st john s church of england primary school: prospectus …prospectus 2020-21 welcome from the...

St John’s CE Primary school: prospectus 2020

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St John’s Church of England Primary School:

Prospectus 2020-21

Welcome from the Headteacher

Welcome to St John’s Church of England Primary School.

St John's School is a special place. Our ethos is summed up in our school code, The Golden Rule: Treat others as you

want to be treated. Love for our neighbour, (or fellow human being) is at the heart of all that we do.

We believe that every child is made in the image of God and is unique. It is our responsibility to help them find their

gifts and the confidence to shine so that they can become the best version of themselves. We encourage every child

to grow academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. We have an exciting curriculum and we aim for children to

leave us with a love of learning and the ability to think and question.

As a Church school, we enable children to grow in, and reflect on, their own faith -no matter what that may be- and

to respect the beliefs, opinions and lifestyles of others. We want them to grow into people with strong values that

will enable them to make their communities better places in which to live and work. We ask all staff and families to

support the Christian ethos of the school.

We work with parents, community groups, and governors to give our children the very best start to their education.

In the words of Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Our children are the world’s future and we believe they will make it a good one.

I look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to the St John’s family.

Best wishes,

Carolyn Seymour

Headteacher


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Our School Ethos

All Different, All Equal, All Growing Together

St John's is a Church of England primary school where every child is welcomed, valued and loved. The school's

purpose is to serve the community of Sparkhill by providing each child with the education they need to flourish and

each family the support they need to thrive.

We aim to teach children to look beyond themselves and to serve others with love.

"Use your God-given gifts to serve others" 1 Peter:10

What does it mean if I agree to “support the Christian ethos of the school”?

We ask all prospective parents to agree to support the Christian ethos of the school. For some, this causes anxiety: it

seems as if we are asking you to change your faith. This is absolutely not the case.

Christians believe that Jesus served others- no matter who they were- and treated everyone with love and kindness,

even those who society marginalised. Our school seeks to follow this example: to treat others as we would like to be

treated. We serve the community of Sparkhill by providing the best education we can to the children; and giving the

best support we can to their families. We are here for you and your children.

Supporting this ethos means understanding that we will treat everybody equally and insist that children do the

same. We will not tolerate discrimination and we will challenge all forms of prejudice.

We will talk about God. We will give children opportunities to grow in their faith - whatever that faith may be. We

will have a time of worship each day, and children will be invited to pray and sing songs, reflecting on values that are

common to all religions. Our worship is inclusive: all children are involved, and no child is made to feel

uncomfortable no matter what their religion or lifestyle.

We are not trying to recruit Christians: we are trying to give all children an education based in values and that

teaches them to treat others with respect and dignity, even those that they disagree with or dislike.

Accepting a place at St John’s means that you agree to this and that you support this ethos. It does not mean you

need to become a Christian.

What are our Values?

At St John's Church of England Primary School, we have selected twelve Christian values which represent our vision

as a community. Our core Christian values are: Respect, Forgiveness, Generosity, Trust, Compassion, Justice,

Truthfulness, Service, Friendship, Perseverance, Thankfulness and Courage.

Our Golden Rule is: "Treat others as you want to be treated." Matthew 22 v.34-40


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How do we Promote our Values?

At St John’s, the Christian values that we talk about are our values. We treat people with compassion and love. Your

children are treated like our own children. You will always find someone who will listen to you and we will do all we

can to help you, and each other.

- Our curriculum has these values at its heart

- We model how to treat people through the way we treat each other.

- Through collective worship

- On displays around school, including ones that children help to build.

- Our behaviour code is based in them.

- Emails to parents talk about our values

- On our website

What is our Mission Statement?

St John's is a learning community in which we work together for excellence and continuous improvement in a

stimulating and exciting learning environment.

We encourage independence, personal responsibility and good citizenship within a Christian framework.

Our dedicated staff team offer children a broad and balanced curriculum. In addition to gaining language,

mathematical, scientific and technological skills, children are encouraged to develop enquiring minds; to question,

reason and make decisions.

We put great emphasis on the development of social skills and encourage all children to become responsible,

confident citizens. We help children to develop high self-esteem and to act towards others with care and respect.

What are our Aims?

At St. John’s Church of England Primary School our aim is to:

• Enable every child, regardless of their ability, economic or social situation, to achieve their full potential in a safe

learning environment.

• Develop community cohesion through the modelling and teaching of respect for social, spiritual, religious

and cultural diversity.

• Support our parents in both raising their children and in living fulfilling lives.

• Challenge all forms of prejudice or bias.


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• Nurture our children into confident, inquisitive, independent thinkers who will make a positive contribution

to society.

What makes St John’s CE a Special Place to be?

Whilst our job is to educate children, we see this as more than just teaching curriculum subjects. We place well-

being at the core of the school. We aim to provide children with a well-rounded education so that they grow into

people of strong moral compass, with the knowledge they need in life, and the skills to use this knowledge for the

betterment of society.

