School Brochure May 2017

St. Nicholas C of E Primary School Headteacher: Mr A Mellor BCS, PGCE, NPQH

“St Nicholas Church of England Primary School is an Outstanding School!”

(Ofsted inspection March 2016)

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May 2017

Welcome to St. Nicholas Church of England Primary School!

I consider it a privilege to be the headteacher of this outstanding school, and we are proud to be an outstanding Diocesan school, but also very much a Blackpool school, serving the needs of families in the south of the town as part of the community of schools in the town.

At St Nicholas we offer a friendly, child-centred provision in modern facilities, with talented, passionate and skilled staff who relentlessly strive to meet the individual needs of all children.

Inspections from both the Diocese of Blackburn and Ofsted class us as an improving and ambitious Church School and we are constantly looking at ways in which we can improve our offer, working in partnership with parents.

Should you decide to send your child to St Nicholas, we look forward to working with you in partnership to develop the full potential of your child within our caring family community.

The relationship between parents and school is vital to the success and wellbeing of your child and we welcome the opportunity to discuss any concerns or questions that you may have. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at school.

Yours sincerely

Andy Mellor Headteacher

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Contents Guiding Principles The School and its Community

5 6 A Brief Descriptive History 6 Type of School 7 Pastoral Care and Discipline 7 Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy 8 School Organisation 8 Special Educational Needs 9 Assessment, Recording and Reporting 9 Pupil Premium 10 Concerns & Complaints 11 Parental Engagement 11 Curriculum 12 Spiritual, Personal, Moral, Social and Cultural Education 13 Homework 13 Collective Worship 13 Health & Relationships Education 14 Library and Computing Resources 14 Swimming 14 Educational Visits 14 Charging & Remissions Policy 15 Extra-curricular Activities 15 Extended Care Club 16

School Routines and Information School Staff Governors Our Day Lunchtime Arrangements Free Breakfasts & Milk Snacks Water Home Time Parking Safety and Security Illness More Serious Medical Conditions

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17 17 18 18 19 20 21 21 21 21 22 22 23

Medicine Accidents Appointments Your Holidays Home-School Contact Parental Dispute and Custody School Uniform Jewellery Mobile Phones Dogs No Smoking Policy Bikes and Scooters

23 23 24 24 25 25 25 27 27 27 27 27

Starting School and Admission Arrangements Admission Policy Helping Your Child

28 28 29 36

Admissions

Pupil Progress Measures and Attendance

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Ofsted Inspection

39

SIAMS (Church School) Inspection

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Home and School Agreement

41

School Term Dates

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Formal Details

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How to Contact School: St. Nicholas Church of England Primary School School Road, Marton Moss, Blackpool. FY4 5DS Telephone: 01253 608900 Email: admin@st-nicholas.blackpool.sch.uk Website: www.st-nicholas-blackpool.org.uk Twitter: @stnicholas14

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Guiding Principles As a Christian school community, with a mission to educate our pupils and

develop relationships within the teachings and mission of the greatest teacher Jesus Christ…

We believe that…  Christ is central and pivotal to the life and success of our school.  All within our Christian family have God given gifts and that it is our Christian responsibility to find and use these gifts to their full potential.  All within our school family should be treated with honesty, dignity and respect.  Teamwork is crucial to the success of our school and improved outcomes for our pupils.  Our school should be an enjoyable and rewarding place to work and learn.  Risk taking is a vital component of learning and as such should be embraced without fear of failure or blame.

We value…  Our own culture and belief in the saving grace of Jesus Christ whilst respecting the beliefs of others.  The opinions and rights of others whilst accepting our responsibilities within our Christian community.  The role of parents as co-educators in supporting our children to achieve.  The roles played by all within our school family in helping to equip our pupils to become productive and responsible citizens of the future.  Every individual within our family and encourage them to contribute fully to the success of the school.

We will use these principles to….  Treat everyone fairly and with equity. 

Evaluate the success of our school.



Help decide upon priorities for action.

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The School and its Community A Brief Descriptive History There has been a long tradition of quality schooling on Marton Moss since the 1830s, with the original schoolhouse still just about in one piece on Division Lane (see black and white photo).

The present building on School Road was established in 1873.

For many years, the church and school used the same building for worship, social events and education. However, in 1936 the church moved to a building on Common Edge Road. The building was semi-permanent and the church was replaced by another building in 1965. That building was demolished in 2007 and the site vacated.

The school building continues to be used occasionally for social activities and worship but is now mainly the centre for schooling on the Moss. This schooling still involves the active development of small scale gardening skills to give the children an appreciation of the area in which they come to school and the historical significance of the Moss.

An extension to the school, providing modern classrooms for the Infants, was completed in 1973. There then followed the building of two new classrooms and smaller scale building work. The photograph to the left shows the school pre-October 2007.

More recently the school was given permission and funding for a major new redevelopment of the site, with 12 new classrooms in use from September 2008 and further facilities including a new hall and ICT suite. The work carried out gives the children a bespoke school created for learning for the 21st century.

St. Nicholas School has a high reputation in the area, based on a history of quality educational provision and an intimate and welcoming ethos, and has proved a popular school with parents choosing a first school for their child. The most recent Diocesan report (October 2010) called St Nicholas C of E Primary School, “an outstanding 6

Church School with a strong and distinctive Christian ethos.” In April 2023, the school will celebrate its 150th anniversary.

Type of School St Nicholas is a Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School, provided by Church trustees, governed by its Governing Body (a majority of whose members are appointed by the Church and are Foundation Governors) and maintained by Blackpool Borough Council.

At St Nicholas School, we work to promote a close relationship between school, church and home, to the benefit of all. Children from school regularly take part in services held in church; local clergy come into school to lead school worship. Daily Acts of Worship have a vital role in influencing a Christian ethos of caring throughout the school. We are proud that the school community as a whole contributes to the spiritual and moral growth of individuals, as well as to their intellectual and physical development.

Relationships are key at our school and we foster respectful and productive working relationships through our 6 Christian values. These are: Service, Reverence, Friendship, Trust, Thankfulness and Wisdom. You can find out more about our values here: http://www.christianvalues4schools.org.uk/ Pastoral Care and Discipline The Headteacher and staff in school are responsible for the wellbeing of the children. As part of the wider society, the school attempts to create a well-ordered, self-disciplined environment where manners count and the development of personal life skills is valued. Our Governors, Teachers, Support Staff, Parents and Children all make valuable contributions to the community life of the school. During the most recent inspection, a member of the Pupil Council said “When you’re worried, there is always someone to talk to.”

Positive behaviour and hard work is rewarded in lots of ways. You will hear of merit points being awarded for good and improving work, helpful and sensible attitudes, and other positive efforts. These points determine which team (Flintoff, Redgrave, Woods, Holmes) will win the Merit Shield at the end of the academic year. Each halfterm, merit certificates are awarded in sharing assemblies held in recognition of the children’s achievements. Certificates are awarded for outstanding effort in school work and behaviour as well as recognition of citizenship.

We also have a “Full Marks Club” with certificates being awarded half-termly. To remain in the club, children must ensure full attendance in each half-term. At the end of the academic year, certificates and prizes are presented for full attendance.

