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Brochure 2019 – 2020Information for parents and children

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Term Academy opens on Academy closes at end of

Autumn Wednesday 4 September 2019 Wednesday 18 December 2019

Spring Monday 6 January 2020 Wednesday 1 April 2020

Summer Monday 20 April 2020 Tuesday 21 July 2020

Half term Academy closes at end of Academy re-opens on

Autumn Friday 18 October 2019 Monday 28 October 2019

Spring Friday 14 February 2020 Monday 24 February 2020

Summer Friday 22 May 2020 Monday 1 June 2020

Academy term dates

Bank holidays May Day: Monday 4 May 2020.Please note: the academy will be closed for statutory staff development days during the academic year. The official academic term dates for 2019 – 2020 are available from the school office.

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Contents

Academy term dates .................................................................................................................................... 2

Welcome ...................................................................................................................................................... 4

Our aims and sponsor ................................................................................................................................. 5

Key staff and admissions .............................................................................................................................. 6

The school day .............................................................................................................................................. 7

Absence and attendance .............................................................................................................................. 7

Curriculum .................................................................................................................................................... 8

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) ......................................................................................... 9

Enrichment activities ................................................................................................................................... 9

Behaviour – school code ............................................................................................................................ 10

Your child’s progress ....................................................................................................................................10

Uniform/dress code .................................................................................................................................... 11

Breakfast and after-school clubs ................................................................................................................ 12

Safeguarding and child protection ............................................................................................................. 13

Pupil voice .................................................................................................................................................. 13

Educational visits and residential visits .......................................................................................................13

Complaints procedure ................................................................................................................................ 14

Illness and accidents .................................................................................................................................. 14

School performance ................................................................................................................................... 15

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WelcomeThank you for taking the time to find out more about our school. At Ormiston Cliff Park Junior Academy, we value all children as individuals and pride ourselves on being able to meet the needs of every pupil.

We work hard to ensure that all our children can achieve their full potential. We work closely alongside our partner Academies to provide a seamless learning journey from children’s transition into year three through to successfully preparing them for High School and beyond.

Ormiston Cliff Park Junior Academy is a happy and vibrant place where children are supported in their learning and challenged in their thinking in order to develop the skills to become successful life-long learners. Our dedicated staff team work had to ensure that children enjoy an enriching curriculum with a wealth of extra-curricular activities to develop knowledge and skills. We celebrate the children’s many successes and achievements in a range of ways.

Being at the heart of our community enables children to develop their roles as responsible young people and citizens of the future.

We value the important role that you will play in supporting your child’s education and warmly welcome parents into the school in a variety of ways.

We hope that our brochure will provide you with lots of useful information. If you would like to visit the Academy or find out more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We look forward to welcoming you and your child.

Mrs Louise Watkins, Head of School

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Our aims‘At Ormiston Cliff Park Junior Academy, we give our best to achieve our best.’

Our aims • For children to be confident and independent learners

and thinkers. • To promote curiosity and inspire a love of learning. • To provide an exciting, enriching and relevant curriculum

for all. • For each child to achieve their full potential. • To ensure effective collaboration between school and the

wider community.

Our sponsorOur academy is a member of Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT) - one of the largest not-for-profit multi-academy trusts in England. Multi-academy trusts are charities that run schools and give local children a great education.

The Trust educates 29,000 pupils across six English regions, in 30 secondary schools, 7 primary school and 1 special school, and is one of the longest established trusts that has sponsoring academies since 2009.

“Our mission is to become the Trust that makes the biggest difference, both inside and outside the classroom.”

OAT is defined by three core purposes, which are to TEACH, DEVELOP and CHANGE so that it can create schools where no one is disadvantaged. To achieve these purposes, the Trust needs to be well designed and run, so it can SUPPORT the work and get the best from our people, resources, estates and technology.

Each academy is led and run by the principal and senior leaders, and strong and aspirational leadership is central to academy success. Achievement is always locally led but regionally and nationally governed, encouraged and supported. Individual academy leaders and local governing bodies are trusted to make decisions based on their expertise and knowledge of their school, with the support and guidance from the OAT expert central team, and the wider family of OAT schools.