We nurture children’s confidence and build their self-esteem. We teach them how to treat other people and what to

do when they are being poorly treated. We give them skills that they need to succeed in life, not just to pass SATS

tests.

We believe that we need to ensure equal opportunities for all. We aim to eliminate discrimination of all kinds.

One of the strengths of the St John’s School Community is that it is diverse. We have children from different socio-

economic backgrounds, different cultures and ethnicities and different religions. Our staff are diverse and represent

several faiths, including Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh. We also welcome people of no faith. We see diversity as

strength and encourage children to be proud of who they are, and to value those who are different from them.

All our children are encouraged to have a positive identity. Our curriculum reflects the importance of the children's

culture, language and special needs. It is also vital that children, regardless of their gender, should experience a full

range of learning skills.

Through learning about each other’s beliefs and culture at school, we aim to develop in the children a tolerant and

respectful attitude towards others in the wider communities of Sparkhill, the City of Birmingham and the wider

United Kingdom.

We are proud of the partnership between parents, children, staff, governors and the local community.

Where are we?

St John's is situated approximately two miles south east of the City Centre. It is located between Sparkhill Park and

the Leisure Centre.

Sparkhill is a diverse area of Birmingham, with a majority Muslim population of 72%, 11% Christian, 4% Hindu and

3% Sikh. 57% of the residents are of Pakistani origin, and 56% were born in the UK. (Data from 2018). 80% of children

at St John’s have English as an Additional Language, meaning they grow up in households where another language is

spoken as well as, or instead of, English.

The Victorian school building was replaced by a new building in 1991, when the capacity of the school was doubled

to 420 pupils and a nursery class was added.

The school playgrounds are unique in that they do not belong to the school. We have sole use of the large play areas

during the school day and we keep them locked at this time. We take equipment out into the playgrounds for the

children to use. However, before and after school, the playgrounds are available to the general public. For this

reason, we ask you not to leave your children unaccompanied in the play areas before or after school.


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School Address and Contact Details

St. John's Church of England Primary School

Stratford Road

Sparkhill

Birmingham

B11 4EA

Tel. (0121) 675 1469

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.st-johns-pri.bham.sch.uk

Who’s Who at St John’s?

Chair of Governors: Mr David Heard

Headteacher: Mrs Carolyn Seymour

Deputy Headteacher: Mrs Naomi Hedges

School Business Manager: Mr Darren Forth

SENDCo Mrs Lisa Ringham

Parent Support Advisor Mrs Karen O’Keefe

Designated Safeguarding Leads Ms Lyne, Mrs Seymour, Mrs Hedges and Mrs O’Keefe

Assistant Headteachers Mrs Kirby (leads Lower school and English)

Ms Lyne (leads Upper School and Maths)

Early Years Leader Mrs Harborne

Admission into the School

If you hope to send your child to St. John's, you are welcome to visit the school. You can arrange a visit by phoning

(0121 675 1469) or by emailing [email protected]

Children are admitted according to the current admissions policy which is available from school and can be found on

the school website: www.st-johns-pri.bham.sch.uk

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.st-johns-pri.bham.sch.uk/




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Admission to Nursery:

An application must be made for the nursery class during the academic year before your child turns 4. There are 72

children admitted into the nursery class each year (36 in the morning and 36 in the afternoon).

Admission to Reception:

An application must be made for the Reception class during the academic year before your child turns 5. There are

open days for prospective parents in the Autumn term. Applications are made online through Birmingham City

Council, but there is an additional form which must be filled in for the school which is available from the School

Office. Places for Reception are allocated in the Spring Term and parents are offered a place by email.

Admission at other times throughout the primary phase:

All other applicants that apply throughout any stage of Primary school are placed on a waiting list and the parents

are informed if and when a place can be offered to them.

Induction into the School

It is vital for us to welcome you and your child into school and get to know you. You are your child’s first educators

and we work in partnership with you. The more we communicate, the better your child’s experience will be. Your

induction will depend on what stage of education your child is at when they enter St John’s.

For children entering Nursery, we offer some mornings of Stay and Play in the Summer term before your child begins

in the Autumn. Children spend time playing with you in the setting, becoming familiar with the staff and being with

other children. We also offer a home visit.

For children entering Reception, we invite parents and children into the school for a morning in June when you will

meet key school staff and the Reception teachers. Children spend some time in the classroom during this morning,

allowing them to become familiar with the room, the staff and each other.

The Headteacher will welcome you and will talk through many aspects of life at “big school”. The Leadership Team

will also be available to answer any queries, alongside our Parent Support Advisor and Special Educational Needs

Coordinator.

