Bielefeld School
Information for Parents 2012/13 School prospectus
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BIELEFELD SCHOOL
Mr Mark Westmoreland, Head Teacher Bielefeld School Catterick Barracks BFPO 39 Civilian address: Britische Schule Detmolder Strasse 440 33605 Bielefeld E-mail: sce.bielefeld@sceschools.com Website: www.bielefeldschool.com Telephone: Bielefeld military (81) 3840 From UK: 0049 521 9254 3480 Fax: Bielefeld Military (81) 3124 From UK: 0049 521 9254 3124 School Hours: Foundation Stage 1 9.30-12.30 (day care 9-9.30 & 12.30-3.00) Foundation Stage 2 & Key Stage One: 0845 - 1510 Key Stage Two: 0845 – 15.10
Parent Unit: 24 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps British Forces Post Office 39 2
Contents
Introduction: Letter from the Head teacher Welcome to Service Children’s Education (SCE) The Aims of Bielefeld School: ‘In Pursuit of Excellence’ All About Bielefeld School The Curriculum Visits Sex Education Sport & Clubs Music Admissions Procedures Foundation stage (3-5 year olds) Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) Meetings, Reports & Information Leaving Bielefeld/ Transfer Arrangements E-Newsletters & Website Homework and Planners Home Readers, Library & Book Shop Attendance, Sickness & Absence Medicines in School Medical & Dental Inspections Healthy Eating & School Meals School Uniform Valuable Possessions School Rules & Discipline School Buses & Transport Arrangements Parents and School School Governance Committee (SGC) Friends of Bielefeld School (FoBS) Complaints
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Dear Parents, Welcome to Bielefeld and to Bielefeld School. This booklet is intended to state our aims and approaches and help to familiarise you with some of the more important policies and administrative arrangements at the school. Our mission statement is “Learning and Growing together� which states our main aims to ensure that your child makes good educational progress in a nurturing, caring and happy environment that provides the very best all round education possible for your child. We aim to provide a rich, exciting, broad and balanced curriculum, which will match the needs and abilities of all children. We are committed to promoting equal opportunities throughout the school. We strive to help all children acquire self-esteem, self-discipline and enjoyment of the learning process within a stimulating environment. We consider the parent school partnership to be a vital part of your child’s education. By developing a positive relationship and through working closely together, we can ensure that your child gets the highest quality of education possible. There are a number of events throughout the school year that enable you to come into school to work alongside your child. In addition to these planned events, you are most welcome to visit the school at any time during the school year. We are here to help in any way we can, so please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any concerns about your child. We will do our best to ensure that your child has a happy and successful time at Bielefeld school and we look forward to working in partnership with you. Yours sincerely, Mr. Mark Westmoreland Headteacher September 2012
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Service Children’s Education (SCE) Service Children’s Education (SCE) is an Agency of the MOD and is dedicated to the education of the children of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, MoD Personnel and sponsored organisations stationed overseas. SCE seeks to provide a first class system of schools and educational support services and aims to provide an effective and efficient education service, from Foundation Stage through to sixth form, and to enable children to benefit from their residence abroad. Our schools follow the National Curriculum (England), administer national assessments and public examinations, and are inspected by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate (HMI). Teachers in SCE schools must have recognised UK professional qualifications and the majority are recruited specially from the United Kingdom for service in our schools. We are pleased to say that our examination and assessment results place us among the leading Local Authorities in the United Kingdom. Reports by the Office for Standards in Education (OfSTED), which provides an independent inspection service for our schools, have been consistently good and compare very favourably with those made on UK schools. The work of schools is backed by our own Inspection Advisory Service which provides the necessary in-service training facilities to ensure that our schools are conversant with developments in the United Kingdom.
