ensuring that all pupils have equality of opportunity to achieve according to their full capabilities, regardless of their ethnic background;
valuing equally all members of the school community;
promoting positive attitudes towards life in a multicultural, multiethnic and multifaith society and celebrating cultural diversity;
combating racial harassment and racial discrimination and challenging racism in all its forms;
equipping pupils with the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes to recognise and challenge examples of racism that they meet in their lives;
establishing a close partnership with parents and the local community, with sensitivity and openness to the experiences of those ethnic minority background.
Introduction
Thorner’s School is a Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School for children aged 5 to 11 years old from West Bexington, Little Bredy, Long Bredy, Litton Cheney, Puncknowle, Swyre and Kingston Russell. At 11 they generally transfer to Sir John Colfox School in Bridport.
The original foundation of the school goes back to 1690. For over 300 years, the children of this area have been educated in the name of Thorner’s.
The school buildings were substantially enlarged and modernised in 1968, providing spacious accommodation in the form of three large classrooms, a fully equipped hall and a multi-purpose resources room for group work, cooking and first-aid. In 1994 the School House was converted and refurbished to create a fourth classroom, a central library, Staffroom and Headteacher’s office. In 2000 we have added a netball court and developed the Conservation area as well as the refurbishment of the toilets which was long overdue.
As from September 2005 the local playgroup at Puncknowle - 'Fledglings' will be operating from our premises . We hope that this will develop and we will be working together as a Foundation unit catering for pupils aged 3 to 5 years in the near future.
The school’s Church of England status is important. We have very close links with the local church and we benefit from the advice and the support of the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Education. The Christian ethos of the school is important to us all. It is one of the reasons we celebrate our faith in a daily assembly, visit our parish church at the start and end of each term and can also be seen in relationships between staff and children and by the way individuals are treated.
The Governor’s Role
The Governors at Thorner’s School work together in consultation with the staff to ensure that all pupils in our charge receive the best education available. The Governing Body is made up of a Local Authority Governor, Parent Governors, a Teacher Governor, a non-teaching staff Governor, and Parochial Governors. They are a mixed group, coming from many walks of life but with a single aim – the improvement of Thorner’s School and the education given, in order that the happy, caring environment for every child identified in our last Ofsted Inspector’s Report is maintained.
Recently the workload and responsibilities placed on Governing bodies has increased, particularly with the introduction of Local Management of Schools (LMS), National Curriculum, Literacy and Numeracy Hours, Performance Management, the provision of hot school meals and ‘extended schools’. The Governors are grouped into various sub-committees, such as environment, finance, curriculum, health and safety, pay, admissions, so each Governor can use his or her expertise in a particular area; also each Governor takes special interest in either one or more subjects or one class.
We very much value the open and friendly welcome given by all involved in the school to all parents whose children attend Thorner’s. It is of paramount importance to staff and Governors alike.
We appreciate very much all the hard work put in by the Parents Association and all their efforts to fund raise for the school.
As with all organisations, everything does not always go to plan, but the staff and Governors are willing to listen to and talk over parents’ concerns and to act to allay any fears and worries. The Governing Body seeks to ensure that the education of the Bride Valley’s children is conducted in accordance with national criteria laid down by Parliament. We trust that this will give them a good start in life to help them to become responsible adults.
Chair of Governors
The Curriculum
There is a specific procedure for complaints about the school curriculum and matters relating to it, including the provision of information and charges. In general these are dealt with in a similar way to other complaints. However, there are some specific differences:
You may complain either to the Childrens’ Services Authority or the governing body in the first instance.
The complaint will be investigated by the CHILDRENS’ SERVICES AUTHORITY or governing body whichever of these is responsible for the matter complained about.
The governing body will inform both the complainant and the CHILDRENS’ SERVICES AUTHORITY of the outcome of its investigation.
There is a right of appeal to the CHILDRENS’ SERVICES AUTHORITY and then the Secretary of State.
For Aided schools such as Thorner’s, there is a right of appeal to the Diocese on matters of RE and Collective Worship.
In general, internal school matters are the responsibility of the school governing body. However, you may have a complaint which relates to something which is the Local Education Authority’s responsibility. The CHILDRENS’ SERVICES AUTHORITY provide advice to parents and schools on best practice procedures for dealing with complaints. The CHILDRENS’ SERVICES AUTHORITY will, where appropriate check to make sure that the complaint has been reasonably dealt with. Where required, CHILDRENS’ SERVICES AUTHORITY officers may play a role in helping schools to investigate and resolve particular complaints. Advice is available from David Kenyon, Head of Business Development.
School admissions and exclusions
Separate complaint and appeal procedures exist for these matters, and appropriate information is available from the school office
Admissions
A copy of the admissions policy is available for viewing in the school office. Our standard intake is 15. Generally the Governors will admit to the school, pupils who live within the catchment area of Litton Cheney, Puncknowle, Long Bredy, Little Bredy, Swyre, West Bexington or Kingston Russell to any class. Parents who live outside this area can request a place from the Headteacher or Governors, if unsuccessful they can appeal to Dorset County Council.