Aim High and Achieve
King’s Houghton Middle School
Prospectus 2011-2012
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Everyone at King’s Houghton Middle school deserves • To have all opportunities open to them • To achieve in line with, and better than, others all over the country • To have access to a 21st century education of the highest quality and resource, in preparation for a bright, fulfilling and successful future • To feel safe, healthy and nurtured in our school and beyond • To have access to the highest quality teaching and learning, in an ordered and happy environment • To enjoy our school and our experiences here • To be part of the living ethos • To be praised, accepted, and guided • To have an outward looking school with a heightened sense of integral community King’s Houghton Middle School is a good school where WE can ALL change chances... AND LIVES!
Dear Parent
November 2011
Re: King’s Houghton Middle School Prospectus I have great pleasure in sending you our prospectus for your perusal as you make decisions about middle years education for your child. We hope that this will be useful and informative for you. It’s been another fantastic year at King’s Houghton Middle school. We were visited by Ofsted in July 2011 Ofsted said: Raising pupil’s aspirations is an important aspect of the school’s vision. The school has made improvements in a number of areas since the last inspection, including pupils’ progress in key stage 3, provision for pupils with special educational needs and communication with parents. The school’s improved ethos was commented on by pupils and staff Kings Houghton Middle School provides a good standard of care, guidance and support. The school works hard to support pupils with their learning and personal development. This is evident in the good quality of pastoral care. We’d love to share more of this with you and very much hope that you will come and visit us. This will give you a chance to see the buildings, meet the staff, governors, students and to find out more about what is going on at King’s Houghton. I am very proud to be the Headteacher of King’s Houghton and can think of many reasons to recommend our school to you for serious consideration. First and foremost, we have the most dedicated, caring and supportive staff team I have ever had the privilege to work with. Their commitment is what makes King’s Houghton so distinctively special and what makes me sure that your child will be well cared for and supported. Let me try and give you a flavour of some of the other strengths of King’s Houghton. I look forward to meeting you. Yours truly Mary-Jo Gill Headteacher, King’s Houghton Middle School
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Over the last few years our school has changed dramatically and improved in many ways making it a better place for us to be!
Strong Teaching We continually update our training and ensure that our lessons are interactive, pacey, challenging and motivating for all students, whatever their ability level.
Quality Resources You will see at our Open Evening that we have a wide range of ICT hardware and software which supports the learning of pupils in a number of ways. Our Music room is state-of-the-art, our ICT room is well equipped, our Library recently fully refurbished and a wide range of other facilities are available for pupil and staff use.
Pupil Support King’s Houghton has won itself a well-deserved reputation for the pupil and family support work done. Our Student Support Department supports a wide range of issues with dedicated staff, not available in most schools.
“My first day at school was so scary because I came from a school that nobody else came from except me. As the day progressed I began to feel a bit more confident. I am now very happy!”
Parental Involvement Wish you could have a chance to comment on some key school issues? Well you can at King’s Houghton. Our Parent Group meets regularly and gives you a chance to have your say in an informal setting.
Excellent Catering We run our own bespoke catering provision for our children. We provide a healthy breakfast from 7.30, wholesome and nutritious lunches and tea time food if your child stays to Home club. We employ a full time chef and sous-chef. We often have other schools visiting us to see the quality of what we do.
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Strong Partnership with Local Lower Schools Due to our close working partnership with the Houghton Regis lower schools, we will already have met your child a number of times before they arrive at King’s Houghton. Furthermore, assessment data passed from lower schools, means that we know what their ability levels are and have set targets for the end of year 5 and year 6. We hit the ground running – we do not waste time in year 5.
Extra-curricular Opportunities With a wide range of lunchtime and after-school clubs and sporting opportunities, our Able & Gifted events and the comprehensive calendar of day and residential trips in place, pupils are very happy to participate in out-of-hours activities every day of the week!
After School Home Club We run a free after school provision for all children at King’s Houghton, whether they have working parents, busy parents or parents who need to collect their child later for other reasons. The provision runs from 3.30 to 6.00 pm. Children pay a small charge for a wholesome tea.
Student Voice Does your child want to be actively involved in the life of his/her school? With an active Pupil Parliament, Peer Behaviour Council, reading buddies, prefects and more, King’s Houghton is just the right place for your child.
Chiltern School Sports Partnership
Statutory Information As a result of recent changes in legislation, parents should be aware of the following points regarding their legal rights as they relate to their children’s education: The following documents are available for inspection at reasonable notice: i. Central Bedfordshire’s statement of curriculum policy ii. The School Governors’ statement of Educational Aims iii. Syllabi and schemes of work currently being used at King’s Houghton Middle School iv. A copy of the most recent Governors’ Annual Report to Parents v. Statutory Instruments, circulars and of the Educational Reform Act (1988), Memoranda as outlined in Chapter 1. vi. Individual pupil records (only available to the parents of the child concerned).
