sscs prospectus
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SSCS ProspectusTRANSCRIPT
08P R O S P E C T U S
09South Shields Community School,
A Business and Enterprise College
Contents
...
Aims & Values
Students’ Individual Needs
Student Support
Transition and Induction
Tutor Groups
Our College System
Advice and Guidance
Rewards and Sanctions
Working with Parents
A Wealth of Experience
A Business and Enterprise College
The Curriculum
Religious Education & Collective Worship
Homework
Health Education
Extended School
Uniform
Times of the Day
02
04
08
10
12
14
16
20
24
26
28
30
34
06
18
22
08P R O S P E C T U S
09
36
32
South Shields Community School
Aims & Values03
The aim of South Shields Community School is to meet the needs of each
student so that:
They are happy
They are safe
They achieve well in school
They learn to lead healthy lifestyles
They make a positive contribution to their community
They develop the skills and enthusiasm to continue learning
We intend to do this through personalising their learning. This means treating each
student as an individual and providing learning opportunities and support to meet
each student’s unique needs.
We aim to work with parents and the wider community so that they are more able to
support our students.
We expect students to leave South Shields Community School as well rounded
citizens who have high expectations of themselves and are confi dent in their ability to
continue learning.
We expect our students to have developed a range of skills, which will allow them to
achieve their potential throughout their lives and to have developed attributes such as
resilience, responsibility and resourcefulness, which will mean that they are equipped
to deal with change and the uncertainties of life.
“Relationships are usually harmonious between students and with staff” (Ofsted, June 2008)
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Aims & Values
0202
‘Flame on’
The Fantastic Four
meets Year 8 Science
South Shields Community School
Individual Needs05
There are three main ways in which we intend to personalise learning for
students.
Through individual support
A student profi le will be developed for each student to record their strengths and
interests. This information will be used by the student, their parent or carer and a
tutor or mentor to set developmental targets and agree the kinds of support which the
student will need.
Through providing a fl exible curriculum
The curriculum at South Shields Community School will aim to balance the
development of skills and attributes with the acquisition of knowledge and
understanding. The curriculum will include a range of vocational and academic
subjects during the school day and provide opportunities for students and the wider
community, to develop their interests both within the school day and after school.
Through matching teaching to students’ learning styles
Over recent years our knowledge of the way in which the brain works and how
different people learn in different ways has increased dramatically. At South Shields
Community School we will use this information to design our lessons and other
learning activities to ensure that students can learn in their individual learning style.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Individual Needs
04
Media
Filming on Location in
the Lake District.
By personalising the support and the curriculum for each student we intend
to motivate and enthuse them about learning and to ensure that they develop
a level of respect for themselves such that they are encouraged to set and
achieve their own personal goals which are challenging but at the same time
realistic.
Personal Learning Plans (PLPs)
The central element of our support for students is the relationship between the
student and his or her tutor or mentor.
The tutor or mentor will give guidance and support to each student through the
student’s Personal Learning Plan (PLP).
The PLP will contain information including attendance and assessment data
as well as personal goals and academic targets.
The Personal Learning Plan will be reviewed regularly in tutorial session and
twice a year with parents or carers.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Student Support
06South Shields Community School
Student Support07
A round of applause
Students celebrating
success in assembly.
Most students who join South Shields Community School will do so from one
of ten local primary schools at the end of year 6.
We are committed to working with the primary schools to ensure teaching and
curriculum progression as well as continuity of care for students.
We have appointed a Transition Manager who will promote links with the primary
schools.
This work will build on the work of the School Sports Co-ordinators and the language
teachers who already work with the primary school teachers.
Our aim is to ensure that all primary age students have an experience of working with
staff and students from South Shields Community School and have visited our school
before the end of year 5.
During year 6 we will work more intensively with students to ensure they are familiar
with the staff who will teach them in year 7.
From the beginning of year 7 students will be placed in year based tutor groups for a
period of induction until they are familiar with the operation of our school.
Those students who need additional support will be placed in our transition group
which is taught by a primary trained teacher and follows a routine similar to that found
in primary schools.
“Procedures for the transfer of students from primary schools work well and ensure new students settle quickly” (Ofsted, June 2008)
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Transition and Induction
08South Shields Community School
Transition and Induction09
Team building during
Enterprise Week.
