General Information

Holiday dates for Autumn term 2011/12
School opens Thursday September 1st  2011
Half term Monday 17th to Friday 21st October 2011
School closes Thursday December 22nd 2011

Holiday dates for Spring term 2011/12
School opens Monday January 9th 2012
Half term Monday 13th to Friday 17th February 2012
School closes Friday March 30th 2012

Holiday dates for Summer term 2011/12
School opens Monday 16th April 2012
Half term Friday 1st to Friday 8th June 2012
School closes Friday July 13th 2012

Dates/events this term
Induction of new children  Parents contacted 14th May
Induction Evening 12th June
Induction afternoons for new children Monday 25th June to Thursday 28th June
Firedrill  18th May
‘Close to the Edge 2012’ Hillwalking Evening 6.00  21st May
‘Close to the Edge 2012’ Hillwalking Training I 25th May
‘Close to the Edge 2012’ Hillwalking Training II 11th June
‘Close to the Edge 2012’ Hillwalking Expedition 21st/22nd June
Type 2 fire assessment LA 22nd May
Premier Sport – Healthy and Physical day 24th May
Diamond Jubilee Street Party 31st May (PTA)
Mini - Olympics for KS2 13th June (at Long Whatton)
Open evening for parents 19th June
Yr 4 induction at CDCC 22nd June
KS1 mini Olympics – 28th June TBA
Year 5 Sports festival at CDCC 29th June
Sports day 2nd July (reserve date 3rd July) 2.00pm
Angling evening match – TBA 3rd July
Year 5 induction days 5th 6th July
‘Close to the Edge 2012’ Hillwalking presentation to parents 6.30 6th July
PTA Summer camp-out Saturday 7th July
Leavers Evening Thursday 12th July
Final Assembly on the last day of term 13th July 9.30am


Swimming Dates Spring Term 2012
There is no swimming during the summer term.
Starting School
'Children (in the EYFS) settle quickly into the routines of school life because they are well cared for, safe and secure. Their days are filled with fun and excitement and this means that they make good progress in building skills and knowledge in all six areas of learning.'
Ofsted November 2009
This is an important time for new children and for new parents so we aim to make the start of your child's time at school as welcoming and as easy as possible. Prospective parents and children are welcome to visit the school at any mutually convenient time but we also invite them to make several afternoon visits in the term prior to their first term, to get used to their new surroundings, meet new friends and of course their new teachers. We encourage parents to talk to the Class teacher informally as we believe it is important to have a close parent teacher partnership. The school maintains close links with the local playgroup. There will also be an informal evening meeting just for new parents, at which the Headteacher and teaching staff will be present. There is a short presentation about the sorts of things your children will be doing and plenty of opportunities to ask questions.

We ask parents of new entrants to fill in an admission form with information, which remains confidential. This is needed in case we need to contact you in the event of an emergency or illness. Please notify us of any change of telephone number as we need to keep information up to date.

Class Arrangements
At the moment the school is divided into three classes, Foundation, Infants (Year 1 and 2) and Juniors (Years 3, 4 and 5). After year 5, when the children are ten years old, they feed into Castle Donington Community College. This is the perfect first experience of secondary school education and the College has an excellent reputation, achieving very good results. This system is known as 10+, but at some point in the near future children will remain here for that extra year until 11.

Strong relationships exist between the seven local primary schools and the college. We are a close family of schools and our pupils often have the chance to work together. Some children may have special educational needs whether in terms of academic support or because they are gifted and talented. We aim to meet their needs in a variety of ways including additional support , extended and more challenging activities, more and very able days and where appropriate, the help of outside agencies.
'Vulnerable pupils blossom because they are in such a nurturing environment and receive excellent support which is tailored sensitively to their needs.' Ofsted November 2009

Castle Donington Community College
We value our strong links with the other feeder schools and Castle Donington Community College. By having the opportunity to work with children of a similar age from other schools, the children meet familiar faces when they transfer. Staff from the college come into school and year 5 children have several opportunities to visit the college. At the end of the Summer Term, the Year 5 children have two induction days in preparation for the move in the following September. There are also a number of opportunities for parents to visit the college prior to your child moving up. Di Johnson, one of the Assistant Principals is very helpful and is always willing to talk to prospective parents.

The College telephone number is 01332 810528 or you can visit the website at. www.castledonington@leics.sch.uk (This is not a link)

The School Day
School Hours 

We ask that children do not arrive in school before 8.45 a.m.

We encourage children to come on scooters or bikes and use the top playground for cycle practice and exercise before and after school. For safety reasons cycling and scooting is not allowed on the car park at any time and cycles should be wheeled across to the playground. We have provided bike/scooter racks so that these can be stored safely.


