Email: bathnes_pri@bathnes.gov.uk
batheaston primary school bath, church of england school bath, cevc school bath, voluntary controlled school bath, primary school bath, batheaston school bath, batheaston northend school bath, northend school bath, northend primary school bath, batheaston cevc primary school bath, batheaston primary school northend bath
batheaston northend school bath
Batheaston Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Prospectus
Acknowledgements
Batheaston School is extremely grateful to its sponsors for their substantial contributions. The educational opportunities that we are able to provide for our children as a result of the following sponsors’ generosity are greatly enhanced, and we celebrate their involvement and support:-
Batheaston Parish Council
The Barrow Cadbury Trust
The Medlock Charitable Trust
E U Funding Comenius Project with European Schools
St. Mark’s School Business Partnership grant
Ralph Allen School Science Partnership Grant
EDF Energy Grant
Energy Saving Trust Grant
As well as the support provided by companies and Trusts, we are also extremely grateful to our individual sponsors.
School Awards and Special Achievements
- Our school was included on the Ofsted list of "Most Successful Schools" (2005)
- Healthy Schools Award (2003, 2007)
- School Grounds Award (Learning Through Landscapes) (2004/5)
- The Teaching Awards, Sustainable School, regional final in 2007
- School Travel Plans (e.g. Walking to School initiatives) (2005)
- Inclusion Quality Mark, renewed November 2008
- Eco-School and Global School status, and now working towards the Green Flag award which is the highest Eco-School grade
- Activemark Gold award for dedication to the benefits of sport and PE
- FMSiS – Financial Management Standard in Schools
- Commendation from ContinYou’s schools ETC awards for our Wednesday Workshop programme
We have been featured as an example of excellent practise in the DFES training film sent to all schools on inclusion.
More recently, we appeared on a television programme (2007) as part of a programme about reducing carbon emissions.
To see the 2009 Key Stage 2 school results, click here.
The Philosophy of Batheaston School
Batheaston is a Church of England Primary School. Our particular school philosophy also centres 7 aims:
1. To enjoy the uniqueness of every child and endeavour to demonstrate to each of them our high expectations. Also, to develop in them the exciting experience of high self-esteem.
2. To focus on providing appropriate learning opportunities. These would be informed by a highly professional understanding of children’s initial attainment and background factors. Whilst taking into account their individual needs and strengths, we therefore promote the progress of all our pupils beyond what would be expected.
3. That all our children will really enjoy coming to Primary School, and will develop a love for learning which will continue throughout their lives. Also, that this love of learning and self confidence will enable them to pursue excellent higher education courses, employment and personal opportunities in later years.
4. To endeavour to create a friendly and democratic atmosphere, where all children are given responsibility for each other’s care and happiness, and are encouraged to participate in the running and development of the school.
5. To create a real partnership with parents. Their contribution to the learning process, to the happy learning atmosphere, and to the development of the school, is a very real commitment made by all members of our staff.
6. To instil respect for religious and moral values and tolerance of other cultures, religions and way of life. By providing a rich learning environment and experiences of wonder, awe and mystery we actively provide spiritual and moral development.
7. To understand more about the world they live in and interdependence of individuals, groups and nations and the need to value and care for the environment.
During a recent INSET day, staff parents and Governors came together to discuss what we valued most highly about our school and the experience children have here. Although there were more than 50 people contributing, we unanimously agreed that in the future we will continue to endeavour to ensure we:
- Encourage excellence
- Maintain a high standard of learning environment
- Include everyone
- Live our ethos
- Engage in a creative curriculum
- Communicate effectively
- Build community
- Protect the future
PART ONE
School Information
The School Accommodation
Batheaston village is sited on the outskirts of the city of Bath, and is a well-established community with a wide mix of housing provision. The school is situated in quiet and picturesque surroundings, nestling against the brook at the bottom of St. Catherine’s Valley.
We are extremely fortunate to have a beautiful original Victorian classroom block, with a modern large extension for creative activities, together with a Music Pavilion which houses our Steel Pans, and which leads onto a platform and amphitheatre for performances. The site is accessible for disabled children and visitors, including ramps, toilet facilities, etc.
We have also secured funding for an ambitious building project, and are in the process of completely redesigning the rest of the school buildings, to include new Hall with its own kitchen; 2 new classrooms; provision for our Breakfast and Out of School Club and possibly more! This exciting project aims to provide the state-of-the-art facilities we feel our children deserve.
The School Location
The school provides places for girls and boys between the ages of 4 and 11.
Address: School Lane
Northend
Bath
BA1 7EP
Telephone: (01225) 858555
Fax: (01225) 852893
Email: batheaston_pri@bathnes.gov.uk
Website: www.batheastonprimary.co.uk
Dates and Events 2009/10
Please be aware that there may be some INSET Days (days when the school is closed for staff training) that yet need to be finialised, but we will do our very best to give you as much warning of these as possible.
| TERM 4 | Start: | Monday 23 February |
| Class 1 Cake Sale: | Friday 6 March | |
| 5x5x5 Parents Meeting: | Thursday 19 March (6.00pm) | |
| Victorian Day: | Monday 30 March | |
| Class 3 Cake Sale: | Friday 3 April | |
| Finish: | Friday 3 April | |
| TERM 5 | Start: | Monday 20 April |
| Grounds Day: | Saturday 25th April | |
| Bank Holiday: | Monday 4 May | |
| Auction of Promises: | Saturday 16 May | |
| KS2 SATs Week: | 11-15 May | |
| Bude Trip Cl. 6 and 7: | 17-22 May | |
| Finish: | Friday 22 May | |
| TERM 6 | Start: | Monday 1 June |
| Reception 09 Induction Morning: | Thursday 4 June | |
| INSET Day: | Monday 29 June | |
| School BBQ: | Saturday 11 July | |
| Finish: | Wednesday 22 July (1.00pm) | |
| TERM 1 | Start: | Wednesday 2 September |
| Finish: | Wednesday 21 October | |
| TERM 2 | Start: | Monday 2 November |
| Finish: | Friday 18 December | |
| TERM 3, 2010 | Start: | Monday 4 Janurary, 2010 |
| Finish: | Friday 12 February | |
| TERM 4 | Start: | Monday 22 February |
| Finish: | Thursday 1 April | |
| TERM 5 | Start: | Monday 19 April |
| Bank Holiday: | Monday 3 May | |
| Finish: | Friday 28 May | |
| TERM 6 | Start: | Monday 7 June |
Daily Timetable:
| Lessons Begin a.m. | Play Time a.m. | Lunch break | Play Time p.m. | Lessons End p.m. | Wednesday Workshops (optional) | |
| Monday to Friday | 8.55 | 10.40 - 11.00 | KS1 12.05 - 12.55 | 2.15 - 2.30 | KS1 3.15 | . |
| . | . | . | KS2 12.30 - 1.15 | (KS1 only) | KS2 3.20 | . |
| Wednesday | 8.55 | 10.15 - 10.35 | KS1 11.50 - 12.30 | 2.00 - 2.15 | KS1 1.00 | 1.00 - 3.15 |
| . | . | . | KS2 12.05 - 12.30 | . | KS2 1.00 | . |
There are also Assemblies at various times throughout the week.
The Key Stage Structure
KEY STAGE 1 is for children of ages 5 to 7 (Class 1, Class 2)
KEY STAGE 2 is for children aged between 7 and 11 (Classes 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7).
Children begin to attend schools at different ages throughout the country, but all children have to attend school the term after their 5th birthday, by law. For this reason, the time in school before this is in the "RECEPTION" class.
In B&NES, because children are entitles to start school in the September of the school year in which they become 5, the Reception class is for a whole year, for all children, known as the FOUNDATION STAGE. Children in the Reception Class follow a related, but separate curriculum, called the Foundation Curriculum, and this is organised through 6 areas of study. Children in pre-school education will be familiar with the Foundation Curriculum. The National Curriculum is introduced in Y1, and this structure is then used right through GCSEs. The first year in Secondary School is Y7.
| Class 1 = Reception | FOUNDATION STAGE (also known as EARLY YEARS) |
| Class 2 = Year 1 | KEY STAGE 1 (previously known as INFANTS) |
| Class 3 = Year 2 | |
| Class 4 = Year 3 | |
| Class 5 = Year 4 | KEY STAGE 2 (previously known as JUNIORS) |
| Class 6 = Year 5 | |
| Class 7 = Year 6 |
The Staff Who Look After Your Children in School
| Teachers: | Reception | Nikki Macbeth and Jackie Taylor |
| KS1 | Claire Dancer and Sarah Gregory | |
| KS2 | Alison Smith | |
| Sarah Coleman | ||
| Tania King | ||
| Claire Wall | ||
| Chris Wathern (Deputy Head) | ||
| Headteachers: | Sarah Weber | |
| Deputy Headteacher: | Chris Walthern | |
| Special Needs Teacher: | Jon Stevenson | |
| Wednesday Workshop Co-ordinator: | Sheena Tavendale | |
| Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Special Needs | ||
| Assistants (SNAs supporting individual children with special needs): | ||
| Sarah Coleman | Charlie May | Sue Rosser |
| Wendy Delgadillo-Cardona | Elise Menghini | Lisa Smithers |
| Sarah Finch | Suzy Pritchard | Lin Symes |
| Trish Goodwin | Christina Romero | Sheena Tavendale |
| Nancy Horstmann | Sally Robertson | Sue Trott |
| Judy Wilband | ||
| Secretary: | Caroline Courtenay-Clack | |
| Office Asstistants: | Nicky Benjamin | |
| Sue Rush | ||
| Lunchtime Supervisors: | Belinda Milsom | |
| Lin Symes | ||
| Sandra Treacy | ||
| Cara Frayling | ||
| Jonathan Burnstone | ||
| Hannah Lewis | ||
| Caretaker: | Phil Reeves | |
| Cook: | Mary Johnson | |
| Kitchen Assistant: | Julie Wilkins |
The School Governors
Governors are like a Board of Directors and make decisions about how the school if run. They meet at least once a term at school. Governors are appointed to help:
- decide what is taught.
