Hunter's Bar Junior

School Prospectus 2005-2006

Find out more about the school under this category. Information from the Prospectus is available to be read online or to be downloaded as a complete file.

The online sections are:

• General information
• Teaching & learning 1
• Teaching & learning 2
• Home and school
• School Governors
• Who works here?
• The school day

General information

Click here to view the first section of the Prospectus online, or download the full Prospectus here.

• Aims of the school
• Visiting the school
• School crossing patrols
• The school community
• Teaching organisation
• Admission procedures
• School meals
• Dress
• Behaviour in school
• Liaison with other schools
• Working & getting on with others
• Playground Friends
• Anti-bullying statement
• Combating Racism
• Pastoral care and child protection

Teaching and learning 1

Click here to view this section online, or download the full Prospectus here.

• The National Curriculum
• Assessment
• Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs)

Teaching and learning 2

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• Curriculum information
• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Design & technology
• Information & Communication Technology
• History and Geography
• Art
• Physical Education
• Extra Curricular Activities
• Music
• Modern Foreign Languages
• Religious Education
• Homework
• Personal Development
• Personal, social and health education
• Children with special needs

Home and school

Click here to view this section online, or download the full Prospectus here.

• The parent-teacher relationship
• Voluntary helpers in school
• Home School Association
• Children’s Welfare
• Medicines
• Lateness and Absence
• Attendance Statistics
• Benefits
• Charging for school activities
• Charging for deliberate damage
• Access to documents
• How to make a complaint

School Governors Nov04

Chair of Governors –

Jill Malcomson
25 Victoria Road
Sheffield S10 2DJ
Tel. No. 266 5404

Parent governors:

• Sylvia Downing (until 2008)  0114 2667248
• Jasper South (until 2008)  0114 2661003
• Martin Rescorle (until 2008)  0114 2667123
• Martin Hughes (until 2007)  0114 2550573
• Nicola Castle (until 2008)  0114 2551295

LEA governors:

• Christina Tudor (until 2008)
• Colin Roth (until 2006)

Co-opted governors:

• Jill Malcomson (2006)
• Glynis Jones (until 2005)
• Mary Cornish (until 2005)
• Vacant

Associate Governors:

• Sean Cavan
• Graham Marcroft 

Headteacher:

• Jill Hallsworth

Teacher governors:

• Shirley Harrison (until 2008)
• Simon Murch (until 2007)

Non-Teaching staff governor:

• Carol Hardwick (until 2007)

The Governors have the following sub-committees:

Finance and Premises
Staffing
Exclusion
Curriculum and Equal Opportunities
School Improvement Planning

To see more information use the 'Who works here?' and 'School Day' links in the Categories side-panel.

Who works here? (September 07)

Headteacher: Jill Hallsworth

Deputy Headteacher: Lynette Glossop

Assistant Headteacher: Helen Wyatt

Class teachers

Y3:     Phil Goode, Cath Thomas/Lynette Glossop, Alex Beauchamp
Y4:     Michael Watson, Simon Murch, Kathy Baillie/Juliet Murray
Y5:     John Jenkin, Mike Bywaters, Joanne Brocklesby/Helen Walton
Y6:     Shirley Harrison, Paul Boulton, Jane Lovett

Modern Foreign Languages: Vicky McDougall

PPA: David Timbers

Art: Claire Tinker

GTP Student: Abi Walker

Support staff

Senior Administrative Officer:  Carol Hardwick
Clerical Officer:  Sandra Gregory
Teaching Assistants:  Susannah Sollitt, Janice Pringle, Sarah Madden, Nicola Sawyer and Louise Blacksell
EAL Assistant:  Sajida Anwar
General Assistant:  Claire Scott
Curriculum and Resources Manager: Adam Cook
Caretaker: Vaughan Pursall
Building Supervisor:  Ian Parkin
Cook:  Sheila Offiler
Lunchtime Supervisors: Megan Holme, Tricia Seymour, Jill Gilbert
Cleaning staff:  Carole Leadley, Sue Smith
School Nursing Sister:  Sarah Graham

School Day

8.50 Start of school day

8.50 – 9:00 Registration

9:00-10.30 First working session

10.25-10.40 Morning break

10.40-12.05 Second working session

12.05-1.05 Lunch break

1.05-1.10 Registration

1.10-2.10 Third working session

2.10-2.20 Afternoon break

2.20-3.20 Fourth working session

3.20 End of school day

Assemblies are held at 10am on Monday: 9am on all other days

The time actually available each week for teaching after deduction of time for registration, assemblies and breaks is 23 1/2 hours.

