Dear Parent / Carer A very warm welcome to Dame Dorothy Primary School. In this brochure we hope to provide you with an informative overview of life at Dame Dorothy. We believe our school provides an excellent start to your child s education through our caring staff, a stimulating environment and a welcoming ethos. We are a single form entry school with a children s centre and day care setting attached. The school has a feeling of family with generations spanning parents and grandparents all being educated here at Dame Dorothy. We want your child to have the best possible experiences, education and life outcomes to promote a love of learning and a respect for all others. We seek to provide close links between school and home as we believe your child will best achieve this by our close co-operation. We look forward to developing a strong partnership with you. Iain Williamson Head Teacher
DAME DOROTHY PRIMARY SCHOOL GOVERNORS The governing body of Dame Dorothy consists of parents, members of the local authority, teaching staff and representatives of the local community. The full governing body meets at least once every term. Committees meet regularly to discuss specific issues regarding personnel, finance, premises etc. The Governing body works alongside the staff, pupils and parents of the school to ensure the school that all children are given the best opportunity to reach their full potential. MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE GOVERNORS Welcome to Dame Dorothy Primary School. The Headmaster and staff team at Dame Dorothy School are totally committed to providing a safe, welcoming, friendly and fulfilling environment for your child to learn and develop as an individual. The School values mutual respect and understanding for one another, and aims to enable every child to be confident, happy and independent. We are keen to provide a positive experience to all to nurture every child to achieve the highest possible standard in all areas of their learning. Your child should receive a broad education incorporating the teaching off skills and knowledge to promote their understanding of the world in which they live. There are also many activities and opportunities for your child to enjoy all aspects of school life including lots of clubs! The information on this brochure will give you an overview of the school, its aims and values, routines and the curriculum which your child will be learning. I hope that it will answer many of the questions commonly asked by parents. Thank you Christine Stafford Chair of Governors.
SCHOOL AIMS Dame Dorothy Primary School prides itself upon providing a caring and welcoming environment for all. We are committed to: Providing the best possible standard of education in all areas of learning Treating all children and adults with the highest respect and understanding Developing the skills of enquiry, independence and investigation to equip our pupils for life Encouraging our children to have a love for learning Providing a safe and secure environment Helping them understand the importance of community and the role they play Showing the importance of healthy lifestyles and making good healthy choices SAFEGUARDING The safety of our pupils is of the utmost importance to all members of our staff. Parents should be aware that the school will take any reasonable action to ensure the safety of its pupils. In cases where the school has a reason to be concerned that a pupil may be subject to ill treatment, neglect or other forms of abuse, staff have no alternative but to follow SSCB (Sunderland Safeguarding Children s Board) procedure and inform social care of their concern.
THE SCHOOL SITE & PREMISES The school occupies a large site on the corner of Dock Street. The school was built in 1969 and has undergone redevelopment during recent years. The site enjoys a large playing field and is developing a stimulating outdoor area for the Early Years. We have a fee paying day care open all year round within the school and an attached Children s Centre. All classrooms are spacious in size and fitted with interactive whiteboards. The school has a computer suite and library area as well as a purpose built music room. The school is developing its outdoor provision to go with its jungle gym and tyre park. The school is secured by high perimeter fencing around all sides to ensure the safety of its pupils. SECURITY All visitors must report to the main office window in the entrance area before admittance is gained. All visitors will be given a visitor s badge to wear during their stay. The doors to the school yard are kept locked during lesson time, although doors are easily opened from inside in case an emergency exit is required. At least two members of staff are on duty at all playtimes.
THE SCHOOL DAY Morning Session Doors Open from 8:45 for 8:55 start Break time is 10:45 11:00am Lunchtime is 12:00 Afternoon Session 1:00 3:20pm CLASS ORGANISATION We are a single form entry and group children according to age by birthday from 1 st September to August 31 st.
