Welcome to Beechwood Junior School. Whether you are a visitor, parent - PDF document

Beechwood J unior School P rospectus 20 1 3 – 201 4 Page 2 Welcome Welcome to Beechwood Junior School. Whether you are a visitor, parent or pupil we hope that you will always feel welcome in our school. W e are very proud of Beechwood and of what it has to offer you and your children. We have a dedicated staff and governor team and we all want your child to become a valuable and learned member of our community. We hope that you find this prospectus a usef ul guide to Beechwood School. It has been designed to help you find out more and answer any questions that you might have. If you do have any further questions please don‟t hesitate to contact us! Yours sincerely Mrs Sue Rees Mrs Sarah Skeats & Head Teacher Mrs Delga Kavulok Co - Chair s of Governors Page 3 Contents Page Beechwood Aims and Values 4 Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment Statement 5 Admissions 7 - 10 Staffing 11 - 12 After School Clubs 13 Curriculu m 13 Disability Access 1 4 Equal Opportunities 1 4 Food in School 1 4 Governing Body 1 5 Homework 1 5 House Teams 1 5 How can Parents help? 1 5 Music 1 5 PSHE and Anti Bullying 1 5 Religious Education 1 6 Sandwiches 1 6 School Council 1 6 School Meals 1 6 School Results 1 7 School Rules 1 7 School Trips 1 7 School Uniform 1 7 SEN Statement 18 Sex Education 1 8 Support for your child 1 8 Health and Welfare including: 19 - Absence 19 - Holidays 19 - What to do if your child is unhappy 20 Results of End of Key Stage tests 2 1 Homework Guidelines 22 - 23 Essential documents 2 4 Page 4 Promoting Progress: Aims of the School When we promote progress we aim to:  Provide an exciting, challenging, enjoyable curriculum that teaches children the skills to be life - lon g learners  Develop a dedicated, inspirational teaching team who are totally focussed upon raising standards  Continually review and improve our practice to ensure that we are providing our children with the highest quality education  Work efficiently with ot her agencies  Provide a supportive, safe and secure learning environment where children thrive and feel valued  Provide opportunities for parents and the wider community to enrich our children‟s learning Our Values H ONEST Y E QUAL OPPORTUNITIES A CHIEVEMENT R ESPECT T EAMWORK These values are at the HEART of everything that we do. Page 5 SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND SAFER RECRUITMENT POLICY STATEMENT FOR BEECHWOOD JUNIOR SCHOOL “Beechwood Junior School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.” Page 6 Basic Information B eechwood Junior School is a n Academy and part of the Edwin Jones Trust of Schools Beechwood Junior School Juniper Road Bitterne SO18 4EG Telephone: 023 8022 7692 Fax: 023 8083 1148 Email: info@beechwoodjuniorschool.co.uk head@beechwoodjuniorschool.co.uk Office Hours: 8.00am - 4.30pm The School Day 8.30am Gates open 8.40am School s tarts 12.05pm Lunc htime 1.00pm Afternoon session starts 3.05pm School Day ends School starts at 8.40 am in the morning and 1.00pm in the afternoon. Children should aim to be at school 5 minutes before the start of the day but not earlier than 8.30am as there wil l be no staff on the playground to supervise them. Lateness is discouraged as children lose important learning time when they miss the start of the day. Breakfast Club is available from 7:30 am onwards. A healthy breakfast and fun activities are provided every day for £2.50. Help us to help your child to a successful future by aiming for 100% attendance! Page 7 Admission Policy for Community and Voluntary Controlled Junior Schools for 2014/15 Southampton City Council is the admission authori ty for all Community and Voluntary Controlled junior schools in the city. As required in the School Admissions Code the authority will consider all preferences at the same time for September 2014 admissions. Parents may express up to three (3) preferenc es for junior schools only, listing them in the order in which they would accept them. All preferences will be considered and where more than one school place could be offered, the parents will be offered a place for their child at the higher ranked of the schools that could be offered. Children with statements of special educational needs (SEN) or Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC Plans) that name the school Children with statements of special educational needs or Education, Health and Care Plans that name a school must be admitted to that school under the Education Act 1996 and with regard to the SEN Code of Practice. These children will be admitted to the named school even if it is full and are therefore outside the normal admission arrangements . As required by the Code these children will count as part of the Published Admission Number (PAN) for the school. Oversubscription criteria Applications submitted by 15 January 2014 will be dealt with first. If the number of applications received b y 15 January 2014 is greater than the admission limit, admissions will be decided according to the following priorities: 1. Children in public care (looked after children) and previously looked after children as defined in paragraph 1.7 of the School Ad missions Code 2012 . 