Two Mile Hill Junior School, The Kingsway, Kingswood, Bristol. BS15 8AA

Tel: 0117 903 1932 Fax: 0117 903 1949  Email: twomilehillj@bristol-city.gov.uk  Head Teacher: Mrs Jan McAll

School Prospectus

The aims of this booklet is to provide parents with information which should serve as an introduction to the school and answer some of the queries which arise in the minds of parents whose children attend or will attend the school.
 

Message from the chair of governors

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Two Mile Hill Junior School.

I should like to thank you for choosing our school for the next stage of your child’s education.

Every child is important to us and I am sure you will find our dedicated and committed staff will ensure that your child will be provided with every opportunity to succeed.

We have high expectations of work and behaviour and recognise that the quality of children’s development depends on the standard of support and guidance offered by teachers and parents working together. So let us work together so your child can enjoy learning in a safe and secure environment.

I hope over the next few years your relationship with the school will grow and provide a strong foundation for the future of your child.

Thank you.

Jeremy Kirk

Statement of Aims

Two Mile Hill Junior School wish that all the children we teach will be equipped both socially and academically to contribute fully towards the community in which they live and work. To achieve this the school aims are to provide:

• a happy, purposeful, disciplined environment
• a well resourced and stimulating environment
• a broad and balanced curriculum which offers challenge according to individual need
• a curriculum which offer equal access and opportunity to all
• a range of extra curricular activities
• an ethos which fosters self-esteem and pride
• an environment of mutual respect

Our aims for pupils are to:-

• achieve their personal best
• enjoy learning
• work co-operatively and independently
• be confident in their own abilities
• be aware of and take responsibility for themselves and their environment
• understand, show tolerance and respect similarities and differences between themselves and others
   

Vision

“Two Mile Hill - Working together to Succeed”

Values

Honesty

Respect

Enjoyment

Achievement

Equality
 

Building and Facilities

Two Mile Hill Junior School was built in 1894. There are 10 classrooms; 5 of which are situated in the Annexe Building and 5 are situated upstairs in the Main Building.

The school offers a very well equipped IT room, library, 2 halls, dining room and 2 playgrounds. The office and Headteacher’s room is situated in the Main Building.

School Organisation

The school is organised into 10 classes.

Five classes have Year 3/4 children and five have Year 5/6 children. This year the classes are as follows. Each class has a teaching assistant for Literacy and Numeracy support.

School Routine

Weekly Hours Taught 23.5 (These hours do not include Assembly or Registration Time)

Breakfast Club

Children are welcome to have breakfast in school. It is available in the Infant school 8.15 - 8.45 am.

Punctuality and Attendance

It is very important children are in classrooms by 8.50 am so a good start can be made each day. Children who are late disrupt lessons and miss vital information at the start of the day.

Attendance is also very important and we expect all children to achieve at least 95%.

Absence

If your child is ill parents must telephone the school by 9.30 am on the first day of illness and then every day of illness.

School Meals

Dinner money is collected on the first school day of each week and should be sent in a clearly labelled envelope. Cheques should be made payable to

‘Bristol City Council’.

Parents may alternatively provide packed lunches for their children. These should be sent in a clearly labelled plastic container. Cold drinks must be sent in manageable, unbreakable and secure top containers.

Contact for Free School Meals: Bristol City Council Awards Section

Tel: 903 6666 (10.00 am - 4.00 pm)

Support Services

Illness and Medication

No medicines are allowed without prior arrangement with the school.

Staff in the school cannot administer any medications. At times when daily medication is needed parents must come to school to administer.

When children are ill or have an accident parents are informed immediately (please make sure your personal details are up to date in our office).
 

School Uniform

Our school strongly supports the wearing of school uniform. We ask children to wear school colours of blue, grey and white.

Specially embroidered clothing with logo is available for sale in our school office.

The following items are strictly not allowed:-

jeans

high heel shoes

sports clothing with logos/motifs

looped earrings

Educational Visits

To enrich the curriculum children are taken on visits.

Parents are asked to contribute towards transport and admission charges. No child will be omitted from an activity because of funding. However trips may be cancelled if there are insufficient funds available.

A school residential trip is organised for Year 6 in the Summer Term.

Special Educational Needs

At times some children need extra help when progress is not being made in their work or behaviour. There is a process for support as follows:-

School Action - Teacher and Parent share concerns and appropriate action is taken within the classroom.

School Action Plus -If children continue to experience problems then extra help is provided outside the classroom by support staff.

At this point the school Educational Psychologist will be involved. Individual Educational Plans are written which may lead to a statutory assessment.

Parents are informed and involved throughout all stages.

Equal Opportunities

Two Mile Hill Junior School is committed to providing all pupils with an education that offers equal opportunities. We deal with name calling, mimicry, abuse, graffiti and harassment as efficiently and promptly as possible. Your help and support in these matters is very important.

Racial Abuse and Harassment

All allegations of racial abuse is taken seriously and investigated.

In most cases a letter will be sent to the parents of all concerned explaining the incident and any action taken.

Records of incidents are recorded.

Access to Information

We communicate to parents through:

• A weekly newsletter sent out every Friday
• Parents Evening held in Term 1/2 and Term 5/6
• An annual report on children issued in March

If parents wish to see school policies, schemes of work or information from the Department for Education then copies are available from the School Office.

Admissions Policy

We admit children to this school in accordance with the policy of Bristol LEA, who allocate places centrally. Parents need to apply in the October previous to the academic year in which their child will start school.

