Welcome to Lutley Primary School
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WELCOME TO LUTLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL We are delighted to welcome you to our school through the pages of our school brochure! Lutley Primary is a successful school with an excellent reputation within the borough of Dudley. It is a three-form entry school, having three classes of approximately 30 children in each year group. The school achieves an ethos of family care despite it being one of the largest primaries in the borough. In March 2010 our school was judged to be outstanding by OFSTED. The teaching, leadership and management were all judged to be outstanding. Our parents and children are very supportive and enjoy being part of our school community. In January 2012 Lutley Primary School joined forces with Lapal Primary School to become the first Federation in Dudley MBC. Our official title is „The Federation of Lapal Primary School and Lutley Primary School‟. Our Federation has one Governing Body across the two schools and is led by one Executive Headteacher. Each school is led, on a day by day basis, by the Head of School. Each Head of School is supported by an Assistant head of School. At Lutley the Head of School is Mrs Cox and the Assistant Head of School is Miss Smith. Our children enter the school in Foundation Stage from supportive, interested homes. Our induction programme into Reception enables parents to maintain an active partnership in their child‟s learning throughout the vital early primary years. We welcome parents into school and endeavour to keep positive communication channels open so that all our families feel able to share hopes, dreams and concerns with us. We have high expectations at Lutley and we expect everyone to do their best. Not all children are academics so we aim to encourage an atmosphere of respect and celebration where individuals can work towards their unique potential, recognising that best efforts are rewarded and rewarding. As a staff we aim to model this approach through giving our very best, recognising that we too need to be active in securing individual development to achieve all that we can. Our school vision is to secure learning for all in a climate of independence and mutual care. We want Lutley to be a learning organisation, which is vibrant and creative, where people at all levels are motivated and thrilled by all that education has to offer. I very much look forward to welcoming you to our school family. One of the delights of our job is to show families around our school to see teaching and learning in action. Parents can pick up the „feel‟ of the school at this time and note how children and staff relate to each other. Ours is a happy, secure and rigorous environment and a tour of the school will demonstrate the respect, the fun and the challenge therein. We look forward to meeting you. Jeannette Mackinney Rebecca Cox Executive Headteacher Head of School 1 Lutley Primary School Information Address: Brookwillow Road Halesowen West Midlands B63 1BU Telephone: 01384 818220 Fax: 01384 818221 E-mail: [email protected] Pupils on Roll: 629 Executive Headteacher:Mrs Jeannette Mackinney Head of School: Mrs Rebecca Cox Chair of Governors: Mr George Craig (contactable through the school) School Hours: 8.45am – 3.30pm Local Education office: Westox House 1 Trinity Road Dudley DY1 1JQ Telephone: 01384 814225 2 School Aims and Vision The school aims are encapsulated by our school mission statement which is: Learning, Caring, Aiming High - Together Admissions Before application all parents are given the opportunity to make an appointment to visit the School. They will be welcomed and shown around by the Executive Head Teacher, Mrs J Mackinney, the Head of School, Mrs R Cox or Assistant Head of School Miss K Smith. Admissions Policy All preferences for community and voluntary controlled primary schools within Dudley Borough will be assessed against the following priorities, regardless of ranking, wherever possible we will seek to allocate a place at the school of the parents‟ highest ranking. If the child meets the admissions criteria for more than one school listed as a preference, the School Admissions Service will allocate the school that the parent ranked highest on their form. Priority is not given to first preference applicants. a) First priority will be given to relevant “looked after children” b) Second priority shall be given to children with a “serious and ongoing medical condition” where the preferred school is the most appropriate to meet the condition. (please see the admissions booklet for more information) c) Third priority to children who have a brother or sister already at the school who will still be attending at the time of entry. d) Any places that remain available once the above applicants have been admitted will be filled according to those children who live closest to the school, determined by a straight line measurement from the home address to the main entrance of the school. All application are made via www.dudley.gov.uk/admissions. Letters are sent out from the LEA informing Parents of the school to which their child has been allocated a place. School Admissions and Entry in 2013/2014 2013/14 - Applies to children born between 1st September 2008 and 31st August 2009. Please apply online at www.dudley.gov.uk/admissions. Dudley‟s admissions service processes all applications. The School admission number is 90 pupils per year. 3 Pre-School Children We are grateful for all the help parents give us in preparing their children properly for School. It is most useful if: Children can dress and undress themselves. Tie shoelaces or fasten buckles. Hold a pencil or crayon properly and colour a picture. Distinguish colour. Know the most popular Nursery Rhymes. Can use the toilet and inform their teacher when they need to visit! Listen to a story. Early Years Foundation Stage There are seven areas of learning and development that shape the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). All areas of learning are important and inter-connected. Three areas are crucial for igniting children‟s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. The three prime areas are: Personal, Social and Emotional Development Communication and Language Physical Development. The children are also supported in four specific areas, through which the prime areas are strengthened and applied. These specific areas are: English Mathematics Understanding the World Expressive Arts and Design Each area of learning is implemented through planned, purposeful play and a combination of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Learning is guided by the children‟s individual needs, interests and stages of development. Topics, for example „Space‟, are enhanced by a visit from a planetarium and „Mini-beasts‟ by observing butterflies as they emerged from cocoons, exploring Tulley‟s garden and visiting our „Forest School‟. We believe that play is essential for children‟s development; it builds their confidence as they learn to explore. We provide opportunities for child- initiated play in each classroom and outdoors, with a range of natural and man-made resources. Play enables children to think about problems, take risks and relate to each other. Children learn by leading their own play and by taking part in play which is guided by adults. It is important that children are given the opportunity to investigate and experience, and initiated to „have a go‟. Through active learning, we encourage the children to concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties. At Lutley, the children have the opportunity to develop their own ideas, make links between ideas and develop 4 strategies for doing things; for example den-making, constructing and role- play. As all aspects of young children‟s learning are linked, we provide the children with indoor and outdoor learning environments which offer opportunities for holistic development. Successful relationships between parents and educators have long-lasting and beneficial effects on children‟s learning and well-being. We provide opportunities to develop relationships at the beginning of the children‟s school experience by visiting their pre-school settings, inviting parents into school for workshops, home visits and pre-school sessions. Throughout the year, EYFS parents are invited into school frequently to spend time working alongside their child and sharing activities together. Positive relationships are important; each child has a key worker, so that every child and every family has a „special‟ relationship with one member of staff. To support the children‟s transition to Year 1, there are shared focus days, celebrations and activities, which develop the children‟s confidence and provide exciting, shared learning opportunities. Year 1 and 2 As the children move into Year 1, they move from the EYFS Curriculum to the National Curriculum. Their learning is then presented through a range of adult-led, adult-initiated, child-initiated and challenge activities. Each of these has a focus on refining skills and applying and extending their knowledge and understanding. During structured, teacher-led activities, the children are offered learning experiences to equip them with the appropriate knowledge, understanding and skills for them to become independent life-long learners, who take responsibility for and initiate their own learning. As a continuation from the EYFS, the Year 1 Team creates environments to inspire interest, motivate and challenge the children. Within the learning environment, the children participate in first-hand, active, concrete opportunities, which encourage them to be curious, to take risks, to investigate, to discover and to explore. We have many shared focus days and activities which support transition from the EYFS into Year 1, and later on in the school calendar from Year 1 to Year 2.