Boldmere Infant & Nursery School 2015-2016 Prospectus Welcome to our school Boldmere Infant and Nursery School Cofield Road Sutton Coldfield B73 5SD Telephone: 0121 464 2338 Fax: 0121 464 4342 www.boldmere - inf.bham.sch.uk [email protected] Dear Parents On behalf of the governors, staff and children, may I welcome you and thank you for your interest in Boldmere Infant and Nursery School. I hope that you will find our prospectus both interesting and informative. Boldmere is an outstanding school, with academic standards that are significantly above national average. We know that this is important for parents, but we believe that this is only one element of our successful school. We aim to provide a creative, lively and balanced curriculum providing many opportunities for all children to have fun and achieve their personal best. We do this within a culture of caring, support and mutual respect. High standards of behaviour are expected at all times and our children learn to value both their community and environment. Children are encouraged to value not only themselves and their independence, but also to respect and celebrate the opinions, achievements and cultures of oth- ers. We welcome the involvement of parents/carers in many aspects of school life. You are essential partners in the education of your children. Parents/carers are kept informed of developments at school through regular newsletters, and where appropriate, parents are consulted and their opin- ions sought on various matters. To ensure that we offer the best possible education to all children throughout their primary years, in November 2010, after full consultation, the Governing Bodies of the Infant and Junior schools made the decision to Federate. This means that although still two separate schools, we have a single Governing Body and the two schools are able to work together closely. At Boldmere we believe that every child matters. We work as a team to make learning fun so that children develop a real joy of learning in a safe environment. Children are encouraged to become confident, independent learners who make a contribution to the life of the school and also ac- quire many valuable life skills to prepare them for global citizenship in the 21st century. We look forward to your partnership in achieving the aims of our school. Yours sincerely, Chris Hindle Chair of Governors 2 Ethos and Values Statement We aim to provide the best possible education to all children who attend our school. We work in partnership with parents, recognising that we each have a role to play in enabling children to achieve all of which they are capable. We work to provide a welcoming and stimulating environment which values, motivates and chal- lenges all children, promoting their independence and celebrating their individuality and personal achievements. We recognise the multicultural, multi-faith nature of the United Kingdom and understand the cru- cial role schools play in promoting British values. Within our Infant and Nursery school, values in- cluding mutual respect; tolerance of different faiths, beliefs and abilities; learning to live by rules and learning to take part in basic democratic processes is part of school life. We teach these val- ues as part of our curriculum and as part of everyday school life, at an age appropriate level. We want our children to have fun in their learning. We know that for children to learn successfully they must feel safe, confident and happy and therefore our school is a calm place with structure. We have the highest expectations of ourselves and of our children and families. 3 Aims of our School Self – the children will grow in self-esteem, self-confidence and independence work hard to achieve their own personal best and value their achieve- ments take responsibility for their own actions learn the difference between right and wrong Relationships – the children will work co-operatively celebrate achievements of others respect the opinions and property of others try to resolve disputes peacefully value community members as neighbours Society – the children will value our school family as a source of care and support respect the religions and cultures of others support equal opportunities for all accept and practise our shared school rules and positive approach to behaviour Environment – the children will value our natural world as a source of wonder and inspiration protect and develop our immediate environment value our community as a resource for learning develop an awareness of environmental issues. We try to have a common sense approach to our work in school. Our basic principle is that the needs of the children are central to all that we endeavour to achieve. 4 Staffing Senior Leadership Team: Mrs N Bell Headteacher Mrs S Kenny Deputy Headteacher Mrs J Caley Assistant Headteacher – Curriculum Mrs K Mason Assistant Headteacher – Pastoral Mrs K Armitage School Business Manager Teaching Staff: Nursery Reception Mrs M Snelson Ms C Parsons RP Mrs L Rawson Ms E Clover RE Year One Year Two Mrs V Eccles 1E Mrs J Beesley 2B Ms J Ebbitt 1J Ms K Wigley 2W Ms A Taylor-Lakin 1T Ms B Cormell 2CO Teaching Assistants Support Staff Ms K Abbotts (HLTA) Mrs D Dale Bursar Mrs J Thomas (HLTA) Ms L Campbell School Administrator Mrs J Price Mrs M Edwards Office support Mrs J Cresswell (HLTA) Mrs C Fanning Office support Mrs J Bennett Mrs S Long Learning Mentor Ms A Cesar Mr M Bell Teaching School coordinator Miss S Atkins Mr M Rollason Site Manager Mrs J Holmes Mrs D McDonald Mrs N Norrie Mrs S Hewitt Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTA) Our qualified HLTA staff are time-tabled to cover for teaching staff for planned time out of class e.g. planning and preparation time. All work during this time is set and monitored by class teachers Staff on maternity leave during 2015-16 are Mrs J Illidge, Mrs S Davies and Mrs M Perez 5 Useful Information School: Boldmere Infant and Nursery School Cofield Road Sutton Coldfield B73 5SD Telephone: 0121 464 2338 Email: [email protected] Local Authority: City of Bimingham School Classification: Co-educational community infant and nursery school Number of children on roll in main school: 270 Number of children on roll in Nursery: 26 full time equivalent Boldmere Federation Governing Body Governors play a vital role in the development of our schools. The Boldmere Federation has a joint Governing Body for the Infant and Junior Schools. The Governing Body is required to meet at least three times a year. Governing bodies are made up of representatives from the school and from the community. Governing bodies play a key role in the leadership of the school and are involved in a variety of areas of school leadership and management. The Boldmere Federation Governing Body comprises: 1 Local Authority Governor 2 Headteacher Governors 2 Parent Governors 1 Staff Governor 6 co-opted Governors (some of whom are also parents) Useful Information Minutes of meetings are available from the Junior school office (The Clerk to the Governing Body is Mrs Armitage) Governors meet at least twice a term Parents can write to the Chair of Governors care of either school Governors have legal duties and can only act together as a team Parent Governors Parent Governors provide a parents’ perspective on the school. They bring views of parents to meetings but speak as individuals. Governors are elected for a four year period. 6 About the School Boldmere Infant and Nursery School is set in beautiful grounds on the same site as Boldmere Junior School. There are three playgrounds and a large playing field. The grounds are used to support many aspects of learning. We have a hall used for assembly and PE and a separate dining hall. There is a well-resourced library and nine classrooms. Accommodation is set around a courtyard garden. We are a Community school with 270 children on roll and 52 children who attend nursery part time. The school is generally over-subscribed and we have very little in-year mobility. Organisation: Children enter Reception at the beginning of the year in which they become five. After three years they transfer to Junior school in the September after their seventh birthday. Parents have to apply for Jun- ior school places, but children who have attended the Infant school have priority over new applications. All classes have a maximum of 30 children and are organised as follows: 3 Reception classes 3 Year One classes 3 Year Two classes At the end of each year children are generally regrouped to form three new classes. This helps children to have the opportunity to build many different friendships during their time at the school. School Hours: 9.00 to 12.15 and 1.15 to 3.30 Following the introduction of Universal Free School Meals for Infant children in September 2014, we have to stagger lunchtime to accommodate all children having a school dinner. Re- ception begin lunch at 12.00 and Year 1 and Year 2 at 12.15pm. Children have a 15 minute break in the morning and afternoon. Start of the Day: Please be punctual and help your child to make a good start to the day. School starts at 9.00 but doors open at 8.50 for “trickle-in time” when members of staff will be at the main entrances to welcome children into school. Children arriving after 9.00 should come in through the front door where parents are asked to sign the late book. An adult must remain with the children on the playground until the school doors open at 8.50am.