- set standards of behaviour.
- interview and select staff.
- decide how the school budget is spent.
Governors have legal duties and can only act together, not individually. School Governors are parents; teachers at the school; local Council representatives; community representatives; businessmen and women.
Parent Governors:
- have a child in school.
- are elected by parents of the school.
- serve, as other Governors do, for 4 years.
If you are interested in becoming a parent Governor, please ask the Headteachers for details. The current board of Governors are:
Ms. Lee Hennessy (Chair).
Ms. Anne O'Bryan.
Ms. Belinda Burnstone.
Ms. Jacquie Coulby.
Ms. Caroline Courtenay-Clack.
Ms. Joe Devine.
Ms. Louisa Kile.
Ms. Penny Hay.
Rev'd. Alison Fry.
Mr. Peter Giles.
Ms. Alison Gittens.
Ms. Frank Longstreth.
Ms. Deborah Middleton.
Ms. Jackie Taylor.
Mr. Justin Temblett-Wood.
Mr. Martin Veal.
Mr. Stephen Ward.
Mr. Henry Weber.
Our Approach to Discipline
OFSTED wrote about our school: "the level of care, guidance and support in this school is exceptional. High levels of commitment from all the school community ensure that all pupils feel safe and well cared for. All safeguarding arrangements are secure and robust. The quality of care is reflected in the pupils' exemplary behaviour and mature attitudes." January 2008.
At Batheaston School, all children are equal and have a right to enjoy their learning environment in an atmosphere of tranquillity, friendship and respect. We have a clear and detailed policy for managing the children’s behaviour which you are welcome to read. We are convinced that the respect between teachers and children is not formed out of distance and formality - respect should be earned and co-operation will result from this. These are some of the ways in which we aim to provide this:
1. By holding very clear, high and consistent expectations for their code of behaviour towards each other.
2. By promoting an atmosphere whereby the individuality of each child is celebrated and not isolated.
3. By responding to inappropriate behaviour constructively, and with the commitment to teach those children alternative responses.
4. Most importantly, by using every opportunity not only to identify and appreciate 'good' behaviour, but also to prevent inappropriate behaviour (e.g. through forward planning, regular class discussion, additional support, and also by regular assessment of the child’s progress).
Our approach is a positive one wherever possible. In this way, the children are encouraged to share decision-making with adults and the emphasis is on belonging and participation rather than through external control. Issues that concern children, such as fairness, being listened to as individuals and being enjoyed and appreciated are all central to our approach.
Because our school aims to be an inclusive school, it is important that all the children learn to contribute towards the school ethos where they are all equally valued. Children are expected to be patient, understanding and supportive to each other, and to appreciate that some people’s needs are greater or more obvious than others. In this context, children with behaviour difficulties are still seen as valued friends who wish to conform and be positive members of the class, who are working on their inappropriate behaviour and who appreciate the friendship and support of their peer group.
Awards, such as stickers, points, certificates and Golden Letters for learning or positive attitudes are issued for special effort, and the teachers take a positive interest in the behaviour of all the children in the school. It is an aim of every member of staff to know and make a good relationship with each child in the school.
Praise and encouragement are used so frequently as a method for maintaining good behaviour, that we often notice the children also adopting the habit of supporting each other in this way. Each week, a Sharing Assembly celebrates children’s effort and achievement in their class activities.
In order to identify, encourage and maintain a productive working atmosphere/ethos in the KS2 classrooms, we have developed a system for awarding points to individuals and to work groups against criteria such as; working quietly, supporting a friend, finishing the task, tidying away quickly etc. Each week, different children are acknowledged as being ‘Worker of the Week’ or ‘Group of the Week’, with the aim that all children should be able to gain this recognition at some point of the year. At the end of term, these children attend a Success Cinema, where they enjoy a popular children’s DVD film.
One of the ways we aim to promote good behaviour is by mixing the children in terms of age groups. The oldest children in the school are presented to the other children as ‘carers’ - next in line to the staff. They are encouraged to support the younger children and to praise and encourage them in their work and for good behaviour.
The older children help the Reception Class to adjust to large gatherings, like playtimes, assemblies etc., and they often organise games for them voluntarily during the lunch-hours, write stories for them etc. In this way, the older children are presented in a caring role, and they then act as positive models for younger children.
Nurture Group. Every morning, children who are known to be having a difficulty or just need some extra time to settle in, meet up individually with a member of staff for 10-15 minutes before going in to join their classes. This opportunity for a chat will often ensure that the child can go into class in a relaxed and positive frame of mind.
Generally, if any serious difficulty emerges, the first step is to involve the child’s family in order to talk the whole situation through together, and to evolve a joint plan to ensure that the appropriate changes of behaviour are attained. Should this process cause the general learning opportunities for the rest of the child’s class to deteriorate, then on certain occasions, that child would be temporarily separated from the other children - usually inside their classroom.
As with learning difficulties, we enjoy holding high expectations of the children’s behaviour, and our clear intention is to develop in them:
self-discipline
a high self-esteem
confidence to think independently
Instead of obeying the rules because they are highly controlled by the adults around them, and are in fear of punishment, we want children to co-operate like a member of an orchestra, because they have as much commitment towards the enjoyment of the resulting performance as the conductor.
Our commitment and approach to help all children to develop a high self-esteem and to be happy at school has also been featured in both a national newspaper and in a BBC news programme.
Lunchtimes
We are very fortunate that our school lunches are cooked on site in our own kitchen. We follow the B&NES catering policy of providing choices, each providing a healthy, balanced and varied diet. There is always provision for vegetarians, and we will endeavour to provide any special dietary requirements should we be requested to do so.
These meals may be purchased at the cost of £1.85 each and we request that the weekly amount be brought to the office in a sealed, named envelope at the beginning of each week, or termly if preferred.
We have recently achieved the Healthy School’s Award which includes an emphasis on happy and healthy lunchtimes. Children bringing a packed lunch eat as part of these groups and everyone is supervised by a team of lunchtime staff. Children are asked not to bring fizzy drinks, chocolate or sweets to school and are strongly advised to try to bring fruit as part of their lunch, and to avoid bringing crisps to school.
Parents on Income Support are eligible for Free School Dinners, and no distinction is made to the children between those who are paying and those who are receiving this support. If you would like to find out about Free Dinners, please do not hesitate to ask the office to help you with the appropriate form and information.
Lunchtime Play
The children are given a variety of play activities to choose from at lunchtime. They are allowed to play inside if it is cold or wet, and outside they are provided with facilities for football or other ball games (for boys and girls together) as well as all sorts of toys.
The Play/Friendship monitors are also there to help other children with ideas, to find a friend or to organise and collect the resources, and there are also games and equipment to use. There is a large sandpit, a basket ball area, and a willow dome is used for both imaginative play and quiet reading. Our amphitheatre and music pavilion enables children to organise informal performances and the children’s gardens provide further opportunities for children of different age groups to work together to care for their plants outside.
We also currently have guinea pigs, rabbits and goats which the children care for and enjoy watching.
There are other areas where the children can relax or play including the wildlife area; the Mediterranean Garden; the bark trail, the limestone henge; the seats by the brook or beside one of the animal pens. One of our important aims at the school is to develop in the children a love of the outdoor environment, and spending time studying and enjoying themselves in this way.
We have a canopy, which provides a large covered outdoor play space for the children, and also a South African Lapa, which provides a picturesque open setting where the children can sit and talk beneath the thatch and shade from the summer sun. During wet lunchtimes, there are a variety of games, toys and puzzles are available for the children.
Children in their first year at school are provided with a Special Friend who is one of our 10 or 11 year olds. The older children play with the younger children and help them to socialise together with their friends, to play appropriate games, use the play areas safely and generally have fun and confidence in the playground.
Playtimes are usually times for relaxing and/or playing with friends. Occasionally, however, children’s friendships can be a bit problematic or children may not wish to play the game their close friends have chosen. In order to avoid any child feeling alone or bored at playtimes, there is a Friendship Stop in the two main playtime areas.
Any child at a loose end can sit at the Friendship Stop (a bench with a notice) and a friendship monitor will come and chat to them and find a group/game for that child to join. All children know that if a friendship monitor asks them to include another child into their game; their job is to welcome the additional child and to help them to feel included and to have fun. There is a rota of volunteers from all classes to perform the important role of friendship monitor.
The only rule at lunchtime is that in the context of trying to provide the children with lots of activities, we ask them to look after each other in a caring, co-operative way.
If a Lunchtime Supervisor feels that a child is becoming too excited, or has done something minor to upset another child, they will usually be asked to sit quietly on a bench for a few minutes. For a more serious behaviour (e.g. name-calling) they may have to sit inside, with supervision, and miss their playtime completely.