2. Children subject to a child protection plan or deemed to be vulnerable by the Senior Officer with responsibility for safeguarding in Southampton City Council. 3. Children attending the linked infant school at the time of applic ation. This criterion applies only at the time of transfer from year 2 to year 3 and until the end of the first term of junior school. After that time previous attendance at the linked infant school gives no priority to an application for a place at the li nked junior school. Page 8 4. Children who have a brother or sister already on the roll of the school who will continue to attend that school for the following year. (This includes children living as siblings in the same family unit.) In the case of applicati ons for places at junior schools a sibling at the linked infant school will count as a sibling at the junior school. A sibling is defined as a brother or sister including half, step, or foster or adoptive brother or sister, living within the same family unit at the same address. 5. Children who live within the school's designated catchment area and whose parents have satisfied the Local Authority that their child has a significant medical or psychological condition which means they must attend the pre ferred school rather than any other. Applications must be supported by appropriate written evidence from a doctor or psychologist . 6. Children who live within the school's designated catchment area. A “designated catchment area” for a school is the a rea set out in the definitive catchment area map for each school. This map is held by Southampton City Council, Admissions Team (OGS), Civic Centre, Southampton SO14 7LY. A schedule of addresses, to be read in conjunction with the map, is also kept by the Council. Parents wishing to know if their address is in a particular catchment area can contact the Admissions Team, or log on to the council website www.southampton.gov.uk, and enter their postcode in the „Where I live‟ box at the top - right of the pag e. If the school is oversubscribed from within these criteria, priorities (ii) to (iii), as set out at 7 below, will be used to determine which children will be offered places. 7. Children who live outside the school‟s designated catchment area, in t he following order: (i) Children whose parents have satisfied the Local Authority that their child has a significant medical or psychological condition which means they must attend the preferred school rather than any other. Applications must be suppo rted by appropriate written evidence from a doctor or psychologist. Page 9 (ii) Children whose parents are applying for their child to attend a Church of England voluntary controlled school on denominational grounds. Evidence of regular church attendance at s ervices held by the Church of England or a local ecumenical partnership, (as defined in the school‟s prospectus), must be certified by the vicar or someone else of authority in the church. “Regular” is defined as “attending worship services at a Church of England church or local ecumenical partnership at least twice a month for the previous two years before the deadline for admissions set by Southampton City Council.” (iii) Children who live closest to the school based on the shortest practicable walking d istance using public roads and footpaths. Distances are measured from home to school. Distances from home to school are measured as shortest walking distances. These are calculated using a computerised mapping system that uses data supplied by Ordnance Sur vey. Distances are measured from the point designated in the system as the home address to the point designated in the system as the midpoint of the nearest open gate to the school, using public roads and footpaths. Should a school be oversubscribed fr om within any of the criteria 7(i) to 7(ii) above, then distance as defined in 7(iii) will be used to prioritise applications within these categories. Should there be two or more identical distances requiring prioritisation, this will be done by casting l ots. Lots will be drawn by the Head of Education, People Directorate, Southampton City Council. Late applications If a school has places available after all on - time applications have been processed, late applications will be