Governing Body Annual Report to Parents
2022-2023
A paper copy of this document is availableon request.
Letter from the Chair of Governing Body
Dear Parents and Carers,
On behalf of the governors, I am delighted to present our Governors’ Annual Report to Parents which provides an insight into our successes, high standards of achievement and the social and academic life at our school for the academic year 2022-2023. Our school motto ‘Roots to Grow and Wings to Fly’ is our vision for every child, whatever their starting points, interests or talents. We are immensely proud of our pupils who flourish not only academically but also as confident Libanusians, ready to soar and make a positive contribution to society. Our motto also underpins our commitment to ensure that we develop the whole child.
This report will give you an overview of the school’s work over the past year, its successes, and the objectives for next year.
Your sincerely,
Mrs Rebecca Jenkins Chair of Governors
Our School
Libanus Primary School is on the outskirts of the town of Blackwood in Caerphilly County Borough. There are approximately 300 full-time pupils and 22 part-time pupils between the ages of 3 and 11 on roll. The school admits pupils on a part-time basis to its nursery class at the start of the term after theirthird birthday.
There are 12 classes, 9 of which are mixed age. Around 14% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, whichis lower than the nationalaverage.
Nearly all pupils are of white British ethnicity and come from homes where English is the main language. No pupils speak Welsh at home. A few pupils have Polish, Romanian and Cantonese as their homelanguage.
The school is secure for pupils and staff. The school gates are locked between 9.00am and 3.20pm. Nursery staff open and monitor the gates at 11.30am for Nursery pupils to leave the morning session. Any visitors to the school during the teaching day must report to the main reception area via Libanus Road. On arrival at the school all visitors are required to sign into the iPad confirming their full name and person/reasontheyarevisitingand sign out ofthe iPadwhen leavingthe school.
Theschool premisesoperativea 24 hourCCTVsystem.
• For more information about our current staffing structure please click here.
• For more information about our current Governing Body structure please click here.
Our Vision and Values
Our Vision has been developed by all stakeholdersas a result of stakeholder surveys, pupil consultationactivities, staff INSET activities and Governing Body meetings. Our vision and values are at the heartof everythingwe do at Libanus PrimarySchool.
Love of Learning Integrity Bravery Appreciation Niceness Unity
Curious
Motivation
Work ethic
Enthusiasm
Enjoyment
Respectful Honest Open mindedness
Loyalty
Brave Courage Well mannered Good listener
Empathy
Understanding
Humility
Acceptance
Polite Friendly Caring
Loving Kind
Ability to make friends
Manners
Compassion Collaboration Teamwork
Self-control
Sharing Resilient Active Ready
Tactfulness
Perseverance
Ability to deal with conflict and negativity
Positive attitude
Flexible and adaptable
Calmness
Punctuality
Self-discipline
Patience
Attendance
It is vitally important that your child attends school on time every day (9am) unless they are too unwell to do so. If your child has a communicable disease e.g. chickenpox, sickness, diarrhoea please follow the PublicHealthWalesguidelines.
The rewards for good attendance are clear: pupils are more likely to enjoyschool, achievebetter results andincrease life chances.
We reward excellent pupil attendance termly with certificate and awards and present our attendance cup to the class with the highestattendanceeach week.
For more information about our attendance procedures please click here.
For more information about our term dates please click here.
Admission and Transition Procedures
Nursery
It is the Local Authority’s policy to provide all 3 year old children with a funded part-time Nursery place. Children are admitted into our Nursery the term after their third birthday. Application forms are available on-line. On entering your child’s date of birth, you will be provided with the correct application form. Alternatively, you can obtain an application form from school. School will then forward the completed form to the Admissions Department. Nursery admission takes place in September and Pre Nursery ‘Risers’ takes place in January and April.
MainSchool Classes
The Headteacher will be delighted to chat with parents and children who are considering joining our school. Please do not hesitateto contactschool to arrangea convenientappointment.
Pupil Transfers
Permissionfrom the LEAmustbegrantedfor pupil transfers.
Transitionto SecondarySchool
Libanus Primary School is part of theBlackwood Comprehensive School cluster alongside MarkhamPrimary School, BlackwoodPrimarySchool, PengamPrimarySchool, Cefn Fforest PrimarySchool and Fleurdelis PrimarySchool.
To ensure pupils have a smooth transition to comprehensive school a full programme is planned for the summer term. Staff from the comprehensive school also come to Libanus to talk to the Year 6 pupils about secondary school. The Year 6 teachers work closely with the comprehensive school to ensure key information is passed onto them aboutpupils.
Moreinformation aboutCaerphilly'sadmissionscanbe found on: https://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/services/schools-and-learning/admissions-and-appeals
Our Curriculum
Our school curriculum is everything a learner experiences whilst at Libanus. When designing our curriculum we consulted pupils, parents, governors and the community to ensure we developed a curriculumthat is relevant, authenticand meetsthe needs ofall of ourpupils.
Our curriculum is broad and balanced and ignites a passion for learning. We ensure that our curriculum embodies the Curriculum for Wales Core Purposes. The Core Purposes underpin everything we do at Libanus andensure that all pupilsbecomea true Libanusian!
For more information about the following aspects of our curriculum
please click on the following links:
Curriculum Summary (including RVE)
Libanus Adventurers
Physical Education
Welsh Language Education
Music Lessons
Careers and the World of Work
Well-being
At Libanus Primary School, we see emotional and mental wellbeing as something which is for everybody: pupils, families, staff and friends. With that in mind, wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do, a golden thread that runs through our curriculum.
Through the use of our Learning at Libanus characters we educate, support and foster the personal qualities our pupils need to nourish their roots, grow their wings and become the best that they can be.
Through fostering positive relationships, providing a rich curriculum with a large offering of extra-curricular activities, we believe our school is a place where pupils have opportunities to develop their interests, have their voices heard and feel valued.
The Well-being Lead for Libanus Primary School is Mrs Angharad Curtis.
For more information about Well-being at Libanus please click here.
School Development Plan Targets 2023-2024
At Libanus Primary School we believe that the School Development Plan provides a structure to improve the quality of learning for all our children. It enables us to introduce National, Local (EAS) and School based initiatives within a coherent and planned framework. It brings together all aspects of planning, and helps turn long term vision into short-term achievable goals that are monitored and reviewedregularly.
Our aim is to raise standards in the quality of teaching and learning provided here at Libanus Primary School to ensure our pupils receive the best possible education and are well prepared for their life aheadin the 21st Century.
Target 1: To continue implementation of the Curriculum for Wales.
Target 2: To embed and further develop family and community engagement, enhancing the learning for all pupils.
Target 3: To further develop and implement the writing journey throughout the school to enhance learning.
Target 4: To continue to develop and refine ALN systems.
Target 5: To continue to improve the provision for enrichment activities in Years 1 & 2 with the emphasis on child development.
Useful Policies
At Libanus Primary School we have a range of school policies to ensure that our values are applied consistently throughout all aspects of school life.
Theseincludethe following policies:
• StrategicEqualityPlan
• AccessibilityPlan
• RaceEqualityand CulturalDiversityPolicy
• Sex and RelationshipEducationPolicy
• Child LookedAfter Policy
• AdditionalLearningNeeds Policy
• ChargingPolicy
• Attendance Policy
• ComplaintsPolicy
• Dealingwith Persistent and VexatiousComplaintsPolicy
• School CCTVPolicy
• PrivacyNotice
• CollectiveWorshipPolicy
For more information about our attendance procedures please click here.
