Our Aims
We hope your child has a happy start to school life.  Our aim is to provide the foundations of a good education.
Our commitment is:
   

§         To provide every opportunity for learning with the National Curriculum.

§         To give children the basic skills of speech, reading, writing and number work – to the best of their ability.

§         To stimulate a pleasure in learning by giving children confidence in their own ability, promoting high expectations and helping each child to achieve their full potential.

§         To prepare them to be happy, tolerant, responsible members of society,

§         To interest them in activities they can pursue in their leisure time.

§         To stimulate intellectual, physical, aesthetic, moral, spiritual and social development.

§         Ensuring both sexes have access to all aspects of the curriculum.

§         Encouraging and welcoming parental and community involvement.

v      Ethos

Park Hall recognises that it’s positive ethos has a beneficial effect on the development of it’s children, we promote this by:

§         Maintaining the aesthetic appearance of the school and grounds.

§         Creating a pleasant and industrious working atmosphere.

§         Valuing and displaying children’s work and recognising their achievements.

§         Monitoring behaviour and ensuring fair and consistent rewards and sanctions.

§         Ensuring a quality of relationships by mutual respect, support and opportunity to voice opinions.

v      Curriculum

The school provides every opportunity for learning within the framework of the National Curriculum*.

v      Sex Education

is taught according to the Governors Policy Statement*.

v      Religious Activities and Daily Acts of Worship

The Education Reform Act of 1988 requires maintained schools to provide RE for all pupils except those in nursery classes.  The policy of this school is in accordance with the Walsall 1993 Locally Agreed Syllabus*.  It is ‘mainly and broadly’ based on Christianity, but will also include elements of other main world religions.  Parents have a right to withdraw their children from RE and Acts of Worship.

v      Organisation

§         We have three mixed ability classes for each year except Nursery.

v      Nursery, 3-4 years

§         52 part time places are available for mornings or afternoons.  Selection priorities are available from the school office.

v      Reception, 4-5 years

§         A foundation year before introduction to the National Curriculum for 5 year olds in the relevant term

§         Children are taught independence and begin to make decisions.

v      Year 1, 5-6 years.  Year 2, 6-7 years.

§         Children progress to their appropriate curriculum level.

§         They will be taught by their own class teacher in groups, whole class or individually and be introduced to teachers with a specialism such as music or drama.

v      Teaching Times

Children are taught for a minimum of 21½ hours per week excluding acts of worship and playtime.

v      Transfer

Transfer is usually to the adjacent Junior School.

v      Supervision

Supervision begins when the bell is rung.  Children must not be left alone on site before 8.55am and are not allowed to leave at 3.15pm unless collected by a known adult.  If you are delayed in collecting your child, the following procedure applies – 1.Child remains with class teacher until 3.30.  2.  Child is then taken to the Head, Deputy Head or ‘B’ Allowance teacher who will contact parent.  3.  If no contact is made nor message received, we are instructed to ring the police.

Lateness often distresses children therefore parents are urged to be punctual.  If a child is continually late the Head teacher will discuss the matter with the parent.  If lateness continues the Welfare Officer is required to be informed and will visit the family at home.

v      Lunchtimes

§         Children may bring a sandwich lunch to school.  (Please ask in confidence about free school meals) Children who bring sandwiches do not need to bring a drink.  There are drinking fountains in school as water is served with lunch there is no need for cans, bottles or plastic drinks containers.

§         Children who go home for lunch should remain with their ‘known adult’ until the bell goes as no responsibility can be held for children not on the lunch supervisors register.

§         Mid-morning drink is available, payable in advance.  Parents who find this difficult to fund should see the Head teacher.

v      School Fund

A small profit from mid-morning drinks goes into the school fund.  The Parents’ Association also contribute.  The Governors have requested that parents make a 20p contribution each week towards the school fund.  If parents find any difficulty in any aspect of school life where donations are asked for, please see the Head teacher who have the Governors permission to use school funds.  W e sometimes have sponsored events for special projects or charity.

v      Parents Association

The school is supported by this active group who welcome an appreciate assistance with a wide variety of social fund raising activities.  A newsletter keeps parents informed of events.  The School Secretary keeps a list of committee members. All parents are warmly invited to school events – plays, concerts, displays and acts of worship.  Whatever skills or energies parents can donate are welcome in the classroom or in working parties.  Parents unable to help at school can often do so from home.  Please ask the Head teacher.

v      When can I talk about my child?