Mission To provide an effective and efficient education service, from Foundation Stage through to sixth form, for dependent children residing with MOD personnel serving outside the United Kingdom, and to enable those children to benefit from their residence abroad. Ethos Excellence, Respect, Integrity and Commitment Vision SCE aims for excellence, both as a provider of educational services to the children and families that it serves and as an employer. It therefore aims to: • • •
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be the best do the best for all pupils and students by seeking to ensure that all achieve their full potential in every aspect of school life whilst with SCE do the best for our teaching, support and office staff in all locations by offering comprehensive, relevant and timely training opportunities for their own professional and career development to enrich their work with children or in support of the Agency raise aspiration as well as achievement
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The Aims of Bielefeld School “Learning and growing together” We are proud to be an inclusive school providing a high quality, creative and challenging learning environment in which all members of the school community can grow in self-esteem and develop their full potential At Bielefeld School we aim: • To ensure that all children are safe, • To promote all children’s health and healthy choices, • To ensure that all children enjoy and achieve at school, • To ensure that all children have a good grounding in the basic skills to prepare them for future education and employment, • To ensure that all children are able to make a positive contribution to the society and culture of the school, their family and the wider community. In order to achieve these aims the school will seek to: • • • • • • • • • • •
Have high expectations of children and what they can achieve Provide an inclusive school that is a just, stimulating, caring, happy and safe environment for all stakeholders Engage all stakeholders in the work of the school through effective communication Provide a broad, balanced, exciting curriculum that is well matched to individual needs and in line with statutory requirements Provide equality of access to the curriculum for all children Provide opportunities for staff development through a supportive and challenging professional environment To manage, organise and deploy human, physical and financial resources as efficiently and effectively as possible Continuously improve the quality of provision and raise standards of achievement through a process of review and critical reflection Promote close and mutually supportive home/school links Promote close and mutually supportive links with the military community Provide opportunities for children to learn from the experience of living in Germany
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All About Bielefeld School At the end of last academic year, there were approximately 370 children on roll between the ages of 3 and 11. We anticipate that numbers will change slightly as we undergo a short period of transition as pupils from 7 Regiment move back to the UK and we await children from JHQ mowing to Bielefeld. Currently, the majority of our children are from the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) regiments that are based in Catterick Barracks or G端tersloh. There are however a sizeable percentage of the population whose parents are civilian and who work for one of the many army support agencies. Foundation Stage children are currently situated in the Foundation Stage block on the school site. Once planned building work is completed, FS2 children will then be relocated to a new classroom base on the ground floor of the main building. This will provide them with improved access to the outdoor learning environment. There are 19 full time teachers, including a Foundation stage leader, a Key Stage 1 Leader, an assistant headteacher, a deputy headteacher and a head teacher. There are also a number of teaching assistants and key workers who work with groups of children throughout the school. Children are organised into year groups including: Foundation Stage One (3-4 yrs), Foundation Stage Two (4-5 yrs), Key Stage 1(5-7 yrs) and Key Stage 2 (7-11 yrs). The school is housed in two buildings, one a converted barrack block, and the other a purpose built two-storey building. The older block has three floors used by the school and contains the offices, staffrooms, a small gymnasium, library, two computer suites, various general purpose/resource rooms and classrooms for Key Stage One and Two. The new block contains classrooms for the Foundation Stage, a large hall (part of which is normally set up for school meals) kitchens and storerooms. There are two playground areas and an adventure play area. The KS2 area has been extensively refurbished and provides outstanding outdoor play facilities. The KS1 playground is due to be refurbished in October 2012. A sports field adjacent to the KS2 playground is used for outdoor P.E. There is also an outdoor play area for Foundation aged children.
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The school is well equipped with various Information Communication Technology (ICT) resources. Wireless networking is in operation throughout the school linking all the computers to each other and all the classrooms are equipped with data projectors and interactive whiteboards or plasma screens. The school website may be found at www.bielefeldschool.com .
The Curriculum Service Children’s Schools follow the same National Curriculum as schools in England and Wales. This consists of the four core subjects: English, Mathematics, Science and ICT. These subjects account for approximately 60% of the children’s time in school. In common with the majority of schools in the UK, Bielefeld School follows the National Primary Strategy. Other subjects which make up our whole school curriculum are: History, Geography, Design and Technology, Music, Art, Physical Education, Religious Education, Personal and Health, Social Education and German. Religious Education is provided in accordance with an agreed SCE syllabus. Anglican, Free Church and Roman Catholic padres regularly visit the school and take non-denominational assemblies. Morning assemblies and RE both play an important part in developing sound moral attitudes and codes of behaviour. Parents are at liberty to withdraw their children from all or part of the religious education and collective acts of worship. German is taught by a combination of specialist language teachers and the class teacher.