Mid-morning break
Milk is available for all children. This is free until the term after their fifth birthday, when it costs 15p per day. It is subsidised by the Local Authority. In addition, children may either bring a piece of fruit or biscuits to eat at break time. We do not encourage the children to bring crisps or chocolate and we operate the Government's free fruit initiative whereby all Reception and Keystage 1 children have a piece of fruit each per day.


Lunchtime
A school meals service is available and a menu for the week is displayed in school. It is helpful to our secretary if meals can be paid for at the beginning of the week on Monday morning. The cost is currently £1-95 per day. Alternatively, children may bring sandwiches, but we do not allow cans and glass bottles. A teacher and three supervisory assistants are on duty throughout lunchtime.


Absence and Holiday requests
If your child is absent for any reason please let us know either by telephone or letter. It is a requirement that we have to report absences which are not authorised. If you are intending to take a holiday during term time the Local Authority Policy requires that written permission is sought form the Headteacher. Up to 10 days holiday in term time is permitted, but additional days may be recorded as unauthorised absence.

There have been no unauthorised absences during the last year.


Swimming
At present, the children go by coach to swim at Charnwood Leisure Centre for a block of 5 or 6 swimming sessions in the Autumn and Spring terms. We ask for voluntary contributions for this activity as the school cannot afford to subsidise these costs. 


Special Visits and Events
During the year we have various special events, such as a Christmas Nativity Play, Harvest Festival, Sports Day and fund raising activities. We also take part in other village and Church events. We notify you about these by half termly newsletters. As well as many day visits to enhance children's learning, pupils in Years 2 and 3 have the chance to spend 2 days and a night at Beaumanor Hall in Woodhouse Eaves on an adventure visit, while in Years 4 and 5 they have a further opportunity to experience a weeks residential visit, historically this has been to Mid Wales.

In addition to this, for some of the children in Year 5, we run a Junior Hillwalking Course which involves a traverse of Kinderscout in Derbyshire.

We organise out of school trips on a regular basis to support the curriculum and for the children's enjoyment. Risk Assessments are always carried out prior to these visits.

Risk
We believe that in order to stay safe children need to learn to assess and manage the risks of everyday life. We provide an environment that enables children to explore and learn and lets them take calculated risks in safety. We teach our children about making good choices and that all choices have consequences.

Competition
We believe that it is important that children learn how to win and lose with good grace and that the emotions and feelings experienced with each are an important part of emotional growth. We provide many opportunities for our children to compete, against each other and against other schools. We run a traditional sportsday which parents attend and during which the children compete in their houses for the impressive House sports cup!

PE Kit
Children should have a pair of trainers and a tracksuit for outdoor activities, a pair of black shorts and a white T-shirt. We recommend that kit should be kept in school in a shoe bag, which can hang on your child's peg. A school PE kit is on sale at £6.50 and includes t shirt with the school logo, shorts and a PE bag.

Please make sure that all clothing items are clearly named, so that they can be easily identified. PE kit should be left in school all week and taken home to wash at weekends.


Uniform
Whilst school uniform is not compulsory, the Governors recommend a practical inexpensive uniform, which is a distinctive feature of our school.

This consists of:-

Royal blue sweatshirt with school logo - £5.95
or Royal blue sweatcardi with school logo - £6.95
Pale blue polo shirt with school logo - £4.95
Grey or black trousers or skirt. (not available in school)
In addition to this we also stock fantastic waterproof reversible coats, fleeces and sweat- cardigans, book bags and hats.
These are available in school from the school secretary. Please make sure all items have your childs name marked clearly on them.

A school PE kit consisting of shorts, T shirt with the school logo and a PE bag is on sale at only £6.50

The school makes no profit from the sale of school uniforms.


Extra Curricular Activites
'They (the pupils) say there are ‘loads’ of clubs varying from choir and sewing to basketball, football and athletics.' Ofsted November 2009
We offer a wide selection of extra curricular activities which include singing, instruments (piano/recorders/handbells) and various PE Clubs such SAQ, football, basketball, uni-hock, tag-rugby, games and puzzles club and Dungeons and dragons!


School Council
We have a School Council (Can-Do Committee) and issues are discussed on a regular basis. Two children from each year are chosen by their class members to represent them on the School Council. Recent events to raise money for playground equipment include Film Nights and Non uniform days.


Records
We keep an individual record for all children containing medical and curriculum information. The record also contains telephone numbers where you can be contacted. Please make sure that this information is always up to date.


Health
The school nurse is a regular visitor to school. If your child is due to have a medical, health check or dental screening you will be notified beforehand. Sometimes the school nurse will talk to the children about health related subjects, such as healthy eating. She also talks to the Year 5 children about sex and relationships and parents will be informed of this prior to her visit.


Sex Education
The Governing Body have decided to adopt the Sex & Relationship Policy which is common with all the feeder Primary Schools and Year 6 at Castle Donington Community College. Please contact the school for details of the programme.


