Shears Green Infant School - Prospectus

Happy Confident Achievers

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Welcome to Shears Green Infant School

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of myself and my team to welcome your family to our beautiful school. We look forward to getting to know you all during your time with us.

We are a four-form entry infant school and we have 12 classes in total;

• 4 Reception classes

• 4 Year 1 classes

• 4 Year 2 classes

Each class is led by a teacher with the support of Teaching Assistants across each year group. Our Teaching Assistants are trained in Speech and Language, Therapy, Social Skills, Sensory Circuits, Phonics, Reading and Nurture – all of which support our inclusive practice for all children.

In July 2022, we became part of the Hornchurch Academy Trust. This is currently made up of 6 schools:

• Scargill Infants, Scargill Juniors, Upminster Infants, Upminster Juniors, Whybridge Juniors and Shears Green Infants.

We are really pleased to be a part of a nurturing and supportive network, putting children at the centre of all that we do.

We are nestled in Northfleet just 10 minutes away from both Bluewater and Ebbsfleet International. Our site is shared alongside Shears Green Junior School with whom we have a very strong relationship enabling a secure and positive transition for our year 2’s entering year 3.

We pride ourselves on our outdoor learning opportunities provided through our amazing forest school where children explore den building, investigate minibeast homes, learn to work collaboratively to create bridges and wicker hideouts and bring their imagination to life in our small world garden area.

Mission Statement Achievers

Happy Confident

Vision Statement

Our vision is to create independent, happy, healthy and confident people by developing their skills for life long learning in an ever –changing world.

As a school we value:

• Developing positive attitudes and values alongside encouraging children, staff and parents to grow in self- esteem, independence and respect for one another.

• Creating an inclusive school where everyone is valued, able to achieve and recognised for their achievements.

• Raising standards through effective teaching and learning ensuring the curriculum is broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated to meet the needs of everyone.

• Promoting positive attitudes to personal well-being and healthy lifestyles.

• Establishing and maintaining positive partnerships with parents, the local community, and beyond.

• Providing a safe, secure, exciting and stimulating learning environment.

EYFS & Starting School

To support you and your child having a successful transition into our school we carry out the following:

• Nursery visits to see how your child learns and socialises in an environment they are comfortable in.

• School play dates to familiarise them, (and you), with the school environment.

• School story sessions to enable them to get to know the new faces who will be in their class and year group with them.

• A school and family picnic to show an already developing relationship between home and school.

• New parents meeting to share what we offer, what your child will experience as well as opportunities to view the classes and areas your child will be working in and what their day will look like.

• One to one parent meetings for you to share everything we need to know to ensure your child has a safe and enjoyable start with us.

• A part time transition timetable to ease them into full time education.

Starting a new school is very exciting but can cause some to feel a little nervous. Please support your child in the following ways to help them get ready for their next educational adventure!

• Start talking about school: share the transition picture book provided by school to familiarise them with the new teachers they will meet as well as the familiar places in school they will be in throughout their day.

• Practice important skills: enabling your child to practice the following with your help before starting school will ease them into doing them independently with us – saying hello, please and thank you, using cutlery and sitting at a table to eat, getting themselves dressed and doing up their coat.

• Establish good routines: talking about their day, sharing reading books and setting bed time routines will support with your child’s well-being and positive approach to coming into school each day.

School Uniform

Wearing a uniform helps children feel grown up and a part of the school community. The school colours are royal blue, white and grey with all items being standard and readily available at most local chain stores.

Our badged items are not compulsory but, if preferred, can be purchased at our local school uniform provider.

• Royal blue jumper /cardigan.

• White or royal blue polo shirt.

• Grey skirt or grey pinafore dress.

• Black jogging bottoms (reception only).

• Grey or black long trousers –regulation school style.

• Blue and white summer dress.

• Grey or black short trousers –regulation school style.

• Black, white or grey socks / tights.