Karneval
Visits As an extension to the curriculum children in both key stages go out on day trips, and children in Key Stage 2 take part in a residential field trip each year. The school also hosts visiting performers, such as Theatre companies and musicians, from time to time. Parents are requested to make a contribution to cover the cost of these events. If you are interested in being a helper for trips and visits please let the office know so that we can undertake the necessary clearance procedures that will enable you to work directly with children. Y6 away at Dümmersee
Relationship Education The school has a policy of teaching sex and relationship education which has been developed and agreed by the SGC. Parents are able to see the policy and to preview and discuss the materials and resources used prior to the programme 8
being taught. Parents are reminded of their right, should they wish to exercise it, to withdraw their children from the sessions that are run by the Health Visitor for the pupils in Year 5 and 6.
Sport Children are taught a range of competitive sports within the curriculum. Lunch-time and after-school clubs are run by teachers and volunteer helpers, and offer a range of different sports such as football, netball, cricket, rounders and athletics. Fixtures and tournaments are arranged to give pupils the chance to represent the school and to compete against other children. The school benefits from good sporting facilities including two small indoor areas, two large playgrounds and the use of the resident regiment’s playing field.
Swimming Children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 have swimming lessons during the year. Parents charged a small amount for these lessons at the beginning of the term. charge is to cover the entrance cost to the swimming pool. Parents also charged a contribution toward the badges and awards that children may get through the swimming sessions.
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Clubs There is a programme of after school clubs on Tuesdays and Thursdays for children. These offer a wide range of activities that will appeal to the interests of all children. There is Youth Club provision in the on-site youth centre for children in Years 5 and 6 hosted by AWS. We also offer a range of clubs that take place during the school lunch break. Clubs are supervised by volunteer members of staff and interested parents. If you have an interest which you feel would be suitable for a club activity or would like to help out please do contact the School Secretary. Transport is provided to take children home from clubs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1610 hrs. These journeys can be longer than normal as routes are combined. •
It may be necessary to cancel clubs at short notice and, on these occasions, children may sometimes arrive home at the end of the normal school day. Parents and children should therefore have contingency plans for these occasions. 9
Music A team of peripatetic music teachers, based at the SCE Music Centre in G端tersloh, visit the school each week. You should contact the school office if you would like your child to receive musical instrument tuition. The music centre also runs a Saturday morning music school in G端tersloh for those children receiving this type of tuition. Bielefeld school has also introduced some Wider Opportunities Projects for children in Key Stage 2. These are music programmes that involve the whole class teaching of instruments. The projects are co-ordinated and run by the school in conjunction with G端tersloh Music Centre. As part of their music curriculum, classes are given the loan of an instrument and receive a weekly whole class lesson to teach them how to play the instrument as well as developing their general musicianship. The loan of the instruments is free for these projects. This year provision is as follows: Y3 will learn Ukulele, Y4 will learn violin or clarinet, Y5 will have the opportunity to learn a brass instrument, and Y6 will have the opportunity to learn the guitar. Projects will run for the year. If children would like to continue receiving private tuition beyond the end of a project, lessons can be arranged through G端tersloh Music Centre. Forms for this can be obtained from the school office.
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Admission Procedures Please contact the Bielefeld school office to make an admission interview appointment. You will be asked to complete paperwork to register your child at the school. You will need to bring any documents given to you by your child’s previous school. You will also need your child’s birth certificate or passport for proof of identity and date of birth.
Children building ‘dens’ at lunchtime!
When the paperwork is complete you will be given a short admission meeting by the head teacher. This meeting is an opportunity to find out more about your child to help them settle into the school. Your child will then normally start school shortly afterwards at a mutually convenient time. Children are assessed shortly after entry to the school so that we can ensure that their needs are fully met. This usually consists of a phonics and reading assessment, a mathematics assessment and an analysis of their writing. Your child’s class teacher will arrange a settling in meeting approximately three weeks after the child has started to provide an opportunity to discuss how your child has settled and how best to further support their learning.
• Foundation Stage (3-5 year olds) Children will be eligible to be admitted to Foundation Stage One at the start of the term after their third birthday. Transfer to Foundation Two, and later to Key Stage One, will be automatic. Children are not required by law to attend educational provision until they are five, however, most parents do make use of this facility. The school also runs Extended Day Care provision for the parents of children in Foundation One that wish to make use of these facilities. Please see the separate Foundation Stage brochures for more details of the Foundation Stage care.