considered in accordance with the priorities set out above. Unplaced children Any children who remain unplaced after their application has been processed, because either they could not be offered a place at any school requested or their parents did not complete an applicati on, will be offered a place at their catchment school, if places are still available. If there are no places available at their catchment school, they will be allocated a place at the nearest school to their home address with places available. Distance to their home address will be measured by public roads and footpaths. Page 10 Waiting lists If a place cannot be offered at a community or voluntary controlled school ranked higher in their application, children will automatically be placed on the waiting li st for the school. If places become available, children on the waiting list will automatically be offered them according to the priorities set out above and any offer of a school place at another school will be withdrawn. The length of time on the waiti ng list cannot be taken into account. Unsuccessful late applications will be treated in the same way as unsuccessful on time applications and placed on the waiting list according to the priorities set out above. Waiting lists will be maintained by the A dmissions Manager at Southampton City Council for all community and voluntary controlled schools. Waiting lists will be held until the end of the autumn term 2014. Page 11 Staffing – September 2013 Headteacher: Mrs Sue Rees Deputy Headteacher: Mrs Hann ah Beckett Andrew Crosby (He ad of Learning and Assessment) Jill Gardn er (Head of Inclusion), Neelam Nadkarni (He ad of Professional Support), Be ky Mepham (School Business Manager) CLASS STAFF I NG FOR 2013 - 2014 : Year 3 : Miss Kirsty Robertson and Mi ss Amy Williams Year 4: Mr Simon Barnett and Miss Rebecca Doughty Year 5: Miss Nikki Ashton and Mr Simon Wakeford Year 6: Miss Tani a Bell and Mrs Emma Thorne Class cover: Mrs Yvette Donovan French Teacher: Madame Sandrine Leoni LEARNING SUPPORT ASSISTANTS: Mrs Gemma Falussy, Mrs Marianne Neill, Mrs Angie Price , Mrs Cindy Terry & Mrs Tina Weet PUPIL SUPPORT TEAM : Miss Zea Brenchley, Mrs Lorraine Hamilton ( Pupil Support Leader), Miss Rowena Loveman, Mrs Morag Pearce, Miss Kiah Slater & Mrs Elaine Waddington OFFICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Mrs June English: Office Administrator Mrs Ann Fowler: Finance Officer Mrs Fiona Male: Office Administrator Miss Beky Mepham: School Business Manager ENVIRONMENT MANAGER : Mrs Leesa Ste arne Page 12 ICT TECHNICIAN: Mr Howard Dear LIBRARY: Mrs Marie Stirrat DINING ROOM SUPPORT: Mrs Maria Seagrave CLEANERS: Mrs Maria Seagrave & Mrs Sandy Swatton BREAKFAST CLUB: Mrs. Tina Weet & Mr Howard Dear GOVERNORS: Mrs Delga Kavulok – Co - Chair Mrs Sarah Skeats – Co - Chair Mrs Lou West – Vice Chair Mrs Sue Rees – Staff Governor Mrs Hannah Beckett – Staff Governor Page 13 After School Clubs and Activities There are a number of after school clubs available to all pupils. These vary each year but usually include such activities as football, homework and dance clubs. Look out for the variety of clubs we offer on our website. Working parents can have access to safe childcare from 7:30am until 6:00pm at night as Beechwood works with Glenfield In fant School to provide this service. For further details of the after school club conta ct: Anne Ryde, Glenfield Infant School – 023 80 227966 School Council Pupils elect members of the School Council through a democratic process. The School Councillors represent the pupils‟ views and meet to discuss ideas to help the school to improve. The Curriculum Beechwood is developing an exciting, relevant curriculum in which learning is linked each term to a topic, or theme. It follows t he Nati onal Curriculum in full. We rigorously monitor the curriculum to ensure that as well as being broad and engaging, it teaches children important, vital basic skills such as spellings , grammar and tables , as well as respect for other faiths and cultures and caring for their community . Page 14 Topics by Year Group Year Group Autumn Term Spring Term Summer Term Year 3 Once Upon a Time Countries and Cultures Adventure in Space Rainforests Minibeasts and more Egyptians Year 4 Mighty Mount ains Tudors Rise of the Robots Titanic Developing Countries Romans Year 5 Myths & Minotaurs & Movies Our World Get It Right Age of the Invaders Keen to be Green Year 6 Amandla Africa Ancient Greece World War 2 Metamorphosis The Summer Exhibition Disability Accessibility Beechwood is an equal opportunities community and we strive to give full access to any pupil or adult with a disability. We are fully compliant with visual impairment requirements and have installed disabled access to