General information [Prospectus]

Our Vision

Hunter’s Bar Junior School seeks to promote high achievement and learning for life in an environment of mutual respect which enables all children to realise their full potential.

Our Aims

The school will endeavour to help all children to

• Achieve and enjoy high standards in all areas and realise their full potential as individuals and as members of our society
• Value themselves and others, irrespective of ability, gender, class, cultural background, ethnic origin or health
• Respect and value the world around them
• Develop enquiring minds and a spirit of curiosity
• Become highly motivated lifelong learners
• Be flexible and adaptable for the modern world
• Achieve high standards of behaviour and learn the skills of self-discipline and compromise
• Express themselves confidently and be able to argue rationally, persuasively and with sensitivity
• Be able to learn independently and collaboratively and appreciate the need for co-operation with others

We believe that our children will achieve these aims through experiencing

• A broad and challenging curriculum which is differentiated according to individual need
• Innovative teaching and an investigative approach to learning
• A stimulating, caring and inclusive learning environment
• An enriching programme of extra-curricular activities and visits
• An ethos of support, challenge and encouragement to succeed
• Partnership between school, home and community

We demonstrate our commitment to working as a learning community by

• Striving for continuous improvement in all that we do
• Working collaboratively towards common goals

The school also has responsibilities to members of staff, teaching and non-teaching, and will therefore endeavour to

• Value and encourage the distinctive contribution of each member of staff
• Foster a sense of mutual respect between all members of staff
• Develop the working environment and provide equipment and training so that each member of staff will be able to work efficiently and happy.

The school is very much part of the community and will therefore endeavour to

• Inform and involve parents in all stages of their children’s education and personal well-being
• Maintain and develop links with feeder schools and secondary schools
• Maintain links with wider community of Sheffield schools and with officers of the Sheffield Education Service
• Encourage the sense of the school being a vital part of the local community

The school

The main school building dates from 1906 and was built as a secondary school.  It is a substantial stone building with three floors and originally had boys, girls and manual skills departments.  The school occupies a triangular site that is shared with the adjacent infant school.

On the ground floor there are four classrooms and the hall.  On the first floor there are a further five classrooms, a group room for special needs work and an extensive reference library.  A fully networked computer suite has been installed on an upper mezzanine level.  The basement has been converted into a kitchen and dining room.  In addition there is a double Horsa classroom unit in the top yard.  There is also an excellent garden area in the top playground which provides seating and green relief.

The school office is currently situated on the ground floor.  The head’s office is adjacent.

During working sessions external doors are kept closed.  The only access to the school is through the main entrance, which is protected by a CCTV system.  When this door is locked, we ask visitors to press the buzzer and speak to the admin staff, who will open the door. 

WE ASK ALL VISITORS TO GO TO THE MAIN SCHOOL OFFICE TO SIGN IN ON ARRIVAL WHERE THEY WILL BE GIVEN A SCHOOL AUTHORISATION PASS  AND ALSO TO SIGN OUT ON  DEPARTURE. 
(This is to enable school to comply with health and safety requirements.)

School crossing patrols

Parents are reminded that supervision of children in the school yard is only provided from 8.40am and that children should not arrive at school long before the start of the school day or remain after school unless they are taking part in an organised activity.

There is a crossing patrol on Junction Road.  At the time of writing, the City Council has been unable to find people willing to fill the warden position on Cowlishaw Road, and children therefore have to cross the roads by themselves.

Currently there should be crossing patrols operating at the following times.

    Before school:  Junction Road, 8.30 – 8.55 am
    After school:    Junction Road, 3.10 – 3.40 pm

When a crossing patrol person is ill it may not always be possible to replace him or her at short notice.  Parents should ensure children know what to do when there is not a person on duty.

