A WELCOME FROM THE HEAD TEACHER

MRS RUTH WALKER GREEN

“The school aims to serve its community by providing education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice. It encourages an understanding of the meaning and significance of faith, and promotes Christian values through the experience it offers to all of its pupils.”

Staverton CE Primary School strives to provide an environment which allows happy, hard working children to have fun whilst achieving their own personal best in all areas of school life.

Situated in the picturesque village of Staverton, our small village school is a well established and integral part of the local community. We enjoy very secure links with our local church, St. Mary's, and the strong Christian ethos and family feel within our school is shared with all of our visitors. In August 2014, our school became an academy, joining the Peterborough Diocese Education Trust.

At Staverton we pride ourselves on being a friendly open school where all children are encouraged to do their best from the minute they enter school until they leave for secondary school at 11 years of age. We offer high quality teaching and guaranteed progress in a stimulating, caring community. We have high expectations to ensure that our children strive for excellence in everything they do. We welcome diversity and shared experiences, interests and strengths.

Your child could join this happy, hard working community and share in our enthusiasm and commitment to learning.

I look forward to meeting you.

Mrs Ruth Walker-Green

OUR AIMS

Our school aims to:

Provide a caring, family environment in which children can enjoy the experience of school, knowing that their own endeavours, at all levels, will be valued.

Provide a broad, engaging and challenging curriculum that gives equal opportunities to all children.

Benefit all our pupils by maintaining our open approach to new ideas whilst maintaining the best of our current practice.

Promote tolerance, understanding and concern for one another in our school and the wider community.

Ensure that the children set themselves high standards in both the work they produce and the behaviour they display.

Encourage a mutually beneficial interchange between school, parents, governors, church and the wider community.

Provide an environment where religious belief, moral values and ideals are based on a Christian way of life.

Harvest Festival Easter Service

Christingle Service Christmas Service

OUR SCHOOL VALUES

Our school values, relaunched in February 2015, are at the core of everything we do. Each value is explored by the whole school each term when the school focuses on one of our twelve values. All values are explicitly focussed upon over a two year period. The relaunch of our values involved each child releasing a balloon to symbolise the values of their House.

Each school House has three values that it represents. Our House values are as follows:

Ruby: Friendship, Compassion, Respect Amber: Thankfulness, Courage, Perseverance

Sapphire: Wisdom, Responsibility, Honesty Emerald: Peace, Forgiveness, Creativity

When children join us they will be ‘sorted’ into a school House. The Houses are made up of mixed year groups and are named after precious gems; Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire and Amber. Throughout their time at the school the children will take part in activities within their Houses and can earn House points to contribute to a House total. Being part of a House, with children from all year groups, gives children the opportunity to mix with a range of ages and strengthens our feeling of ‘togetherness’ across the school.

Our 12 school values are brought together under one overriding value, Love.

LOVE: Live Our Values Everyday

‘Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.’ (Proverbs 22:6)

MEET THE STAFF

Head Teacher Mrs Ruth Walker-Green (SENCO)

Bursar Mrs Laura Scott

Class 1 Teacher Mrs Milly Allen

Class 1 Teaching Assistant Mrs Sarah Hanlon

Class 2 Teacher Mr Steven Hier

Class 2 Teaching Assistant Mrs Linda Kaye

Class 3 Teacher Mrs Laura Harlin

Class 3 Teaching Assistant Mrs Steph Ansell

Class 4 Teacher Mrs Zea Marenghi-Smith (Deputy Head)

Class 4 Teaching Assistant/HLTA Mrs Sarah Bell

Teaching Assistant Mrs Sarah Iddins

Teaching Assistant Mrs Melanie Kiziek

Office Assistant Mrs Rebecca James

Lunchtime Supervisor Mrs Dawn Higgs

Cleaner in charge Mrs Leigh Tite

Cleaner Mrs Denise Anderson

Class Structure

Classes are organised predominantly in mixed year groups. We currently have four classes within the school.

