Scholes Village Primary SchoolLearning Today for a Better Tomorrow

Cindy believes Scholes Village Primary School has helped her children blossom through creative teaching

Samantha Marriott, Headteacher, Scholes Village Primary School... says:Welcome to Scholes Village Primary School. We are a small village school at the heart of the local community, catering for children aged 3-11 years.

Welcoming

Our parents and visitors often comment on the welcoming and friendly atmosphere of the school, which we are careful to nurture. Our pupils tell us that we are good at listening to them, and we encourage good manners and respect for everyone throughout school.

Proud of our children!

We are very proud of our school, particularly the achievements of our children. This is largely due to the way our staff work in close partnership with parents. We believe that children learn best when school and home work closely together.

Parent and pupil stories

You will see, by reading the many parent and pupil stories within this prospectus, that you and your child are very important to us. We champion the link between school and parent and work very hard to involve you in every step of your child’s time here…and therefore increase your child’s enjoyment of learning.

Forest School and outdoor play

Our Forest School is used by all the children, encouraging them to explore and investigate the natural world in a safe and stimulating environment. Foundation stage children also enjoy a purpose built unit and spacious outdoor play area, including our famous Learning House built by David Wilson Homes.

Best possible start

Children get one chance at education and at Scholes we aim to give them the very best possible start. As a result, we are constantly striving to improve what we can offer.

Get in touch

I would urge you to visit our wonderful school. I am truly confident you will find this a welcoming and supportive school, with staff who listen, consult and actively encourage your involvement. I know that you will be impressed by the quality of education we can offer your child.

To make an appointment to visit, or to simply ask me a question, please contact the school office on 01274 335500.

Cindy and Stuart Wider live in Scholes village with their daughters Isha, eight and Sumaya, six.

Family bonds

Cindy and her family moved to Scholes from Australia a year ago to live closer to family. The girls spent an initial period at Scholes Village Primary School before returning to Australia for a short period. On their return to the UK, the school was the top choice for the family. Stuart attended Scholes Village Primary School when he was younger so the family felt a real bond with it. Cindy believes Scholes Village Primary School has helped her children blossom through creative teaching.

A nurturing environment

Sumaya and Isha’s self-confidence has grown hugely. “It’s a very personal environment at Scholes Village Primary School,” says Cindy. “It’s a very intimate experience there. It’s like an extension of our home and it has been perfect for our girls. The teachers go beyond the normal; they know each of the children’s names, which is really special,” adds Cindy.

Awards for unique achievements

In addition, Cindy loves how the school rewards the childrens’ own unique abilities via an awards assembly. “Certificates are given out to specifically encourage the child,” explains Cindy. She adds: “Isha is very into Art but she also likes IT. She was given an award recently for using an IT programme - it meant so much to her. It was such a confidence boost. The assemblies really are precious for the children.” Parents are invited to attend the assemblies, which Cindy feels adds to the experience for the children. “It’s so nice to be able to share that reward with them,” she says.

Children as individuals

Sumaya is a sensitive child who Cindy feels is benefiting greatly from the personal attention offered at Scholes Village Primary School. “She needs one on one attention sometimes; someone just to listen to her. The teachers have the ability to tune into her and to get down to her level. As a result she has really opened up in school. She has blossomed because of the attention the teachers have given her,” says Cindy.

Whilst both children have strong talents in Art, Cindy feels the teachers have really encouraged the children to develop all of their subject skills. “When I think about Isha’s time at school in Australia, there is more emphasis on the child as an individual here,” says Cindy. “There are no favourites at Scholes Village Primary School; everyone is treated as an equal, which is so important,” adds Cindy. She feels the way in which the school uses creative influences to encourage children to develop their individual strengths is fantastic!

Children say:Sumaya says: “The best thing about Scholes Village Primary School is my teachers. They are very kind and help me and my friends to learn!”

Isha says: “I have loads of friends at this school and they are all very kind. I really like my teachers because they are caring and helpful and I learn something new every day. I love our projects because they are always different!”

Welcome to Scholes Village Primary School

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School hoursNursery Sessions Morning: 8.55am to 11.55am Afternoon: 12.15pm to 3.15pm Full day: 8.55 am to 3.00pm

School Times

Doors open at 8.50am Morning: 8.55am to 12.00 noon Afternoon: 1.00pm to 3.15pm

UniformA simple uniform is helpful in establishing good standards of appearance in school and by wearing it children quickly feel part of the community. School uniform details

are available on our website, and can be purchased from Sport FX in Cleckheaton. We encourage nursery children to wear a school sweatshirt, but ask that they wear clothes and footwear suitable for outdoor and ‘messy’ play.

