls – navy jumper or cardigan, navy or white polo shirt, comfortable trousers, shorts or        skirt, summer dress
From Year 1:
Boys - grey or black trousers, white or red shirt/polo shirt, post box red jumper, indoor and outdoor shoes
Girls – grey or black skirt or pinafore dress, grey or black trousers, white or red shirt/polo shirt, post box red cardigan or jumper, indoor and outdoor shoes, tights

Embroidered jumpers and polo shirts with the school name and logo on the front are available from the Parent Council members on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, or from the school office.
 
Safeguarding
Child Protection
No adult is allowed to work alone with children unless they have a successful C.R.B. check, as recent legislation demands. All teachers, because of daily contact with the children are well placed to observe any outward signs of abuse, changes in behaviour or failure to thrive. Parents should be aware that when it appears to a member of staff that a child may have been abused or neglected or that a child discloses any form of abuse, the law, as part of the local child protection policy, requires the school to inform the Social Services Department.
The school is required by law to have a senior member of staff to be the Child Protection Officer – this is Miss V. Hall.

Illness and Injuries
The school requires up to date home contact telephone numbers in case a child is taken ill during the day, please keep us regularly informed if there are any changes to your telephone number. It is quite usual for a range of numbers of certain relatives to be given if parents work, so that someone can be contacted if a child needs to return home. If for any reason a child needs to attend hospital, and a relative cannot be contacted, then members of staff will contact paramedics, and the Secretary, Mrs Murray, will continue to attempt to contact with the parents in order for them to go to the hospital as soon as possible. Please inform us immediately if telephone contact numbers change. If help is required because of an injury on the school premises from falling etc. either before or after school, parents are requested to inform the Head-teacher, Miss. V Hall or Mrs. Murray, the Secretary. The main First Aid areas, where attention is given to injuries, are in the cloakroom areas and each staff-room.


 
Parents As Partners

Working Together
We value the partnership we have with all parents in school and actively seek ways we can work together for the benefit of all of our children. We have introduced many initiatives to support our partnership and welcome all new parents/carers to fully participate in the events we hold.

Parent Link Officer
We have a dedicated member of staff to promote the partnerships we have with all parents. Mrs Lisa Arnold visits all new families starting our Foundation Unit as part of the home visits provision we offer. Mrs Arnold is available to answer any questions you may have about your child stating school, how you can support their learning, and how you can play a part in school life.

Parent Council
We established our Parent Council in January 2005 as a forum whereby parents could meet with the Headteacher to discuss new initiatives for our school and any areas of our provision causing concern. We meet every half term and all parents are invited to attend. Creche facilities are available.

Parent Coffee Mornings
Mrs Arnold holds a Parent Coffee Morning every Friday morning in our Conference Room, to which all parents are welcome to attend. Often visitors are invited to attend our coffee morning to talk with parents about initiatives or events that may be important to them.

Morning Task Sessions
We offer morning task sessions for all children in school. You are invited to come into school to complete a task with your child. These sessions provide an opportunity for parents to talk to school staff as well as an enjoyable session for our children to work with you in school.
Please keep us informed about anything you feel may be affecting your child’s performance in school, so that we can respond effectively to their needs. If any items which belong to your child go missing, please inform the Class Teacher immediately; however the school cannot accept responsibility for personal possessions including jewellery, so parents are advised to take out their own insurance for such matters. All clothing etc. needs to be named if possible, as children can mistake similar garments with their own. School does have Lost Property Boxes in each cloakroom. Parents may wish to look in these if their child loses anything. Parents are requested to insist that their child is responsible for their possessions. All jewellery, including earrings need to be left at home.

Savings
We organize a Christmas Savings Club, for parents and staff, which runs all year and is paid out at the end of October. We also run a Credit Union facility for parents, staff and children, which also runs all year. Money can be paid into accounts on Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings.
Details of both of these saving schemes are available from the school office.

Information
Parents have the right of access to a variety of different documents. The availability to the public of documents in school relating to the ‘School Curriculum and Related Information’ is as follows:-
1. Copies of the L.E.A. Statements of Policy.
2. Copies of the Governors Statements of Curriculum Aims.
3. Copies of the statutory instruments, circulars and administrative memoranda sent to school by the D.F.E.S. and which relate to the curriculum.

These documents are available to read on request although they may not be removed from the school premises. Parents may request photocopies subject to a charge being made and also the relevant copyright regulations of the D.E.S. and the H.M.S.O.
 

Here is a list of the Holiday dates for the school year 2008 / 2009

Holiday DatesReturn to SchoolMonday 1st September
  
HolidayLast day in SchoolFirst day back in school
 
Half termFriday 24th October 2008Monday 3rd November 2008
 
Christmas HolidayFriday 19th December 2008Monday 5th January 2009
 
 
Half termFriday 13th February 2009Monday 23rd Februaury 2009
 
EasterFriday 3rd April 2009Monday 20th April 2009
 
May DayFriday 1st May 2009Tuesday 5th May 2009
 
 
Half TermFriday 22nd May 2009Monday 1st June 2009
 
Summer holidayMonday 20th July 2009
 


The information contained in this booklet refers to the school year 2008/2009. Although the information is correct at the time of publication, it should not be assumed that there will not be changes affecting described arrangements. All documents referred to are available at the school for inspection.
Should a parent wish to view the school, please ring 722166 to make an appointment to see Miss. Hall, so that she will be available to talk with you.