The very first Ormiston school was sponsored by Ormiston Trust, a national charity formed in 1969. Ormiston Trust was founded with a view to improving the life chances of young people. This philanthropic principle informs all of our work and has been the foundation for the ongoing success achieved across our academy network. Ormiston Trust continue to invest grant-funding in our schools in many areas.

You can find out more about Ormiston Academies Trust at www.ormistonacademiestrust.co.uk.

You can also follow OAT via social media:• Twitter @OrmistonAcads • Facebook /OrmistonAcademiesTrust

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Key staffSenior staff• Kate Rutherford, Executive Principal• Louise Watkins, Head of School• Ellen Watson, SEND Co-ordinator (SENDCo)• Jackie Huggins, Teaching, Learning and Assessment Lead

Teaching staff• Gemma Hurren• Ripley Jones• Simon Smith• Glen Joyce• Sarah-Jayne Tempest• Claire Ashman• Ellie Price• Louise Staff• Tom Edwards• Stuart Arlow• Liz Stolpman• Kim Tanner• Eleaenor Cunningham• Mike Walsh

Attendance and Safeguarding Manager: Claire WrightAdministrative Manager: Debbie Tooke

AdmissionsChildren can join Ormiston Cliff Park Junior Academy from age 7 (and will be 7+ on 1 September), in accordance with Norfolk Admissions Policy and Norfolk County Council Admissions Department. The transfer to a junior school admission round is for children in their last year at an infant school (currently in Year 2). At OCPJA, there are three Year 3 classes starting in September 2019; there will be up to 30 children in each class.

Should more places be required than the academy can offer there are clear procedures to following to select children for the places available.

Children transferring to junior school from another school or academy will be placed in the class appropriate to their age. Staff will monitor them closely to ensure a smooth transition as possible. The academy required up-to-date contact details in the event of a problem. Please let us know if your details change so that we can update our records.

The Admissions Department at Norfolk County Council is responsible for managing transfers to junior school. Parents will receive a booklet A Parents’ Guide to Admissions to Schools in Norfolk, which contains an Application Form for parents to register their choice of school.

Parents will be informed which school has been allocated in April. When the school receives the list of children who will be starting with us in September, we will notify parents by letter as to the arrangements for admitting their child.

You will be invited to a meeting with the staff concerned, the governors and the Head of School. The general aims, and organisation of the school are outlined and there will be an opportunity to ask questions, visit the classrooms, meet the staff and arrange times for the children to visit their new school.

Website: www.norfolk.gov.uk/education-and-learning/schools/school-admissions

Email: admissions@norfolk.gov.ukTel: 0344 800 8020

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The school day 8.50am - 9.00am Registration9.00am - 10.45am Teaching time10.45am - 11.00am Break11.00am - 12.20pm Teaching time12.20pm - 1.30pm Lunchtime break1.30pm - 3.25pm Teaching time

Gates will be open from 8.40am, when at least two members of staff will be on duty. Prompt arrival at school is important.

Absence and attendanceAttendance is an important part of giving your child the best start in life. When your child attends regularly they take an important step towards reaching their full potential and are given the greatest opportunity to learn new things and develop their skills. School attendance is subject to various education laws and the academy attendance policy is written to reflect these laws and guidance produced by the Department for Education (DfE). Each year the academy will examine attendance figures and set attendance targets. These will reflect both national and Norfolk attendance targets.

Absence reportingSchools are required to keep records of attendance, and to distinguish between authorised and unauthorised absence. Absence may be authorised for a number of reasons, the most common being sickness, medical or dental.

It is important that absence is explained to the school and this may be done in person or by telephone by 9.30am. If the academy is not given a reason for the absence the academy will make contact with parents of any absentees, firstly by telephone and followed up by a text message if no contact is made. After two days of absence without contact, a home visit is conducted by the academy. Only the principal, or senior staff can authorise absence. Report all absencesto 01493 663 612.

LatenessGates will be open from 8.40am, when at least two members of staff will be on duty. Prompt arrival at school is important. Any child arriving after this time will be marked as having an unauthorised absence. The afternoon registration will follow after lunchtime break.