UNIFORM AND P E KIT Our school uniform in royal blue and grey is strongly recommended. We recognise that children need comfortable hard wearing clothes for school, which are easy to wash. The children are asked to wear royal blue sweatshirts over yellow polo shirts and plain grey trousers or skirts. During the summer months we allow blue and white checked dress for the girls and grey shorts for the boys. High quality school sweatshirts are available from LITTLE GEMS in town. For health and safety reasons we ask that children wear plain, black sensible, flat heeled shoes or trainers for school. Boots are not suitable for wearing throughout the school day. The Head Teacher has the right to prohibit the wearing of certain types of clothing types of clothing or particular item which are deemed on safety or other grounds to be unsuitable for wear in school. Denim jeans are not suitable clothing and should not be worn. School PE uniform of white T-shirt and black shorts should be provided for PE lessons. Children are expected to change for every PE lesson. Trainers or plimsolls should be provided to change into for PE. For swimming lessons we expect black swimwear to be worn. All children are expected to join in PE lessons. Exceptions are only made when a medical certificate or note is provided. JEWELLERY Jewellery is unnecessary and bracelets and necklaces should not be worn in school. One pair of small stud earrings may be worn, but must be able to be removed by the child before taking part in P E lessons. A consent form to wear earrings must be completed and handed into the office. As a matter of health and safety, children will not be allowed to take part in any physical activities whilst wearing any form of jewellery.
PERSONAL BELONGINGS We cannot be held responsible for any personal belongings which become lost or damaged so please do not pass the responsibility onto you child until you feel that he/she is old enough to cope. Everything your child brings into school e.g. bags; books and uniform should be clearly marked with your child s name. We operate a lost property system which parents are welcome to call in and check. ARRANGEMENTS FOR LUNCH IN SCHOOL When the reception children first start school they all stay for their dinners. There is a limit for the number of packed lunches we will allow to stay in school; therefore it may not be possible to allow your child to stay for a packed lunch. The number of children allowed to stay for packed lunches is reviewed yearly by the governing body. If you wish for your child to have a packed lunch from home please contact the school and your child s name will be added to the waiting list if a place is not already available. The children are cared for by a team of experienced midday supervisory assistants. The correct dinner money should be sent to school on a Monday morning in an envelope clearly marked with your child s name, class and the amount of money enclosed. If you feel your child may be entitled to a free school meal please contact the office for more information. PACKED LUNCHES The school encourages parents to opt to stay for a nutritious school dinner prepared on site. There is a limit to how many packed lunches are allowed, which we are looking to reduce still further. If your child opts for packed lunches they should be sent in a suitable container and be: clearly marked with your child s name and class include a non fizzy drink in a leak proof container Dame Dorothy Primary School encourages a healthy life style to this extent we do not allow the children to have chocolate bars or sweets in their lunch boxes. The school has a policy concerning the contents of pupil packed lunches.
SNACKS AND SWEETS Children do not bring sweets or gum into school although fruits, carrots etc are acceptable snacks for morning playtime. We encourage children to drink water only (available in both key stages), no sugary juice drinks are to be brought to school. Dame Dorothy Primary School has been awarded the Healthy School Award and consequently healthy eating is encouraged at all times. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE If your child is sick, or away from school for any reason, please telephone (0191 5537610) before 10 a.m. We operate a first day response to absentees, which is then fed back to the local school inclusion team. This is especially important as the school is legally required to report reasons for absence. If you need to take you child out of school during the day, it is very important that you: Let us know in advance Collect your child from the school office, as children are not allowed to leave school premises alone. Sign the book kept in the office to record your child leaving school premises during a session. HOLIDAY FORMS May we remind you that the granting of leave of absence during term time is entirely at the discretion of the Head Teacher. School appreciates the financial savings that can be made by taking annual holidays during term time however, we would strongly urge parents to avoid this due to the impact it has upon their learning. If you have a family holiday planned during term time, then please complete a holiday form in advance, which is available from the office.