After year 7, students will be placed in mixed aged tutor groups with students
with similar interests.
Each tutor group will be led by a teacher-tutor who will be supported by another
member of staff or a volunteer mentor.
Tutor groups will be divided into project teams of about six students. The students will
support each other in planning and implementing a project which will allow them to
realise their ambitions or goals.
These projects will enable students to develop their employability skills.
If a tutor or mentor feels that a student requires more support than they can provide,
the student will be referred to a Student Support Manager.
The Student Support Manager can arrange support from Learning Coaches on a
one-to-one basis, in small groups or within normal lessons.
The Student Support Manager can arrange support by the Additional Educational
Needs Manager who can provide expert support for students with Special
Educational Needs.
The Student Support Manager can also arrange support from outside of the school
from a range of different local agencies.
“Those students who access the well managed Additional Educational Needs department sometimes make good progress because of the effective teaching and the support they receive” (Ofsted, June 2008)
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Tutor Groups
10South Shields Community School
Tutor Groups11
Students developing
their team skills during
Enterprise week.
South Shields Community School
Our College System
All students above Year 7 will
belong to one of the colleges and
wear the tie appropriate to their
college:
Cardinal Red for Davy •
Imperial purple for Herschel •
Royal blue for Swan •
13
The colleges are all named after scientists who were involved in creating
something new, just as we are at South Shields Community School. All of their
work involved light in some way.
Sir Humphrey Davy was a local inventor who developed the miners’ safety lamp.
Herschel was a female scientist working in the 18th and 19th centuries who carried
out important work in the fi eld of astronomy, discovering at least eight comets.
Joseph Swan, another man from our region, many of you will already know as the
inventor of the light bulb.
Within the colleges the students will be grouped into smaller enterprise groups which
will meet daily. These groups will be made up from students across the year groups
so our students get used to working with a variety of people of different ages just as
they will have to when they join the world of work. The enterprise sessions will also
be the time when students receive their individual mentoring from one of their tutors.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Our College System
0112
All students receive appropriate advice and guidance:
At KS3, students’ personal social health education (PSHE) is delivered within their
Learning to Learn (L2L) lessons; citizenship is delivered through their ‘Culture and
Heritage’ lessons;
At KS4, students’ careers education, citizenship and personal social health education
(PSHCE) is delivered through their CRED lessons.
The school has excellent links with the Connexions Service, giving students access
to the most up to date advice and careers information.
The highlight of the careers programme is work experience – one week in year 10 is
spent on a placement in local industry.
“Students receive good support and guidance when making option and career choices” (Ofsted, June 2008)
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Advice and Guidance
14South Shields Community School
Advice & Guidance15
Work Placements are arranged to
give students an introduction to the
working environment.
The performance of each student will be carefully monitored at all times.
A code will be given to a student to indicate that they are doing very well (positive
code) or not meeting expectations (negative code). These are entered on to the
school computer system. Each code represents an aspect of behaviour with a
signifi cant impact on learning, for example, good attainment, co-operation or arriving
late.
Three negative codes will lead to an automatic 30 minute detention. More serious
incidents will be dealt with on an individual basis. At the end of each term positive
codes will be totalled.
25+ codes = Bronze certifi cate
50+ codes = Silver certifi cate
75+ codes = Gold certifi cate
Commendations will be given for exceptional effort or performance.
Students may also be rewarded with a letter home, a free place on a school visit or
their name being posted on the honours board.
“The school is an orderly community” (Ofsted, June 2008)
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Rewards and Sanctions
16South Shields Community School
Rewards and Sanctions17
Austria 2008
Skiing in the Tyrol.
As a new school we are very aware that we need to gain the trust and support
of parents. We intend to do this by keeping parents well informed and by
involving parents in the school.
Sharing Information
We will keep parents informed of events at the school through regular newsletters
which will also be posted on our website.
We use a system called Group Call which allows us to send texts to individuals,
specifi c groups, or the whole school. This can be useful for reminders or if something
unexpected happens.
We will report student progress every term but for those parents with internet access,
individual student records of assessment, attendance and rewards and sanctions can
be viewed at any time via a password protected connection to our database.