Class 1 is for Reception children and is the only class that consists of a single year group. Class 2 is a mixed Year 1 and 2 class, Class 3 consists of Year 3 and 4 and Class 4, Year 5 and 6.

Mixed age classes allow the class teacher to teach specifically to the children’s ability, rather than their age, providing personalised learning, and ensuring that children make the best possible progress.

OUR SCHOOL COUNCIL

Each House is led by a House Captain and Vice Captain, who are elected by the children from a

choice of children in Year 6 following an election campaign early in the academic year. These

children make up our School Council alongside the staff-elected School Ambassadors who are also

chosen from Year 6 based on their previous contributions to school life.

The School Council work successfully together to run projects and conduct research throughout the

school year. They lead class councils and feed back information during school council meetings.

They carry out daily duties, such as running the Key Stage 2 fruit scheme (following extensive

research in to the viability of the scheme). They also carry out other tasks such as launching and

running competitions during anti-bullying week, writing to parents about issues that mean a lot to

them (safe parking) and contributing to our charity work and events.

Our School Ambassadors have presented

information to the Governors, run hospital-

ity stations at evening events, contributed

to UNICEF’s ‘World’s Largest Lesson’, led

UNICEF’s ‘Day for Change’ in school and

taken active roles in guiding the School

Council.

The School Council are a real asset to our

school, leading by example and shaping the

school in a way that responds to the

children’s views; they do a sterling job and

we are lucky to have them.

MEET THE CHICKENS

We are lucky, at Staverton CE Primary School, to have some resident chickens, which are looked after by Mrs Allen and a team of helpers. Essential jobs such as cleaning out, egg collecting and feeding are shared out among the classes on a rota system. The children, par-ents and the local community are encouraged to make a donation toward the cost of the chick-ens if they take a box of eggs. Two children currently run the Chicken Business by keeping a spreadsheet of expenditure and income.!

During the school holidays, families (from school and the local community) volunteer to help look after the chickens. Each chicken belongs to a School House and they were named, through a democratic voting system, by their House members.

Bobetta Delta

Emerald House Sapphire House

Fifi Twinkle Toes

Amber House Ruby House

THE SCHOOL DAY

8:50—9:00 School starts at 9:00am however children are welcome to arrive at school and go straight into classrooms from 8:50. This allows for the children to settle in before registration begins and gives parents the opportunity to talk to the class teacher should they need to share any information.

9:00—9:10 In each class this time is used differently; children can be completing their ‘green pen’ or ‘next step’ work, completing spelling or handwriting activities or embarking on another exciting challenge set by their teacher.

9:10—10:30 This session is usually a Literacy based lesson which may involve story writing and reading, investigating and exploring characters through drama, or creating an information text about an interesting topic. In KS1 the children take part in a daily session of phonics at 10.00.

10:30—10:45 Break

10:45—11:45 This is usually a session for Mathematics where the children will explore all areas of maths through games, puzzles, problems and challenges.

11:45—12:00 (12:10 for Key Stage 2) This session will usually focus on further ‘Learn its’ / mental maths skills or handwriting.

12:00– 1:10 Key Stage 1 Lunch

12:10-1:10 Key Stage 2 Lunch

1:00—3:15 The afternoon often begins with a reflection time and then leads on to classes exploring topic work, Science, R.E., P.E., French (in KS2) and / or Music. On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday whole school assembly takes place at 2:55pm when the children and staff join together to discuss the week’s value.

At Staverton CE Primary School we invite parents to our Thursday Celebration Assembly, which starts at 2.40, so that they can join with us in celebrating both their own child’s and other children’s achievements.

* Classes 1 and 2 have an optional mid afternoon break for 10 minutes from 2:15 pm.

3:15 onwards A variety of after school clubs are offered, some organised by the school employing qualified coaches and some externally provided.

