Cale Green Primary SchoolParent Handbook summer 2024
April 2024
'Learning and Living Together'
On behalf of everyone at Cale Green I would like to extend a warm welcome to you and your child.
Cale Green is a vibrant, truly comprehensive school with children from a wide range of different backgrounds, reflecting the diverse community found in the Cale Green and Davenport area. During our Ofsted inspection in January 2022 the inspector made the following comments about the school-
Pupils are happy in this school which sits at the heart of a close-knit, multicultural community.
Pupils are kind, friendly and considerate towards each other.
They feel safe because they are well looked after by a staff team that have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and achievement.
Pupils do their best each day to live up to the high standards that staff set for them.
Children in the early years quickly learn school routines and develop good learning behaviours.
There is rarely a dull moment at Cale Green.
At Cale Green, we believe that a strong partnership between home and school is the foundation for a successful education. To learn effectively children, need to feel secure, happy, relaxed and alert and therefore it is vital that good relationships between home and school are maintained.
We have high, aspirational standards and always ask the children to ‘do their best’ whether it is in lessons or by trying to be the best person and friend that they can be. We stress the importance of politeness and good manners.
We know that every child who comes to Cale Green has something unique and valuable to contribute and our role is to encourage each child to fulfil their potential by becoming involved in all aspects of school life. In doing so we prepare the children to be active citizens in school and our local community and so prepare them for the nest stage in their learning and for life in modern Britain.
Academically the school performs well. We value all aspects of education and have reviewed and further developed a comprehensive and detailed broad and balanced curriculum. As a school we use evidence-based research to inform our practice and continue to pilot new methods of learning and teaching.
We believe that children learn best from first-hand experiences and we have developed a very wide range of ‘enrichment’ and ‘engagement’ activities, from visits to museums and galleries, residential activity holidays and visitors into school so that we continue to develop the children’s ‘cultural capital’.
We have a Breakfast and an After-School club which enable us to provide wrap around care from 7.45am to 6.00pm for families who require it. These ‘clubs’ are complemented by a wide range of extra-curricular activities such as sports, arts and crafts, drama, etc.
Parents are also encouraged to use the school as a learning resource. Courses in English, Mathematics, Computing, parenting, phonics, reading, etc. are a regular feature of school life. Our baby and toddler group – ‘Terrific Tots’ meets every Thursday morning.
We hope that you find our Parents Handbook both interesting and informative. The handbook is also available on our school website:
www.calegreen.stockport.sch.uk
We invite you to come and see for yourself the wide and varied learning opportunities we offer and the caring and stimulating educational environment where we make learning a positive and enjoyable experience.
Further information about the school and our academic results is contained in a ‘data dashboard’ which can be found at:
https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/106091
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/cale-green-primary-school-6487630
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Sarah McHugh
‘You and your leaders have sustained the position of the school as the heart and hinge of this local community. Your commitment and devotion to the pupils and their parents is valued. Parents trust you and have every confidence that their children are in safe hands, will learn well and make good progress. This inspection supports their view’. Ofsted
OUR SCHOOL
We are a 1.5 entry school with a 40 place Nursery.
There are:
· 2 small Reception classes: Beech and Birch class
· 3 mixed Year 1 / 2 classes in Key Stage 1: Chestnut / Cherry and Cedar
· 3 mixed Year 3 / 4 class in Lower Key Stage 2: Holly / Hawthorn and Hazel class
· 3 mixed Year 5 / 6 classes in Upper Key Stage 2: Mulberry / Maple and Magnolia
In autumn 2024 there are places for 45 children in each year group with a further 40 children attending the Nursery on a half-day basis.
THE SCHOOL AIMS AND VISION
Each child within the school is seen as an individual with something unique and positive to offer. Our aim is to guide each child to fulfil their potential in a structured, caring and stimulating environment in order to provide the best possible education for the children of Cale Green.
We aim to ensure that the school is orderly and hardworking and that children are prepared through a rich, broad and balanced curriculum for life in modern British society.
Our ‘vision’ statement, created by staff and governors working together, sets out what we want the children of Cale Green to achieve as individuals, in the school as a whole and in our community:
Each child is valued and seen as a unique individual
Each child will fulfil their potential in a structured, stimulating and caring environment
Children will have the confidence, knowledge and skills to approach new challenges – embracing a ‘can do’ culture
A school that creates independent learners who can think for themselves, where they can grow in confidence, understanding and tolerance
A school that embraces the whole community, encouraging participation and ownership
We will provide the best possible education for the children of Cale Green preparing them for life!
‘Since the last inspection you have raised the bar with regard to the aspirations and
expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving. This applies to all pupils but to the most able in particular. Everyone is rising to the challenge and standards are continuing to improve’. Ofsted
ADMISSIONS AND IN – YEAR TRANSFERS
All admissions to the school, at any time of the year, are managed by the Local Authority. All the information you require can be found at:
www.stockport.gov.uk/contact-school-admissions
Each year there will be 45 places available in the Reception class. There are currently 40 places for children in the Nursery class.
Our school follows the Admissions Policy as established by Stockport Local Authority. This is available at:
www.stockport.gov.uk/topic/nursery-and-school-admissions
or telephone 0161 217 6028. Where there is excess demand for places at our school reference should be made to the Local Authority Policy.
Parents of children who are considering sending their child to the school are invited to contact the head teacher to make arrangements to visit the school for a visit. This will provide the opportunity to highlight the schools aims and values and to discuss any individual needs. The head teacher and staff are always pleased to meet parents, show them around the school and answer questions.
If you wish your child to start school during the school year (for instance, if you have moved house) then please contact the school directly for guidance. However, all in-year applications are managed by the Local Authority who can be contacted on 0161 217 6028.
If you are moving away from the school and your child will be enrolling somewhere else, then please contact us as soon as possible so that we can support your child during this process and make contact with the destination school.
A child can be admitted to Nursery class the term after their third birthday and the Reception class in the September after their fourth birthday. Application forms for admission to the Nursery and Reception must be submitted on-line.
During the term before starting school, parents and children are invited as part of the induction process, to meet the class teacher and spend time in the classroom. We aim to make each child's start at school a happy and comfortable experience. We understand that this may be a difficult time for some children (and their parents!) and so we operate a carefully structured induction plan for each child so that they quickly settle and are comfortable with the new routine of school.
In most cases the staff will also make home visits to ensure that we have all the information we need to make your child’s start as smooth as possible. We also visit and talk with other professionals from other pre-school settings.