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Communication and consultation between staff and parents is an essential part of our discipline procedures, and it cannot be stressed too highly that this is a two-way system. Our school behaviour policy contains rights and responsibilities of school, parents and the children. The policy is built upon the quality of relationships between adults and adults, pupils and adults and pupils and pupils, within our school community.

The policy outlines how you can expect the school to deal with issues as they arise.

We expect children to exercise restraint with each other when relationships do break down, and staff are on hand to help the children re-build broken relationships.

It is important that we distinguish between children falling out with each other and then making up, which is part and parcel of growing up, and bullying which, due to the ethos of the school and the quality of the children’s values, is thankfully exceptionally rare.

Rules in the school are the normal rules of society plus some special ones which relate to our specific situation. They reflect the necessity for safety, consideration for others, and practicability, and are brought to the attention of the children either at collective school gatherings or in class. On admission to St Nicholas, we ask all parents to sign a home-school agreement, which sets out our expectations of the pupil, the parent and the school. This is an important document and underpins the above relationships.

We are most fortunate at St. Nicholas School that anti-social behaviour (including bullying) is very rare and procedures for dealing with such behaviour, should it occur, are outlined in our Behaviour & School Discipline and Anti-Bullying Policies.

Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy Because of day-to-day contact with children, school staff are particularly well placed to observe outward signs of abuse. Parents should be aware therefore, that where it appears to a member of school staff that a child may have been abused, or may be at risk of abuse, staff are legally required, as part of the child protection procedures, to report their concern to the Social Services Department immediately (schools have no choice in this matter and this is common practice in all maintained settings). All our newly appointed staff undergo a full Disclosure & Barring Service check before they are allowed to start work in school.

The school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead is the Deputy Headteacher, Miss Taylor.

The Governor with responsibility for Safeguarding is Mr Barnes.

School Organisation The school is a popular and frequently over-subscribed 2 form entry primary school and is organised into 7 year groups according to the chronological age of the children.

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Generally, the work of the school is undertaken in these class units with a mixture of class, group and individual teaching. Occasionally, small groups may be withdrawn to receive specialist teaching and support. At the time of going to print, our average classroom adult to pupil ratio is a healthy 1:16.

Special Educational Needs At St. Nicholas School, we have due regard for the Department for Education’s Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice, and pupils will be assessed and their progress monitored in line with this Code.

Whilst the Governing Body and Headteacher have ultimate responsibility for the dayto-day management and co-ordination of the school, Miss Taylor, who is our school’s inclusion manager, will oversee the special educational needs arrangements; with Mrs Kitchen, our SENCo, working alongside her. The Headteacher reports on the arrangements for special educational needs to the Governing Body each term.

The named Governor for special educational needs is currently vacant. The school’s full Special Educational Needs Policy is available to all parents on request or available for download from the school website.

At St. Nicholas School, we recognise the full spectrum of special educational needs, which includes catering for both more able and less able pupils. We meet the needs of special educational needs pupils through curriculum strategies, targeted intervention by teaching assistants and intervention strategies such as additional literacy support and Springboard, and differentiating work in class, through close liaison with outside agencies, including Shine speech and language agency and Blackpool Local Authority services. The Governors ensure accessibility for disabled pupils within and around the building by carefully thought through plans and accessibility arrangements.

Assessment, Recording and Reporting The children’s progress is continually assessed through formal testing, informal teacher observations and day-to-day assessment. These assessments help the teachers to plan more effectively for the next stage of learning. For the purposes of ensuring that all children make good progress, children’s progress is assessed on a half termly basis (roughly every 6 weeks) and teachers plan for the needs of the children based on what the children need to do next to make progress and to give feedback to parents.

Children in Reception and Year 1 are tested throughout the school year and in Year 1 children undertake a statutory national phonics screening check. Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 9

are formally assessed through statutory and non-statutory tests in June, whilst Year 6 take the statutory end of Key Stage SATs in May. Results of end of Key Stage assessments are reported to Year 6 parents with the annual written report. All pupils have their individual progress monitored, which helps us to ensure that each child makes appropriate progress. Should your child not be making the progress that we expect, we will meet with you to plan a way forward so that progress can be maintained.

Parents are encouraged to take an active role in the education of their children by making an appointment with individual class teachers when they have concerns and also at Parent Consultation Evenings and Review Meetings. A written report is sent home at the end of the academic year. We also hold two parents’ evenings during the year where we will be letting you know how you can support your child’s learning. An open door policy exists, whereby staff are available at the end of the day to discuss any concerns, which means that we can deal with any concerns that you or your child may have quickly and without increasing this concern. Meeting with the class teacher after 8:45am compromises the ability of the class teacher to care for the children and therefore we avoid meetings at this time.

Pupil Premium Parents may have heard of Pupil Premium funding which schools receive. This funding is designed to allow schools to create programmes of support for specifically targeted groups of children to achieve their full potential.

This funding is specifically for children who: a) Have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years, b) Are looked after by the Local Authority, c) Have been adopted from care or are under a special guardianship order after being in care.

This funding is designed to help and support these children, and whilst each child has their needs met, and their progress is carefully monitored, the funding is not sufficient or intended to provide a separate one to one education.

In addition, schools receive service premium funding for children who have a parent or parents who have been in the armed forces at any point in the last four years.

If you think your child is eligible for pupil premium or service premium and wish to discuss it then please see Miss Younger, our school business manager.

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Concerns and Complaints Should parents have concerns regarding aspects of their child’s school life or education, they should in the first instance discuss them with their child’s class teacher. However if concerns are not resolved, parents are welcome to make an appointment to discuss matters further with the Headteacher. If this fails to resolve the situation then parents can make representation in writing according to the school’s Complaints Policy (available on the school website).

Parental Engagement

“Parents are a child’s first and most enduring educators.”

Research has shown that the more support a child gets at home, the more they are likely to make progress, do well at school and have the very best start in life.

As a school we do all that we can to try to equip parents with the knowledge, skills and confidence to help their child to learn outside school. We often run workshops for parents to help with some of the Mathematics and English work that we carry out at school, but the very best support for your children is purely hearing them read, praising their efforts and making sure that learning is fun. If your child feels that their mum or dad feel that learning is important, they are more likely to make the extra effort which leads to greater progress.

Each class creates an online classroom on ClassDojo which parents can view to help them and their children understand the curriculum; it is also used as a communication tool between class teachers and parents. Parents are encouraged to send their email addresses to school so that we can consult you on various matters. We also have a school Twitter account so that parents can follow our activities in school and contribute to their child’s learning.

We also ask parents to become actively involved in the school. Offers of help with craft groups, reading and other activities are always welcome and it also gives parents a useful insight as to how schools run on a day-to-day basis. Offers of help with these activities, as well as on occasions such as educational visits, are always welcome. As mentioned previously, we know that those parents that spend time at home working with their children, are the parents whose children make most progress in school. Please come in and ask your child’s class teacher how you can help your child at home.

The school has a P.T.F.A. (Parents, Teachers and Friends Association) and we need parents to join with us in social and fundraising events. All parents of children in school are automatically members and we usually have a fun, and busy time raising additional funds and providing extra activities for the children. For further details please contact and leave your details with the school office.