• Black shoes or black trainer type shoes – no logos.

• PE kits – black plimsolls, black shorts, white t-shirt.

PE Lessons

PE Lessons are twice weekly. Please provide your child with the correct PE kit and make sure everything is labelled, including plimsolls.

Our Curriculum & Learning

Year 1 Phonics:

The phonics screening check is a quick and easy check of your child’s phonics knowledge. It helps your school confirm whether your child has made the expected progress. Year 1 will take the Phonics Screening check during the summer term, usually in June. This includes real and pseudo (nonsense) words. How to support your child:

• You will receive a phonics reading book weekly which will compliment the sounds your child is focusing on.

• Encourage your children to use their sounding out and blending skills when reading phonics focused books as well as reading for pleasure books.

• Read with your child everyday and role model the pleasure that reading brings.

• Discuss words which may be unfamiliar to enhance your child’s vocabulary.

Year 2 SATs:

Teachers are responsible for judging the standards your child is working at in English reading, English writing, Mathematics and Science by the end of year 2. To help inform those judgements, pupils sit national curriculum tests in English and Mathematics, commonly called SATs. (Standardised Assessment Tests).

Our Curriculum & Learning Reading

Teachers will guide children in school through using the following:

• Decoding - using phonics to sound out words they haven’t seen written.

• Fluency – this covers being able to read with speed, accuracy and proper expression as well as word recognition and being able to recognise words which cannot be sounded out. These are called high frequency words.

• Vocabulary – exposure to any different words enriches every child’s vocabulary and this is achieved through conversations about books as well as reading a variety of different books.

• Reasoning and background knowledge – helping children make connections between new knowledge and existing knowledge, through open ended questions, encourages children to use their thinking and explaining skills.

Homework

• Working memory and attention – using reading material which is interesting and relevant to children allows them to take in information and hold on to it to make later connections with other experiences.

Children will enjoy developing their reading skills through interaction with big books, bringing characters and scenes to life. They will explore different genres such as poetry, fiction and non-fiction too.

In year 2 the children will be introduced to ‘Accelerated Reader’ where they will be challenged through comprehension questions to explore how much they have understood what they have read.

We ask that you read with your child every day.

Children are encouraged to read everyday at home both independently and with an adult. Topic grids are sent home per term with different activities to try to extend children’s interests in different areas of the curriculum.

Year 2 children have basic skills books which revise and embed areas covered in class.

Home-School Agreement

The School will:

• Provide a learning environment where all children feel safe and happy.

• Provide a broad and balanced curriculum which meets the needs of all children.

• Encourage and support good behaviour amongst the children and an awareness of the need to take care of themselves, their friends and their surroundings.

• Inform parents of the planned work to be taught to their children each term.

• Inform parents of their child’s progress at regular meetings and provide an end of year report.

Parents will:

• Make sure their children attend school regularly, arrive on time, are collected on time and make contact with school for reasons of absence.

• Make sure their children wear the correct uniform.

• Encourage good behaviour and support the school behaviour policy.

• Adhere to all Shears Green Infant School and Hornchurch Academy Trust policies as agreed by the Board of Trustees, including zero tolerance on holidays in term time.

• Attend parent evenings and meetings about their children’s progress in school.

• Inform parents of any barriers that are affecting their child’s progress and behaviour and the next steps to be taken.

• Offer support for parents to help their children with learning at home.

• Sustain an open door policy, forming a positive working relationship between home and school.

• Engage with school events and communication.

• Support their children with homework.

• Park sensibly outside of the school and be considerate of the local residents and parking restrictions.

Children will:

• Be kind.

• Be gentle.

• Engage with learning opportunities.

• Listen to others and follow instructions.

• Be honest.

• Look after property.

Together we will:

• Ensure the school environment is a safe and healthy one for everyone.

• Help children to remove barriers to learning.

• Support children to develop socially and emotionally as independent learners.