20814 The Kingfisher School Prospectus

The Kingfisher School

CORE VALUES Respect Responsibility Curiosity Resilience Our belief is that all young people can succeed if they have access to an exceptional education in an empathetic, supportive environment. It is our ambition to provide this for all pupils in our school.

The primary aim of The Kingfisher School is To ensure That all our children develop a deep and sustained passion for learning, alongside the academic and character skills necessary to achieve their ambitions and to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life as global citizens.

Welcome

to THE KINGFISHER School PART OF VENTURERS TRUST

FROM THE PRINCIPAL The Kingfisher School offers a caring and supportive environment where staff work together to provide exciting learning for your child. Our school has its own unique identity and we pride ourselves on our links with the local community and our knowledge of both the local and wider neighbourhoods.

We encourage our pupils to participate fully in the life of the school so that they leave us equipped with the

necessary social and life skills to take them into their secondary education and beyond. We believe that education is a partnership between school and home and we encourage parents and carers to participate in school life. We emphasize a traditional standard of uniform which allows our children to develop their own self-esteem and the respect for their peers whilst instilling a sense of belonging to The Kingfisher School.

From Nursery to their final term in Year 6 we aim to create happy memories and stimulating learning that children can remember as they take the next step of their educational journeys.

Kirsteen Craig, Principal

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AN EXCITING WORLD OF

LEARNING At The Kingfisher School our pupils have access to an amazing variety of clubs and activities throughout the year. They have the opportunity to be part of sports teams as well as taking part in drama and musical activities. Through our staff and governors’ knowledge and links with the local community we can offer children sports training with professional coaches and players including football, basketball, cricket and swimming.

The Kingfisher School is located near to St Anne’s Woods and Nightingale Valley. Our children take part in Forest School activities where, through exploring nature, they develop confidence, knowledge of and respect for our

natural environment and develop resilience through working as a part of team with other children. As part of Venturers Trust we have close links with our secondary schools which gives us access to specialist facilities including Science, Design Technology and Sports.

We believe that parents and carers, as partners in their child’s education, are key to success. We place a great deal of focus on parental engagement and encourage our children’s families to actively take part in school life.

This can be as part of the Parents, Teachers and Friends Association or as a volunteer within classes.

NURSERY The Kingfisher School has a 29 place Nursery and admits children the term after their third birthday. Our Nursery sessions are morning only; however, once your child is settled into Nursery they will be able to stay for breakfast club and for school lunches.

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Starting School A Partnership WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

We understand the importance of choosing and starting Primary school and we believe strongly in the importance of parents being partners in their child’s education. When you are offered a place in our school we will invite you to our ‘get to know you’ sessions, such as a Teddy Bears’ Picnic as well as more formal information sharing sessions. At these sessions you will be able to sign up for Home Visits where you have the opportunity to speak to your child’s teacher in your home.

Once your child has started school we will invite you to our Master Classes where you will find out how we teach phonics, reading and maths and how our positive behaviour system works. You will also have the opportunity to log in to your child’s assessment portfolio ‘School Pupil

Tracker Online’ so you can keep up with the progress your child is making throughout their school life whilst your child’s ‘Class Dojo’ points enable you to track their behaviour and rewards achievements.

In Nursery and Reception we have regular PEEP groups where parents come and work with their child for the morning. These include cooking sessions and the popular ‘bear hunt’ in the local woods. We also encourage parents to come in during the initial morning session to work with their child on activities including reading.

There are regular Parents’ Evenings throughout the year and we encourage parents to come in and meet with their child’s teacher at any time throughout the year.

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LIFE AT THE KINGFISHER SCHOOL At the Kingfisher School we have achieved the Mayor’s Award for Healthy Eating. This shows our commitment to providing a balanced and healthy menu within our school. We provide fruit for snacks in the Early Years (EYFS) and Key Stage 1. All children under the age of five are given milk and parents of children above five can pay for this provision to continue.

We have a large, well-equipped kitchen where our healthy and nutritious meals are cooked on site including a wide variety of dietary specific foods.

We have a free breakfast club for pupils which starts at 8.00am.

This is for all children from Nursery to Year 6. Nursery children can attend following consultation between the Nursery class teacher and the parents.

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RECOGNISING

ACHIEVEMENT We have a ‘Going for Gold’ system within our school.

Each day every child has the opportunity to reach gold at the end of the day. Any child who does not go below green in a term has a whole school reward experience.

These rewards are chosen by the School Learning Council. We also have the Class Dojo system where children can earn Dojo points when they show that they are demonstrating our Core Values and their Core Learning Skills during learning time. Dojo points can

be traded in at certain points in the year to win a prize.