THE SCHOOL DAY

Lunchtime

At lunchtime your child can enjoy a hot school meal or can bring in a packed lunch; the choice is yours! Hot school meals can be ordered through Mrs. Scott in the school office by the Wednesday preceding the week in which you wish your child to have the lunch. If your child is in Class 1 or 2, s/he is entitled to a free school meal due to a recent government initiative. The ordering process outlined above still stands. If your child is entitled to free school meals by meeting specified criteria, it is imperative that you inform the school as this ensures money for the school for extra provision. (Even if your child is in Class 1 or 2, please inform the school office if your child would have been entitled to free school meals prior to the government initiative.) Clubs are provided for children during some lunchtime slots, such as sports and French clubs as well as activities run by our own Year 6 Sports Crew.

What to bring to school

Your child needs to bring their book bag with them every day as this is used regularly to communicate with you at home be it by letter or a comment in a reading diary. Your child will also need their P.E. Kit on a daily basis and a coat in the winter and sun cream and a hat in the summer.

Pencil cases are not necessary as the school will provide all the equipment needed to complete any activity during lesson time.

Absences

We ask that you ring the school before 8:50am to inform us if your child is going to be absent on that day. If we have not received a reason for absence, the school will ring the morning of the absence, to ascertain a reason.

Holidays in Term Time

Head Teachers are no longer able to authorise any leave for holidays and parents who neverthe-less choose to go away during term could be fined, if the Local Authority decides to prosecute. The initial Fixed Penalty Notice of £60.00 is issued to each parent for each child (two parent family, two children = £240.00).

Head Teachers are only allowed to authorise absence in exceptional circumstances; the guidance indicates that this can only apply to unavoidable events e.g. funerals, and rare events that cannot be predicted or controlled. This is the legal situation.

If you do decide to go away then we still need you to inform us in writing, as it is important that we can explain any absence and that we know your child is safe.

THE SCHOOL DAY

Pastoral Care

Because we are a small school all the children and staff know each other very well. This helps us look after each child and ensure they reach their potential in all aspects of school life. Whilst your children are in our care, we aim to provide the very best in terms of pastoral support. Each and every child holds an important place in our school community and we believe that we have created an ethos of mutual respect and care. Should a child have a worry or concern at school, they can approach any member of staff to share their problem. We also operate a very successful system of ‘Big Friend, Little Friend’ where a child in Class 4 partners a child in Reception to guide and support them in their first year at school. The big friend aims to look after their little friend, especially on the playground or at lunchtime when things may, at times, seem a little overwhelming to the younger children.

Seeing a teacher

Should you have a worry or concern yourself, then please contact the school to discuss it immediately. You can usually see the class teacher briefly before school if it is a small concern, or you can arrange for an appointment for a longer discussion at a mutually agreeable time after school. Please always see your class teacher in the first instance, however should you wish to speak to the Head teacher, then you can arrange a meeting via the school office.

Parental Involvement

Parents are first and foremost the most important educators in your child’s life, and we very much encourage your involvement and support. Such involvement will also ensure that you are fully informed in what your child is learning about at school and this is something that we really value. Regular support at home through reading together, support with homework, Maths ‘Learn its’ and spellings will ensure that your child makes the best progress possible. We also welcome parents in to help the children in classes other than your child’s.

Grandparents’ Day ‘Open Door’ Afternoon

CURRICULUM AND STANDARDS

Our most recent Ofsted inspection (April 2012) recognised the good standards and progress that our children make in all subjects.

We believe that all children should enjoy school and that they will only make progress if they are happy here.

All children have equal access to the curriculum regardless of gender, disability or special educational need. Recent building work includes wheelchair access and disabled toilet facilities in the main building and an access ramp to the mobile classroom.

Each of our four classes has a Teaching Assistant as well as the Class Teacher. The standard admission number for our Reception class is just fifteen children.

Children are taught according to their ability rather than their age to ensure that the challenge of the lesson enables them to make progress and realise their full potential. This allows children to be learning in an environment that is both stimulating and engaging.

