It is very important to us that the partnership between school and home is as good as it possibly can be. We aim to provide a rich and caring environment for all of the children at our school and we want parents to share in that process.

There will be many opportunities throughout your child’s stay here for you to share in his or her education and I and my staff will always be available to talk to you about any aspects of your child’s development at school.

We are always keen to share and celebrate the children’s successes both academic and extra curricular and there will be many opportunities for you to join us for class assemblies, Christmas and Easter services and other events throughout each year.

Our Weekly newsletter, ‘Woody Weekly’ keeps you informed of the latest events and a copy is placed in the school notice board situated by the main entrance.

One of our greatest aims is to encourage children to take care of each other within a framework of firm but caring discipline. We believe very strongly that children should take responsibility for their own actions and, by fostering this atmosphere of self-respect and respect for others; we hope that all children will have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, both academically and socially.

The school has a clear positive behaviour policy, a copy of which is enclosed with this prospectus, to support both school & parents in the task of ensuring that each child is confident & happy about coming to our school.

How we care for your child

The staff are all of the people who come into contact with the children; not just the teachers, but everyone, from the Cleaners and Kitchen Staff to the School Administrator and the Teaching Assistants.

Staff are always happy to help and support pupils and parents in any way that they can. Mrs Bailey, our School Business Manager, is usually the first person that you will meet on entry to the school and she will be able to help you with most of the questions or queries that you may have.

Teaching staff are always happy to see parents but we would ask that you try to avoid the very busy morning session and pop in to speak to teachers at the end of the day, unless of course, the matter is urgent.

Mr Rawson, our Deputy Head, is usually outside at the start of the day to meet and greet parents and pupils informally.

The Pastoral manager, Miss Ganderton, will be outside at the end of the day.

If you wish to see the Headteacher you may need to make an appointment.

We do encourage parents to come into school as often as they wish to see the good work that the children are producing and to look at displays etc, and if you would be interested in helping in the school we would be more than happy to see you!

Child Protection Statement

At Donnington Wood CE Junior School, we recognise that your child is your responsibility and their safety and well-being your concern. We wish to work in partnership with you, and we will share successes with you, and discuss with you any concerns that we may have.

Since your child’s welfare is also our first priority, there may be rare occasions when our concern for your child means that we have to consult other agencies. We will endeavor to contact you in the first instance and share our concerns and where possible, seek your consent to a referral being made to Children’s Social Care.

However, this will only be done where we believe that such discussion will not place your child at further or increased risk of significant harm. The welfare of the child will be paramount and will override any other considerations where we consider that to be the case.

The procedures we follow are those laid down by the Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Children Board. The school has adopted both Child Protection and Anti Bullying Policies for the safety of all.

If you would like to know more about our procedures or the policies, please speak to the Headteacher, Mr Fox, Mr Rawson and Miss Ganderton who are the Designated Persons for Child Protection.

Playtimes

All of the children have two breaks in the school day, one break mid morning & one at lunchtime.

Mid-morning break 10.30 am – 10.45 am

Lunch time break 12.30 pm – 1.15 pm

During lunchtimes your children are taken care of by a team of teachers nad Teaching Assistants and can take part in a wide range of activities including football, adventure playground games, musical activities etc.

There is no separation or division between those children that pay or those that take free school meals. If, in fact, your child currently is having free school meals, that facility will automatically transfer with them. If you think your child may qualify, please ask the School Business Manager, Mrs Bailey, for the appropriate form.

Playground Buddies

A number of our older children take on the important role of being a ‘Playground buddy’. Pupils receive training from Miss Ganderton, our Pastoral Support Manager, and take their responsibility for ‘looking after’ the younger pupils in our school very seriously.

Playground buddies are also responsible for getting out lunchtime playground equipment and helping to organise lunchtime games.

Pupil Behaviour

We are not only concerned for the educational progress of your children but also for their personal and social development. We aim to be as sympathetic as possible to the children’s needs but we try to combine this with having high expectations of what we believe children should be capable of in terms of their ability to work and play with others.

Pupil behaviour in our school is excellent, sometimes, though, things go wrong and problems occur. When this happens we try to involve parents as soon as possible so that everything is as clear as can be. We hope that you, as parents, will try to do the same with us. Any upset in the home can have an effect at school in the way a child behaves and it can be helpful to have an idea as to why a child may be acting differently.

We do not have many school rules but those that we do have are easy to understand.

We have a Whole School Behaviour policy used throughout school to support children, parents & staff with positive behaviour management.

The plan concentrates on rewarding children for behaving well at the same time as making it clear that poor behaviour has consequences.

Parents are kept as well informed about their children’s behaviour as possible. For minor concerns parents will be contacted by the class teacher, for more serious concerns a letter will be sent home by the head teacher to both inform parents & also give them the opportunity to come in to school to discuss any concerns.

We recognise positive achievement in many ways, such as the awarding of certificates, by electing house captains, having monthly merit awards and by regular home/school contact to celebrate success. The home/school contract is an important feature of school in the context of behaviour in that it emphasises the importance of self-discipline and respect for others.

Head Teachers awards & letters are also sent home to recognise outstanding achievement & we would suggest that if your child brings one of these home that you may wish to treat them to something special.

Keeping in touch

It is very important at our school that the link between parents and teachers is as strong as possible. It is in all our interests that we work together for the benefit of your child. Throughout the time that we have your child in our care, you will have many opportunities to discuss progress with his class teacher or with the Headteacher both formally & informally.

There are, at the moment, two ‘Formal’ opportunities per year to meet with staff to discuss your child’s progress, one in the autumn term and one in the spring term. In July you will receive a written end of year report for your child. You are also welcome at any time to make an appointment to see the Head or class teacher about any aspect of your child’s progress.

We hope to keep in close touch by writing to you of any events of importance – regular newsletters are common practice in our school. Each year, for example, you should hear about our Christmas activities, an annual Book Fair, various fund raising events for school and outside charities, plays and concerts, Parents’ assemblies and Sports Days, in addition to Parent/Teacher meetings.

You will be invited to many different events throughout the school year and we hope that you will attend as many as possible.

If you have any concerns, your first port of call is the class teacher, Miss Ganderton, Mr Rawson and then Mr Fox.

You will also find Mr Bailey, our caretaker, very happy to assist in any way he can.

Mr Fox is always happy to see parents but it may be necessary to make an appointment to do so.