St. Thomas’ Church of England Infant School Journeying together in faith and love Prospectus Welcome to our School Dear Parents Dear Parents their first steps into school. A good school will not only launch your child into a Thank you for considering St. Thomas’ We are very pleased and proud to happy and fulfilling education journey, but Church of England Infant School for your introduce you to St Thomas’ Church of also engage you in the local community. child. Choosing the first school for your England Infant School. The friends you and your child make are child is a very important one and we want likely to be long standing ones. you to feel happy and confident with your In creating our unique learning choice. We work hard at St Thomas’ to environment for children, we have At St Thomas’ we have successfully make sure that you feel part of a team, developed a friendly and informative style created an environment which maximises supporting your child in all aspects of important for all children’s early years the use of our site in providing excellent their development and education. education. Through adopting and living teaching and learning both inside and our school values, which are at the centre outside. At St. Thomas we strive to support your of our learning, we maintain high child in achieving their full potential , standards and ensure all children Collaboration outdoors can improve whatever their strengths and we offer a maximise their potential during their time emotional, intellectual and behavioural wide, engaging curriculum which means at St Thomas’. development. Learning outdoors helps the children here have a real love of develop creativity, problem-solving, learning. We have successfully attained both independence, and confidence. Ofsted, Outstanding and SIAMS, Excellent We offer a caring, positive environment so accreditations (Schools Inspection of We enjoy our close association with St that your child is happy and content at Anglican and Methodists Schools). Thomas’ church where we celebrate the school and able to get the best out of various festivals during the year. We hope every day with us. It is always a challenging time deciding by reading this prospectus and learning where you would like your child to take more about St Thomas’ you are Everyone is welcome here. We would love encouraged to choose St Thomas’ as the to show you around so that you can meet start for your child’s educational journey. us and find out more about our wonderful school. We believe our school provides a fantastic learning environment for children and for our staff to work. Yours faithfully Catherine Bordoli Yours faithfully Headteacher Steve Waite Chair of Governors Please phone 01635 253431 or email the school office [email protected] to arrange an appointment for a school tour About our school Admissions Federation St Thomas’ Church of England Infant Although the majority of children live In September 2020, the Governors of St School is a very friendly, welcoming school in Woolton Hill or the surrounding Thomas’ Church of England Infant School with a strong Christian ethos. The villages, we attract, and welcome, a and of Woolton Hill Junior School, after School’ core value statement ‘Journeying good number of children from further consultation with parents and other together in Faith and Love’ encapsulates afield including Newbury and stakeholders, took the decision to the core values of our school. These core Thatcham federate. values are developed and embedded The school currently has 102 children on role aged between 4 and 7. We currently Journeying Together in have 3 mixed aged classes with year R/1 together and a year 2 class. Our mixed Faith and Love age classes work very well with opportunities for the younger children to learn from the older children as well as across the school through the values of access for all to our well designed and thankfulness, truthfulness, friendship, outdoor learning areas. The use of mixed forgiveness, compassion and respect. age classes is based on admission numbers in any particular year. We have a team of highly skilled and By federating the schools, the Governors experienced Teaching Assistants who The Published Admission Number (PAN) expect to unlock potential in both schools work in all of our classes to support for St Thomas’ Church of England Infant to provide an even richer educational children’s learning in all areas of the School for 2020-2021 is 45. experience for pupils and a more curriculum. We are very fortunate that our rewarding role for staff. In particular, the Teaching Assistants support and take care The Governors currently expect the federation means that we can now find a of the children during lunch and break number of applicants to be less than 45 more joined up primary education in the times. meaning there are likely to be spaces village of Woolton Hill. available and increasing the likelihood of The school has a Special Educational applications from outside the immediate Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who is area being successful. employed for 2 days a week and there is an excellent programme of precision The situation is similar in Woolton Hill teaching and Special Educational Needs Junior School. This means that whilst (SEN) programmes across the school. The there is currently no formal or automatic SENCO also works with children in their admission to the Junior School from the classes and organises the Better Reading Infant School this remains the obvious Partnership Scheme. and favoured choice for pupils. Values and Learning Powers Parent Teacher Association Every half term we focus on a different events. Parents have nothing but praise as Through fundraising, our Parent Teacher value and this is then explored through these young pupils discover themselves. Association (PTA) provides many our worship and learning in an age Pupils know the road they travel, and the additional resources and experiences that appropriate way. importance of ‘being kind to people’, living support the children in so many ways. The out the values. Undoubtedly, St Thomas’ PTA have provided financial support with For example our core value of pupils are proud of who they are. They are our wonderful outdoor equipment and thankfulness is explored through Harvest learning to love and be kind to the world most recently made a substantial and giving to others, with pupils near and far. contribution to our phonically decodable contributing to our local community food books for our early readers. bank and fundraising for our link school in Uganda. ” The PTA cleverly combine fundraising Religious Education (RE) is exceptionally events with events that the children love, The strong sense of values are clear well led and develops these young pupils’ and there is always a warm welcome for from our recent Siams Inspection : understanding of the Christian faith and parents wanting to become involved. the teachings of Jesus. This is underpinned by the school’s core values, Some annual highlights include the Winter Meaningful“ experiences offered to pupils enabling pupils to take small steps Wonderland, Valentines Disco, Summer at St Thomas’ are life-changing. Pupils are towards making a change in society Social, and the popular Parents’ Fish & growing in confidence all the time, and get Chip Quiz! involved in Rota Kids, a young person’s experience of supporting community Even with the current restrictions in place, our PTA is being extremely creative and planning a range of fundraising events and experiences for the children over the coming year. Audrey the Ant Resourceful Learner ss F ne Clive the Cat ip orgive R sh e Independent Learner Friend spe t Daphne the Dolphin c Resourceful Learner n io Learning ss Compa Ethel the Elephant Powers Cooperative Learner Mike the Monkey The school values are a key component Inquisitive Learner in the childrens’ development Steve the Spider Persevering Learner Larry the Lion Confident Learner Curriculum Home Learning Links to the church We have an ambitious curriculum We are currently developing our home As a Church School by foundation, St covering all of the EYFS areas of learning learning to incorporate Tapestry for our Thomas’ School began serving children of and Key Stage 1. Our curriculum is Year R pupils which is a secure online all faiths, or none, from the parish of underpinned by our learning powers, learning journal helping staff and families Woolton Hill. The catchment area was instilling a love of learning and challenge celebrate their children’s learning and extended in 1977 to include the parish of for all children. development. For Year 1 and 2 children Highclere and now we welcome many we are launching Google Classroom which children from further afield. In Year R, the children get opportunities will provide enhanced opportunities for for their Personal, Social, Emotional and pupils to be set work and hand it in Our connection with St Thomas’ Church Physical Development. Through project digitally. remains a fundamental part of school life. work, they learn about people and Our school values and Collective Worship communities, technology as well as art reflect the Anglican Christian tradition. and design. We have outstanding Foundation Governors make up 25% of provision for reading and writing and the Governing Body. encourage a strong partnership with parents. Collective Worship and church links Our pupils in Year 1 and 2 are taught We hold an annual round of school Maths and English as discrete subjects services, including the festivals of Harvest, but also weave them into our wider Christmas, Easter and a Leavers’ Service. curriculum. These subjects include Children also come to church for some of History, Geography, Computing, Music, Art their collective worships and for and Design, PE and RE.