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Without the support of parents and friends of the school the P.T.F.A. cannot survive, therefore, we would ask you to join with us in helping to provide your children with extra resources and treats whilst joining in with our school community.

Curriculum The School Curriculum encompasses the National Curriculum and Religious Education, together with a range of wider learning opportunities for the pupils in lessons and extra-curricular activities.

The Core subjects are English, Mathematics and Science, and Religious Education. The Foundation Subjects are History, Geography, Art and Design, Design and Technology, Music, Computing and Physical Education which are taught in accordance with the new National Curriculum requirements. The children in Key Stage 2 are also taught Spanish as part of our Foreign Languages curriculum. We teach units of work each half term which are planned to develop discrete skills and knowledge.

Religious Education is, for us as a Church School, a core subject and is taught in accordance with the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus and the Blackburn Diocesan Syllabus and is a foundation for the whole Christian ethos of the school. The school complies with the statutory right of parents to withdraw pupils from R.E. teaching and Collective Worship, but reminds parents of the ethos of our Church of England school. Any requests concerning withdrawal from Religious Education and Collective Worship should be passed to the Headteacher in writing.

A rich, varied and stimulating curriculum covers, and often integrates, many subject areas. Additionally, our wider curriculum encompasses cross-curricular elements including personal, social, health education, environmental studies and industrial awareness. All children learn in different ways, therefore every effort is made by the teachers to personalise the curriculum to meet the learning needs of the children.

We now have contacts with European and Australian schools as well as other Blackpool schools and share our work and experiences with them through Skype and email.

We have specific themed weeks such as multicultural week and spirituality week.

These weeks allow us to immerse the children in broader learning which contributes to their overall development.

Any queries regarding curriculum provision can be made to the Headteacher.

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Spiritual, Personal, Moral, Social and Cultural Education Spiritual, personal, moral, social and cultural guidance are integrated into the curriculum as part of our broader curricular programmes, and are designed to give the children information which will help them develop a healthy attitude toward themselves and others.

In line with government requirements we teach the children traditional British values such as respect, tolerance for different faiths and cultures, respect for the rule of law, democracy and individual liberty. This work is woven into our curriculum alongside bespoke events such as inter school debating and visits such as a recent one to Parliament. This work is a constituent part of the government’s Prevent strategy.

Homework Homework is set by the class teacher at the level appropriate to your child’s age and ability and is designed to reinforce learning carried out at school. Within the first few weeks of a new school year, a letter will be sent home which outlines when you can expect your child to bring homework home. If your child does not bring homework home on the pre-arranged evening, feel free to come back into school and collect it if you are able. Clearly homework is an important part of your child’s school work and will be only truly successful if time is spent doing homework with your child.

Some homework activities are online so that they are available without the need for hard copies and allow for creative methods for more interesting and wide ranging homework.

Collective Worship A collective Act of Worship is held each day and is a very important feature of our school life. They take the form of whole school, key stage, or in class assemblies. In line with our school ethos and vision statement, on one day per week visiting clergy lead our collective worship.

Individual parents may withdraw their children from acts of worship following discussion with the Headteacher. Parents are reminded that we are a Church of England Primary School, and the school’s Vision Statement and ethos should be taken into account when applying for a place at our school.

The Diocesan inspection of 2016 described collective worship as being “highly valued by all members of the school family” and one child commented that, “worship makes me happy because I learn how God wants me to be.”

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Health and Relationships Education This area of work used to be known as “Sex Education.” It falls within the general framework of a dedicated Health Education programme which aims to help the children to develop the ability to respect themselves and their bodies and provide a basis for making informed choices in later life. The curriculum content for Year 6 pupils includes a specific teaching programme from the school nurse. Parents will be given prior notice about any specific sex and relationships education topic and, although the school supports the teaching of this important area, parents have the right to withdraw their child after discussion with the Headteacher.

Library and Computing Resources The school has a library and, as part of the English curriculum, children are taught library skills which enable them to use a simplified Dewey system. Children are encouraged to take “Home Loan” reading and library books, and it is anticipated that parents will encourage their children to take a full part in the activity. Loans and returns are managed by a computerised loans system.

The school has a dedicated computer suite in addition to classroom computers; all have multimedia facilities. They are used to support the children’s learning across the curriculum. All classrooms are fitted with a digital projector and interactive whiteboard.

Our school also embraces technology which children are very comfortable with including iPads, iPod Touches and Apple TV. Swimming As part of the P.E. curriculum, children in Year 5 attend swimming lessons at Palatine pool. All staff accompanying the children are required to undertake poolside safety training and fully qualified swimming instructors teach the lessons.

Educational Visits Visits and visitors to school are planned within the school programme, to enrich and broaden our very distinctive curriculum.

Younger children embark on day visits to places such as Blackpool Zoo, Brockholes and Windmill Farm, whilst we offer a residential visit for Year 5 to PGL’s Boreatton Park for outdoor adventure activities such as kayaking and abseiling. We have also run visits to France or London for Year 6 after their SATs tests.

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More recently the school has bought a minibus which allows us to take advantage of the local environment beyond the school more easily.

Charging & Remissions Policy No compulsory charges are made for activities which are part of the whole school curriculum, however there are opportunities for tuition in other areas which we charge parents for if they choose to take them up, e.g. guitar lessons.

In terms of visits out of school we do ask parents to pay an amount towards the full cost as a voluntary contribution as school has no funding for these types of enrichment visits. The arrangements for any proposed activities therefore depend entirely on the co-operation of our parents in providing voluntary contributions.

Extra-Curricular Activities There are a number of before school / lunchtime / after school activities in which all children are encouraged to participate at the appropriate age level, and which give children with abilities outside the formal curriculum a chance to shine or just experience something different.

These include for Juniors: Netball, Football, Tag Rugby, Choir, Chess, Drama, Fencing, Tae Kwondo, Athletics, Cricket, Enterprise Club, Gardening Club and leadership training.

The Infant children benefit from a games club, Mini Choir, Wake and Shake, Mandarin Club, Coding Club, Drama and Tae Kwondo. Increasingly the older children are also running supervised clubs for the younger children to enjoy which develops leadership skills in the older children.

The school takes part in a number of inter-primary school competitions such as Football, Netball, Athletics, Swimming and other events. This year we came third in the Blackpool Primary Schools Swimming Gala, and in 2014 we were winners of the trophy. We are often very successful in these events, playing to win but always enjoying the opportunity to participate.

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Extended Care Club We understand that getting your child to school at 8.45am or picking them up at 3.30pm isn’t always convenient with every parent’s work commitments. We therefore run a breakfast club from 7.30 each morning and an after school care club from 3.30 until 5.30pm.

The breakfast club allows you to leave your child with us and means that we will give them breakfast and make sure they arrive in class for the start of the school day.

The after school care club collects registered children from their classes and takes them over into Rainbow Lodge where they are given a snack and there are staff on hand to carry out after school activities and help with homework if necessary.

Payment is required in advance and places are in short supply. If you require a place at either facility please contact Mrs Potts in the school office.

