PORTISHEADPRIMARY SCHOOL

Empowering Learners and Developing Community

Learning and Achieving Together

PO

RTISHEA

D

PRIM

ARY SCH

OOL

““

“The following

information was

written by the parent

governors to provide

you with the

information that they

felt would be useful.

On behalf of all staff,

parents and

governors we would

like to welcome you

to a school that we

are all very proud to

be part of. We

welcome you to

become a part of our

learning community

and look forward to

working with you.

A warm welcome from the Headteacher

Dear Parents,

Thank you for taking the time to have a look at our lovely school.Choosing a school for your children is one of the most importantdecisions you will make and I hope that this prospectus along with theschool website, vision leaflet and a personal visit will help support you inmaking the right choice for your family.

Our stunning location and attractive building give a very good firstimpression, but what we are most proud of though are the achievementsof our pupils, the commitment and professionalism of our staff and thepartnerships we have with our parents and local community.

We believe that school is where dreams begin, where the seeds of futureambition and achievement are sown and where happiness and the joy ofinvestigation and discovery are founded. Come and look round and youwill see a learning community where relationships are developed, childrenare valued, nurtured and challenged within a supportive environment andwhere creativity and a love of learning are promoted and flourish.

We have high expectations and work to bring out the best in each andevery child personally, socially and academically.

I look forward to showing you around our school so that you can see ourvision in action for yourself.

Kind regards

Mike Scriven (Headteacher)

Promoting positive attitudes at schoolChildren at Portishead Primary consistently tell us – and visitors, includingOFSTED! – how much they enjoy coming to school here.

An important part of our role as a school is to ensure that every childexperiences success; and achieves and fulfils their aspirations according totheir experience, learning and potential. We aim to create anenvironment that is at the same time secure and tolerant, but stimulatingand creative, and to celebrate success.

We follow clear policies on attendance, behaviour, inclusion and equalityand on Special Educational Needs and we ask parents to work with us inimplementing Home-School Agreements. These set out expectations ofschool, home and pupils regarding attendance, homework and so on, as abasis for our partnership in relation to each child.

The school has a dedicated Learning Mentor and Senior Leaderresponsible for all pastoral aspects of school life. This team supportschildren learning and playing together and leads on anti-bullying andbehavioural support. The Learning Mentor is available to support bothparents and children during difficult times. We have pupil mediators andbuddies who with the use of our friendship stop and buddy benchsupport others during playtimes.

We appreciate that every child is an individual and are always available todiscuss and work with parents to ensure that their child’s time with us is apositive experience.

““

“Lots of lovely visitorscome to really helpus with our learningof every subject.Visitors helpteachers, which helpsus to learn too.

Year 2 Pupil

FacilitiesPortishead Primary is in a beautiful location, right beside the newlyrefurbished Marina. Next door is the town’s leisure centre, which pupilsuse for swimming and other sports lessons.

Our inspiring school building was built in 2003 and was designed byArchitect John St. Leger. Its gates were commissioned from the renownedartist Matthew Fedden and are one of the important pieces ofcommunity-based art in the town. There is some parking for parentsoutside the school but due to our location we do encourage walking andcycling to school as there are safe footpaths and cycle routes from otherparts of Portishead.

Children attend the school from age 4 to age 11 in one building, with theclassrooms for the older children (in Key Stage 2) upstairs. There arelandscaped grounds with play equipment and outdoor teaching spaces forthe Early Years Foundation Stage, as well as facilities such as a schoolvegetable garden and the Gazebo, which is regularly used for outdoorlessons and other activities. At lunchtime the children can have a hot meal,which is cooked on the premises or bring in a packed lunch.

We have an ICT suite, library and cookery area. There are also two schoolhalls, one of which has a stage and is regularly used for drama and musicalperformances, whilst the other has a fitted kitchen that can be used forcookery lessons and is home to our Breakfast and After School Clubs.

We constantly strive to improve the facilities for children and each yearsees improvements in and around school.

““

“When my mum hasto go to work early Iget dropped off atbreakfast club. It is afun club which evengives you breakfast!

Year 2 Pupil

High standards

We believe that a successful school is built upon well-foundedrelationships. All the staff at Portishead Primary aim to be good rolemodels and to promote high standards for acceptable behaviour andcaring attitudes. They encourage a positive work ethic among thechildren.

Children’s progress is closely monitored and we provide tailoredprogrammes of support for children whose attainment is below theirpotential or who are identified as having special educational needs. Thiscan include working with outside providers of specialist support such asspeech and language therapists and educational psychologists. Wechallenge our gifted and talented children through special projects, such asdevising and marketing their own products, selling them at a school event.

We aim to produce enthusiastic, self-motivated, confident independentlife-long learners. We set positive expectations for all our children, basedon individual curriculum targets for every child. We celebrate success byawarding certificates and publishing achievement awards in the schoolbulletin each week, by awarding house points, through which certificatescan be won, and by holding year-based celebration assemblies, to whichparents are invited. Children regularly share their work with theHeadteacher or Deputy Headteacher and together they celebrate theirexcellent learning outcomes and successes.

““

“At the end of Key

Stage 2, standards

were significantly

above average in all

subjects tested.”