We offer a wide range of curriculum activities so children have the opportunity to excel in all areas.

The curriculum is based around whole school themes such as “Toy Story” or “Staverton – Centre of the Universe!”; the whole school focus each term creates a common learning link across the classes that is often reviewed and celebrated during Celebration assemblies. Each theme or challenge starts with a ‘wow’ or an ‘immersion week’ and children present their learning to an audience at the end. Our themed curriculum,

shaped by the children themselves, is something that we are really proud of as it provides an engaging context for children

to learn in. Some subjects may be taught separately if there are no obvious links with the theme. All Key Stage 2 children learn French.

Planet Earth and Beyond: : Class 2

Planet Earth and Beyond: Class 3

Whole School Values Day: Balloon Making

OUR CURRICULUM

Children learn at least one musical instrument in class music lessons and we offer individual strings, guitar and brass lessons by specialist music teachers.

We aim to organise a very wide range of trips; we also embrace learning in the outdoors! We frequently invite visitors into school to provide a rich and varied range of experiences for all the children.

PE / Sport: All children have two hours of timetabled PE every week; sometimes this focuses on

generic PE / Sport skills, sometimes sport specific skills. When the latter is the case, PE is delivered

by a sport specific, qualified coach alongside the class teacher. Children have weekly swimming

lessons for a term each year from Year 3 onwards. We participate in inter school competitions and

encourage active participation in intra school tournaments and lunchtime activities.

Class 4 Residential: Irthlingborough

Class 4: Cycling Proficiency Our participation in the Schools’ Sports Games

Class 3 Residential: Everdon

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Clubs A range of after-school and lunchtime clubs are offered at the school each term. These have included sporting clubs by coaches from Northampton Town Football Club, Daventry Rugby Club, Phoenix Gym Club and Northamptonshire Cricket Club. Other clubs have included Imagineering (engineering with staff from Cummins), ‘Mad Science’, dance, netball, fencing, archery, gardening, sewing, drama, basketball, art with a professional artist. Some clubs run all year; others change each term to offer variety.

We often enter teams in local sporting events including hock-ey, netball, cross country, archery, tennis, gymnastics and athletics competitions.

Residential Trips

In addition, we also take the children from Classes 3 and 4 on a residential, which is an exciting opportunity to stay away from home with friends while taking part in new challenges and activities. The children thoroughly enjoy the activities offered and continuously strive to challenge themselves to achieve.

Charity Work

Throughout the year we hold events to raise money for a number of charities such as Diabetes UK, UNICEF, Wateraid, Comic Relief and Sport Relief. This is done in a variety of ways: non-uniform days, coffee mornings, bake sales and special challenges, all to raise awareness of these causes. As a result of the success of our ‘Spend a Penny’ challenge a latrine was built in Tallopundi Village in Nepal and a new typhoon-resistant home in the Philippines, built to rehouse some survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, now has a toilet.

Year 3/4: Gym Competition

Key Stage 2: End of Year Concert Early Years and Key Stage 1 Christmas Concert

INCLUSION

At our school we endeavour to achieve maximum inclusion of all children whilst meeting their individual needs. Teachers provide differentiated learning opportunities for all the children within the school and provide materials appropriate to children’s interests and abilities. This ensures that all children have full access to the school curriculum.

It is our responsibility to ensure that pupils with special educational needs or disabilities have the maximum opportunity to attain and achieve in line with their peers. Accurate assessment of need and carefully planned programmes, which address the root causes of any learning difficulty, are essential ingredients of success for these children. Support can include one to one help from experienced assistants, or small group activities within the class. These will be provided, initially, through additional support funded from the devolved schools’ budget.

In common with all schools, we have adopted the SEN Code of Practice (2014) for children with special educational needs (SEN). One governor has responsibility for SEN.

Should we feel that any child needs extra support, full consultation with parents is undertaken at the earliest stage and continued through all subsequent stages of process and review.

