prospectus - halterworth primary school · prospectus curiosity, innovation and excellence 01794...

PROSPECTUS

CUR IOS I TY, I NNOVAT ION AND EXCELLENCE

01794 [email protected]

If you would like to visit Halterworth at any time pleasetelephone the school office to make an appointment withthe Executive Headteacher or another member of staff.

www.halterworth.hants.sch.uk

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Halterworth Primary Schoolopened in 1971. The school is situated on the outskirts ofRomsey, about six miles fromSouthampton and within easyreach of the New Forest andthe coast. We have beautifulgrounds with extensive playing fields.

The school is well resourcedwith an extensive library and a purpose-built ICT Studio.

Each classroom has an interactive white-board, and there are also 2 laptoptrolleys, as well as 32 ipadsfor use in the classroomsacross the whole school.

Our laptops and iPads are accessed using a managedwireless system, and our ICTequipment is managed byHCC IT Services Department.We also have our own radiostation.

Children are supervised from8.45am until 3.50pm, unlessa child is staying for an after-school activity. We requestthat children should not beon the premises before8.45am unless they are attending the HalterworthBreakfast Club. Our schooloffice is open to help you between 8.30am and 4.00pm

The marking where a child evaluates in greenand the teacher responds is powerful. I sawlots of examples in the books of teachersmodelling or exemplifying what they expectthe child to address. The children are engagedwith this marking, feel part of it and could allgive me examples of how it has moved theirwork forward. District Manager - Hampshire County Council

Morning Session8.55am - 12noon

Afternoon Session 1.20pm - 3.30pm (KS1)1.15pm - 3.40pm (KS2)

Halterworth Primary School follows HampshireCounty Council’s policy foradmissions. A copy of thispolicy can be found on ourwebsite.

Children join us in YR, whichis Reception part of the EarlyYears Foundation Stage frommany pre-school settingsand we endeavour to makecontact with these prior tothe children starting school.Our induction programme includes inviting the childrento fun storytime sessionsprior to starting school. Reception Staff will carry outhome visits at the beginningof the autumn term to helpyou and your child preparefor starting school.

Currently all 3 and 4 yearolds must be provided with a minimum of 15 hours perweek of pre-school education.Year R children attend schoolpart-time for a small propor-tion of the autumn term de-pending on their age.

Our School Vision:To develop ambitious, confident, caring, respectfuland tolerant young adults ofthe future, who take an activerole in their communities andbelieve that they have avoice in shaping the future.

Our School Aims:We will encourage our pupils to:

• Achieve more than they thought possible

• Become courageous and inquisitive learners who seek challenge

• Develop an emotional maturity and resilient attitudes

• Be polite, caring and respectful towards others

• Enjoy talking about their learning!

Learning Values:REACH for Success is aphrase which is understoodby all staff and pupils. Itdescribes the learners that we want to nurture at Halterworth:

ResilientEnthusiasticAdaptableCreative and Helpful.

Our children recognise theselearning values through a series of animals and workhard to achieve certificatesand awards for these skillsand attitudes.

HOLLYThe Helpful Husky

ROLLO The Resilient Rhino

ANTON The Adaptable Anteater

EDDIE The Eager Eagle

COCO The Creative Chameleon

School sweatshirts, cardigans,T-shirts, fleeces (for outdoorwear) and tracksuits withlogo may be purchased from Skoolkit in Eastleigh, Direct4Logos in Romsey, or John Lewis in Southampton. Baseballcaps, book bags and P.E.bags may be purchasedfrom the School Office.

Trainers, boots or heavysoled shoes should not beworn. High heeled shoesshould not be worn. Jewellery(apart from watches andstuds in pierced ears) mustnot be worn.

In Year R we request that parents send in a spare pairof Wellington boots for outdoor use.

P.E. ClothingChildren should wear shorts (preferably maroon)and a white gym t-shirt withschool motif.

All children will require plimsolls (preferably pull on style or velcro for young children) or trainers and anamed drawstring bag inwhich to keep their kit.

