Prospectus Welcome

Birklands Primary School is situated in the centre of Market , .

We are a feeder primary to Meden School, a successful secondary in the town.

Birklands is a caring and inclusive school where all pupils are encouraged to be active and independent learners. We teach our pupils through a child- centred, broad and creative curriculum based on first-hand experiences.

In April 2014, we became an academy and joined the Torch Academy Gateway Trust, allowing us to benefit from the support and guidance that being part of a multi-academy trust provides.

Come and visit us, meet our children and staff and find out more about Birklands Primary School.

Nick Copestake Head of School

2 | Birklands Primary School Prospectus Birklands Primary School Prospectus | 3 Ethos and Aims

Every child deserves the best start in life. At Birklands Primary School, we strive to help our pupils develop academically and creatively.

Birklands provides a safe, nurturing environment that allows our pupils to learn, grow and develop with confidence. We believe learning should be active, stimulating and engaging, and will ensure that any barriers to learning are overcome.

We aim to ensure that every child leaves Birklands Primary School ready to progress their learning in secondary education.

4 | Birklands Primary School Prospectus Birklands Primary School Prospectus | 5 At Birklands, we strive to provide a strong balance between the key areas of literacy, numeracy and creativity.

At Key Stage 1 and 2, the school day is split into four main teaching sessions. Literacy and numeracy are taught in during the morning sessions, with our Creative Curriculum being the focus in the afternoon.

Reading, writing and mathematics are taught every day. Within literacy and numeracy lessons, children are provided with their own individual targets, allowing them to work at their own pace.

We pride ourselves on our Creative Curriculum, which assigns a new topic to every class each half term. All creative learning takes place within this theme, and literacy texts are also chosen to reflect the theme of the class topic.

Our Curriculum

6 | Birklands Primary School Prospectus Birklands Primary School Prospectus | 7 Activities

Birklands Primary School holds a Healthy Schools Gold Award, an achievement that we are committed to maintaining. All pupils have two PE sessions a week covering sports as diverse as football, fencing, hockey and basketball.

We have a variety of sporting after-school clubs held throughout the year. All Key Stage 2 pupils have ten weeks of swimming tuition.

Recent activities have included the Birklands’ Got Talent contest, celebrating the hobbies and abilities of our pupils.

We hold various school trips throughout the year, with previous destinations including the National Space Centre in Leicester, Idle Valley Nature Reserve and the Tropical Butterfly House in Sheffield.

Birklands Primary School also has an active School Council which runs a healthy tuck shop.

8 | Birklands Primary School Prospectus Birklands Primary School Prospectus | 9 How to Apply

If you wish your child to attend Birklands Primary School, please contact us and our office staff will help to guide you through the application process.

Birklands has nursery places for up to 26 children from age 3. Applications for nursery places can be made at the school office at any time. We run nursery booster sessions in partnership with the Warsop Sure Start Children’s Centre to help your child settle quickly into school.

The majority of our pupils attend Meden School for their secondary education, another member of our Academy Trust. We work closely with Meden to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.

Uniform

Our children are encouraged to wear grey or black trousers or skirts, burgundy or white polo shirts and burgundy cardigans, jumpers and fleeces. Items of uniform embroidered with the school logo can be purchased from the school office.

School Meals

Our on-site catering produces tasty, healthy school lunches which can be adapted to meet any special dietary requirements your child may have.

Joining Our School

10 | Birklands Primary School Prospectus Birklands Primary School Prospectus | 11 SEN and Well-being

At Birklands, we pride ourselves in the support we provide to children with Special Educational Needs.

Provision maps are drawn up to ensure all children receive the intervention required to support their learning. Specialist teaching assistants are deployed throughout the school to provide further assistance.

Gifted and Talented children are identified and recorded on the school register. Special activities are planned with these children in mind to help them make the most of their potential.

12 | Birklands Primary School Prospectus Birklands Primary School Prospectus | 13 We endeavour to involve parents and carers as much as possible in their child’s learning and development.

Newsletters are sent home regularly to keep parents in touch with everything happening at Birklands. Curriculum newsletters are sent home at the beginning of each half term to inform parents of the topics their children will be studying during the following weeks.

Parent Information Evenings are held each term, allowing parents the opportunity to speak to the class teacher. A report on progress and attainment is sent out at the end of the school year.

We encourage all parents to let us know how we are doing informally throughout the year, and produce an end-of-year questionnaire for parents to fill in.

Parents

14 | Birklands Primary School Prospectus Birklands Primary School Prospectus | 15 Birklands Primary School Appleton Street Warsop Nottingham NG20 0QF

Telephone: 01623 842163 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.birklandsschool.co.uk

Head of School: Nick Copestake BSc (Hons), MSc, PGCE

Executive Head Teacher: Helen Duffy BA (Hons), NPQH

Torch Academy Gateway Trust CEO: John Tomasevic BA (Hons), Econ, MEd, NPQH, NLE

Birklands Primary School is a member of the Torch Academy Gateway Trust www.torchacademy.co.uk

© Torch Academy Gateway Trust 2015