WHITCHURCHPRIMARY SCHOOL

PROSPECTUS

2017

WHITCHURCHCOMMUNITYPRIMARY SCHOOL

“WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE WHOLE CHILD”

PRINCIPLES

  1. Every child is a uniquelearner, they are resilient, capable, and creative
  1. Every child needs good relationships – children will learn to be strong and independent from a “base of loving and secure relationships” with Parents and Carers. Parents, Carers and Teachers will work in partnership.
  1. Every child needs a beautiful, safe and stimulating environment to support and extend their learning.
  1. Every child needs to learn in a exciting way and be allowed to “take risks” in order that they become enthusiastic, independent learners.
  1. Every child needs to develop and learn in different ways and at different rates, to the best of their ability.
  1. All areas of learning and development are equally important and inter connected

May 2017Inspired from Foundation Curriculum

AIMS – JULY 2O17

1. Ethos

At WhitchurchCommunityPrimary School:-

We will value and respect ourselves and others.

We will celebrate our achievements and encourage each other

We will understand how to keep healthy and how to take care of ourselves.

We will encourage our children to do their best.

We will promote independence in action and thought.

We will ensure all children and staff feel confident and safe

2. Curriculum

At WhitchurchCommunityPrimary School:-

We will offer a broad and balanced enhanced curriculum that is fun and exciting. It is carefully planned to meet the individual needs and interests of our children.

We will offer a curriculum that recognises children’s personal, social, spiritual and emotional needs.

3 Teaching and Learning

At WhitchurchCommunityPrimary School:-

We will set high standards for our teachers

We will have high expectations of all our children.

We will use a variety of teaching styles and approaches.

We will encourage our children to be enthusiastic and confident learners

We will engage parents in the children’s learning.

4. The Environment

At WhitchurchCommunityPrimary School:-

The learning environment will be welcoming, stimulating and sustainable.

5. Staffing and Management

At WhitchurchCommunityPrimary School:-

Leadership and Management will be fair, consistent and strong.

All staff will be inspired and motivated to develop professionally and be brilliant teachers

All staff will be listened to, respected and supported.

Resources will be of a high quality

6. Community and Global Community

At WhitchurchCommunityPrimary School

Staff, Governors and parents will work in partnership for the benefit of the children.

Staff and Governors will work with the Whitchurch Community to build a safe and caring community.

Staff and Governors will develop friendships and understanding with the local and wider international community.

We will communicate effectively with the community

Children’s School Aims

  1. We will learn to be kind and polite
  1. We will learn to take care of ourselves and be healthy
  1. The staff in school will help us learn
  1. We will have lots of brilliant equipment to use and we will look after it
  1. We will have opportunities to learn in lots of fun ways – ie we will try and do our best.
  1. We will try and make the World a good place to live and care about the environment

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School House Captains 2014

OUR SCHOOL

School Accommodation

The present main school buildings were opened in 1982 and provide a range of facilities, including five classrooms, a resource area, toilets, hall and administration accommodation. Further construction work provided three additional classrooms and toilet facilities and enabled the school to move, in its entirety from the centre of Whitchurch village to its present lovely green-field site in 1990. The school has been recently extended so that all classrooms are now in the main building, along with a new entrance area, new offices and a new library.

We have a well-equipped school. Each classroom has fitted carpets, its own interactive whiteboard and computers and are suitably resourced to meet the needs of our pupils.

The school currently has seven classes organised into year groups. We strive to keep our class sizes as small as possible.

Parking

We have no parking available for parents, who are asked not to bring vehicles into school, and to avoid parking near the school and not to park in School Road or the cul de sac part of Oak Road by the school path.

Joining Whitchurch

Catchment Area

We serve a catchment area which is largely focused upon Whitchurch, Bishopsmead and Redrow as well as the adjacent southern and eastern areas of Tavistock. Pupils also join us from a number of farms and villages further afield, such as Grenofen, Casey Town, Sampford Spiney and Middlemoor.

Admissions

Whitchurch is a very popular CommunityPrimary School. We offer 30 places for each new academic year. Where we have insufficient vacancies to meet the request for places, the Devon County Council admissions policy operates as follows:

  • brothers and sisters of pupils already attending WhitchurchCommunityPrimary School who live within the designated catchment area;
  • other children living within our catchment area;
  • brothers and sisters of pupils attending WhitchurchCommunityPrimary School who live outside our designated catchment area;
  • children who live outside this catchment area.

(This is a summary of our admission criteria. Full details are available from the school.)