COLLECTING CHILDREN FROM SCHOOL At the beginning of each school year parents will complete a form which indicates the designated person who will collect their child from school. If for any reason someone other than the designated person is unable to collect the child, then the school must be informed. As a school we expect children from Reception to Year 3 to be collected by a designated person. However, older children in Years 4, 5 and 6 may walk home unaccompanied if parental permission has been provided. MEDICINE Administration of medicine is at the discretion of the head teacher. We are willing to give your child medicine during the school day, provided that: The medicine had been prescribed by a doctor. The child s name, dosage and name of medicine are clearly shown on the container The medicine is handed into the office (not the class teacher) by an adult with the appropriate medical form completed If your child has a long term complaint (e.g. asthma) and needs to use an inhaler, we will gladly make arrangements to administer it and safely store within school. ACCIDENTS AND ILLNESS In the event of an accident or illness in school your child will be given immediate attention by staff trained in first aid and we will seek further medical advice if necessary. The school follows the local authority guidelines for accident procedures and in the case of minor injuries to the head, parents will be informed via a telephone call or a head injury form. PASTORAL CARE The school prides itself upon having its pastoral care at the centre of our school ethos. We operate the SEALs program within school which has as its core aims respect, citizenship and relationships.
CERTIFICATES We have a weekly celebration assembly that recognises good behaviour, endeavour, politeness, birthdays and attendance. Children who receive awards have their achievements recognised by the whole school and have their efforts displayed on the achievement board area. Children will be given certificates to take home and share with parents. DISCIPLINE We promote a positive approach to discipline through our SEALs program that encourages children to think about the consequences of their actions and how they affect others. We use Golden Time, held weekly on Friday afternoon, as a reward for positive behaviour. This involves children having 30 minutes of free choice time to participate in fun activities arranged by the class teacher. Children who have misbehaved during that week will have minutes taken off their Golden Time as a sanction. If a child s behaviour is causing concern we would seek to work with the parents to resolve the situation. BULLYING At Dame Dorothy we are fully committed to ensuring that all our pupils and staff can work in a safe non threatening environment. Any allegations of bullying are dealt with swiftly according to school procedures and records are kept. PARENTS If you are concerned about any aspect of your child s schooling, the first step is to speak to the class teacher. If it is a confidential or a complex matter please contact the school to arrange a convenient time to meet with the class teacher, Head Teacher or one of the Assistant Head Teachers.
HOMEWORK At Dame Dorothy we strongly believe that there is far greater impact upon your child s learning by spending special, quiet time each day with family, talking about what they have been doing at school, asking about their learning and generally taking a keen interest in what is going on. In particular reading with your child regularly and sharing books is an important way to help at home. We do set formal homework as well but we will ensure that this is not too onerous. Homework will be set at the discretion of the class teacher twice weekly. In key stage 1 it should take no more than 30 minutes across the whole week. In key stage 2 we recommend an hour, which should consist of consolidation of work in class and also research skills. HOME SCHOOL LIAISON Good communication is very important in developing a successful working partnership between school and home. We have a variety of ways of passing information to home which include: Noticeboards Newsletters Termly Parents Evenings Open Nights Formal end of year reports Home school diaries KS1 A new texting system We will be striving to improve things further by setting up e-mail links in the near future. PARENT HELPERS IN SCHOOL Following Local Authority safeguarding procedures, we encourage parents to help on school trips and fund raising events. However, all parents who work with children regularly need to complete a CRB check.
ADMISSIONS Nursery: Admission to nursery is arranged through our nursery teacher (contactable via the school upon request) in accordance with our nursery admission policy. Generally, children are admitted in September following their third birthday, if places are available. Also, there may be a further intake in the following January. Reception: Children can join the reception class at the beginning of the school year in which they will be five. Our standard number in the Reception class is 30. In the autumn before children start school the LEA sends a preference form to each family so that parents can register their child at the school of their choice. If there are more applicants than there are vacancies the Local education Authority allocate the places based on the following criteria: Looked after child i.e. a child that is looked after by the Local Authority A sibling link Exceptional medical or psychological reasons Pupils for whom preferences are expressed for reasons other than those listed above. Parents of children unsuccessful in obtaining a place have the right to appeal. Information on how to do this would be available from the School Admission Team. PRE-SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS Full details about school admissions are contained in a booklet available free from the Education and Community Services Department in the Civic Centre.