Medication
Staff are not allowed to administer medicines to children. If your child needs a course of antibiotics, you may wish to administer the dose yourself, if it is due at lunchtime, or you may be able to plan doses around the beginning and end of the school day. Some children need longer term medication or need to carry an inhaler. Please discuss this with us so that we can make special arrangements. We will help in any way we can to ensure that your child's needs are met. We will always exercise a common sense approach in these matters.


Accidents
Your child's safety is our prime concern and we take this responsibility very seriously. We keep a record of any minor accidents which occur and particularly in the case of a bump to the head, about which you will be notified. If we are at all concerned that your child may need a medical check we will contact parents immediately.


Behaviour and Discipline
'Their (the children) behaviour is outstanding. Pupils are very thoughtful, kind and supportive
of each other.' Ofsted November 2009


We have a fair and consistent approach to discipline throughout the school.

We want children to show care and consideration towards others.

The code of behaviour we adopt is for the safety and happiness of everyone and is based upon positive statements.

Our simple school rules are:

Walk sensibly in and around school
Keep hands, feet and unkind words to yourself
Listen to adults and to others
Keep the school tidy and put things back in the right place
Try to make others feel good

Each week children are selected by staff to be honoured in the Honours Book or to become a star of the week. Children can be rewarded for anything positive that they have done. Each class has its own set of rewards based upon high achievement, trying really hard and showing a great attitude and behaviour. We have a traditional house system too, for which children can earn house points. At the end of each term the House with the most points wins the House Shield. Our Houses are Team Saturn, Team Jupiter and Team Pluto.

If children choose to misbehave or to be disruptive in the classroom they will receive a verbal warning from the member of staff. We operate a 3 strikes rule in the classroom and at lunchtimes. If this behaviour continues they may be moved away from other children to sit on their own. Children may have to complete a time out, usually at playtime, which involves sitting out for 1 minute for every year of their age. This is supervised. For children in Key stage 2, a pink slip may be sent home, on which the child has written the choices they made that led to us notifying you. When appropriate, children may be asked to finish work during break time or lunchtime.

Teachers can refer a child to the Headteacher at any time. This can result in missing playtimes/lunchtimes and if appropriate we will contact parents via telephone, a letter or immediately after school to discuss what has happened.

The Headteacher can exclude a child in extreme circumstances.

We aim to help children understand that as they get older they are increasingly responsible for the behavioural choices they make and that all choices, positive and negative, have consequences.

We have a Behaviour & Discipline Policy including Bullying Policy, a copy of which is available for all Parents. Our rules are purposely very simple and were debated with staff and children. They are all positives and are there to ensure that everyone can learn and play happily and although sanctions are sometimes necessary we strongly believe in emphasising what our children do well.
School Security
The school and community buildings are fitted with an alarm system which is connected to Red Care which goes straight through to the police if activated.

There is a CCTV in the main entrance to school with an intercom in the office and the Headteachers office and the school is protected by several other CCTV cameras. Regular fire drills are carried out and electrical equipment is tested every six months. The Road Safety Officer comes into school to do road safety with all the children from Year 3 to Year 5 and there are two safety awareness officers in KS2. Cycling proficiency is carried out once a year with year 5 children. The safety and security of the children in school is constantly reviewed. Health & Security checks take place on a regular basis, and is on the agenda of each termly governors meeting. These policies are available in school. We have completed a project to make the boundaries of the school grounds much safer, with fencing being erected at the end of of our Early Years area, around the car park and at the end of the school field. 'Staying Safe' is also an important part of our PHSE programme, which teaches children how to identify and deal with potential dangers. It is important too, that we do not remove all risk form our children's lives. In the safest way possible we want our children to learn to manage risk and to make sensible decisions for themselves. In this way we feel that we are preparing them for safer independence in the future.


Property on School Premises
The County Council cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to private property or personal belongings whilst on school premises. All items should be clearly named.


Multi-Cultural Education
We recognise that we live in a multi-cultural society. We aim to help children become socially and culturally aware through stories, music and educational experiences in order to avoid future prejudice and discrimination. We promote the idea that difference and variety is a positive thing in any society. Racially offensive language and behaviour will always be challenged and the school makes an annual report o the Local Authority concerning any racially motivated incidents.


Complaints
If you have a complaint related to the school, the best advice is to come and talk to the relevant member of staff and if necessary the Headteacher. Alternatively you may prefer to put your concerns in a letter. Most problems can be resolved in this way. Parents also have the option of contacting the Chair of Governors, Graeme Matravers. Contact details can be obtained from the office.


Charging Policy
Whilst the 1986 Education Act does not allow certain activities to be charged for, the school asks for parents to make voluntary contributions for swimming, school visits and craft. If voluntary contributions are not adequate then the activity may not be financially viable. Parents in receipt of income support may speak to the Headteacher confidentially to obtain any help available.


Forms and Policies
We are currently developing this part of the website to include an informative slection of policies and useful forms. Please bear with us while we work to improve this aspect of our site.