Policies

Special Educational Needs

The term "Special Educational Needs" (SEN) applies to any pupil who has a learning difficulty for which special educational provision must be made. A child is generally considered as having learning difficulties if he or she:

• Has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children the same age
• Has a disability which either prevents or hinders him/her from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of his/her age.

We follow the DCSF Code of Practice and involve parents as quickly as possible when children are assessed as having specific learning difficulties.

It is essential that objectives are clear to all, and that progress is monitored regularly. ‘Shared targets' are agreed with a child so that he/she feels involved and is clear about expected behaviour or attitudes.

We are able to call on outside agencies including the Educational Psychologist and Aylesbury Vale Learning Support Team for advice and resources.

School Security

The governors and staff have worked to make the school as safe as possible for the children. Security locks have been fitted to all exterior doors and an entry phone system is in operation on the main entrance to the school. In addition, the pedestrian access gates are kept locked during school time, and the main vehicle gate is closed, although this cannot be locked in case access is needed by the emergency services.

Visitors' Policy

• All visitors to the school must come to the main entrance only.
• All visitors should sign the visitors' book kept in the entrance hall, and wear a visitor's badge.
• The children know that visitors are identified in this way.
• At the end of their visit, visitors should ‘sign out' in the visitors' book, and hand their badge in. They will then be escorted to the door, so it can be checked that the door has been properly locked again.
• The doors at the rear of the building are locked during lesson times, and can only be opened from the inside.
• By following these procedures, we aim to ensure the safety of staff and pupils during the school day.

Helping Children to Learn

We place great emphasis on helping children gain confidence in their abilities, and grow in self-esteem through success. Praise and encouragement are essential so that children are eager to try hard and achieve even higher standards.

Learning experiences are carefully planned so that each child feels able to succeed; an atmosphere of caring and sharing leads to all children valuing the work of others as well as their own.

The teachers provide a stimulating, aesthetically pleasing and ordered classroom environment, where children can be helped to work responsibly and independently, using the many resources available.

Discussion and first hand experience play an important part in learning at Padbury. This may be organised in whole class groups, small groups, in pairs, or individually, dependent on the area of work.

Community Links

We aim to encourage and develop relationships with our community so that there is a close liaison between the people of Padbury and the children in our school. The school is an integral and important part of the village, and this liaison is a valuable source of information and motivation.

Parental Involvement

We welcome the interest, support and involvement of parents at every stage of their child's education. We feel that the partnership between home and school is vital to a child's progress.

Some of the ways in which parents are encouraged to be involved are:

• Sharing books – listening to children read and reading books to children. It is helpful if this takes place regularly and in a quiet, relaxed atmosphere
• Attending curriculum evenings and workshops. These provide opportunities for parents to experience the activities that children are involved in and to understand the part these play in learning.
• Visiting school on planned occasions such as concerts, open days, sports day, church/community events, Sharing Assemblies.
• Discussing with teachers a child's progress and/or further support necessary; appointments can be made at fairly short notice.
• Sharing time and/or special skills connected with the class topic and work. In the past, parents have shared expertise in cheese-making, cooking, sewing, farming, football and netball. We are grateful to these parents who come in regularly on a voluntary basis.

Further Information

The following documents are available for parents to see:

• Orders for the National Curriculum subjects
• Minutes of meetings of the Governing Body
• Annual Reports of the Governing body
• Local Education Authority Challenging RE Syllabus for Religious Education

Educational Visits

Educational visits are a valuable means of widening our children's experiences and sometimes we will offer children the opportunity for such visits. Most of the visits will be local and of short duration, lasting only a day or part of a day and will be designed to enrich and enhance the curriculum.

Charging Policy

The requirements of the 1988 Education Reform Act state:

"Where activities take place in school session times, parents will be invited to make voluntary contributions towards the cost of the activity, but a pupil will not be debarred from taking part in that activity because his/her parents cannot, or will not, contribute"

"Parents will be required to meet the cost of breakages and damage where this is a result of their child's unreasonable behaviour."

Health and Safety

We take every care to ensure the health and safety of children, and they are supervised at all times.

However, should an accident occur, or a child become unwell, parents are informed as soon as possible.

In the unlikely event of a more serious accident, a parent would be notified immediately. We therefore keep an up-to-date list of emergency contact numbers.

If a child is likely to be kept away for more than a few days, or has an infectious or contagious condition, it is helpful for the school to be informed.

At this school, the health, safety and well-being of every child are our paramount concern. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us. Our aim is that children will enjoy their time as pupils in this school.

We want to work in partnership with you to help your child to achieve their full potential and make a positive contribution.

On rare occasions our concern about a child may mean that we have to consult other agencies even before we contact you. The procedures, which we follow, have been laid down by the Buckinghamshire Area Child Protection Committee, and the school has adopted a Child Protection Policy in line with this for the safety of all. If you want to know more about our procedures or the policy, please speak to the Headteacher or your child's class teacher.

Complaints Procedure

From 1st September 2003, governing bodies of maintained schools in England are required to have a complaints procedure to deal with complaints relating to the school and to any community services or facilities that the school provides. A copy of our school's official complaints procedure is available, on request, from the school office.

Sex Education Policy

Sex Education is not given formally. However, if questions are asked, they are answered truthfully and with sensitivity appropriate to the age of the child and the situation.

Transfer to Other Schools

Children have the option to transfer to a Middle or Combined school at the end of their 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year at Padbury, and full discussion with the Headteacher about this decision is welcomed.

We have links with other schools in the area which ensures a natural and smooth transition from a smaller environment to a larger one.

Reporting to Parents

To aid continuity and progression, we provide a detailed record of a child's achievements which is sent to a child's next school. This includes a profile in relation to all National Curriculum areas.

In addition, a written report is issued at the end of each school year. This covers all aspects of a child's progress and identifies areas for further development. Following this, individual discussions with teacher and parents can be arranged; parents have the opportunity to write their own evaluation of their child's progress. Copies of these reports are kept, so that a collection of these over a child's time at Padbury provides a valuable and informative document.

Data Protection

Please refer to our Fair Processing Notice.

» Download the Fair Processing Notice here (pdf format)

Code of Practice for the Administration of Medicines and Asthma

Code of Practice for the Administration of Medicines:

• Children should not be in school if unwell.
• The school doctor advises us that prescribed medicines can be given before school, after school, and in the evening.
• If, in rare circumstances, a child is prescribed medicine that must be taken in school, parents are very welcome to come in and administer the medicine.
• Teachers will not administer medicines.

Code of Practice for Asthma:

Parents' Responsibilities:

• Parents should inform the school if children suffer from asthma, even mildly
• All inhalers must be marked with child’s name
• Parents must take responsibility for checking that inhalers are not empty
• Parents should inform the school in writing how and when inhalers should be taken
• Parents should inform staff if their child is particularly wheezy and might need inhaler more frequently
• All asthmatic children should have (spray) inhaler in school

Headteacher and Staff Responsibilities:

• To monitor the use of inhalers. To make arrangements for pupils to have responsibility for keeping inhaler, or for inhalers to be kept in a safe/ accessible place.
• To ensure that child knows whom to ask for access to inhaler.
• To inform parents if child using inhaler frequently. Midday supervisors need to be informed.