Parents are invited into school throughout the year for different information sessions, including how we teach

reading and phonics in school. The role of parents in helping their child to read is vital, and we hope to give you the

necessary skills to feel confident in supporting them. Parents in Nursery and Reception are also invited into the

classroom each morning, to spend ten minutes reading with their child.


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How do I Help Prepare my Child for School?

The most important things you can do to support your child are:

- To read to them every day, and just enjoy reading and looking at the pictures.

- Let them see you reading or writing (shopping lists, for example)

- Play with them- talk about what they are doing (in any language: it doesn’t need to be English) and join in with their

play.

- Help them understand about taking turns.

- Teach them how to go to the toilet on their own.

- Talk to them (in any language: it doesn’t need to be English)

- Help them to express themselves (talk to them about feelings-lots of young children don’t know what feelings are

called), talk about what to do when they are cross or sad. We say this a lot: “It’s ok to be angry but it isn’t ok to hit

someone”.

- Give them pens/ pencils to play with. Don’t worry about spelling things properly- just let them play with making marks

on paper and do pretend writing.

- Help them to learn how to take off and put on their coat.

Finally: make sure you give your child screen-free time. Get them outside if you can. Teach them how to run, climb

and swing. When you take them to the park: watch them, or better still, play with them. Don’t sit on a bench

playing on your phone. All that teaches your child is that they are not as important to you as your phone is.

Behaviour at St John’s School

Values are at the heart of St John’s CE School, and we expect the highest standard of behaviour. Our school

behaviour management policy is a positive one emphasising and rewarding good behaviour while dealing firmly and

quickly with unacceptable behaviour.

Staff have regular training in managing difficult behaviour, including behaviour as a result of a special educational

need or disability. All teachers will look to find and address the cause of poor behaviour and will proactively work

with families and other professionals to ensure the best outcomes for the children.

The role of the parents is crucial to your child when any behaviour has fallen short of our expectations. We therefore

involve parents immediately when concerns are raised. We appreciate your support in any actions that need to be

taken. We believe that everyone has the right to learn and that teachers have the right to teach.


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The School Rule

We have only one rule at school, which is The Golden Rule:

“Treat others the way you would like to be treated.” Matthew 22 v.34-40

Children and parents are regularly reminded about this rule, and how it effects every aspect of the choices we

make. All poor behaviour is addressed through the Golden Rule. Children understand that this rule can be found

in all religions, and that people with no faith also see this as a good moral code. It is prominently displayed

around the school and referred to frequently.

Parents in School

Parents are welcome to contact the school at any time to discuss matters relating to their children. After school is

the best time to speak to class teachers because at the beginning of the day the children's needs are of course the

teachers' priority. A member of the leadership team is available most mornings and after school.

If you wish to see the class teacher regarding a specific need or a child's progress it is advisable to ring school to

arrange a suitable time. You can also email the teacher at: [email protected]

We have a Parental Support Advisor, Mrs Karen O’Keefe, who is available to parents every morning and after school.

She gets very booked up, so if you want to make an appointment, ring the school office on 0121 675 1469 or email:

[email protected]

Parents’ Evening

There are two Parents' Evenings during the school year. These meetings are arranged in the Autumn and Spring

Terms so that parents can talk to the teachers about their children's progress. We have a celebration evening in the

Summer Term. This is to celebrate the children's progress over the year.

You can talk to staff about your child at any time after school. If you think that you may need more than a few

minutes, we ask you to make an appointment with the teacher so that full attention can be given to you.

Parents in Collective Worship

We are always pleased to see parents when children are performing their assemblies. They do this at least once a

year. We also hold a Celebration assembly on Friday mornings. If your child is Star of the Week, you will be invited in

to watch. However, you can also inform us about any successes that your child has had out of school- like swimming

badges or football trophies- and we will present these in Celebration assembly too.

If you would like to see what goes on in a typical collective worship, you are always welcome to join us. Just arrange

a day with us so that we can welcome you into the hall.




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Other Opportunities for Parents to Come into School

Teachers always welcome parental support in the classroom whether as part of a training course or on a volunteer

basis, anyone with special skills to share or simply time to spare should make themselves known to staff or at the

school office. We have a policy of not placing parent volunteers in the same class as their child. All volunteers have

to have a DBS check. We can help you with this.

Learning at St John’s CE Primary School

At St John’s CE Primary School, we intend for all our children to experience an education that has values at its

heart. Love for our neighbour, (or fellow human being) is at the heart of all that we do. We encourage every child to

grow academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. Our twelve values are the glue that cement the different

strands of our school-life together.

We enable children to grow in, and reflect on, their own faith -no matter what that may be- and to respect the

beliefs, opinions and lifestyles of others. We want them to grow into people with strong values that will enable them

to make their communities better places in which to live and work. Our intention is for children to see the

implications of living a life with values such as compassion and forgiveness, and the outcomes when people turn

their backs on values such as justice and friendship. We hope for our children to leave St John’s as people with

integrity, who value others and have a keen sense of right and wrong.

