ETHOS OF THE SCHOOL

As children pass through the school we will provide an environment which will be conducive to enabling them to develop their abilities; academic, aesthetic, social, moral, spiritual and physical; to the fullest possible extent.

The following aims act in support of our ethos.

·        The school will have a warm and friendly atmosphere for all who work within it and for visitors. The children should feel both secure and happy, enabling them to develop effectively. The school should offer a pleasant and rich environment of visual and tactile experiences to stimulate pupils.

·        The curriculum should be broad, balanced, coherent and relevant, with in-built systems of regular review and where needed modification. Staff should have high expectations of pupils and the children should always be encouraged to work to the fullest extent of their capabilities in all aspects of the curriculum.

·        The school and its governors are  strongly committed to ensuring the physical and mental health of all pupils. In support of this commitment the school will encourage pupils to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to take exercise and maintain a healthy diet. We will support these aims by providing a rich variety of curricular and extra curricular activities, which provide both breadth of experience and opportunities for personal/social development.

·        An important emphasis should be placed upon the child’s personal development. Self-discipline, self-esteem and self-motivation should be encouraged. Pupils’ should be prepared to play an active role both in the school and wider community by developing sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others regardless of differences.

The school forges links with the home and offers parents opportunities to work in partnership with the school. The school will also work to play a part in the life of the wider community.

INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION    Welcome to Park Hill Primary School and thank you for taking the time to find out about our school. Making the decision about which school is right for your child can be difficult, but we hope that this prospectus will help you make that decision and give you a flavour of Park Hill and the learning opportunities that we provide here.    Park Hill Primary School was established in l967. It is a modern primary school set in spacious grounds and it mainly serves the Allesley Green, Eastern Green areas of the city. The school is fully subscribed, attracting a large number of pupils from outside its catchment area, and we currently have space for 315 pupils, plus a nursery which offers another 52 part-time places for children aged between 3 and 4. During 2004 we have undergone a major building development which is designed to provide more space in our school; the new build will provide a new main entrance, offices, a library and a state of the art computer suite; the alterations will also free space in the current building to provide additional teaching spaces for group work.    In a school prospectus such as this it is only possible to give a brief flavour of the many things we provide for pupils. Briefly, at Park Hill we try to ensure that everything we do gives pupils the most worthwhile experiences possible. It is our aim to provide a positive and helpful environment within which young children can develop all aspects of their personalities as they grow towards maturity.    We place a high value on good standards of academic work and want each individual to develop to their full potential, but also want pupils to develop socially and morally. Pupils are encouraged to gain pleasure from music, art, physical activities and the world around them. We are particularly pleased that our work in these areas has been recognised by externally judged awards from:    Sport England – Activemark confirming the range and quality of sporting activities that take place in the school.   Health Promoting School Status. Park Hill has held this award for a number of years and was one of the first primary schools in the city to achieve the new national standard. The award recognises the work the school does to promote a healthy lifestyle for all pupils.   British Council. Park Hill is the only primary school in Coventry currently holding International Status because of its work with schools and organisations from other countries.   Leading Language School. Park Hill has been designated a leading language school by the local authority. We are also a partner school working with the University of Warwick.   Finally the school is in the process of applying to The Arts Council for an Arts Mark award to recognise the quality and breadth of art, music, dance and drama that take place within the school.   We endeavour to create a relaxed, friendly and stimulating atmosphere where relationships between teachers, pupils and parents are good. We believe that the education of children is the joint responsibility of school and parents, and only if the two have a close relationship can the children in our joint care reach their full potential. Our aim is always to serve our customers; be they pupils, parents or the local community; to the best of our ability and the school’s efforts in this area were recognised by the award of the prestigious Charter Mark standard in December 2006     When pupils join the school we will provide parents with a handbook which gives more details about the school, its staff and the way we are organised.

ETHOS OF THE SCHOOL ETHOS OF THE SCHOOL   At Park Hill Primary School we believe all children are entitled to develop to their fullest potential - academically, socially, emotionally, physically, morally, spiritually and aesthetically, enabling each child to grow in confidence, and able to participate in the wider community. The following aims act in support of our ethos:   The curriculum should be broad, balanced, coherent and relevant. Staff have high expectations of pupils and the children are always encouraged to work to the fullest extent of their capabilities in all aspects of the curriculum.   The school and its governors are strongly committed to ensuring the physical and mental health of all pupils. In support of this commitment the school will encourage pupils to maintain a healthy lifestyle, taking exercise and having a healthy diet. We support these aims by providing a rich variety of curricular and extra curricular activities, which provide both breadth of experience and opportunities for personal/social development.   An important emphasis is placed upon the child’s personal development. Self-discipline, self-esteem and self-motivation are encouraged. Pupils’ should be prepared to play an active role both in the school and wider community by developing sensitivity to the needs and feelings of others regardless of differences. The school will have a warm and friendly atmosphere for all who work within it and for visitors. We will work to provide an environment in which children will feel both secure and happy, enabling them to develop effectively. We will value each child as an individual enabling them to develop a positive self -image. We aim to encourage self -discipline and respect for others. To help pupils develop personal, spiritual and moral values, an understanding of religious and beliefs, a tolerance for others and their ways of life. To promote equal opportunities for all children. We aim to raise achievement through active independent learning and the vital support of parents.

