PARENT’S HANDBOOK
Paul Harris CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER THE TAPSCOTT LEARNING TRUST Mojisola Omole HEAD OF SCHOOL KENSINGTON PRIMARY SCHOOL Kensington Primary School is based in Manor Park within the London Borough of Newham. We provide education for children from the ages of 3 to 11. From 1st September 2017 our school become part of The Tapscott Learning Trust. This is a trust based on partnership ensuring the best possible quality education for our children and meeting the needs of our local community. Our vision is to create a place where everyone loves to be. We believe we have already made excellent progress. In our most recent surveys: 99% of parents are happy with the way their child is happy at Kensington Primary School. 100% of staff feel that Curriculum K has been a success As well as academic excellence, we work to ensure children have a wide-range of opportunities and experiences and develop into well-rounded, responsible citizens, ready for the next steps in their education. I hope you find our handbook useful and informative. If you have any suggestions, or queries, then you can contact us through our email address info@kensington.ttlt.academy or using our parents’ app ‘Studybugs’. Please don’t hesitate to make direct contact with the school if there’s anything you need to ask. Our office staff will give you a warm welcome, and offer a wealth of information. Pupils are taught to be independent in managing their behaviour and learn to regulate their emotions. …Leaders have a strong vision for the school; that it is a place where everyone loves to be DECEMBER 2021 WELCOME TO KENSINGTON PRIMARY SCHOOL 02
At Kensington, everything we do is driven by our vision. It is what we live and breathe every day. Our vision is supported by our strategic goals and guiding principles. It is who we are. It is the way things are done around here. STRATEGIC GOALS Be the best we can be: Enable our children and ourselves to maximise achievement in all areas. All in this together: Work in partnership with each other, with The Tapscott Learning Trust, and with our wider community. Take care of ourselves and each other: Prioritise the well-being and mental health of our children and ourselves. Innovate: Inspire others through our innovative thinking and approaches. Sustain: Develop our structures and ourselves to create a sustainable organisation that can outlive our direct involvement. Make the difference: Find ways of measuring our impact: making sure our approaches are credible and making the difference. GUIDING PRINCIPLES Think about what we do and why Be positive and supportive A place everyone loves to be. OUR THREE YEAR VISION 2 3 4 5 6 1 03
Project K During the academic year of 2018-19, we undertook an extensive research project looking at what we teach our children, why we teach it and how it is taught. The mounting evidence was clear: that our current curriculum was out-dated and no longer the most effective way of preparing our children for successful futures. The National curriculum has not fundamentally changed for 150 years. It was designed to create workers (and managers) for the new factories that were being built as the impact of the Industrial Revolution was felt across Britain. The world has changed a great deal since then. That change continues at an unprecedented rate. 20 years ago mobile phones, email, and the Internet were not commonplace. We are now preparing our children for thriving in a world that will undoubtedly be unrecognisable from the one we live in today. To ensure our curriculum delivers for your children and our community, we sought to understand the: needs of children, their families and the community future challenges our children might face within their education and career skills, qualities and knowledge employers require predicted skills, qualities and knowledge required for success in the future effective ways to prepare children for secondary schools and how we can support the transition most effective ways to learn To help us collate this evidence we surveyed one hundred parents; eighty-seven members of staff from the school; staff members from across the Trust, and one hundred and seventy-four children. We have spoken to our two main secondary schools. We have had input from our CEO, cabinet members and senior members of staff from the local authority. We have spoken to universities, local, national and global businesses. We also visited eleven different schools to see their curricula in action and read a vast amount of learning-based research. All of our key findings have informed our vision and approach to our curriculum. THE CURRICULUM 47% of jobs will disappear in the next 25 years Oxford University, 2016 By 2022 there will be a shortage of 3 million high skilled workers in the UK alone Guardian, March 2017 87% of first year students find it difficult to cope with academic or social aspects of university life UPP Student Experience study, 2017 04
