Pensford Primary School Pensford Bristol BS39 4AA Telephone and Fax: 01761 490470

Pensford Primary School Pensford Bristol BS39 4AA Telephone and fax: 01761 490470 Dear Parents/Carers, Whether you have already accepted a place for your child(ren) at Pensford Primary School or you are planning to move to this area, “Welcome”. This prospectus and parent handbook tells you more about Pensford School – how your child will be educated, the things we value, and the ways we can work in partnership to provide the best for your children. During the years your child is with us, we hope you will feel fully involved in all aspects of our school and your child’s education. Our parents are supportive and involved in all we do and the school is very much part of the wider and welcoming village community. We have a hard-working, dedicated and caring team who ensure that the children are both academically challenged and able to demonstrate their talents in a warm, secure, stimulating and safe environment. We look forward to welcoming you into our school and trust that your time as part of our close-knit school community will be a happy one. Please do come and visit us so that you can see the school in action and meet everyone. Yours sincerely Ms Lorna McIsaac Mr David Evans Headteacher Chair of Governors Email: [email protected] Web site: www. pensford.bathnes.sch.uk 1 OUR SCHOOL, OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR HISTORY Pensford School is a co-educational primary catering for children between the ages of 4 and 11 years. It is situated 6 miles south of Bristol on the A37. Our period buildings have had extensive refurbishment over the past few years and provide attractive, contemporary learning spaces. Our grounds have been redesigned and developed to create a stimulating outdoor learning environment. Pensford is a small, active and rural community. It encompasses many organisations which cater for the needs of all age groups. We work very hard to ensure that the school stays at the heart of the village by building close, supportive relationships with different community groups. We are fortunate our locality offers such a wealth of educational resources: The A37, the road which runs alongside the school, is an old coaching route to Wells and Weymouth. Pensford was well known in the 1500s as a market town with a prosperous clothing trade and later, in the 1700s, coal mining became important for the area. The school is on the banks of the River Chew, which is renowned for trout fishing, and is in the heart of the village conservation area. A large, attractive, viaduct sweeps across the valley and dominates the village skyline. This used to carry the Great Western Railway into Bristol but was abandoned in the 1960s. The ‘new school’ serving the villages of Publow and Pensford was opened in November 1915. Until then there had been two schools - The Church of England School at Publow and The Council School in Pensford. 2 OUR AIMS AND OUR ETHOS Our vision is to: ‘Maximise the skills and talents of our pupils so that they become creative, confident, independent and caring citizens in a multi-cultural and rapidly changing world.’ A rich and exciting curriculum, inspirational teaching, a stimulating learning environment and a school that is well managed support our vision. Our emblem was modernised in 2007 to embody our ethos and aims. To assist us with our task of enabling children to develop a passion for life-long learning pupils are given every opportunity to ‘live and learn together’, with those in the school community and beyond. We believe that immersing pupils in a culture of collaborative learning, with specific aims, enables us to achieve our overall vision. Our aims are to: Encourage enquiring minds and a spirit of curiosity Value each child’s contribution Promote self-esteem and develop self-respect, both for others and the environment Personalise learning so all pupils can achieve their potential in all areas of the curriculum Promote both collaborative and independent working Promote healthy lifestyles Encourage the ability to become self-challenging and resilient Value our partnerships between home, school and the wider community Provide a safe environment in which to learn and to take risks Promote positive attitudes within the whole school community Immerse pupils in a setting which is caring, supportive, encouraging and challenging Identify and provide skills required for future generations Ensure enjoyment and working together underpins all we do As part of our school development we often invite external agencies into school to judge our performance against a set of specialist criteria and have, as a result, achieved recognition for our efforts. At present we have been awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark for how well we embrace all children, the Activemark for sporting activity, the Children’s Society Silver Award for how well we listen to children and the Green Flag Bronze Award for environmental achievement. 3 SCHOOL ORGANISATION There are three stages within primary education: The Early Years Foundation Stage Reception - ages 4 to 5 years During the EYFS pupils follow six areas of learning set within The Early Years Foundation Stage guidelines. Key Stage 1 Year 1 – ages 5 to 6 years Year 2 – ages 6 – 7 years Pupils start to follow the guidelines of The National Curriculum in Year 1. This continues until they leave the school at the end of Key Stage 2. Key Stage 2 Year 3 – ages 7 to 8 years Year 4 – ages 8 to 9 years Year 5 – ages 9 to 10 years Year 6 – ages 10 to 11 years Life after Pensford Primary School Wherever pupils transfer to at the end of their primary education we ensure the transition is as smooth as possible. Links are forged with the secondary schools well before pupils’ departure from our school. The majority of our pupils transfer to Chew Valley School. Classes In our school, The Early Years Foundation Stage and The National Curriculum are delivered in mixed-age classes: Class 1 Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 (ages 4 – 7 years) Class 2 Year 3 and Year 4 Class 3 Year 5 and Year 6 Subject Leaders The main core subjects of English and Mathematics are managed by a subject leader who has expertise in this area of the curriculum. All other areas are shared equally amongst staff. 4 THE SCHOOL DAY Pupils are supervised in the playground from 08:45. No pupils are permitted to come into school prior 08:45 without an accompanying adult. Class 1 opens its doors to pupils to enable them to change their reading books. Morning Sessions 08:55 Children come into school 09:00 Registration 10:20 – 10:35 Morning break 12:00 – 13:10 (Reception and Key Stage 1) Lunch 12:10 – 13:10 (Key Stage 2) Lunch 15:15 End of the day (Class 1) 15:20 End of the day (Classes 2 and 3) (Class 1 (infants) are in attendance 22 hours 55 minutes per week. Classes 2 and 3 (juniors) are in attendance 23 hours 45 minutes per week) Attendance and Punctuality Attendance and punctuality is monitored externally by Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Children Missing Education Department. Absence If your child is unable to attend school please telephone the office, or leave a message on the school answer phone, before 09:30 on the first day of absence, if possible. Alternatively, you can pop into the office or send in a note with a brother/sister. If we do not hear from you by 09:30 we will telephone you to ensure that your child is safe. Please do not leave verbal messages with class teachers or other members of staff as the start of the day is a very busy time. Late Arrivals Children are officially late when registration closes at 09:05 and all schools are legally required to record the time and reason. Please make every effort to be punctual so your child can settle comfortably into the school day. It can be extremely distressing for children, especially the younger ones, to be late for school as well as causing disruption for all the class. Should you be unavoidably detained, please come to the office so we can adjust the registers. Drinks Children up to the age of five are entitled to a free carton of milk daily. After this birthday, you may choose to purchase milk via the School Milk Scheme which can be contacted on 01934 510950. Children may bring in water (not juice or squash) in a clear, leak-proof, plastic bottle to drink in class. This is for them to drink if they feel they have a need at anytime during the day. Water is always available from our water fountains and all children can have water with lunch. Fizzy drinks, glass bottles or cans are not permitted as they cause a lot of mess and can be a hazard. Pupils who have packed lunches may bring in a carton of juice to accompany their meal. 5 Snacks at Break Time Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are offered a free piece of fruit every morning break time, provided by the government’s Fruit & Vegetable Scheme. Children in Classes 2 and 3 can purchase either a pot of chopped fruit or a fruit juice at the Fruit Bar at break time. No other snack is allowed unless your child has special dietary requirements because of a medical condition. Please see the Head Teacher if this is the case. Packed Lunches Children may bring in a packed lunch in a named and secure box.

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