School Information 

The Staff, Governors and Pupils of Shilbottle First School would like to welcome you and your child to our school. We hope that your child’s time at our school will be both enjoyable and a valuable experience.

We have produced this booklet to tell you as much as possible about our school. We look forward to meeting you and believe that together we can prepare you for a positive start to school. We have a busy, happy and cheerful school; an experienced, hard working staff and a supportive dedicated Governing Body. We have been identified as an outstanding school for the third time. We were Outstanding in every area of OFSTED.

We have the Basis Skills Quality Mark  and have received an Achievement Award in 2001 and 2004. We have also renewed our 'Healthy Schools' award. Like many small schools in Northumberland we have strengthened our teaching and learning potential by belonging to a ‘cluster’ of schools, which support each other, sharing expertise and resources, and involving children in educational visits and drama productions. The other schools in the cluster are Swarland, Longhoughton, Felton, Hipsburn and Embleton.

Aims of the School

·          to create a happy, stimulating and caring environment in which children learn to co-operate and develop mutual respect for others and their belongings and feel happy and confident in their relationships with those around them ;

·          to promote self -respect and confidence in their own abilities, respect the abilities of others and to establish high standards of academic achievement and behaviour both within and beyond the classroom;

·          to develop an awareness of moral, spiritual, social and cultural values and a sensitivity towards the needs of others.

·          to provide a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum that meets  the requirements of the National Curriculum including Government directives, which in turn allows children to develop an understanding of the world around them;

·          to promote equal opportunities, taking into account the different needs and abilities of pupils so that all may achieve their potential;

·          to develop and improve the basic skills of children  through effective teaching programmes;

·          to gather and use information to monitor the progress and set targets for children;

·          to establish an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect and responsibility between home and school within which everyone can work together to successfully achieve these aims.

·         We see teaching and learning as a process of co-operative team work and welcome and encourage the involvement of parents and others in the community.

Class organisation and Sizes

We enjoy lower than average class sizes, usually around 26 children, although our early years class is usually around 20 children.

Times of the school day are as follows:

Morning-        – 8.50-10.05      10.20 -12.05

Afternoon-         1.00 – 2.00    2.15-3.15

There is a short break during each morning and afternoon session. For safety reasons we ask that children do not arrive at school before 8.45 in the morning, especially in cold or wet weather.

            We hope that you will always feel welcome at our school. If you have a particular query the teachers are always available either first thing in the morning or at the end of a day, or you can telephone during the lunch time period.

This is also the same for Mrs. Jefferies as she is a  teaching Headteacher, so if you especially need to see her it is usually best to ring and make an appointment unless the matter is urgent.

 The children are taught in a variety of ways according to the nature of the task being undertaken. This will range from whole class, to small groups or as individuals providing the most appropriate mode for both the child and the task.

Careful planning and preparation is undertaking to ensure a balance is maintained between subject areas and that the content and approaches are relevant to all children.

Core Subjects:

Literacy

We follow the National Literacy strategy in all classes. We have a large range of reading books, group readers and big books. Our predominate reading scheme is Oxford Reading Scheme. We encourage children to read every night and we have a home/school diary. We have a structured spelling scheme and children in both key stages bring home spellings to learn. We use Nelson Handwriting scheme a copy of which is available form school.

Numeracy

We aim to provide children with a wide experience of the National Numeracy Strategy through practical real life situations. We encourage children to develop their computational skills to enable them to work accurately and have a quick recall of facts. We work with children using whole class, groups and individual tasks to develop children’s knowledge and understanding. Homework is set on a regular basis which linked to the work in the classroom.

Science

Opportunities are provided to develop children’s scientific skills, attitudes and knowledge, which are needed to understand the world around them. Classroom tasks require children to use scientific methods of observation to observe, question and hypothesise through planned activities. We are fortunate to have extensive grounds offering a wealth of opportunities to explore the natural world.

Foundation Subjects:

Design and Technology

We try to raise children’s awareness of technological needs and opportunities within their environment. Children are given tasks and problems, which require them to design and make artefacts, systems or environments using appropriate resources and materials.

Information Technology

Each class has  at least two computers and we have a computer room where children work as a class. In Key stage 2 children work independently on the computers in break times etc. Children use word processing, data bases and a range of CD Roms to gather information.                        

History

Children are offered opportunities to develop an awareness of the past and an understanding of the passage of time, gaining knowledge and understanding of events and people in the past, both locally and nationally and how it has influenced us to-day.

Geography

We encourage children to make sense of their own locality through geography, gradually extending this to different regions. Other parts of the world will also be studied. A range of skills and knowledge learnt in geography will help children to make sense of the environment in which they live. Environmental issues are considered and a caring attitude towards our surroundings developed.

Art

The children are given the opportunity to experiment and acquire skills in the use and handling of different  materials. Children are given a wide range of experiences. The ability to observe, analyse and record visual information is developed. An understanding of artists and designers is developed by reference to their work.

Music

Through music pupils will develop their own skills in performing, composing and appraising. The use of voice, a range of musical instruments and pre-recorded music will help to develop these skills. We have a cluster teacher who teaches music one day a week for three half terms. Year 3 children have the opportunity to perform dance and music at Alnwick Playhouse. We have visiting musicians who work with children e.g. African Dancers, or have visits to listen to musicians eg Japanese Drummers.

