Duchy of Lancaster, Methwold C. of E. V.C. Primary School
Hythe Road
Methwold
Thetford
Norfolk
IP26 4PP
Tel: 01366 728280
School Brochure 2007/08
List of Contents
Page
Welcome from Chair of Governors 3
Brief History of the School 4
Vision Statement 5
Church of England Mission Statement 6 Collective Worship 6
Head Teacher’s Letter 7
Admissions Policy 8
The Governing Body 9
School Staff 10
The School Day 11
Term Dates 13
The Curriculum 14
Class Information 15
Whole School Attendance Policy 17
The School Supporters 18
Complaints Procedure 19
School Policies – All school policies are available in full at the School Office and may be viewed on request.
Welcome from the Chair of Governors
Dear Parents and Carers,
I am happy to welcome you and your child to our school at a very exciting time. We look forward to our new Headteacher, Mrs Stabler, joining us in September 2007, to lead our existing team of dedicated and experienced staff.
I am Chair of the School’s Governing Body, which is made up of 12 people, including the Headteacher, and we are jointly responsible for the provision of a safe, happy and productive learning environment for our children. The governors represent the views of the parents, church, staff and the wider community, so it is important that you know who we are. That you talk to us about issues which you feel may affect the school, or our decisions in relation to it. The names of governors are included later in the brochure and we can be contacted either via the school or in person.
Communication will become even more important in the future, as we work with Mrs Stabler to involve our children’s families, and the wider community more closely, and more often, in the activities of the school.
We look forward to working with you.
Christine Bunting
Chair of Governors
A Brief History of the School
Methwold is an attractive village just 18 miles south of Kings Lynn and 6 miles north of Brandon.
Methwold Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School admits children between the ages of 4 – 11 years. It forms a central part of the community of Methwold and its surrounding villages and has an atmosphere in which self confidence and self- discipline thrives.
The School received its name when it was built in 1858 on land given by the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1987 the building was extended and the interior remodelled to meet the needs of the present day but the school still retains its Victorian façade. The further addition of an outside covered area for each classroom has now been completed. There is easy access and suitable facilities for disabled pupils.
We have four classrooms and a recently installed Computer Suite. There is a hall large enough to accommodate the entire school for assemblies and lunch, and also PE. There are playgrounds to the front and rear of the school, allowing separate play areas for the Infants and Juniors. In addition at the back of school we are fortunate enough to have a large playing field for ball games, which also contains a Trim Trail, Play House and Climbing equipment. There are also picnic benches and trees to provide shade.
Children attend the School from the villages of Methwold, Methwold Hythe, Brookville and Whittington. Children from other villages are very welcome, space permitting. We have close links with the village Nursery School and High School.
Our Vision Statement
Our school works to achieve successful learning through strong partnerships involving all members of our school and the wider community.
Our Values
* We believe education should provide individuals, pupils and adults, with the skills and opportunities to realise their full potential in life.
* We encourage everyone to succeed with positive attitudes and maximum effort, embracing hard work, honesty, mutual respect and care for others through our Christian ethos.
* We strive to meet the needs of all individuals, recognising diversity and sharing a personalised learning environment.
Our Aims
* To inspire all individuals to use their skills and knowledge to achieve progress and success.
* To provide a safe and creative learning environment built on appropriate assessment and planning.
* To help pupils become confident, polite individuals, with high aspirations for their future.
Our Intentions
* To develop a broad curriculum that engages and motivates all pupils to be enthusiastic life long learners and global citizens of the future.
* To promote enhanced progress in learning through a love of reading and ICT skills.
* To develop a close relationship between parents and school through the Home-School Agreement, the Home-School Diary, termly parent-teacher consultations and our Open Door policy.
* To promote strong links with the wider community, inviting them to share in and contribute to our learning and achievement.
* To strengthen our links with the Church, through celebrating Christian festivals and valuing our Christian ethos.
Our Expectations
* That all pupils, staff, parents and governors work closely to promote positive attitudes to learning.
* That individuals demonstrate considerate behaviour and uphold our Christian values.
* That all pupils, staff, parents and governors support and advance our commitment to develop successful learning through strong partnerships.
Church of England Mission Statement
Recognising its historic foundation, the school will preserve and develop its religious character in accordance with the principles of the Church of England and its partnership with the Church at parish and diocesan level.
The school aims to serve its community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice.
