Parents Area : Prospectus

Although most of the contents of the School Prospectus are located throughout this website, you can still download a complete copy by clicking this link

 School Prospectus - 852Kb

We have listed certain sections of the prospectus below:

Admissions and visiting the school

If you are considering sending your child to St Sampson's Junior School you are very welcome to visit the school beforehand.  It would be particularly valuable if your child came as well.  Please call in or telephone to arrange for a time to meet the Headteacher and look around the school.  All children who live within the school catchment area are admitted to the school by right.  Parents who live outside the catchment area and seek a place for their child need to apply through the Local Education Authority.  If you would like to pick up an admissions form, we do hold copies at school.

The School Day

Morning Session 9.00 am. - 12.00 pm.

Morning Break 10.40am. - 10.55am.

Afternoon session 1.00 pm. -   3.15 pm.

Daily average time spent on: 

Teaching 4 hrs. 35 mins.
Assembly 20 mins.
Registration 5 mins.

Children should not arrive at school before 8.50a.m. as the school cannot guarantee supervision before that time.  (Parents who wish to request special consideration must contact the Headteacher).

Parents and School

We know that children develop to the best of their ability if parents, pupils and all school staff work in a three-way partnership.  After consulting with pupils, parents, staff and governors we published our home school agreement.  We believe that this sets out clearly the elements and expectations for effective partnership.  Please see Appendix A.  At the end of this academic year we will review the agreement and ask you to spend some time with your son or daughter reflecting on the main points together.

One of our main aims is to ensure that our pupils are able to develop with confidence.  If you have any queries about school or your child's progress, please feel free to contact your child's teacher.  They might not be able to speak to you when you call but will always contact you later the same day.  We also have parent's consultation evenings on a termly basis where parents and teachers can meet to talk about progress and achievements.

We welcome parents in school, both to support their child's teacher or to offer general help, please let us know or contact your child's class teacher directly.  Parental support is always greatly appreciated by both pupils and teachers.

Behaviour

We aim to foster an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect in which to work and learn together, we believe that high standards of behaviour are central to the process of teaching and learning and for children to make good progress.  We have a whole school Behaviour Policy, which reflects our positive attitudes to the management of behaviour and outlines our approach to sanctions and rewards.  In order to encourage children to understand and develop their sense of responsibility we involve pupils in reviewing our policy.  We also have an active School Council and we see this as a positive way of familiarising and involving children in the decision making process.

The school enforces an anti-bullying policy, which includes prevention of verbal abuse as well as physical harassment.  Bullying, in any form, is not acceptable in our school.  Racist words or actions are similarly unacceptable and will be dealt with by contacting the parents and through disciplinary actions.

It is essential that home and school work closely together in order to achieve a good standard of acceptable behaviour.

We hope that you will as parents ensure that your child comes to school with a clear understanding that you expect him/her to work hard, give of his/her best and always respect others.  (Please refer to The Home School Child Agreement).

House System

All children are allocated to a House when they start school (St. Andrew, St. David, St. George, St. Patrick).  We use the house system to encourage their work throughout the school, in the academic subjects as well as socially.  Children who have worked exceptionally hard or made excellent progress are awarded house points by their teachers.  In very special instances a credit (value three points) is awarded by the teacher and Headteacher.

A merit card is given to every child who accumulates ten house points, therefore giving value to his/her hard work and good behaviour.

Complaints procedure

Aims of the Complaints Procedure
- To ensure that everyone associated with St. Sampson's Junior School knows they have a right to make or withdraw complaints concerning any aspect of the services provided;
- To ensure that all persons know the process and procedures for making complaints;
- To ensure that all complaints are taken seriously and dealt with effectively and efficiently;
- To ensure that a record of complaint is kept;
- To ensure that staff and governors know how to deal with complaints
- To encourage an open and supportive environment where all people are valued and whose opinions are listened to and acted upon where reasonable.

What is a complaint?
A complaint might be made when a person:
- Has not been treated fairly or politely;
- Has not done something they should have done;
- Has done something badly.

Procedures
Normally any complaints are resolved at an informal level as a result of discussion with the headteacher or an appropriate member of staff.  Most complaints that arise are due to misunderstandings or misinterpretations so that a discussion with a relevant member of staff quickly resolves the problem.  If the problem cannot be resolved in this way then a more formal procedure must be followed. 

Attendance and Absence

We are required by law to record all attendances and absences and to publish those figures annually.  Days missed are either recorded as authorised or unauthorised.  An example of an authorised absence is illness.  At present we have 233 children on role and our level of absence for the school year 2004/2005 was 4.49% with 0.27% unauthorised absences. If your child is absent for any reason then please let us know by telephone and then follow this up with a letter when the child returns to school.

We are concerned over the number of children who are absent on holiday during term time.  We appreciate that, for some families, factory closures and dictated holiday dates leave them no choice.  We also recognise the pressure put on families by package holiday firms and travel agents, to take advantage of cheap off-peak rates.

"Absence for holiday" request forms are kept by the school secretary.  Please complete a form and send to the school office as early as possible prior to absence.  Your request will normally be agreed providing your child does not exceed 20 half days (i.e. 10 days) in any academic year.