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• Admission guidance for parents of pupils with Special or Additional Educational Needs (SAEN) It is mandatory under single Service instructions for Service personnel to register a dependant with special or additional needs with Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS) and their personnel career branch. (Appendix 1) The processes are as applicable to dependants of the civilian component as they are to Service personnel. Civil. Service instructions require personnel to register their dependant’s special needs if considering an overseas assignment. Process Service parents/carers of a school age dependant with special or additional needs are required to register with CEAS. Any delay in registering with CEAS may have an effect on the time it takes to carry out the formal assessment process. Members of the civilian component should register with CEAS prior to accepting an assignment overseas. If you are in doubt contact the school prior to posting and we will put you in contact with the relevant agencies for further advice.
Children with Special or Additional Educational Needs (SAEN) Every effort is made to identify and provide extra support for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in accordance with the UK Code of Practice for SEN. Parents of children that have been at School Action plus are required to contact CEAS prior to posting to Bielefeld to consult whether the school is able to meet the needs of the child. Parents of children with SEN are consulted about these arrangements and their permission sought prior to requesting advice from the Educational Psychology & Child Guidance Service. An Educational Psychologist and a Senior Social Worker staff this service. A speech and therapy service is also available.
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Meetings, Reports & Information We have an open door policy, and parents are welcome to visit the school at any time. There is a clear line management structure from your child’s teacher through the senior school leaders responsible for each phase of the school, through to the head teacher. Parents should use the Home-School planner as the first line of communication. Should you wish to see your child’s class teacher please make an appointment through the planner, or via the school office. Day to day questions and concerns should always be initially addressed to the class teacher as a starting point. At the end of September you will be invited in to visit your child’s class on our open afternoon. This is intended as an informal getting to know you exercise, and was very successful last academic year. Parental turnout, as with all of our school events was almost 100%! In addition, you will also be able to meet the teachers at the parents’ meetings that are held each term. These meetings provide an opportunity to review your child’s progress, celebrate their successes, discuss concerns and raise questions as to how best to support your child. At the end of the summer term, you will be provided with an annual report which will include a full overview of your child’s progress in all areas of the curriculum.
When Your Child Leaves Bielefeld School Please let us know well in advance when the time comes for your child to leave the school. This will enable us to prepare your child’s transfer documents, which should be collected from the school before you depart. Parents should pass on these documents together with their child’s books to the head teacher at the new school. A notice of posting form can be obtained from the school office.
Transfer to King’s School Gütersloh Children staying in the Bielefeld area generally transfer to King’s School at the end of Year 6. We maintain very close links with King’s School and arrange a full series of visits for children and parents during the summer term prior to transfer.
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E-Newsletter to Parents In our bid to save precious resources, our newsletter is now produced online at www.bielefeldschool.com . If you are unable to access this facility, please contact the school to request a paper version of the school newsletter. Please remember to check our website regularly as it is now updated on an almost daily basis. The website also contains key school policies should parents wish to find out more about the school’s approach to all aspects of a child’s education.
Notice boards There are notice boards outside the school office that contain a range of information for parents. Copies of any of these publications, bulletins or policy information can be obtained on request. Electronic copies are readily available on the school website.
Homework and Planners The school provides children, from FS2 through to Y6, with ‘planners’ which act as home-school contact books. For the younger children homework will consist of daily reading but it becomes more structured as the children get older. Weekly homework will usually consist of some numeracy and/or literacy homework. This may vary depending on what the children are learning that week. Each term there will also be a homework project linked to their topic. In addition there is the expectation that children will read at least 5 days a week. This could be their reading book, a library book or a text from home such as a magazine or a newspaper. All reading needs to be recorded in the planner. We do ask parents to sign the planners each week and add comments on at least a weekly basis, as we really value our partnership in your child’s education.
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Home readers, Library and Book Shop The school has invested considerably in new books for the children to use as home readers through the school library. Please do your best to look after these books so that other children can also borrow them.
There is a school book shop that is open each Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime where children can buy book stamps and reserve books until they have saved enough to buy a book. A wide selection of children’s books is available.