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School Routines and Information School Staff (for the academic year 2016-17) The Governing Body have agreed to release the Headteacher for one year with effect from 1st May 2018 to become the National President of the National Association of Headteachers.

In his absence Miss Taylor will become Acting Headteacher.

Headteacher: Mr A Mellor Deputy Headteacher: Miss C Taylor Class Teachers: Miss G Ramsden Mrs G Kitchen Miss S Jordin Mrs C Groome Mrs R Horsfield Mrs K Slater Mr J Guillot Ms A Donnelly Mr M Galazka Miss L Turner Mrs D Edmonds Miss L Dootson Miss S Darkins Miss J Harper Support Teachers: Mrs S Chamley Mrs K Jones SENCo: Mrs G Kitchen Business Manager: Administrator: Admin Assistant:

Reception Reception Class 1SJ Class 1CG Class 2RH Class 2KS Class 3JG Class 3AD Class 4MG Class 4LT Class 5DE Class 5LD Class 6SD Class 6JH Mrs N DuQuesnay Mrs L Relph Mrs L Roffey

Miss R Younger Mrs K Ridge Mrs T Potts

Teaching Assistants: Mrs J Barnes Mrs H Bartlett Mrs J Beardsworth Mrs L Derome Miss J Hope Mrs L Knowles Miss R McGuinness Mrs S Penswick

Miss A Bartlett Mrs R Bates Mrs S Crozier Ms L Gardner Mrs S Knight Mrs P Marquis-Smith Mrs J Mitchell Mrs K Williams

Family Support Worker: Mrs J Parker Site Supervisor: Cleaners:

Mr A Lavelle Mrs S Hull Mrs P Norris

Mr S Kenny Mr Z Zak 17

Midday Supervisor:

Mrs L Knowles

Welfare Assistants:

Mrs L Harris

Miss E Nelson

Mrs T Hughes

Play Workers:

Mrs N Alladice

Miss A Hall

Mrs E Spadaccini

Extended Care Club Supervisor: Mrs C Walsh Extended Care Club Assistants: Mrs N Alladice Miss D Henshaw Mrs E Spadaccini Governors Chair – Mr D Barnes Vice Chair - Mr G Bromley Mrs A Daruzzaman Mr A Legdani Mrs C Sargeant

Foundation Governor Foundation Governor Foundation Governor Foundation Governor Foundation Governor

Mr S Dunstan Mr A Mellor Miss G Ramsden Mrs C Van Deurs Goss

Local Authority Headteacher Staff Governor Parent Governor

Vacancy Vacancy

Vacancy

Miss C Taylor Miss R Younger Head Girl: Head Boy: Deputy Head Girl: Deputy Head Boy:

Mrs C Granger Miss J Hope Miss L Stoyles

Ex-officio (Foundation Governor) Foundation Governor

Parent Governor

Observer Governor Observer Governor Eden Robinson Kaelon Rutherford Faith Boswell Lewis Dobson

Our Day School Hours Doors open at Morning School Morning Break Afternoon School Afternoon Break

8.45am KS1 9.00am – 12.15pm 10.30am – 10.45am 1.15pm – 3.30pm 2.15pm – 2.30pm

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KS2 9.00am – 12.30pm 10.45am – 11.00am 1.30pm – 3.30pm

Mrs G Ledger Mrs J Wilson

Children arrive between 8.45am and 9.00am for the morning session. All children should be in class by 9.00am ready for registration. We find that the children settle much better at school if you can bring them to mix with their peers in the playground prior to the start of the school day. We cannot accept responsibility for your child before 8.45am, so please do not send him/her too early, especially if they are not accompanied by an adult. For reasons of security and congestion, parents are asked not to enter school with their children in a morning or to escort their child to the classroom door.

Those children who stay at school for the lunch break are supervised at all times, and are not allowed to leave the premises without the express permission of their parent / guardian.

Except when the weather is very bad, the children are expected to play outside during playtimes so adequate outdoor clothing and a warm waterproof coat are essential.

If you are concerned about your child becoming sunburnt, we would strongly recommend that you send your child to school with a broad brimmed hat, long sleeves and sunscreen which they are able to apply themselves. We do have shaded areas and would ask you to encourage your child to use these areas.

Children may bring pens, pencils, crayons and other educational equipment for use in school but they must be in a suitable container such as a pencil case. The owner is responsible for any loss or damage. New entrants may like to bring a familiar toy to bridge the gap between home and school. Please only send a SMALL school bag if one is required.

Lunchtime Arrangements School meals, which are balanced, varied and nutritious, and are cooked on the premises, must be booked and paid for in advance. The cost of a school meal is currently ÂŁ2.00 per day. Dinner money is paid via ParentPay, our online payment system, the web address for this is www.parentpay.com There is also a link on our school website. You can also find out what is being served on each day as the menu is published on our school website. Our school meals comply fully with current legislation on school food.

If you wish to read more about this go to www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk Parents who believe that they may be eligible for free meals should contact the Local Authority in which they live, and inform them that their child is attending this school.

The council will inform the school when a new child has been added the free meals list. Blackpool Council Benefits Department, tel. 478940 or www.blackpool.gov.uk

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Lancashire County Council free school meals department, tel. 01524 581207 or www.lancashire.gov.uk From September 2014, we have been implementing the new government-funded ‘Universal Infant Free School Meals’ scheme, which entitles every child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 to free lunches. This offer does not depend on your household income or whether you receive any benefits – every child in these classes is eligible to take up the offer.

However, PLEASE NOTE – if you are eligible, or become eligible in the future, for free school meals under the existing income-based scheme, we still need you to apply for this through the Local Authority. This is because some of the school’s funding is based on the number of children who are entitled to free school meals, and the school may lose money if parents don’t register their entitlement.

One week’s notice must be given if you would like your child to change to or from school dinners.

For those parents who prefer their child to bring a packed lunch, these should be brought by the child to school in the morning in a suitable container, clearly marked with their name, and your child should be familiar with its contents. Sweets and fizzy drinks are not allowed.

At lunchtime, the children are supervised by our Midday Supervisor, Welfare Assistants and Teaching Assistants, and no child is allowed to leave the premises without permission from the Headteacher who needs to know, from the parent, the reason for the request to leave. We also have Play Workers who play games with the children at lunchtime.

Children who go home for lunch should not return until 5 minutes before afternoon registration, unless there is a pre-arranged specific reason and must report to the school office on their return.

Free Breakfasts & Milk Under a recent Blackpool Council initiative, all primary school pupils in Blackpool are entitled to a free breakfast and carton of milk each day.

At St. Nicholas, the breakfast is available in each classroom from 8.45-9.00am, as the children are arriving. It consists of a selection of fruit.

Free milk is ordered for each child in the school, unless parents tell us otherwise – this is given to the children later in the day.

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Snacks Children may bring a healthy snack, e.g. fresh fruit, cheese or a fruit drink for morning break. Any other health snacks contain sugar which eats away at your child’s teeth. If your child brings grapes, please ensure that they are cut in half before bringing them into school, as these can be a choking hazard.