School Meals and snacksAll Reception and Key Stage 1 children receive free school meals. Children may stay for a school meal or alternatively they may bring a healthy packed lunch. Our school meals cater for all dietary requirements. No sweets or fizzy drinks are allowed in school as we hold a Healthy School Award.

Break-time

The school takes part in the government Fruit and Vegetable scheme. This means all children from nursery to the end of Year 2 receive a free piece of fruit or vegetable every day.

Children in Years 3 to 6 may bring a piece of fruit to eat at morning break. Children in the Foundation Stage are also offered a healthy snack each day in addition to the free fruit which all children receive. As part of teaching children about enterprise we also run a Fab Fruit tuck shop which sells fruit and other healthy snacks at morning playtime.

Drinks

Milk is available to children in Foundation Stage and Years 1 and 2. In keeping with our healthy school policy we also encourage children to bring in a bottle of water which they can drink throughout the day.

Healthy eatingScholes Village Primary School is a healthy school. It is important that we consider all elements of our work to ensure that we promote health awareness in all members of the school community. We can provide a valuable role model to pupils and their families with regard to food and healthy eating patterns.

Eco SchoolsAt Scholes Village Primary School, we aim to be as ecologically conscious as possible. We are well on our way to making our school totally ‘green’

Eco Warriors

An ‘Eco-Warrior’ group of pupils meet every half-term to discuss and plan what to do next. Some of the plans we have in place include:

• pupils are energy monitors, recording energy use weekly

• pupils have begun to recycle ink/photocopier cartridges

• pupils have become water monitors, recording water use weekly in school

• pupils have created links to national environmental organisations

• …and each year group is studying one global environmental issue each!

School day

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A great education and staff who really care - Joanne couldn’t ask for more at Scholes Village Primary SchoolJoanne Mcguire and her husband, James live in Scholes with their two children Nathan and Declan who are seven and three years old.New confidence

Joanne has lived in the village for a number of years. She was always aware of Scholes Village School and its good reputation. Whilst other schools in the locality also have good reputations, when you have something so great on your doorstep, why look elsewhere?

Nathan’s first contact with the school was when he started in the nursery’s Foundation class, aged three. Whilst he was initially anxious about being left, he soon found the confidence to go and play. “As one of the youngest in his year, Nathan was lacking in confidence compared to the other children. But the staff at the nursery were fantastic and so friendly with him,” explains Joanne. “He was raring to go in no time! He’s in Year three now and couldn’t be happier!”

Support for additional needs

Nathan’s younger brother, Declan has additional needs and started Foundation in September. To help him settle, the nursery staff encouraged Joanne to come in and stay with Declan for a few hours a week the term before he was due to start. “This helped Declan massively,” says Joanne. “The fact I could come in and play with him helped to familiarise Declan with his new surroundings and helped him to settle in quickly.”

To help with communication, the staff have a trained Makaton teacher who works one-to-one with Declan. “It’s made such a big difference to us and to Declan,” says Joanne. “We can now communicate with him about his time at nursery and he can sign to the staff about his time at home. We also have a home-school diary to

communicate with the staff. The school has been absolutely fantastic with him! They’ve helped us so much!”

Friendly and welcoming

Declan gets very excited about going to nursery on a morning and Joanne feels this has a lot to do with the friendly and welcoming atmosphere at Scholes Village Primary School. “It’s always the same,” says Joanne. “The staff are always so friendly and welcoming to the children and to the parents.”

Nathan, too is always keen to start his day. Joanne feels the attitude of the staff has really helped Nathan to conquer his initial fears about school life. “They never got frustrated. They were always just really caring and patient with him,” says Joanne.

Achievements and celebrations

The quality of the teaching staff has also impressed Joanne. “Nathan loves spelling and maths. They’re his favourite things to do at school, “ explains Joanne. “The children in his class are doing so well with their spelling that the teachers are going to start teaching them spellings intended for older children, which is great for Nathan’s development. He’s doing so well!”

Children say:Nathan says: “I really like going to Scholes Village Primary School. My favourite part of the school day is maths. I love it! And spelling is great fun too. I got a certificate recently for doing fantastic spelling! We also get certificates for attendance. My class got the certificate for 100 per cent attendance at school again last week!”