Insurance In common with all schools in Central Bedfordshire, no Personal Accident Insurance cover for pupils is held by the authority or by the school. You should approach your own insurance company if you wish to arrange this type of insurance.
Policy on Charging Our Governing Body has agreed that King’s Houghton Middle School would follow the Central Bedfordshire Council guidelines, a copy of which is available in the school office. The Governing Body recognises the valuable contribution that educational activities can add to children’s learning experiences and their personal and social education. They wish to promote such activities as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. We hope that you, as parents, will continue to recognise the value of educational visits and support these activities as you have done in the past. A copy of the Local Authority’s policy on charging is available for inspection in the school.
Attendance Rates During the academic year Sept 2010 to July 2011 the rate of unauthorised absence was 0.9% and involved 155 pupils. Absence was authorised at a rate of 5.2% and involved 444 pupils.
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ADMISSION ARRANGEMENTS September 2012 The Local Authority will apply the following criteria (in the rank order shown) to decide the order in which places will be allocated when there are more requests from parent / carers than the number of places available: 1. All ‘looked after’ children (see definition); 2. Pupils living in the catchment area with siblings at the school (see definition of sibling); 3. Other pupils living in the catchment area; 4. ‘Very exceptional’ medical grounds (see definition); 5. Other siblings (see definition); 6. Any other children.
Notes If applying these criteria results in there being more children with equal right to admission to the school than the number of available places, the tie break will be the distance the pupil lives from school, measured in a straight line, using the Local Authority’s computerised measuring system, with those living closer to the school receiving the higher priority. The Local Authority will measure the distance from the address point of the pupil’s home to a point on the school site agreed with the governing body of the school. The Local Authority will not give priority within each criterion to children who meet other criteria. The local authority will normally offer a place at the catchment area school if parents apply for a place at that school during the normal admissions round. However, a place at the catchment area school cannot be guaranteed. If a pupil moves into the catchment area outside the normal admissions round (or after the allocation process has begun) it may be more difficult to offer a place at the catchment area school if this would mean exceeding the admission number at the school. In this case, a place will normally be offered at the next nearest maintained school which caters for pupils of the same age and has places available. Pupils who have a Statement of Special Educational Need are required to be admitted to the school which is named on the statement, even if the school is full. Pupils identified for admission through the Fair Access Protocol will also be admitted, even if the school is full.
Definitions ‘Looked After’ Children The Children Act 1989 defines a child who is ‘looked after’ as a child or young person who is accommodated by the local authority (Section 20) or a child or young person who is the subject of a full care order (Section 31) or interim Care Order (Section 38).
Sibling A sibling refers to a brother or sister, half brother or sister, adopted brother or sister, step brother or sister or the child of the parent / carer’s partner, and in every case, the child should be living at the same address. That sibling must be in the school at the time of application and be likely to remain in the school at the proposed date of admission.
Home Address A pupil’s home address will be regarded as the address of the parent / carer with parental responsibility with whom the child normally lives. This will not usually include grandparents, aunts or uncles. Where a child spends time with parents / carers at more than one address, the address used to allocate a school place will be the one at which the pupil is ordinarily resident and where the child spends the majority of the school week (Mondays to Fridays,) including nights. If there is any query on a home address this will be checked against original official documentation e.g. Council Tax bill, a recent utility bill (gas, electricity, water), a rental agreement, child benefit annual statement or family tax credit information. Any parent wishing to apply for a place for their child at King’s Houghton, at any stage during the school year, must apply directly to School Admission Service, Borough Hall.
‘Very Exceptional’ Medical Grounds ‘Very exceptional’ medical grounds refers to cases where there are exceptional medical reasons which make it essential that a child should attend a particular school and where the preferred school is the only school locally that could meet the child’s needs. A medical report from the child’s doctor or consultant must be submitted with the application form, setting out valid medical reasons why it is essential for the child to be admitted to the school in question and the difficulties that would be caused if the child had to attend another school. The Local Authority reserves the right to seek further information in order to determine whether it is essential for a child to be admitted to the preferred school on medical grounds. Admission on medical grounds cannot be considered where the medical condition relates to that of a parent / carer, brother or sister, or other relative/childminder.
