Prospectus Guide to starting school 2020

SOMERVILLE FEDERATION SOMERVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL Your Guide to Starting School Taking Safeguarding Seriously

The School Day School starts at… School starts at 8.55 am, please arrive at 8.50am. (Be on time at five to nine!) Late arrivals interrupt the smooth running of the classroom and your child will miss the start of a session. Children struggle if a routine is not set and it is stressful for them missing part of a lesson. Lunchtime is at 11.45 - 12.45 School finishes at… School finishes at 3.15 pm, please be on time. It is distressing for a young child when they are picked up late. Aiming High Together

A Welcome Note from the Executive Headteacher Dear Parents and Carers, Firstly, may I take this opportunity to thank you for choosing Somerville Primary School. I would like to offer you and your child a warm welcome at the start of your child’s school journey with us and the beginning of a strong partnership between home and school. Starting school is a very important time for both child and family and a happy successful start lays the foundation stone for a successful school career. We care deeply about the children here at Somerville and are passionate in our endeavours in providing a well rounded education for every child. We provide a warm and caring environment within our safe and secure Foundation Stage setting. We believe the education a child receives in their early years sets them up for success throughout their schooling and helps them develop a love for learning. Our early years team are all highly skilled and dedicated practitioners who put their heart into ensuring your child has the best possible experience during their first year at primary school. We look forward to working with you and ‘aiming high together’. Michael Forber Executive Headteacher Aiming High Together

How does Somerville help my What advice can you give child prepare to start school? me on how I can support my child? In the summer term we will STARTING SCHOOL write to you with a date for our ‘New Parents’ meeting. At this There are lots of ways you can support your child in meeting you will be given lots being ‘ready’ to start school. Little tips that can help of important information that take the anxiety away from them and you. It is will help your child settle into important that your child's start to school is as school. You will have the smooth and happy as we both can possibly make it. chance to put faces to names and meet the Headteacher and Get your child into the routine of attending F1 and your child’s class teacher. nursery regularly so they are used to having to go somewhere at the same time and same place and At this meeting you will be that they are used to leaving you. given dates for some stay and play sessions. In these We will hold an information meeting in the summer sessions your child will term before your child is due to start and some stay become familiar with their new and play sessions to allow children to be familiar classroom, teacher and with their new classroom and teacher before they teaching assistant. start on their first day. Please do your best to attend these. We will give you a pack of activities to do with your child, There are also other activities you can do with your at home, during the summer. child to help with their development. In September we phase every Personal Skills child into school over a two week period. • Encourage your child to dress and undress themselves, practicing fastening and undoing buttons and zips. •Encourage your child to wipe their own nose, go to the toilet independently and to wash their hands. •Practise using a knife and fork. •Encourage your child to help tidy up their toys. •Practise applying suncream. We spend a lot of time outside so ideally they need all day sun protection on before coming to school. See www.sunsmart.org.uk. for more information.
 Aiming High Together

Baseline Assessment English Skills During the first few weeks of • Sing nursery rhymes together and read lots of term we assess all Foundation 2 children to find out what they stories. already know to determine what we need to teach them. • Recognise and practice writing their name using the We use a range of ongoing name card given by new class teacher. assessments to make a decision on where on the • Play I spy, memory games and matching games. Foundation Stage Profile your • Share books together and find time to talk and child currently sits, children will also complete the national listen to each other. ‘Baseline’ assessment. Mathematics Skills We will share with you at parents’ evening (or before) • Count together frequently, for example: count the our judgements and see if we are in agreement. This will stairs up to bed, the number of sweets in a packet. help us work together to support your child. • Let them lay the table for dinner, get the right number of forks, knives, cups etc. • Do some baking together, weigh the ingredients count the spoonfuls, mix and pour. • Play lots of games like snap, dominoes and board games. • Practice with money, involve your child at the check out in the shops. • Talk about the time e.g. it is three o’clock, we need to go and pick your brother up from school. Physical Skills Encourage your child to do some of the following:- • Tracing and colouring - hold a pencil, crayon, felt tip properly. • Playdough and plasticine modelling. • Doing up fastenings on coats and shoes. • Hopping, jumping, climbing. • Cut up their own food. Finally… Don’t worry! Children are very quick to pick up on how you are feeling. They are most likely to come happily into school and settle, if you give them a kiss and wave them goodbye with a smile on your face. Aiming High Together