At the age of eleven the majority of pupils transfer to Hazel Grove High School, Stockport Academy, Stockport School or Bramhall High School. The children are supported in the transition to their next stage of education by a school based programme – ‘The Chameleon Project’ and the Year 6 children also visit the High Schools of their choice.
CLASS ORGANISATION
The Early Years classes are located in a wonderful, purpose-built building on the school site – giving the children the very best start to their education.
Key Stage 1 classes are located on the ground floor and most of the Key Stage 2 classes on the first floor of the main school building. The whole school shares the Library.
The year groups are organised in the following format:
Early Years:
In the Nursery there are 20 beginning of the week places (Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday morning) and 20 end of the week places (Wednesday afternoon / Thursday / Friday).
Some additional time may be available as part of the ’30 hours’ offer. Please contact the school for further details of this.
In the Reception we have two classes of 22 / 23 children – all of whom attend full-time.
Key Stage 1:
There are 3 mixed Year 1 / Year 2 classes. Each class will have 15 Year 1 children and 15 Year 2 children.
Key Stage 2:
There are 3 mixed Year 3 / Year 4 classes and 3 mixed Year 5 / Year 6 classes. Each classes will have 15 children from each year group.
Class Groupings
At the end of the Reception year the staff work together to create 3 Year 1 groups of 15 children. These groups remain in place for the rest of the children’s time at Cale Green.
All children are different and have differing personalities, attitudes and skills as well as different interests and strengths. The children will also have different needs and will progress at different rates. As a consequence, the staff complete careful long, medium and short-term planning to promote effective learning for all the children in the school.
The allocation of children to these classes will reflect this approach. We look to provide a balance of children within the classes to a wide range of factors such as friendship groups, summer births, gender, etc.
SCHOOL SESSION TIMES
All the children are expected to arrive at school from 8.40am for ‘Fix –It’ time.
Nursery aged children attend for 15 hours every week. Session times are 8.50am -3.05pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 8.50am – 11.20am or 12.35pm – 3.05pm on Wednesdays. Children are allocated a place at either the beginning or the end of the week.
Nursery
Monday / Tuesday: 8.50am – 3.05pm
Wednesday: 8.50am - 11.20am
Or
Wednesday: 12.35pm – 3.05pm
Thursday / Friday: 8.50am – 3.05pm
Reception / Key Stage 1
Morning: 8.40am – 11.30am
Afternoon: 12.30pm – 3.10pm
Key Stage 2
Morning: 8.40am – 12.30pm
Afternoons: 1.20pm – 3.15pm
Children should not be sent to school too early in the morning. Supervision in the playground only takes place if the child arrives after 8.40am for ‘Fix-It’ time when they can go to their classrooms.
Please be careful entering and leaving our school premises and use the small gate near the main entrance on Shaw Road South rather than the large vehicle entrance. One other gate on Meyer Street is open at the start and finish of the school day.
Parents bringing or collecting children from school by car are asked to take extreme caution when using Shaw Road South. Please use the Green Street car park or Meyer Street for parking if at all possible. Parents must not use the school staff car park as this creates a danger to children coming into, or leaving, the school.
If at all possible please walk, cycle or scoot to school.
We constantly encourage the children to do so.
All visitors should use the main entrance.
CHILD PROTECTION – SAFEGUARDING
Our school is completely committed to safeguarding the children. We play an essential role in protecting children from abuse. As we are in regular contact with children and young people we are in a strong position to identify signs of abuse and neglect.
We safeguard children by:
creating safe environments for children and young people through robust safeguarding practices
ensuring that adults who work in the school, including volunteers, don't pose a risk to children
making sure staff are trained, know how to respond to concerns and keep-up-to-date with policy and practice
teaching children and young people about staying safe
maintaining an environment where children feel confident to approach any member of staff if they have a worry or problem.
The school complies with all the requirements. These include Health and Safety, Safer Recruitment, Risk Assessments on trips and visits, Medicines in Schools, Fire Safety, Child Protection and Radicalisation and Extremism.
All staff receive the appropriate training in Child Protection. The two Designated Safeguarding Leads are:
Designated Safeguarding Lead – Mrs Sarah McHugh
Deputy Designated safeguarding – Ms Gill Rogers
Another 4 members of staff have completed Designated Safeguarding Lead training:
Mrs Carole Harding (Deputy headteacher / SENCO)
Mrs Nicola Lewis (Deputy headteacher / Pupil Premium / Curriculum)
Mrs Helen Cartwright (Early Years)
Mrs Katherine Horrabin (School Business Manager / governor)
In cases of serious physical or sexual abuse disclosed by a child, the school is REQUIRED to report the matter to Social Care IMMEDIATELY. In these very serious situations, it is likely that a social worker will contact the parents, NOT the school. This requirement forms part of the Local Authority's procedures for dealing with child abuse and is not a matter for the discretion of individual headteacher's or members of the school staff.
In less clear cases of suspected physical abuse or emotional / psychological abuse, the school will often seek advice from Social Care before discussing the issue with parents.
Some further information about what is safeguarding in schools can be found at:
https://www.safeguardinginschools.co.uk/safeguarding-and-governors/what-is-safeguarding/
www.safeguardingchildreninstockport.org.uk/
Young Carers
A vulnerable group of children in school are ‘Young Carers’. A young carer is someone under 18 who helps look after someone in their family, or a friend, who is ill, disabled or misuses drugs or alcohol.
To support these children we have developed strong links with an organisation in Stockport who offer support, guidance and activities for children and their families.
We have an identified teacher with responsibility for this group, Mrs Carole Harding, and she meets with the children regularly along with the Child and Family Support Worker, Mrs Gill Rogers.
Further information is available at:
https://www.signpostforcarers.org.uk/young-carers
Trips and Visits
All teachers, and many teaching assistants, are visit leader trained and risk assessments prior to each visit are written. During visits ‘dynamic’ risk assessments are constantly made to ensure the safety of the children.
Electronic permission via School Spider or Parent Pay (not verbal permission) are required when the children are on an educational visit.
The children usually wear ‘hi-vis’ jackets and a member of staff who is first aid trained accompanies the children on the visit.
SCHOOL CURRICULUM
The school curriculum is broad, rich and deep and we follow the National Curriculum:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum
The way we deliver the National Curriculum content takes into account the stated aims of the school and is subject to constant review.
Our Curriculum Aims:
to provide a stimulating, happy, friendly environment which is organised, structured, purposeful and secure
to develop children’s natural curiosity, foster a desire to learn, build self-confidence and increase respect for self, others and the environment
to provide activities that allow knowledge to be acquired, skills to be practiced, and success achieved
for children to be self-reliant, self-disciplined, able to co-operate and form relationships, laying the foundations for their adult life in modern British society.