It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith, and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all its pupils.
Collective Worship
Access to a daily act of worship is a legal entitlement for all children and, as a Church of England Primary School we will provide opportunities for worship in accordance with our Christian Trust Deed.
It is a legal right to withdraw children from worship. Should parents wish to do so, they are encouraged to discuss this with the Headteacher before exercising this right.
Hello and welcome to our school!
I am very proud to be Headteacher here and hope you too will share in the pride felt by all those involved with our school.
We are committed to meeting the needs of the individual and believe a strong partnership with you is essential if your child is to enjoy school and make the best of the opportunities offered to them.
We share your high expectations for your child and will work with you to help them reach their full potential.
Our standards of behaviour are high and everyone is expected to show respect and courtesy to each other. We hope you can support us in our role to encourage children to be positive members of society.
Our staff make their classrooms exciting and purposeful places to learn, and we recognise the important role you have in helping us develop and maintain positive attitudes to learning.
I hope your child will enjoy their time here and you feel able to contribute to the life of our school. I am always available to discuss any issues or concerns you may have.
Best regards
Mrs Lynne Stabler
Headteacher
Admissions Policy
The Governors have agreed to comply with the LEA policy on Admissions for four and five year olds.
This policy allows all children whose fifth birthday falls between 1st September and 29th February to be eligible for full time education from the beginning of the Autumn term prior to their birthday.
Those children whose fifth birthday falls between 1st March and 31st August will be eligible to begin part-time education for five mornings in the Autumn term prior to their birthday, moving to full-time education from the beginning of the Spring term.
Parents who are considering this school should contact the Headteacher to arrange a visit.
Admissions Criteria
The Education Authority has compiled Admission Criteria in the event of over-subscription to the school. This states that preference will be given to children living nearer to the school according to the following criteria and in order of priority;
1. Those living in the designated area served by the school.
2. Those living outside the designated area served by the school but who have an older sibling attending the school at the time of admission.
3. Those living outside the designated area served by the school who have medical reasons and who have been professionally recommended to attend the school.
4. Those living outside the designated area served by the school, if space permits.
The Governing Body
Mrs J. Barnes Chair of Governors
Mrs C. Bunting Vice Chair
Mr N. Guyer Foundation Governor
Mr L. Ingram LEA Governor
Mrs A. Nicoll Community Governor
Mrs C. Darby Community Governor
Mr C. Marsland Foundation Governor
Mr A. Aunins Community Governor
Miss E. Marshall Parent Governor
Mrs C.l Howse Parent Governor
Mrs A. Farman Staff Governor
Mrs Lynne Stabler Headteacher
Mrs J. Scarrott Clerk to Governors
The School Staff
Teachers
Mrs S. Kent Rabbits (Reception)
Mrs A. Farman Hedgehogs (Yr1/ 2)
Mrs K. Ashby Squirrels (Yr 3/4)
Miss C. Beaumont Wild Cats (Yr5/6)
Teaching Assistants
Mrs A. Carter Rabbits
Mrs T. Woollard Rabbits
Mrs J. Bates Rabbits
Mrs S. Williams Hedgehogs
Mrs Hearmon Squirrels
Mrs A. Scarrett Squirrels
Mrs A. Aldous Wild Cats
Mrs K. Gunn Wild Cats
Mrs C. Bailey Wild Cats
Mrs P. Osler School Secretary
Lunchtime Supervisors
Mrs J. Bates – Senior Midday Supervisor
Mrs J. Rutterford Mrs E. Hennings
Mrs L. Spencer Mrs M. Hayes
Kitchen Staff
Mrs K. White
Mrs S. Wright
Mr D. Vincent School Caretaker
Mrs V. Curston Crossing Patrol Lady
The School Day
School starts at 8:55 and children should arrive at school from 8:45, when there is supervision available in the playground. Children arriving earlier than this should wait in the playground but are the responsibility of their parents.
The school day ends at 3:10 and we ask parents to collect their children promptly, however if you are going to be late please inform school.
School Uniform
The wearing of school uniform is well supported by parents and children, giving everyone a sense of identity and belonging. Items can be ordered from the School office.
Boys:
Blue polo shirt, black or grey trousers, royal blue sweatshirt with school logo.
Girls:
Blue polo shirt, black or grey skirt or trousers, royal blue sweatshirt with school logo.
Items can be ordered from the school office.