In the very rare event that a child is seriously unkind to another child, is unco-operative with a Supervisor or risks their own or other’s safety in any way, we will work with him or her to change this behaviour. Their parents will also be given a written letter, warning them that if this child is involved in a similar incident during the following fortnight, they will be asked to go home for dinner for a period of a week.
We have found that it is extremely rare to need to write a letter of warning, and even rarer to need to take further action. The children are well aware of this rule, and feel it to be an appropriate safeguard against unacceptable, unfriendly behaviour.
These social playtimes are an important part in the school day for the children. As well as being relaxed and happy occasions in terms of friendships, we feel they need to offer a variety of experiences for stimulating activity and for shared or individual tranquillity.
The teachers and lunchtime supervisors have worked together to evolve a shared ethos for this time, and to provide continuity in their guidance and approach to the children.
Breaktime Snacks
We are aware that for some children, it is a long time between breakfast and lunch - also that some children don’t like to eat much at breakfast. You may therefore like to provide your child with, for example, fruit as a mid-morning snack. Chocolate and sweets are not allowed, and we prefer that children do not bring crisps, but if they do, to limit this to occasionally.
We hold a healthy Tuck Shop during the morning break. This shop is run by the children in Class 7, whose responsibility involves reviewing the popularity of various items and ordering stock as well as serving, cashing up etc. A whole range of healthy snacks, chosen by parents and pupils, and including ChariSnacks which donate a portion of their profit to charity, are on sale for 25p.
Classes 1, 2 and 3 are provided with fruit each day, and many children love this and like to carry this on by bringing fruit from home one they reach KS2.
Supervision
During all the breaktimes, there are always at least 3 members of staff with the children in the playground. At lunchtime the five supervisors organise playground games and look after the children in the dinner hall and outside play areas.
Wednesday Afternoon Workshops:
At Batheaston, the organisation of the teaching week has been modified to fit into 4 ½ days. The start/finish times of the day have been very slightly altered and the lunchtime period shortened. A whole programme of exciting clubs is now long established, and over the years have included the following:
| Art with Heart | Fun and the Bible | Yoga |
| Indian Art | Cookery | Pottery |
| Drama | Being an Artist | Dance |
| Taste of Art | Journalism | Cinema Club |
| Sign Language | Steel Pans | Drum Fun |
Sports’ coaching is also available.
Many activities are free of charge apart from an initial contribution of £1.50 towards administration costs, but parents also have the choice of their children attending clubs with a small charge to cover the cost of the specialist teacher and/or materials (e.g. Basketball at £10 per term; Drum Fun at £15 per term). For lots of parents, this will enable their children to receive sports coaching during a weekday session, and thus save them from using weekend or evening time for this purpose. School swimming sessions have also been moved to Wednesday afternoons, thus avoiding children missing lesson times for this learning.
Because the Wednesday afternoon workshops are not official school time, children do not have to attend school during this session. Parents can take their children home or on outings from 1.00pm - or arrange dental or doctor appointments for this time, in the knowledge that they won’t be missing any lessons. There is a very careful registration and procedure for notifying the school if a child is given permission by parents to leave the school on a Wednesday afternoon.
For the class teachers, Wednesday afternoons are no longer part of their teaching week. They will usually spend this time in team planning and preparation with colleagues of a similar teaching age group. This will be advantageous for them, enabling them to reduce the amount of evening and weekend time spent in this way.
The Headteacher or Deputy will normally be on site so in this way, should it ever be needed, there is additional adult support available. The workshop programme is, however, fully staff by members of the school team and supervised by the Workshop Co-ordinator, Sheena Tavendale. Community volunteers, parents and artists/specialists (all of whom have completed necessary CRB police checks and first aid courses etc.) also lead activities.
After Scool Clubs
Over the years, we have provided a large range of After School Clubs. Since providing the extremely varied and changing Wednesday Workshops, we have found that fewer children are staying for the after-school clubs now, but they are still offered from time to time as interests arise, particularly in the area of sports and drama.
Lateness
If you are very occasionally unavoidably late, don’t worry - we would always rather children came to school late than not at all. However, if your child was frequently late, we would contact you to see if there was a specific problem with which we could help. Because registration time is a vital part of the day, when the day’s plans are shared and explained, missing this session disadvantages children. It can also be disruptive to the teacher and other children to be interrupted during this time.
After the register is called, it is sent to the school office, and if a child comes to school after this, for Health and Safety reasons their parent will need to go to the Office to fill in the late book, and indicate whether they are having a school lunch.
Attendance
The Government requires that we keep detailed records of every child’s attendance, and from these, reports are publicised regarding the number of authorised/ unauthorised absences in every school nationally. The local Education Welfare Office comes to the school regularly to monitor the level of attendance. Any unauthorised absence is perceived to be truancy.
In order to maintain these records, we would ask that all parents complete the Absence Book (in Reception) when their child returns to school after any absence. All that needs to be filled in is the child’s name and class, the dates h/she was away, and the reason (illness, doctor’s appointment etc.) Parents need to be very rigorous about always completing the book after any absence, and should they forget we will put an Absence Note in their child’s book bag for them to fill in. In this way, we hope to be able to continue to have minimal unauthorised absences.
The Government is striving to reduce the amount of school time lost by children and therefore parents are strongly discouraged from taking their children out of school for holidays. For this reason special consent should be requested from the Headteacher. A required form is available from the school office.
Security in School
During every busy day, we welcome a lot of visitors to the school. All visitors follow the routine of coming to the Reception signing in so that we have a record that they are in school. Visitors are then given a badge so that everyone knows that they have a specific reason to be in school, and they are asked to sign out, too. An adult will approach anyone on the school premises without a badge. All adults who work with the children, including volunteers will need an up to date CRB check.
Our Health and Safety Governor and teacher representative regularly review the school grounds to check whether any improvements need to be made to ensure the children are safe in the playgrounds and moving around the school.
Health and Welfare
It is VITALLY IMPORTANT that we are provided with up-to-date Emergency Contact Numbers for all the children, so that we can phone you or a delegated person should they feel ill and need to come home. We ask that you remember to inform us should circumstances change, e.g. change of workplace, mobile phone number etc.
If, for any reason, you feel it would be advisable for your child to miss swimming or PE, please write to us and we will make an alternative arrangement during this lesson time.
If your child has any specific health problems, disabilities or requirements, please be sure to discuss these with us and we will do all that we can to help and, if appropriate, to ensure that your child receives a medical examination.
Staff are trained to deal with first aid, and use an Accident Book to record any injuries. Minor bumps and grazes can usually be treated adequately with moistened cotton wool. Following any bump to the head, a sheet is completed for the child’s parent information, so that they are aware of the incident and able to monitor the child over the next 24 hours. Serious accidents/injuries requiring first aid are recorded and investigated following the B&NES guidelines.
With regard to ASTHMA, the situation is as follows:-
We are always happy to make special arrangements for children with asthma who have inhalers. These should be discussed with their class teacher. We follow B&NES policy, which is:
"Children over 8 years of age: In general, these children are able to self-administer their inhalers, and keep them on their person, in their drawer or desk, etc. Individual teachers will be aware of the varying abilities of children, and if there is any doubt about a child’s ability to cope, they will apply the procedures as per the under-8’s, below. Staff should be mindful of the effects on asthma sufferers, particularly with regard to Sport/PE, going out in the cold, pets in classrooms, etc.
Children under 8 years of age: It is important that these children have access to their reliever inhaler at all times. Inhalers will be held in an appropriate place, e.g. Teacher’s desk, and should be labelled clearly by the parent with the child’s name. The responsibility for checking if the inhaler is fully charged or otherwise properly functioning rests with the parent. It is not the responsibility of any member of school staff. Many young children can use their own inhalers, and the responsibility of the teaching staff is to supervise the self-administration of the inhaler".
The School Uniform
The colours of the school uniform are NAVY and RED or any combination of these colours.
There are top-quality sweatshirts, polo shirts, T-shirts, fleeces, designed in red with a navy logo, or navy with a red logo plus checked summer dresses.
All uniform can be ordered online from our local supplier at:
We really look for parents to encourage the children to wear the colours, as we have taken great care to find an approach which the children will enjoy and which gives scope for individuality. Wearing a uniform such as ours helps to avoid fashion clothes becoming a significant distraction in the older year groups, which can take the emphasis away from the ethos of learning.
Y6 children (those in their last year before Secondary School) wear a T-shirt and jumper/fleece/sweatshirt in BLACK and these items too can be ordered from Michael Hope. The Y6 children wished to demonstrate that they were in their final year of Primary School, and therefore their seniority and willingness to take on responsibility to help the younger pupils.
’Eco-Monitors’ are provided with a green hooded sweatshirt with ‘ECO-TEAM’ on the back in gold, free of charge. These are handed in after their period as Eco-Monitor.
The Parents’ Voice Group have supported the decision that the children wear appropriate clothes to school, avoiding very short skirts, camouflage patterns, heels, bare midriffs, football shirts, slogans on clothes etc. Also, please note, only stud earrings to be worn at school. This way, children come to school looking attractive and smart, and it is rare that any pupils need reminding of the uniform guidelines.
We also request that children wear suitable shoes which is very important for Health and Safety reasons, i.e. no heels; crocs or ‘party’ shoes. Thank you.
