WELCOME TO OUR SCHOOL!!!

Mission Statement

We wish to be a special, happy and caring school, expecting all users to be valued and
expecting them to value the school.
We advocate mutual respect for all by all.
We aim to raise self-esteem and empower the individual, whilst providing all the necessary support and encouragement.
We insist that our emphasis must be on success for everyone and agree to celebrate this
success whenever and wherever we can.

Aims

Learning
1. To create an environment where everyone wants to learn.
2. To widen horizons, and for every student to achieve post school ambition.
3. To develop children who think for themselves and are flexible and sensitive to the needs  of others.
4. To engender positive recognition of everyone’s achievements.
5. To produce appropriate individualised learning programmes.
6. To encourage extra-curricular activities – sports, art, outdoor pursuits, residential visits.
7. To develop areas of excellence.
8. To maintain an innovative/dynamic curriculum.
9. To create an orderly, relaxed atmosphere.
10.To instil in staff a sense of their own worth and contribution, and empower them to be accountable and take responsibility.
11.To develop organisation, communications and action teams, to support quality learning  and teaching.
12.To enable all staff to extend their professional development.

Parents are requested to provide their child with a school sweatshirt, which can be purchased through the school and should be worn with white shirts or blouses or a school tee-shirt in the summer. Dark trousers/skirts should be worn with dark shoes.  Girls should wear white socks. Parents are requested not to send very young children in formal shirts/blouses with numerous buttons which the child cannot manipulate.  White polo shirts are acceptable and much more manageable.  Likewise shoelaces should be avoided until such time the child can tie these unaided.  Many shops now sell smart shoes with ‘velcro’ fastening and these are highly recommended to avoid frustration.
Suitable clothing and a towel should be provided when P.E. or swimming appear in the
timetable.

The children can attend the Nursery from the age of three and will remain there until they transfer to a mainstream reception class. They attend the Nursery for two days a week from 9.15 a.m. – 2.15 p.m. A curriculum has been planned to help the children make progress towards the early learning goals.  These are in line with the frameworks for teaching literacy and numeracy.  The curriculum for the foundation stage underpins all future learning by supporting, fostering, promoting and developing children. Learning experiences are planned considering both children’s needs and achievements and
with a range that will help them to make progress.  Children deepen their understanding by playing, talking, observing, planning, questioning, experimenting, testing, repeating,
reflecting and responding to adults and to each other.  To enable them to do all of these the Nursery has a well-planned and resourced curriculum to take the children’s learning forward and to provide opportunities for them to succeed whilst feeling valued and in an atmosphere of care and security.

Each child’s progress is carefully monitored ensuring that progress is being made.  An
individual education plan enables any of the areas of learning where there are particular
problems to be identified and addressed. Nursery staff work with staff from other agencies e.g. speech and language therapy and physiotherapy, to provide the best learning opportunities for the children. As well planned play is a key way in which children learn with enjoyment and challenge this is a crucial part of the nursery curriculum. Partnership with parents is vital.  The Nursery staff keep parents fully informed and discuss individual plans half-termly.  Parents for their part are asked to support and encourage their children through relevant learning and play activities at home. Relevant learning development opportunities are provided and realistic and challenging expectations are set to meet the diverse needs of the children.

The Primary Department caters for children aged from three to eleven years.  The nursery unit known as the Headstart Unit offers part-time, diagnostic and early developmental intervention for the special needs, pre-school child, whilst the other classes cover the full range of Infant and Junior education. The children are class based with their own class teacher which promotes a sense of security and stability, yet still allows them to associate with and relate to our older pupils.  This enables them to take a positive role within the whole school structure, thereby alleviating the usual problems at secondary transfer since they already know all the staff and older pupils. Like any other school, our aim is to develop the potential of each individual child by providing a broad curriculum with opportunities for a rich variety of experiences, which reflect County policy and National Curriculum guidelines.
We also aim to encourage the growth of physical, emotional and environmental health, the development of aesthetic appreciation and to establish standards of social behaviour and moral responsibility which prepare Primary pupils for the more mature structure of our Secondary Department, or for the possible integration into the more complex and demanding conditions of mainstream education.
Our timetables cover the full range of subjects according to the 1988 Education Act.
However, since each of our children has his/her own “special needs”, the targets set within these subject areas, will, whenever possible, reflect their individual requirements with “built- in” strategies for personal achievement and success.
We do not always adhere strictly to the timetabled periods, particularly inthe infant and lower junior age range where some of our pupils may need to vary their activities much more frequently due to physical problems or immature concentration and manipulative skills. Nevertheless, all subjects receive adequate attention on a regular basis according to class routine. Nationally, primary education must consist of three “Core Subjects” which are English, Mathematics and Science.  This enables us, as a Special School, to continue to place our emphasis on the essential areas of literacy and numeracy and the development of logical and investigative skills.  The other eight subjects of Technology, Art, History, Geography, Physical Education, Music and P.S.H.E./Citizenship are designed so as to provide our young children with an early introduction and understanding of the world around them, and are known as the “Foundation Subjects.”  Religious Education although not a foundation subject is a legal requirement and is therefore included in our curriculum studies. At the ages of seven and eleven our pupils are required to take the official Standard Attainment Tests (SATS) with results being made known to parents and the Department of Education and Science.  Each year the school will submit targets both statutory and additional.