St. John’s C.E.Primary School

St. John’s C.E.Primary School

Dear Parent/Carer,Welcome to St John’s C.E. Primary School. Choosing a school is one of the most important decisions to make as a parent.

At St John’s Primary School we offer your child the opportunity to be part of a happy and successful school. There is a strong sense of community in the school with good links between parents and carers, the local community and the church.

We provide education for children from Reception to Year 6 with our independent partner Smileys Nursery offering school site nursery provision.

Our aim is for all our children to leave the school happy and successful with memories they will want to keep and skills that they can use for future learning.

We look forward to meeting you and invite you to visit us. Come and see us and take a tour of the school, just call the school office on 01785 251960 to arrange an appointment.

Yours sincerely,

Mr D. RowleyHeadteacher

ST.JOHN’S C.E. PRIMARY SCHOOLMr D. Rowley – HeadteacherWeston Road,Stafford,StaffordshireST16 3RL

Tel: 01785 251960Fax: 01785 225095Email: office@st-johns-stafford.staffs.sch.ukWEB: www.st-johns-stafford.staffs.sch.uk

St John’s School has a long history of providing education in Stafford. The original school was founded in Victorian Times as a church school and stood next to St John’s Church in Littleworth. The present school site and building was first established in the 1960’s, with the whole school finally moving to this site in 1989. Throughout the history of the school there have been strong links with the church and the Christian ethos and tradition remains a prominent feature of the present school.

Our History

Our School Day The school day begins at 8.50am for all the children. The school building is opened to the children at 8.45am so that they can go to their classrooms ready to start on time.

Our school hours are:

Foundation to Year 2 8.50 to 12.00 and 1.00 to 3.20

Year 3 to Year 6 8.50 to 12.15 and 1.10 to 3.25

The children all have a lunch break and appropriate breaks are taken at other points during the day.

Attending School We want all the children to get the best they can from school. Being in school every day and on time is a great way to start. We ask you to help them to do this by making sure they are always punctual on arrival to school and that they attend regularly. A good level of attendance is around 95% every term.

School operates a first day contact system and so you need to call school by 9.30am if your child is absent for any reason. On their return to school, we ask you to provide a written note confirming the absence.

Smileys Nurseryat St John’s SchoolSmileys nursery operates a nursery at the school from 8.50-11.50 Monday to Friday in school term time.

Smileys is a private provider with over twenty five years of experience of providing nursery care in the local area and we have developed our partnership with them over a number of years.

Their nursery in the school works in partnership with us to provide nursery care for children who are in their last year of nursery and are intending to move on to attend our school in Reception.

The children in the nursery join in with some activities with the Reception children and are able to get used to being in the school.

For working parents, Smileys also offers nursery provision from 6.45am to 6.00pm on their other site in the hospital grounds, which is conveniently located next to the school.

For more information about Smileys Nursery and availability of places for your child, please contact them directly on 01785 220720.

The CurriculumEnjoyment and achievement are at the heart of our curriculum. Our mission statement is “Welcoming All, Learning Together” and it is upon this that we base all we do in the school. We are an inclusive school and reflect this in our curriculum.

We teach a creative curriculum which links the subjects of the national curriculum with a theme and enables us to take a holistic approach to learning. This approach is stimulating and motivates the children to learn and have fun in the process. It provides the opportunity to develop new skills and to use them to solve problems and generate new lines to investigate further.

Each theme is different and flexible. A theme can last from a week to a full term and is built up around the educational needs of the children and the learning they need.

In addition to this, some subjects are taught as separate lessons if they do not naturally fit within the theme or need an additional focus to teach new skills or knowledge.

Keeping TrackRegular assessments of the children’s learning are used to inform teachers planning and the next steps for the children. This ensures that the learning can be matched to what the children need.

We hold consultation meetings for parents and carers during the Autumn and Spring terms. Parents are also sent a written report about their child’s progress at the end of each academic year.

Monthly newsletters and letters are sent home to keep you up to date on events in school. There are many opportunities for parents and carers to come into school to find out more about what goes on. These are advertised on newsletters.

Information is also available on the school web site.

Home Learning We believe that learning happens everywhere and in lots of different situations. The best “homework” children can have is the opportunity to enjoy shared experiences with family and friends.

Outings, talking together, sharing books, playing games, writing a letter are all important home learning activities. Sharing books and listening to your child read on a regular basis is really important in helping to support and develop their learning. Learning number facts and playing games with your child will also help their learning in school.

In addition we have a homework programme for each year group. Parents and carers are given details of the programme at the start of each school year. Parents are also updated on what their child has been learning during the week and what they will be covering next.

Special Needs (SEND) The school makes provision for children with a wide range of need including learning, health, emotional and behavioural. We aim to meet the needs of these pupils through planning learning carefully, providing specific resources and using the skills of our teachers and teaching assistants. Our Special Needs Co-ordinator (SEND) works with parents, staff and pupils as well as other agencies, such as the Educational Psychology Service, to ensure that the best possible opportunities are provided for every child with special needs.