Leave of absence during term timeUnder government legislations, we are unable to grant a leave of holiday absence in term time. We hope all absences are kept to an absolute minimum as it disrupts a child’s learning. However, we will consider authorising a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances that requires time off from the academy. Only the academy can authorise the absences.

Parents are asked to complete a Leave of Absence form at least a month before the requested absence period. This form can be found on our website.

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CurriculumEnglish and maths are taught daily with other curriculum areas being taught through a creative curriculum, where a topic based approach to learning is used. This involves using a stimulus as a starting point to enhance teaching and learning. This is proven to be highly successful and an enjoyable experience for children and teachers alike.

In Years 3 and 4 the children will experience a wide range of topic, and may include Doctor Doctor (Study of Medicine over time), Revolting Romans, Victorian inventors and inventions, and Rain Forests. Some of the topics covered in Year’s 5 and 6 include World War 1, A Victorian Christmas, Great Britons, The City That Fell into The Sea, Invaders and Raiders, Water (The Broads) and Ancient Greece. Within these topics, visits and visitors are planned to enhance the children’s learning and have recently included experiences such as: author visits, drama workshops, beach and museum visits.

We are an ‘Empiribox Science School’ which means that our children experience a really exciting science curriculum and have access to a fantastic range of resources and equipment in order to experience science in a fun and practical way. A copy of the School Curriculum Wheels will be on our website at the beginning of each new topic, giving details of the topic and related activities, as well as core curriculum coverage for that period.

Religious Education - Religious Education is provided for all children as part of the curriculum and follows the Norfolk Agreed Syllabus. Assembly is an important part of the school day, when we meet together as a community. It is a time when we explore values and attitudes towards each other and the world around us. Assemblies are of a broadly Christian nature as well as celebrating the multicultural society in which we all live. We are proud of our links with the Cliff Park Community Church, who support us through ‘Open the Book’ assemblies.

Parents have the right to withdraw their children from religious education and collective worship. Please let the school know if you wish your child to be excused.

Our curriculum includes all appropriate subjects of the national curriculum. We except to cater for the whole range of abilities, from those with exceptional ability to those who required and need extra special help. We will provide a broad and balanced curriculum.

Ofsted 2015: “The school has developed an appropriate curriculum which is broad and balanced.”

Ofsted 2015: “Imaginative activities are often provided.”

Core Curriculum • English• Mathematics• Information Communication

Technology (ICT)• Physical Education (PE)• Science• Religious Education (RE)

Foundation Subjects • Art• Design & Technology• Education• Geography• History• Music• Modern Foreign Languages• Personal, Social, Health and

Citizenship

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Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)Approximately one in five children will have special educational needs at some time during their school career. This means that they may have difficulty with:

• Reading, writing, mathematics. • Understanding information and expressing themselves. • Sensory perception or physical mobility. • Managing their emotions or issues with their mental health.

At Ormiston Cliff Park Junior Academy we place great importance on identifying SEND early, so that we can help children as quickly as possible. We recognise children learn in different ways and can have different kinds or levels of SEND. We provide a range of interventions according to the needs highlighted.

We will assess your child to identify their strengths, needs and the extra help they require through the Assess, Plan, Do, Review model. Children who have particular needs, or have specific learning difficulties, will have work carefully planned for them to best meet these needs.

Children with an identified special need may need the further support of a pupil profile. This will enable teachers to plan and assess the child’s progress, providing additional support as appropriate. Parents and children will be part of this process through an in-school review (ISR).

The school works closely with different specialist services including educational welfare, learning support, speech and language therapy, school health, and educational psychologists.

SENDCo lead contact: Ellen Watson

Enrichment activities We believe in enriching the lives of our pupils with a range of clubs run by both the school and outside agencies. They are available to children as they move through the school, and information is sent to parents throughout the year.

All the children enjoy games and activities in school at lunchtime and after-school, using a variety of equipment.

Clubs can include • Drama • Choir • Tennis • Gardening • Football

House system On entering the school each child is allocated one of four house teams, which they will belong to during their time at Ormiston Cliff Park Junior Academy.