Curriculum K Curriculum K provides our children with the essential knowledge, social skills, emotional and physical health they require to succeed in the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world they are growing up in. It provides them with the foundations to be successful in the next stage of their education but also throughout their lives. It is delivered through four core strands: Academic: Maths, English, Science and Technology Health Communication Cultural Capital Each core area is a carefully sequenced progression of key skills and knowledge from Nursery to Year 6. The four key areas are delivered through a thematic approach, designed around our six key drivers: designers, investigators, explorers, entrepreneurs, creators and problem solvers. All of this has key staging posts and careful assessment built-in to ensure progression towards clearly defined end points. This is combined with seven strategies – based on meta-research into what is most effective – that ensure our children successfully acquire and then secure in their long-term memory the information they are taught. Curriculum K Delivery Our curriculum is designed to introduce a wealth of knowledge and skills within our four key areas with key opportunities to connect new learning to existing knowledge and alter long-term memory. Informed by the latest research, two guiding principles underpin how we deliver our curriculum to ensure the above process occurs: 1. All classroom-based staff have an understanding of episodic and semantic memory and know how and when to build opportunities for each within their planning. 2. We follow a fundamental set of instructional strategies (7K) to ensure children acquire, connect, deepen and remember learning. We encourage outdoor learning,adopt a continuous provision style of teaching in our EYFS and Y1, and deliver our curriculum holistically. By this we mean that the curriculum is far more than what happens in the classroom during traditional ‘lesson time’; children are developing their knowledge and skills across the curriculum throughout the day. Almost as much learning happens at Kensington: before school; at play and lunch times; after school; during transitions, and at other points. Curriculum K Implementation We were really focused on making the curriculum development at roll out manageable and sustainable. We introduced one element at a time alongside extensive CPD. The roll out of the whole curriculum took about 2 years in total. We provided significant reflection time along the way and lots of opportunities for feedback discussion and changes. Curriculum K Assessment We believe that effective assessment is at the heart of children’s learning. Our various assessment systems focus on identifying what children are able to do and what their next steps are. This is achieved through on-going assessment during and after lessons, as well as regular pupil conferences, where children are given the opportunity to reflect on their learning. All of this is recorded electronically through our tracking system, which allows us to measure progress and intervene when we think targeted support is required. Synthetic Phonics We use the Ruth Miskin Literacy (RWinc) synthetic phonics approach to teach children in Reception and Y1 the phonetic knowledge required to read and write. Occasionally, children will continue to read phonics lessons in Y2 and even further up the school particulary if they join us with no English. Throught this scheme we teach knowledge of sounds and how they link to letter names as well as key words. We recognise the need to develop fluency when reading and the need to develop comprehension skills. These skills are also taught directly through our daily RWI lessons. Please speak to your child’s teacher if you have any queries or concerns about your child’s learning and to find out how you can support your child at home. 05
06 Paul Harris CEO TTLT Ben Levinson Director for School Trust Development. Executive Head Teacher Mojisola Omole Head of School Designated Safeguarding Lead Kayleigh Cowx- Deputy Head Teacher (Mon-Thur) David Hope Assistant Head Teacher Y5-6 Lead Jaffar Raza Assistant Head Teacher Y2-3 Lead Tajana Ujevic Assistant Head Teacher EYFS & Y1 Lead Soofia Amin Assistant Head Teacher Multilingualism & Community Lead Kerry Blacklock Assistant Head Teacher (Mon-Thur) Y4 Lead Bridie Mahon SENDCO Shazidur Rahman Executive School Business Manager (Opearations) STAFFING
07 SCHOOL TIMES START OF SCHOOL 8.50 BREAK 10.45 – 11.00 LUNCH (Reception) 11.30 – 1.00 LUNCH 12.05 – 1.05 HOME TIME 3.15 Nursery AM 8.30 – 11.30 Nursery PM 12.30 – 3.30 Gates open at 8.30am and children should aim to arrive by 8.45am and be in class by 8.50am Doors open at 8.45am and children go to their classrooms independently to begin their learning. Staff are on duty at each of the entrances to discuss any queries or pass on messages to class teachers. LATENESS Any children arriving after 8.50am will be recorded as late. School ends at 3.15 p.m. and all children should be collected at that time by a responsible adult who is known to the class teacher. If there are pupils who continue to be late arriving or being picked up after school late the Attendance Manager will be informed.
