At St Thomas of Canterbury School, we strive to give all children the best possible education, helping them to be the best they can be. We work in partnership with parents to enable all children to develop their talents within a Christian environment of love, faith, justice, and forgiveness.
As a community of learners the staff, Governors, and children continually reflect on our standards and achievements and then strive to reach even greater heights. If you are a child you can expect to be supported and challenged to be the best you can be.
If you are a parent you can expect to be asked to instill a good attitude to learning by your example to your child. As a member of staff, you can expect to be supported and developed in your role so that you can focus all your energies on improving your practice to achieve the highest possible standards for all children.
As a Governor you will be expected to ensure that the school is doing all it can to achieve the best outcomes for all children. Our motto is ‘To Love and To Serve’ and as a school, we will do all we can to love and serve each other and God through our work and our play.
The school’s educational program is intentionally directed at the growth of the whole person: to develop pupils who can accept responsibility, whose lives reflect Christian values, and who recognize knowledge is important but its chief value is in giving service to others. We aim to create a Christian Community in our school whose values are communicated through love and sincere relationships between all its members, a community in which each person can develop his or her human potential as fully as possible with a view to a personal commitment to Christ. The school recognizes that it can achieve its aims only in partnership with parents who are the first and foremost educators of the child.
St Thomas of Canterbury is a Voluntary Aided Catholic Primary School in the diocese of Southwark. The school exists primarily to serve the Catholic community however, the Governing Body welcomes applications, subject to availability, of places from non-catholic families who support the religious ethos of the school. The responsibility for the admission of pupils rests with the Governors who are the admitting authority. After consulting with the Local Authority the Governors tend to admit 90 pupils to the Reception class at the beginning of the school year which starts in September.
In Nursery, children may be admitted the term after their third birthday. We have three intakes September, January, and April. Children will be allocated a part-time place which will be either a morning or afternoon session. Applications need to be made directly to the school. Children will be admitted for full-time schooling at the beginning of the academic year in which they become of statutory school age (five years old). Where an application place for Reception is successful, parents/carers are invited to meet the Headteacher and staff in the Summer term and a carefully planned transition program is implemented. Applications should be made to Merton Local Authority and directly to the school. For in-year admissions, where places are available, parents and carers should initially contact the school to arrange a visit. Applications should be made directly to Merton Local Authority and the school.
St Thomas of Canterbury Primary school encourages the participation and inclusion of all children regardless of their needs and abilities. Teachers provide a rich, balanced and differentiated curriculum to ensure that all our pupils fulfill their full potential.
The school draws upon the support of the Inclusion Manager, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Integrated Service from Merton and other outside agencies to ensure pupils receive the best provision possible. The school values the key role parents play in the education of their children and ensure that parents are involved in any decisions made regarding the needs of their children.
The Designated Safeguarding Leads will strive to ensure that children are safe, happy, and making progress. They also provide support to staff members to carry out their safeguarding duties. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. School staff is particularly important as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children, to prevent concerns from escalating. Schools and their staff form part of the wider safeguarding system for children. This system is described in statutory guidance “Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015”. Schools work with social care, the police, health services, and other services to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
Parents are encouraged to share their concerns and celebrate their children’s success with all members of staff. We recognize that there may be times when parents would like to discuss matters outside of the scheduled parent–teacher consultations. The school has a procedure in place for when parents have concerns. In the first instance, parents are asked to approach their child’s class teacher to arrange an appointment to discuss their concerns. If, after some time, parents feel that their concerns have not been fully addressed, they may call the school to arrange an appointment with the phase leader directly.