Community Links
OFSTED: "The school’s promotion of racial harmony and its development of citizenship within the school, its locality and the world community is excellent. The school’s emphasis on inclusion is central to everything it does; it seeks to produce children who think of themselves as responsible citizens of the world, as well as of members of their own and their local community. Pupils are given many opportunities to take responsibility within the school and complete detailed questionnaires that are used to shape future planning.
Batheaston CEVC School aims to create a sense of community in its pupils by forging links with both the local community and the wider community through a variety of means. Through carefully structured access to people from a broad range of backgrounds, the school aims to expand pupil awareness of community and its diversity. From this, pupils will develop an understanding of immediate community, national community, the international community and ultimately a sense of the inter-relatedness of communities and from that a notion of global citizenship.
Batheaston School recognises the embedded nature of community and the reciprocal nature of responsibilities this entails. The sense of community being developed at Batheaston School reflects the ethos of the school and is a natural progression from the concept of a School Community in which parents, pupils, Governors, staff and linked individuals and organisations combine together for mutual benefit."
Pre-School Group
We enjoy an excellent relationship with the pre-school group – The Jack and Jill Playgroup - which is situated very close to the school. We have worked closely with the leaders to evolve a similar classroom organisation and approach. Before starting school, there is lots of to-ing and fro-ing between the Pre-school group and the Reception Class. A special preparation group is also run for the oldest children to get them used to slightly more “school-based” activities. The pre-school children come to the school regularly to use the outdoor facilities, participate in story times, and induction activities, and also to the social family events and school performances. In the summer term, our Reception teacher visits the Nurseries, and pre-school groups of all the children who will be joining us, to start to get to know the children. There is also an induction programme with a workshop for parents, lots of visits and a picnic.
The staff at Jack and Jill’s have joined us in the phonics project, ‘Letters and Sounds’, and the children enjoy many activities which help them to become aware of the importance of sound identification and the skill of listening.
Community Readers
We have several Community Readers at our school at present. These are local and often retired people who work on a regular basis to support children with reading. These volunteers have been trained to follow the school’s approach to work with independent readers, through reading conferences. They are also trained to give special support to children who need additional practice. The community readers have happily participated in the usual CRB police checks for adults who work closely with children. They have quickly settled into the routines and ethos of the school, contributing a popular and additional special provision for the children.
Outside Agencies and Affiliations
The school receives regular involvement from a variety of external professionals to support children with special educational needs and learning difficulties (Educational Psychologists, Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, etc.)
Parental Involvement
Parents contribute in lots of way to the life of the school. At Batheaston, we particularly value the role of parents as co-educators. A child’s first learning takes place within the home. It is usually you, the parents, who are the child’s first teachers, and for most children you also provide the continuous link throughout all the stages of education in your partnership with the school staff. We are extremely proud of how so many parents have become involved in the life of the school in many different ways.
Many parents enjoy helping in the classrooms of their children. Each day, the teachers plan and prepare a whole variety of different activities for the children to work through, and certain of these activities are designed for specific teaching by the member of staff. Other activities might be group investigations, follow-up activities etc. When parents come to help us in the classrooms, they usually join a group of children who otherwise would not be receiving the substantial adult supervision for that session.
Many parents also like to help when the children are involved in learning through the outdoor curriculum, e.g. the class gardening projects. Parents also help on occasional days and/or weekends when we maintain or develop the outdoor areas for the children. We call these events ‘Grounds Days’ and are very grateful for the support.
As a general rule, children will simply achieve more from an activity if there is an adult with them. They might sustain their interest for longer; they might use adults to clarify their tasks, or to help them to socialise more effectively e.g. sharing, taking turns, supporting each other - and almost always, children achieve better by having someone with whom they can share their ideas, demonstrate their ability, and from whom they can receive praise and encouragement. All children also really benefit from reading aloud to adults, as often as possible, when parents are able to regularly work with individual readers, in school.
All those volunteering to work in any capacity at the school will need to undergo a Criminal Record Bureau Check. This involves completing a form, available from the office, and you are asked to bring in proof of identity and address (passport/driving licence/birth certificate/utility bill etc.) The form is then sent in to the CRB for checking against police records – this can take up to a month. When cleared, a certificate is issued, and we keep a copy of this at the school. We would also all volunteers to work at the school at least once every three months in order to keep this certificate current.
Skoolkidz After School and Breakfast Club
We provide before and after school care for children if parents need to go to work early, are at College late etc. Both clubs are really well resourced and run by committed and enthusiastic trained helpers who also work in school.
Both clubs provide meals for the children, as well as lots of opportunities to get involved in a wide range of activities. The Out of School Club also organises special theme weeks and workshops. The clubs use the school’s facilities and therefore have access to lots of space, including outside play areas and a kitchen plus their own purpose-built area beside the Hall. The club leaders provide a cosy, secure and fun environment, and the ethos is closely linked with the school’s.
A session at the Breakfast Club costs £4.00 including breakfast, and runs from 8.00am to the start of school. After school, it is £8.50 per session, which runs from 3.15 to 6.00pm. Please contact Skoolkidz direct on : 07917568315.
Contact with Teachers
All parents are welcome to come before or after school to talk to teachers, and we really value the important information about your children which you share with us. If you would like to look at your child’s work, please make an appointment so you can discuss this with the teacher.
We endeavour to keep you informed about your child’s progress in several different ways:-
- through regular formal or informal discussion;
- through annual joint evaluation meetings (parents, teachers and pupils evaluate each child’s current achievement and agree
joint goals for future educational development);
- through an annual written report;
- through each child’s profile in Foundation;
- through the topic webs and regular newsletters;
- through parent workshops and information sheets on how we approach the different curriculum areas;
- through talking to parents about KS1 and KS2 SATs;
- through the issue of ‘Golden Letters’, stickers, ‘Worker of the Week’ awards etc, which specify a particular current
achievement;
- through presenting every child’s achievements in attractive classroom displays;
- through curriculum meetings and evenings.
Please remember, no information that you wish to share with us is ever too small; even if it is just that your child has had a bad start to the day, we can nearly always do something to help.
Parents’ Voice Group (PVG)
The PVG is a discussion group where staff and parents bounce ideas off one another. Talk centres around social and academic issues specific to our school. Most meetings include issues/questions brought by parent Representatives. It is also an opportunity for us to seek parental response to any new developments. We might also, for example, express our appreciation of parental help and involvement, and parents might tell us what things they like and think are going well.
There are one or two Representatives for each class. A PVG Representative’s role is to bring to the meeting any issues that have been raised by other parents of the class for whom s/he is the Rep., and then usually to feed back what has been discussed at the meeting. Lots of issues are also taken back to school staff meetings by the Deputy Head and other teachers, who liaise with the group on behalf of the staff. Meetings are held once every half term, and minutes are taken and distributed to PVG members, pinned up at the school and summarised in newsletters.
Batheaston Fundraising Group (BFG)
An additional group of parents have volunteered to be a fundraising ideas “think tank”. These are people who really enjoy the idea of raising money for our school, as we are always in need, and one of the reasons we are increasingly well-equipped here is the amazing help we have received from parents fundraising. Sometimes events are organised more for purely social or performance, than for raising funds, and on these occasions we are grateful for the help of this group to find volunteers to help with the preparation/costumes/refreshments etc.
As well as being increasingly necessary to support basic resourcing, The School Fund pays for all extra equipment that we would otherwise be unable to afford. Recently, funds raised by this active and committed group have bought books; laptops, science and maths resources; outdoor play and PE equipment, computer software, etc. During each year, there is a calendar of events organised by the BFG and other parents to raise this important financial contribution to the schools funding. Meetings are held between staff and parents to share ideas and organise events.
Money has been raised in a variety of ways, by lots of different groups of parents and staff, including Fashion Shows; jumble sales; cake sales; plant and produce sales; quiz nights; parents running in marathons; Salsa Evening; Christmas Fair, Marathon running and a highly successful Auction of Promises.
Violin, Guitar, Cello, Flute, Piano and Steel Pan Tuition
A very reasonable fee is charged for children who learn an instrument at school. These lessons are arranged during the school day, individually or in small groups, with specialist music teachers. Please see Caroline, Nicky or Sue in the school office if you would like further information.
Outings
As part of their class topics, the children go on regular class outings. Parents are asked to make voluntary contributions towards the costs of these trips. Please note that no child will be excluded from such a trip on the basis of non-payment, and we are very grateful to the support parents provide in this important way.
Walking to School
We try to encourage as many children as possible to walk to school in order to minimize congestion in the narrow roads in Northend. We sometimes have a scheme whereby parents are able to drop their children with an adult in Northend or by Elmhurst Garages. The children will then all be walked down to school together. This means parents do not need to park in Northend, relieving congestion in this area. However, this is not always available and is dependent on parent demand.
We also encourage a Park and Stride suggestion, whereby parents park in the car park in Batheaston and walk the short distance to school. We encourage parents to consider their options carefully before choosing to drive their child to school.
Charging Policy
The Governors have drawn up a Charging Policy in line with the requirements of the Education Act 1988. This details items for which the Governors make a charge, whilst asking for voluntary contributions for such events as school visits etc. The Governors need to reserve the right to cancel anything which receives insufficient parental support. Details can be seen in the Charging Policy, copies of which will be available in the school.