We intend for them to develop as good citizens: to appreciate equality, to develop a secure personal identity and to

know that they belong and are valuable to society, just as those that are different to them are equally important. We

mean for them to understand how they can make a positive difference in their community, to understand

democracy and how to engage in it, and to appreciate the value of respect for all people.

We want children to leave our school excited about education; full of questions, a desire to find out more, and the

skills to do so. We intend to develop children’s skills in critical thinking and problem-solving; for them to leave us

able to question what they see and hear, and to challenge prejudice and bias. We intend for them to be

independent, confident individuals, with resilience to deal with life’s ups and downs.

We intend for them to leave as physically and mentally healthy young people, having developed good habits in early

life. We want our children to leave with high self-esteem and high aspirations; with the knowledge, skills and

understanding to succeed in the next part of their school journey.


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Core Subjects

• Mathematics

• English

• Science

• Religious Education (RE)

Foundation Subjects

• History

• Geography

• Computing

• Art

• Music

• Physical Education (PE)

• Design Technology (DT)

• Personal, Social, Health and Relationships Education (PSHRE)

These subjects of the National Curriculum are carefully planned using programmes of study in year groups.

How do we Teach at St John’s?

St John’s CE School has developed a curriculum that promotes equality for all sections of the community so that

children leave the school happy and excited about living in a community full of difference and diversity. Children


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acquire knowledge through cross-curricular topics which are relevant and exciting; both rooted in the local area and

designed to broaden pupils’ horizons.

Each topic allows children to become immersed in new learning, and to make links between subjects, thus

developing their understanding of the world. Knowledge is built up sequentially, and opportunities are taken to

reflect on previous learning to support children in making links between things. For example, when children learn

about the Saxons, they begin by looking back at their learning about Roman Britain so that they can understand the

losses to Britain when the Empire crumbled. They can then reflect on whether things always get better as time

passes, or whether there are some eras in the past when life was better.

Skills within a subject are planned for sequentially, and opportunities are taken whenever possible to use skills from

one subject, in another. For example, children may use a previously taught Maths skill in a Geography lesson,

resulting in children having a chance to remember/practice the maths skill, and to understand its relevance to the

real world.

Opportunities are planned for PSHE, SMSC, British Values and RE to be integral to all topics. Values are central to the

curriculum, cementing the different aspects of school life together. Values link Collective Worship and RE to the

topics and bring our ethos into all learning. Pupils consider the impact that values such as compassion and

forgiveness have had on events on both the world stage (eg WW2), and at a personal level eg. the impact of bullying.

Topics have been organized so that all children will be learning about the same two values at the same time. For

example, all children will be learning about the values of Justice and Courage (in Collective Worship), working

through an RE unit called “Fairness and Justice” (each year group looking at these values through different religious

traditions) and working on topics such as “Heroes and Villains” (Y6), Avengers Assemble (Y4), “Superheroes” (Y2).

This enables children to have a common theme in their learning life, even though they will be studying different

subjects and topics; building cohesion across the school.

The curriculum has been carefully designed to meet the needs of all groups of pupils within the school. 82% of our

pupils are EAL so we have designed a curriculum that gives many opportunities to build vocabulary and this is

planned into each topic. The topics give the context for our reading and writing, and English is viewed as “the

ultimate cross-curricular subject”. Staff are aware of the need to develop children’s acquisition of vocabulary, and

oracy is a high priority in all areas of school life: during all lessons, chatting with children in the playground or in the

dining hall.

Children with complex needs are well planned for within the classroom, but also receive English and Maths teaching

in the Learning Hub with the SENDCo and Inclusion Support Assistants. The Hub sessions include opportunities for

developing Speaking and Listening and Social Skills development, as well as visits to places like SafeSide to teach vital

life skills.

Fourteen ethnicities are represented in our school and our curriculum has been designed to teach children that we

are “all different and all special”. Opportunities for children to reflect on, and celebrate their identity have been

planned into the curriculum, in topics such as Our Story (Y1) and Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution (Y6). Children also learn

about a range of countries, including Australia, Mexico, Brazil, France and Spain. They also learn about life in

Birmingham (now and in the past), and consider how different our lives can be, even when we live on the same

street as somebody.

Children are taught to “love their neighbour” (in the widest sense), and to “treat others as they want to be treated”.

The result is a respectful community of learners that understand that we can be confident and proud of our own

identity and celebrate that of others’ too. Our topics include planned opportunities to consider human rights, and

the fight for equality. Children learn about slavery (in the past and modern-day), women’s rights (in the past and

now), the fight for equality between races in different countries, and modern-day racism. Our topics give children

opportunities to be secure in understanding who they are, and what their family history has been. They learn that


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other people deserve the same rights that they would expect for themselves, and they look at how politicians and

charities work towards building a better future for all.