As well as acquiring the knowledge necessary to be successful learners, throughout the school we place a great deal of emphasis on basic skills. Reading, writing and mathematics are taught in systematic and structured ways. We are proud to have achieved the Basic Skills Quality Mark 5 times.
Much of the work undertaken by the children is organised on a cross curricular basis. Children work individually, in groups or as a class and we believe that co-operation and teamwork are very important. Children are taught in mixed ability classes and are usually grouped by ability within the class, especially in English, Mathematics and Phonics.
Where necessary (and appropriate) additional resources such as the Pupil Premium Grant are used to support the children. We currently use the Pupil Premium Grant to provide additional support for children in the Early Years and both Key Stage 1 and 2 to ensure that their achievement is at least the same as, if not better, than their peers.
In addition:
• the development of Quality First Teaching in the classroom
• access is provided to additional interventions and enrichment activities to support their education and well-being
• a Child and Family Support worker helps promote good attendance and remove any specific barriers to learning
• access to breakfast club is free to all pupil premium eligible children
• subsidised trips, visits and enrichment opportunities develop aspiration and ensure low income does not mean lack of opportunity
• access to external support networks where required i.e. counselling
Full details of how we use these funds can be found on the school website under the ‘Our School / Pupil Premium’ tab.
We ensure that all lessons delivered take the needs and aptitude of each child into account.
Much of the work we do in school centres around making the best use of the most up to date teaching methods and resources to ensure that all children can fully access the curriculum whatever their learning styles and preferences.
Early Years
We have 4 classes in the Early Years – 2 Nursery classes (each of up to 20 children) and 2 Reception classes (each of 22 / 23 children).
We are fully committed to ensuring that when the children leave the Early Years they have developed a real enjoyment of reading and have the necessary phonics knowledge and skills to access a range of books independently.
The children in the Early Years follow the ‘Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage’. This framework enables children to learn and develop skills, attitudes and understanding in these areas of learning:
Prime Areas:
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Communication and Language
• Physical development
Specific Areas:
• Mathematics
• Literacy
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design
Teaching and learning takes place within the classrooms and outdoor areas, through a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities within a carefully planned learning environment of continuous provision with enhancements related to specific interests and areas for development. Achievement of these prime and specific areas is achieved when children are:
• playing and exploring
• engaged in active learning
• provided with opportunities to be creative and think critically
Children access planned purposeful play opportunities through a balance of adult-led and self-initiated indoor and outdoor provision. This provision embraces every area of learning and is often enriched by visitors and trips.
Activities and experiences built around the interests of the children provide relevant and meaningful opportunities to develop children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in all aspects of their development.
In the Early Years we begin to create a record of achievement, progress and skills for each child which can be accessed daily, and added to, by parents.
This is called ‘Tapestry’. Further details can be found at:
At Cale Green, we work hard to develop an effective partnership with parents as you are your children's first and most enduring educators. When parents and teachers work together, especially in the Early Years, this has a positive impact on the child's future learning and development.
At the end of the Early Years the children are fully prepared for their next stage of education in Key Stage 1.
‘This energy and enthusiasm is captured well in the classroom and especially in the early years and key stage 1. What I saw in this part of the school was captivating. Children and pupils purposefully learning and playing. From very low starting points the progress made is fast’. Ofsted
Phonics
All the children in school are taught to read and write following ‘Unlocking Letters and Sounds’, a detailed and systematic programme of teaching phonics skills with the aim of all children becoming fluent readers by the age of seven.
This begins in the Early Years by developing children’s ability to hear, identify and manipulate English phonemes (https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-is-a-phoneme) in order to teach the correspondence between these sounds and the spelling patterns that represent them.
The goal of phonics is to enable beginning readers to decode written words by sounding them out, (or in phonics terms, blending the sound-spelling patterns), and enable beginning writers to segment the sounds in words to write the graphemes (letters) which represent them.
We use a scheme called ‘Unlocking Letters and Sounds’ throughout the school to teach phonics.
Children are grouped according to ability across the Early Years and Key Stage 1 for daily phonics teaching. Further support is put in place if a child requires it and the school also provides after school phonics clubs to which parents are also invited.
Reading
Developing reading skills is our biggest priority in the Early Years.
Lots of different approaches are used as we find that this is more effective than focusing on one single aspect. Story-telling and shared reading help to develop letter sounds and knowledge. Singing and rhyming develops phonological awareness as well as counting and clapping syllables in a word.
Activities also focus on alphabet knowledge and phonics.
The children are encouraged to understand what they are reading and listening to - at the same time as learning to ‘decode’ the words.
The children are all given book bags by FROGS (our parents association) and are encouraged to take books home and share them with their family.
Studies demonstrate that one of the most important factors in children
succeeding in children is that they read at home with parents and
with parents who read aloud to them.
PLEASE READ TO, AND LISTEN TO, YOUR CHILD REGULARLY!
KEY STAGE 1 AND KEY STAGE 2
English and Mathematics are taught daily. Science, Religious Education, Physical Education, Personal, Health and Social Education (PHSE), Music, Foreign Languages and Computing are also taught every week.
Foundation subjects such as History, Geography, Design Technology, Music and Art are often taught in blocks across the term. There are usually 4 blocks, each of 9 weeks in length. Curriculum subjects are integrated in order to form links between subjects and give meaning to children’s learning. This also provides opportunities to practice and apply their new knowledge and skills in other subjects, for example using and applying knowledge of bar charts taught in maths in geography lessons.
The children are expected to show learning behaviour that demonstrates a sensitivity to others feelings and needs and that they must, at all times, act in a considerate and courteous manner.
We wish to encourage a sense of community, responsibility and co-operation as well as developing a tolerant and caring attitude. It is also vital that the children can plan, undertake and sustain involvement in their work and evaluate a wide variety of tasks and investigations independently.
We enrich the curriculum wherever possible through trips and visits and through the use of specialist teaching. Children in Key Stage 2 learn how to play the guitar and we also have specialist teaching and coaching in music and in a range of sporting activities, drama, dance and art.
‘The proportion of pupils who achieve similar standards to the national average at the end of key stage 2 is better than it ever has been, especially in reading and mathematics’. Ofsted
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Religious Education is a compulsory subject and the children study Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam and major festivals from other faiths. Generally speaking, Religious Education lessons are based on the locally agreed Stockport syllabus ‘Learning for Life’.
The basis of our approach is to explore the similarities between religions and worship and then safely explore the differences.
An Act of Collective Worship takes place each day. Parents and carers are welcome to attend the weekly Family Assembly on a Friday. Parents are also invited to attend any class assemblies or services, for example, Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas, Easter, Eid and 'Leavers Assembly', etc.