General Permission Slip
Each year, you are requested to sign a "General Permission Slip". This gives us permission to take your child off the school premises for school visits, swimming, attending church, village studies etc. We always ensure the correct adult/child ratio on such visits, and your signature is given on the understanding that the correct provision has been made.
Child Protection
In response to The Children’s Act, we are now asked to provide parents with the following information through the School Prospectus:
"Whilst the Education Service does not constitute an investigation agency, because of their day-to-day contact with individual children during term-time, school staff have an important role to play in recognising and taking the appropriate action in cases of suspected child abuse.
All school staff, both teaching and non-teaching, are instructed to report any suspicions to the Headteacher or Designated Teacher for Child Protection, who is required under the procedures to alert the Social Services Department.
Child Abuse is a particularly sensitive issue, and does impose for those involved, particularly parents, strong feelings and emotions. However, whatever parents may feel about the situation, it needs to be appreciated that school staff are required to report, in line with the procedures, any situation where abuse is suspected, and a member of staff could be deemed to have acted improperly if this were not the case. Parents may seek advice and guidance from the Education Welfare Officer for the school or contact the Social Services Department direct, if necessary".
Complaints Procedure
As we have an "open door" policy with parents, we would hope that all worries could be dealt with satisfactorily at the school. However, there is an official Complaints Procedure that parents should be familiar with if ever the need arose. If there is anything you do not agree with or with which you are unhappy, the procedure outlined below illustrates the official B&NES police for complaints:
1. See the Headteacher;
2. If not satisfied, see the Headteacher again;
3. If still not satisfied, see a Parent Governor;
4. If again not satisfied, they will see the Headteacher, and report back to you, or they may consult the whole Governing Body;
5. If still not satisfied, ring the Education Department at B&NES in Keynsham.
PART TWO
Cirriculum Information
School and Class Organisation
There are 7 classes. The children will be grouped together in these classes according to their age:-
Class 1 - Reception
Class 2 - Y1
Class 3 - Y2
Class 4 - Y3
Class 5 - Y4
Class 6 - Y5
Class 7 - Y6
Children will be organised in the classrooms in a variety of ways: sometimes children will need to work quietly alone at their own specific task and pace, or on a programme especially designed to support their special needs.
Whole class teaching has an important place in the strategies and teaching methods commonly employed in all of the classes. The order and concentration that can be provided through teaching the whole class, must, however, be balanced with the opportunity for children to work independently, with a partner or a small group, on highly differentiated tasks.
To work in collaboration with other children, in a small group situation, can be a positive advantage - problem solving, hypothesising, estimating and recording together. Some activities lend themselves to grouping on the basis of friendship, e.g. drama, craft work etc. Often, a number of children are at a similar level of understanding and stage of development with a subject, and the teacher can then provide appropriately stretching tasks and information, and stimulate discussion for this whole group.
Classroom Ethos
The ethos in the classroom is extremely important. We feel that every child should have equal opportunities in all areas of the curriculum. We are committed to holding high expectations of all the children, whatever their gender, home background, or past achievement level. We present the extent of all children’s learning difficulties as temporary and avoid any labels which might suggest that a child is not good at an area of the curriculum. We ask parents to support us in this.
Everyone must know someone who they thought was "hopeless" at a certain subject, but who, because of a new interest, new teacher, or a bit of extra help, suddenly blossomed and became a real success in that same subject area. Telling a child, for example “you’re just like your Dad, hopeless at maths”, can have a very real effect on that child’s achievement in maths, and on their expectations of themselves and their confidence. We therefore ask you to avoid doing this and to point out to your child that the difficulty will only be temporary.
So, the ethos is one of celebrating and sharing success and of discussing a difficulty openly as something which everyone has from time to time, until it has been sorted out and worked through together. In this way, hopefully, no-one experiences a sense of failure and the children, instead, offer each other mutual support and share excitement of each other’s achievements.
Special Needs
At Batheaston School we welcome all children from our community and we are committed to the principle of inclusion. Inclusive education means that everyone involved with the school and community is valued and their individual needs identified and supported. Inclusive education contributes to a greater equality of opportunities for all members of society. Segregation restricts our understanding of each other. Familiarity and tolerance reduces fear and rejection.
We believe that disabled children have an equal right to membership of the same groups as everybody else. They do not need to be separated.
We are all very happy that as part of our school membership, we have children who have significant special needs, and who would otherwise have attended special schools. As a staff we have enjoyed extending our skills and learning how to meet the needs of these children. Likewise, we have perceived the solutions found to modify some of our organisation or practise in order to include their strengths or needs, to be a positive development of our school.
All our children benefit from the practise of inclusion. We have much to learn from each other through relationships and working together, and often the creativity that teachers and children develop is highly advantageous for everyone.
Importantly, because our ethos is centred on celebrating the individuality of the children, their strengths, their needs, their differences and the understanding and acceptability of this, we have found that including disabled children has merely represented a slight extension of our approach.
Because the children are encouraged to understand that everyone usually has some difficulties and that this is a natural part of learning, people’s difficulties are not talked of quietly and seen as a potential cause for embarrassment. It could be an adult or a child who might mention a child’s needs and request/suggest ideas for a solution e.g. Adults: "We are going to go over to the Hall now, and I have to carry this computer scanner. Susie is going to find the step difficult - will someone hold the back of the frame for her, please?" Or Child: "Joanne, because you’re carrying that, shall I hold the back of Susie’s frame?"
The vital reason that talking openly about children’s needs doesn’t appear to cause problems is that there is a constant positive focus throughout the school on achievement and considerate, friendly behaviour. All children are regularly praised specifically - and excitingly, they learn to praise each other.
It is commonplace for children to celebrate (often spontaneously) someone’s achievement, even if this is significantly lower than the majority of the age group, and this represents their understanding of the effort involved for that child, even though it might be something that they’d find easy. Of course, it would not always be the same children acknowledging achievement, and disabled children will be given the same opportunities to develop this insight and skill.
Visitors frequently comment about the warm and friendly atmosphere of our school, and we are proud to say that this has evolved and is maintained as much by our children as it is by the staff. This provides an excellent context for learning. The children contribute to the school in many ways, and the wider the group of children, the wider the contribution.
Inclusion Quality Mark
The Inclusion Quality Mark is a standard to which schools can aspire where evidence is assessed to illustrate how all children and adults in the school community are given opportunities to fully participate and contribute to the life of the school. Our commitment and achievements in this important aspect of school life have been highly praised and the Headteacher has worked to support this scheme by mentoring and judging schools working to achieve this award.
High Achievers
Our Special Needs Policy is carefully designed to identify and cater for the needs of the very highly achieving children as well as those who might be experiencing learning or physical difficulties. In this way, very highly achieving children are formally identified and the ways in which their attainment/potential is unusually high are recognised. These children may have some of the following strengths - creativity; the ability to learn easily; artistic talent; persistence and resourcefulness; verbal fluency; music; a high level of empathy. Specific targets are then designed to challenge them, and the teachers support and challenge these children through a variety of strategies, i.e. highly-differentiated tasks, different programmes of work and homework projects.
We have a policy to recognise and develop everyone’s potential for Gifts and Talents, (G and T), so provide opportunities for children to learn more/follow and celebrate their interests and strengths. We hold very successful enrichment mornings and G and T assemblies.
The Eco-Monitor role is an excellent opportunity for children who show skills or enthusiasm for Science, ICT and Technology. It also necessitates children to develop communication and organisational skills, and to give presentations, prepare newsletters etc. Targets for every child will identify priority areas and provide the teacher with an opportunity to investigate a specific difficulty or strength.
Having a Difficulty
If a child is identified as having special educational needs (SEN), even more detailed information will be kept on his/her progress. As a result of this:
a) the class teacher will further differentiate the classroom activities for this child (Individual Education Plan or IEP) as appropriate. A school Action Plan, including detailed aims, time allocations and resources will be issued and agreed by parents;
b) specific tasks will be organised to support the child on a one-to-one basis.
Schools are expected to support children who are experiencing some difficulties with areas of their learning. However, once the school can provide evidence that a child has more substantial needs for special support, the local Education Authority issues a Statement of the child’s needs and provides financial support to the school for the additional staffing and resources necessary.
We have worked very hard as a staff team to evolve our approach towards our children’s individual and special needs, because we think it is essential to amass detailed assessments on strengths and difficulties, and the ways in which all the children learn. It is only by doing this that we feel assured that we can plan and provide the appropriate next stages of their development, and thus be certain of progress. We are sometimes asked to share our approach with other people, including sessions with Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) from throughout B&NES and with student teachers and with staff from other schools who are planning to work with children who have similar needs.
Special Needs Assistants spend time each day supporting children with special needs with activities specifically designed for them by the special educational needs teacher.
The Aims and Objectives of the School Curriculum
We aim for the school curriculum to be:
1. BROAD - so that it introduces each child to a wide range of concepts, experiences, knowledge and skills, and promotes spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development, and fully satisfies the expectations of the National Curriculum.
2. BALANCED - so that each area of the broad curriculum is identified separately and allowed sufficient time for its contribution to be effective.
3. RELEVANT - so that all subjects contribute to a sound education which prepares our children for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
4. DIFFERENTIATED - so that what is taught and how it is taught is matched to and develops each individual child’s abilities and aptitudes.
The Curriculum
Primary Schools operate two different yet interlinking curricula:
(i) The Foundation Curriculum for the under-fives;
(ii) The National Curriculum for children from five to eleven years.