08 Regular attendance is crucial to each child’s educational development. The government have asked all schools to remind parents that: ‘They are under a legal duty to send their child to school regularly, and risk prosecution if they fail in this duty’. If your child is unable to attend school because of ill health, medical or any other reason, please telephone the school or message on the Studybugs App on the first day of absence giving the nature of the illness or reason for absence. The school may request medical evidence and/ or prescribed medication to support the absence. If you fail to report your child’s absence,or your child fails to attend regularly, it is the statutory duty of the school to follow attendance procedures as outlined in the school attendance policy including monitoring, supporting and referring to the local authority where appropriate. As stated in the guidance from DfE guidance published in August 2024, it is the national expectation that parents, where possible, avoid seeking permission for leave during term time. Exceptional circumstance requests are considered on a case-bycase basis and under the discretion of the head teacher. All requests must be made in writing to the Head of School, Mojisola Omole. Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 sets out the framework for issuing penalty notices to each parent who fails to ensure their child’s regular attendance at school, or fails to ensure their excluded child is not in a public place during the first five days of exclusion. Issued penalty notices are payable at £160 per parent per child per offence for 2 offences in a 3 year period. The third offence in a 3 year period will be submitted to a Magistrates Court which can incur £2500 per parent per child and the information to be included on a parents’ DBS. ATTENDANCE TERM TIME LEAVE PENALTY NOTICES
09 Kensington follows the LB Newham Admissions Policy. Details of this can be found on the school website In Nursery, the majority of children are admitted for either a morning or afternoon session. We take children who turn 4 years old between 1st September and 31st August for September start. Priority is given to all pre-schoolers, this is to ensure they don’t miss out on nursery in the year before they are due to start reception. We currently offer the following places for Nursery children: 30 morning places (15 hours per week) 30 afternoon places (15 hours per week) and evidence is collated on an ongoing basis, in their ‘special books’, which parents can view at any time. We also offer 15 30 hour places. Currently we only take children whose parents are eligible and who provide us with the eligibility code prior to the children’s start in September. Children who spend both nursery sessions with us must be provided with a packed lunch, which they eat in the setting supervised by a member of our staff. In the term prior to the child’s commencement at our Nursery, a home visit will be conducted by one of our staff. This is to support the child’s transition into nursery and answer any questions/ concerns that parents may have. Provision children have continuous access to indoor and outdoor learning, which is arranged around 7 areas of learning and development. The provision is set up to meet the needs and interests of all children. Childrens continuous learning and development is regularly captured and evidence is collated on an ongoing basis in their special books which parents can view at any time. ADMISSIONS NURSERY
10 We have 3 base classes in Reception. In each of these, we have 30 full-time places. Lunches are also provided for these children. If your child has already attended our Nursery, we will not conduct another home visit. If your child is new to our school in Reception, we will conduct a home visit prior to your child starting in our school. This is to support the child’s transition into Reception and answer any questions/ concerns that families may have. Provision: children have continuous access to indoor and outdoor learning, which is arranged around 7 areas of learning and development. The provision is set up to meet the needs and interests of all children. Children’s continuous learning and development is regularly captured and evidence is collated on an ongoing basis, in their ‘special books’, which parents can view at any time. As their year in Reception progresses, children will increasingly spend time with adult-led and adult-initiated learning, to ensure that there are effective and appropriate strategies to support their transition into Key Stage 1. RECEPTION 10
At Kensington we celebrate the fact that many of our children speak more than one language which reflects the vibrant community we live in. We also have some children who join our school that may require additional support with English. We view first languages as an asset and we encourage children to remain proud of their languages whilst they are learning Englsih. We also ensure there is a smooth transition for a new child and their family, whilst providing support for them as they become familiar with understanding English and the new school culture. Multilingualism is a strength and we hope to ensure all children benefit from first languages at Kensington. MULTILINGUALISM 11