• Cavell - Red • Nelson - Green • Manby - Blue • Sewell - Yellow

Time spirit is encouraged and there are many opportunities throughout the year for competitive house events.

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Behaviour – school codeWe have developed a positive behaviour policy and has been created to ensure a happy, secure, safe and disciplined but caring atmosphere within Ormiston Cliff Park Junior Academy.

It is only through a consistent implementation of our guidelines, continuous praise and leading by example that children learn to take responsibility for their own behaviour, and endeavour to correct inappropriate behaviour.

Behaviour is discussed and agreed with all the children both in assembly and by developing class agreements. We start with the question “what makes school a safe and happy place to be?” as it is vital to create a positive sense of community where we all share responsibility for ourselves and each other. A copy of our full behaviour policy can be found on our website.

What we value in our school • Friendliness • Courtesy • Honesty • Hard work • Reliability • Self-discipline • Mutual respect • Independence in learning

What we will not tolerate in our school • Bullying • Dishonesty • Irresponsibility • Vandalism • Rudeness • Cheating

Our library The library is open throughout the school day for children to visit. In addition, parents are welcome to come after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays as the Library remains open until 4pm.

Your child’s progressWe are committed to giving your child the best opportunities that we can. We do this most effectively when working with you. Key Stage 2 Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) are taken in Year 6. Parents are given full information about the SATs as the children progress through the school. A full school report will be sent home at the end of each academic year. There are three opportunities to discuss your child’s progress at school during the year:

Autumn term In the autumn term the first parents’ evening gives you an opportunity to meet your child’s class teacher and discuss the year ahead.

Spring term In the spring term a formal parents’ evening is held to discuss your child’s academic targets and progress.

Summer term In the summer term a full written report detailing your child’s achievements will be sent home, with the opportunity to discuss this with the teacher if you feel this is necessary.

Parental support and home learningParental support is discussed at open evenings and more informally with the class teacher as the need arises. We encourage you to welcome to discuss any concerns with school staff. Teachers are available for a short time on the playground at the end of the day, or if you feel you would meet for a lengthier discussion, please contact the school office to arrange this.

Parents are positively encouraged to be involved in their children’s school time education and home learning, and suggestions will be made on how to support this work at home, as this is integral to a child’s wellbeing and successful achievement in their education.

Parents are expected to support their child’s learning through regular reading at home. All children are set homework tasks, which help to support and enhance learning in the classroom. Class teachers will inform parents of homework arrangements at the start of the year. We use the Accelerated Reader Programme to support children’s reading development across the school. Parents are given a password to enable them to monitor their child’s progress from home.

We also value the contributions parents can make in school and we will be very pleased to make use of your skills, interest and time if you would like to be actively involved in classroom activities. There will be lots of opportunities to take part in a wide range of curriculum and celebration events.

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Uniform/dress codeWe pride ourselves on the high standards of children’s dress and believe it is important that children learn appropriateness of dress for different situations.

Boys and girlsWinter: • Royal blue sweater or cardigan, with school logo and

house colour. • White shirt or blouse. • Grey or black knee length skirt or trousers. • White or black ankle or knee length socks. • Grey or black tights. • Flat black shoes (not trainers or boots). • School tie (worn at a sensible length with the top shirt

button done up and shirts tucked in).• Waterproof coat. • Wellington boots (if necessary.)

Summer• Blue or white checked dresses.• Black or grey shorts. • Black or grey trousers. • White short sleeved shirt or polo shirt. • Sunhats are recommended when the weather is hot

and sunny. • White or black socks.

PEPlimsolls (or bare feet) for indoor PE and games and trainers for outdoor PE and games. Boys and girls should wear plain shorts (preferably black or navy) and a plain T-shirt. T-shirts for your child’s house colour are available from Harrisons on Southtown Road. Track suits may be worn for some games lessons but not PE.

All items of clothing and footwear should be clearly labelled in order to help us to return lost items. Sweatshirts and T-shirts with the school motif, and other school clothing can be bought directly from Harrisons on Southtown Road.