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Attendance, Sickness and Absence We expect all children on roll to attend every day as long as they are fit and healthy enough to do so. We do all we can to encourage the children to attend, and have put in place appropriate attendance procedures. We believe that the most important factor in promoting good attendance is the development of positive attitudes towards school. To this end we strive to make our school a happy and rewarding experience for all children. We will reward those children whose attendance is very good. We will also make the best provision we can for those children who, for whatever reason, are prevented from coming to school. Bielefeld School’s average overall attendance for last academic year was 95%. Under the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 1995 the SGC are responsible for making sure the school keeps an attendance register that records which pupils are present at the start of both the morning and the afternoon sessions of the school day. This register will also indicate whether an absence was authorised or unauthorised. What is an authorised absence? · An absence is classified as authorised when a child has been away from school for a legitimate reason and the school has received notification from a parent or guardian. For example, if a child has been unwell and the parent writes a note or telephones the school to explain the absence. · Only the school can make an absence authorised. Parents do not have this authority. Consequently not all absences supported by parents will be classified as authorised. For example, if a parent takes a child out of school to go shopping during school hours, this will not mean it is an authorised absence. What is an unauthorised absence? · An absence is classified as unauthorised when a child is away from school without the permission of both the school and a parent. · Therefore the absence is unauthorised if a child is away from school without good reason, even with the support of a parent. What do I do if my child is absent If your child is absent from school for any reason the school should be notified on the day of the absence by ringing the school office by 10.30 hrs. This will ensure that we know that your child is safe and well. Failure to do so will result in school 16
having to contact you in person. If we are then unable to contact you about your child’s absence, then school will contact the Unit Welfare Office team for their support in locating you so that we can confirm your child’s absence and that they are safe. Please note that this will only happen if no contact has been made. Safeguarding you child is our utmost priority. The school is required by law to record absences in the class register. Please ensure that we always have your most up-to-date contact details. If your phone number changes, please notify school immediately. In addition, a note may be sent to the school prior to the day of absence if, for example, your child has a medical appointment. We are aware of the difficulties there are at times of taking vacations in the school holidays, especially with the onset of parental deployment etc. However, term time absences do disrupt the pattern and quality of children’s education and we urge you to keep them to a minimum. A copy of the school’s attendance policy is available on request and is available on the school website. If you do require leave during school term time you should submit a consent form at least one week prior to this absence. This form can be collected from the school office and may require you to get your request for absence authenticated by the UWO (or your Head of Unit) before the final decision for authorised leave is made. The school will make the final decision for authorised absence, which is normally limited to a maximum of 10 days per year. If your child becomes ill whilst at school you will be contacted by telephone and asked to collect him/her. Should your child need urgent medical treatment whilst at school and you cannot be contacted he/she will be taken directly to the Medical Centre in Catterick Barracks or the Gilead Hospital in case of emergencies. Note: It is our policy to involve the Unit Welfare Office for persistent absence.
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Medicines in School For safety reasons the school will only administer medication under the following conditions: • • • •
The medication has been prescribed by the Medical Centre and is clearly labelled with the child’s name and the dosage. Parents must complete the appropriate request for the school to administer the medication on a form available from the school office. Written letters of request are not sufficient. The medication is brought to the school BY AN ADULT and handed over to the School Secretary. Medicine must not be kept by the child.
Some children may require inhalers. These are kept in the school office for children in KS1 or 2, or in FS1 for children in FS. Inhalers will need to be labelled with your child’s name and the appropriate paperwork completed. Due to the layout of the school building and the distance from some classrooms to the office, the headteacher will consider requests for children to keep their inhaler with them at all times.
Medical and Health screening The school is served by a school medical professional and health visitor. Children are routinely screened at various ages. Dental inspections, vision and hearing tests are provided for certain age groups. Parents will be advised when inspections are due.
Healthy Eating and School Meals The school has achieved the Healthy Schools Status. Each day NAAFI provides a good balanced cooked school meal. Alternatively, children are able to select from the popular, and healthy, salad bar. Parents will receive a monthly menu forecast. Payment is through direct debit for school meals. Parents are then billed for the meals that their children eat. N.B. A German bank account is required for this system. Parents should note that packed lunches for children not having school dinners should be clearly labelled. As part of the school policy to encourage healthy 18
eating, we provide fruit and vegetables for the younger children from FS1 to Y2 to eat at break-time each day. All children are encouraged to eat fruit and healthy snacks at break time and not to bring sweets, crisps and sugary snacks to school.