Our curriculum includes a wide range of enrichment activities, for example: a residential trip in Year 5, visits to the

Birmingham City Council Chambers where pupils hold a debate, visits to the National Space Centre and Cadbury

World. Children in Year 4 have Music provision from Birmingham Music Service and performance is highly valued.

Art is given a high priority, and special art weeks in each year group enhance other work done throughout topics.

Through the visits we aim to broaden the children's experience through activities that develop their enthusiasm and

enjoyment for learning. Educational visits bring to life a topic that is being taught in the classroom.

The school puts a significant amount of money into subsidising educational visits. Most visits take place during

school hours. However, to help with the financing of some of the visits, we may ask parents to make a voluntary

contribution.

At St John's we offer the children several after school clubs. They are usually restricted to the children in Key Stage 2

classes. A range of clubs are offered including music and a variety of sports.

We need to have parents' written permission to take part in a school club, and to be informed of the arrangements

for their safe return home afterwards. Parents are welcome to wait in school until the clubs are finished, which will

be at 4.15 pm in most cases.

Special Educational Needs

At St John’s we are proud to have a positive ethos of inclusion for all our children that have additional or special educational needs. All staff, in liaison with parents, work hard to ensure the needs of all children with any additional need are supported and challenged. All teaching staff endeavour to ensure that all children make progress and achieve to the best of their ability regardless of their starting point, this includes progress socially, personally, morally and spiritually; regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religion, social background, sexual identity, physical ability or educational needs. We recognise that sometimes children may need extra support to achieve to their full potential. This may sometimes mean that they have access to members of the Inclusion Team.

We recognise that some children find mainstream provision a challenge and need a smaller class size with specific teaching methods and differentiated resources and learning opportunities. Through our Learning Hub provision, we can provide this style of teaching for children with more complex needs. Parents are involved at each step. If your child is having problems at school, please talk to us.

What Statutory Tests (Assessments) will my child take?

Children are assessed continually on their journey through school. This takes different forms: sometimes it is written

or verbal feedback, other times it may be a score in a test. Teachers make assessments so that they can tailor the

learning to the child. Some of these assessments are formal and given to schools by the Department for Education

(DfE). Children’s results from these formal, statutory assessments are reported to the DfE.


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Statutory assessments come at the end of Key Stages. In Primary School there are three key stages:

- Early Years Foundation Stage (Nursery and Reception)

- Key Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2)

- Key Stage 2 (Year 3, 4, 5 and 6)

There is a Reception baseline, in which teachers make observations of how a child is developing, enabling them to

plan their learning journey accordingly.

Children at the end of Reception are assessed against the Early Learning Goals and this forms the Foundation Stage

Profile. This helps teachers plan a child’s transition to Key Stage 1.

‘SATS’ stands for Standard Assessment Tasks or Tests. These assessments are made at the end of a key stage- the

end of year 2 and year 6 in Primary School.

At the end of Year 2, teachers use practical tasks and tests, along with ongoing assessments, to decide what level a

child is working at in English (Reading & Writing), Maths and Science.

At the end of Year 6, children take tests in Maths, Reading and SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar). Teachers

use on-going assessments to level children’s Writing and Science.

How will I be Informed about my child’s attainment?

Children are working through National Curriculum Programmes of Study. At the end of a school year, teachers will

assess the child and report as to whether they are:

Working Towards Age-Related Expectations

Working at Age-Related Expectations

Working at Greater Depth (or a Higher Standard)

Teachers at St John’s will keep you informed of your child’s progress through the year. They may refer to your child

as “being on track”. That means if the child was working at age-related expectations at the end of the previous year,

we would expect them to be at least at age-related expectations at the end of the following year. We would hope

that they may have made accelerated progress, and be working at Greater Depth.

However, please remember three things:

- Children do not all make progress at the same rate as each other. Sometimes they may be slower to get going and then

accelerate past others. The opposite can also happen. Remember when your child learned to walk? Some other

children might have been walking earlier than they did; others will have started walking later. Some children crawl;

others miss out crawling altogether: but in the end, most children are walking by the time they are two. And once they

are 10 years old, nobody cares whether they started walking at 9 months, 12 months, or at 24 months!

- Children sometimes have years when they plateau: they just don’t seem to be making lots of progress, no matter how

hard they work. This might be because something is bothering them: maybe something has happened at home, or they

are worrying about friendships, or a member of their family is ill. All these things can impact on a child’s ability to

concentrate and make progress. If you are going through something difficult at home, talk about it with someone in

school- sometimes it really helps us to understand where your child is coming from, and give them the support they

need.


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- Finally: not all children (or adults) are good at the same things. Some are sporty, some are artistic or musical, others are

great with numbers, some are a natural with words. Our aim is to help all children to be literate and numerate, but also

to help them find their gifts and shine. As Albert Einstein wrote, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its

ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Nobody is good at everything. But everybody is good at something. Remember that.