Starting School

All maintained Devon schools have one entry point. All children start school in the September after they are 4. When your child starts school, there will be an induction programme. This involves parents and children coming into school together to get to know staff and routines. Children come in a term before they start school, for several sessions, to learn about the school. We also visit children in their pre-school setting and at home.

Secondary School Transfer

The procedure for transfer begins in the autumn term of your child’s final year in the school. It is advisable for parents to visit local secondary schools so that an informed choice can be made for your child. If you wish, this choice can be discussed with the Headteacher before forms are completed.

The majority of our pupils transfer to TavistockCollege at the end of their primary education. In recent years children have also joined Notre Dame R.C. School, St Boniface School, Mount Kelly, Devonport High School for Boys, Devonport High School for Girls, Plymouth High School, St Josephs and Callington Community College.

The Eleven Plus

To obtain entry into any of the selective schools in Plymouth, pupils must undertake the 11-plus examination. Most pupils who have sat this test in recent years have passed. It is very important that parents considering selective education should consult with the Headteacher prior to making their decision, so that the selection process, administration procedures and their implications are clearly understood.

Organisation

The School Day

School begins 8.45am

AssemblyVarious times - daily

Morning break10.30am-10.45 am

Lunch break12.15pm-1.15pm

Afternoon break2.00pm-2.10pm (KS1 only)

All classes finish at3.00pm

Attendance

Good attendance is clearly to your child’s advantage. If your child is absent, you should contact the school office by telephone before 9.30am on each day of absence. Messages left on the school answerphone should clearly state the child’s name, class, reason for absence and the caller’s name. If your child is absence through sickness for more than 5 days they will need a letter from their Doctor.

Devon County Council have issued a new policy that no child may take holidays during term time unless there are “exceptional circumstances”. Please discuss these with the Headteacher.

Our Education Welfare Officer (telephone 01822 614231) can be of assistance to parents should they experience problems affecting their child’s punctuality or attendance.

Punctuality

Learning begins immediately after registration when children have settled into their classroom. Late-comers may miss out on vital information and instruction. Please ensure that your children arrive punctually for school and are in the playground by 8.50 am.

If you have any serious difficulties getting to school on time, please discuss these with the Class teacher or Headteacher.

Clothing and Personal Property

Uniform

All children are expected to wear school uniform, which may comprise:

Grey skirt, dress, trousers, shorts or navy tracksuit bottoms

White blouse, shirt or polo shirt (blue or white)

School sweatshirt or cardigan

Blue check dress or (summer only)

Grey school shorts

Year 6 children may wear black trousers

Dark shoes – children need to wear shoes that are suitable for an active curriculum

Suitable boots may be worn but children will need to change into shoes/trainers for PE

Sun hat

Children also need to bring a coat to school every day

All of these items are readily available from high street stores. Some can be obtained from the school or from Tesco and carry the school logo. Order forms are available from the school office for the school sweatshirts or go online to order direct from Tesco.

In Foundation Stage and KS1 the children do daily physical activities; it is important that the clothes they wear are suitable for active learning. The children will change into their PE kit when they do apparatus work.

Physical Education clothing

In the interests of your child’s safety these items should be close fitting:

  • School navy t-shirt
  • Plain black or navy blue shorts
  • Trainers or plimsolls (lace-less for younger pupils) – if children wear sensible school shoes they usually do not need separate shoes for PE.
  • Plain navy blue or black sweatshirt or track top and bottoms
  • Named PE bag

Replica sportswear and expensive branded items should not be brought to school.

When children transfer from other areas we are happy for them to continue wearing their existing school clothes until they need replacing.

All clothes should be named. Sewn-in woven labels are recommended. It is helpful if an appropriate named bag could be provided to keep the children’s belongings together.

Some very young children may feel it necessary to bring ‘comfort toys’ such as cuddly dolls or cloths when they first join us. We fully appreciate and understand this need and are keen to help children settle quickly into school. Usually, Foundation stage children soon find that they no longer need this security and these can be abandoned. Should you feel that your child needs such comforters for a short while, please speak with the class teacher.

Children should not wear jewellery (other than ear studs or sleepers) or expensive items of clothing to school. We are unable to accept responsibility for loss or damage to personal property. Found property can be re-claimed from the lost property room in the WACY (After school club) hut.

The School Code of Conduct

We believe that your child’s education and behaviour are shared responsibilities between parents, children and school staff.

We expect high standards of behaviour from our pupils and encourage them to take responsibility for their actions. We expect children to behave in a kind, thoughtful, considerate, polite and safe manner at all times. If children have persistent or serious social or emotional difficulties, parents are contacted and we try to resolve the difficulties together.