The school community

Hunters Bar Junior School is a county, co-education day school taking children from the ages of 7 + to 11+ (Year 3 to Year 6).

There are approximately 370 children in the school, in 12 classes of a usual size of 31.  The majority of children come from the lively and diverse local community around Hunter’s Bar.  A number of the children also travel from well outside this area.

Teaching organisation

The school is organised into four year groups.  There are 12 mixed ability classes each formed of children from a single age group.  Each year group is then made up of three equal classes.  All children spend the vast majority of their time with their class teacher who is responsible not only for their academic progress but also for their pastoral care.

Teachers plan the curriculum in year teams, and all classes in a year follow a similar programme of work in all subjects.

Admission procedures

The standard admission number for each year group within the school is 90.  Children who attend Hunter’s Bar Infant School are all offered a place at Hunter’s Bar Junior School at the end of Year 2 (6+).

There may be a few places available for other children to be admitted to any of the year groups.  Applications for admission are administered and decided upon by

                Primary Admissions Team
                Floor 3, Howden House
                1 Union Street
                SHEFFIELD. S1 1SH
                273 5766

Parents who are considering asking for their children to be admitted to the school are encouraged to contact the Head Teacher who will always be pleased to meet them.

We welcome children with special educational or physical needs.  It is obviously essential that we have detailed discussions with all concerned before admission to ensure that we can make appropriate provision for their needs.

School meals

At lunch time children may either go home, with parents’ permission, or remain on the school premises.  The majority of pupils remain at school and either have a cooked school meal or bring a packed lunch.  All meals are eaten in the dining room.

A private contractor, Service Team, now provides meals for every school in the city.  It operates a multi-choice system whereby children will normally have a choice of at least three different meals, one of which will be non-meat.  Fresh fruit or yoghurt are usually offered as alternatives to the traditional pudding.  The kitchen tries to make provision for children who have special dietary requirements.

Children who go home for lunch must not return to school until the end of the lunch break and those who stay at school are never allowed to leave the school premises without the specific permission of a member of staff.

Some parents choose to give their child a snack for playtime.  As part of the healthy eating initiative, we encourage fruit and vegetables, although crisps are also allowed.

Sweets and gum of any sort are NOT permitted anywhere in school.

Dress

There is no compulsory school uniform but we do have school clothing available for purchase from the office, consisting of sweatshirts, polo shirts and PE t-shirts.  We do expect that children will come to school in clothes that are suitable for school work.

In addition it is essential that all children have a full PE kit to change into.  This should consist of a t-shirt, shorts, leotard or a PE skirt, and trainers or plimsolls.

IT IS FOR EVERYBODY’S BENEFIT FOR CLOTHING TO BE MARKED WITH ITS OWNER’S NAME.

Behaviour in school

The aims and values of the school make it clear that we should demand a high standard of work and behaviour from everyone in the school.  To this end, the school has drawn up five expectations that form the basis of all that we ask of children.  At Hunter’s Bar we …

• Always do the best we can
• Look after each other
• Look after our school
• Move around calmly and quietly
• Are positive and polite

Liaison with other schools

We have close permanent links with Hunter’s Bar Infant School, our official feeder school.  The headteachers of both schools meet regularly, as do the Y2 and Y3 teachers.

This liaison ensures the continuity of the curriculum and also enables us to be aware of the individual needs of the children coming to us.

The Y2 children visit the junior school regularly, particular in the summer term.  All children normally meet their new teachers before the summer holiday.

The majority of our Y6 children go on to High Storrs School, which is the school we officially feed.  All Y6 children have an opportunity to visit High Storrs and the High Storrs headteacher visits this school to meet children and parents during the autumn term.

However secondary school places are allocated by the LEA.  Many of our children do not live in High Storrs’ catchment area and are therefore offered a place at another secondary school  If parents are not happy with the initial offer they are invited to apply for a place at an alternative school, but there can be no guarantee that a place will be available at the school of their choice.

We make every effort to liaise closely with the staff of every school to which we send children and ensure that the receiving school has appropriate information about each child.

Working and getting on with others

Children are expected to work to the best of their ability at all times, and to work in a co-operative way with others.  As children progress through the school we expect them to become more self-disciplined and mature in the way in which they organise their work and relate to each other.