Pupils in Reception and KS1 receive free fruit at morning break under a national government health initiative.

Water Research indicates that our brains function more effectively when properly hydrated, therefore water is provided for all pupils. We ask that children bring a suitable bottle to fill from one of the water coolers in school.

We do not allow any other drinks to be brought into school, e.g. flavoured water or juice drinks, so please ensure that only water is put in your child’s bottle.

Home Time At the end of the day, it is our policy in the Infants to ensure that the children are passed directly to waiting parents. Please stand well clear from the exit doors to allow our teachers to carry out this important task. Parents are welcome to come into school to see the teacher after the children have been dismissed. Brothers and sisters of children taking part in extra-curricular activities should not wait for these activities to finish, as there is no supervision available beyond that which is necessary for the activity only.

We remind children to return to their teacher if parents usually collect them but noone arrives to take them home.

Parking We are very fortunate in having a 56 space car park to the west of school and a turning circle to the east. These facilities work well when used properly but if they are not used well they become a real danger to the safety of pedestrians. Please only park in designated parking spaces and not on the pavement.

Please do not park or stop on the zigzag areas at the school drive entrance or along the public footpath that runs down the side of the school.

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We would also ask that you respect the driveways of local residents, who are our neighbours and need access to and from their properties at all times.

The turning circle is closed from 3.15pm until 3.45pm to allow children and families to leave the premises without vehicular movement and potential accidents. If you need to leave immediately at 3.30pm then the car park to the west of school outside Squires Gate FC should be used. The turning circle is also closed in the mornings from 8.30am to 9.00am.

Safety and Security The children are regularly spoken to by teachers and visiting experts about safety.

Children are reminded to cross the main road at school times using the school crossing patrol and the zebra crossing in front of school.

We have very good security around school to ensure the safety of your children. We have a modern CCTV system with cameras all around the school. There are locks on all rear external doors, which means that access to school via this route is not possible after 9.00am. All children, parents and visitors who wish to enter during the school day must do so via the front door and report to the school office.

We recognise that some children come to school on bicycles. If your child does travel to school this way we ask that you ensure that they have a strong lock to chain their bicycles to the bike shelter. The school cannot in any way be responsible for the safety of your child or their bicycle if this method of travel to school is chosen by you and your child.

Illness Please telephone the school as soon as possible to tell us that your child is not well.

As a matter of safeguarding policy, the school will chase up any unexplained “no shows� and if we cannot make contact, we have a duty to contact the Pupil Welfare Officer in order to fulfil our child protection obligations. If we are not informed about the absence we must mark it as unauthorised and will have to chase up any reasons that have not been given. This is a statutory duty for the school under safeguarding regulations.

All non-medical absences are recorded as unauthorised as the school cannot now authorise absence during term-time.

We have access to help and advice from a wide range of medical and social workers.

Hygiene inspection takes place at regular intervals, sight and hearing may also be tested and special cases brought to the attention of the school doctor/nurse after discussion with parents.

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Help is available for children whose behaviour, educational progress or physical development gives cause for concern. If you have concerns about your child and his/her development, please see your child’s class teacher in the first instance. Our Inclusion Manager is Miss Taylor.

Our Pupil Welfare Officer is available for concerns about attendance or general welfare. See notices for dates/times or contact Miss Taylor.

It is important that the school is able to contact at least one parent at any time of the school day should a child become ill while he/she is at school. Therefore, any changes to emergency contact details, especially telephone numbers, should be notified immediately. The importance of this cannot be underestimated.

More Serious Medical Conditions Please advise us of any potentially serious medical conditions or allergies that your child may have e.g. epilepsy, diabetes. It may be that we need to produce a health care plan so that we can inform all of our staff of what to do in the unlikely event of an emergency.

Medicine Wherever practical, medicines, tablets, etc. should not be sent to school. Only in exceptional circumstances should medical administration take place in school; the school will only administer medicines that have been prescribed by a medical practitioner. In every case the parent must inform the school office, complete the necessary form and provide medication clearly labelled with the child’s name and dosage, in accordance with our Management of Medicines Policy (available on the school website).

The school should be notified immediately of any specific medical problems.

Arrangements for dealing with conditions such as asthma can be implemented easily.

Inhalers are kept in an easily accessible location in each class and children are expected to know how to take their own inhalers.

Accidents Bumps and grazes go hand-in-hand with children at play. We deal with them just as you would at home and many of our staff have a basic first aid qualification. We also have a number of more qualified first aiders in school to whom we refer any injury which we feel needs a more detailed analysis.

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Injuries of a more serious nature are thankfully rare occurrences. If your child did suffer a serious injury at school, we would make every effort to get in touch with you. If the injury required emergency treatment, then we would take appropriate action to contact you immediately. We think it is better to be safe and contact you with our concern so that you are in a position to make a parental decision whether or not to seek further medical advice.

If your child bangs his or her head at school, we will send you a bump note, which advises you of the circumstances and the need to keep an eye on him/her to check for dizziness, etc. If your child bangs his/her head and reports feeling unwell, we will contact you immediately.

Children in school with head lice: this is not only uncomfortable for the child with head lice but also presents a risk to other children of becoming infested. We surveyed parents about sending children with head lice home to be treated as soon as possible and 134 parents agreed with 9 against. We therefore now send children home to be treated and, once treated, they are free to return to school, preferably on the same day.

Appointments When possible, we ask that parents book appointments, such as ones to the dentist or doctor, at times that do not disrupt the school day. If this is not possible, parents should inform us of any appointments which will take children out of school during the day. It is important that you give us notice of these occasions so that we can prepare your child to leave.

We expect all children to be collected by parents on these occasions. Parents should report to the school office when collecting and returning children.

School holidays during term-time are actively discouraged and it is hoped that parents will not disrupt their child’s education. The Headteacher will not authorise holidays in term-time. This means that if a holiday is taken which, when added to other absences, causes concern, the school will have no alternative but to report this to the local authority. There is no automatic right to 10 days holiday in term-time each year.

Like many other schools in the country, we now issue penalty notices under certain circumstances for non-attendance at school. More information on this can be found in our Pupil Attendance Policy.

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Home – School Contact We find greatest pupil success and achievement is attained when the school has full parental support and co-operation. This is backed up by extensive research.

Parents who have any queries about school life are asked to contact the class teacher, Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher, at the beginning or end of the school day.

In addition, each Tuesday morning the Headteacher and/or Deputy Headteacher will be available for parents to call in and speak to regarding any queries or concerns that they may have. This is on a drop-in basis; appointments do not need to be made.

Frequent newsletters keep you up-to-date and well informed, and school events foster communication and assist the family life of the school. We would also encourage you to let us have your email address as increasingly we are keeping parents informed by email as an alternative to the conventional paper newsletter and it is useful to be able to canvass the opinions of parents quickly and efficiently.

Our website is updated regularly and contains a host of resources for parents to help them in continuing the education of their child at home, as well as up-to-date news and calendar dates.

We also have a text messaging service to provide another channel of communication.

Each message will be preceded by the word “Groupcall.” If the message is not preceded by this word then the message has not come from school.