What can Parents do to Help their Children Learn?

• Find out what is happening at school and show an interest in what your child has been doing

• Read with your child- this supports their comprehension, vocabulary aquisition and writing (and is fun!)

• Get your child to school for 8.45am so that they can learn and have follow-up support during Independence

Time.

• Support your child's efforts to learn

• Show your child that you are pleased with their efforts. Praising effort is more effective than praising

achievement: it helps children to persevere when work get hard.

• Help your child to find and celebrate the things they are good at

• Ask your child about their day when they come home- don’t ignore them because you’re busy on your

phone.

• Talk to us about worries you have

Homework

The most important homework your child will have right from the beginning of school, is their reading practise.

Children will be given books to read at home. They will also be are expected to take home books that they have

chosen themselves to read. We have a good stock of reading books in both Key Stages and a library.

The teachers will set the children at least one reading task each week.

In Key Stage 1 the children may not be able to read all the words in the chosen book and that’s fine! We will teach

children phonics, so it is a good idea to help your child work out unknown words by sounding them out. It’s also fine

to help your child with decoding words. The best thing you can do is read with your child and make it fun.

Teachers will be happy to give you advice so please fell free to talk to them about how to teach children to read-

after all, it’s what we have been trained to do!

At St. John's, all children are given homework. The quantity and expectations will vary as the children move from

Reception to Year 6. We have a clear homework policy which you will find on our website. As a general rule, children

will receive Reading (recorded in their Reading Diary), Maths (which might be learning key facts) and Topic work

(recorded in their homework books) each week.


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School Uniform

At St. John’s School we have a uniform which we are proud of. Visitors to school often comment on how smart our

children are. We have chosen to have a uniform for two reasons:

- It gives children a sense of belonging to something and helps us to feel equal.

- It stops children worrying about what they are going to wear or competing to wear the latest logo or most expensive

trainers.

Nursery Uniform:

Children can wear their own casual clothes for nursery. We do like them to wear a royal blue round neck sweatshirt

and these are sold at Clive Marks with the school logo embroidered on them. A plain round neck sweatshirt is also

acceptable, which you may find from local supermarkets.

Main School Uniform: Reception to Year 6:

You can buy our uniform from Clive Mark Schoolwear. Some items are also available from supermarkets.

• Light blue blouse/shirt (short-sleeved or long-sleeved- but please do not wear long sleeved t-shirts

underneath short sleeved shirts)

• Blue summer dress

• School tie (also available from school)

• Royal blue v-neck pullover or cardigan with logo (not a round neck sweatshirt)

• Grey skirt, dress or trousers

• Grey, blue or white socks/tights

• Black flat-heeled school shoes

• Dark coloured or white sandals in Summer

• Trainers and boots (even ankle boots) are not allowed

• Leggings are not permitted- if you wish your child’s legs to be covered please use trousers or tights.

PE Kit (Reception to Year 6):


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• All children need a PE bag which should be a draw-string bag (available from school)

• Blue shorts

• plain navy joggers and navy sweatshirt,

• pale blue t-shirt with logo (available from school) or pale blue polo shirt

• pumps or trainers (Trainers only in Years 3,4,5 & 6)

Jewellery in School

Please do not let your child attend school wearing jewellery. It can easily cause injury or get lost especially during PE

or playtime. Children who have pierced ears should only wear studs - but even the butterflies can cause an injury.

Anything worn for religious reasons must be removed or covered for PE.

Personal Property

Please do not send your child to school with large amounts of money or other expensive items such as iPods, phones

etc.

We cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to children's property. You are advised to cover your children's

property on home insurance. Better still, avoid sending items of value into school.

Lost Property

Please name your child’s clothing. You can buy special name labels or simply write on the label inside the jumper

with a Sharpie pen or even a biro. The great thing about uniform is that it all looks the same. It helps children to feel

part of something. Unfortunately, it also makes it hard to identify if it doesn’t have a name in!

Lost property baskets are situated in a basket by the main doors. Please encourage your child to look in the baskets if

they believe they have lost something. These baskets are cleared at the end of each term.

Meals in School

Children may have a hot meal or bring a packed lunch. They all eat in the hall. Our food is cooked on-site. Dinner

money for the week is paid in advance via ParentMail. We do not deal with cash on-site. If you are not signed up to

ParentMail, please make an appointment with the Office staff who will be happy to help.

If your child misses a meal you will be credited for the following week.

Free School Meals and Universal Free Meals


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Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to Universal Free School Meals (UFSM). This is a government

scheme which aims to give free lunches to all children in these year groups, regardless of their circumstances. Every

child receives this: it is not means tested.

Free school meals (FSM)are means tested, and families who are on benefits may be entitled to these. Please speak

to the Office or send an email to [email protected]. By giving us your National Insurance Number,

we will be able to check if you are eligible. Being Free School Meals (or FSM) gets you more than just free lunches.