We would, however, draw parents attention to the adverse effects such absences can have on your children.

Please remember:-

1. Children remaining out of school at the start of a new academic year (September) frequently find it very difficult to settle into their new class (especially on entry in Year 3).

2. Children taken out near the end of term often cannot be part of a concert or play thus losing this special educational experience.

3. Children with learning difficulties take a very long time to return to their previous achievement level.

4. Children in their final year (Year 6), who are taken out in the latter half of the summer term, miss out on visits to the secondary school, visits by secondary teachers and final celebratory events.

5. The school curriculum is carefully structured and record keeping and assessment is linked to the demands of the National Curriculum.  It is always difficult for children who have missed time off school to catch up with the areas of work they have missed

6. N.B.  Please avoid mid-May (May 8th - 12th 2006 & May 14th - May 18th 2007) as this is when Year 6 take their S.A.T.s  and all the children undertake various school assessments to determine progress, identify strengths and set targets for the future months/year.

Sickness and injury at school

If your child becomes ill at School and does not feel well enough to continue we will contact you in order for you to come and take them home.  If your son or daughter has been ill at home, please think carefully as to whether or not your child is well enough to come to school.  If your child has been sick during the night they will not be fit to learn and should really stay at home until they are fit, well and rested.

We do have several first aiders on our staff and we are happy to administer first aid for minor injuries.  If an injury is more serious we always contact parents or seek emergency medical assistance.  Please ensure that you keep us up to date with emergency contact numbers.  In the event of a bump on the head a letter is sent home with your child to inform you.

If you need to collect your child from school for a doctors or dentists appointment please make sure that you come into school to collect them and sign them out.  This is to make sure that we know at all times who is on the premises.

Medicines

Under some circumstances we will administer prescribed medicines and require a parent or guardian to come into school to inform us and fill in a medical consent form.  We keep all prescribed medicines safely in the school office.  We do not encourage children to have any non-prescribed medicines or cough/throat sweets in school.

School Uniform

To encourage our pupils to have a shared identity and be a part of the school community, we require our pupils to wear school uniform.  We regularly consult with all members of our school community over our school uniform.  Our school colours are Green for sweatshirts and Grey/Black for trousers or skirts, and black shoes.  (See appendix B for a full uniform and kit list for PE and swimming).  We sell school sweatshirts, book bags and PE shorts and t-shirts at a very reasonable price.  Please contact the school office directly to place your order or pick up the uniform. 

At the end of each term we often find that we have a lot of lost property.  We cannot return it to their owners if it is not named so we advise you to sew in name labels to items of school uniform as pen or biro labels wear off.

Please note:  No white trainers for daytime wear sensible shoes only. (Please no high heels or fashion items).  Children may bring trainers or a change of shoes to wear at break or lunchtime.

Jewellery

For safety reasons children are not permitted to wear jewellery to school.  We do allow stud earrings and wristwatches.  If your child has recently had their ears pierced please send sticking plasters to cover the earrings for the required period.  We ask that children do not wear earrings or watches to school on the days that they do PE or swimming.

School Meals

All our school meals are cooked on the infant school site by Sodexho and served in the junior school.   There is a choice of hot meal, a vegetarian option and a salad choice on a daily basis based on a generic menu.  The price of the meals is £1.75 per day and checks should be made payable Sodexho.  If you have a query or concern relating to school meals please contact the kitchen on 01793 752549.

Friends of St Sampson's Association (FSSA)

We have a very active school association called The FSSA.  The Friends of St. Sampson's consists of a small committee of parents and friends whose children are attending the school or who have some association with the school.  The committee concentrates on raising funds through a variety of activities and any monies raised help us to buy some of the bigger items to support the delivery of the curriculum and the day to day extras which add to life of the school.  Most recently The Friends bought the fantastic stage lighting in the hall - please come along.

Charging for school activities

We believe that the curriculum is enriched and learning is enhanced if children are able to receive educational experiences outside the curriculum or school environment.  We organise a variety of visitors, activities and residential trips for pupils.  Unfortunately we are unable to meet the costs of activities from our own funds so we do ask for voluntary contributions from parents.  If we do not receive enough voluntary contributions we reserve the right to cancel the activity and will return any monies already received by us.  If your child is unable to attend a visit or activity due to illness or another unexpected event we will refund the cost to you or if you have any difficulty in supporting the voluntary contribution please contact the Headteacher. 

We use the local swimming pool which enables the children to have regular swimming lessons in year 3, 4, 5 and for some children in year 6.  We do ask parents to make a voluntary contribution towards this valuable activity on a termly basis and again we would not be able to ensure our pupils received such good tuition without your support.  Finally we also have tuition available for pupils to learn a musical instrument.  This is organised by the school and the cost of this activity is met by parents.

School Organisation and National Curriculum Years

During 2005/2006 the school has 8 mixed ability single year classes.

Class 1 Year 3  Class 3 Year 4  Class 5 Year 5  Class 7 Year 6
Class 2 Year 3  Class 4 Year 4  Class 6 Year 5  Class 8 Year 6

This year, and for the foreseeable future, the school will maintain a roll of between 210-230 pupils.  We are fortunate at present because our numbers allow us to have two classes per year group and no mixed year group classes.