Parents have the right to ask that their children be excluded from lessons and / or the religious part of the daily assembly. Parents making such a request should do so in writing and will be invited in to school to discuss their decision. If a child is withdrawn, then provision will be made for the child to access alternative activities.
RELATIONSHIPS EDUCATION
At Cale Green we teach about positive and healthy relationships, such as friendships, family relationships, and relationships with other children and with adults. A key aspect we focus on is kindness as well as:
• Families and people who care for me
• Caring friendships
• Respectful relationships
• Online relationships
• Being safe
Parents are often concerned about 'sex education'. However, we believe that it is the role of our school to ensure that ‘relationships education’ is taught within a clear personal, moral and social framework.
We follow the Local Authority ‘Spiral’ curriculum on Relationships and Sex Education which is not statutory and have discussed and agreed the content with parents.
The work the school has done in this area has been recognised by Ofsted:
An information leaflet is sent home in the summer term which details the content of the next set of Personal, Social, Health and Economic education – this includes Relationships Education. Children can be withdrawn at the request of parents / carers from all or part of sex education lessons (except those elements taught as National Curriculum science) after discussion with the head teacher. If a child is withdrawn, then provision will be made for the child to access educational activities.
In order to safeguard children, and following Ofsted advice, the children must be taught about puberty before the onset of puberty.
Puberty
The school aims to teach the children about puberty in preparation for their biological changes. These lessons usually begin in Year 5 before the onset of puberty.
The school also operates a lending library of resources on the theme of puberty for parents. This is in response for requests for additional support from parents. If you would like to view any of the resources we use then please contact school.
More information about Relationships Education can be found at:
COMPUTING
The school has a good level of IT provision. There are computers and interactive whiteboards in each classroom and a range of laptops, netbooks and Ipads. All of these are connected to a wireless network. The knowledge and skills for Computing from the National Curriculum are developed are applied in investigations and tasks across the curriculum. Our Computing provision is constantly being expanded.
We have moved to a position where a Computing Suite is not needed so that Computing skills can be taught in each classroom as well as giving the children the opportunity to apply their skills across the curriculum. This helps to give them the skills necessary in a rapidly changing world.
A very important element in Computing is to ensure that the children know how to keep safe on-line, how to identify cyberbullying and know what to do if it occurs. This issue is constantly revisited and we also take part in ‘cyber safety’ activities during Anti-Bullying week and Safer Internet Day. Each year, courses and meetings are also held for parents to discuss the issue of ‘cyber safety’ and strategies which can be used to support their children in being safe on-line. These are run by school, by the Local Authority and by organisations such as the NSPCC and Parent Zone. Some useful links are detailed below:
www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
www.childnet.com/resources/smartie-the-penguin
https://parentzone.org.uk/home
‘The information and advice that you provide for parents is current and includes guidance on Snapchat, Instagram and other forms of social media. The pupils told me that they feel safe at school and know what they would do if they were worried or had concerns about themselves or others. Parents support this view’. Ofsted
INTERNET / E-MAIL
You can access information about the school through the following Internet address:
www.calegreen.stockport.sch.uk
The school’s email address is:
admin@calegreen.stockport.sch.uk.
Children do not have individual email accounts. Social networking sites are blocked. The schools access to the Internet is also controlled by the Local Authority and all key strokes (any typing) is logged and monitored by Esafe.
The school does have an active Twitter account which can be found at:
@CaleGreenPS
PASTORAL CARE
Pastoral care is provided in school to ensure the physical and emotional welfare of pupils and their families. We recognise that it an essential foundation upon which learning can take place. Our pastoral care extends to every aspect of school life in order to foster pupils’ personal development as much as their academic progress.
At Cale Green, we have a Child and Family Support work, Ms Rogers, a trained Emotional Literacy Support worker (ELSA) Mrs Hammami and a Counsellor from the NHS.
CHILD AND FAMILY SUPPORT WORKER
We are very fortunate that we have Gill Rogers, our Child and Family Support Worker, who helps the children to overcome any ‘barriers to learning’ that they may have during their time at the school. Gill works with individual children, small groups and whole classes and has developed a range of activities to support the mental health and the emotional health and well-being of all the children. We have a range of strategies embedded into school life which include circle time, peer massage, peer counselling, the School Council, Friendship Benches, buddy system, anti-bullying strategy, worry box, ‘Ask-It’ baskets, etc. which support the children on a daily basis.
Child and family support is available before school, during playtimes and lunchtimes, after school and sometimes at the weekends and during the school holidays. The work of the school in this area has been recognised as ‘good practice’.
Work with parents and carers includes the ‘Friends of Cale Green’, ‘Family Learning’ and parenting courses as well as providing individual support and ‘signposting’ to other services.
Another very important aspect of Gill’s work is to promote good attendance and punctuality.
We also have a Bilingual Community Learning Mentor, Tabassam Ijaz, who works at the school on Wednesday mornings to help support parents and children where the family has English as an additional / second language.
BEHAVIOUR
At Cale Green, we value and respect each unique individual. We constantly praise and reward good behaviour. We stress the qualities of kindness, thoughtfulness and gentleness. The school has a clear, simple code of conduct which was created by the children and which each child is expected to follow. This is known as ‘The Cale Green Code’.
The Cale Green Code
We will always do our best to:
be safe and sensible
treat everyone and everything with respect
be responsible for our own actions
listen and follow instructions carefully
When problems arise parents / carers are informed and involved. The Child and Family Support Worker may also be involved. We use ‘Restorative Approaches’ to resolve issues – working ‘with’ children and their families. Children and their families are also asked to sign the ‘Home / School Agreement’. This partnership agreement has been written by parents and the school working together.
Our approach is to work with and alongside children and their families, together in a strong and equal partnership.
Pupil Voice
Understanding the experience of school from the children’s perspective is central to how we improve our school. ‘Pupil Voice’ – listening to, and respecting, their views and opinions is given the utmost importance.
We have an elected School Council who we consult about various issues. In the past, the School Councillors have visited other schools to help choose playground equipment, have met with representatives from book companies to decide on which reading scheme books to buy, have chosen new library books and have been consulted on our school dinners and most recently helping chose some new displays for the staircases. They made their decisions after consulting other children in school.
Children also act as ‘Peer Supporters’ helping to resolve any disputes between other children. ‘Mini' and ‘Junior’ Play Leaders’ support the play of younger children at lunch times.
The whole idea is to give the children the opportunities to make contributions to the wider life of the school and also the ‘vocabulary’ to describe their experiences. In this way, they are then more able to describe and take control of their own situation, be ‘active citizens’ and develop the values needed to play a part in the life of modern Britain.