Parental Dispute and Custody In situations such as parental relationship breakdown, we ask for clear guidance from parents so that school is not inadvertently contravening the decisions of the courts.

It also enables us to care for your children with patience and understanding as parental relationship breakdowns can affect a child’s health, wellbeing and attainment. We therefore ask you to supply the Headteacher with any court order which affects access or parental rights. Obviously these are confidential documents which will be kept as such.

School Uniform We believe that boys and girls should develop a pride in their appearance and identification with their school. School uniform is therefore encouraged, and all pupils are requested to wear the same, as set out below, not only during the school day but also for school events such as educational visits and church services. As in all our aims, we expect our pupils to set themselves high standards. Long hair should be 25

tied back whether the child is male or female. Parents should ensure that all uniform items are clearly marked with their child’s name. School colours are royal blue and gold. Please be aware that our school logo is copyrighted and only authorised suppliers are able to reproduce it.

School sweatshirts, cardigans, ties, P.E. t-shirts and tracksuits are available from our uniform supplier, Price & Buckland, at www.price-buckland.co.uk They can also be ordered from the school’s online shop. Please note that due to budgetary constraints we carry limited stock in school and no stock of tracksuits.

Both online shops can be accessed through the school website at http://st-nicholasblackpool.org.uk/info-for-parents/paying-for-items. Other items of uniform, which don’t bear the school logo, can be purchased at a range of high street shops, as well as from Price & Buckland.

School uniform is as follows: School V-neck sweatshirt or school cardigan Blue shirt or blouse Blue & gold striped tie Grey skirt / pinafore / smart school trousers Blue and white checked dress (summer) Sensible flat shoes, black, navy or brown (not fashion wear) P.E. School tracksuit Navy blue shorts School PE T-shirt (white) Slip-on or lace-up trainers (we have recently decided to allow children to wear trainers as they provide better cushioning and support than the traditional pump/plimsoll) All children must have a change of clothing to take part in P.E. lessons. This kit should be kept in a named tie-string P.E. bag and all items of clothing should be clearly labelled. Kit should remain in school during term-time and be taken home to be washed at the end of each half-term.

Since September 2016, we also have school tracksuits available to buy from our online uniform shop or direct from our supplier (link above). The children can come to school in these tracksuits on their PE day with their PE T-shirt and shorts underneath; alternatively, they can come in to school in their usual school uniform and get changed into their T-shirt and shorts for the PE lesson.

Please be aware that not having kit will potentially lead to your child not receiving their full legal entitlement under the National Curriculum. If this situation persists it will be referred to Pupil Welfare who may take action with parents.

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Emphasis is placed on being smart, clean and tidy. Please bear in mind that, during the course of the week, your child may come into contact with paint, glue and a number of other messy materials. A painting apron is therefore recommended, or an old shirt which make excellent overalls.

Parents are asked to ensure that haircuts are smart and tidy. If a child arrives at school with a haircut which attracts attention and marks them out as different, they can be more prone to teasing.

Jewellery The school has a ‘No Jewellery’ policy. Earrings are a particular health and safety hazard, and we strongly discourage even the use of studs. If your child is wearing earrings they may not be able to take part in P.E. lessons and so this too could lead to them not receiving their full National Curriculum entitlement. School staff are not permitted to remove children’s jewellery, so they should not wear it at all.

IT IS ADVISABLE TO LEAVE EXPENSIVE JEWELLERY / WATCHES AT HOME. THE SCHOOL CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ACCIDENT OR INJURY CAUSED BY THE WEARING OF JEWELLERY OR THE LOSS / DAMAGE TO THESE ITEMS. Mobile Phones There is no need for children to bring mobile phones to school. If you decide that you do want your child to bring a mobile phone with them, this is at your own risk.

The phone should be given to the class teacher at the beginning of the day, to try to minimise the risk of loss or damage, and to stop unauthorised use during the day. It will be returned to your child at home time.

Dogs Parents are reminded that, for reasons of health and safety, dogs should not be brought onto the premises, whether walking or carried, however cute!

No Smoking In line with national legislation, the school is a no smoking area. This includes all areas within the school perimeter.

Bikes and Scooters Whilst we encourage children to cycle to school, for safety reasons we ask that bikes and scooters are dismounted at the school gate and walked onto the premises.

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Admissions Starting School and Admission Arrangements Children are normally admitted to our school at the beginning of the academic year (September) in which they are five years old. This is their Reception year and is part of the Early Years Foundation Stage of learning.

The school keeps admission registers and confidential information relating to individual children. Admission forms are available from the school office.

A comprehensive Pre-School Development Programme has been established at St. Nicholas School. It is designed to guide parents in understanding and developing the Early Learning Skills that their child will need when starting school.

Pre-School Activity Packs have been compiled for parents and children to use together, in an enjoyable, informative and educationally progressive way. Each pack has been carefully planned for the graded development of essential skills and is available during the induction period.

This Pre-School Induction programme to develop awareness of school life, confidence and knowledge and exchange of information is ongoing throughout the Summer Term.

The Pre-School contacts have proved invaluable in establishing a happy, confident and informed start for both parents and children. Parents considering admission are welcome to view the school by appointment with the Headteacher.

We look forward to welcoming you to St. Nicholas C of E Primary School.

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St. Nicholas C of E Primary School School Road, Marton Moss, Blackpool. FY4 5DS Tel: (01253) 608900

ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS September 2018 Making an application Applications for admission to the school for September 2018 should be made on-line at www.blackpool.gov.uk/schooladmissions or on the Common Application Form between 1st September 2017 and 15th January 2018. It is not normally possible to change the order of your preferences for schools after the closing date.

Parents must complete the Local Authority form, stating three preferences. Parents who wish their application to this Church school to be considered against the faith criteria should also complete the supplementary form. If the school is oversubscribed, a failure to complete the supplementary form may result in your application for a place in this school being considered against lower priority criteria as the Governing Body will have no information upon which to assess the worship attendance.

The Supplementary Information Form is available from the school.

Letters informing parents of whether or not their child has been allocated a place will be sent out by the Local Authority on 16 th April 2018. Parents of children not admitted will be informed of the reason and offered an alternative place by the Authority.

Admission procedures Arrangements for admission have been agreed following consultation between the Governing Body, the Diocesan Board of Education, Local Authorities and other admissions authorities in the area.

The number of places available for admission to the Reception class in the year 2018/19 will be a maximum of 60.

The Governing Body will not place any restrictions on admissions to the Reception class unless the number of children for whom admission is sought exceeds their admission number. By law, no infant class may contain more than thirty children. The Governing Body operates a system of equal preferences under which they consider all preferences equally and the Local Authority notifies parents of the result. In the event that there are more applicants than places, after admitting all children with an educational, health and care plan naming the school, the Governing Body will allocate places using the criteria below, which are listed in order of priority.

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1.

(a) Children in public care and previously looked after children.

This includes any "looked after child", “previously looked after children” and any child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence or special guardianship order. ‘Looked after’ means that the child was (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions. (b)

2.

3.

Children with special medical or social circumstances affecting the child where these needs can only be met at this school.

