Linslade School Prospectus

LINSLADE

SCHOOL

ProsPeCtus 2014 – 2015

WELCOME FROM OUR YEAR 5 PUPILS My name is Hollie and I came from Greenleas Lower School. I know that you are probably feeling a little bit scared yet excited.

I felt the same too. But it’s really fun at Linslade. All of the teachers are nice and have got a good sense of humour. I do still miss my old teacher, but my new teacher is nice too.

I bet you don’t move to different classrooms a lot at your school but you will at Linslade. You get put into your forms and then when you go to English and Maths you will go to a different room. Art is great as you get to go into the art studio and in science you get to go into the lab. PE is awesome. There are lots of different sports to do like dance, football, swimming, hockey or even rugby.

There are lots of different bells to tell you when to go to the next lesson and when it’s over and when to go home. School dinners are really nice and there is a tuck shop, so if you bring money you can buy a snack at break time. If you are feeling lonely you can get a Buddy Be Friend or go to the Hub where they have fun games like Top Trumps.

Something that is different is that most people walk to and from school on their own. If you walk home with your friends you will feel safe. Some people have mobile phones in case of emergencies. Speaking of phones, if you have one you have to drop it off at the dinner hall and collect it on the way out.

I’m feeling very happy at Linslade now that I am used to it and have settled in.

I have made new friends and can find my way around no problem!

There’s always someone around to help if I get lost.

I hope this letter helps to reassure you that it’s not too scary moving to Linslade.

There really is nothing to worry about. You will love it!

HOLLIE WELFORD 5EW

...it’s really fun at Linslade. All of the teachers are nice and have got a good sense of humour. HOLLIE - 5EW

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WELCOME TO LINSLADE SCHOOL Dear Pupils, Parents and Carers Welcome to our prospectus for 2014 - 15. As I write, our new Year 5 pupils (along with new pupils in other year groups) have been with us for just five school weeks and they have already settled in, are working hard and tell me that they are happy here and enjoy being part of, what they have called, ‘The Linslade Family.’

Reading our prospectus is a very important part of the research you and your family will carry out as you decide upon the next school for your child. We realise that you will have many questions and hope that this booklet will go, at least, some way towards answering them. However, we would really like to encourage you to come to visit in order to experience life at Linslade first hand.

We look forward to welcoming you to our Open Morning on Saturday 8 November and would like to offer you the opportunity to visit us during the working day in the week 17 – 21 November to see us as we really are. If, for whatever reason, you are not able to visit us during this period, please telephone to make an appointment to visit at a more convenient time. We will be more than happy to help.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about our school, please do not hesitate to get in touch either by phone, in person or via email using our dedicated new intake email address newentry2015@linsladeac.co.uk.

With very best wishes

Kate Smith Headteacher

The Journey to Middle School At Linslade, we appreciate that changing schools is both exciting and – in some respects – daunting. The journey from lower to middle school at the end of Year 4 may well be the biggest change the children (and their parents/ carers) will experience in their school life.

Many children will be ready for the change, whilst others will be nervous. We understand this and are working hard to promote close links with our partner lower schools in an effort to try to reduce any anxieties you and your child may have.

Once you have made the decision to join us at Linslade, we will write to you and your child at regular intervals in order to support you as you continue your journey to middle school. We will also open up a dedicated email address for you to make contact in the event of any questions or concerns.

Pupils will be invited to our transfer day in July. We also have schemes such as ‘Footsteps’ to support any children who may be especially anxious about taking their next step.

Parents and carers will be invited to an information evening in June, where they will receive a ‘Welcome Pack’ and have the opportunity to spend some time with their child’s new form tutor.

We will also invite you to a ‘Welcome Assembly’ at the end of the children’s first full week with us.

...we could not have wished for a more positive start for our child at middle school.

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Linslade is a great school with lots of ambitious and confident pupils who love to learn.

PASTOR AL CARE Pastoral Care at Linslade has been judged by Ofsted (2014) as being good. Each pupil is allocated to a tutor group with a form tutor whose principal aim is to know the children and their families well. Heads of Year are responsible for the academic and pastoral oversight of each year group. They stay with their year group for the two years of Key Stage 2, before handing over to a new Head of Year for Key Stage 3.