UNICEF Rights Respecting School
Another area of school life where the children have an opportunity to make a contribution is through being a Rights Respecting School. We have a Steering group made up of children from across the school who consider the rights of the child. We have recently been awarded the SILVER Award and are now actively working towards achieving the GOLD Award.
‘Pupils attitudes and behaviour are very good; their relationships and personal development are excellent’ Ofsted
School Travel – Sustainable Schools
The school is committed to encouraging walking, cycling or scooting to school as a safe means of transport. This has been recognised by achieving the SUSTRANs Gold Award. We were the first primary school in Greater Manchester to have achieved this!
We want to encourage sustainable, safe travel as part of our school culture. We encourage the children to cycle and scoot to school so that it becomes the norm for travel to Cale Green, creating a long lasting and durable cycling culture, quieter, safer roads and happy, healthy children.
Activities sometimes take place in lessons and at least once every half - term there is some form of activity related to walking, cycling, and scooting and road safety. We also encourage the children to consider these issues through their curriculum activities. The governors fully support these activities.
We work closely with a range of partners such as BRAKE, the Local Authority and Sustrans to deliver the following activities:
Road Safety: Operation Eagle Eye / Step Outside / Headsmart / Crashed Vehicle Project / Child Speedwatch
Cycling and Scooting: Bike week / Bike It days / Dr. Bike / Bling Your Bike / Bike It Breakfast / cycle + scooter storage / ‘Bespoke Cycling’ (bike recycling charity / ‘Scooter Man’ – scooter park / Manchester Velodrome BMX course visits / Bruntwood Park BMX course / weekend adult cycling workshops / Sustrans ‘Superhero’ day.
We are active partners in the ‘Living Streets’ charity and take part in Walk to School activities wherever possible – regularly winning the Local Authority Award for the most journeys to school on foot, bike or scooter!
In addition, we have introduced ‘Balanceability’ to get every Reception child riding a bike without stabilizers and ‘Bikeability’ so that older children can ride their bikes safely.
EQUALITY AND INCLUSION
We are proud that our truly comprehensive primary school serves to meet the needs of all children of the Cale Green area irrespective of their background or need.
At Cale Green we are committed to raising standards for all children, closing any gaps between different groups. We are also committed to tackling the barriers to equal opportunities which may prevent a child from achieving their full potential.
We have a rich and deep, balanced and appropriate curriculum which promotes British values and which provides equal opportunity for all pupils to maximise their potential regardless of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion or disability.
We aim to promote equality and tackle any form of discrimination and actively promote harmonious relations in all areas of school life. We seek to remove any barriers to access, participation, progression, attainment and achievement. We take our contribution towards community cohesion seriously. Throughout everything we do we consider the wider impact of our actions.
We were proud to have been awarded the Inclusion Quality Mark which recognises the work done in school to ensure that EVERY child, irrespective of home background and their unique needs, achieves to the very best of their potential. It is our duty to ensure that we do not discriminate against any children.
The school also publishes an Equality and Diversity policy which has a range of actions so that we can fulfil our general equality duty contained in the Equality Act (2010). This is published on our school website.
‘The treasure in your school is the strong sense of community. Cale Green Primary serves a very diverse area made up of different cultures, ethnicities, languages and religions. At your school, community cohesion is not an initiative from a past era but a living reality. It motivates everyone. As one pupil told me, ‘even though we are all different we are treated the same. We are all special and unique.’ Ofsted
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS and DISABILITY
At some time during their time at school, many children will have special educational needs of different kinds. In fact, we feel that all our children's needs are special. Children’s needs are monitored and assessed during their school career. There is a teacher in school (SENCO), who has special responsibility for these children, Mrs Carole Harding. She is highly experienced and knows the children and their families very well.
Children experiencing difficulties are referred by the class teacher to the special educational needs teacher. Any specific difficulties are then identified and assessed, responded to, monitored and evaluated. The school receives support from the Learning Support Service with specialist teaching, and from the Educational Psychology Service. Additional support is accessed from a wide range of other ‘providers’ such as the Speech and Language and the Occupational Therapy.
The SENCO is also responsible for liaison between parents, the school, governors, other professionals and the Local Authority and for ensuring that the requirements of the Local Authorities guidelines on Special Educational Needs are fulfilled.
More able children are tracked through the school with, where appropriate, special provision made to cater for their needs and to enrich and enhance their learning. The school website includes details of the support available to children in Stockport, the ‘Local Offer’ and also the support which is provided in school, the ‘School Offer’.
As a school we endeavour to meet all our children’s needs however we realise that we need to plan and implement plans for improving accessibility at Cale Green for disabled pupils. We regularly review our Accessibility Plan and identify any barriers to access which exist at the school.
As a school we plan for:
increasing access for disabled pupils to the school curriculum
improving access to the physical environment of the school
improving the delivery of written information to disabled pupils.
As a two storey building arrangements are in place to move Key Stage 2 classes to the ground floor if the need arises. Additional adult support is also provided if required.
Our approach to special needs and disabilities is detailed on the school website under the ‘Our School / Special Needs’ tab.
HOMEWORK
We encourage the children to develop the practice of independent study at home. A wide variety of work across the curriculum is undertaken, with particular emphasis on the core subjects. Reading, spelling and the learning of tables are regular types of homework. The children are also sometimes set longer research based tasks to be completed during the holidays. Homework can often be completed on the Internet or during lunchtime at school.
Homework also allows for the application of knowledge acquired in the classroom. It can also involve parents (and other adults) in the children’s work. For older children it prepares them to become accustomed to the regular and varied assignments they will be required to complete when at high school.
Our approach to homework was revised as a result of consultation with parents and children.
The school operates a daily Homework Club for those children who have not completed their tasks at home as well as providing on-line learning resources which the children can also access at home. The children are issued with passwords for these activities. The most popular are:
https://www.spellingshed.com/en-gb/index.html
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
The range and number of additional activities organised by the staff for the children is one of the features of school life and learning at Cale Green.
Throughout the year, the staff organise and supervise many extra-curricular engagement and enrichment activities. Recently, these have included Drama, Choir, Knitting, Art and Cookery to those of a more sporting nature, for example Football and ‘Multi-skills’.
The children tell us what activities they would like to take part in and they are also based on the skills and interests of the staff and their willingness to give up their own time out of school hours. We also use a range of sports coaches and outside specialists, etc.
We arrange visits to the theatre and organise interesting and informative visits to school by artists, poets, historians and scientists. The children regularly take part in Road Safety and First Aid training.