Appearance and School Uniform code Smart appearance and the wearing of school uniform are expected for children from Foundation 2 through to Year 6 for the following reasons: • • •
It is a smart and practical form of clothing. Wearing school uniform helps children to feel part of the school. It helps to avoid discussions about “what to wear” every morning.
Our school uniform consists of: Boys – white or grey shirt, grey trousers or tailored shorts, royal blue school sweatshirt. Girls – white or grey shirt/ or white blouse, grey pinafore dress or grey skirt with royal blue sweatshirt. Blue gingham dress in summer. •
Hair We ask that children’s hair should be neat and tidy in appearance. Excessive styles and obvious colour changes are not allowed. Long hair will need to be tied back for some school activities.
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Jewellery Children with pierced ears should only wear studs to school and no rings or necklaces should be worn. Studs must be removed by the child him/herself for PE and games lessons. Please note that it is the child’s responsibility to remove any jewellery before taking part in P.E.
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Footwear Flat or low-soled school shoes are encouraged. Where these are not available then smart dark trainer shoes will be tolerated. Light coloured or white trainers are not acceptable. Children may bring a change of shoes/ trainers/ boots for break and lunchtime.
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Cold and wet weather clothing Where possible children will be going outside every day in all weathers apart from extremes of cold, wet or heat. It is essential that they have appropriate outdoor wear. It can be very cold in the winter in Germany and very hot in the summer. Warm coats, hats and gloves will be needed. In the summer sun protection cream should be applied 19
before your child comes to school. A sun hat is needed and also a shower mac for rainy days. •
PE & Games Kit A change of clothing should be provided for PE. PE kit should be worn and can be purchased from the school. Children should wear appropriate footwear for PE i.e. trainers for outdoor work and plimsolls or bare feet for indoor lessons. Older children will find tracksuits useful for outdoor games during colder weather. It would be helpful if children could bring their sports kit to school on Monday of each week and leave it in school until Friday. Shorts and white T-shirts with the school badge are available to purchase from the school office.
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Keeping Clothes Clean An overall or elasticated old shirt with its sleeves cut down is recommended for times when children are engaged in arts and crafts.
All clothing and bags should be clearly labelled with your child’s name. This is essential in a large school if you wish to be reunited with any of your child’s lost clothing!
Toys and Valuable Possessions Children are not permitted to bring toys, games, gaming cards and other toys and games to school unless they have been given permission from a teacher. Children can sometimes be careless with personal possessions so we ask that money, jewellery and valuables are left at home.
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School Rules and Discipline At Bielefeld School we hold high expectations for your child’s behaviour and attitude to others and to learning itself. Our aim is for children to develop this attitude and approach themselves. This is why we start with an expectation of good behaviour that enables children to earn Golden Time. We also believe in visibly praising and rewarding children and publicly acknowledging those children whose behaviour exemplifies our expectations.
Golden Time Golden Time is time that the children earn each week in which they can choose what (within reason) they want to do at school. Typically this is earned at 5 minutes a day and adds up to 25 minutes each week.
The Bielefeld School rules There are 5 school rules. They can be remembered by the acronym SMILE. S M I L E
Safe work and play Make an effort with everything we do I keep my hands and feet to myself Learn together every day Everyone’s opinion is respected
Your child’s class teacher will spend time explaining and reinforcing the school behaviour policy with each child. Bullying and racism will not be tolerated at Bielefeld School and we work hard to develop children’s care and sensitivity for others. If, for whatever reason, you have concerns about your child’s happiness please do not hesitate to speak with us.
How the behaviour traffic light system works. The expectation is of a good standard of behaviour from all children all the time. All children start on green each day. Placing the children’s names on the green light signals this. The green signal enables children to earn their Golden Time. If children move off the green light then they will not earn their Golden Time. It is possible to redeem themselves but if they end the day with their name off the green light then some time has been lost from Golden Time for that week. When asked, many of the children wanted the green circle at the top so that naughty behaviour meant that your name was moved down the chart. 1st rule break Name moved from green to space between green and amber. 2nd rule break Name placed on amber. A think Sheet is sent home to inform parents. We ask parents to sign the Think sheet and return it to school. 3rd rule break Name placed between amber and red. Miss playtime. 4th rule break. Name placed on red. Miss lunchtime. Complete red think sheet. Parents contacted by telephone and usually a meeting arranged in school. N.B. Our expectation is that it will be very unusual for a child to be given a ‘red’ warning.