The school and governors believe that inter-personal relationships are crucial to a successful school community, and destructive and anti-social behaviour of any sort is therefore unacceptable.

Playground friends

There are approximately twenty highly committed Y6 Playground Friends who provide friendship if wanted at playtimes and lunchtimes, supported by the Citizenship co-ordinator.  These children have received intensive training in peer mediation which allows them to meet with peers and help them work together to create satisfactory resolutions to their disputes.

Bullying

Bullying of any kind is alien to the school’s expectations and is totally unacceptable.  All children are told that they must report any incidence of bullying to a member of staff in the knowledge that it will be dealt with.

Policy to combat bullying

Definition: Bullying takes many forms and is the physical, mental and emotional abuse of another person.  Its particular features are that it is malicious, usually repetitive and often premeditated.

• The four ‘expectations’ underpin all behaviour in the school
• Whatever form it takes, bullying is always wrong.
• Everyone needs to know to whom to report bullying: Children must be away that they can report bullying to their class teacher, to the teacher or other adult on duty in the playground, or alternatively that they have the right of direct access to the headteacher or to the deputy head teacher
• All reports of bullying will be taken seriously and fully investigated
• Minor episodes may be properly dealt with by the class teacher or by the adult in the playground to whom the report is made.  If the member of staff does not have time for a proper investigation then year leader, headteacher or the deputy headteacher should become involved.
• All serious or repeated incidents must be reported to the headteacher or deputy head teacher
• In all investigations it is essential that the full facts are ascertained and that all those involved are interviewed
• At the end of the investigation there should be a clear agreement of the facts and justice needs to be seen to be done.  The incident must have been resolved
• The bully needs to apologise to the victim and make other reparations if necessary
• All incidents will be recorded in the Serious Incident Book kept by the headteacher
• The parents of the children involved will be informed of serious cases of bullying
• The school aims to give children the skills to manage relationships and to develop a better understanding of themselves as individuals, and pursues these issues through is wider curriculum

Combating Racism

At Hunter’s Bar Junior school we believe every individual, irrespective of their colour, culture, ethnic origin or any other difference, has a unique and valuable contribution to make to the school. Our aim is to enable all students to reach their full potential within a supportive learning environment.

The school opposes racism and discrimination and works to combat such attitude. We encourage all those involved with the school to have a positive self-image and to treat others with fairness and respect. The school works to promote these beliefs through the lessons and subjects we teach, the learning support that we provide and our relationships with the community groups and parents.

The school’s adopted definition of racism is “ A racist incident is violence which may be verbal or physical and which includes attacks on property and on the person suffered by individuals or groups because of their colour, race, nationality, and ethnic or national origins, when the victim believes the perpetrator was acting on racial grounds and/or there is evidence of racism.” (Commission for Racial Equality)

Racist incidents will be investigated in line with school policy and a record kept for monitoring purposes. The number of recorded racist incidents will be reported to the school’s Governing Body and the LEA.

Pastoral care and child protection

The class teacher has the primary responsibility for day-to-day pastoral care of the children in his or her class.  However, if a serious incident occurs or it is inappropriate for the class teacher to deal with the matter for whatever reason, the deputy headteacher or the headteacher will become involved.

All children are regularly told and know that they can approach any member of staff that they feel they can trust if they have any concerns relating to their safety or welfare.  Children will always be taken seriously.  Changes in the law, notably the Children Act (1989) mean that staff in schools have a duty to report any concerns they may have that any child may be suffering significant harm, particularly as a consequence of possible abuse.  It is a Department of Education requirement that each school in the country nominates a senior member of staff who will have special responsibility for child protection.  In Sheffield this member of staff is known as the Child Protection Liaison Teacher, has been in receipt of training in this area and can be trusted to deal with all these matters with professional confidentiality.

The school has a policy on child protection which has been agreed by the governing body.  As a school, we have close contacts with the School Health Service, Social Services and the Police, any or all of whom may become involved if abuse is suspected or alleged.