VISITS AND ADMISSIONS VISITS TO THE SCHOOL   We encourage prospective parents to visit our school. If you would like to come and look around please phone the school office to make an appointment. We also organise a number of open days, parent tours and events throughout the year which we hope you will be able to attend.   It is helpful if all parents register their wish for their children to attend Park Hill School with us as early as possible to allow effective planning to take place. Local Education Authority admission arrangements are detailed below.       ADMISSIONS POLICY   The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 required all infant (Years R, 1 and 2) class sizes to be limited to a maximum number of 30 by September 2001. Admission limits are therefore based on multiples of 15 and 30, which helps schools to organise infant classes of 30 or fewer.   1.      Admission Limit   The school’s current admission limit for year R is 45           2.      Admissions Criteria   The admissions arrangements for the school are controlled by the Education Service of Coventry City Council. To apply for a primary school place parents should complete the application form contained in the booklet “Primary Education in Coventry 2008”. Copies are available from the School Office.   For some schools there may be more requests than there are places available and it may not be possible to meet everyone’s first preference.  Parents are advised to give careful consideration to their order of preference, as at the initial allocation of places all first preferences will be allocated places before second or third preferences are considered. This could result in some parents who do not gain their first preference school finding that their second choice school is also full with first-preference requests.   If there are more requests for a school than places available within the school’s  admission limit, places will be allocated in preference order using the criteria in priority order is as follows:   ·      To children who have a Statement of Special Educational Needs which names the school; ·      To children who live in the catchment area served by the school, who already have an older brother or sister at the school, provided that the brother or sister will continue to attend that school in the following year; ·      To other children who live in the catchment area served by the school; ·      To children with an older brother or sister who currently attend the school, provided that the brother or sister will continue to attend that school in the following year; ·      To children by reference to the distance to the preferred school. A straight-line measurement will be made to the school. The shortest measurement will have the highest priority.     Looked after children Priority within each category will be given to children who are in the care of the local authority. A looked after child is defined in Section 22 of the Children Act 1989.     Exceptional Family or Medical Circumstances Consideration may be given to very exceptional family or medical circumstances. The extent of such a priority will be determined by the extent to which mobility are affected. Reference may be made to the Authority’s medical practitioner in these cases. The circumstances of the child will be of paramount consideration in such cases rather than the financial or social circumstances of the parent. Distance If it is not possible to meet all of the requests in any one of the categories described above, the City Council will prioritise the requests within the category by reference to distance. A straight-line measurement (‘as the crow flies’) will be made to the preferred school. The shortest measurement will have the highest priority. All first preference requests will be allocated before second or third preferences are considered. Parents whose preference is not met by the Education and Library Services Directorate can appeal to an independent appeal committee.   If a school place is offered on the basis of an address, which is subsequently found not to be the child’s normal home address, the place will be withdrawn.   Full details of the admissions policy are given in the Education Service’s annual publication “Primary Education in Coventry”. From October 2007 copies of this booklet are available from Primary Schools or from the Education Service in Civic Centre 1, Little Park Street, Coventry, CV1 5RS or by telephoning Coventry  (024) 7683 1622  or 7683 2499

OUR PARTNER ORGANISATIONS ON SITE School life is very ably supported by two organisations that provide additional services to parents. Whilst these organisations are independent from the school they work closely with the school to enhance the facilities that are offered to parents. These two organisations are:   PARK HILL PLAYGROUP   This group is led by Sandra Thompson and meets in separate accommodation on the school site and, working in conjunction with the school nursery, provides an excellent start to school life for pupils aged between 2 years 6 months and 5. Further details of the playgroup are available by contacting 024 76695140.   AFTER SCHOOL CLUB   This club is run by the school and meets in the school dining room to provide after school provision for parents who need to have extended care for their children. The club provides a range of interesting activities for children to take part in, hours are from 3.30 p.m. until 5.30 p.m. Places at this popular facility can be booked through the school office and we are hoping to further develop this provision in the Spring term 2008 to provide more extended provision which will also operate before school in the morning.   HOLIDAY CARE   The school works with Kidz Club to provide holiday childcare on site from 8.00 to 5.30 in all the holiday periods with the exception of Christmas. Application forms for this provision are circulated before holidays and are also available from the school.

SCHOOL ORGANISATION     The school is divided into four phases within which staff work co-operatively;           Foundation Key Stage  Consisting of nursery and reception   (Years N [Nursery] and R [Reception])      Lower School  Consisting of middle and top infants  (National Curriculum Years 1 and 2     Middle School  Consisting of first and second year juniors  (Years 3 and 4)    Upper School  Consisting of third and fourth year juniors  (Years 5 and 6).     Within this organisation, with the exception of the Early Years phase, children are taught in mixed ability classes of broadly similar ages, however, as children's needs differ widely much of the teaching and learning within classes takes place in groups which are designed to help each individual child make progress (further details are given in the section on Curriculum Organisation).    Each team is led by a senior member of staff whose role it is to plan and co-ordinate the work of the teams. All team members meet together on a regular basis to plan and organise the work of the team in all the subject areas of the curriculum.