Castlecombe Primary School

[EduCativ]

Castlecombe Primary School is a one form entry primary academy school situated on an extensive site on the edge of Elmstead Woods in the London Borough of Bromley. In September 2016, Castlecombe Primary School joined the Spring Partnership Trust. Our Trust is made up of 6 local primary schools as well as a group of Primary leaders and Local Committee Members who are passionate about raising standards and giving children the very best start in life. We want our pupils to enjoy their experience with us and leave school as confident, enthusiastic, and ambitious learners. We work collaboratively to share expertise with like-minded schools.

Castlecombe aims to be an innovative school, capable of creating and implementing new ideas which will enrich the learning environment for the children. Successful links have been fostered with local secondary schools. The school is proud of its community links which it has worked hard to achieve.

At Castlecombe there is a clear focus on academic achievement. Children are encouraged to participate and succeed to the best of their ability across the whole curriculum and to feel that they are valued members of the school. Our children have opportunities to learn through a wide range of educational visits and events. We organize residential trips in Years 5 and 6 and all classes go on visits to complement and enhance their learning experiences.

We are a caring, happy school, striving to encourage children to achieve their very best and to feel that they are valued members of our community. All of our children are taught the National Curriculum and there are many opportunities to develop their talents and their awareness of the world. Castlecombe provides an education that is fair and treats all children as equal.

Castlecombe Primary School believes that children will do well if they can, children want to feel successful at school and we understand that behavior is a form of communication. We have created our School Values to represent positive learning behaviors that we would like all members of our school community to show to ensure that the environment is one where everyone feels valued, respected, and celebrated. The school is developing a Nurturing approach, supporting all children to behave appropriately so that they feel safe enabling them to learn and achieve their full potential. Children who follow our school values and demonstrate positive learning behaviors will be rewarded.

The children are taught by a qualified Early Years Teacher and a Higher Level Teaching Assistant who plan exciting activities to inspire and encourage development as well as making the children’s time interesting and enjoyable!

• The sand and water tray are available throughout the day along with construction and transport toys.
• There is also a large role play area with kitchen units, baby beds, and a variety of dressing-up clothes. Creative activities and messy play are planned regularly.
• We have a new improved outdoor area with a large sandpit, construction area, mud kitchen and mud digging area, and access to a forest school, allotment, and new sensory garden.

The covered outside area enables the children to enjoy outdoor activities whatever the weather!

The large and spacious classroom is fantastically resourced to teach the EYFS curriculum and this setting ensures children are ready for primary school. The children regularly visit the main school and attend many celebration assemblies. The Reception teacher and children from different years at Castlecombe Primary School come to visit the children and help with their learning. These visits help ensure the children have a smooth transition into primary school and also recognize some friendly faces!

We set high targets for our children and we support every child in achieving their very best. We aim to excite children about their learning and motivate them to develop their knowledge and understanding. We are a very supportive school and are determined to ensure that all our children are given every chance to realize their full potential. We believe that it is important for parents to be engaged with their child’s learning and support the school in ensuring they achieve.

The pupil premium is a new government initiative that targets extra money for pupils from deprived backgrounds. Research shows that pupils from deprived backgrounds underachieve compared to their non-deprived peers. The premium is provided to enable these pupils to be supported to reach their potential. The Government has used pupils entitled to free school meals (FSM), looked after children and service children as indicators of deprivation, and have provided a fixed amount of money for schools per pupil based on the number of pupils registered for FSM over a rolling six-year period. This fixed amount of money is expected to increase every year for the course of this current Parliament. We will be using the indicator of those eligible for FSM as well as identified vulnerable groups as our target children to ‘close the gap’ regarding attainment. Parent View gives you the chance to tell Ofsted what you think about your child’s school, from the quality of teaching to dealing with bullying and poor behavior. The survey can be completed at any time you don’t have to wait until the school is being inspected.

Our School Council consists of 2 representatives from each year group from Years 1 – 6. Each member is democratically elected by their peers through an election. We meet every 3 weeks and discuss a range of subjects to help improve our school and the local community.

Each member of our council has an important role to play – ranging from chairman to treasurer. The children take full responsibility for leading our meetings as well as feeding back to the rest of their class. We work closely with the Headteacher and the Governors, to suggest improvements and share our good news with them.

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