“I like Chantry because it’s a fun loving school” (Pupil)
“The school makes a significant difference to the lives of its pupils.” (Ofsted)
Headteacher’s
Welcome
Welcome to Chantry Primary Academy – as you read through this brochure I hope you will see that we are a school with a difference! Choosing a school is an important decision, so we encourage you to visit and see for yourself what makes Chantry so unique. To get more of a flavour of what goes on at Chantry, visit our website at www.chantryprimaryacademy.com.
“Our child is happy and feels happy and eager to come into school. A happy child will learn.” (Parent) Chantry is a creative, values-based school with an ethos built around enjoyment in learning and a set of positive values. Our school motto, ‘Learning for Life’, sums up our vision of learning being a lifelong journey, which our pupils begin with us. We work in partnership with parents to ensure that children achieve their full potential through high quality teaching and an exciting curriculum.
Our Mission, Aims & Values At Chantry we make it our mission to provide a safe, structured, supportive environment for children to learn, flourish and grow as individuals. This is achieved through collaboration between all staff and pupils, through Chantry’s Values Programme and a caring ‘family’ approach.
“My child is settled and is progressing very well, this is due to good team work within the academy.” (Parent) At Chantry we value each individual for who they are and what they contribute to our school community. We promote our values and recognise those who are ‘living the values’. Staff, parents and pupils review our values over time to ‘keep them fresh’. Our current values are: Positivity, Hope, Respect, Acceptance, Integrity, Honesty, Love, Gratitude, Fairness, Reliability, Harmony, Faith, Commitment, Patience, Humour, Forgiveness, Tolerance, Determination, Empathy, Friendship, Health and Unity.
“Evidence of the success of the school’s promotion of personal values is seen in the demeanour of its pupils, for whom qualities of respect and consideration for others are an everyday feature of school life.” (Ofsted)
“Those with special educational needs and/ or disabilities make excellent progress because their individual needs are very clearly identified and are met fully.” (Ofsted)
Every Child is an Individual
The Chantry team work hard to support each child as an individual, recognising their personal learning needs, strengths and areas for development. As a school we are recognised for our success in achieving excellent outcomes by providing high quality support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Chantry hosts a specialist provision for pupils with visual impairments from across Luton. Specialists ensure that VI pupils have full access to education alongside their sighted peers. We also work with other Luton schools to provide specialist support for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
“With the 1:1 support provided by his VI classroom support assistant, I am thrilled with the high standard of work expected of him despite his challenges. Thank you Chantry.” (Parent)
Families are Important to us
Chantry has a strong Family Support Team, who work with families in a range of ways. The team provides support for families having difficulties, they also run a range of parent groups and family learning sessions. This team are always available on a ‘drop-in’ basis, or appointments can be made to fit in around your schedule. Our Learning Mentor offers one-to-one mentoring and group sessions for children experiencing emotional barriers to learning.
“The high quality of the school’s provision for care, guidance and support is appreciated by parents and carers.” (Ofsted) “The mentoring and Rainbow Room staff were a great help to my son. A great asset to the school.” (Parent) “I like this school because I see lots of smiles.” (Pupil)
The Chantry Way We have very high expectations of our pupils and we expect them to demonstrate our values in their interactions with one another. Pupil behaviour in the school is excellent, as children demonstrate ‘The Chantry Way’. Teachers work hard to promote values and to look for and praise good behaviour in pupils. We use a range of reward systems to motivate children to behave well and treat each other with kindness.
“Throughout the school, inspectors were impressed by the pupils’ consistently high standards of behaviour and social skills.” (Ofsted)
Chantry’s got the
Wow-Factor
We have developed an innovative and creative curriculum which centres on the importance of literacy and experiential learning. We believe that reading is an essential skill for accessing learning throughout life, so children are introduced to high quality children’s books as the focus for learning. In Nursery and Reception children develop their phonic skills and learn the ‘rhythm of story’ through the sharing of books. This emphasis on phonics continues into Key Stage 1 and supports the teaching of spelling throughout Key Stage 2. Through books, we teach a full curriculum, including the humanities and RE, the arts, PE, mathematics, science and technology.