Parents Working With The School
We are setting up a Parent Support Group, which will have three main functions:
For parents to support the school
For the school to provide support to parents
For parents to support other parents
We will also train parents who wish to work as volunteer mentors to support students
by reviewing their Personal Learning Plan and helping students to set short and
longer term targets.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Working with Parents
18South Shields Community School
Working with Parents19
Final Performance
Year 11 graduates perform
in front of their parents.
We recognise that for students to develop the skills and attributes they need to
be successful in later life, that they need to have a broad range of experience at
school.
Working With Other Organisations
Through working with other schools and colleges, local business and industry, work-
based learning providers, voluntary and community-based organisations, we are able
to provide students with experience of learning in many different situations within
school and outside of school.
This helps students to maintain their enthusiasm for learning and also means that
they are much more likely to develop skills like working with other people and
attributes such as dealing with change and uncertainty.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
A Wealth of Experience
20South Shields Community School
A Wealth of Experience21
Enterprise Week
More team problem solving.
Our vision is to create a school and centre of excellence in Business and
Enterprise that will have a relentless commitment to raising achievement,
standards and self esteem for all students and the wider community.
Enterprise Education is not so much about teaching things to young people; it is more
about teaching our students how to learn.
Why Business Enterprise Status at South Shields Community School
The status will:
help us raise standards in all subject areas
give us business and enterprise opportunities
increase the range and quality of opportunities for all students
improve employability skills
enable our developing enterprising attitudes and skills through learning and
teaching across the whole curriculum
encourage students to experience and understand the world of work in all its
diversity including entrepreneurial activity and self employment
create opportunities for students to participate fully in enterprise activities
including those which are explicitly entrepreneurial in nature, and in which
success is the result of “hands – on” participation
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
South Shields Community School,
A Business and Enterprise College
22South Shields Community School
A Business and Enterprise College
Defi nition of “Enterprise
Capability”
“The ability to handle uncertainty and respond
to change, create and implement new ideas and new ways of doing things to make reasonable risk/
reward assessments and act upon them in a
variety of contexts, both personal and work”
23
The curriculum includes a Learning to Learn course designed to ensure that
students develop the attributes of:
Resilience
Resourcefulness
Responsibility
Reasoning
Refl ectiveness
The school is part of a national resilience pilot working with the University of
Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA.
Making Good Progress
The school is also part of a national pilot to raise standards at Key Stage 3. Students
will be entered for Key Stage 3 tests in English and maths when the teacher
assesses them as being ready rather than waiting for the end of year 9. Those
students who make good progress will be able to choose additional areas of study.
Those students who need additional support will receive up to twenty hours of
individual tuition.
Key Stage 4
The Key Stage 4 curriculum meets the statutory requirements including health,
citizenship and careers education. All students study English, maths, science and
ICT to GCSE Level and have a choice from a wide range of vocational and academic
courses.
All students take at least one vocational course and it is through those courses that
students cover the statutory requirements for Work Related Learning.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
The Curriculum
24South Shields Community School
The Curriculum25
At Key Stage 4 the curriculum
provides students with the
skills required to meet local
economic demands through
work related learning and
vocational education, as well
as academic subjects.
(Ofsted, June 2008)
Religious Education is taught following the South Tyneside syllabus.
Regular assemblies include consideration of moral and spiritual themes in a non
denominational manner. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from morning
assemblies and R.E. in accordance with the 1944 Education Act, but are asked to
visit the school to discuss the matter with the Deputy Headteacher before doing so.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Religious Education
26South Shields Community School
Religious Education
Rook takes Bishop in the Learning Resource Centre.
27
Homework is set regularly for all students.
Homework is related to specifi c subjects and includes activities such as
investigations, research, interviews, simple experiments, essay writing and projects.
The amount and frequency of homework depends on the individual needs of each
student. Our Learning Resource Centre is open from 8:00am to 4:30pm. Students
can complete their homework in a calm, comfortable environment with modern
Information Technology and staff support.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Homework
28South Shields Community School
Homework
Students reading as part
of the accelerated reading
programme.
29
Sex Education is part of the Health Education programme for all students.
The social, moral and physical aspects are covered in a number of subjects
including science, personal and social education and religious studies.
The Governors’ policy and year group programmes of study are available for
inspection upon request. Students will be withdrawn from Sex Education if the
parents request this. The school is happy to listen to parental concerns and take
these into consideration when planning the sex education curriculum.