Children throughout the school make visits to places of interest, usually as a stimulus or a starting point for theme work. We deliberately choose visits to the local area where possible. Visits over the last few years, and before the pandemic included the Hat Works Museum, Staircase House, Manchester Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, Challenge for Change, Manchester Metropolitan University, the Lowry Centre, John Ryland’s Library, Apple store workshops, Roman Chester, Royal Exchange Theatre, Jodrell Bank, Bridgewater Hall, Stockport Plaza, Lyme Park, Manchester University, Manchester and Stockport Art Galleries and Whitworth Art Gallery, amongst others! The children perform a Shakespeare play each year on stage at the Lowry Theatre and the choir perform in a range of concerts and venues across the year.
We do travel further afield including residential visits to North Wales, Beeston castle and Burwardsley and visits to the Houses of Parliament.
The residential visits enable the children to participate in a stimulating educational experience away from the school environment. They are encouraged to challenge themselves physically and develop skills such as team work and co-operation.
At Cale Green we continue to believe that an enriched curriculum gives the children the first-hand experience, brings subjects to life and provides real interest, enjoyment, enthusiasm and motivation for learning and school life. This in turn supports raising standards.
MONITORING YOUR CHILD'S PROGRESS
We continually assess all children as they move through the school. These assessments are then used to inform our planning so that we provide the most appropriate work for your child. Progress is continually 'tracked' to ensure that any needs are accommodated and met.
Although the staff constantly evaluate the progress of all the children through teacher assessment, we do undertake more specific monitoring through a variety of tests and assessments in reading, writing, spelling and mathematics. These are diagnostic in nature and provide valuable information in regard to any reinforcement or extension activities the children may require to achieve their potential.
At the end of the Reception year the children are assessed by their teachers as to their progress towards ‘Early Learning Goals’ in a wide range of areas.
The statutory National Curriculum Assessments (SATs) occur in Year 6, as well as a national Phonics Screening Check in Year 1 and Multiplication Tables Check in Year 4.
The children also take termly tests in school which provide a summative assessment of progress, giving a continuous and comprehensive record of each child’s development.
A written report detailing progress is sent to parents at the end of the summer term. There are also Parent Consultations in the autumn, spring and summer terms where progress is discussed.
Apart from the termly Parental Consultations, parents can see their children’s work, discuss their progress and seek advice with the class teacher whenever a convenient appointment is made. The best time to see the teacher, or head teacher, is after school. In an emergency we would of course see any parents immediately.
Parents are also invited to view their child’s work in the classroom 4 times during the school year.
‘The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.’ Ofsted
ATTENDANCE / ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL
We always expect good attendance and punctuality as these are crucial to a child’s success.
Please inform the school on the day of absence, by telephone or email, the reason for a child's absence. A member of staff will contact you on the first day of any absence if you have not contacted the school.
Government regulations require every absence to be explained, preferably through a direct conversation or an email or note. The Education Welfare Officer and our child and family Support Worker, regularly monitor attendance and will contact parents if necessary.
Attendance below 90% triggers the involvement of Education Welfare Officer. Please be aware that persistent absence may result in fines and prosecution by the Local Authority.
No absence is authorised for holidays unless in exceptional circumstances. All other holidays are recorded as unauthorised and where appropriate Education Penalty Notices of £60 per parent per child may be issued by the Local Authority where the child is of compulsory school age.
Whenever possible, dental or medical appointments should be made outside school hours. In the event of continued medical absence we will inform the School Nurse who may be able to offer support.
Children are not allowed to leave school during the day unless a parent / carer collects the child after seeing the head teacher or a member of staff.
Under no circumstances will a child be allowed to leave the school premises
on the strength of a verbal request alone or with another minor.
Please inform us of anything which may be distressing your child,
for example, the illness or death of a relative, death of a pet
or absence of a parent (hospital, working away, etc.).
PUNCTUALITY
Children should arrive at school in time for ‘Fix It’ time at 8.40am.
If a child arrives, or is brought to school, after 8.50am, they are late and must be signed in at the school office on the ‘Inventry’ system by their parent / carer before going to the classroom. This is important so that the attendance registers are accurate.
A record is made of late arrival and if the problem persists then parents will be contacted by the head teacher or the Educational Welfare Officer. Regular ‘Late at the Gate’ sweeps are held by the Education Welfare Service to encourage good punctuality.
UNAUTHORISED ABSENCE
As already stated the school should be informed, as soon as possible, of the reason for any absence. If no reason is given, the absence is classed as 'unauthorised'. In addition, certain absences may be classed as 'unauthorised', even if a message has been received. This is if the absence was not for an authorised or justifiable reason such as shopping or for a haircut!
HOLIDAYS TAKEN IN TERM-TIME
There are strict guidelines for holidays in term time. If your holidays do not coincide with the school's pattern, absence cannot be authorised only for exceptional circumstances.
After two weeks your child will be reported as ‘missing from education’ and after four weeks unauthorised absence the school will remove the child's name from the register. For example, home leave from the Armed Forces.
Apart from the legal requirement to complete a fixed minimum number of attendances, parents should bear in mind the disruptive effect the absence may have on their child's education. Parents are requested not to book holidays during the period of Key Stage 2 SAT testing.
Education Penalty Notices of £60.00 per parent per child will be sought when children are absent from school for longer than five days for a holiday.
FREE SCHOOL MEALS / PUPIL PREMIUM
Children from families in receipt of certain benefits may be eligible for free school meals. Please ask at the school office for details.
Your child may be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:
Income Support
income-based Jobseekers Allowance
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
Working Tax Credit run-on-paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
Universal Credit
Children who get any of the above benefits in their own right (i.e. they get benefits payments directly, instead of through a parent or guardian) can also get free school meals.
Further details can also be found by contacting:
www.stockport.gov.uk/services/advicebenefitsgrants/benefits/freeschoolmeals
T: 0161 217 6015
Pupil Premium
Our school will receive an additional £1320 for each child registered as eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years. Looked After Children, those in the care of the Local Authority, receive an additional £2300 which is ring-fenced to be spent on that child alone.
The more parents who claim Free School Meals (even if you do not use it because your child has a packed lunch) the more Pupil Premium Grant money goes into the school budget.
Schools will also receive additional funds for each pupil who has left Local Authority care because of 1 of the following:
adoption
a special guardianship order
a child arrangements order
a residence order
We have a ‘tiered’ approach to our pupil Premium Strategy and currently use this money to employ extra staff to help with English and maths from the Early Years through to Year 6. Mrs. Nicola Lewis, one of our Deputy head teachers, is the ‘Pupil Premium Champion’ and she meets regularly with the governing board to discuss the impact of these additional funds.