Nursery and Reception The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum is based on seven areas of learning:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development

• Communication and Language

• Physical Development

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the World

• Expressive Arts and Design

Key Stages 1-2Areas of the curriculum are:

• Mathematics• Literacy• Science• Design Technology• Computing• History• Geography• Art• Music• Physical Education• Religious Education• Health• Citizenship• Personal and Social Education

EnterpriseEnterprise is a major focus here at school. We teach enterprise through the skills of:

• Team Work• Communication• Awareness of Risk Taking• Problem Solving• Managing Money• Making Decision• Global/Ethical Awareness

Curriculum

Many of the following subject areas are taught through projects, encouraging pupils to use and apply skills in different contexts. The curriculum is divided into three stages:

• Early Years Foundation Stage: from ages 0-5

• Key Stage 1: from ages 5-7

• Key Stage 2: from ages 7-11

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Trips and visitsTo extend the curriculum, and make learning even more fun, we offer many trips and activities. All trips and activities have an educational value. For example, some trips are part of projects that link Science, History and Geography together to make learning meaningful, and offer a wider range of exciting experiences. We also invite visitors into school wherever possible to enhance the curriculum.

Trips can include:

• RE trips

• Yorkshire Water

• Seaside and RNLI

• Skipton Castle

• Residential in Year 5 to Robinwood.

Foundation stage children have recently visited several farms and a narrow gauge railway too.

Forest SchoolOur Forest School is about embracing the outside world and encouraging children to get out there and explore it! Children can enjoy the following activities in our Forest School, based in our school grounds:

• boundary games to show children not to enter the circle without an adult

• instructions and modelling on using the equipment

• set challenges for the session

• make a bug hotel

• build a den

• hammer nails into logs

• make dream catchers

• strip the bark off twigs and logs

• sledge in the snow

• meet and eat around the fire circle

• inspiring all areas of the curriculum from art work to story writing.

Working togetherWe believe that children learn best when school and home work closely together. We also believe that attendance and punctuality are important to support each child to reach their full potential, and we monitor it closely. We hold regular parent evenings, which give parents an opportunity to discuss their child’s progress with us. We also encourage parents to visit the nursery.

Home visits

Our Foundation Stage staff organise a home visit for children who are starting nursery. This allows us to gather important information about your child, and begin the strong link we like to make between school and parents.

Transition

All parents of children about to move into reception are invited to a transition meeting, to talk about the change into full time education and how we can support their child together.

Groupcall

We have a text messaging system which allows us to contact parents with reminders of:

• events• payment of dinner money• unexpected school closures etc.

We can also use this system to contact parents if a child is absent from school.

Extended Curriculum Communicating with parents

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Special Educational NeedsWe are totally committed to providing high quality provision and support for pupils who have special needs of any kind. All children with special educational needs are taught within mainstream classes wherever possible. Where necessary teachers may plan and implement a learning programme to help the child. The school may also call on the expertise of outside agencies to offer more specialist support and guidance to help particular children.

Special needs teaching assistants

We have several trained special needs teaching assistants who work closely with children, often in small groups to maximise the help we can give.

Short term intervention ‘boost’

We also operate several short-term intervention programmes, which are aimed at children who may need a little extra ‘boost’ with literacy or maths to prevent them from falling behind. You will be kept fully informed if your child is targeted to receive this support.

Special Educational Needs policy

A full copy of our Special Educational Needs policy and offer may be requested at any time and is also available on our website.

Access

Children with a physical disability are fully supported in accessing all parts of the school.

Gifted and talented childrenWe recognise that all children are individuals with their own specific needs, gifts and talents. Children who are identified as being exceptionally able or talented, are monitored and provided with stimulating and enriching lessons appropriate to their needs.

Lunchtime clubs

For example, we currently run two ‘Gifted and Talented’ lunchtime reading clubs. They are run by Key Stage 2 children with the support of the Gifted and Talented co-ordinator, with the aim to further develop gifted Key Stage 1 children. For Maths there are separate clubs for KS 1 and KS2 where they work together to solve Mathematical problems.

BefriendersWe encourage a caring environment in our school, and have developed a ‘Befrienders’ service, where child volunteers provide support and help to other children. Befrienders provide a listening ear to all the children in school.

Training

Befrienders receive extensive training in dealing with problems, and on how to pass on any troubles to the adult Befrienders, so that they don’t carry others problems on their own shoulders. We are very proud of our Befrienders who work hard to provide this valuable service to our school.

Inclusion: a curriculum for all

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Scholes Village Primary School offers a great education, a nurturing environment and so much moreKevin and Clare Gelder live in Scholes Village with their daughter Daisy, nine.

No better choice

Choosing Scholes Village Primary School was never a difficult decision for Kevin and Clare. Having lived in the village for twelve years they were very aware of its good reputation. They had little hesitation when deciding this was the right school for Daisy. “Daisy had been to the pre-school and really enjoyed it. She made some great friends. As a local school, we had no hesitation in choosing Scholes Village Primary School for her primary education,” says Kevin.