KING’S HOUGHTON MIDDLE SCHOOL
KEY STAGE 2 & 3 ASSESSMENT DATA This table shows the progress made by year 6 and year 8 pupils
Year 6 APP
(Teacher assessment data) English Reading Level 4+ English Reading Level 5+ English Writing Level 4+ English Writing Level 5+ Maths Level 4+ Maths Level 5+ Science Level 4+ Science Level 5+
69% 20% 62% 29% 61% 19% 65% 11%
Year 8 exit exam results English Reading Level 5+ English Reading Level 6+ English Writing Level 5+ English Writing Level 6+ Maths Level 5+ Maths Level 6+ Maths Level 7+ Science Level 5+ Science Level 6+
77% 37% 45% 51% 70% 42% 14% 79% 34%
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Special Educational Needs The individual and special needs of pupils at King’s Houghton Middle School are co-ordinated by the work of the Student Support Department within the school. Support is provided for the student’s academic needs alongside any behavioural, social and emotional difficulties they may face. A Structured Teaching Unit provides personalised timetables for students experiencing barriers to learning. This provides a flexible approach to the curriculum so that all pupils, regardless of ability, have the opportunity to learn and achieve, socially and academically. The Student Support Department is led by Mrs Lacey and a team of Teaching Assistants effectively meet the needs of the students in every year group. The Department provides an holistic approach to managing students needs, offering Anger Management and Social Skills programmes and providing lunchtime activities for students with low self-esteem and friendship difficulties. Liaison with outside agencies allows the department to provide support tailored to students’ individual needs; these include: Youth Service and Counselling services. The Student Support Department and the schools SENCo; Mrs Nolan, work closely with Parental Support Assistants to provide additional support for families and young people in Houghton Regis. The OfSTED inspection; dated July 2011, reported ‘King’s Houghton Middle School provides a good standard of care, Guidance and support. The school works hard to support pupils with their learning and personal development.’ The SEN Department’s Policy is constantly being amended and is available to any parent/carer requesting it from the school office. King’s Houghton Middle School promotes and inclusive environment for all pupils to access the curriculum and extra activities available to them. Parents / carers of disabled children have the right to name King’s Houghton as their choice of school and their application will be assessed against the authority’s admission criteria. All ground floor areas are accessible by ramps and disabled toilet facilities are available on site. The accessibility of the school is regularly reviewed to ensure that students with physical disabilities can fully access all areas of the school campus as well as the full curriculum. The Governing Body continues to ensure that students with special educational needs receive the necessary support.
‘Every Child Matters’
Sex Education, Religious Education and Internet Access All the above topics are covered during your child’s time in our school. You have the right for your child not to be involved in certain aspects of the above. With regards to sex & relationship education in PSHCE lessons and access to the Internet, you will be asked to give permission for your child to be included within these topics in the school year in which they apply. Students must study sex education as part of the science curriculum. If you do not wish your child to have access to certain parts of the Religious Education curriculum because of your beliefs, please confirm this in writing. You may also withdraw your child from collective worship by writing to the Head teacher if these contravene your religious beliefs. Should your child be withdrawn from Religious Education at any stage, he/she will be given independent research and project work to undertake in the library, with support from the librarian; during the 1 hour per week when RE teaching is taking place. A copy of our Internet Access Policy will be sent to you once your child commences at our school. This must be signed and returned to school or your child will be unable to use this facility. If you do not wish your child to have access to the Internet, please advise us in writing.
Chiltern School Sports Partnership
Statement of Aims 2011-2012 The pupils, parents and staff of King’s Houghton believe in our motto ‘Aim high and achieve’. At King’s Houghton Middle school we actively seek to hear everyone’s voice equally, to offer personalized support, to meet the needs of all, to be independent thinkers and to have our eyes opened to the world around us and all its possibilities. We want to be healthy and stay safe We have the right to feel safe all of the time We have the right to be in a bully and violence free school We have the responsibility to celebrate and appreciate the differences in all of us We have the right to be dealt with fairly and consistently We have the responsibility listen to and keep the rules We want to enjoy and achieve now and in the future We have the right to learn We have the responsibility to help others to learn We have the responsibility to be proud of our own successes and those of others We have the responsibility to be the best that we can be We have the responsibility to show positive behaviour which reflects the pride we have in our school We have the responsibility to value our uniform as it gives us a sense of belonging and identity We have a responsibility to look after our school environment We want to make a positive contribution We have the right to value our friendships We have the right to be respected We have the responsibility to respect others We have responsibility for our own actions We have the responsibility to remain positive
Chiltern School Sports Partnership
King’s Houghton Middle School, Parkside Drive, Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire LU5 5PX Telephone: (01582) 863294 • Fax: (01582) 866543 • Email: khoughton@deal.bedfordshire.gov.uk www.kingshoughton.beds.sch.uk