12 If your child has a known illness or allergy which we need to know about e.g. fainting attacks, epileptic fits, then you must inform us in case of emergencies. In the case of asthma pumps, children who need the pump should be taught how to use it and they should have an access to the pump at all times. Parents should provide school with 2 pumps – one to be kept in child’s class and the other in the medical room. Sometimes a child may return to school after an illness whilst still on a course of medicine or antibiotics. If the course has been prescribed for four times a day, the medicine can be administered by a member of staff who is first aid trained. In those circumstances the parent should bring the medicine to the school office and complete a “medicine in schools form”. The medicine will be administered by a member of staff who is first aid trained. Children should not bring medicines to school themselves and medicines cannot be given to the class teacher to be kept in the classroom. Only medicines that have been prescribed by a doctor can be administered. Occasionally a child may be involved in an accident at school or they may start to feel unwell and in these circumstances we telephone the parent and ask them to come to school to collect their child. We must have at least two emergency contact numbers for each child. It is vitally important that parents keep us informed of any changes to their address or phone numbers. We also need to have the telephone numbers of other friends or relatives who can be contacted in an emergency if we cannot contact a parent. MEDICAL INFORMATION/ MEDICINES EMERGENCY CONTACTS Unfortunately, the school car park is too small and there are no spaces available for visitors to the school. Parents should not park outside the school gates on the designated zigzag line whilst bringing or collecting their children from school. Access must be maintained at all times for emergency services. Please also take into consideration our local residents. PARKING ON SCHOOL PREMISES
Children may go home at lunchtime or they may stay at school and have a packed lunch or a school dinner and their option can be chosen on a daily basis. Children going home for lunch should leave the premises at 11.30am (Reception only) or 12:05pm (Year 1-6) through the school office. Children should return to school at 1pm. Healthy Packed Lunch If you wish your child to bring a healthy packed lunch please ensure that it is in a packed lunch box which is clearly labelled with your child’s name and class. Please note that it cannot contain chocolate or nuts. School Lunch All pupils are entitled to a free school meal as part of the Newham Pilot. The meals are provided by Newham Catering Service and Halal meat is used at all times. If your child has special dietary requirements please inform us and we will pass the details to the cook. Free School Meals Every primary child in Newham receives a free school meal. Although all pupils now receive a free meal it is essential that parents continue to update their eligibility. All families need to complete the ‘Eat For Free’ form on the Newham Website at: http://www.newham.gov.uk/ Pages/Services/Free-school-meals.aspx A significant amount of the school’s funding relies on parents completing these forms. If you do not complete the form the school will receive less money affecting our ability to buy books and other resources for your children. LUNCHTIME 13 Some children aged 3 and 4 are eligible to benefit from the Early Years Pupil Premium. This is worth up to £300 per child per year, and is paid to your child’s early education provider to help improve the quality of early education for your child. To see if your child is eligible to receive additional funding please complete this on line form: https://achieve.newham.gov. uk/default.aspx/RenderForm/?F. Name=TEnX85vU5wv&HideToolbar=1 EARLY YEARS PUPIL PREMIUM
14 The school will ask for voluntary contributions toward some trips and activities in school. However, this is only if there is a charge being made to the school. Charges may be made for extracurricular clubs after school hours, and for any residential activities outside school hours. A charge may be made for damage to school property or for lost books. Please see the Charging Policy on the school website. SCHOOL CHARGING POLICY HEALTHY SCHOOLS GOLD AWARD SCHOOL OF SANCTUARY HOMEWORK Children will be given reading books on a weekly basis. It is essential that all children read at home daily for at least 15 minutes. In addition, children will receive homework. Please support your child’s learning by ensuring their homework is completed to a high standard and returned to the class teacher on time. Healthy Schools London is an Awards Programme that will reach out to every London child, working with schools to improve children and young people’s wellbeing. Kensington was the first school in Newham to receive the gold award. The award focused on improving emotional and mental wellbeing for children, staff member and wider community. In June 2024 Kensington was delighted to be awarded the title School of Sanctuary by City of Sanctuary UK, a nationally coordinated network of organisations and services, including councils universities, theatres and libraries that welcome and support refugees and people seeking asylum. There are over 370 officially recognised Schools of Sanctuary, and many more working towards the award. This means they’ve committed to providing support to young people seeking sanctuary in the UK, raise awareness of the issues facing people in the asylum system, challenge misconceptions and build social cohesion. City of Sanctuary UK works with individuals, groups and organisations in every area and in every sector to encourage inclusivity, compassion and solidarity with refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