How do I get in Who’s Who? touch if I need to speak to someone or pass a We are a large school and have a large workforce. message to my child’s The main people who can help you or you may need to speak to in your child’s first year at Somerville are:- teacher? Foundation 2 Team You can ring the school office Mrs F. Morris - Is the Foundation Stage 2 team leader. Telephone: 638 5074 ————————————————— Option 1 - Use this to tell Mr M. J.Forber - Executive Headteacher school if your child is absent. Mrs N. Parry - Deputy Headteacher Option 2 - To speak to School Leaders - Please make an appointment with someone in the office. the school office if you wish to speak to either the You can leave a message on Headteacher or his deputy. the answerphone, if the line is busy. This is checked Mrs C. O’Shaughnessy- Assistant Headteacher for regularly throughout the day. FS2 & KS1 Mrs C. Speight - Assistant Headteacher for KS2 E mail: Mrs S. Holland - SENDCO schooloffi[email protected] If your child has additional needs and you need advice or clarification then you can book an Your e mail will be forwarded appointment through the school office. on to the most appropriate member of staff. Miss A Crampton - Social Inclusion Manager Miss Crampton is a wonderful listener and can often You can have a chat with your support families with a wide range of personal needs. child’s teacher or teaching Please do not hesitate to contact her if you need any assistant at the end of the support, advice or guidance. school day. Ms G. Kirkham - Medical Needs Assistant Please contact Mrs Smith if your child has any medical or health needs school needs to be aware of. Mrs Smith ensures school meets the medical needs of all children and liaises with local health services. Miss K. Houlihan - School Secretary Mrs G. Bennett & Miss L. Foran- School Administrators If you have any queries that need to go through the school office, they will be your first point of contact. Aiming High Together

So what facilities do you have at Somerville that will support my child’s learning and well being? Our Facilities Over the past four years we have heavily invested in improving our school building and the surrounding grounds. We have knocked down three sets of double mobile classrooms and have built modern, purpose built classrooms suitable for 21st century learning, in their place. We have a large, modern and attractive school hall where we have our assemblies, indoor PE, parent workshops, shows and performances and our lunch. The kitchen attached to the hall is new and stocked with the latest equipment helping our catering team cook healthy and nutritious meals. Our Foundation 2 classes share a large outdoor learning space that is well equipped, attractive and a fantastic environment in which to explore a wide range of curriculum areas outside of the traditional classroom spaces. We are a federation with Somerville Nursery School in Brentwood Street. Our nursery school has a fabulous outdoor ‘Forest School’ area which we visit regularly and make good use of making dens, cooking on camp fires and exploring the wildlife. Aiming High Together

Our Facilities Continued Our Foundation 2 classrooms are extremely well resourced. Our Foundation 2 lead has spent a lot of time researching, sourcing and purchasing resources and equipment to ensure that every curriculum area can be fully explored by the children keeping up their interest levels across the school year. Our IT facilities are extensive. We have a dedicated computing suite with desk top computers where we learn our computing skills, a range of laptop trolleys and I pad trolleys allowing mobile computing, keeping up with technologies that motivate and interest learners of all ages. We have a well stocked school library from which pupils can borrow books and take home. Each classroom also has its own well stocked library area with reading corners designed by the class teachers. Our science garden has tables and benches allowing aspects of science to be taught and explored in the outdoors. This allows our children to gain experience in the hands on element of learning about minibeasts, habitats and plants etc. We have an outdoor classroom with whiteboard facilities that will house a large class of children. Aiming High Together

Our Facilities Continued The adventure playground is enjoyed immensely by the children. It allows them to to develop their agility and physicality as they travel through school. Our muga pitch can house a football match or a basket ball match. The children appreciate the soft surface. Rainbow Wood is our nurture room. An artist hand painted the beautiful scenery. It is equipped with relaxed lighting schemes on the floor and ceiling and also has aromatherapy and sound systems. We are proud of our facilities here and our pupils make very good use of them. Aiming High Together

The ‘Early Years Foundation CURRICULUM Stage’ is organised into seven areas of learning and Communication and Language Development development, of which three We will be providing lots of opportunities for are “prime areas,” and four children to speak and to listen. This might be in “specific areas.” partner work, listening to rhymes and then stories that require more concentration. Children will be The prime areas are: encouraged to say why they think something is happening and to predict what may happen next. • Communication and We will do activities and play games that require Language the child to follow sets of instructions. We will encourage children to share their news and • Physical Development describe what they have made. We will be providing many opportunities for imaginative play. • Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Physical Development Children will have the opportunity to use different The specific areas are: tools e.g. pencils, pens, scissors, paintbrushes and experiment with different materials e.g. • Literacy plasticine, gloop, salt dough, clay and mud. They will do activities that develop their fine motor skills • Mathematics that help them develop as writers, such as using tweezers and creating patterns on peg boards. • Understanding of The World Children will have the opportunity to develop skills through games and such as running, jumping, • Expressive Arts and Design balancing and ball skills. These are the three characteristics of learning we take into account when planning our curriculum; play and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. Aiming High Together