This may not always be possible.  Mixed classes are normal in most schools and do not hinder the children as all of our teachers divide the children into groups for academic subjects.  

Classes are sometimes regrouped to encourage the development of new friendships and different working structures and relationships.

Arrangements for next year 2006/07 will not be finalised until budget levels are announced in March 2006 but it is hoped that a similar eight-class system will be put into place. 

Children entering the junior school start in Year 3.  They move through Year 4 and Year 5 and leave for secondary education at the end of Year 6.

Homework

We set homework regularly and see this as a very important means of promoting attainment.  All pupils receive homework, usually relating to literacy, numeracy and science.  Sometimes we ask pupils to complete an ongoing task over an extended period of time.  Early in September your child's class teacher will contact you regarding particular arrangements for that year group.  Homework always relates to work taught or introduced during that week's lesson and your child will have received an explanation of the task.  Homework and/or reading records also provide an opportunity for written communication between home and school.  We do sometimes have a 'Homework Free' week during non-core weeks and we try to let you know in advance of these times.  We appreciate that your time is often short but do ask that you support your children with their work.  Homework is doubly effective when the pupil has someone to interact with and a quiet table at which to work.  See appendix C for a copy of our homework guidelines.

Transfer at 7 and 11 years

Links with St. Sampson's Infant School

Most of our pupils have transferred to us from St Sampson's Infants School.  The infant and junior school staff work closely to try to ensure that the children have as easy a transitional period as possible.  Future pupils are used to visiting our school for plays, music concerts, etc. and visits are made by the staff and the Headteacher to the Infant School to observe the children in action, to talk with them and to discuss each individual with the Headteacher and staff.

The children also join us for a full day with their teacher and one afternoon session, when they can usually meet their new teacher and become acquainted with their new classroom and environment.

In these ways we hope that their start will not be a traumatic occasion.  Parents who find their child has not settled after a couple of weeks should see the class teacher and/or myself to discuss how we can work together to solve any problems.

Links with Secondary Education

After Year 6 the children move to secondary education. Our school is part of the Bradon Forest catchment area and close links have been established to provide accurate information concerning their academic and social progress.  The co-ordinator for Year 7 visits our school, meeting the staff and pupils.  Discussions are held concerning each individual and all the children visit Bradon Forest on the three day induction programme, which helps them find their way around the buildings, understand the timetable and get to know the teachers (especially their form tutors).  Links continue, after the children have left, with form tutors meeting with the Headteacher later in the year to discuss how they have settled and how their work is progressing.  There are two other secondary schools in the area which we liaise closely with.  Farmor's School is in Fairford and Kingshill is in Cirencester.  Again we aim to work closely with these schools to ensure a smooth transition for all our children.

Out of Hours clubs

These activities provide the breadth of educational experiences, which the children need to fulfil their potential.  Our activities are, however, limited by available resources especially one multi-purpose hall and by the ever increasing pressure on teacher' workload, as all clubs are voluntary.

Some of the clubs that met during the last twelve months were as follows:-

- art 
- athletics (ten step and five star awards)
- drama rehearsals
- house tournaments (football and netball) 
- football training
- netball training
- recorders (descant, treble, tenor and ensemble)
- conservation
- science
- chess
- school newspaper

Some clubs are limited to certain year groups, often merely to restrict the numbers wishing to attend.

The clubs vary each year depending on the availability of staff and the interest of the children but our aim is to provide a wide range of interesting and educational experiences.

All children joining a club must firstly request their parents' permission and should recognise that to join a club requires a commitment on their part to attend regularly and, if necessary, to give an apology for absence to the teacher in charge.

Should it be necessary to cancel a club at short notice due to bad weather or staff illness, we allow the children who were to be met at 4.00p.m. to phone home or, if they cannot contact home, to wait at school under general adult supervision until you arrive.  Other children who walk home on their own are allowed to leave at the end of school as usual.  It is essential, therefore, that your children should know whether you will be at home at 3.15p.m. in case of cancellation, or what arrangements exist should they return to an empty house.  These cancellations are only made when absolutely necessary.

Annual Reports

School reports are sent out in July.  Comments are made on each area of the National Curriculum and the progress that your child has made.  There will be an opportunity for you to discuss this report with your child's teacher if you wish.

Travelling to School

Although the vast majority of children can walk safely to school, some of the older children in Years 5 & 6 ride bicycles.  Any child cycling to school must wear a cycle helmet and walk down the drive.

Teachers and parents give generously of their time to instruct pupils in a safe cycling course.  These courses are for children over nine years of age and letters are sent out prior to each course.

If your child is brought by car, please park your car or drop your child away from the school entrance.  We have occasionally received complaints from the police about the parking of cars outside the school gates, which at times has caused an obstruction to the fire engine when called out in an emergency.

The lay-by is needed for the school bus, which transports children to and from Latton.  Parents must not park in this space at the start or end of the school day.

At the end of a school day there are many children leaving the premises and we should like to make the area as safe as possible.