School rules have been developed with our pupils and all of the staff. They are displayed around the school:

Our School Rules

  1. I will be kind
  1. I will be polite and honest
  1. I will take care of my school
  1. I will listen to adults
  1. I will be a good learner

Children are expected to behave well. They are encouraged in a number of ways, including verbal praise, certificates, house points and stickers. If a child finds it difficult to behave, we talk with them about their behavior and explain the consequences. If a child is consistently breaking the rules, we inform parents and work closely together to support the child. We actively work to reduce incidents of bullying.

Bullying is rare in our school. However, should any child feel that this is taking place, a member of staff should be informed straight away. Such concerns will be treated seriously. All incidents of bullying are recorded and immediate action is taken.

The House System

Every child and adult working in school is part of a house. We have six houses: Purple, Yellow, Blue, Red, Orange and Yellow. Children collect house points for good behaviour, being kind to others, working hard, producing good work and a good learning attitude. When a house has achieved 1,000 points, it will have a house award. This might be a Mufti day, a house party or an activity session. Individual awards and certificates are also awarded.

Every month, we have a House Meeting to discuss school issues and listen to the children’s views.

We run house mornings every half term where the children have the opportunity to work on different activities in their house eg cookery/PE/Woodland Project/Community work

WELFARE

Safeguarding our Children

Our school community has a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are our pupils. This means we have a Safeguarding Policy and Procedures in place. We ensure that all staff including our volunteers and supply staff are aware of our procedures. Parents and carers are welcome to read these on request.

Sometimes we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies when there are concerns about a child’s welfare. We will always ensure that our concerns about our pupils are discussed with their parents/carers first unless we have reason to believe that this is not in the child’s best interests.

Our Designated Child Protection Person is Angela O’Shea Warman and the deputy is Tracy Jasper.

Promoting Good Health

At Whitchurch we work closely with parents to ensure that we are encouraging children to care for themselves. We do this in many ways:

  • Children are encouraged to bring healthy snacks such as fresh fruit to school.
  • Allowing children to get outside is important so even if it is raining we take children out at playtime. It is crucial that children bring a coat to school every day.
  • At lunchtimes we have play leaders who organise games for the children.
  • All children are encouraged to bring a bottle of water to school. They may keep this in the classroom.
  • We teach children about healthy lifestyles in science, PE, PSHE and technology.
  • Children are taught about keeping safe in the sun.
  • Children are taught about keeping safe, e.g. road safety, taking responsibility, making good choices, internet safety
  • Children are encouraged to be active: walking to school, PE, active play time
  • We provide a hot balanced meal, locally produced and prepared by our kitchen staff

Health Care

We work closely with our school nurse on issues that affect each child’s development and performance in school.

If children become ill during the day, they may rest until we can arrange for them to be collected. In such cases we may need to contact parents quickly. Please make certain that we know your day-time telephone number and address and let us know if they change.

Medical Concerns

If your child suffers from any medical condition, please speak to the Headteacher and Class teacher. It is crucial that we fully understand how to take care of them.

Medicines

Children who are taking medicines should not normally be in school. In exceptional circumstances, prescribed medicines will be dispensed, but only with the prior agreement of the Headteacher and upon receipt of full written instructions. In exceptional circumstances we will administer Calpol providing a medicine permission form has been completed. No other medicine will be given. First aid is carried out by a qualified ‘First Aider’.

Meals

We work closely with our school cook to ensure healthy eating is encouraged, and lunches are prepared in our own kitchen. Currently all children in Foundation Stage, Year 1 and Year 2 are provided with a free hot meal every day. For children in Key Stage 2 it is a great help to us if money is paid on Mondays for the whole week. Payment may be made for the half-term or term in advance, if you wish. Cheques should be made payable to Devon County Council.

At lunchtime we run a family style lunchtime where children sit in set positions with children of mixed age groups – Year 5 and 6 children are servers.

If your child has special dietary needs, please discuss these with the school administrator.

Key Stage 2 children may bring a packed lunch. All lunches are taken in our school hall. Children may go home for lunch with the written consent of their parents. Cost of a meal is £2.50.

Snacks and drinks

Children may bring a bottle of water and a healthy snack, for example, cheese, fruit or vegetables. Crisps, chocolate or sweets should not be brought to school. A healthy fruit or vegetable snack is provided for Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1children.

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones are not allowed in school. If your child is walking to and from school on their own, and you wish them to carry a mobile phone then they must leave the phone in the office during the school day.