both Glen field and Juniper Roads, as well as a disabled parking bay . Equal Opportunities Beechwood is committed to working towards equality of opportunity in all aspects of school life. Our curriculum recognises and celebrates similarities and differences and is accessible to all regardless of gender, race, religion, ability or background. Food in school Beechwood strives to be a healthy school! Your child is only allowed to bring in fruit, raw vegetables, dried fruit and healthy snack bars to eat during playt ime. Toast and fruit are available to buy in school for 20p every day . Children are allowed to drink water throughout the day. Under no circumstances must children bring chewing gum into school. Page 15 Governing Body The Governing Body acts as a “critical f riend” to the school, helping to guide its strategic direction . If you would like to beco me a governor, please contact Mrs. Skeats through the school office. Governors Charging Policy Ma ny of the activities we provide within school time are part of the National Curriculum and free of charge. However, parents will be requested to make contributions towards the cost of some activities such as clubs provided by private instructors, music lessons, theatre performances and board and lodging on residential vi sits. Please note – no child will be excluded from any activity if you are unable to make a contribution. Homework Our Homework guidelines (included in this pack) were written in partnership with parents and staff. We do hope that you find them easy to understand and to follow. We run a homework club after school two evening s a week but there are limited spaces. There is homework club for Years 3 and 4 on Tuesday evening and for Years 5 and 6 on a Wednesday evening from 3.05 until 4.00p.m. House Teams Every child is placed in one of our four Houses – Beech (green), Oak (blue), Juniper (red) and Maple (yellow). They will have the chance to win house points for good behaviour and effort. We will always put siblings into the same houses. How can parents help? The most important thing that you can do to help your child at school is to show an interest in their work and to listen to and talk to your child. Always get in touch with us if you have any concerns. We also want to encourage all parents to come into class for example to listen to a child read or to help whenever you can. Please ask your child‟s teacher how you can help! Page 16 Music Beechwood has a strong tradition in the provision of music. All children have the chance to lea rn to play a musical instrument , free of charge, in Year 3 and then subsidised lessons if they wish to continue. We employ peripatetic music teachers for indi vidual and group work on woodwind and guitars . In addition, o ur choir is one of the best in Southa mpton and every child is encouraged to join in with our whole school singing which is a strength of our school . PSHE & Anti - Bullying We have a strong tradition of support and care for the individual child. We fully promote emotional literacy within a tru sting and safe ethos, and all cases of reported bullying are thoroughly investigated. A copy of this policy is on our website. Religious Education We follow the agreed syllabus “Living Difference” and a copy is available from the school office. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from RE lessons and collective worship and need to contact the Headteacher if this is their wish. If not engaged in RE or Collective Worship, pupils will be given relevant alternative activities and opportunities fo r quiet reflection. Sandwiches Packed lunches should be sent to school in a suitable lunch box, labelled with your child‟s name and class. Please – no sweets, hot drinks or fizzy drinks and no glass bottles! School Meals School meals are cooked on the premises in our own kitchen. We offer a wid e variety of choice at only £1.95 a day. Dinner money must be paid in advance on Monday morning, in a sealed envelope, with the child‟s name and class on it. Cheques should be made payable to Edwin Jones Trust . I f you are receiving income support all your children are entitled to free school meals – please ask for an application form from the School Office. School lunches are healthy and tasty and very good value for money. Page 17 School Results Our most recent OFS TED report (December 2009) is available from OFSTED‟s website, the School‟s website or a copy can be requested from the school office. Our most recent, available, SATS (end of Year 6) results ar e included as a table on page 20 . School Rules We aim for a ll pupils to uphold our HEART Values at all times. Please see a copy of the Behaviour Policy for details of how we manage and promote good behaviour in school. School Trips Throughout their