UNIFORM As you are aware we have high expectations and standards to be maintained for all of our children. School uniform contributes to the overall ethos of Somerville Primary School. We ask all parents and carers who send their children to Somerville to support the school uniform guidelines. We have issued the guidelines and pictures below to ensure there is clarity over the expected standard. Foundation 2 and Key Stage 1 Autumn, Winter and Spring • Grey trousers or skirt • White polo shirt with or without logo • Navy neck jumper / sweatshirt (preferably round neck and preferably with logo) • Black shoes (not trainers, no sports logos or strapped or heeled sandals) Autumn, Winter and Spring • Grey shorts may be worn • Navy gingham dress Sports Kit • Every child must have a white t-shirt, navy shorts and black pumps or lightweight trainers. When buying training shoes or pumps please do not get ones with black soles as these mark the hall floor and children will not be allowed to wear them. • PE kits are brought to school at the beginning of the week and are left in school, being returned home at the end of the week. Jewellery can not be worn in school. Only small stud earring are allowed and your child MUST be able to remove these on their own before the lesson. Extreme hairstyles are discouraged . This includes shaved patterns and designs and dyed hair. Please label all uniform, including shoes. Aiming High Together

What do I do if my child is ABSENCE AND ATTENDANCE too poorly for school? Everyday in school is valuable for your child. A break from normal school routine can seriously effect a child’s ability to remember key ideas taught. You need to contact the school The school keeps thorough records of each child’s office as early as you can on attendance and these are monitored closely. Poor the first day of your child’s attendance can result in action being taken, absence. If you use the phone including home visits and fines being issued by the option it is option 1 on the local authority. answerphone. You will be issued a report about your child’s What happens when my attendance several times a year. child becomes poorly in school? There are only certain illnesses that require your child stay off school. These are mainly vomiting and diarrhoea bugs. If your child can no longer Medicines remain in school then we will contact you to come and If your child returns to school after collect them. Please ensure illness however still needs to that all contact details are up complete a course of medicine we to date with the school office. ask parents to come to school to administer this or administer Can I take my child breakfast, after school and bedtime. on holiday? If your child need liquid paracetamol during the day then you must provide the medicine and fill in a form at the school office. Medical Conditions Holidays should not be taken Please ensure that school is informed of all existing in term time, as it can disrupt a and newly diagnosed medical conditions to enable child’s learning and progress. us to support your child in the best possible way. It is the Headteacher’s decision to authorise a holiday. Long term medications such as inhalers must be Please note this is very kept in school. Inhalers must be replaced when unlikely and will only be given they are out of date. in exceptional circumstances. School is equipped with defibrillators. Aiming High Together

Child Protection & Safeguarding The Somerville Federation is fully committed to promoting the health and well being of all children in its care. We are required, by law, to follow procedures set out by the DfE in the‘Keeping Children Safe’ document and by Wirral Borough Council. If we see any signs of abuse or neglect or a child discloses anything to an adult in school we must report the details in to Social Care. Use of the procedures in this way is an obligation placed on school by legislation and in no way infers any parent / carer being accused of any wrong doing or school making a judgement. ALL staff in school are trained in safeguarding and prevent. This means we are trained to spot signs of abuse, neglect, grooming and radicalisation of children. Health and Safety School has a policy for health and safety. All staff work hard to keep the school safe for everyone. We ask parents and carers to follow the rules below to promote health and safety for all. Please do not park your cars on the yellow lines or zigzags around school. If you need to visit school please report in at the school office and sign in. You will be issued with a badge. All bikes and scooters to be pushed when within school grounds. NO dogs permitted in the school grounds. No smoking is permitted in the building or anywhere in the school grounds, including vaping. Shouting, abusive language and violence WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Please ensure all contact details are up to date in case of emergency. Please ensure your child is walked to school and picked up by an adult. Aiming High Together

SCHOOL DINNERS AND SNACKS All children in the Foundation Stage and Key Stage One are entitled to a universal dinner. Our dinners are freshly prepared on site, by our cook and her team and contribute towards the children eating a balanced, healthy diet. The children have two courses, a main meal and a pudding. We ask even though you receive these meals free, that if you are in receipt of benefits to fill in the form as school benefits in terms of more money in the budget. This is then spent on resources and extra staffing for the children. School is happy to help if you need any help filling in the forms. If you do not wish to take up the school dinner then you can provide your child with a healthy packed lunch to include sandwiches or wraps, fruit and a non fizzy drink. We are promoting healthy living so please no chocolate. Children will receive a healthy snack throughout Foundation Stage and Key Stage One for morning break. This will consist of a piece of fruit. Aiming High Together

FOUNDATION FUN What opportunities will there be for me to come into school to find out more about my child’s education? Foundation Fun is a a series of workshops designed and run by our Foundation 2 teachers. It is a chance to spend time with your child and see how they learn through play, games and FUN. There is a different topic each week, some of the topics are :- How we use I pads in the classroom Creative play How we teach handwriting Foundation Fun allows you to spend time with your child in school and allows you time to ask the teacher questions about how you can help your child at home and about the curriculum. We serve tea and biscuits to make it an inviting experience. You don’t have to sign up for every workshop just the ones that you are most interested in. They take place every other Wednesday morning in the school hall during the Autumn Term. Look out for the information in your child’s book bag Aiming High Together