Opportunities and responsibilities

Currently in Year 5 Daisy is, according to her delighted parents, achieving well. “She’s really happy and taking full advantage of everything on offer,” explains Kevin. “The school has encouraged her to participate in lots of Extra-curricular activities and they’ve given her roles with additional responsibility, which she’s got a lot from.”

Playing to strengths

As a family that’s into fitness, Daisy has always been encouraged to lead a fit and healthy lifestyle and the school offers an array of excellent sporting activities. Kevin says, “Daisy took place in a dance festival last week. She’s participated in cross-country, netball, cricket, boxercise...you name it! This week she’s experiencing a multi-sports activity event which is giving her the chance to try sports she wouldn’t normally get to do. ”

Throughout her time at Scholes Village Primary School, Kevin feels the teachers have developed a good relationship with Daisy and motivated and encouraged her in all her subjects. “The teachers are great at recognising the children’s skills and helping to develop those further,” says Kevin. “She’s very sporty and has been given the chance to expand her skills, she’s been chosen to compete in school teams, which she has loved! She’s also received lots of encouragement with her maths and reading and these have come on brilliantly.”

Life skills

The school also ensures the children are developing important life skills. “Daisy was put forward for, and won, an Enterprise event at the High School! This has given her some great insight into business skills and she really enjoyed the experience,” says Kevin.

Children say:Not only are Kevin and Clare delighted with Scholes Village Primary School, Daisy says: “The teachers make it fun to learn things but we still learn amazing facts! There are two fitness trails and a multi-use games area outside and we have our own forest school where we can discover nature and build dens!”

There are a wide variety of clubs that children can join, during class, lunchtime and after school. We are fortunate in having a large playing field and multi-use games area, so we are able to provide a wide range of sporting opportunities. Options often include:

• athletics

• boxercise

• cross country

• dance

• glee club

• gymnastics

• handbells

• netball

• rugby

• soccer

• sports Leaders training

• busy hands

• orienteering

Clubs

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Parents who are thinking of applying for a place at our school are invited to visit and look around at any time.

Applications Admission to School

Kirklees Council admission’s office deals with all new admissions to

Scholes Village Primary School. Contact details for Local Authority Admissions are:

Tel: 01484 225007 01484 2250089 01484 225009

Email: schooladmissions@kirklees.gov.uk

Web: www.kirklees.gov.uk/community/parentsCarers/schools/primarySchoolAdmissions.aspx

Admission to nursery

Children can be admitted to nursery three times a year (Autumn, Spring or Summer Term). It is the term after their third birthday. Please look at our website for our admission criteria.

When your child has been offered a nursery place you and your child will be invited to attend eight-weekly ‘Getting Ready for Nursery Sessions’ that we run in conjunction with the local Children’s Centre.

PTAAt Scholes Village Primary school we have a very supportive and active PTA group. As a parent you are automatically a member, but we are grateful to those parents who volunteer to become committee members.

The PTA organises social events throughout the year and raises money for the school to provide those little extras which make all the difference.

Do you want to be a committee member?

If you want to be a committee member, please contact the school office.

GovernorshipGovernors are a group of volunteers who include parents, staff and members of our local community. They work to ensure high standards of achievement for all children in the school by:

•settingtheschool’svision,ethosandlong term direction

•evaluatingtheprogressofeducationand ask questions of the Headteacher to ensure all children are making acceptable progress

•overseeingthefinancialperformanceofthe school and making sure its money is well spent.

Their role is also described as a ‘critical friend’. Governors are not there to criticise the Head or school, but to ask questions which will help the school to continue to improve in all areas of education.

Do you want to be a Governor?

If you want to be a school governor, please contact the school office.

Admissions Getting involved

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Scholes Village Primary SchoolOld Popplewell LaneScholesCleckheatonBD19 6DNTel: 01274 335500Fax: 01274 335503Twitter: @ScholesVPSchoolEmail: office.scholesprimary@edukirklees.net

Scholes Village Primary SchoolOld Popplewell LaneScholes, CleckheatonBD19 6DN

Tel: 01274 335500 - Fax: 01274 335503Twitter: @ScholesVPSchoolEmail: office.scholesprimary@edukirklees.net

Scholes Village Primary School

Westfield Lane

A58 Whitehall RoadA58 Whitehall Road

Brookfields Road

Gre

ento

n A

ve

Old Popplewell Lane

Tabbs LaneWestfield

Lane

Foldings Parade

Foldings Parade

Foldings RoadFoldings A

ve

Scholes Lane

Oddfellows St

New Road

How to find us

We aim to give children the joy of learning through discovery and problem solving, we challenge their thinking and teach them how to cope with setbacks.

Devised and produced by Stoneworks Education Ltd www.stoneworkscommunications.co.uk/Education16