“Children make

outstanding progress

in the Early Years

Foundation Stage.

OFSTED 2009

““

“Portishead Primaryalso has greatteachers, which helpsyour child learn asmuch as possible.

Year 2 Pupil

Quality of teaching and learningWe are committed to improving standards and ensuring that each childreaches their full potential. Therefore, our curriculum and the quality ofteaching are of the highest standards and all staff are supported in theircontinuing professional development.

We regularly observe our teachers teach, sample lesson planning, look atpupil’s work, carry out pupil conferences where we discuss the learningthat has taken place and carry out learning walks to ensure that all staffreceive quality feedback to build on our very high standards.

All children have literacy and numeracy targets and their achievement isregularly assessed to better inform their future development. Progress istracked and additional support for those pupils who may need it is madeavailable. The Child Support Co-ordinator works with staff in school andcoordinates support from outside of school for pupils who have morecomplex learning needs.

In each class we have up to thirty children and class teacher’s worktogether with teaching assistants and other qualified support staff toensure pupils are supported with their learning.

Each Early Years Foundation Stage class has a full time teaching assistantand support staff are deployed across the rest of the school according toneed. Every year group and class has some level of additional supportwhich is reviewed on a regular basis by the school’s Strategic LeadershipTeam.

We see our school as a learning community and take pride in the fact thatwe are all engaged in the process of lifelong learning.

Development opportunities

Children at Portishead Primary benefit from a rich and varied curriculum.

In addition to meeting the requirements of the National Curriculum,pupils can take advantage of a wide range of further developmentopportunities provided by teachers and coaches from within and beyondthe school community, who provide opportunities for children to developfurther skills in music, sport, languages and the arts.

Pupils take part in a range of trips and visits, making full use of theirsurroundings and enhancing positive links with the local community. Tripsand visits further afield link to year group projects and topic work andour Year 6 attend a week long camp at an Outdoor Adventure Centre toboost confidence and self-esteem before going onto Secondaryeducation.

Portishead Primary school is a regular supporter of community andcharity events such as the Rotary Club Annual Swimathon, PortisheadCarnival and a Coffee Morning held on behalf of MacMillan Nurses.

Our school council are consulted and consider issues of interest andconcern to the children and are very much part of the decision process.

We are very proud to be a pioneering school with our Culture Council.This group helps develop and promote wider involvement with thecreative and performing arts.

““

“Members of the

school council take

their responsibilities

very seriously and

feel they make a real

difference to the

school environment

by, for example,

campaigning for play

equipment to be

used at break times.”

OFSTED 2009

Taking part in the school community

We take pride in the way our school operates as a partnership betweenschool staff, children and their families and carers. We recognise theimportance of parents’ and carers’ involvement and encourage their activeparticipation in their child’s education. Our weekly newsletter can be sentelectronically or by pupil post, and contains notices, invitations to eventsand celebrations of achievements to keep you informed. Our schoolwebsite is regularly updated and is a good source of information on a widerange of relevant issues.

Parent’s evenings are held twice a year and we welcome individualdiscussion about queries and issues of concern at other mutuallyconvenient times. We share with you individual targets for your child,giving feedback on their progress and we send home an annual report forevery child.

We invite parents and carers to contribute their views and suggestions in avariety of ways and there are plenty of opportunities for families to attendconcerts and other events.

We are grateful that a number of parents, grandparents and carers chooseto share their skills and experience with the school by helping in class or bygetting involved with our very successful Friends of School Association(FoS) who organise social and fund raising events. FoS raise sizeable sumsof money each year for special projects (grounds development etc.) andtreats (annual Panto) for the children. Parents, staff and representatives ofthe wider community make up the school’s Governing Body which formspart of the leadership of the school.““

“What I like most

about Portishead

Primary School is

that each child is

known as an

individual. We are

always made to feel

welcome. The school

has a caring

atmosphere.

Parent

How do we apply?

Admissions to Portishead Primary, like all schools in the Authority aredecided by North Somerset Council. The North Somerset website;www.n-somerset.gov.uk, gives full details of the admissions process.

Applications for places in our Early Years Foundation Stage are welcomedfrom parents of children who become 5 between 1st September and31st August of the school year that you are applying for. The deadline formaking an application to the local authority can be obtained along withfull details on www.n-somerset.gov.uk.

Applications for in-year places should be made directly to the school orlocal authority and forms can be downloaded from the North SomersetWebsite above.

We would be delighted to welcome you to the school for a visit.Especially arranged visiting sessions for prospective parents – and – pupils,take place in July and the Autumn Term each year, details can be obtainedfrom our website or from the school office. Individual appointments at amutually convenient time can be made by contacting the school office.

““

““We were shown

around by two year

six children, who

answered all my

questions well. They

were great children.

I thought, if my

children turn out like

that I will be really

pleased.

Parent

Use the contact details below to arrange a visit or contact us for further information:

Portishead Primary SchoolStation Road, Portishead,North Somerset, BS20 7DB

Tel: 01275 843360Fax: 01275 848071

Email: portishead.pri@n-somerset.gov.ukWebsite: www.portisheadprimary.co.uk