This money is used to support the development of high quality ‘first’ teaching, additional staffing, access to subsidised activities, etc. So you can see how important it is to the children that you claim your entitlement!
Details of how much Pupil Premium grant the school receives, what it spends it on and its impact are detailed on the school website.
Remember – if you claim just once the school will
receive at least £1320 a year for the next 7 years!
POVERTY PROOFING THE SCHOOL DAY
At Cale Green, we work to identify and overcome the barriers to learning that children and young people from families with less financial resources face.
We have had an external audit of our school which looked at many different aspects of school life and involved children, parents, staff and governors.
We now have an action plan tailored to address any policies or practices. In this way we can also explore the most effective way to spend our pupil premium allocation.
For further details, please follow this link:
http://www.povertyproofing.co.uk/
SCHOOL UNIFORM
Parents are requested to dress their children in school uniform. Children do not have to wear any uniform branded with the school logo. The basic colours are green, grey and white and it consists of:
· white shirt or polo shirt
· grey / black trousers / skirt / pinafore dress (no jeans or tracksuits)
· green sweatshirt / cardigan / jumper
· sensible black shoes (no boots or training shoes please)
All these items are available at local supermarkets.
The school also supplies embroidered polo shirts, fleeces, sweatshirts and T-shirts. We can also take orders for a shower proof jacket, homework / reading book bag, a school baseball cap and a ‘beanie’ hat.
Jewellery is not allowed. Only plain studs are allowed if a child’s ears are pierced. Children are encouraged to wear a watch.
Our branded uniform is sourced locally which means that there
are no postage costs and we support a local business.
Shoe and Uniform Library
To help families with the cost of uniform the school also runs a shoe library where shoes are given out free of charge if sizes are available. Please ask at the school office for further details. We do the same for school uniform which has been donated by parents
Pre-Loved Uniform Sale
At the end of the day on the last Friday of the month, we hold a Pre-Loved Uniform Sale. Good quality uniform, coats, shoes and school bags can be purchased for 50p an item.
P.E. KIT
We have made the school PE kit as simple as possible. It consists of:
· plain white t-shirt / polo-shirt (black -shirt for Year 5 / 6)
· black / white sports shorts
· black / white PE pumps / trainers
· black school hoodie
Children will wear their PE kit for the day rather than their school uniform. Earrings should not be worn on PE days as the children will be asked to remove them or put plasters over them.
Children in Years 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 attend swimming lessons. If your child has long hair then a swimming cap must be worn. Swimming shorts are not allowed only trunks please!
Please label all your child's clothing with their name.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
The majority of concerns expressed by parents are dealt with on an informal basis within the school itself. Only when this avenue is exhausted would the complaints procedure established by the Local Authority come into effect. We aim to acknowledge complaints within 3 working days and respond to them in 10 working days.
The full details of the Complaints Procedure, including the scope of the arrangements and the rights and roles of all concerned, the role of the Governing Body, the Local Authority and the Secretary of State are available from school and ae on the school website under the ‘Parents’ tab.
All complaints will be taken seriously and treated with care and sensitivity.
CHARGING FOR SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
The Governing Board recognises the valuable contribution that the wide range of additional activities, including clubs, trips and residential experiences can make towards the children’s personal and social education. The Governing Board wish to see the curriculum enriched as far as possible for the benefit of all the children and aims to promote and provide such activities both as part of a broad and balanced curriculum for the children and as additional optional activities.
All school activities are subsidised and the school asks for a voluntary contribution towards the cost from parents. Any requests for contributions must make it clear that there is no obligation to contribute and that pupils will not be treated differently according to whether or not their parents have made any contribution in response to the request.
Charges may be made for the cost of repairing or replacing any damaged property or item resulting from a child's inappropriate behaviour or for replacing any non-returned property or an item that has been loaned or hired to a child. This is especially the case with lost reading and homework books. A charge of £5.00 will be made for each book lost.
The school’s Charging and Remissions policy is available on the school website under the ‘Our School’ tab.
ACCIDENTS, ILLNESS AND MEDICAL MATTERS
The majority of Teaching Assistants are qualified in Paediatric First Aid and are able to deal with most of the minor injuries that occur in school. Sometimes we do have more serious accidents, for example, real or suspected fractures, eye injury, head injury, etc. and in these circumstances, we will make every effort to contact the parent / carer. However, the welfare of the child is our first concern and it may well be felt necessary to seek immediate hospital treatment, whilst at the same time, attempting to contact you.
Please inform the school immediately of any changes of emergency contact numbers, especially mobile phone numbers.
Other up-to-date contact names and telephone numbers are also very important.
We have had instances where children are sent to school already feeling unwell. It is invariably the case that these children need to be sent home later in the day.
If there is any doubt in your mind about your child's health, it is far better to keep them at home for a while, or visit your doctor. It is sometimes the case that children return to school before they are really fully well and this can mean them having to have further time off, or even in some cases, passing the infection to others.
MEDICINES IN SCHOOL / MEDICAL CONDITIONS IN SCHOOL
As a general rule, medicines are NOT administered to children on the school premises by the staff. This is in line with national and local guidelines.
However, it is appreciated that sometimes a child is perfectly well enough to attend school but is following a course of medicine prescribed by a doctor that needs to be administered during the school day. If the school staff are to be asked to administer medicine, they are only allowed to do so with written authority from parents and the consent of the head teacher. This medicine must be in the original container with the original doctor / pharmacist instructions.
If a child is prescribed a medicine 3 x a day then it can usually be administered before school, after school and before bedtime.
Forms for this purpose are available from the school office. As a school we follow the ‘Medical Conditions in School’ guidance from the Department for Education.
For children with serious medical needs a Health Care Plan may be drawn up.
Under no circumstances will children be allowed to take
medicine by themselves without adult supervision.
ASTHMA AND INHALERS / EPILEPSY / SEVERVE ALLERGIC REACTION
It is recognised that children who suffer from asthma need ready access to their prescribed inhaler and spacer. The school's policy is that as soon as a child is able (old enough) they should keep a 'reliever' inhaler (usually in a blue container) with them at all times. Until such times that a child is able to take charge of their inhaler it will be kept in the classroom. All inhalers and spacers should be clearly marked with the child's name.
If your child is hospitalised with breathing difficulties / suspected asthma, then you must contact school and inform us on your child’s return to school.
In practice, inhalers are kept in a clear plastic container which is kept in the classroom during lessons, in the staffroom at playtime and lunchtimes and which is taken on class visits / trips.
It should not be necessary for 'preventer' inhalers (brown) to be brought into school.
