St Mary’s is a church school which, we believe, helps give us our distinctive character. Christian values and beliefs form the basis of our school ethos and are reflected in our teaching and the daily life of the school.
Very importantly, we have a strong sense of community where all members of the school are encouraged to respect and value each other. St Mary’s is also very much part of the wider community in Twickenham. The history of the school dates back to 1645, so we have a long and successful tradition of providing education for local children.
The children are guided to grow personally, academically, morally, socially, and spiritually in an inspiring, beautiful and safe environment. At the core of our vision is a determination to foster, in all children, a love of learning that will endure long after they leave us, enabling them to adapt easily to whatever future challenges they may meet throughout their lives.
St Mary’s is a three/four form, three site school with excellent teaching and learning resources on each site: Amyand Park Road for Reception and Year 1, Strafford Road for Years 2 and 3, and Richmond Road house Years 4, 5, and 6. All children are entitled to attend on a full-time basis from the first day of term. For 2018/19, it is anticipated that all children offered a place in our Reception Year will have a staggered start in September with all pupils attending full time in October.
Parents can request to delay their child’s entry to school until later in the school year, or to attend part-time, but only until the child reaches compulsory school age in that school year. The latest your child can start school is at the beginning of the summer term of 2018.
It is the expectation of the school that any departure from the pattern of attendance will be agreed upon by consultation between parents and the school before the start of term and to minimize disruption, variation to the agreed pattern will thereafter only be agreed upon in exceptional circumstances.
If there are more applicants than places, the school will place an applicant’s name on the waiting list. The governors will then work with the local authority to offer places, as they become available, using the same oversubscription criteria set out above (i.e. criteria A-E). Late applications will be slotted into the waiting list in the same way. The waiting list will remain open until 31 August 2019, after which applicants will drop off the waiting list unless parents have confirmed in writing that they wish their child to remain on the list for the following academic year.
Applications are coordinated by the school in conjunction with the Local Authority’s in-year admission officers. An Application Form available from the school office should be completed and returned to the school. If applicable, parents should also obtain a Supplementary (Foundation) form, available from the school, and return it to the school. We can admit children ‘in-year at any time and will work to offer a place as soon as there is one available in the appropriate class. Applicants will be ranked according to the oversubscription criteria A-E set out above11.
The Primary Years are divided into two phases: Infant for ages 5 to 7, known as Key Stage 1, and Junior for ages 7 to 11, known as Key Stage 2.Both Key Stages follow the framework of the National Curriculum. For each subject and each key stage, programs of study set out what pupils should be taught, and attainment targets set out the expected standards of pupils’ performance.
Pupils are assessed at the end of KS 1 (Year 2) and the majority are expected to work at levels 1-3. The assessment also takes place at the end of KS2 (Year 6).In both Key Stages, the statutory subjects that all pupils must study are art and design, design and technology, English, geography, history, information and communication technology (ICT), mathematics, music, physical education, religious studies, and science.
St Mary’s Cof E Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff, volunteers, and visitors to share this commitment. We believe that every child has the right to grow up in a safe and loving environment, but we recognize that some families face challenging circumstances, which makes the care of their children harder.
The Pupil Premium funds are allocated to schools via the local authority for the support of pupils from low-income families who are known to be eligible for Free School Meals (or have been eligible within the past six years) and children who have been looked after continuously for more than six months.
St Mary’s CE Primary School actively promotes the core British values of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law, mutual respect, tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. By these values, which are at the heart of our school’s Christian ethos, extremist ideas will be challenged and opportunities for radicalization prevented. We promote British values in many ways through teaching and learning (in particular the PSHCE curriculum), Collective Worship, and through our wider school activities.