Children will take part in outdoor games throughoutthe year, weather permitting,therefore, it is advisable thatyour child has a tracksuit andplimsolls or trainers availablein school for this purpose.

All long hair must be tiedback for P.E. lessons, soplease provide a hair band if needed. P.E. kit should bekept in school during theweek and taken home atweekends to be washed. All jewellery must be re-moved or covered for P.E.lessons.

The H.S.A. (HalterworthSchool Association) offer forsale items of second hand uniform. These are on saleeach weekday, but also atthe Christmas and SummerFayres. If you require itemsat other times please see the school office for contactdetails.

All clothing and personal belongingsshould be clearlymarked with yourchild’s name.

01794 512028 I [email protected] I www.halterworth.hants.sch.uk

CuriosityWe believe that children who ask great questions of themselves and others become enthusiastic learnersand leaders for the future.

InnovationAs a school we seek to challenge what we do, sothat we offer the very bestopportunities for our pupilspossible.

ExcellenceIt really matters to us thateveryone who is part of our school, works hard toachieve the very best thatthey can be.

Halterworth is a Healthy School and to this end takes the healthand well being of all children seriously. This encompasses boththe physical and emotional aspects of healthy living.

School dinners:At Halterworth we activelypromote healthy eating. HC3S provides our schoolmeals which are currentlyavailable at a cost of £2.00*per day. We ask that you payin advance for meals taken.Any credits for meals nottaken can be carried forwardto the following week.

If you think your child may be entitled to freeschool meals, please speak to our Admin Officefor details or use the onlinechecking service at:www3.hants.gov.uk/caterers/hc3s-freeschoolmeals.

Packed lunches: Children may bring packedlunches to school. We requestthat these are packed inclearly labelled lunch boxes.

Water is provided at eachtable, or you may provide a carton of juice stored withinthe lunch box. We do not permit children to bring incans or glass bottles for safety reasons and requestthat sweets and chocolates do not form part of a packedlunch. Chilled and filteredwater is available for childrenin the corridors.

We believe that sport and exercise are vital to a child’s development and that physical activity is paramountin maintaining a healthylifestyle. This aim has beenreflected in our schoolachieving Healthy SchoolsStatus.

Through curriculum lessonsand extra-curricular clubs, the children experience awide variety of sports whilstat our school. Please see our website for the current list of activities and clubs.

Hard work, commitment, enthusiasm and skill is recognised by children becoming members ofschool teams in Tag Rugby,Netball, Football, Roundersand Athletics, where theyplay against other localschools in festivals and tournaments. Our Y6 pupilshave the opportunity to become Sports Leaders, this entails designing andleading sporting activities for younger pupils.

Achievements are celebratedthrough assemblies where certificates and medals areawarded. Children also regularly write reports onsporting events for “In theNews”- in order that parentsare aware of achievementsand results.

It was truly amazing to see such consistentlyhigh quality, professional commitment andexpertise throughout the school that was reflected in the children’s very impressivestandards of work and behaviour.

It is very important that wepromote good attendance.Our statistics are recordedand reported upon to the DfE annually. The Education Welfare Service (EWS) inHampshire may choose toissue penalty notices forunauthorised absence in excess of the permittedthreshold.

Authorised absence fromschool is when a child isaway from school due toillness and notification is received to confirm this, or a request for absence is approved by the Headteacherin exceptional circumstances*only (from September 2013there is no longer provision in law for Headteachers to authorise absence fromschool for the purpose ofterm time for holiday.)

We do not want to be in a position of a penalty noticebeing issued to any parent at Halterworth and this canbe achieved by ensuringterm-time absence is kept to a minimum.

If your child is unwell and unable to attend school weask that you inform the officeby 10.00am. We ask that youprovide a covering letter onthe day of return to school forrecord purposes.


Sir Jim Rose (visit to school June 2014)

*Price correct at time of going to print and is subject to change.