The Foundation Stage Provision
OFSTED: The excellent provision for the Foundation Stage helps the children make good progress in all areas of learning. They enjoy their time at school and work and play well together. Teaching and learning are consistently good and outstanding in some areas, and assessment is used very effectively to plan all activities. The curriculum meets children's needs well. There are good arrangements to encourage their involvement in the community from the moment they start school. There are very good links with parents to keep them well informed of their children's progress. School leaders have a very good understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement.
We think that it is vital for children in their first year of school to be happy and safe, and to develop very positive attitudes about learning, through experiences of success and fulfilment.
It is a time when they develop so much and meet so many new challenges and they need to be guided through these with sensitivity, consideration and carefully planned challenges. As well as learning through the Foundation Stage curriculum, these young children need to separate comfortably from their parents, learn to be part of a social group, and to establish and maintain friendships and to express themselves as individuals.
At Batheaston School, we are careful to develop children’s learning based on the individual needs of each child. We recognise that children’s ages will span over the whole year and in the reception year this is a particularly important factor. Although age has little to do with learning and achievement, at this very young age, it can be an important factor to consider in terms of maturity, physical growth, independence and tiredness etc.
We understand the importance of valuing the activities and experiences children share with their families outside of school. The impact of which becomes visible in the classroom through their learning and playing. We strive to develop strong positive relationships between school and home as we are aware of the influence it can have on creating confident, independent learners. Parents are asked to support their child’s learning through focused activities at home. Throughout the year we hold parent workshops, providing useful information and support about our approach to reading, writing, phonics and mathematics.
We follow the Government’s Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum very closely and are strongly committed to the needs of young children to learn through a structured programme of play activities as well as providing academic learning, such as early reading skills; writing independently; recording number activities etc. Over the past two years we have been actively involved in a phonics project based upon the ‘Letters and Sounds’ programme. This highly exciting scheme involves daily discreet phonic lessons based upon a multi-sensory method to experimenting with letter sounds and words. Jack and Jill’s pre-school also follow this programme which has helped us to develop a consistent approach to the teaching and learning of phonics.
Our approach to learning is very much based on play and exploration and the opportunities for:
- making choices and decisions
- the power of talk
- using one’s imagination
- experimenting
- practising skills and learning new ones
- adapting and transforming knowledge, attitudes and skills
- the importance of self esteem for learning
All adults working in the Reception Class are very well qualified, they work with the children, and are sensitive to their needs and know how and when to intervene in supporting their learning. The physical environment is safe, secure and stimulating, and the children’s learning takes place outside as well as inside the classroom – with daily sessions in the school grounds, e.g. gardening, number/shape trails, mini beast hunts etc. Well-planned ‘Wellie Walks’ enable children to explore aspects of their learning in the local environment to the school. We see our outdoor space as an extension of the classroom, where the children can make sense of the world around them and use it in their story telling and role play.
For the last four years we have been exceptionally fortunate in participating in the 5x5x5 scheme. This scheme brings together practising artists, galleries and educational settings. Our first experience of the scheme, when the Reception Class spent a year working with Edwina Bridgeman, was such a wonderful success that these parents arranged a weekend Arts event to raise the funding so that she could return to work with the Reception year group in the following year. You may have seen examples of Edwina’s work at the RUH main entrance or in one of the Bath gallery exhibitions.
The National Curriculum
The curriculum is divided into Core Subjects and Foundation Subjects:
Core Subjects: English
Maths
Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
Science
Religious Education
Foundation Subjects: Design & Technology
History
Geography
Art
Music
Physical Education
PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education) & Citizenship
All children follow a National Curriculum and this is their entitlement. We have Schemes of Work in every subject for the 7 years of Primary Education, and this ensures that the entitlement is met whatever the school or class organisation. We have implemented the Literacy Hour and Numeracy Strategy.
OFSTED: "At Batheaston Primary School the curriculum is highly innovative and creative with a strong emphasis placed on real life experiential learning….the enrichment is outstanding." 2008
The "Topic" Approach
We see it as essential that the curriculum is presented in a way which reflects the wholeness of knowledge. Whatever the status of a subject as defined in the National Curriculum, every opportunity is sought to create and develop cross-curricular links, i.e. working through Topics presents the children with learning and understanding opportunities which are part of a whole network of knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes (the way that children actually think).
Teachers usually plan for topics to last for a half or a whole term, and staff meetings are designed to co-ordinate these and to detail the planning. These topics are organised into a four-year rolling programme for Juniors and two years for Infants, which covers the total National Curriculum content for all 6 year groups in this time. Topic webs are diagrams of the learning objectives planned which are organised in a subject breakdown. Copies of these are provided for parents. Behind each topic web will be very intense planning in order to cover the attainment targets set up by the Government through the National Curriculum, to build on work already covered, and to create opportunities to develop new skills and encourage high performance.
As teachers, we co-ordinate the topic work very carefully, so that children are only required to repeat a topic previously studied when the scope, depth and quality is significantly enhanced.
Topic Day
In both Key Stages, we often round off a topic with a whole school focus day. We have had successful whole school Victorian Day, a Christmas Tudor Banquet and a Round-The-World Day. The children are all put into mixed age groups, and participate in topic-based activities over the course of the day. The whole school enjoy dressing up for these occasions, including the staff. These days help the children to experience the topic on a hands-on way.
Religious Education
In terms of the children’s moral and spiritual growth, there are many issues that are regularly discussed through assemblies and class times. Subjects include: family life; care of people and property in the community; the elderly; the values and the maintenance of friendships; issues of equality; honesty; trust; violence; caring for ourselves and celebrating people’s differences. These issues are dealt with sensitively, often through stories or role-play, and introduced at an appropriate age.
Religious Education makes important contributions to the curriculum of every child. It helps children’s understanding of human history and the development of traditions in this and other countries. It can also help children to identify for themselves some of the fundamental questions of human existence.
At Batheaston, we enjoy strong links with the local Church of St. John the Baptist and the Vicar, Rev’d. Alison Fry. Assemblies are regularly led by Alison, mainly within the classroom or on special occasions such as Harvest Festival. We have structured programmes to ensure the main Christian celebrations and events are covered across the school during the school year.
We also think it important that the children understand and respect the beliefs of people who are not Christians. This is taught through activities which focus on key religious figures, festivals and core belief systems. For example, Moses and the Ten Commandments; the story of Prince Sidharta (Budda) and the festival of Diwali (Hindu).
Should you wish your child to be sensitively withdrawn from Religious Education, this can be arranged with your child’s teacher. Likewise, should you wish your child to be sensitively withdrawn from Collective Worship, this too can be arranged with your child’s teacher.
English
OFSTED: "Teachers make effective use of the National Strategies for Literacy and Numeracy to plan lessons that are both interesting and challenging. Nearly all lessons observed in both subjects were good or better. All teachers focus well on pupils’ speaking and listening skills. Questioning is used well to elicit pupils’ understanding and to develop vocabulary and the use of language. Pupils’ reading books are closely matched to their abilities, and pupils are given good opportunities to develop writing skills in other subjects."
We recognise that an ability to read, write and communicate clearly and effectively are essential. These are transferable skills which our teachers carefully plan into all areas of the curriculum, offering the children the chance to practice taught skills in real life contexts and areas of interests. For example, a World War II topic might include opportunities for writing letters as evacuees, or a Science unit might involve reading instructions for planting a seed. In addition, children in all classes receive an hour of discrete English teaching every day which enables focus on one or more of the following areas:
Reading
Children’s reading development is supported in school through shared reading (where the teacher models the process of reading and the whole class then read together), guided reading (where small groups of children share books and texts together and discuss their understanding), 1:1 reading (where the child is listened to individually) and independent reading.
In Classes 1, 2 and 3, children are given reading books to work through at home which are changed daily. Workshops are run for parents in the Autumn term to share ideas about how to support home reading. In Key Stage 2, we move towards a greater independence where, with support, children choose their own reading books from our well-stocked library. Our wide range of reading activities might include the process of blending phonemes, identifying keywords, discussing themes in a book, predicting what might happen next and assessing comprehension.
Writing
Often, the focus of the daily English lesson will be writing and the skills involved in this range from grammar and punctuation to composition and presentation. Over the year, children will work to develop their fiction (story) writing, poetry and non-fiction (for example, reports, instructions or explanations). Normally the writing will follow the study of a shared book or good quality text examples. The class often writes together in shared writing where all are involved and the process is modelled. This will then extend to guided writing in groups and independent writing where children are given clear success criteria, so they know exactly what to include to make their writing successful.
Whenever possible, writing activities are designed to have a real purpose and audience; for example, writing a letter of complaint and sending this to the council, creating a story book for a younger child, producing a school newspaper for parents. Children are taught a consistent system for letter formation and handwriting which is practised regularly and also benefit from opportunities to use our laptops to present their work.
Spelling
In Class 1, 2 and 3, children follow Letters and Sounds, which is a synthetic phonics program. This means that twenty minutes every day are focussed on learning to segment words in order to support spelling. Lessons are pacy and interactive; children play games and practise their spelling using magnetic whiteboards. Teachers also work through lists of keywords (these are often irregular so cannot be ‘sounded out’) and often send these home for parents to informally support with their children.