The ‘Friends of Cliff Park Schools’ also provide a book bag for all new children as they enter school.

Additional dress codeIt is not appropriate for children to wear make-up or nail varnish in the academy. Jewellery of any sort can be dangerous in the playground and during PE/swimming lessons, and must not be worn in the academy.

Children with pierced earlobes may wear only one pair of stud earrings or other jewellery (for example for religious reasons) at the academy, and even these along with watches must be removed during PE/swimming lessons. Requests for other jewellery must be made in writing and full responsibility for any injury or loss must be accepted. All items will be kept in a safe place during the lessons.

The academy does not allow ‘extreme’ haircuts or styles. Unnatural hair colours and patterns cut into the hair are unacceptable. No haircut shorter than what is considered a ‘No. 2’. For safety reasons, we request that all long hair is always tied back.

Lost property can be found near the school office, please ask at the office for details

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Breakfast and after-school clubBreakfast club places are offered to pupils in all year groups. The sessions are from 8.00 - 8.55am each morning. Places are limited so please book your child’s sessions each term. The cost of each session is £2.50.

The children are able to select from a healthy breakfast menu and enjoy a range of activities in the Da Vinci Room. If a child does not attend a pre-booked session, the full fee of £2.50 will be charged, in order to cover costs.

After-school club The after-school club is run at Ormiston Cliff Park Junior Academy and is open to the Ormiston Cliff Park Infant Academy pupils too. Call 01493 663612 for further information.

Lunchtime arrangementsChildren can either bring a packed lunch or buy a meal from the cafeteria. They come into the hall in Year groups and packed and school meals are eaten at the same time. Packed meals should be brought to school in a packed lunch box clearly marked with the child’s name.

A termly ‘seasons’ menu will be sent out to allow you and your child to choose which days to stay for lunch. The cost of a lunch is currently £2.20 and is paid online via Parentmail. Arrangements are made for children with special dietary needs. Please let the school office know if you require further information.

Water is always provided with meals and at water fountains and coolers when the children are thirsty. It is recommended that children bring a water bottle to school with them. All children eat together in the hall. The ‘dinner ladies’ (midday supervisors) are on duty in the playground after lunch.

Is your child eligible for Free School MealsFor free school meals visit https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals to review the list of benefits and to see if your child is eligible.

Children who are paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, are also entitled to free school meals. Your child may also be entitled free school meals if you are in receipt of any of these benefits and your child is both:

• Younger than the compulsory age for starting school• In full-time education

If your child is eligible for Free School Meals, they’ll remain eligible until they finish the phase of schooling (primary or secondary) that they are in on 31 March 2022.

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Safeguarding and child protectionWe provide a caring, supportive, safe and secure environment for all children, where they will be listened to. It is important that we as an academy do everything we can to protect our children, and all staff members have received training on Child Protection. If at any time we have concerns about a child, staff members have a duty to refer the matter to a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) for Child Protection. In accordance with the Children’s Act, the welfare of a child is always paramount.

We require all adults seeking employment at the academy to have a DBS check. In addition, other adults who work with our children, such as supply teachers, voluntary staff and any sports coaches are required to hold a current DBS. Parents are always welcome at school, but for the children’s safety and security, visitors are asked to report to the school office on arrival. The school offers disabled access and has a secured inner door into the school building.

All visitors are requested to report to the school office for permission to enter the school and to sign in the visitor’s book. All visitors are issued with a pass to show that they have been welcomed to school. This includes important health and safety and safeguarding information. The school gate is locked during the school day. The school car park is strictly for staff use. For safety reasons, gates are locked between 8.30-9.00am and 3.00-3.45pm.

A copy of our safeguarding policy can be found on our website at www.ocpja.co.uk.

Pupil voiceWe are committed to ensuring that our pupils are actively involved in the development of their school. We use many different ways to find out what the children think about a broad range of issues within school.

All children are part of a ‘circle group’, which involves children from each year group, including any siblings that they may have in school. These groups meet regularly to discuss key aspects of school improvement. In addition, each class elects a pupil to form our School Council. The School Council meets regularly in order to plan and organise a wide range of events, including fund raising for their chosen charity as well as supporting a number of community projects.

