Prospectus
OTHER INFORMATION
AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
As required by the Education Reform Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2005, certain documents which relate to the School must be made available to those who express a wish to see them. The list of those documents will be constantly revised as new documents are published. The list currently includes:
· The School Prospectus
· The School’s Website (www.dunstableicknield.beds.sch.uk)
· The School’s curriculum policy statements
· The Local Authorities curriculum policy statements
· All schemes of work and syllabuses in use
· The School Profile
· The School’s latest OFSTED report and action plan
· The Local Authority’s complaints procedure
· The School’s charges and remission of charges policy
· All circulars and orders published by the Department of Education and Environment concerned with
Part 1, Chapter 1 of the Education Reform Act 1998
· The School’s Special Educational Needs Policy
· The Bedfordshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education.
Anyone wishing to see any of these documents or wishing to obtain a copy of any of them should contact the Headteacher in writing, giving the name of the person requesting the information, a correspondence address and a description of the information requested.
Certain information held by the school is still subject to the Data Protection Act, which includes all personal information held on staff and pupils and as such is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
LIBRARY
The School has a library arranged using the Dewey catalogue system. All children have class libraries. The children are actively encouraged to borrow books to read at home.
PTA
The School has an enthusiastic PTA and throughout the course of the year organise many fund-raising events. These are always well supported by both parents and staff and have resulted in many “extras” being purchased for the benefit of the children. e.g. The ICT Suite, outdoor classroom, the library.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
Parents are encouraged to come into school to help. All parents/carers are required to have CRB clearance (police clearance) prior to helping in school.
CHILD PROTECTION AND CHILD IN NEED PROCEDURES
The first priority is your child’s welfare, there may be occasions when our concern about your child means that we have to consult with other agencies even before we contact you. The Bedfordshire Area Child Protection Committee has laid down the procedures we follow.
Child Protection Referral
Section 47 (1) of the Children Act 1989 giver the local authority a duty to investigate when it is suspected or found that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. The local authority will then make enquiries from other agencies to enable them to decide whether they should take any action to safeguard or promote the child’s welfare.
As a school we have a statutory duty to assist social services department acting on behalf of children in need or enquiring into allegations of child abuse. As well as this statutory duty we have a pastoral responsibility towards our pupils and we recognise that pupils have a fundamental right to be protected from harm. Children cannot learn effectively unless they feel safe and secure. We therefore have a child protection policy, which reflects both our statutory duty and our pastoral responsibilities.
If we have a concern that a child has been abused or is at risk of abuse, we have a duty to refer this to social services. In making any referral, the school is not making any judgement for example about individual parents or carers. It is for social services to decide whether there should be an investigation.
Child in Need Referral
There may be other circumstances (which are not to do with child protection, but more related to meeting children’s needs) when we feel that you and your family may benefit from some support from other agencies i.e. social services. Before we can do this we will need to seek your permission. We will then complete documentation relating to a common assessment framework. This will enable the most appropriate services to support
SECURITY
As you will appreciate, security is a high priority in all schools. For the safety of the children we operate the following precautions.
Between the hours of 9.05 a.m. and 3.15 p.m. all doors are locked.
Visitors may gain access via the main schoolo entrance and are asked to report to the office and sign a visitors’ book whereupon they are given a visitor’s badge to wear. They are required to sign out when l;eaving the building.
No child will be allowed to leave the school premises with anyone other than a pre-determined person unless notification is given to the office, personally or by telephone by the parent or person in charge of the child.
GOVERNING BODY
There are twelve members of the Governing Body comprising as follows:
4 parents elected by the parent body
Mrs J Bentley
Mr I Rabjohn
Mrs L Perry
Mr C Lavin
3 Staff Governors Including the Headteacher
Mrs L Prewett
Mrs R Harrison
Mrs J Beswetherick
3 community or co-optative members elected by the Governing Body.
Mrs R Lyddiard (Chair)
Mr D Hose
Mrs J Butler (Vice Chair)
2 LA Governors
The Chair of the Governors is: Mrs R Lyddiard
Dunstable Icknield Lower School
The Clerk to the Governors is: Mrs J Palmer
Dunstable Icknield Lower School
Governors’ meetings are usually held once a term with sub-committees more frequently.
ACTIVITIES TO SHARE WITH YOUR CHILD
Suggested Activities
Cutting out from magazines and matching pictures.
Using scissors appropriately.
Making sets of- toys, food, clothes, shapes, colours, size using objects or pictures.
Counting- count toys, cutlery, chairs, shoes etc.
count going up stairs, e.g. one, two, three…….
first, second, third….
Helping to Lay Table- 1 : 1 correspondence – cutlery, plates, cups etc.
Play board games snakes and ladders
snap
dominoes
colour games
jigsaws
Moving Left to Right- (for reading writing)
Follow the text with finger as parent/adult reads.
Positional Vocabulary- put the toy in the chair
look under the bed
Recall and recount events
Discuss differences between objects
Play “Simon Says”
Learn Nursery Rhymes
Create an awareness of Seasons, Months, Days, Weeks, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Begin to identify own name
Be able to identify own possessions – coat, toys etc
Practise putting on coats and shoes (role play activities)
THE SCHOOL OPERATES A STRICT NO SMOKING POLICY IN THE ENTIRE SCHOOL SITE BOTH DURING AND OUT OF SCHOOL HOURS. SIGNS ARE CLEARLY DISPLAYED IN ACCORDANCE WITH LEGISLATION.
FINALLY.
Each child is unique
They look different
Behave differently
Develope at different rates
Learn at different times and in different ways
So for their sake please do not compare them with other children
We are delighted to have your family with us, we hope that you will be happy in our school