Buddy be Friends: At Linslade we run a Buddy Be Friends scheme where some willing Year 8s have training in supporting younger pupils. The Year 5s are then given the opportunity to have a Buddy to help them settle into the school.

Other pupils joining us in different year groups are also offered a Buddy to help them as they find their feet with us.

The Link and The Hub - Places To Feel Safe: The Link is a small private room that offers children and their families somewhere to meet with our pastoral staff and other visiting professionals. It is a welcoming and comfortable space.

The Hub is a larger interactive pastoral area where children can continue with school work and is also open at break times for pupils who need a calmer atmosphere.

Mrs Tait - Child, School and Family Link Officer: Mrs Tait Provides the connection between home, school, pupils and outside agencies. She supports pupils by offering small group or 1:1 sessions. Parents and carers can contact Mrs Tait to arrange a meeting should they have any concerns about their children’s well-being.

Young Carers: We are very proud to have been among the very first schools to gain gold accreditation as a Young Carers’ School and to be part of the national media launch of the scheme. At Linslade we recognise the unique challenges Young Carers can face in their lives and are proactive in doing all we can to offer individual support according to each Young Carer’s own needs.

Staying Healthy: In 2013 we refurbished a new dedicated first aid room at Linslade. Miss Grant, our Lead First Aider, is on hand to provide first aid and advice with regard to health related issues and works very closely with the School Nursing Team who visit the school on a weekly basis to offer health related advice.

Preparing Pupils For Their Next Steps: We are aware that, as a middle school, we are preparing our children to take the next step to upper school.

Although our pupils transfer, in the main to Cedars, we work closely with both upper schools in the town in order to ensure a smooth transition at the end of Year 8.

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This may be my first year, but I feel at home.

OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY Linslade School is a ‘Values Education School’. Each month we focus on a different value in assemblies, tutor time and lessons in order to support our aim of building a community where everyone is respected and valued. Values points are given for outstanding effort, excellent work and positive involvement in the life of the school. Each week all tutor groups nominate a ‘Values Champion’. These nominations are then taken forward to our weekly ‘Celebration Assembly’ where they are entered into a draw for ‘Values Champion of the Week’.

Our House System: Each pupil and member of staff is allocated to one of our four houses.

Bassett

Norton

Salusbury

Leighton

Each house is led by a House Leader who works together with our House Captains to organise competitions and charity fund raising events. Sports Day is our very popular house competition, to which families and friends of the school are invited.

Charity Fund Raising: We also come together as a school to raise money for local and national charities. Last year, we filled the mini bus with food for our local foodbank, and raised in excess of £5000 which was split between, Children in Need, Sport Relief, Keech Cottage, The Children’s Trust, The Roald Dahl Foundation and The Ronald MacDonald House at John Radcliffe Hospital.

School Council: Our school council meets weekly and is involved in discussing key aspects of school life. More recently our school council members have been involved in the school gaining its re-accreditation as a Values Education School. They also play an important part in the interview process for new staff joining the school and have been to governors meetings to discuss aspects of teaching and learning. Their involvement in producing our Learning and Teaching 10s was an important aspect of helping the school to continue on its journey of school improvement.

Year 8 Leaders: Almost all of our Year 8 pupils are involved in some form of leadership. Each year, our Year 8 leaders receive training for roles such as guides, sports leaders, art leaders, drama leaders and acting as ambassadors for our school.

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Linslade School is a brilliant place to learn, they teach you so much and plan lots of activities.