“I’m really happy with my child’s progress and how he has grown in confidence.” (Parent) Special activities, trips and visitors create a ‘Wow-Factor’ to introduce each unit of work. These experiences
engage children in learning and inspire them to explore the subject. Children visit places such as museums and exhibitions, farms, the seaside, theatres and many more. They may work with experts such as musicians, artists, historians or dancers. Children will experience foods from different cultures, dress in costume, perform and experience learning in many different ways! Learning journeys are shared with parents through special activities at the end of each unit - we call this the ‘Fantastic Finish’.
‘The wow-factor lessons are great and help me learn more’ and, ‘The school gives us a chance to expand our brains!’ are just two of the many appreciative comments made by pupils. (Ofsted)
“Wow-factors are brilliant because we learn new things by doing, seeing and visiting places.” (Pupil)
“I love Chantry because it provides music lessons and clubs. My favourite club is netball and I play the cello.” (Pupil)
Curriculum Enhancement & Extra-Curricular Opportunities The curriculum is enhanced with a wide variety of opportunities for children. All children learn to speak Italian at Chantry – this begins in Reception with a few simple phrases shared in assemblies, leading up to Italian songs and games in Year 1, with more formal teaching from Year 2 onwards. At Chantry all children in Year 3 will learn to play a musical instrument, which they may then choose to continue beyond Year 3. We offer all Key Stage 2 pupils the opportunity to take up musical tuition, selecting from a variety of different instruments. In Year 4 all children take part in weekly swimming lessons, working towards the goal of swimming at least 25 metres unaided. These lessons are fully funded by the school and take place at the local pool in Lewsey. Children have opportunities to go on residential trips in Years 2, 5 and 6. Year 2 visit a farm for a night walk and an overnight stay in their ‘Owl Who Was Afraid of the
“Chantry really puts its all into its pupils.” (Parent)
Dark’ unit. Year 5 go on a camping trip to promote team building by taking part in a range of outdoor adventure activities. Year 6 visit France, to take in another language, to be immersed in a different culture and to see the world famous Eiffel Tower. Children may choose to develop their love of singing in the choir; join one of our sports teams; take part in Zumba, gymnastics, roller skating, multi-skills or one of our other many sports activities; get to grips with gardening, learn arts and crafts; or join any one of a range of different activity clubs which run before and after school. Children and families may also wish to take part in a number of special trips. It may be a chance for pupils to see England play football at Wembley, to carve pumpkins with their families at a local Open Farm, an opportunity to visit the West End to see a performance, or even have a family picnic in the woods. We want our pupils to broaden their horizons and see fun learning opportunities all around them.
Our Learning Environment Chantry’s corridors are full of exciting things to look at as we have themed each area of the school to fit into different aspects of the curriculum. As you enter the school you will find Tudor Court, where Henry VIII watches over you. Our Year 1 area is Seaside Promenade, Rainbow Road takes you to our Learning Mentor who has created a colourful but calm oasis. Our Reception children work in Season Street, leading to Year 2 in Memory Lane. Key Stage 2 are in Destination Drive with a jungle region, an Italian café and images from around the world. Our collection of teaching resources and artefacts are displayed around the school - rather
than stuck in cupboards - as we believe that children should see learning all around them. Our outdoor environment boasts green fields in both Key Stage 1 and 2, which are used for PE and playtimes. All pupils have access to outdoor play equipment, including 2 ‘trim trails’, a traversing wall, a stage and tyre trail, to give the children a physical challenge when out at play. Nursery and Reception have their own play areas for outdoor learning, equipped with climbing frames plus space for scooters, cars and small bicycles. The Key Stage 2 outdoor picnic area is used throughout the Summer months to enable children to enjoy their lunch ‘al-fresco’ and is a quiet place for friends to sit and chat during their breaktimes.