Religious Education

Our aims in RE are to support children and young people in reflecting upon developing and affirming their own beliefs, values and attitudes, through an exploration of shared human experiences.

It is recognised that parents have the right to withdraw their child from RE lessons in its entirety or in part. If parents choose to withdraw their child from RE then special arrangements will be made.

Physical Education

PE involves the process of planning, performing and evaluating with the emphasis on physical activity. We offer a variety of activities including games, gymnastics, athletics, dance/movement and swimming. Jewellery should not be worn for PE as they are a safety risk.

Year 3 children have the opportunity to perform dance on the stage at Alnwick Playhouse. Year 3 / 4 go swimming at Alnwick Baths  every week.

Collective worship

 We have collective worship everyday, we invite people from different religious groups to come and talk to children from time to time. Our worship is broad and balanced. It is recognised that parents have the right to withdraw their child from collective worship in its entirety or in part. If parents choose to withdraw their child from collective worship then special arrangements will be made.  

Assessment

Our assessment procedures encompass all areas of learning and pupil development. Through careful, systematic assessment and recording we are able to build a picture of pupil achievement and plan future learning. National Curriculum Levels of attainment are recorded for individual pupils.

Target Setting

As a school we are very committed to improving the basic skills of the children we teach.

We have a target setting policy in our school, we use Baseline, SATs and teacher Assessment to monitor children’s progress. Where we feel children are underachieving we support by working with them to improve their skills, this could take the form of extra tuition or extra homework. Parents will be asked to be involved in this process. If Parents would like to see any policy please feel free to contact school for a copy.

Sporting Aims

Our children have a broad and balanced PE curriculum. Children are encouraged to take part in competitive games at Sports day and Key Stage 2 children take part in Football and Kwik cricket tournaments.Children also experience dance, gymnastics, game skills and swimming.

Sex Education

Our school has developed a sex education policy that forms parts of our health education. This is taught through various half termly units of work, assemblies etc.

Special Educational Needs

We closely follow Northumberland and Government guidelines on Special Educational Needs. Mrs. Hornby is our SEN co-ordinator and Individual Educational Plans are developed for pupils with Special Needs.

Admissions Policy

As the rules affecting admissions are important we recommend you read the County Council's Educational Booklet that deals with them at length.  We set out only some of the main points.  Our practice is to admit children to our Foundation Class the term after their 4th Birthday.  This means that children who are 4 years old before December 31st can be admitted 5 afternoons a week to school in January.

Those children who are 4 years old before March 31st can be admitted 5 mornings a week in April.  Children whose birthdays fall before September 1st will be admitted full time into the Foundation Class.  This is quite complicated so if you are in any doubt please ring the school.

Pre-school Visits

Beginning school is a really big experience for children - and sometimes for parents too!  To help smooth the way, we hold meetings with parents and the children have opportunities to come into our Foundation Classroom for visits.  Full details of these events will be sent to you.  

Transfer from other schools

During the course of the year, if there are places available, we take children into school, often as a result of parents moving house. We try and make this as comfortable as possible.

Parents resident outside the school’s catchment area who wish their children to attend the school may submit an application by completing a School Request Form ( copies available form the school or County Education office) and sending this to the Director  of Education at County Hall, Morpeth. NE61 2EF. Who will inform them whether a place is available for their children.

Behaviour

What happens if a child Misbehaves?

The school always expects high standards of behaviour both in and out of school. In a few cases where behaviour is unacceptable teachers and the Headteacher deal with the matter. The Headteacher will inform parents if the problem persists.

What does the school do about bullying?

The school has a firm anti-bullying Policy and set procedures are followed. Please be assured that everyone in school takes incidents of bullying very seriously. Parents are free to discuss any incidents with staff so bullying can be stopped quickly.

It is important that children come to school in clothing that is comfortable and appropriate for the time of year and for the activities the children are doing. In particular, fastenings on clothes can be very difficult for younger children, so try to make sure that your child is able to cope with whatever clothing they may be wearing.

Earrings must be stud earrings and be removed for PE. If a child has just had her/his ears pierced please provide plasters. (this is a Government Directive). Jewellery (except for inexpensive watches and stud earrings) should not be worn for school. It is the responsibility of the children’s to keep their property safe.

School Visits and Swimming

There are no charges made for books, materials, equipment or tuition.  However, parents are invited to make voluntary contributions towards the cost of educational visits and swimming lessons. Educational visits are made to different places or other schools and are seen as a valuable way of enriching the curriculum. These often give your child opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of an aspect of their schoolwork through first hand experience that would not be possible in a classroom environment.

Sometimes the children visit particular places e.g. The Roman Wall, Belsay Hall etc. in connection with their topic work.

Alternatively a drama or music production will be brought into school and perhaps shared by a range of children from other schools.

We try to keep the cost to a minimum. We have to point out that if parents did not contribute to the cost of these activities we would not be able to afford them.

School Meals

Our school meals are cooked on the premises and children are encouraged to stay for lunch or alternatively bring a packed lunch. Please make sure that your child’s dinner money is in a marked envelope or plastic bag.  A number of children have free school meals, forms are available from school for this.

Milk is also available at morning break there is a cost for this, children under the age of 5 will be able to get free milk.

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