The admissions level is called the Standard Number which for this school is 85.

Should this school be over subscribed, allocations will be made by the Local Authority using the following criteria:-

1. Special Needs
2. Siblings
3. Geographical
4. Single sex/co-educational reasons
   
   

English

In our teaching of English, we provide the pupils with a range of opportunities which enable them to read, write and talk with increasing care, confidence and fluency.

They develop their skills in reading and writing to suit different purposes, audiences and situations; and learn the main rules and conventions of written English through exploring the use and effect of language in a variety of texts including poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction.

The pupils also learn to contribute effectively to discussions as members of a group through listening, understanding and responding appropriately to others.

Mathematics 

All pupils will have a daily lesson dedicated to maths. There will be a good balance between whole-class work, group teaching and individual practise.

The five strands of maths that are taught are:

numbers and the number system

calculations

solving problems

handling data

measures, shape and space

ICT will be used in the daily maths lesson to support pupil activities and whole-class teaching, when it relates to the learning objective for the lesson. Opportunities will be used to draw mathematical experience out of a range of activities in other subjects, to provide opportunities to apply and use maths in real life contexts.

Science

Through the study of science at Two Mile Hill Junior School we aim to build on children’s curiosity and develop a scientific approach to problems. All areas of the national curriculum for Key Stage 2 Science are covered throughout years 3 - 6.

Scientific enquiry is an integral part of all science teaching and scientific skills are developed within the context of topics relating to the three curriculum areas:

Life Processes and Living things

Materials and their Properties

Physical Processes

Design and Technology 

Design and technology is an important curriculum subject as it provides children with the opportunities to be creative and innovative. Within design and technology the children will undertake projects which will not just be about making things, but following the whole design process from beginning to end, which will include planning, designing, making and evaluating. Design and technology is about children using a range of skills, knowledge and materials to come up with their own ideas to solve problems. The projects the children will undertake will be delivered through a mix of weekly lessons and DT weeks. The school also works closely with Speedwell Technology College in enhancing the opportunities available to the children within this curriculum subjects.

Geography

Geography provides children with the opportunities to view, perceive, understand and respond to the world in which they live. In order to achieve this, each term children will study a new geography topic which will allow them to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding required. Examples of the topics covered include studying the local environment, rivers, Kenya and traffic management issues. Throughout the topics children will participate in field trips around the local area and continue to develop the link which has been made with a school in Kenya.

Religious Education

The aim of teaching children Religious Education is to develop an understanding of the major world religions and for them to think about their own opinions and views on spiritual and personal matters. This is achieved by largely teaching RE through discussion and by getting the pupils to produce a creative piece of work on each topic, for example a poem about their opinions on light. The school focuses on teaching: Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam, and across their time at the school the children will have the opportunity to visit three places of worship. The religions are studied thematically and not in isolation of one another, topics such as ‘Special Places’ and ‘Prayer’ include lessons on each of the four major religions. The children produce a piece of work that is assessed and given a National Curriculum level 3 times a year, so their progress in the subject can be monitored.

History

History is taught on a 2-year cycle, and where possible is taught in a cross curricular way through art, music and drama. Children are taught the necessary skills to extract information from a variety of sources, including reference materials and where possible museum visits.

The history curriculum aims to help children develop the concept of time whilst understanding the events that took place within a particular time period. From studying the local area, children should become aware of their past and their place in history. Whilst at Two Mile Hill Junior School, children will also study periods of history such as the Romans, the Vikings, the Victorians, the Tudors, Britain since 1948 and Ancient Civilisations such as the Indus Valley, Ancient Greeks and Egyptians.

Information and Communications Technology

Known in school as ICT, this area of the curriculum is developing at a rapid rate. The school has recently modernised our computer suite, which now consists of 22 flat screen computers, an interactive whiteboard and a laser and colour printer. The suite is internet linked and networked. All classrooms also contain computers are also connected to the school network and internet.

The school is well equipped with both hardware and software for use by all children to support a number of subjects. The school also contains 10 digital cameras, a video camera and 14 digital blues which enables the children to learn how to take and download pictures on the computer.

The ICT curriculum consists of a variety of units which teach children to learn computer skills. This includes units such as spreadsheets, databases, control technology and internet searches. As well as units of work which are taught with a cross curricular focus such as repeating patterns and writing for different audiences.

The school also regularly updates its school website, which can be found at:

http://www.twomilehill-jun.bristol.sch.uk.

This is regularly updated and contains information about the school and the topics it offers.  It also has website links for the children to access educational websites at home.

Physical Education

Physical education at Two Mile Hill Junior School aims to develop children’s enjoyment, confidence and skill in physical activity. PE promotes personal, social, intellectual and physical skills and fosters co-operation, tolerance and enhanced self esteem. We aim to introduce our children to the pleasure of sport by giving all children opportunities for participation, enjoyment and success which will continue into adulthood and contribute to part of a healthy lifestyle.

PSHE

In all aspects of school life we aim to promote the personal and social development of children. PSHE (Personal, Social & Health Education) is taught in every year group and is embedded within the curriculum, the organisation and the ethos of the school. We aim to provide children with a developing sense of their own abilities, their rights and their responsibilities as citizens. We aim to enable children to develop effective relationships and to respect the differences between people. Sex and drugs education is covered as an aspect of PSHE and is taught in a way that is appropriate to the age of the children.

If parents wish Sex Education to be withheld from their children’s education they should contact the Headteacher.

Classes and Staff