From Class 4 onwards, children continue receiving twenty minutes teaching each day of spelling skills. The focus of this is selecting the right alternative for a sound (for example, is it ‘house’ or ‘howse’) by learning rules and patterns. Children also explore conventions for adding suffixes, prefixes and making plurals, so they are able to create words of three or more syllables, like anti-bi-ot-ic. Spelling patterns are assessed each term and this is used to provide children with individualised lists which the children take home to learn each week.
Speaking and Listening
It is important to us that our children have as many chances as possible to practise their speaking and listening skills. Within a unit of work, teachers will plan opportunities for group discussion (such as a joint project), presentations (to small groups or occasionally the whole class) and listening (for example, to an audio story). A priority is also given to developing drama through role-play, hotseating and improvisation as well as more formal, planned performances for various audiences.
Maths
OFSTED: "In Mathematics, interesting activities, allied to clear explanations, reinforce pupils’ understanding of concepts taught. A particularly effective element of numeracy lessons is the emphasis placed on pupils having to explain how they arrive at their answers."
Mathematics is a powerful and concise form of communication which offers us a means of understanding and making sense of the world in which we live. Numeracy is a key life skill and the teaching and learning of these skills is much enjoyed at Batheaston. We aim to make maths learning a rich and enjoyable subject which is not seen as an arbitrary collection of disconnected skills.
Children in all classes enjoy a daily Maths lesson, which lasts for between 45 minutes and an hour. Oral and mental work features strongly and often features as a warm-up introduction within the session which tends to last about ten minutes. This time may be used to practice core skills such as times tables and number bonds to 10, or to revisit an earlier concept. The work is pacy and often involves using the interactive whiteboards, solving a puzzle or playing maths games together.
The main section of the lesson will be centred around a key objective. These objectives are taken from the National Framework and cover all aspects of maths, including number, calculation, shape, measures and data handling. Teachers ensure that their questions and explanations are carefully differentiated and that children are supported and challenged in their group and independent work. Often, at the end of a lesson, the class come back together as a whole to discuss their learning, correct any common misunderstandings, share strategies or take the next step in our learning. Parents often comment on how many of the methods taught now are very different to those they learned themselves in school so we also provide workshops on how best to support their child with their maths learning at home.
All teachers work hard to provide a stimulating context for children’s maths learning, applying skills to real-life problems. For example, a unit on money could be linked to running the school tuck shop. There are also many opportunities for maths to be used in other subjects, particularly within science and ICT but also with topics where, for example, children might learn the Egyptian method for multiplication.
Information and Communication Technology
We have at least 2 computers in most classrooms with access to CD ROM applications and the internet. We also have 32 new laptops which are used in every year group to support the curriculum and to teach specific ICT skills. All children now have frequent access to these laptops and other equipment such as digital cameras and data logging devices. Each member of the teaching staff has their own laptop on which to plan and implement a range of exciting ICT resources.
We are extremely fortunate to have Interactive Whiteboards in every classroom, giving access to an amazing range of resources for all children. These are large screens connected to a classroom computer that produce the computer screen on the board – so that all the class can see it very clearly. They are also interactive, and staff and children can operate the programmes by touching the screen. In this way, literacy and numeracy sessions can be enhanced by puzzles, games, challenges and Internet programmes. The children find this a very exciting way to learn, and have increased their ICT skills very effectively through this high-tech resource.
The range of experiences provided by the school enable all pupils to become confident and competent in all forms of ICT. Our children become very ‘computer literate’ as they progress through the school. They develop independence in choosing and using appropriate information technology across the curriculum.
Science
The aim of all scientific activity is to make sense of the world around us. Science knowledge is changing all the time and it is important not to present science as just being concerned with facts.
We believe that the best way for children to learn scientific skills, attitudes and concepts is through active investigation and discovery. They are encouraged to test their own theories and evaluate the results critically, before communicating what they have done and found out to a wider audience. Generally, science work rises from the class topic, and the practical experience leads onto consideration of factual information. There are very clear demands set down in the National Curriculum documents about the scientific concepts and experiences to which children should be introduced in each age range. We find that it is very successful to organise this through the topics and plan for progression and continuity throughout the school.
The children at Batheaston really enjoy Science lessons and activities and succeed very highly. We have all been thrilled and impressed by the excellent attainment levels achieved by our children, and this has been reflected in the excellent KS2 Science SATs results.
Design and Technology
Even the youngest children begin learning about technology, when in common with their older friends, they consider how to solve practical problems and meet human needs. The processes of planning, designing, testing, refining and evaluating solutions to these problems usually involve practical work and constructing models, often in co-operative groups.
The knowledge, skills and understanding required for Design and Technology are linked with other areas of the curriculum. In particular, Science, Mathematics and ICT and English. Teamwork is often a key component of DT activities.
Geography and History
Geography helps us all make sense of our surroundings. This knowledge contributes to our understanding and appreciation of the variety of physical and human conditions in the world. Starting points relate to the children’s own experiences and it is a subject where pupils learn by enquiry. Throughout KS1, the children learn through local visits, studies, practical activities, their own experiences and investigating artefacts, photographs, music etc.
For Geography, we have our own weather station, which enables the children to collect weather data which can then be posted onto various weather websites e.g. Metlink. This data can be used across other curriculum areas such as Maths and Science.
Learning about the past and methods used to study it helps the children appreciate how life was and how it may affect the future. The children enjoy the opportunity to explore different types of evidence and are encouraged to ask questions and become aware of a range of interpretations and opinions about the past.
In most class topics, aspects of history and geography will be planned for e.g. if "The Seaside" is a topic for KSl children, they would look at the issues of clean beaches, and compare today’s seaside holidays with ones in the past.
In KS2, the topics are sometimes given a History or Geography focus, e.g. "The Tudors" or "The Environment".
Art
We think that the area of Art is such an important and exciting one. As well as being an activity that can be of any shape or size, and one that can be done alone or with friends, it can also be so easily integrated into the work on all the other subjects. Every child is encouraged to use art to record findings from experiments, to present finished work attractively or as part of technological designs, scientific observational drawings etc.
Through the subject of art, we also help the children to make sense of their world and to encourage an enjoyment and delight in making images and giving ‘form’ to thoughts. We want to provide opportunities for the children to touch, feel and handle a whole variety of materials and to make them acutely aware of their visual environment.
We aim to promote the learning of new skills and development of ideas and attitudes through the exploration of a wide range of materials and techniques. Exciting and original work from the imagination can often be the most pursued aspect of the children’s visual work at this stage of development, but we organise opportunities to use art to enrich, extend and support many other areas of learning within the curriculum.
Over the last 4 years, the children in the Reception Class were involved in the 5x5x5 Creativity Project where our resident artist, Edwina Bridgeman, worked alongside the children to develop their creative ideas using different visual media including the outside environment as a stimulus. Using an initial provocation the children were given the opportunity and encouraged to create their own artwork. Their thoughts, feelings, ideas and work was documented and used to initiate further exploration. At the end of the project there was an exhibition at the Michael Tippet Centre at Bath Spa University College.
Following the success of the original project, parents have formed an Arts Council (AFC – Arts Funding Committee) so as to raise money for further arts projects, including Artists in Residence and resources. This means that the 5x5x5 Project can be extended to provide creative opportunities for children across the year groups.
Music and Performing Arts
Music is a unique form of art. It crosses social, cultural and language barriers and helps us in developing understanding of other societies and their traditions. It is also great fun - marvellous individual or group activity and one in which we, traditionally, place a great importance. We have set up a really exciting collection of musical instruments from all over the world, and these are kept within easy access for the children. They will be introduced to the work of classical and modern composers, and also to the music of other cultures.
Performing: As well as actively composing and listening to music, the children are involved in lots of ‘performances’ involving music. All children can participate in general instrumental activities and music is very much part of any of our celebrations. As well as percussion, violin, guitar, cello, fife, flute and piano lessons are also available.
We have established a steel band in the school, and this exciting development is attracting children of all ages to receive tuition from our talented steel band tutor. Each year the school performs at least one play or concert that always involves every child in the school. Recently the whole school was involved in a performance of "Ebenezer". We think it is very important for the children to have the opportunity to perform to an audience and we recognise how this can enhance that self-confidence. The children are frequently encouraged to take part in Assemblies and greatly enjoy debating, speaking, acting, singing or dancing in front of a large group of their friends. We have also been very fortunate to take part in the Bath Primary Arts festival every other year. The children join other schools in Bath to take part in this wonderful occasion. Previously we have performed ballroom dancing and circus and this year will be joining the children from King Edward’s School to create a large steel pan band.
WOMAD (World of Music and Dance). Traditionally, in July the children who are leaving for Secondary School are involved in a day’s workshop and performance as a celebration. The children sing, dance and play percussion instruments and the day culminates in a performance for parents. They perform alongside professional musicians who make a special visit to our school. We work closely with WOMAD to organise the day and last summer really enjoyed these leaver celebrations with singers, dancers and drummers from Zimbabwe.
Shakespeare. For the past four years now we have held a Shakespeare Season in the summer. This culminates in the Y6 children performing a play. The children take part in all aspects from stage design and prop making to the actual performance. This is a truly sensational end to the year. So far, we have performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet.
Music Pavilion. We are very fortunate to have a new music pavilion built for the children and teachers to use. This new facility provides a fantastic opportunity for individual/group music lessons to take place within the tranquil setting of the school grounds. The music pavilion comes fully sound-proofed with glass sliding doors. These allow for open-air performances to take place on the decked platform.