We try to do all that we can to ensure that all pupils, regardless of any special need, are involved in school life. Key to this is having a good professional relationship with parents and professionals who support the child both in and out of school.

The school has accreditation for Full Dyslexia Friendly Status.

School UniformWe encourage the children to be smart and well presented. Part of this is encouraging all pupils to wear school uniform. The school uniform is:

Girls

Grey skirt/pinafore

Grey/Black tailored trousers

White blouse/polo shirt

Grey/red cardigan or jumper

Red School Sweatshirt

Summer dress (red/white)

Sensible black/brown shoes forgirls and boys

Boys

Grey/Black Trousers

White/Grey shirt/Polo shirt

Red/Grey pullover

Red School Sweatshirt

Sensible black/brown shoes forgirls and boys

The red school sweatshirt, cardigan and white polo shirt is available to buy from the school office, other items of uniform can be purchased locally. Shorts for PE, bags for PE kit, sun hats and reading book bags can also be purchased from school.

Indoor PE:Plain red/black shorts

Plain White T shirt

Black Pumps

Outdoor PE:

Plain T shirt

Jog Pants and Jumper

Training Shoes

Please make sure all items of uniform are clearly named. Jewellery other than watches, is not encouraged in school. Only studs are to be worn in pierced ears. For safety reasons, earrings must be removed for PE. Staff are not able to remove them for your child.

Sun ProtectionDuring warm summer months all children should have a named sun hat in school which they will be encouraged to wear when outside. School staff are not able to apply sun cream to pupils, but we would encourage you to apply a long lasting sunscreen before school in hot weather.

Water BottlesResearch has shown that our brains stay more active and alert when we drink enough water. All the children are encouraged to bring in a named 500ml sports bottle of water each day to drink in class. We have facilities for the pupils to refill the bottle if needed during the day.

School FoodTasty cooked meals are prepared by our catering team each day. Menu sheets are sent home so parents know what is being offered. Snacks are also available for the children to purchase at morning break.

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a free lunch time meal each day.

In addition a free piece of fruit is available at morning break time for children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.

Medicines in SchoolOccasionally your child may need to have prescribed medicine administered in school. It is always preferable if parents can administer this at home, but if the medicine is prescribed for 4 daily doses one of these can be administered by school staff. Details about these arrangements are available from the school office.

Sex EducationThe governors have an agreed policy on sex education, which may be viewed on request and is available from the school office.

BehaviourGood behaviour is expected and promoted in our school. The children are encouraged to be polite, kind and thoughtful to one another, to staff and to visitors.

The school follows a Positive Behaviour Policy which includes rules, rewards and consequences. We involve parents if a child’s behaviour becomes a concern, so that we can work together towards a positive outcome. Parents are made aware of the policy at new parent’s meetings.

We hope that you will become involved by encouraging your child to behave in appropriate ways and possibly adopting some of our approaches at home.

Pupil Voice- School CouncilWe believe that every child should have a voice in our school. Pupils from Year 1 upwards can be elected to the school council and everyone through this process has an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas. School council make some important decisions and take charge of special projects involving making spending decisions within an agreed budget.

Home School PartnershipA good education for your child is based on an effective relationship between home and school. It values the work of both partners to work together to support the child. We encourage parents to take a full and active part in their child’s schooling.

One way in which parents can be involved is by joining the Parent, Teacher and Friends Association. The committee is always ready to welcome new members. They hold a range of events throughout the year and raise additional money which is spent on resources and experiences for the children. Please contact the school office if you feel like getting involved.

We also welcome parents coming into to school to help. Being a parent volunteer helps the children in their learning. Parents who volunteer are involved in a variety of roles. If you feel like becoming a parent volunteer please let the school office know so that we can make the necessary arrangements for you to join us.

Before and After School CareSmileys Nursery can provide on site before and after school care for school age children. Details about this private provider service can be obtained by calling them on 01785 220720.

Compliments, Commentsand ComplaintsWe would like to hear from you if you:

are happy with the service we provide and would like to compliment pupils, staff and governors

have any suggestions about how we can improve the quality of the service we provide

have a concern or complaint

GovernorsThe governors meet regularly to ensure that the school’s vision and aims to provide for all the children is being met. Governors bring a range of skills to this role and are drawn from many groups including parents, church and local authority.

Designed and Printed by Staffordshire County Council, Print Commissioning Services. 01785 276051 78076/3/15

ST.JOHN’S C.E. PRIMARY SCHOOLMr D. Rowley – HeadteacherWeston Road,Stafford,StaffordshireST16 3RL

Tel: 01785 251960Fax: 01785 225095Email: office@st-johns-stafford.staffs.sch.ukWEB : www.st-johns-stafford.staffs.sch.uk