Prospectus

Introduction

Padbury Church of England School is a very happy school where all involved try to create a secure, caring environment in which everyone is valued and each child receives their entitlement to a broad and balanced curriculum. We are very proud of the ethos that exists in our school where sharing and co-operation with one another are fostered and developed. We strongly believe in creating a positive self image and promoting self esteem; success at every level is rewarded and celebrated.

Mission Statement

Our aim is for all round excellence by providing a stimulating and caring environment to enable our children to fulfil their potential academically, physically, spiritually, creatively and socially. Padbury is a school founded in the Christian faith, which embodies Christian values in its daily life by promoting, encouraging and celebrating the abilities of all within the school community.

We:

• Welcome all children.
• Are distinguished by the way we promote attitudes of mutual respect, care and responsibility to all within the school community.
• Attach high priority to strong links between school, home, and parish with active participation of parents, local clergy and governors.
• Promote understanding of the Christian faith, particularly through the quality of Religious Education and Collective Worship together with a respect for world faiths.
• Nurture a love of learning, enhance the potential of all within the school family, and encourage a positive contribution to society and the environment.
• Believe everything that happens in our school will have an impact on children's learning.
• Want our pupils' time in our school to be memorable, build on what they know and can do and help them become lifelong learners.
• Provide a stimulating, exciting environment where ideas can flourish and pupils can realise their full potential.

Pupils entering Padbury School will be challenged, motivated, given time to think and reflect on their learning through values that underpin everything we do; creativity, spirituality, independence, collaboration and emotional intelligence.

We believe our pupils deserve the best of learning environments. It is through differential play and challenge that we can encourage active learning.

Learning at Padbury is child-centred, we aim to build on previous experiences and believe fun is absolutely essential!

Children are encouraged to learn by doing, thinking, exploring, and this is supported through quality interaction, intervention and relationships, and is founded on our children's interests and abilities across a variety of contexts.

Padbury School is very proud of our local community and appreciative of the support the school is given. We pride ourselves on our family atmosphere and friends of our school are always welcome.

We value the relationship between parents and school and believe this is an essential part of our children's successful education. In turn, our aim is to serve our community by providing an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice.

Admissions

The choice of a child's school is personal and important. We invite you to visit Padbury at the earliest opportunity so that you can speak to the Headteacher and see the children involved in their learning. It is usually possible to make an appointment at short notice. We welcome applications from families in surrounding towns and villages as well as from Padbury and Adstock. Parents can now select the school which their child attends, although this may not necessarily be the nearest one.

• We currently admit children to the Foundation Stage in the term following their 4th birthday.
• Prior to starting at Padbury, children are invited on a series of planned visits to meet new friends and to help them settle quickly. We also have an informal parent meeting in the term prior to entry to enable parents to meet the teaching staff and order items of uniform.
• We plan a curriculum specifically for four year olds following the guidelines set down for the Foundation Stage by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF).
• We encourage children to visit us before starting at Padbury School, whatever their age.

Padbury's Creative Curriculum

Padbury's Creative Curriculum is organised into learning pathways linked to the structure of the school terms. Each ‘Learning Pathway' lasts for approximately half a term. Wherever possible the whole school is involved in the same pathway providing an opportunity for flexibility and individual learning programmes. There are two ‘Cycles' – these are rotated with some pathways being re-visited. Evaluation of what has been taught takes place as a matter of course and changes may be made after reflection and careful consideration. This will ensure we are always giving our children the very best education and the most fulfilling time in school.

Our Creative Curriculum aims to allow children to learn through interesting project work, integrating subjects where possible so that it is meaningful to the children. The governors and staff want our pupils' time in our school to be memorable, to be a time to build on what they know and can do, a time to help them become lifelong learners. We all learn best when we are motivated and challenged. Therefore we aim to provide a stimulating, exciting environment where ideas can flourish and pupils can realise their full potential.

Pupils entering our school will be challenged, motivated, given time to think and reflect on their learning through values that underpin everything we do; creativity, spirituality, independence, collaboration and emotional intelligence. Our aim is to have a school that is a community in which all pupils and adults are able to respect and trust each other, where everything that happens is seen to be fair, and is an environment where everyone feels valued and safe.

The underpinning principles of our creative Curriculum are committed to providing quality and excellence through an exciting, stimulating environment that stretches and develops the child as a whole.

Instead of only a knowledge and content driven curriculum, the creative curriculum is used to help children develop skills and attitude essential for life-long learning. Although content is important and is taught according to National Curriculum requirements, skills and attitudes can be developed whatever the content and the development of skills is the main focus.

Through the development of skills over a topic, children can apply these to create products. Children discover that learning is not passive, but an active process that leads somewhere and in turn allows the child to see physical, tangible evidence of the skills that have been learnt. This also helps children develop an evaluative attitude towards their work and a sense of not only pride but also a focus for areas to improve.

Pupils who are encouraged to think creatively and independently become:

• More interested in discovering things for themselves
• More open to new ideas
• Keen to work with others to explore ideas
• Willing to work beyond lesson time when pursuing an idea or vision.

As a result, their pace of learning, levels of achievement and self-esteem increase.

The National Curriculum Handbook (pages 11-12) outlines the importance of creativity:

"By providing rich and varied contexts for pupils to acquire, develop and apply a broad range of knowledge, understanding and skills, the curriculum should enable pupils to think creatively and critically, to solve problems and to make a difference for the better. It should give them the opportunity to become creative, innovative, enterprising and capable of leadership to equip them for their future lives as workers and citizens."

The curriculum at Padbury School includes:

Mathematics, English, Science (National Curriculum Core Subjects); Design Technology, Information and Communication Technology, History, Geography, Music, Art, Physical Education (National Curriculum Foundation Subjects), and Religious Education (Statutory Subject).

While following the requirements of the National Curriculum, we encourage the development of good working habits, to encourage independence and study skills.

All areas of the curriculum are offered to children throughout the school. Careful planning ensures that work is appropriate to age and ability. Through various teaching and learning strategies, children learn to develop problem solving approaches, as well as sound basic skills. Where possible, activities are planned through a cross-curricular theme (such as "Journeys", and "Celebrations"), as this stimulates interest and encourages broad, balanced and meaningful learning. We understand the value of the early experiences that children bring to school and realise the importance of building on these.

We feel that children should have the opportunities to:

• Acquire skills for literacy and numeracy which are essential to their progress.
• Listen and respond to other children and adults.
• Learn through a variety of approaches, including practical and relevant experiences to develop understanding.
• Be fully involved in their learning and so develop concentration and perseverance.
• Recognise the quality of their own achievements.