Shoes should be sensible with no high heels or platform shoes. No trainers please.
PE kit – required in school on Monday and taken home on Friday.
Indoor PE – navy or black shorts, white t-shirt, plimsoles or clean trainers.
Outdoor games – navy or black shorts, white t-shirt, sweatshirt, tracksuit, trainers or football boots.
Swimming - swimming costume or trunks, towel and a swimming cap.
All items of clothing must be clearly labelled.
Jewellery is not permitted with the exception of a watch and 1 set of stud earrings, these will need to be removed by your child for PE and swimming as staff cannot accept responsibility for extracting or re-inserting earrings.
Mobile Telephones should not be brought into school. If there are exceptional circumstances please talk with the Headteacher before bringing it in.
Emergency school closures may occur in cases of extreme emergency, such as those caused by sever weather conditions or the loss of power or heating. Announcements will be made on local radio, and parents contacted when needed to collect children.
School Dinners
We are fortunate to have our own kitchen where fresh meals are prepared everyday. Dinner money should be sent in on Monday for the week, in an envelope clearly marked with your child’s name, the amount and which days it is for. Families receiving Benefit support may be entitled to free lunches and should enquire at the Office for a form.
Alternatively children may bring a packed lunch, in a clearly labelled bag or box. Please try to provide a healthy lunch leaving out chocolate bars and sweets as we encourage children to have a healthy life style. Do not send in glass containers or canned drinks.
Snacks
KS1 children are provided with free fruit at break time under a Government scheme. KS2 children may bring in a healthy snack or purchase something from the healthy tuck shop prepared by the kitchen.
Home-School Partnership
The relationship between parents and school has to be strong and positive if children are to be successful learners. We work with parents to help them support children with their learning and are always available to discuss ways in which parents can support their children, especially with homework. Hearing children read for 10 minutes everyday is an important way in which parents can support and consolidate children’s learning of new skills. This applies to KS2 children as well as KS1. We have a Home-School agreement which all parents are asked to sign, which makes clear the roles of children, parents and staff.
Term Dates 2007/08
Autumn term 4th September to 19th December
Half term 22nd October to 26th October
Spring term 3rd January to 20th March
Half term 11th February to 15th February
Summer term 8th April to 22nd July
Half term 26th May to 30th May
Staff training days 3rd September, 3rd January, 7th April.
Pupils do not attend on Bank Holidays or staff training days.
School Tests and S.A.T.s
Key Stage 1 Year 2 take their end of Key Stage 1 assessments the first half of the summer term.
Key Stage 2 Year 6 take their end of Key Stage 2 assessments week beginning 12th May.
During this time school cannot authorise absences for holidays if children are involved in revision or tests.
The Curriculum
The National Curriculum 2000 identifies the following:
Core subjects English
Mathematics
Science
ICT
Religious Education
Foundation Subjects History
Geography
Design & Technology
Art
Music
PE
PSHE
The school curriculum also gives priority to the social, emotional and moral development of our pupils.
We aim to help each child gain knowledge and understanding of the world around them, and to apply their skills through theme based topics.
Our curriculum is being developed taking into consideration both local needs and the Local Authority’s Curriculum Policy Statement, a copy of which is available at school.
Class Information
Rabbits (Reception)
In our class we have our own curriculum, The Early Years Foundation Stage, and cover 6 areas of learning, which follow on from what we have been learning at Nursery.
These areas are;
· Personal, Social, and Emotional Development – thinking about one’s self and others, Religious Education.
· Communication, Language and Literacy – reading, writing, speaking and listening.
· Problem solving, Reasoning and Numeracy – working with numbers, shapes, measuring.
· Knowledge and Understanding of the World – history, geography, science.
· Physical Development – using pencils, scissors, riding bikes, climbing.
· Creative Development – drawing, painting, making models, music and dancing.
We learn by doing and watching each other. Many of the learning activities involve play but or teacher will have carefully planned all our experiences so that all the areas of learning are fully covered.
We find it much easier to settle into school if we are as independent as possible. In particular if we can;
· go to the toilet alone and wash our hands afterwards
· blow our noses successfully
· dress and undress ourselves.
Please help your child to master these skills as far as possible before their first day.
Hedgehogs (Years 1 & 2)
In Hedgehogs we have children from Years 1 and 2 , who are either five, six or seven years old. Mrs Farman and Mrs Williams look after us and help us with our work.