We actively promote a healthy lifestyle of physical and emotional health within
both lessons and the school environment. We have fi rst class links with our local
community and health professionals.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Health Education
30South Shields Community School
Health Education31
Year 11 girls gain their
fi rst aid certifi cates
South Shields Community School
Extended School
The school provides a
range of extra-curricular
activities; students can
participate in a range of
sporting activities as well
as pursue their creative
and artistic interests in
Drama and Music.
(Ofsted, June 2008)
31
The Department of Education and Skills (DfES) has defi ned an ‘Extended
School’ as:
‘A School that recognises that it cannot work alone in helping children and young people to achieve their potential and have therefore decided to work in partnership with other agencies that have an interest in outcomes for children and young people and the local community’.
At South Shields Community School we offer a varied menu of activities such as
homework clubs and study support, sport, music tuition, dance and drama, arts
and special interest clubs such as chess and archery. We believe that an extended
school maximises the curricular learning of our pupils by promoting their overall
development and by ensuring that the family and community contexts within which
they live are as supportive of learning as possible.
The aim of South Shields Community School is to:
Provide students and their families, services and support that help remove
barriers to achievement and participation;
Provide opportunities for a wider involvement in education and lifelong
learning;
Provide opportunities for participation in a variety of leisure activities (arts,
drama, sports) that involve children and have the potential to involve parents
and carers;
Provide a focus and forum for discussing community issues and initiating
action.
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Extended School
32 33
Plain white shirt with collar and the correct tie for your year group or college.
Black blazer with school logo.
Plain black V-neck pullover (available from the school with school logo).
Black tailored trousers : not denims or cords.
Black skirt.
Black shoes : not trainers or boots.
You may choose to wear a black blazer (with school badge) or pullover or both.
PE Kit
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Uniform
34South Shields Community School
Uniform
A high standard of personal appearance
is expected of all students and anyone
arriving at school in non-uniform
clothing may expect to be sent home to
get changed.
Hair colour and style must be
appropriate for school. Jewellery and
make-up are not permitted in school.
Coats and other outdoor clothing may
not be worn in school. Trainers are not
allowed. Students must wear suitable
shoes in school at all times.
35
girls
boys
Lilac polo shirt
White socks
White or black training shoes
Plain Navy blue tracksuit
Plain navy blue sweatshirt (with school logo) optional
Swimming
Towel
Regulation navy blue or black swimsuit
Cap for pupils with hair over ear length
White polo shirt
Navy blue socks
White or black training shoes
Plain Navy blue tracksuit
Plain navy blue sweatshirt (with school logo) optional
Plain navy blue rugby top with white collar
Navy blue shorts
Football boots as appropriate
Swimming
Towel
Plain swimming trunks/shorts (above the knee)
Cap for students with hair over ear length
Lessons will be based on 55 minute periods in a six period day.
Morning break will last 15 minutes, apart from Wednesday morning break
which will last 20 minutes.
Lunch break will last 45 minutes
South Shields Community School
Prospectus 08/09 // for more information visit www.sscschool.co.uk
Times of the day
36South Shields Community School
Times of the day37
Period One
Period Two
Break
Period Three
Period Four
Lunch
Enterprise
Period Five
Period Six
08.40 - 09.35
09.35 - 10.30
10.30 - 10.45
10.45 - 11.40
11.40 - 12.35
12.35 - 13.20
13.20 - 13.45
13.45 - 14.40
14.40 - 15.35
Period One
Period Two
Enterprise
Break
Period Three
Period Four
Lunch
Extended
Activities
08.40 - 09.35
09.35 - 10.30
10.30 - 10.55
10.55 - 11.15
11.15 - 12.10
12.10 - 13.05
13.05 - 13.50
13.50 - 15.35
Monday
Tuesday
Thursday
Friday
Wednesday
Too hot to handle!
Can someone hold this
for a moment?
South Shields
Community School
McAnany Avenue
South Shields
Tyne & Wear
NE34 0PJ
Tel 0191 456 8929
Fax 0191 455 8543
Email [email protected]
www.sscschool.co.uk
08P R O S P E C T U S
09
South Shields Community School,
A Business and Enterprise College