We are a village school with a strong sense of belonging in the local community. Through small year groups and a close-knit team of high calibre staff, we pride ourselves on being able to offer your child an education tailored specifically to his or her individual needs.

This booklet is intended to give you an idea of the nature of our school to help you to decide whether it is the school you will choose for your child. This is an important decision, and we hope you will find the booklet helpful when making it. If you have questions which are not answered within these pages, please contact us and we will do our best to provide you with the answers you require.

Starting school is an exciting time for a child and, often, an anxious time for parents. We look forward to working together to help all of our children settle happily into their new surroundings and to begin to embrace and enjoy their formal education.

As a Church of England school, we strive to provide a setting where Christian values are paramount and within this ethos, we aim to achieve the following:

• To provide a stimulating and secure environment in which effective learning can take place.
• To ensure, through good relationships based on mutual respect, that the children will leave our school happy, confident, well-rounded and prepared to meet life’s challenges.
• To help children acquire the skills and competencies associated with the different areas of experience which make up the curriculum for the Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum for Key Stages One and Two.
• To encourage the development of lively and enquiring minds.
• To be a focal point of the community and to have strong links with families and other aspects of village life.

Children are grouped in classes according to age. With only four classes it is necessary to include children from more than one educational year (September 1st to August 31st) in one class.  The arrangement of classes for the current year (2005/6) is:

Class 1: Reception and Year 1

Class 2: Years 1 and 2

Class 3: Years 3 and 4

Class 4: Years 5 and 6

With the introduction of the National Curriculum, new terminology was introduced for the stages of primary eduction – the glossary below explains these terms:

Foundation Stage:     the child’s first year at school (year including 5th birthday)

Key Stage One:         Years one and two (including 6th & 7th birthdays), previously called “Infants”.

Key Stage Two:         Years three, four, five and six (including 8th, 9th, 10, 11th birthdays), previously called “Juniors”.

Children will experience a variety of methods of teaching and learning. Sometimes, teachers will work with individuals, sometimes with groups and sometimes with the whole class. Activities will vary from free, open-ended exploration to more formal, instructional teaching depending on the learning which is intended. As the children move through the school they will be given increasing opportunities to develop their independent working skills, to make their own decisions about work and to use their initiative.

The Foundation Stage Curriculum (Age 4-5)

Our curriculum for Reception children is based upon QCA Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage which outlines six areas of pre-National Curriculum experience:

1. Language and literacy

2. Mathematics

3. Knowledge and understanding of the world

4. Creative

5. Physical

6. Personal, social and emotional

The Curriculum for Key Stage One (5-7 year olds) and Key Stage Two (7-11 year olds)

The subjects in the National Curriculum are Literacy, Numeracy, Science, Technology, Information & Communications Technology, History, Geography, Art, Music and Physical Education. In addition your child will study Religious Education which is taught in accordance with County guidelines. Further details of the National Curriculum are available at the school. The school has developed policies and detailed schemes of work for each National Curriculum subject and for R.E. These ensure proper curriculum coverage, progression and equal access to subjects.