time at Beechwood, children will have the opportunity to go on educational trips as extensions of the curriculum. All children will also get the chance to go on residential trips while at Beechwood. We have a two year rolling programme, Years 3 and 4 go to either Stubbington Study Centre or Avon Tyrrell Activity Cen tre. Years 5 and 6 go to either London or France. School Uniform Beechwood school uniform is basically grey or black skirt or trousers worn with a white tee or polo shirt and red cardigan, jumper or fleece. In the summer girls can wear a red and white gingham dress. All uniform can be ordered via the Skoolkit link on our website where you can find a full list and order form. All children must change their clothes for PE. They must bring their own PE kit, in a clearly marked bag, which should be a t - shirt in their team colours (no logos please), black shorts and trainers or plimsolls. In winter months, they should add dark tracksuit bottoms and a fleece. What not to wear in school!  No jewellery except watches  No high heel shoes, clogs o r slip on shoes  No nail varnish Page 18 SEN Statement Many children at some stage of their school life have special needs. They may need help with some aspect of their learning or they may have emotional, physical or behavioural difficulties. It is i mportant to us that these children receive extra help. At Beechwood we have a variety of approaches to help children with SEN, depending upon their needs. Support can range from booster programmes and emotional liter acy , right up to the Learning Zone class room which is a nurturing environment for pupils. Our Head of Inclusion is Mrs Jill Gardner. She will always be happy to answer any queries that you may have about your child‟s particular needs. You can contact her by email at jillgardner@beechwoodjuniorschool.co.uk Please ask at the school office for a copy of our Special Educational Needs policy which was thoroughly updated last year if you wish to find out more. The governors constantly monitor our special needs provision and policy and we are very pleased with the progress of our SEN pupils this year. Sex Education Effective sex education at an early age will help combat ignorance and exploitation and increase knowledge and understan ding. Sex education is not simply about biological facts. At Beechwood, sex educ ation is introduced sensitively and parents are given the opportunity to discuss the syllabus prior to its teaching. You can read a copy of this policy on our website. Supp ort for your child Because we track each child‟s progress individually, we are able to offer immediate help if your child is not making their personal targets in English, maths or science. We will then offer appropriate support. At times this will mean gr oups working in mixed age groups, such as Read Write Inc, in order to catch up. If your child is experiencing any emotional difficulties we are always ready to help with our Pupil Support Team on standby. Page 19 Health & Welfare Absence If your child is il l … Please telephone the school office or send in a personal message immediately. When your child returns to school, please send in a note of explanation. … or becomes ill while at school We will do our best to contact you so that they can go home. Please make sure we have up to date contact details for the family in the office. If you do not update any changes of phone numbers and we have to contact you due to an emergency it is very difficult and is very distressing for your child. Asthma If your chil d suffers from asthma, an inhaler must be kept in school. It should always be kept with your child so they can use it as soon as it is needed. We also find it very helpful if a spare inhaler is kept in the medical room, marked with your child‟s name. Pleas e keep us informed if your child is asthmatic. Holidays Parents have a legal duty to ensure their child‟s regular attendance at school. The school target is 96%, and we ask your help in reaching this target. Head teachers can not authorise any leave of a bsence unless under exceptional circumstances. Leave of absence forms are available from the School Office. We feel that our non - attendance figures are too high and we aim to work with parents and carers to reduce non - attendance. Our attendance figures f or last year are as follows: Authorised absence: 3.95% Unauthorised absence: 1.02% Ov erall attendance: 95.03% Home/School Agreement This was worked on w ith parents, children and staff and is available on our web site. Page 20 Medicines If your child is completing a prescribed course of medicine and is well enough to return to school, you should leave the medicine in the School Office and it will be administered by a member of staff. You will need to complete