If your child is unwell atschool we will contact you or your preferred contact tomake arrangements withyou. If children are poorlythey just want to be at homewith parents, so please ensure that contact detailsand telephone numbers arekept up to date with theschool office.

Appointments during school time:We ask that you inform yourchild’s teacher of any dentalor medical appointmentsduring the school day. Youwill need to collect your child from the school office,signing them out and in ontheir return to school.

Medicines:If your child requires prescribed medicine duringthe school day, we ask thatyou complete a “Medicinesin School” form clearly stating the dosage required.The medicine will be lockedin the fridge or cupboard inthe medical room. In somecases it may not be possibleto administer medication, forexample, eye drops, injectionsand cream. If your child requires regular medicines,e.g. asthma inhaler, please inform the office.

Due to restrictions placedupon us in the provision of certain medication, we will contact you to seek permission to administer anti-histamine for insect stings.

Infectious Diseases:Some childhood ailments require a period of absencefrom school. There areguidelines for each type of infection and the schooloffice will be able to adviseyou of the requirements, although a child may seemwell.

Accidents may happen fromtime to time, however, we carryout risk assessments to endeavour to establish safeworking practice with all activities.

If your child has an accident or is unwell aqualified first aider will assess the situation andmay contact you if yourattendance at school isrequired.

We promote high standardsof behaviour for everyone.We value good manners andcourtesy and encourage ourchildren to develop good social skills. From time totime children make mistakesand we work sensitively tocorrect those mistakes bytalking with children abouttheir behaviour and the impactit may have upon others. Ifthose mistakes becomemore persistent we do nothesitate to inform you as parents so that we can workpositively together.

There are many challengesfor children when they joinschool. Learning to live and work alongside a large number of other people is difficult and we aim to encourage appreciation andunderstanding of everyone.

When your child starts school you will be contactedby our School Health Teambased at North BaddesleyHealth Centre. You will be invited to come into school to meet the School Nurseand your child will have ahealth assessment. If yourchild has particular medicalneeds this will be an opportunity to discuss them with the health team.

If you have concerns about your child later intheir school life, you arewelcome to speak to the School Nurse. The telephone number is02380 743416.

We recognised the power that strongconsistency and high expectationscan bring... it made us truly understandwhat good behaviour for learning really looks like.


Visiting senior leaders (May 2014)

These lessons need to belearnt within the classroomand in the playground. Weask that you prepare yourchild by discussing ways inwhich they can share andtake turns.

The school rules are revisitedannually to ensure that allchildren understand the reasons for their presence andthe importance of keepingthem. Reward systems encourage good effort andbehaviour. Individual and classrewards are issued each weekand celebrated in assemblies.

Exclusion: In the unlikelyevent that your child mayneed to be excluded fromschool for a period of timeyou will have the right tomake representations to theGoverning Body.

From time to time we mayneed to work with otheragencies to provide supportfor a child. These may be Social Services, Speech and Language Therapy, Educational PsychologyOccupational Therapy andthe Behaviour Support Team. You will be informedby the school and if yourchild’s needs are due to be considered.

Halterworth Breakfast Club isbased in our school hall,from 7.45am until 9.00am.After School Club, is alsobased in the school hall andMontfort Hall (oppositeschool) is available until6.00pm. An Inset Day Clubis also available subject toadequate numbers indicatedfor prior booking.

We are able to signpost you to Holiday Clubs in thelocality operated by Kidzplay.However, there are severalactivitiy clubs that take pakeplace at Halterworth and atMountbatten Schools thatyou may wish your child toparticipate in.

Details of these servicescan be obtained from Kidz Play UK on 02380 776579 www.kidzplayuk.comor email: [email protected]

• Parent-teacher meetingsare held twice a year givingparents the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress with the teacher and to look at examples of their work. Of course, parents are welcome to meet with the teacher or the Executive Headteacherto discuss any questions or concerns they may have,but please remember, first thing in the morning may not be the best time as teachers are preparing for the day.

