Swavesey Primary School Middle Watch, Swavesey, Cambridge
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Swavesey Primary School Middle Watch, Swavesey, Cambridge. CB24 4RN www.swavesey.cambs.sch.uk Head Teacher: Mrs A-C Norden Telephone:(01954) 273312 e-mail: [email protected] Dear Parent/Carer I should like to welcome you and your family to Swavesey Primary School. I feel extremely fortunate to be working alongside such a dedicated and friendly team of staff and a highly supportive body of parents. We are very proud of our school. Within its secure and friendly environment, we work hard to attain high standards of achievement and behaviour. Each child is recognised as an individual and as such is valued and encouraged to develop to their full potential. Our end- of-Key Stage Two results in the last few years have reflected extremely high standards and hard work by all involved. The last two years have witnessed many enhancements to our learning resources. These include improving outside play facilities for our youngest children, and updating digital projectors, interactive whiteboards and introducing IPads for use in each of our classrooms. In our quest to make learning interesting and exciting, we are committed to further improvements within school, in many different areas. As parents, your role within your child’s education is vital. They are more likely to do well at school if there is a strong commitment from home and school for mutual support and open communication. We aim to work closely in partnership with parents, throughout the vitally important early stages of your child(ren)’s school life and as they move through the school. We also hope that parents enjoy feeling that they are an integral part of our school community. Choosing the right school for your child is a very important decision. Reading this prospectus is just one part of making that decision. The prospectus sets out to provide you with an introduction to our school. Should you feel, having read it, that there are important questions that remain unanswered, or you would like to visit, please do not hesitate to contact us. Yours sincerely Mrs Anna-Claire Norden The Core Subjects English During their years at Swavesey Primary School the children will be encouraged to develop their language abilities in the four key areas of speaking, listening, reading and writing. The main aims are to increase the children's fluency in spoken and written language for a wide range of purposes, and to develop their understanding, critical appreciation and enjoyment of literature. Much of the teaching of English is contained within the daily Literacy Hour as part of the National Literacy Strategy. Speaking and Listening It may seem to many parents that children already speak effectively before they come to school - and indeed this is generally true. Oral language comes naturally to most children, but there is a continued need for development and improvement. Most of the talking young children take part in within the home is casual, and if they forget what they wanted to say, or fail to make themselves clear, then there is usually someone who can help them to be understood. As they get older we encourage children to put longer and more complex units of speech together, and to express themselves clearly by selecting a vocabulary and style that is appropriate to the occasion. A vital part of growth and personal development is learning to be a good listener. The children will experience listening to one another and to many adults from inside and outside of school. They will be helped to understand the increasingly complex speech used by adults and regularly encouraged to take part in paired small group and class discussions. They will also learn to plan and present information, taking into account the ideas and opinions of others. Reading The ability to read is crucial to a child's progress and we take pride in our high standards at Swavesey Primary School. We seek to foster in every child the ability to read both for enjoyment and for information. The vital foundation of this process is laid in the early years at school by using a variety of approaches such as teaching phonics and word recognition. As the children progress, the emphasis changes from learning to read, to reading to learn. Reading for pleasure continues at each child's level, whilst extension activities encourage reading for a variety of purposes. The essential skills of research and information gathering are developed in this way. Parents can give tremendous support to their children by demonstrating the enjoyment they themselves derive from reading and by taking every opportunity to stress just how important reading is. It is from this positive attitude to reading both at home and in school that successful reading habits will grow. (See section on Homework) The main reading schemes used in Key Stage 1 are Oxford “Reading Tree”, Ginn “Lighthouse” and Collins “Big Cat Phonics”. A reading activity takes place virtually every day in school. We have a library/music room and we also have other ‘reading areas’ spaced around the school. Writing Learning to write is complex. There are many things to consider all at the same time. In the early stages of development children will learn how to hold a variety of writing implements; they will learn which symbol represents which sound and the rules for combining these sounds together to build words correctly; they will learn about the construction of sentences and the correct use of punctuation; they will learn how to form letters correctly and the importance of writing legibly; they will think about what and how they want to write. As the children progress they develop these skills. They are taught to appraise and refine their writing, and also to evaluate and comment on the writing of others. Computing is increasingly used for written tasks. Children are taught to express themselves clearly, accurately and imaginatively, with an appropriate style. Mathematics Mathematics at Swavesey Primary School aims to develop children’s understanding and enjoyment of the subject by using practical activities, exploration and discussion alongside the teaching of the relevant knowledge and skills. These skills are taught in line with the National Numeracy Strategy and are organised into seven strands of learning: Using and applying mathematics Counting and understanding number Knowing and using number facts Calculating Understanding shape Handling data Wherever possible teachers strive to link these areas of mathematics to our term topics and to the children’s wider environment to give opportunities for them to apply their mathematical skills in everyday contexts. Throughout the school children are encouraged to develop their use of mathematical language so that they can therefore develop their communication skills, such as explaining and reasoning, through a variety of problem solving activities. Science All children experience a broad, balanced, continuous science curriculum. This covers work on living things and their environment; materials and their uses; the Earth in space; forces; electricity and light; and sound. Science work is linked closely with other areas of the curriculum, particularly English, mathematics, Computing and design technology. Certain areas of health education are covered through our science studies, notably the effects of drug, alcohol and tobacco abuse. Through first hand experience, the children will develop the skills of scientific investigation. These include planning, predicting, measuring, fair testing and observation. The positive attitudes necessary to achieve success in science are also taught through investigative work. In addition to practical science resources, we seek to make use of our school grounds where living things can be studied in a natural environment. Day visits may also be organised occasionally to support topic work in science, including visits to and from our partner secondary school, which enjoys Specialist Science Status. The Foundation Subjects Music There are two main aspects to music within school, the making of music and the appreciation of music. Our aim is to give the children a broad experience of music- making using their voices, a range of tuned and untuned percussion instruments and ‘music technology’. They are also given the opportunity to listen to a range of music, old and new, from around the world. We encourage them to discuss its qualities, learn something of its history and cultural importance, and to begin to explain their preferences. Physical Education PE and sport has a high profile within the school. We are able to deliver two hours of PE for every child each week. Within the PE curriculum, the children in both key stages are taught gymnastics, dance, games and athletics. OAA (outdoor adventurous activity) is also taught in KS2. Classes in year 3 and 4 attend a series of swimming lessons at the St Ivo Recreation Centre. The school pays the tuition costs and parents are asked to make a voluntary contribution to cover transport costs. In year 6, additional opportunities for OAA are incorporated into a residential programme. Swavesey Primary has a good achievement record and sporting tradition. Team events are organised within the school on sports days, or between local schools in netball, football and cricket. The school link with the Schools Partnership Programme (SSCo) also enables many pupils to regularly participate in a variety of sports festivals throughout the year. Extra-curricular clubs run by staff include girl’s football, high 5 netball, cross-country, tennis and rounders. We also offer coaching from outside experts for Premier Soccer (at an extra cost). Hopefully their primary PE experience may lead to a lifetime interest that will see them keeping fit and playing sport for pleasure in years to come. Computing Computing plays a vital part in many aspects of our modern society. We aim to develop the confidence and ability of pupils in using computing so they gain the necessary skills to use technology to enhance their own learning.