LEARNING AT LINSLADE Our curriculum is broad and balanced. There is a clear focus on the core subjects of English, maths and science, with opportunities for pupils to explore the arts, humanities, modern languages, technology and sport. The school week is divided into 25 x 1 hour lessons. theMeD Days: We also organise a series of themed days during the year. More recently these have included ‘Africa Day’ and ‘Literacy Day’. This year we are planning an Academic Challenge Experience – a day when all pupils will focus on a specific aspect of the curriculum for a whole day. aCtivities Week: July 2013 saw our first ‘Activities Week’ when we abandoned our normal timetable to learn in a way that was active and challenging. The feedback we received was so good, we decided to do it all again in 2014. We welcomed visitors into school, pupils visited locations such as Green Park, Woburn, Condover Hall, Thorpe Park, Harlequin’s Gym and Tesco’s Bakery; all in spirit of learning in a different way. Feedback from this year was so positive, we have already started planning for Activities Week 2015! sex anD relationshiPs eDuCation: This is currently delivered jointly within science and PSHE lessons. Parents/carers may remove their child from sex education and should contact the Headteacher in writing should they wish to do so. We also offer families the opportunity to come along to our ‘Growing Pains Evening’ where we look together at some of the questions children and adults have when talking about how we (and our bodies) change as adolescence approaches. religious eDuCation: This is an important subject at Linslade again, parents/carers have the right to withdraw their children from Religious Education and Collective Worship. Please contact the Headteacher in writing should you wish to do so.

The curriculum is very enjoyable and you do excellent sports in PE.

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I look forward to going to school every day to meet my friends and do more creative things.

SUPPORTING LEARNING Learning Support at Linslade At Linslade we recognise that all pupils need support from time to time. The reasons for this can be linked to educational problems, behavioural or emotional needs, prolonged illness or health problems, difficulties learning and remembering, or other causes. Such needs might be short-term or very specific. For others the problem is more long-term (e.g. having sight difficulties or finding it hard to keep new things in their mind long enough to write down or discuss).

Mrs Taylor is our Coordinator for Special Educational Needs (SENCO). She works together with a team of Teaching Assistants, Learning Mentors, class teachers and external agencies to make sure that our pupils have the best possible opportunities to succeed. Our Learning Support Team will be liaising closely with feeder lower schools to ensure as smooth a transition for our new pupils as possible.

Pupil Premium and Year 7 Catch Up Premium: This additional funding is used at Linslade to ensure we narrow the gap between ‘disadvantaged’ pupils and their peers. Our aim is to maximise the impact of this funding in order to allow all of our pupils the opportunity to participate, learn and achieve excellence. We do all we can to work closely with learners and their families to ensure this support is tailored to individual needs and circumstances.

Gifted or Talented Provision/ High Level Achievers: Approximately 10% of pupils at Linslade may be identified as High Level Achievers who are “gifted” or “talented” in one of several ways: • they may be strong in all or most subjects taught • they may be outstanding in a number of areas in and beyond the curriculum • they may have special abilities in specific areas (notably, though not exclusively, in the arts, sports or music).

Where possible we try to provide a wide range of opportunities for such pupils. This includes such features as: • • • • •

visits (to or from the school) demonstrations, master classes, or links with the upper schools/other institutions extra-curricular opportunities, summer schools and university-linked events activities that feature such talents as sports, performances, arts, mathematical, linguistic and creative skills extended work that allows pupils to access higher levels, challenge and attainment in the classroom.

We currently have a number of pupils who compete in sport at county and national level. A number of our pupils also take part in theatre and dance productions out of school. Last year 10 of our Year 8 students went on to achieve their Bronze Arts Award.

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As a parent I am very pleased with the school and the support that it has given me and my two sons.

OUR FACILITIES We are very proud of our facilities and specialist rooms, which include: • Two Science Laboratories • A Design & Technology Workshop • A Food Technology Room • A Textiles Room • A Performing Arts Studio • An Art Studio • Two ICT Suites • A Music Room equipped with keyboards and facilities for recording work • Extensive Sports Fields, netball and tennis courts

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Linslade is a great place to expand your knowledge and still have fun.

LEARNING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Linslade is an inclusive school that aims to offer a range of different clubs and activities to support and challenge our pupils beyond the classroom.

CluBs: We have an impressive range of clubs, among them; film club, beading club, art club, homework club, dance club, cookery club, geography club, games club, engineering club and a ‘Fantasy Football’ League. sPort: Extra-curricular sport is very important to us at Linslade and we are proud to be a Gold Sports Award School.

We offer different sporting opportunities among them football, girls’ and boys’ rugby, netball, hockey, table tennis, dance, cricket and dodgeball. We play in a range of competitions and regularly reach County Finals. Last year we brought home no fewer than 7 County Titles.