If your child has an asthma attack, then in an emergency
another child’s blue inhaler / spacer may be used.
If your child has epilepsy / severe allergy (usually to nuts) then we will keep an ‘epi-pen’ in school and staff will be trained in its use.
MEDICAL SCREENING PROGRAMME
Medical screening takes place for children in the Reception age group. Each child is routinely seen for a hearing test. In addition, some children may have their vision, height and weight checked at school if it is deemed necessary. The children are examined by the school doctor or the school nurse and parents are invited to be present.
Our school nurse, Liz Donegan, is based at Heaton Norris Health Centre, and carries out the Screening Programme. A dental inspection is also held annually. Parents are informed by the school dentist if any treatment is required.
HEAD LICE
If you find, or suspect that your child has head lice (or the eggs, often known as 'nits'), then please inform the school. Please be assured that anyone can catch head lice and it has nothing to do with 'dirty hair'. In fact, head lice prefer clean hair (but they don't like combs!).
If children in school do get head lice then all parents are informed so that families can begin immediate treatment and if necessary the school nurse will meet with parents.
CHILDREN STAYING IN SCHOOL
Generally speaking, children are not allowed to stay in school at break times unless the need is reasonable and / or obvious, for example, a child who has a broken arm or some such injury and is yet perfectly able to attend school.
Children are not sent out to play when it is thought that the weather is not fit for them to be outside. However, a breath of fresh air and a spot of exercise are both desirable and beneficial even if it is raining slightly!
There is a daily Key Stage 2 Computing / Homework / Library lunchtime Club.
FAMILY FORUM / COMMUNICATION
We hold weekly Family assemblies on a Friday morning. Parents from different year groups are invited to join in-person and other families may join virtually.
Every term there is at least one formal Family Forum. This is usually to discuss an issue raised by parents / carers or a priority the school is currently working on. Past topics for discussion have included becoming school ready, poverty proofing, attendance, free school meals, anti-bullying, safeguarding, cyber-bullying and homework. Your views are valued – please attend these meetings if you can!
Cale Green really is a school right at the heart of the community and we pride ourselves on the close and supportive links we have between home and school. Activities such as volunteering in classes, carol singing in the community, the School Fair, fund raising events, etc. all help to promote links between the school and the wider community.
Where possible we also strive to promote access to education through the school for parents and carers such as the Mastering Number at Home project which we have ran for last 2 years.
Parents are involved in the school in so many ways and we are indebted to the volunteers who help to prepare bagels for the children every day, run the baby and toddler ‘Terrific Tots’, assist with reading, in the Nursery class, on trips and visits and who help the school function in so many other ways. Thank you!
Communication
We provide information about the school, events and activities to parents in many ways. This may be:
ParentPay: all payments for school activities are made through this service
Email: we email all letters to parents signed up to ParentPay and for free school meals as we have their email addresses
Face-to-face: on the playground / during Family Assembly / etc.
The Cale Green Journal / Letters: monthly journals and letters detailing specific activities which are emailed to families
Website: journals, recent letters, the school handbook and other important information is provided on the school website
Tapestry: Early Years ‘App’ to share messages and children’s achievements
Twitter: We use this as a reminder to parents of activities and to celebrate specific activities which take place.
Parent Pay
We use an online payment system 'ParentPay' for paying for school dinners, after-school club, trips, uniform etc.
Please try if at all possible to use this use e-payment method. This can be done online using a very secure website called ParentPay or in cash at local stores where you see the PayPoint logo.
Downloading ParentPay to your phone or computer is very simple. If you need any assistance please call into the school office. Further details about ParentPay can be found at:
FRIENDS OF CALE GREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL
All parents, carers, governors, teachers and staff at Cale Green automatically become ‘Friends of Cale Green’, affectionately known as ‘FROGs’.
The objective of the ‘FROGs’ is to advance the education of children in the school. The ‘FROGs’ are committed to achieving this objective in a number of ways. These include developing relationships between all those involved with the school and by raising money to assist with the provision of resources for the school and the children. We have a small but very committed group of parents who are always looking for other parents / carers to join them.
Please contact the Child and Family Support Worker, Gill Rogers, or your child’s class teacher or just stay behind after the Family Assembly if you would like to find out more about FROGs.
GOVERNING BOARD
Our school governors are people who want to make a positive contribution to the education of children at Cale Green. Our governors have an important part to play in raising school standards. The role of the governing body is absolutely key to the effectiveness of a school.
Governors attend sub-committees and full governing board meetings after school, as well as arranging visits to classrooms and activities such as Family Assembly and celebration events. It is quite a commitment – but very worthwhile!
We were delighted that the school achieved the Governor Mark – the very first school in Stockport to do so!
Further information about the role of governors can be found at:
PARENTAL ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION
The following documents are available in school on a reference basis, and can be made available to any parent, during school time. (In addition, many of the documents can be obtained from the school at a cost not exceeding the purchase cost, or the copying cost of the document)
· National Curriculum documents
· Local Authority Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education
· School based Schemes of Work
· Published minutes of Governor meetings
· Local Authority Procedure for Complaints
· The School Prospectus / Handbook
If have a query or require clarification of any document, etc. then please do not hesitate to contact school. We will always try to assist you immediately. If that isn’t possible then we will arrange a meeting with you as soon as is possible. We also operate Data Protection compliance (GDPR) and Freedom of Information.
We hope that you have found the Parents Handbook useful as well as informative. If you wish to discuss anything concerning the school, then please do not hesitate to contact us. This document is also available on-line at:
www.calegreen.stockport.sch.uk.
Final Thoughts
Our school will ‘leave no stone unturned’ in its commitment to ensuring that each individual child fulfils to the very best of their own unique potential.
I understand that you put the greatest amount of trust in us to look after the very most precious things in your life – your children. This trust gives us all our enormous sense of purpose and responsibility to get things right for your child.
My ‘touchstone’ is that if it isn’t good enough for my children then it isn’t good enough for your child and the way the school responds to children’s needs should be exactly what I would want for my own children.
I want the children to come to school every day looking forward to being with their friends, learning and applying new knowledge in interesting ways and having lots of exciting experiences which make learning memorable.
I want each child to be known as a unique individual in school, who can make a contribution to the wider life of the school and who has a ‘voice’ and who feels listened to and cared for.
In doing these things, I think that each child will come to school relaxed and alert and ready to learn in a school which they feel belongs to them and they are proud to be a part of living and learning together with their friends.
Mrs Sarah McHugh
Headteacher
April 2024
‘The very high quality of leadership together with the high commitment of staff place the school in a very strong position to continue to improve’ Ofsted