“I am thoroughly impressed with Chantry Academy. My son has never been happier and has a love for learning in a safe environment.” (Parent)
A World of
Technology We encourage pupils and parents to spend time looking at our website which is updated regularly with the latest news and information about events and trips. Policies, forms and other documents are available to download and we have a range of parent guide booklets which are also viewable online. Children’s work is shared on the website giving a great flavour of what goes on in school. We have invested in a wealth of ICT equipment including a suite of PCs, a mobile suite of Apple Macbooks, banks of ipads and netbooks along with touchscreen PCs, to provide daily access to ICT across the curriculum. Class teachers also use visualisers to share children’s work on the interactive board or LED display screen in class. We have a specialist ICT instructor to ensure that children’s skills are well developed in this area and all staff keep their skills up to date with regular training.
“I love using the ipads because they’re fun and I like it when learning is fun.” (Pupil)
“An outstanding feature of all classes is the very strong focus placed on the welfare of the children.” (Ofsted)
“The breakfast and after-school clubs, run well by the school, are greatly appreciated by the pupils who attend and further reflect the school’s very strong commitment to its community.” (Ofsted)
School Hours
Care Club
School begins at 8:45am each morning.
Chantry offers childcare facilities for pupils who attend the school, from Reception through to Year 6. Places at breakfast and after school club are limited and highly sought after, so we require all places to be booked and paid for in advance.
School finishes at 3:30pm Monday – Thursday. School finishes at 2:00pm on Fridays. (For staff training purposes) We invite parents to bring children into the classroom each morning to settle them in. This is an informal time when parents can share information with the class teacher and make sure children feel secure before being left. This is particularly important with younger children but parents are welcome to bring their children into class throughout the school.
We accept a wide range of childcare vouchers offered by various employers and we will happily register for any schemes we are not currently enrolled with. For information regarding availability, please contact the school office. Our current hours and prices are available on our school website – www.chantryprimaryacademy.com
Healthy Eating We are a ‘Healthy School’ so we encourage healthy lifestyles and healthy eating. Good food is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and we aim to widen children’s tastes by introducing them to foods from around the world. Through the curriculum, children will try West Indian foods when studying ‘The Caribbean Dozen’, taste Asian foods as part of ‘The Willow Pattern’ and enjoy a Greek feast when reading ‘The Trojan Horse’. Children are offered a piece of fruit at snack time in the mornings or pupils may choose to bring their own choice of fruit from home.
Lunchtime We prefer our pupils to eat school meals. Our school kitchen is a Halal kitchen, meaning that we only prepare meat which is supplied as Halal. Chicken, lamb and beef are served alongside fish and vegetarian alternatives to offer a full selection of proteins for all tastes. Water is served with school meals, although children may bring a drink from home if they wish. We work with the catering team to ensure that school meals are appealing to the children, within the nutritional guidelines laid down in current legislation. If children choose to have a packed lunch, we ask that parents pack a balanced and healthy packed lunch. We would recommend a sandwich accompanied by a snack such as carrot sticks, cheese or crisps followed by a piece of fruit or a small biscuit or cake. Water is available but most children eating packed lunches prefer to bring a drink. (We do not allow sweets or fizzy drinks in packed lunches.)
“My son is always happy with school and that makes all the family happy.” (Parent)
“The school’s Activemark and Healthy School awards reflect effective provision to promote pupils’ excellent awareness of healthy lifestyles and how to keep safe.” (Ofsted)
“All my children have been to Chantry and I have always been happy with all the help I have received plus all my children have been happy there.” (Parent)
School Admissions We have 90 places available for Reception pupils each September and we encourage parents to visit the school to see what a happy and vibrant school we are. We hope that you will find Chantry to be everything you would want for your child’s education. Once you have made the decision to apply for a place here at Chantry, you will need to apply to the Local Authority Admissions Team. They will then work with us to secure your child a place as soon as possible. Chantry is a very popular school which has limited availability for mid-year admissions. Waiting lists are managed by the Local Authority Admissions Team.
Tomlinson Avenue, Luton, LU4 0QP Tel: 01582 706500 Fax: 01582 706501 E-mail: admin@chantryprimaryacademy.com www.chantryprimaryacademy.com
Chantry Primary Academy Trust Registered number: 08133360 Registered office: Tomlinson Avenue, Luton, LU4 0QP Registered in England and Wales
Designed & Produced by FSE Design Tel: 01933 303520 www.fsedesign.co.uk