Borden Church of England Primary School
School Prospectus
Welcome
Borden Church of England School is a small school situation in the village of Borden, just outside Sittingbourne, Kent. We are proud to be part of the Our Community Multi Academy Trust – OCMAT.
Our children are encouraged to work hard to achieve their potential and are inspired to take pride in their achievements
We love finding new ways to learn and improve. Our teachers, parents/carers and governors provide guidance to achieve the highest standards we all expect of each other. The school is product of the respect we have for one another, celebrating differences and sharing similarities- which makes us a happy and secure family community of children and adults.
Our school builds upon the strong foundations of our Christian Values of Love, Hope and Forgiveness, and these are embedded within our thoughts and actions. We learn and are led by the example set by Jesus Christ.
Our school centres on the child; their happiness, wellbeing and love of learning encompasses all that we do at Borden.
Miss G Ingram, Headteacher
Our Vision
‘Learning, achieving and growing together in God’s love’
Within our small, inclusive school, we value everyone as a child of God and rejoice in our diversity. We encourage curiosity and challenge; aspire to become agents of change and equip all members of our school family with the social, emotional and moral intelligence to pursue what is right and just.
Meet the team
CEO OCMAT
Mr David Whitehead
Miss Georgina Ingram Headteacher
SENCO/Inclusion Lead
Mrs Catherine Wickham
Office Manager
Miss Josie Boland
Trust Attendance Manager
Mrs Amanda Adcock
Family Liaison Officer
Miss Kim Murphy
Information for parents
We believe that there are significant benefits to being an outward facing school. We find great strength from being part of Our Community Multi Academy Trust which affords us the opportunity to work collaboratively with several other schools in our area, whilst maintaining our own unique identity. Being part of our Trust ensures that we have access to a wider bank of resources and support, increased opportunities for professional development for our staff and involvement in cross-school projects such as sporting events and creative arts. All of which ultimately benefits our children. We also work with the wider Kent MAT Alliance to access training events and moderation sessions where teachers come together with other professionals in the same year group to look at pupil learning, agree assessment outcomes, celebrate strengths and plan next steps. This means that parents can be reassured that our staff know exactly where our children are and where they are heading.
Our CEO David Whitehead is a teacher first and foremost and having once been the Headteacher at a small church school himself, appreciates all that is special about small, church schools such as ours. Within our Academy Trust, we also have a strong relationship with our friends at the other Schools. This allows us to provide staff with year group colleagues to work with, small school specific training opportunities and for our children to share experiences with through visits both real and virtual. We organise events which bring our small Year 6 cohorts together so that the transition to secondary school is easier as they know some familiar faces when they arrive. As a church school we also work closely with our local church and the Diocese of Canterbury and our children enjoy a range of opportunities including visits to the Cathedral, joining with special events such as the installation of Bishop Rose and the annual Cathedral Schools days. The Diocese also supports our staff through a wide range of learning networks and events. Borden Church of England Primary School is a proud member of the Our Community Multi Academy Trust.
Uniform
Uniform is worn at Borden Primary School to develop a sense of pride at being part of the community. Although preferable, there is no expectation that any item has a school logo. Items of clothing inevitably go astray from time to time, so please ensure all uniform is clearly labelled with your child’s name so it can be returned.
For PE the children are encouraged to wear their house colour T shirt, black shorts, black trainers, plain black jogging bottoms or leggings (cold weather) and a red jumper or fleece. Please no other colours.
Our uniform consists of :
Red fleece jacket
Red sweatshirt or cardigan
Red polo shirt
Red and white gingham dress
Grey trousers or skirt/pinafore
Grey or white socks
Black shoes
of the house colours:
Admission Process
At present we do have spaces so if you are interested please contact the school office to discuss what year group you require. You will need to complete an In Year Casual Application Form (IYCAF) which are available from kent. admissions@kent.gov.uk or our website. Once this is returned we will contact you and advise next steps.
Additional information
Is there anything else we need to know?
Communicating with parents is an important part of what we do, making sure you get the correct information about activities, events and things that really matter is something we care about.
At Borden we use the management system Arbor. Registration is easy and you simply download the app. It allows our parents to:
• Send in app messages.
• Receive communication from school quickly and easily.
• Pay for school dinners, breakfast club, and school trips in just a few taps.
• Complete forms, give consent/permission and feedback on surveys.
• Book parents’ evening appointments.
School Meals
All of the children are able to have a hot school meal every day which is provided by Nourish Catering who prepare the meals off site. We encourage all parents to get their children to try school meals and enjoy the varied menu. For more information about Nourish Catering, visit their website www.nourishcontractcatering.co.uk. All pupils in Reception, Y1 and Y2 are entitled to a Free School Meal. For all other years, a school dinner costs £2.50 per day. Meals must be paid for in advance either weekly, monthly or termly by topping up their Arbor school dinner account.
Breakfast Club
We run our popular breakfast club every day from 7.30 - 8.30 which includes breakfast for £4.50.
There is a drop off option from 8am which is £2 without breakfast.
If you would like a place please use the Arbor app to book and pay. This can be done up to midnight the day before.
Forest School
Forest school is a holistic and immersive experience that gives children the opportunity to learn through play. We see the positive impact it has on their mental wellbeing and physical health. We have 2 key areas within the school grounds that are dedicated to forest school with each year group having the opportunity to have a term a year engaging in the forest school programme.
A typical forest school day starts with team building games which are always lots of fun and bring on much hilarity! This is followed by a nature based and seasonal topic. We then provide an activity that may involve crafting, tool work, fire lighting etc followed by free play. To complete the session we all take part in a 1 minute mindfulness session where we come together and have a moment of calm, listening to the sounds around us. Hot chocolates and nettle tea are always a hit too! Each class will have an opportunity to visit Tribe Forest school in the Hucking Estate for a full day. Here the forest school experience is extended with a chance for children to continue their free play within 8 acres of ancient woodland. Available to them are rope swings, fire pit, den making, assault courses, dig pit and mud kitchens alongside plenty of imaginary play in the great outdoors.
Through play we are focusing on their creativity, confidence, curiosity and caring for the natural world….with lots of fun on the way. As well as Forest School, our Reception children enjoy their own outdoor learning spaces. We have a covered area outside the classroom and a large designated area on the field, both of which cater for all the areas of the EYFS curriculum.