• Before the end of the summer term, parents are invited to a ‘transfer’ meeting to meet their child’s next teacher. This enables parents to be briefed on the routines for the coming year and to ask questions about the transition.

• Early Years staff and the Executive Headteacher liaise closely with our main feeder pre-school, visiting on a regular basis. Other pre-schools are visited during the summer term and home visits take place before children start school. Similarly good liaison takesplace between Year 6 staff and the two Romsey secondary schools.

• In some year groups a meeting with all parents willbe held to discuss a singletopic e.g. to explain Key Stage Tests (SATs) to parents of children in Year 6 or the content of Sex andRelationships Education in Year 5.

• Parent volunteers: On any school day you will find many parent volunteers in the classrooms helping with a wide range of tasks, from listening to children read to getting their hands dirty with glue and junk modelling! Some parents like to offer help on a regular basis, others on school trips. If you would like to help in school you will need to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service check which can be initiated by the school office. If you help with your child’s class trip, in the interests of safety you will be asked to work with other children in small groups rather than your own child. This is a recommendation made by the Hampshire Outdoor Education Service. Whatever help parents canoffer is gratefully accepted and highly appreciated.

We believe that parents are vital partners in their child’s education and we encourage open communication and close working relationships between parents and staff.

• Parents are invited into school to watch regular events such as celebration assemblies, Christmas production, sports days etc.

• We have a very active Parent Teacher Associationcalled the Halterworth School Association (H.S.A)which raises thousands of pounds each year to buy equipment and resources to enhance children’s education - but it is involvedin much more than just fundraising. The H.S.A creates closer links betweenhome and school, and brings staff, parents and friends together socially in support of the school. And it’s fun! All parents and members of the school community can get involvedif they want to, even if they only have a small amount of time available, and all parents are automatically members of the H.S.A when their children join ourschool. Not all events are run purely as fundraisers. For example, children’s discos and fayres are run with the aim of providing the children and their families with enjoyment and to develop a community spirit.


At Halterworth PrimarySchool our aim is to provideequality of opportunities forall children to participate inevery aspect of school life,paying due regard to healthand safety and pupils’ age,aptitude and ability.

We recognise that individualsare unique and have differingneeds. We are committed toequality of opportunities forall pupils irrespective of gender, race, disability orsocio-economic backgroundand recognise that discrimination, whether openor masked, can lead to inequality of educational opportunity and thereforestrive to ensure that the potential of all pupils is maximised. We believe thatlow expectation and under-achievement mitigate againstpupils and we therefore sethigh standards for everyone.Children with disabilities willnot be treated less favourablyand will have their needs metthrough a range of strategiesand processes.

Our exciting enquiry basedcurriculum engages childrenwith learning by developingthinking skills and equippingthem to become lifelonglearners who are able to raise questions, partake indeep thinking and reflect on their learning. There is a strong emphasis put on‘learning to learn’ alongsidebuilding resilient learners with a growth mindset*.

Learning is organised aroundthemed cross-curricular challenges which providepurposeful opportunitieswhich harness children’s inquisitive nature. Whilst English, Maths and Scienceare always at the core, the‘drivers’ for our LearningChallenges are History, Geography and IT. Challengesencompass a wide variety of subjects such as Music,Design Technology, Dance,Art and Drama within a meaningful context.

English, Maths, Computing,PE, PSHE / SMSC and RE are taught through a crosscurricular and individual subject approach. Examplesof our learning challenges include: What makes theearth angry? Who were theearly law makers? Whatwould a journey through your body look like? Who first lived in Britain?

Meaningful curricular linksare a made with the localcommunity and emphasisgiven to children engagingwith current affairs. This enables our children toquestion and have an awareness of the worldaround them.

In accordance with nationallyrecognised good practice we introduce the teaching ofsynthetic phonics in a livelyand fun way from the beginning (Miskin Phonics).This is progressed throughoutthe school, enabling childrento become proficient in reading and writing.