These expectations and rules form part of the School’s Behaviour Management Policy – a copy of which is available to parents on request. Children at Bielefeld School generally behave very well. For further information and a copy of the school behaviour policy, please refer to your child’s planner. 21
School Buses and Travelling Home Arrangements The Station Staff Officer (SSO) and 30 Coach Squadron are responsible for the provision of school buses. In our experience the service has proved very reliable. If there are any problems please telephone Bielefeld Mil 3128 or civil (0521) 9254 3128. All buses are accompanied by an adult bus escort. Parents are responsible for seeing that their children are put safely onto the bus and are collected from the bus stop at the end of the day. The SSO can suspend children from travelling on the buses if they misbehave. •
Changing Buses Any requests for children to change buses for whatever reason have to be made in advance to the SSO’s department. They in turn will notify the relevant bus escorts. At the end of each school day all children will be sent home in the usual way unless we have received written information to the contrary.
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Cancellation of School Buses in Bad Weather The decision to cancel school buses is made by the local garrison. BFBS 1 will broadcast details of any cancellation or change to school opening times. Please stay tuned to the radio in bad weather. If buses are cancelled in the morning contact the school at lunchtime, or listen to the radio, to find out details of transport arrangements at the end of the day.
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Children who walk to School Transport is not provided for children who live close to school. Parents are responsible for seeing these children to and from school safely. A duty teacher will be present in the playground each day from 0835 hrs. Children should not arrive at school before this time. Children may be collected from the KS1 playground at 1510 hrs. Please ensure that you collect your child promptly. If you have made alternative arrangements for the collection of your child, please telephone the school office. 22
Parents and School Bielefeld School has a Home/School/Child Agreement which was produced following a period of consultation with parents and the SGC. This can be found in the planner. This document sets out the schools and parents minimum responsibilities. There are however, many other ways in which you can help with your child’s education and life in the school. By far the most important thing to do is to spend time with your child. We expect all children to read at least 5 times a week. This does not have to be just their school reading book and children should be encouraged to read all kinds of text that can be found in the home and in the environment. Older children should take responsibility for keeping a record of their own reading habits and noting and signing the planner each time they read. It is important to take time out to hear your child reading and to read to your child. Discuss what has been done at school, play games and help your child to use leisure time in a meaningful and constructive way. Each year the school has a series of workshops and briefings that seek to support parents in working with their children and foster the home/school partnership. Parents are expected to sign the planners at least once a week. We use the planners to establish a dialogue with our parents so that there is effective communication between home and school. Parents can use the planners to ask questions, make comments about their child’s learning at home or to seek the school’s help or advice.
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School Governance Committee (SGC) Each Service Children’s School has its own Governance Committee, which is a forum for discussion for a wide range of topics. If you have any points of view that you would like to put forward, contact your Unit Representative whose name you will obtain from your Families Office or the school. The School’s Governance Committee is usually chaired by the Commanding Officer of our parent unit and is made up of parents and representatives from the units, which we support. Meetings take place each school term, the details of which will be notified to parents in advance.
Friends of Bielefeld school (FoBS) This is a fundraising committee run by parents who stage several events throughout the year for children and families of those involved with Bielefeld school. Events have included discos and various social gatherings. The money raised is donated to various projects within the school and in the past the FOBS committee have bought disco equipment and lighting, digital cameras and playground equipment for the children’s use at lunchtimes. New parents are very welcome to join this friendly group if they wish to support the school in this way.
Feedback and Complaints If there is any matter that you are not entirely happy with concerning your child’s education, the school or any of its policies, then your first action should be to make an appointment with your child’s class teacher. If you feel that this does not resolve the issue to your satisfaction then please make an appointment to see either the Head Teacher. Remember that parents also have a voice through the various parental or unit representatives on the School Governance Committee. We actively seek feedback from parents about the school as we continuously strive to improve the quality of education for your child.
Finally, we trust that by working together your child will have an enjoyable, worthwhile and valuable time at Bielefeld School. Updated August 2012
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