Professional supporting evidence from a professional, e.g. a doctor, psychologist, social worker, is essential if admission is to be made under the criterion for special medical or social circumstances, and such evidence must set out the particular reasons why the school is question is the most suitable school and the difficulties which would be caused if the child had to attend another school.

Children who have a sibling attending the school on the date of application and on the date of admission.

(Siblings include step, half, foster, adopted brothers and sisters living at the same address.)

(a)

Children with a parent/carer who worship at St Christopher and St Nicholas Church, Hawes Side.

"Parental worshipping" is normally taken to mean a minimum of 12 attendances at church at public worship for over 12 months in the period leading up to 1st September 2016.

The governors will request confirmation of this from the incumbent priest at church.

(b)

Children with a parent/carer worshipping in a church in full membership of Churches Together in England.

"Parental worshipping" is normally taken to mean a minimum of 12 attendances at church at public worship for over 12 months in the period leading up to the 1st September 2016.

The governors will request confirmation of this from the relevant member of the clergy or church officer.

The lists of Churches can be found on the Churches Together in England website at cte.org.uk; lists are taken as on 1st September 2016. Churches in membership of the equivalent bodies to CTE in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are equally accepted.

4.

Other children

Tie break Where there are more applicants for the available places within a category, then the distance between the Ordnance Survey address points for the school and the home measured in a straight line will be used as the final determining factor, nearer addresses having priority over more distant ones. This address point is within the body of the property and usually located at its centre. Where two addresses have the same distance, or the cut-off point is for addresses within the same building, then the Local Authority's system of a random draw will determine which address(es) receive the offer(s).

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Admissions information In 2017, there were 140 applications for 60 places.

Late applications for admission Where there are extenuating circumstances for an application being received after the last date for applications, and it is before the governors have established their list of pupils to be admitted, then it will be considered alongside all the others.

Otherwise, applications which are received after the last date will be considered after all the others, and placed on the waiting list in order according to the criteria.

Waiting list Where we have more applications than places, the admissions criteria will be used.

Children who are not admitted will have their name placed on a waiting list. The names on this waiting list will be in the order resulting from the application of the admissions criteria.

Since the date of application cannot be a criterion for the order of names on the waiting list, late applicants for the school will be slotted into the order according to the extent to which they meet the criteria. Thus it is possible that a child who moves into the area later to have a higher priority than one who has been on the waiting list for some time. If a place becomes available within the admission number, the child whose name is at the top of the list will be offered a place. This is not dependent on whether an appeal has been submitted.

This waiting list will be maintained by the school and will operate for the full autumn term.

Address of pupil The address used on the Common Application Form must be the current one at the time of application, i.e. the family’s main residence. If the address changes subsequently, the parents should notify the school. Where the parents live at different addresses, and there is shared parenting, the address used will normally be the one where the child wakes up for the majority of Monday to Friday mornings. If there is any doubt about this, then the address of the Child Benefit recipient will be used. Parents may be asked to show evidence of the claim that is being made for the address, e.g. identity cards of various sorts showing the child’s address as the one claimed. Where there is dispute about the correct address to use, the governors reserve the right to make enquiries of any relevant third parties, e.g. the child’s GP, Council Tax Office, Electoral Registration Officer, utilities provider. For children of UK Service personnel and other Crown Servants returning to the area proof of the posting is all that is required.

Non-routine or in-year admissions It sometimes happens that a child needs to change school other than at the “normal” time; such admissions are known as non-routine or in-year admissions. Parents wishing their child to attend this school should arrange to visit the school. They will be provided with an application form once they have a definite local address. If there is a place in the appropriate class, then the governors will arrange for the admission to take place. If there is no place, then the admissions committee will consider the application and information about how to appeal against the refusal will be provided. Appeals for children moving into 31

the area will not be considered until there is evidence of a permanent address, e.g. exchange of contracts or tenancy agreement with rent book.

Please note that you cannot re-apply for a place at a school within the same school term unless there has been relevant, significant and material change in the family circumstances.

Appeals Where the governors are unable to offer a place because the school is oversubscribed, parents have the right to appeal to an independent admission appeal panel. Parents should notify the clerk to the governors at the school by date to follow. Parents will have the opportunity to submit their case to the panel in writing and also to attend in order to present their case. You will normally receive 14 days’ notice of the place and time of the hearing.

Appeals which are received after the deadline will be slotted into the schedule where this is possible. There is no guarantee that this will happen and late appeals may be heard after the stipulated date at a second round of hearings. The schedule is subject to change depending upon the availability of appeal panel members, clerks, venues and the number of appeals for each school (which will vary year on year).

Please note that this right of appeal against the governors’ decision does not prevent you from making an appeal in respect of any other school.

Fraudulent applications Where the Governing Body discovers that a child has been awarded a place as the result of an intentionally misleading application from a parent (for example a false claim to residence in the catchment area or of involvement in a place of worship) which effectively denies a place to a child with a stronger claim, then the governing body is required to withdraw the offer of the place. The application will be considered afresh and a right of appeal offered if a place is refused.

Deferred admission If your child is due to start school during the next academic year, it is important that you apply for a place for September. If your child’s fifth birthday is between the months of September and December, then, if you wish it, admission may be deferred until January; if it is between January and April, then admission may be deferred until the start of the summer term though it is likely to be in your child’s interest to start no later than January.

You may also request that your child attend school part time until he/she reaches his/her fifth birthday.

Admission of children outside of their normal age group Parents may seek a place for their child outside of their normal age group, for example, if a child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health. In addition, the parents of a summer born child1 may choose not to send that child to school until the 1

The term summer born children relates to all children born from 1April to 31 August. These children reach compulsory school age on 31August following their fifth ( or on their fifth birthday if it falls on 31 August) It is likely 32

September following their fifth birthday and may request that they are admitted out of their normal age group – to Reception rather than Year 1. In this case parents should write to the Headteacher to explain the reasons for this request. Professional evidence should also be provided to support this request. It should not be based purely on parents’ views. If parents are unhappy with the decision of the Headteacher, they can ask the Admissions Committee to review this decision.

Admission authorities must make decisions on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. This will include taking account of the parent’s views; information about the child’s academic, social and emotional development; where relevant, their medical history and the views of a medical professional; whether they have previously been educated out of their normal age group; and whether they may naturally have fallen into a lower age group if it were not for being born prematurely. They must also take into account the views of the head teacher. When informing a parent of their decision on the year group the child should be admitted to, the admission authority must set out clearly the reasons for their decision.

Where an admission authority agrees to a parents’ request for their child to be admitted out of their normal age group and as a consequence of that decision, the child will be admitted to a relevant age group (ie the age group to which pupils are normally admitted to the school) the local authority and admission authority must process the application as part of the main admissions round, unless the parental request is made too late for this to be possible, and on the basis of their determined admission arrangements only, including the application oversubscription criteria where applicable. They must not give the application lower priority on the basis that the child is being admitted out of their normal age group. Parents have a statutory right to appeal against refusal of a place at a school for which they have applied. This right does not apply if they are offered a place at the school but it is not in their preferred age group.