§         Open evening for parents – October

§         Open evening for prospective parents – February

§         Consultation with individual teachers – March and June

§         Teachers are also available for informal enquiries from 3.15-3.30pm each day.  The Head teacher is happy to see parents on Fridays, or at anytime in an emergency.

§         Following continual assessment a written report is sent home in June or July.

v      Library and Reading Scheme Books?

Children take library books home each weekend to help with their reading.  Please help your child care for the books (especially in wet weather) and ensure their safe return on Monday morning.  A charge will be made towards replacing lost books.

v      Pastoral Care and Illness

Children who are ill or hurt themselves in school are taken to the Headteacher who decides if a parent or guardian should be contacted.  During lunchtime the Principal and Senior Supervisors are responsible, and have permission to contact home.

Children who have been sick or had diarrhoea that day or the previous night should not be sent to school.

In the interests of safety teachers will not administer medicines.

Concerns relating to the education or pastoral care of an individual child should be raised with the class teacher in the first instance.

If concerns persist these should be directed to the Headteacher.

Unsolved matters are by appeal to the Governors using the established procedure. (Documents can be viewed at the school office).

v      Health and Welfare

Children should only be absent from school if:-

1.     Family holidays have to be taken in term time (the Government allows 2 weeks).

2.     A family emergency.

3.     A child’s illness.

4.     Medical appointments.

Please inform the school of any of these.

Reception Admissions – from September 1999

As a result of legislation passed in 1998, Park Hall Infant School is obliged to set a limit on the number of children who can be admitted to it’s classes beginning with the reception year group in September 1999.  The school is able to run three classes in each year group and every class has one full-time teacher (or the equivalent) allocated to it.  The Governing Body does not have enough resources at it’s disposal to employ more than one full-time teacher per class, nor is it able to increase the number of classrooms at the school.  The legislation says that infant classes must not have more than 30 children with one teacher.  As a result of this, the total number of children who can be admitted each year is 90 as a maximum with effect from September 1999.

The school is regularly oversubscribed.  This means that some parents who apply to the school may unfortunately be unable to secure a place for their children.  The Governing Body regrets that a refusal and disappointment will arise, even for a few people.  In order to be as fair as possible and provide as best it can for it’s local community, the Governing Body operates to a set of objective criteria, when deciding between applications.  The criteria are listed in another part of this Prospectus, so that everyone can see what they are and know the basis on which decisions are made.  The criteria are in priority order.  Anyone intending to apply to the school should study them carefully to see their relevance to his or her circumstances.  It is also important for parents whose children may be refused a place to consider them carefully, if they are thinking about lodging an appeal.  This will enable them to see if it is really appropriate to go ahead with the appeal.

Year by year the limit on the number of children who can be admitted to each age group will build up.  Eventually the point will be reached where the total number of children that can be catered for, apart from the nursery provision, will be no more than 270, as a maximum.

Appeals Against a Refusal to Admit: Grounds and Procedure:

The law gives parents who are refused a place for their child a right to appeal against the refusal.  This is a chance to have the decision reversed and to secure admission even so.  Appeals are dealt with by a Panel of people who are drawn from outside the School.  Members of the Governing Body do not have any seats on this Panel.  The Panel is independent.  If a parent decides to go ahead with an appeal, it must be lodged in writing and has to state the grounds on which the appeal is being made.

Admission Appeal Panels however do not have a totally free hand when deciding a case.  The legalisation restricts them as far as infant classes limited to the maximum of 30 pupils are concerned.  An Admission Panel will be allowed to go over the 30 maximum only if firstly, it finds that the Governing Body of the School acted unreasonably in view of the circumstances applying to the child when it refused the place, or secondly, if it finds that the child would have got a place if the admission arrangements had been implemented properly.  What this means is that any parent who wants to lodge an appeal is faced with the task of showing one of the following things:

Either:      that it was unreasonable on the part of the Governing Body to refuse admission in the

circumstances

Or:          that the Governing Body did not implement their admission arrangements properly.

The evidence to prove this case will need to be set out by the parent in the letter that lodges the appeal.  An appeal letter should be addressed to the Clerk of Governors. c/o Park Hall Infant School, Park Hall Road, Walsall, WS5 3HF.  If the Clerk finds that the letter meets the requirements of the legislation, he will go ahead and make arrangements for the Panel to hold a hearing.  If the letter does not he will write to the parent and say that the Panel cannot deal with the case.