CoMPetitions: We also organise and take part in a number of competitions including our inter-house photographic competition, an extreme reading competition and Anti-Bullying Week competitions. This year we have introduced a new weekly ‘Maths Fact’ competition which is proving to be very popular indeed. triPs anD visits: In 2013 – 14 Linslade pupils visited many different places and experienced a range of new challenges.

These included: • • • • • • • • • •

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A Year 7 residential visit to Condover Hall in Shropshire Our annual Year 6 summer camp to the Isle of Wight Year 6 day trip to Green Park A visit to Normandy Year 5 visit to Woburn Opportunities to meet visiting authors Year 8 visit to Thorpe Park All Year 5 pupils visited the Leighton Buzzard ‘Life Exhibition’ Theatre Visits – including a trip to the Fortune Theatre in London to see ‘The Woman in Black’ Everyone going to church at Christmas to celebrate the season through music and readings.

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the arts: Pupils have the opportunity to take part in a range of arts based activities.

Most individual music lessons are available via ‘inspiring Music’. We currently offer a series of musical groups including recorder group, orchestral group, singing, beginners’ brass and guitar group. there are opportunities to take part in samba bands and it is our aim to make sure that all pupils are able to read music and master basic keyboard skills in the time they are with us.

Our drama productions in the recent past have included ‘grease’, ‘Joseph and the amazing technicoloured Dreamcoat’ ‘Bugsy Malone’ and ‘CatS’. this year we will be staging a whole school production of ‘honk’.

We are also very proud of our highly acclaimed ‘talent Show’ performed each June to a packed auditorium. in July 2014 we presented the first of, what we hope will be, our annual art exhibitions, which included work from pupils in all year groups. the standard was impressive and generated an incredible reaction from among the people fortunate enough to visit.

WORKING WITH FAMILIES The transition from lower to middle school can be an anxious time for parents and carers as well as for their children. The years a pupil spends at middle school form a period when tremendous changes occur, physically, emotionally, socially as well as academically. As a school, we welcome the contribution families are able to make to ensuring we provide a learning experience that is truly memorable for our children. There are a number of ways you can get involved: • • • • •

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As a school governor As a member of the Linslade School, Parents, Teachers and Friends Association Volunteering to help with reading or to act as additional adult supervision on trips Attending sports fixtures, musical and dramatic performances Participating in a range of workshops e.g. our successful ‘Growing Pains Evening’, our SATs workshops and our workshops to support literacy and numeracy Taking part in our termly ‘Parents’ Forum’ where you have an opportunity to contribute your ideas to key aspects of our work.

Wrap Around Care: Our normal school day is from 8.45 a.m. to 3.30p.m. However a number of pupils arrive at school earlier than this to take part in before school clubs or to enjoy breakfast at ‘Early Birds’. ‘Early Birds’ opens at 8.00a.m. and offers a range of breakfast snacks and beverages; all for the reasonable price of £1 per day.

There is no need to book and everyone who would like to come along is very welcome.

Bluebells After School Club: Bluebells offers after school care until 6.00p.m. Based in the school’s dining room, Bluebells provides a safe and enjoyable environment for pupils who are not able to go straight home from school.

Further details can be obtained through the school or by contacting Bluebells direct on: 07593 952769.

Visits to the school: We are always happy to welcome visitors to our school and have scheduled a week of open mornings for the week beginning 17 November to allow you to come and see us during the course of a normal school day.

Should you wish to visit us at other times, please contact the school to arrange an appointment. We will be delighted to show you around.

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Linslade

School

Mentmore Road, Linslade, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 2PA Tel: 01525 372 640 Fax: 01525 851 437 E-mail: contact@linsladeac.co.uk Web: www.linsladeac.co.uk

LINSLADE

SCHOOL

Mentmore Road, Linslade, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire Lu7 2PA tel: 01525 372 640 Fax: 01525 851 437 e-Mail: contact@linsladeac.co.uk WeB: www.linsladeac.co.uk Linslade Academy Trust. A charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company number 07621395.