THE CURRICULUM The curriculum at Dame Dorothy has been designed to work towards achieving the five outcomes of the Every Child Matters. The curriculum covers a vast range of experiences and activities in school, which are designed to promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical developments of our pupils to prepare them to become responsible, contributing adults. Our curriculum provides opportunities for every child within key stage 2 to learn a musical instrument during curriculum time. Every child from year 2 to year 6 receives a weekly swimming lesson from the local Aquatic centre with qualified coaches. Each week we hold The Big Write where every child has the opportunity to develop their ability to become fluent and confident writers. We have close links with the famous St Peter s church and participate in Harvest, Christmas and Easter services there. Within school we have daily assemblies in which children from all religious backgrounds are expected to participate in. However, if you want to withdraw your child from this part of school life then please make arrangements to speak with the head teacher. THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM The national curriculum is made up of the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Science Art & Technology, History, Geography, Music, Modern Foreign Languages, PE and PSHE. In addition every school must provide Religious Education and a daily act of Collective Worship. The National Curriculum sets out the breadth of study areas which must be covered in all subjects.
DAME DOROTHY CORE AND CREATIVE CURRICULUM The curriculum at Dame Dorothy has been designed to meet the requirements of the breadth of study within the national curriculum and work towards the five Every Child Matters outcomes. We believe that the children learn best when: Children are given real life experiences They are given planned opportunities to investigate and enquire Take responsibility for their own learning Tasks are made meaningful and for a relevant purpose They are able to apply previous learning within cross curricular tasks FOUNDATION STAGE The Foundation Stage at Dame Dorothy provides a safe and stimulating environment, both indoor and outdoor, for children to develop within the six areas of learning. Learning opportunities are created for young children to explore and enquire supported by our caring team of adults. SEX EDUCATION The content of our sex education has been drawn up in accordance with City of Sunderland Education Committee s guidelines and has been approved by the school governors. Sex Education is part of our Health Education and we take great care to sensitively match our teaching to the maturity of the pupils involved. We aim to help pupils cope with the physical and emotional changes of growing up and give an elementary understanding of human reproduction as outlined in the science curriculum programme of study.
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS The school regularly analyses pupil progress data to ensure that appropriate additional support is given to those pupils most in need of it. This maybe with pupils struggling to grasp new concepts, or children working significantly above the levels of their peers. For a small number of children the school may need to call in other specialists to make formal assessments of complex special educational needs. In such circumstances there is always prior consultation with parents with our Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo), the class teacher and designated member of the governing body. GIFTED AND TALENTED At Dame Dorothy we have a Gifted and Talented co-ordinator who arranges opportunities to extend the learning of pupils who have exceptional talents both in and out of school. EDUCATIONAL VISITS Educational visits are a vital part of bringing firsthand experience into many aspects of the curriculum. Every year group is offered an opportunity to take part in off site visits which are carefully monitored and supervised. All children are given the opportunity to participate in a residential outdoor activity visit to Derwent Hill in Year 6.
EXTENDED SCHOOLS We have an extensive and ever changing list of after school clubs and activities. Clubs that have recently been held include: Karate Environment Computer (Digi-dots) Football Rugby Choir Dance Art Construction Film Club Canoe/kayaking Keyboards & flute Clarinet G&T swimming club Plus many more! BREAKFAST CLUB The Sunrise breakfast club is a very important part of our extended schools provision at Dame Dorothy. It is open for children from Reception Class up to Year 6. Not only does it provide children with a healthy and nutritious start to the day: it provides a warm and friendly environment for the children. After breakfast, children have access to games and activities. This helps to develop their social skills, as well as mixing with children of different ages. Starting at 8:00 every day and finishing at 8:45, when the children are then taken to their classroom. A small charge of 1 is charged per day, per child. EARLY BIRDS Our Early Birds club which is held in the school library, runs from 8:30 every morning for children from Reception Class to Year 6. The children are able to choose from a range of activities, such as: use of the computer, reading, get support with homework or play games.