Multiple births Where there are multiple birth children wanting admission and there is only a single place left within the admission number, then the Governing Body will exercise as much flexibility as possible within the requirements of infant class sizes. In exceptional circumstances we are now able to offer places for multiple birth children, even when this means breaching infant class size limits.

that most requests for summer born children admitted out of their normal age group will come from parents of children born in the later summer months or those born prematurely 33

Diocesan Supplementary Information Form Admission to primary school, 2018 Blackpool St Nicholas Church of England Primary School Name of child: Surname . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christian names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Date of birth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Boy

Girl

Name of parent/carer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........................................................................ ................................................................

Post code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Contact telephone number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

If you are applying to this school on faith grounds, please complete the following sections: Place of worship one of parents / carers regularly attends: Name of place of worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....................................................................

Name of vicar / priest / minister / faith leader / church officer: ....................................................................

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................................................................... ....................................................................

Post code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Your faith leader will be contacted in order to provide the information.

Return this form to the school before 15th January 2018.

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This form is for use of the School; it will be sent to the appropriate faith leader, to be returned direct to the school.

Clergy Reference Form Admission to primary school, 2018 Blackpool St Nicholas Church of England Primary School

Name of child: Surname . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christian names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Date of birth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Boy

Girl

Name of parent/carer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........................................................................ ................................................................

Post code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Contact telephone number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This parent has given your name as a reference for his/her commitment to the church/place of worship.

Our criteria require the parent to have attended their place of worship 12 times in the 12 months prior to 1st September 2016.

Has this been the pattern for this parent?

YES / NO

Signed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Date: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Please return this form to: Mr A Mellor, Headteacher

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The Most Valuable Thing You Can Give Your Child Is Your Time Try to spend some time every day with your child doing each of the following things: Talking to him / her Listening to him / her Reading to him / her Singing to him / her Playing with him / her Showing him / her things of interest Letting him / her show YOU things of interest Do all these things with: Patience



Tolerance



Praise



Approval

How to Help your Child

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

Encouragement

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development If a child lives with criticism he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame he learns to feel guilty.

BUT If a child lives with tolerance he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement he learns to be confident.

If a child lives with praise he learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness he learns to be just.

If a child lives with security he learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance he learns to find love and friendship in the world.

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Pupil Progress Measures 2016

School progress score Confidence interval

Reading +3.3

Writing +4

Maths +2.9

+1.6 to +5

+2.3 to +5.7

+1.5 to +4.3

+0.3

+1.7

+1

0

0

0

Well above national average (about 10% of schools in England)

Above national average (about 10% of schools in England)

Average (about 60% of schools in England)

Below national average (about 10% of schools in England)

Well below national average (about 10% of schools in England)

Blackpool average (local authority) National average

For further information on school attainment and progress data please use this link: http://www.st-nicholas-blackpool.org.uk/curriculum_achievement/attainment

Pupil Attendance Below are the attendance figures for 2015-16 (primary schools only). Figures may not total 100 per cent because of rounding.

% actual attendance

% authorised absence

% unauthorised absence

St Nicholas C E Primary

96.1

2.5

1.4

Blackpool LA

96.2

2.3

1.5

England

96.0

3.1

0.9

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OFSTED INSPECTION – March 2016 In March 2016 we were visited by a team of inspectors from Ofsted and you can read their full report on our website. We are delighted to tell you that they decided that the school was OUTSTANDING in all 6 areas of the inspection framework

The effectiveness of leadership and management is OUTSTANDING. The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is OUTSTANDING. The pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare is OUTSTANDING. The outcomes for pupils are OUTSTANDING. The Early Years Provision is OUTSTANDING. The overall effectiveness of the school is OUTSTANDING. The progress from its previous inspection means that our school is in the top 4% of schools nationally.

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SIAMS (Church School) Inspection – May 2016 “The distinctiveness and effectiveness of St Nicholas as a Church of England school are good.”

“The Christian character of this exciting primary school is evident in the warmth of the relationships apparent as you walk through the door.

Children are proud of their school and recognise the importance of its Christian foundation to all aspects of school life.

As a result of the focus on each child as a unique child of God, children make good or better progress and achieve well.”

“The children’s behaviour is exemplary as a result of strong relationships and a clear understanding of key Christian values.

Children engage with collective worship enthusiastically and develop a clear understanding of the nature of God.

Teachers use questioning effectively in RE to deepen the children’s understanding and to challenge their thinking.

The school’s robust approach to self-evaluation ensures a clear and accurate understanding of its strengths as a church school and has identified appropriate areas for growth.

The school is relentless in its drive to ensure that individual children are given the best education that they can offer.

Children share stories of Jesus and other biblical characters to illustrate their understanding of the roots of their values. Parents value their involvement in the school’s approach to Christian values and talk of the benefits of the shared approach that the school encourages.

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St. Nicholas C of E Primary School School Road, Marton Moss, Blackpool, FY4 5DS Tel: 01253 608900 email: admin@st-nicholas.blackpool.sch.uk www.st-nicholas-blackpool.org.uk Headteacher: Mr A Mellor BCS, PGCE, NPQH

HOME AND SCHOOL AGREEMENT St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, working closely with parents, aims to provide all children with a complete and comprehensive education, maximising potential to ensure that all children make outstanding progress in academic, social and emotional areas of learning, in order to be the best that we can be!

The school will:  Encourage learning by providing a welcoming, friendly and purposeful environment in which Christian values are central to the ethos of the school.  Provide a broad and balanced curriculum to meet the needs of each child.  Inform parents of their children's progress at regular parents' evenings and send a written report at the end of each school year.  Provide homework for all children as outlined in our school Homework Policy (copies available from school).  Use our financial resources wisely and well for the benefit of all the children in school.  School will endeavour to create safe environment where children feel happy and secure.

Parents / Guardians will:  Make sure the child is punctual, attends school regularly and will notify the school as early as possible on the first day of a child's absence.  Support and respect the school staff and policies on discipline, homework, uniform, jewellery and medicines and advise the school of any health or relevant family problems  Attend Parents' Evenings to discuss their child's progress.  Encourage their child(ren) to read a wide range of reading materials regularly, share stories and listen to the child read aloud as requested by the class teacher.  Ensure that their child does not have access to inappropriate online or digital games and content including social networking.

The child will:  Respect people and property.  Complete given tasks in class and homework carefully and on time.  Wear school uniform with pride.  Be friendly and polite.

Together we will:  Nurture links between home, school and the local community to cultivate the foundations of mutual respect and responsibility.  Support each child and help him / her to develop his / her full potential.

Name of Pupil …………………………………………………………………….……….

Signed …………………………………………………..……………… (Pupil)

Signed………………………………………………………………….……………….…...… (Parent)

Signed ……………………………………………………………….………..……………... (Headteacher)

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SCHOOL TERM DATES

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Blackpool Education Committee – School ED24 – DfE Number 890 3620

The Diocesan Board of Education Church House Cathedral Close Blackburn BB1 5AA 01254 503070 Blackpool Council PO Box 4 Blackpool FY1 1NA 01253 477477

Note All the information in this booklet relates to the school year 2016-17 unless otherwise specifically stated.

However, situations may change, either before or during this academic year, and it is subject to modification without notice.

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