Physical Education and Dance
We are totally committed to the value of Physical Education both in terms of health and the multitude of social skills the subject fosters. At Batheaston, each class enjoys a minimum of two physical education lessons every week and, throughout the year; teaching will include athletics, ball games, gymnastics, and dance. Year 4 children also enjoy weekly swimming lessons.
The emphasis in class sessions is on personal success and improvement, and of co-operation. Points are often awarded for good sportsmanship and skills such as being graceful in defeat.
The children also participate in many different sporting activities and events throughout the year. We have taken part in football, cricket and netball tournaments and have always been proud of the children’s skill and good sporting attitudes. As well as tournaments, we have enjoyed matches with other primary schools and organised various coaching schemes for the children (cricket, netball, rugby, and football). We also always organise an annual Sports Day for our children and the day contains a mixture of competitive and non-competitive activities.
At Batheaston, we have a strong tradition of Dance. The children learn and perform a variety of dances, including Maypole, Country Dancing, and dances originating from India, South Africa, Tanzania, Spain and the Gambia. They learn the dances in lessons at school and during workshops which are led by professional dancers.
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)
The Personal and Social Education in our school is concerned with qualities, attitudes, knowledge and understanding, abilities and skills in relation to oneself and others, social responsibilities and morality. We promote the social and personal development of the children and these elements permeate the whole curriculum. Our Sex Education Policy is set within the framework of the PSHE programme. Should you wish your child to be withdrawn from Sex Education; this can be arranged with your child’s teacher.
It is planned to ensure the teaching is appropriate for the age, stage of development and needs of the children. We continually encourage children to think about personal issues, building on experiences and taking responsibility for decision-making in a participatory style of teaching and learning.
As part of PSHE, we also cover Drugs Education in line with guidelines from the DCSF. The main aim of this education is to develop pupils’ personal and social skills to make informed decisions and keep themselves safe and healthy.
SpACE (Special Project – Accessing the Curriculum through the Environment)
There are 2 ‘arms’ to this project, which aims to use the outdoor environment to enhance the children’s learning;
- The Ecological curriculum.
- The Energy curriculum.
Over the past few years the school site has been developed so that there are lots of different areas for a variety of activities. There are enclosures for animals; class gardening areas; the pond dipping area and weather station; the Mediterranean garden; the withy dome; the South African Lapa ( thatched outdoor classroom); the bark trail; sand pit; fossil wall and henge of limestone rocks from a local mine. Central to this there is a performance area that is also the 'Energy Arena'. This area lends itself very naturally to outdoor performances, particularly for the Shakespeare Season and the Talent Show, both in July. An amphitheatre provides lots of seating for an audience or for class/group discussions and the decking outside the Music Pavilion provides a roomy stage. Situated all around this facility are the Renewable energy installations - hence the reason the area became known as the 'Energy Arena'.
The Ecological Curriculum:
As well as developing the site as a centre for environmental and scientific enquiry all the children follow a 7 year programme of growing food. Year group gardening projects have included the following:
- growing the ingredients to top a pizza;
- growing and learning about the use of herbs;
- field crops such as potatoes, corn and wheat;
- ‘superfoods’ such as blueberries and broccoli;
- decorative foods, laid in landscaped design - naturally blue carrots etc;
- foods from another country ( this follows the geography curriculum and the ‘Our farms our futures’ project where we are
linked to schools in Africa);
- a self sufficient fruit and vegetable allotment.
Apart from this programme, other foods and plants are grown as it fits in with other studies or planning for the grounds e.g. the wildlife garden surrounding the pond and the orchard the children planted 2 years ago. Exciting elements of this work are the planned Produce Sales where families can purchase school grown foods (thus providing opportunities for the children to learn the ‘economic well-being’ curriculum target and how to return profit to investment for future gardening work) and the meals /dishes cooked and prepared from their own produce! Composting, recycling, crop rotation and organic methods are other important aspects of this project work.
There are also other ways that these outdoor facilities contribute significantly to the teaching and learning of the wider curriculum:
- Maths calculations about the costing, selling, profit and reinvestment involved in the children selling vegetables, flowers and
herbs they have grow in the class gardens;
- Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and organisational skills involve din the caring for school animals, rotating land
used to meet with organic criteria;
- Geographical weather studies, geology – building the fossil wall and learning about the large rock examples from local mines;
- English and Drama, using the outdoor amphitheatre for the annual Shakespeare play season; opportunities for imaginative play
around the bark trail and the withy dome; poetry-writing in the conservation area outdoor classroom (Lapa);
- The numerous environmental/scientific facilities – pond dipping; bird/ladybird/hedgehog feeder studies; research into growing
and planting fruit and vegetables in various conditions and through various stages; composting; recycling; conservation and waste
studies.
The Energy Curriculum:
In introducing this area of study, we wish the children to learn about the issues facing us today in terms of global warming, climate change and possible solutions to our changing energy needs. We have written a new curriculum , which spans every year group, to utilise the renewable energy installations, the ecological resources and our technical facilities so that the children will learn about all aspects of our current day geographical challenges in a first hand and relevant way. Our links with Ralph Allen Science College, St. Marks Business College, the Centre for Sustainabilty and the Energy saving Trust have all contributed an outside interest and expertise that enhance this learning.
Two years ago, we installed examples of solar; wind and water powered energy. There are two types of Photovoltaic (PV) cells on the roofs; Thermomax solar tubes for a hot water system; a Water Wheel and a Wind Turbine. We also have class equipment for solar experiments; a solar fountain and a bike that illustrates energy produced through the human ‘power’ of cycling. Children study the output from the various renewable energy installations and cross reference this with data from our weather station sensors. They will also gradually learn the technical backgrounds to these systems.
As well as learning about the creation of energy, it is also very important to start to understanding about the ways we spend and can conserve energy. Through our work towards the awards for Eco School status and for the Energy Saving School accreditation children will be auditing what types of energy is consumed at the school, and ways to cut down on this and to save energy. Simple measures like always closing outside doors to keep in heat; reducing machines left on standby; fixing dripping taps; turning down radiators when it’s possible etc. can make quite an impact to our energy consumption, particularly alongside the natural energy being produced by the installations.
We have found the children extremely enthusiastic to learn about these issues and when we set up the Eco Team found that almost half the school applied! Their responsibilities range from daily recycling; maintaining some of the installations; collecting and inputting energy and weather data to the class interactive whiteboard systems; special animal/gardening work, to writing reports and giving talks to local businesses.
The SpACE project has also brought a richness of voluntary involvement to the school. Parents and extended families; pre-school children; ex pupils; partner institutions; local people and experts have all played a major role in developing these exciting opportunities for the children – and of learning the enjoyment of community collaboration, which often extends beyond the school.
Recently, the children were extremely excited to have been included in an ITV programme about reducing carbon emissions where they were able to talk about many aspects of their outdoor learning.
Citizenship
Citizenship has long since formed an important part of our programme, where we help children to develop positive, responsible and caring social attitudes towards difference – including subjects such as culture, achievement, class, employment, race, disability, less economically developed countries, poverty and family structure.
Common Policies
We feel that it is important to have clear and agreed policies on the organisation of resources in the school, on our teaching methods, and the curriculum content for each subject area
The School’s Admissions Policy
Parents have the right to express a preference for the school they wish their child to attend. This preference is governed by the Education Reform Act 1988. This Act ensures that every school sets an admission level that reflects fully the capacity of the school. No child should be refused admission to the school preferred by parents unless it is genuinely full.
This admission level is called the Standard Number, and applies to that year group as it proceeds through the school. The Standard Number is indicated by the school’s physical capacity and for Batheaston School the current number is 30.
We would again like to make it clear that all children are highly and equally valued at our school, whatever their gender, culture, colour, age, class or achievement level.
For further details, please see the booklet “A Primary School For Your Child in B&NES”, or contact The Admissions & Transport Unit on 01225 394312, or email them on admissionsandtransport@bathnes.gov.uk.
You can make your application online on:
https://capita.bathnes.gov.uk/admit_transfer/at_welcome.asp
To Summarise
Children will benefit most from their time at Batheaston and make excellent progress if they are instrumental in their own learning, and not just passive recipients. This involvement will lead to the development of self-esteem and encourage social and moral responsibility.
From the earliest years, we will give your children opportunities to make decisions about their work, plan their own tasks, find appropriate resources and review the outcomes. These skills will provide a sound foundation on which teachers can develop further pupil independence.
The children will have experience of working individually, in a group and as part of the whole class. The teachers will continue to develop their own knowledge and expertise, so as to provide your children with all the information and experiences laid down in the National Curriculum, and they will also continue to monitor carefully each child’s performance and provide individual strategies to cater for special needs, or offer ‘stretching’ opportunities as necessary to ensure that every child achieves excellent academic progress.
All these approaches to learning will promote the development of individual learning styles, where we as teachers become more the facilitators of the learning process, rather than just givers of information - where we are truly "working together so your child can stand alone".
Please feel free to contact Batheaston CEVC Primary School (01225 858 555) to find out more.
batheaston primary school bath, church of england school bath, cevc school bath, voluntary controlled school bath, primary school bath, batheaston school bath, batheaston northend school bath, northend school bath, northend primary school bath, batheaston cevc primary school bath, batheaston primary school northend bath