a permiss ion form for this. Medicines bought over the counter at a chemis t cannot be administered at school. Visits to the School If you are considering sending your child to Beechwood then please contact the Headteacher, Mrs Rees, who will be happy to show you a round and answer any questions. We hold an Open Evening in October and in July you will be offered an appointment to meet your child‟s new class teacher. Water We wan t to encourage children to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Beechwood water bot tles are available from the School Office and cost £2. All our new Year 3 children are issued with a water bottle when they start at Beechwood. Your child is able to bring home their water bottle on a Friday to be washed but it must be returned on the fo llowing Monday morning. What to do if you or your child is unhappy We fully anticipate that your child‟s time in school will be enjoyable and fruitful. However, sometimes problems do arise. If there is any concern about the attitude, behaviour or general health of your child the Head Teacher will ask the parent or carer to come in and talk about the problem if it has not already been resolved by the class teacher. If you have any concerns then do not hesitate to contact us. If you are concerned about your child your first action should be to talk to the class teacher. Please remember that we are always ready to listen and wish to work with you to iron out any problems. A full copy of the school‟s complaints procedure can be obtained at the School Office. Page 21 RESULTS OF END OF KEY STAGE TESTS % LEVEL 4+ , 5+ 6 2011 RESULTS 2012 RESULTS 2013 RESULTS READING L4+ = 93% L5 = 41% L4+ = 97% L5 = 45% L4+ = 96% L5+ = 54% L6 = 6% WRITING L4+ = 81% L5 = 17% L4+ = 93% L5 = 31% L4+ = 93% L5+ = 41% L6 = 8% ENGLISH OVERALL L4+ = 87% L5 = 29% L4+ = 95% L5 = 38% MATHS L4+ = 78% L5 = 20% L4+ = 79% L5 = 21% L6 = 3% L4+ = 93% L5 = 46% L6 = 7% Page 22 H OMEWORK GUIDELINES These guidelines have been produced in conjunction, and full consultation, with the staff, parents and carers of Beechwood Junior School during the summer term, 2009 . They will be regularly reviewed for their efficiency and impact upon the children‟s prog ress. PURPOSE OF HOMEWORK: So that parents and carers can work efficiently with the school to promote pupil progress. Support from home is key to children making good progress. ETHOS: Homework should not be viewed as a chore by either children, parents or staff, but as a useful tool that w ill help children to learn. Children should be encouraged to do their best but, if they are becoming frustrated or upset, parents should stop the homework session and seek the advice of the school. Staff will encourage and support pupils to complete and return their homework but they will not punish a child if it is not forthcoming. COMMUNICATION: Parents and carers will inform staff if there is a problem with homework, and staff will act promptly to resolve any diffic ulties. Staff will let parents and carers know if their child is not completing or returning homework. A homework diary will be provided. It is really important that parents, carers and staff sign and respond to written comments from either home or schoo l. Children will be charged £1.00 for lost diaries. Staff will ensure that clear instructions and explanations are sent with the homework when needed. SUGGESTED MAXIMUM TIMES: YEARS 3 & 4 – 1 HOUR PER WEEK YEAR 5 – 1 .5 HOUR PER WEEK YE AR 6 – AT LEAST 2 HOURS A WEEK SUGGESTED CONTENT:  Weekly spellings, according to ability, maximum of 10  Topic based research  Times tables  Consolidation of basic skills, eg. number bonds  Reading Rocket TIMING: To be given out on a Tues day and a deadline of the following Mo n day for return. Page 23 HOLIDAYS: Formal homework will not be set during the school holidays as the majority of parents did not want this. However, children will continue to be encouraged and rewarded for their Reading Rocket achievements. REWARDS: 1 HP for h anding in homework 2 HP for the completion of good quality homework 3 HP for outstanding/exceptional effort A weekly sticker, to be given out on Friday lunchtimes, to show homework was completed and returned. ORGANISATION: Children will take homework ho me in a suitable folder provided by the school, which will be held within their reading bag / back pack, along with their homework diary and Reading Rocket Record . Each classroom will have a container in which to hold the homework books. Page 24 Essential Documents Any of the sch ool‟s policies and procedures are available from the school office upon request. Many of the policies on also on our school website. Thank you for reading this booklet. Do not hesitate to get in touch if y ou require further advice.