We learn the subjects in the National Curriculum through topic work.
Everybody in class has special targets and we try to achieve these by always doing our best, sharing ideas and helping each other.
We have lots of equipment to support us in our classroom and we also enjoy working and playing outside in the fresh air.
Squirrels (Years 3 & 4)
Mrs Ashby is Squirrels’ class teacher and Mrs Hearmon is the TA. They believe learning should be fun and the classroom is a friendly environment to learn in.
Working towards a Creative Curriculum, children are taught through topics such as Space, Rockets and Robots, Once Upon a Time . . .
In Squirrels children are expected to become more independent and take on responsibilities within the class e.g. as monitors. As children start Key Stage 2 the aim is to equip children ready for the rest of this Key Stage.
Wild Cats (Years 5 & 6)
The aim in Wild Cats is to prepare students for the independent study required of them in High School.
Topic work is developed alongside the core subjects (Maths, English and Science) and has a strong research element promoting independent learning.
We look at the uses education has in the real world and how our learning can be applied in our lives.
We make use of modern technology to encourage interaction alongside conventional resources – books.
Pupils are also encouraged to engage with pupils from other schools in the cluster reading groups.
Whole School Attendance Policy
Attendance at school is a legal requirement for all children, unless alternative arrangements for educating a child have been made. We take attendance very seriously and ask all parents to ensure children attend as regularly as possible.
Any child who is absent from school must have their absence recorded as being authorised or unauthorised. Only the Headteacher or a member of staff, acting on her behalf, can authorise absence.
Lateness
Morning registration takes place at the start of school. The registers will remain open for 15 minutes. Any pupil arriving after this time will be marked as having an unauthorised absence, unless an explanation is given which can be accepted as grounds for authorising the late arrival.
The afternoon registration will be at 1:10pm and the registers will close at 1.25pm.
First day of absence
On the first day of absence we expect parents/carers to inform the school as to the reason for the absence and the expected date of return. Members of staff receiving such messages will inform the teacher responsible for registering the pupil. If no message is received, the school will make reasonable attempts to contact parents/carers using information stored on our database. If we are unable to make contact this procedure will be repeated until the fifth day of absence.
Fifth day of absence
If the school is unable to contact the persons with parental responsibility for the absent child, a letter will be sent to the address shown on our databse.
Ten days absence
Any pupil who is absent without an explanation for 10 consecutive days, will be referred to the Norfolk Pupil Attendance Service. The School will include details of actions they have taken.
School Supporters Network
We are a group of parents/carers who help the school to provide a range and variety of learning activities both in and out of the classroom, and have fun whilst doing so.
We regularly organise successful social and fundraising events. For example the children and their families have enjoyed our Summer Fun Day, pamper evenings, fashion shows and Bingos. The money we have raised this year alone has seen us able to help purchase
· A new stage allowing the children’s star qualities to shine
· Transport for the children’s outings.
· Christmas presents for every child from . . . you know whom!
· A wide range of musical instruments.
We also assist the school by providing practical help if and when required.
It is extremely easy to become involved, as you automatically a member if you are a parent/carer of a child who attends the school. If you would like to actively contribute to your child’s education, and you could spare some time, please contact one of the following via the school office.
Better still; come along to one of our meetings!
Chairperson Mark Vowles
Vice-chair Emma Marshall
Treasurer Pat Osler
Secretary Lorraine Hearmon
Carol Howse
Christine Bunting
Tasha Bunten
Sarah Simmonds
Catriona Bailey
Kerry Vowles
Amanda Donolan
Complaints Procedure
If you are unhappy about any aspect of your child’s education, you should make an appointment with the class teacher to discuss your concerns.
If this informal discussion does not resolve the situation, then please contact the Headteacher for further discussions.
If the matter continues to remain unresolved, the Headteacher will provide appropriate advice and information as to what further steps may be taken, depending on the nature of the complaint.
Freedom of Information Act
The Freedom of Information Act requires publicly funded bodies, including schools, to be clear about the information they publish. We have produced a publication scheme setting out all the information we publish on a regular basis and where you can access it.
If you would like to see the scheme or receive a copy (free of charge) please ask at the School office.
The information in this document is believed correct at the time of printing
and is in accordance with the directions laid down in the Act, together with
further regulations contained in subsequent legislation.
No guarantee can be given that the information will not be changed in the future.