These prizes have included: pencils, pencil cases and the opportunity for pupils to wear their own clothes to school for the day.

Each week we have a Celebration Assembly to celebrate the successes of the week and parents are invited to attend.

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Extra Curricular AND

ENRICHMENT At the Kingfisher School we have a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Some activities last the whole school year, others change termly. Our activities include sporting, musical and academic clubs where pupils can try something new or they can be part of a team.

Our school teams take part in cross-Trust and inter-school events. Our choir has performed at Bristol Cathedral, Colston Hall and was invited to participate in the Voice in a Million event at Wembley Arena, London, with other schools from across the country.

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Our children take part in community events throughout the year. They have been carol singing to the residents of local residential homes and Year 5 and 6 pupils host tea parties for several local community associations throughout the year.

AFTER SCHOOL CARE We provide after school childcare, known as Kids’ Club, between the hours of 15:20 and 18:00. Children take part in a range of activities which are led by their interests. Children are given a healthy snack and a drink as part of their session.

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ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND

STUDENT PROGRESS

The Kingfisher School is committed to ensuring that all pupils make the best progress possible during their time with us. Our staff check regularly on how well our pupils are progressing and tailor intervention and support to the individual to ensure that each child fulfils their potential.

We inform parents if their child is receiving extra support and meet with parents regularly to update them on their child’s progress and their next steps targets.

The Kingfisher School Curriculum includes our life-long learning skills which we call our ‘Core Learning Skills’.

We teach these skills each week and embed them into the curriculum subjects. These skills will ensure that your child becomes the best learner they can possibly be in school and beyond.

Each unit of work that is delivered starts with a ‘Wow’ event. This could be a trip outside school, a walk around the local area or meeting the Big Bad Wolf in St Anne’s Wood. We know that pupils achieve their best when they are motivated and engaged in their learning and we strive to do this at every opportunity.

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HOME LEARNING At the Kingfisher School we believe that working in partnership with parents is key to each child’s success. This includes Home Learning. The amount and type of Home Learning changes throughout your child’s time in the school. We provide a range of Home Learning activities so that your child has the opportunity to develop a range of skills. As well as teacher set Home Learning, your child will be given log-ins so they can access reading and maths based Home Learning as and when they choose to do so.

Pupil VOICE The Kingfisher School has a very active School Learning Council.

The members of the School Learning Council are invited to apply and they are then voted in by their class peers. The School Learning Council discuss issues that their peers have asked them to discuss as well as lead whole school projects such as creating a new school uniform. The School Learning Council raises funds for any activities that they plan throughout the year.

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A bit more

about us The Kingfisher School is part of Venturers Trust (a multi-academy trust) which benefits from having expertise in running different types of state-funded schools.

Chief Executive: Dr Hilary Macaulay

Our Sponsors The work of Venturers Trust is made possible through the outstanding support and expertise provided by our sponsors the Society of Merchant Venturers and the University of Bristol and is brought to life by an excellent staff team. The sponsors are the key to the success of The Kingfisher School and are what makes our school unique. They are an essential part of our vision, able to give our pupils exceptional chances, experiences and opportunities unavailable elsewhere.

The Society of Merchant Venturers

University of Bristol

The Society of Merchant Venturers (SMV) is a philanthropic organisation whose increasingly diverse membership works with and supports people and communities from the wider Bristol area through education, care for older people, charitable giving and social enterprise.

The University of Bristol ranks as one of the top 10 universities in the United Kingdom. It is actively involved in the governance of our schools and in the development of the curriculum and allows our students and staff to access its excellent facilities.

In education, SMV’s simple but highly ambitious vision is to transform the life-chances of students from the richly diverse set of schools within Venturers Trust, both during their educational journey and beyond.

The university also offers support in other areas such as student mentoring, subject expertise, higher degree and research opportunities for staff at Venturers Trust and an innovative, exciting and inclusive programme for students as part of the university’s commitment to widening participation and access to higher education.

The Society’s expertise in education spans more than four centuries and today, the commitment is practical as well as financial, with many of its members taking active roles in the governance of Venturers Trust and the wide range of schools within the Trust.

SMV firmly believes there is nothing more important to the health of our communities than outstanding education and training in life skills for young people.

The university provides extensive support and opportunities for our Sixth Forms including scholarships, preferential offers of grades to gain a place, with the additional possibility of bursaries to support undergraduate degree studies.

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Lichfield Road, St Anne’s Park, Bristol, BS4 4BJ Tel: 0117 377 3185 Email: info@kingfisherschoolbristol.org

kingfisherschoolbristol.org