Educational and residential visitsWe recognise the valuable contribution that a wide range of activities including clubs, trips and residential experiences, can make towards pupils’ personal and social education.

We aim to promote and provide such activities, both as part of a broad curriculum and as additional optional activities. Learning outside the classroom forms a necessary part of the academy curriculum (e.g. visits to places of historical or geographical interest).

Most of these activities are organised predominantly within school time, in order to broaden and enrich the curriculum; as such no charge is made. The academy always subsidises trips, however, parents are sometime asked to make a voluntary contribution towards the cost of a specific trip and travel. When such voluntary contributions are sought the governors wish to make it clear that:

• There is no obligation to make a contribution. • Pupils will not be treated differently according to whether

or not their parents have made a voluntary contribution. • The school does rely on parents’ willingness to provide

financial support towards the substantial cost of outings and may have to cancel an outing should insufficient funds be received.

• If a child is absent on the day of the trip, any contribution will be refunded, and the shortfall met out of the School Fund.

For further details see our charging and remissions policy on our website www.ocpja.co.uk.

Other - cookery Children are encouraged to take home finished cookery products and a small voluntary contribution is sometimes requested to cover the cost of extra materials and ingredients. There is no obligation either to take home the finished product or to make a financial contribution. Again, no child will be excluded from these activities.

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Complaints procedureIf you are unhappy with any aspect of your child’s education at our academy, we will be pleased to discuss your concerns. In the first instance, you should make an appointment with your child’s teacher. In the unlikely event of a matter being unresolved, you should inform the Head of School via the school office who will direct you to the formal complaints’ procedure (also available on our school website).

Illness and accidentsIf you child is taken ill during the day, you or a nominated person will be contacted. All injuries are treated with care and entered in our accident book. Parents will receive notification that first aid has been administered. We will contact parents if we feel that this is appropriate.

Please ensure that we have the correct contact details of you or a close relative.

The academy should be notified immediately of any change to contact details.

Administering medicinesIf at all possible, medication should be given at home, but where medication (oral or creams) needs to be given during the school day, it must be prescribed by the GP with a printed label stating your child’s name and dosage required. A medical disclaimer form must be completed with a member of staff and parent/carer 24 hours prior to medication being given to your child.

• Medicines are kept in a secure cupboard or refrigerated where necessary. Access to the refrigeration unit is limited to staff members only.

• If the prescribed dosage for antibiotics is three times a day, please ask your doctor if it is possible to have the second dose when the child gets home from school

• If you wish to give your child a dose of medicine at lunchtime, you are welcome to come to school yourself.

• If your child requires an inhaler to be kept at school an asthma record sheet must be completed by the parent. These are available from the school office.

• The school is unable to administer eye or ear drops. Parents are welcome to come into school if the child requires either of these to be administered in the school day.

• A record of medicine administered by school staff is kept in the office.

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School performanceThe tables below show the percentage of children who have achieved Level 2 or above in the end of Key Stage 2 Assessment Tests (SATs) in Year 6. The figures in brackets are for Level 5 achievement, which was the measure up to 2017. Parents are given full information about the SATs as the children progress through school.

Reading

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018School % 78 (36) 84 (43) 88 (44) 52% 62% 63%National % 86 (45) 89 (50) 89 (48) 66% 71% 75%

Writing

Mathematics

Attendance

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018School % 70 (29) 79 (32) 85 (35) 86% 63% 66%National % 83 (30) 85 (33) 87 (36) 74% 76% 78%

Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018School % 71 (22) 78 (34) 88 (35) 47% 68% 62%National % 85 (41) 86 (42) 87 (42) 70% 75% 76%

School Year 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18Overall Attendance (%) 96.02 96.12 95.80 95.05 95.1

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Ormiston Cliff Park Junior Academy Orde Avenue, Gorleston-On-Sea,

Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 6SZTel: 01493 663612

Email: office@ocpja.co.ukWeb: www.ocpja.co.uk

Twitter: @OCPJ_AcademyFacebook: /OCPIAandOCPJA