When your child is ready,reading books will be senthome for you to share withyour child. It may be that picture books are providedinitially. These serve to developunderstanding of story andcharacter development. Simple vocabulary is introduced gradually andcareful assessment ofprogress is monitored continually. As children become more confident and fluent readers theyprogress through our readingschemes to become ‘freereaders’. Children in KS2 use Accelerated Reader to develop stronger comprehension skills. Allchildren read daily.

Children are taught torecognise, write andunderstand the conceptof number through a varietyof learning methods. Theseskills are essential to ensurethat each child can progresstheir learning. We use arange of schemes, practicalresources and materials toensure that children developexcellent mathematical skillsand understanding.

Some children may need additional support or intervention to progress their learning. This can be provided through earlyscreening for phonic development, additional support or booster provisionand small group teachingopportunities. We aim to include all children in theirclass lessons. However, itmay be necessary to carryout formal assessment of individual need to ensurethat the appropriate pro-grammes of learning are pro-vided.

If this is required for yourchild, this will be discussedwith you and an IndividualEducation Plan (IEP) prepared.You will be asked to sign andreview this on a regularbasis, ensuring that goodcommunication takes place.A small number of childrenmay require a statutory assessment of their needs.This is carried out by an Educational Psychologist inclose liaison with the Schooland any other agencies.

Homework is set in a varietyof forms, dependent on age.The aim of homework is toprovide opportunity for children to extend their learning through additionaltasks at home. This may take the form of regular reading, the practice of keywords, completion of brieftasks or revision for assessments. Each child will be provided with a homework book/folder.

The school has a robustChild Protection Policy andfollows Hampshire CountyCouncil Procedures regardingchild safety and welfare. Byfollowing these procedures,the school has a duty to referany serious concerns aboutthe well-being of pupils to the Children’s Services Department.


The governors have decidedthat Sex and RelationshipsEducation should be a part of the curriculum at Halterworth School. Theysupport the recommendationof Hampshire Education Committee that Sex and Relationships Educationshould be part of the Personaland Social Education of allpupils. The PSHE (includingHealth Education) Scheme of Work ensures that Sex and Relationships Educationis taught throughout theschool.

Sex and Relationships Education has been woveninto PSHE to allow continuityand progression across the curriculum and to make it appropriate to different yeargroups from Reception toYear 6. Issues such as: special people, friendships,personal hygiene, birth andreproduction, peer pressureand self respect are covered.Parents/carers who requirefurther information about thecontent of the detailed planning programme for allchildren should contact theheadteacher and copies areavailable on request.

In a growth mindset students understand thattheir talents and abilities can be developedthrough effort, good teaching and persistence.They don’t necessarily think everyone’s the sameor anyone can be Einstein, but they believeeveryone can get smarter if they work at it. Carol Dweck

The effort from teachers, teaching assistants and parents was very much appreciated and enabled those fantastic, enthusiastic children a chance to shine.

Educational visits are organised for the childrenfrom time to time during theyear to enhance the curriculum.In order to fund trips and visits which take place duringthe school day, we ask forvoluntary contributions fromparents. We work to keepthese costs to a minimumwith sufficient notice to enable parents to meet thecosts. For residential visitscharges will be made forboard and lodging, with additional contributions fortransport arrangements. If you are in receipt of freeschool meals a reduction will be made for the costs associated with board and lodging.

From time to time your childwill make items in Designand Technology and FoodTechnology which can bebrought home. The schoolmay need to charge for thesupply of ingredients or materials for such items.

I look forward to meeting you and your child and welcoming you to our school.

From Year 2 children are offered the opportunity to learn the recorder. As children progress throughthe school additional instrumental provision is available through the Hampshire County MusicService. Peripatetic staff offer a range of musical instruments for group andsolo tuition. Details will besent home in the schoolnewsletters when your childreaches this age group. Acharge is made each term to help offset the cost ofthese lessons.

Y5 parent (March 2014)

Jo Cottrell NLE (National Leader of Education) Executive Headteacher

prospectus - halterworth primary school · prospectus curiosity, innovation and excellence 01794...

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