Your child will benefit in other ways too, including free school trips, so please let us check whether you are eligible,

even if your child is in KS1 and gets universal free meals.

School Dinners

Our kitchen staff produce nutritionally balanced meals which cater for all special requirements, including health and

religious needs. Please ensure you alert us to allergies as soon as possible.

There is always a meat dish (both halal and non-halal) and vegetarian option, along with sandwiches, baked potatoes

and a salad bar.

Packed Lunch

There is space in the dining hall for children who prefer a packed lunch. This choice is open to all children. In line

with our policy on healthy eating, we wish to see a sandwich (or the equivalent) and a piece of fruit to be included in

each child's lunchbox. If your child has a special need (such as autism) and eats a particularly restricted diet, please

inform the class teacher or a member of the leadership team so that we can support them.

Due to the severe nature of some children’s allergies, we ask you not to give your child any food containing nuts. A

child with a severe allergy to nuts can have a reaction just from sitting next to someone with nuts- they do not have

to eat them. Therefore we ask for nut-free lunch boxes please.

Attendance and Holidays

Regular attendance is important if your child is to benefit from all the learning opportunities that we offer at St

John's School.

We monitor attendance very closely every week and all absences must be accounted for.

If your child must be absent from school, please let us know the reason before 9.30am by phoning the school office

on 0121 675 1469.

Unexplained absences are followed up with parents, as are regular short-term absences. This is part of our

safeguarding procedure. If we cannot get in contact with you for more than two consecutive days, we will visit your

home address to ensure everyone is safe. If we do not contact you at this time, we will ask police to do a “safe and

well” check. This is to ensure the safety of your child.



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Family Holidays

The school follows the Local Authority policy which states that holidays during term time are not permitted. Long

absences from school can have a detrimental effect on standards of work.

Another impact of going on extended holiday during term time is that when your child returns, they may find they

have no friends. Children form new friendship groups with their peers who have been in school, and anyone who has

been away for a few weeks often feels awkward coming back into the class.

If you have an exceptional circumstance which gives you no option but to travel during term time, we ask you to

discuss this with the school before booking any tickets. The Governors will only authorise leave of absence for up to

two weeks in exceptional circumstances.

The staff work hard to promote 100% attendance and we appreciate your support in this matter.

When Must my Child Stay at Home?

There are some conditions which mean your child cannot be in school. These are outlined below:


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Complaints

We work hard to make sure we have positive relationships with our children and their families. However, things can

and do sometimes go wrong.


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If you have any concerns/complaints, please feel free to raise the issue. It is important to us that you tell us your

views about what we do and to let us have your ideas, compliments, or complaints. We will listen to what you have

to say.

Should you have any cause for complaint there is a procedure to follow. We have published our complaints

procedure on the website, and this outlines clearly the procedure you can go through to have your voice heard. We

always try to resolve any problems informally in the first instance:

We would recommend that you make an appointment to discuss the matter with your child's Class Teacher.

If you still have a concern, you could make an appointment to see the phase leader. These are Senior Leaders in

school who will be able to help.

After that, please approach the Deputy or Head Teacher directly (please ring to arrange an appointment) or contact,

in writing or via email, the Chair of Governors directly, who will then raise the issue with the Head Teacher.

The matter will be fully investigated, and you will be notified in writing of the outcome.

If you are still not satisfied, you have two courses of action.

1. Contact the Diocesan Education Office:

A diocese is a district under the pastoral care of a bishop in the Christian Church. As St John’s School is a Church of

England Primary School, it comes under the direction of the Diocese of Birmingham. The diocese is involved in many

aspects of school support, including appeals for admissions, guidance on RE, leadership support, etc.

Address for Correspondence:

Church of England Birmingham

Education Office

1 Colmore Row

Birmingham B3 2BJ

Sarah Smith: Diocesan Director of Education

[email protected]

Tel: 0121 426 0419

2. Contact the Local Authority

Chief Education Officer Education Offices Margaret Street Birmingham B3 3BU Tel: 0121 303 1888



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A Safe School

We welcome parents and visitors to our school. However, we will act to ensure that it remains a safe place for

pupils, staff, and other members of our community.

If a person threatens or assaults anyone in the school, or persists in abusive behaviour, they will be removed from

the premises and asked not to return. They may be prosecuted.

Safeguarding Children

The security and welfare of the children at St John's is a responsibility shared by all the adults who work in our school

and parents who attend with their children.

All concerns about child protection are taken seriously by all members of staff. We are committed to the highest

standards in protecting and safeguarding the welfare of all children.

Any concerns are reported to a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) who then speaks with Children’s Services. Our

DSLs are: Ms Lyne, Mrs Seymour, Mrs Hedges and Mrs O’Keefe.

If we are at all concerned, we will not hesitate to report our concerns and take the necessary action.