The school has a responsibility to collate basic information such as who has parental responsibility for a child, and to pass this information to the relevant agencies if so required.  In the event of an investigation into possible child abuse, the school has a responsibility to co-operate with the investigating agencies to the best of their ability to promote the welfare of the child.  Whilst the school will always attempt to work in partnership with parents and try to ensure that they are fully informed of, and participate in, any action concerning their child, if there is a conflict of interest the welfare of the child must be the paramount consideration.

Should you wish to discuss child protection and the safety of you child, or indeed any topic involving your child, please feel free to contact the school.

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Teaching and learning 1 [Prospectus]

Children work mostly with their own class teacher.  All children follow programmes of work which accord with the policies and schemes that have been drawn up and agreed by the staff.  The detailed teaching plan for each subject is the responsibility of individual teachers working in year teams.  All classes in a year team cover largely the same work.

All the schemes of work have been developed with reference to the National Curriculum and the school’s defined aims and objectives.

All curriculum documents are available for inspection. Please contact the headteacher if you would like to see them.

The National Curriculum

The National Curriculum requires that all children study each off the following subjects:
English; Mathematics; Science; Technology; History; Geography Art; PE; Music and Citizenship.  In addition all children must be offered RE, though this is not a National Curriculum subject and parents have the right to withdraw their children.

The school uses many of the principles and ways of working suggested by the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies.

The school ensures an appropriate balance of time between subjects.

Assessment

Assessment of every child’s performance is an important part of a school’s work.  Assessment takes many forms, some formal and some informal, some devised by the individual teacher or year group and some required by the LEA or Government.  The main types of assessment that every child will experience are listed below.

Teacher Assessment

All children are assessed by teachers on a very regular basis.  Sometimes this will take the form of teachers using their professional judgement to assess the work of a particular child.  At other times the whole class will undertake a more formal assessment task to enable the teacher to get information about each child’s progress.  These assessments also inform and assist the planning of work.

Base line assessment

Shortly after entering the school all Y3 children take a non- verbal reasoning test which is organised by the LEA to gather information about the capabilities of children entering the school.  This information is used to compare the school with others in Sheffield and is used to track children’s progress throughout their school careers.

Annual standardised tests

Each year in May/June, all children in the school do standardised tests devised by QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) in Maths and English.  The purpose of these tests is to enable us to make year on year comparisons of each child’s progress and to help identify those children who might be in need of special help.  These are purely internal tests and the results are for the school’s use. Y4 QCA results are collected by the LEA.  Parents may have the information if they ask.

Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs)

At the end of Key Stage 2 (Y6) all children take part in Standard Assessment Tasks in the three core subjects, English, Maths and Science.  These are externally marked and the results are reported to parents.  The results are also used to compare the school’s performance to that of other schools both locally and nationally.  The school is required to give you a summary of the school’s results, and they are shown below.  For your guidance, Level 4 can be regarded as average nationally with Level 5 being somewhat above average and Level 3 somewhat below.  All these tables show the percentages of Year 6 children achieving each level.  The figures may not total 100% because of rounding.

    - means ‘not applicable’
    0 represents some pupils but less than 0.5%
    D represents pupils who have been disapplied under the Education Act 1996
    A represents pupils who have failed to register a level due to absence
    B represents pupils who were assessed by teacher assessment only
    N represents pupils who took the tests but failed to register a level
    W represents pupils who are working towards Level 1

The figures show percentages of year groups, rounded to the nearest whole number.

School Results

These tables show the percentage of children in the school at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2004 achieving each level.

The number of children at the end of the key stage is 91

Figures may not total 100 percent because of rounding.

W represents the number of children who were working towards Level 1 but have not yet achieved the standards needed for level 1.

* represents children who were not entered for the tests because they were working below Level 3 in English/Mathematics, or Science; children awarded a compensatory level from the tests; and children entered but not achieving a level from the tests.

# formerly referred to as disapplied

National Results

These tables show the percentage of year 6 children achieving each level at Key Stage 2  nationally in 2003

Figures may not total 100 percent because of rounding.

W represents the number of children who were working towards Level 1 but have not yet achieved the standards needed for level 1.

* represents children who were not entered for the tests because they were working below Level 3 in English/Mathematics, or Science; children awarded a compensatory level from the tests; and children entered but not achieving a level from the tests.

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