WELCOME!!!

At Ridding Infant School we work together to create a happy, stimulating environment where individuals are valued and their potential can be realised.

We believe that children perform best when they are encouraged and rewarded and where parents are involved.

Our aim is to meet the needs of the child within a supportive, caring climate, offering access to a rich, diversified curriculum where achievement in all areas is valued.

1. To create a happy, secure and stimulating environment where all children have an equal opportunity to develop their learning capabilities. 2. To ensure the effective delivery, within the framework of the National Curriculum of the School’s own curriculum as defined by the School’s own policy documents and schemes of work. 3. To help children develop lively, enquiring minds.

4. To help children develop the ability to question, argue rationally and apply themselves to tasks and physical skills.  5. To provide opportunities to develop a reasoned set of  attitudes, values and beliefs, including a respect for and an understanding of other peoples’ religions and moral values in the context of a multi-cultural society, to help children to understand the world in which they live and the interdependence of individual groups and nations.  6. To help children appreciate human achievements and aspirations.

Since the autumn of 1989 all children have been following the National Curriculum. This consists of three core subjects; English, Mathematics and Science, and six foundation subjects, Information and Communications Technology, History, Geography, Music, Art/Design and Technology and Physical Education.

The school has also adopted the National Literacy Framework and the National Numeracy Framework models as recommended by the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). This means that the children have one-hour daily literacy lesson and a 45-minute daily numeracy lesson.

Each subject has a set of targets which is divided into levels of attainment and these progress in difficulty as children get older. The Infant School stage is referred to as Key Stage 1.

Assessment

During the child’s first term in school, their class teacher will assess their ability in a range of skills. This is called a ‘Baseline’ assessment. The children will not know they are being tested. The teachers will report back to the parents and will also use the results to inform their teaching programmes. We will monitor each child’s individual progress against their baseline results.

In the late spring and early summer terms all Year 2 children (i.e. seven-year-olds) will be assessed and tested in the Core Subjects and assessed in the Foundation Subjects.

The nursery is a self-contained unit attached to the main building. It has it’s own entrance, and a fenced outdoor play area.

The indoor area provides facilities for the children to sit at tables to work and play, an area for sand, water, paint and other ‘messy’ activities.

The toilet and hand-washing facilities, plus the cloakroom are also situated within the main area.

Children will normally be admitted to main school in accordance with Derbyshire County Council’s Policy. Children born between 31st September and 31st March will normally be admitted in September. Children born between 1st April and 31st August are admitted in January.

Organisation of the School The children are taught in six classes throughout the year. At the present time, these are organised as follows: · Reception/Year 1 - 2 classes - Rising fives, five year olds and rising sixes. · Year 1 – two classes – Rising sixes and six year olds. · Year 2 – two classes – Rising sevens and seven year olds. The organisation of the classes may vary from year to year according to the number of children in each year group. School Times Morning 9.00am – 12.00 noon Afternoon 1.15pm – 3.15pm Children are not allowed to leave school during the day unless collected by an adult known to the child or the school. School Meals Derbyshire County Council prides itself on the quality and excellent value of their school meals. At the present time, the cost of an individual meal is £1.30. Application forms for free meals are available from school. Clothing – Dress Code The school colours are grey and red. Children should wear grey skirts, pinafore dresses or trousers, with white, red or grey blouses or shirts. Cardigans, sweaters or sweatshirts should be red. In summer, in addition to the above, girls can wear red check gingham or striped dresses or skirts with red or white tops. Boys should wear grey shorts with red, white or grey tops. All clothes worn for school should be easy to put on and take off for PE and washable in case of accidents. All clothing, especially sweatshirts should be clearly marked with the child’s name