We are incredibly supportive of our families and if you are struggling with any aspect of life: parenting, finance,

domestic abuse, employment, etc; please come and speak to us. Mrs O’Keefe is our Parent Support Advisor and she

has a wealth of experience in supporting families.

We always say that if you are ok, your children will be ok. The opposite is also true. Please talk to us.

Medical checks:

Vision, hearing, height and weight are checked during the first year in school by the School Nurse Team. Height and

weight is also checked in Year 6. Flu vaccinations are offered each Autumn. It is not necessary for parents to attend

but parents' permission is needed. You will receive a consent form which must be signed in school or returned to

school after signing.

Medicines in School

If you have any queries about administering medicines, please see Mrs. Clifford Chapman. We have staff members

trained to administer it. Medicine must be handed into the school office. It must be clearly labelled with the child’s

name and dose required. We will ask you to fill in a permission form.

Please inform us as soon as possible if your child has asthma, allergies or epilepsy so that we can ensure that we are

prepared to look after them. Please inform us of any other diagnoses that your child receives which could affect

them in school.


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Asthma inhalers should be labelled with the child's name and given to the class teacher. Please make sure that your

GP is satisfied that your child is using the inhaler correctly.

If your child needs an epi-pen, it must be labelled with your child’s name and given to the class teacher. Please make

sure it is in date.

Accidents in School

When children are hurt in school, they will be given First Aid. If a child is more seriously injured, parents will be

contacted and advised to take the child to the doctor/hospital. If we feel it is necessary, we will call an ambulance.

Please ensure that we have an up to date contact (daytime) telephone number and inform us of any change of

address.

Getting to School on time

It is important that your child gets to school on time every morning.

A useful tip might be to allow 5 minutes on top of the expected journey time - children are not always in the mood to

hurry!

The school doors open with an early bell at 8.45am. We open the doors in the morning at 8.45am to give children an

opportunity to come in and start their work during Independence Time. This is the first 15 minutes of the day during

which teachers and Teaching Assistants help children correct things they may have got wrong the previous day. It’s a

vital part of the day.

The second bell rings at 8.50am- children must be in school for this bell.

Please don’t leave your children in the school playgrounds on their own before or after school. The play areas are

part of the public park area until the school bell rings, so anybody is entitled to be there until this time and after

3.15pm.

We cannot accept responsibility for children left unaccompanied in the play areas before school starts or at the end

of the day.

Appointments during School Time

Please come to the office if your child has an appointment during the school day. We will ask to see evidence of the

appointment (a letter or medical card), and you will need to sign them out of school. This is part of our safeguarding

procedures.

If the appointment is in the morning and your child will miss the morning register but will be back in time for a

school dinner, please tell us the night before or ring in the morning, so that we can ensure your child is marked

down for a school lunch.


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Breakfast Club

We offer a breakfast club called, “The Big Brainy Breakfast”, starting at 8.00 am. Places are limited so see Mrs

Clifford Chapman in the school office, if you are interested.

The cost is £2 a day, and children can play or have help with their homework from Mrs O’Keefe. If you wish your

child to come to the club, but do not require them to eat, the cost is £1.

Additional Information: Food and Drink

St. John's is a health promoting school.

In line with this we have taken the decision only to sell milk for break-time. Drinking water is always available. Milk

needs to be ordered and paid for in advance. Please contact the Office if you wish for your child to have milk at

breaktime. Only drinks in cartons may be brought from home. Healthy snacks such as fruit or plain crackers can be

brought into school by the children for break time.

Free Fruit

Under the government’s Free Fruit scheme, all children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and 2 are provided with a free

piece of fruit each day. They do not need to bring in an additional snack, but they can if they wish to do so.

Children in Key Stage 2 may bring a healthy snack from home.

Parking

Please do not park in the staff car park outside the front or back entrance, or on the yellow boxes in front of the

barriers. This is requested to ensure maximum safety for all children as ambulances may need entry to the building.

We recommend that you park in the public car park at the rear of the school.

Parking around school is very difficult: walk if possible.

Entering School

It is difficult to enter school during the day because we must ensure children are secure. Please enter school using

the main Stratford Road entrance. There is a buzzer at the gate. A member of the Office team will ask to see your

face in the camera and will ask who you have come to see. This is so that we only let authorized people on site.

The back entrance is for deliveries only and must not be used for dropping children off or picking them up.


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Dogs on Site

For health and safety reasons our site is a dog free site. Other than guide dogs, please do not bring your dog on to

the school grounds.

Unforeseen closures

On rare occasions it is necessary to close the school with very little notice, for example in adverse weather

conditions.

The school will notify parents of emergency closures through ParentMail, the school website: www.st-johns-

pri.bham.sch.uk and by text. Please make sure the office have your mobile phone number.

All Different, All Equal, All Growing Together

"Use your God-given gifts to serve others" 1 Peter:10




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