“We work together to help one another and meet our goal.”

Pupil, aged 10

Christmas Service Easter Service

“I feel one of the most important factors that allows the children to progress academically is the children feel listened to and valued as

individuals enabling them to focus on their education as they feel safe and nurtured. “ (Parent)

SCHOOL UNIFORM

School uniform is compulsory as the governing body believes it promotes a feeling of identity and pride in the school. Children should attend school in sensible, safe, smart and comfortable clothing and footwear in accordance with our uniform policy. Children’s first school tie is provided free by the school.

School book-bags and rucksacks for carrying PE kit, reading books, spelling books, homework and letters are available to protect items from loss or damage. These are available from the school office.

Shoes Black sensible shoes only. No trainers.

If wished, black boots/winter, sensible sandals/summer.

Trousers/skirts Plain black.

Shirts/Blouses Plain white with a collar. No T-Shirts.

Jumpers Red V-neck or Red Cardigan

Ties Red and silver with school motif.

Tights/Socks Black (or white with summer dress).

In hot weather Black shorts or red and white gingham dress.

PE Kit White cotton T-shirt, black shorts, trainers, plimsolls.

Winter P.E. Kit Black or red jogging bottoms, red sweatshirts.

ACHIEVEMENTS

House Point Reward System

House points are awarded for good work, excellent behaviour, kindness etc. Once a child has

achieved 25 House points they will be awarded with a bronze star to wear on their jumper with

pride. Stars continue to be awarded at 50 (silver), 75 (gold), 100 (platinum) , 125 (diamond)

intervals.

Celebration Assembly

The stars for House points are awarded in our Celebration Assembly and parents are welcome to

attend. We also award a ‘Star of the Week’ for each year group and a ‘Shining Light’ which is

someone who the staff feel have demonstrated our core value for that term. This is also a time

when we also share achievements that have been gained ‘outside school’, any extra curricular

achievements and generally celebrate the diverse range of children’s talents.

Whole School / House Challenges

Throughout the year the whole school, often organised in Houses, is set a ‘Whole School Challenge’. e.g. ‘You read a book where ….?’ (The ‘Strangest Place to Read a Book’ Challenge).

The outcomes of such challenges are often shared in our Celebration Assemblies.

Sun, Sand and Sea Topic Display

House Challenge: World Book Day

FOSS FRIENDS OF STAVERTON SCHOOL

Our school PTA is called FOSS (Friends of Staverton School) and members work tirelessly throughout the year to raise valuable funds to provide resources for the school. These resources would be unobtainable without the support of FOSS and they always need help from interested parents. Such resources have ranged from IT equipment to a Sun Shade Canopy. FOSS also contribute frequently to our trips and visitors, ensuring regular, exciting learning opportunities are viable for all our children.

FOSS raise money through a variety of different fund raising activities including a summer fete, Christmas fete, ‘Staverton’s Got Talent!’ events, social evenings, discos, mufti days and the weekly healthy tuck shop.

Should you like to become involved please contact Mariska Pochin, Chair of FOSS, through the school office.

Judo Club Display at the

FOSS Summer Fete

FOSS Summer Fete

Staverton’s Got Talent

THE GOVERNING BODY

The school governors meet at least six times per year to discuss and plan strategically how to drive school improvement. The governing body consists of both church nominated (Foundation) and parent nominated (Parent) governors along with the Chair of Governors, Vice Chair of Governors the Headteacher and Teacher Governor:

Chair of Governors John Shackleton

Vice-Chair of Governors James Robbins (Parent Governor)

Head Teacher Ruth Walker-Green

Teacher Governor Zea Marenghi-Smith

Foundation Governor Andrea Eustace

Foundation Governor Gary Lowe

Foundation Governor Jackie Hibbert

Foundation Governor Rachel Jeffries

Foundation Governor Neil Allen

Parent Governor Mandy Fairweather

Parent Governor Cathy Brown