Our school uniform is based around our school colours. Please note it is not compulsory to have uniform with the school logo on and children can wear plain clothing as follows: Reception - Year 6 Black or grey trousers/jogging bottoms Black, grey or navy pinafores or skirts Blue gingham dresses White shirt or polo shirt Navy sweatshirt/cardigan or navy fleece Navy Salwar Kameez Trainers Nursery Black or grey pull-up trousers / jogging bottoms (NO zips, clasps, buttons) Black, grey or navy pinafores / dresses or skirts Blue gingham dresses White t-shirt or polo shirt (short or long sleeves) (NO shirts with buttons) Navy sweatshirt / jumper or navy fleece SCHOOL UNIFORM If you prefer your child/children to wear uniform with the school logo then the following items are on sale from the school office only. The price of the items are as follows: SCHOOL UNIFORM PRICING Smaller Sizes Larger Sizes Polo shirt £6.00 £7.00 Sweatshirt £11.00 £12.50 Cardigan £13.00 £16.00 Fleece £12.50 £13.50 Infant Backpack (YN-Y3) £12.00 Junior Backpack (Y4-Y6) £14.00 Due to Health and Safety reasons the school enforces a strict jewellery code. The only items of jewellery that are accepted are small studs or small sleepers and watches. No hoops are allowed. If children are wearing inappropriate jewellery they will beasked to remove it. Your child may be asked to remove it if it restricts themin a PE activity. The school cannot accept responsibility for any jewellery which is lost or damaged. Please clearly mark clothing with your child’s name, so it can be returned easily if misplaced or lost. All uniform purchases can only be made after 10:00am. You will need to complete the order form for uniform and hand it in to the office. Please speak to the school office if you have financial difficulties purchasing the school uniform for your child. 15
17 At Kensington our staff are here to help and they will endeavour to provide the highest quality service possible and will act courteously towards all parents/pupils they have contact with. However we and the Local Authority and school will not tolerate the behaviour of any parent, carer or pupil who may become abusive and threatening or actually assault a member of our staff. The School and Local Authority will take the appropriate action necessary to protect and ensure the safety of staff. COMMITMENT TO PERSONAL SAFETY OF STAFF All staff and governors believe that our school should provide a caring, positive safe and stimulating environment which promotes the social, physical and moral development of the individual child. Through its emphasis on prevention and early intervention, this aims to minimise the risks of children being abused. There are five aspects to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children: Ensuring we practise safe recruitment in checking the suitability of staff and volunteers to work with children. Raising awareness of child protection issues and equipping children with the skills needed to keep them safe. Developing and then implementing procedures for identifying and reporting cases, or suspected cases, of abuse. Supporting pupils who have been abused in accordance with his/her agreed child protection plan. Establishing a safe environment in which children can learn and develop. At Kensington School our Designated Safeguarding Lead is: Mrs Moji Omole Our Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads are: Mr Ben Levinson, Mr Jaffar Raza, Ms Kayleigh Cowx, Ms Kerry Blacklock and Ms Sumayya Munim. Our Safeguarding Link Governor is Rashmi Makwana. A complete version of the Safeguarding policy is available on the school website and in the school office. SAFEGUARDING 16
Due to Health and Safety reasons the school enforces a strict jewellery code. The only items of jewellery that are accepted are small studs or small sleepers and watches, no hoops are allowed. If children are wearing inappropriate jewellery they will be asked to remove it. The extended schools provision at Kensington is an integral part of the school’s future direction. We use our assessments to idenitfy children who would benefit from additional clubs. Our extended schools objectives are: To increase our children’s feeling of wellbeing leading to improved attendance, motivation, attitude and attainment. To improve our parents’ engagement with their children’s learning and with our school. To increase personalised learning to meet the needs of our children and their families thus allowing our entire community to have more opportunities to achieve personal goals. EXTENDED SCHOOLS Pupil diversity is celebrrated in our setting. Differences in culture, religion and learning styles are encouraged and all children are treated as individuals.This is supported through the curriculum and activities. The school fully supports Newham Education Authority Policy of Inclusive Education and further info can be found in our Inclusion and Equaltiy Policies. INCLUSION & EQUALITY 17 We also provide a Breakfast Club which runs from 7:30-8:30am. The charge is £1.00 per child per day, and for this your child can have a choice of cereal, toast, fruit and fresh juices. We offer 6 o’clock club between 3:156pm for children fromm Reception to Year 6, currently at a cost of £15 per day subject to a contract being signed beforehand. For more information please contact the school office. We are continuing to monitor our extended schools provision to ensure it fully meets the needs of our whole school learning community.
Head of School- Mojisola Omole Executive Head Teacher- Ben Levinson Kensington Primary School Kensington Avenue Manor Park London E12 6NN T. 020 8470 2339 F. 020 8470 3414 E. info@kensington.ttlt.academy www.kensington.newham.sch.uk
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