St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is a co-educational Catholic Aided Primary School, (four to nine years), within the Comprehensive system of education on the Island. The school is arranged into five classes, with one year group in each class. All classes have between 15 and 30 pupils.
The present buildings were built in June 1964 and opened on this pleasant site just off of the High Street in Carisbrooke. The building comprises of three classrooms to the east of a large hall and two classrooms to the west. There is a new designated library and computer suite area which was completed in 2003. The School has its own kitchen. Outside there is a large playing field as well as a playground. There are ongoing plans to improve the school grounds and buildings and it is hoped that a new early years block will be added to the school within the next three years.
The School is owned and promoted by the Portsmouth Catholic Diocesan Trustees.
The School is governed by the School Governors under an Instrument of Government by which the ‘Foundation Governors’, (at least two of whom should be parents), are appointed by the Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth. There are also Governors representing the Local Education Authority, staff and parents.
The Governors, together with the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth are responsible for most improvements and extensions to the building. The school asks parents to make a contribution each term, (suggested amount £5), to the Bishop’s new Diocesan Building Fund, to help ensure the costs of improvements will always be met. There are termly letters about the Building Fund and you are always welcome to contact the Governors or the Headteacher if you have any questions about the Fund.
The Governors appoint a Head Teacher and the Staff and control the admission of pupils in accordance with a policy agreed with the Local Education Authority and the Diocese. The Head Teacher is answerable to the Governors. On any major matter the Governors consider the views of the Local Education Authority, who are ultimately responsible for the provision of education throughout the Island.
In practice, responsibilities overlap; the effective working of the School depends on the co-operation and mutual respect of all the parties involved.
The most important single factor in its existence as a Catholic School, and in the ability of the Staff to make the best of the resources provided, is the support of the parents. Education involves home and school; it is essential that they should work together and we appreciate everything that our parents do to support this partnership. In line with this ethos we have drawn up a ‘Home School Agreement’ document which is given to all families at the beginning of each year. Further copies can be obtained from the school office. The Agreement is reviewed annually and parents and pupils are invited to be involved in the process.