Saint Lawrence Church of England Primary School

Governors Report

"We are extremely proud of our school here in Skellingthorpe, and our successes, each as a direct result of the enthusiasm and energy of our children, the dedication of our staff and the support from both parents and friends."

The school offers to all pupils, throughout their primary years, a broad and balanced curriculum, which promotes progression and continuity in learning, where all children are provided with equal opportunities and equal access to the curriculum.

Education should be a source of wonder and delight, and we take every care to provide for
this vital experience in learning.

The children will be equipped with the basic tools of learning and will be encouraged and expected to apply what has been taught. A broad curriculum is one that gives pupils experience of learning in all of the following areas:

• Personal Development
• Linguistic Development
• Mathematical Development
• Creative Development
• Physical Development
• Enquiry Skills

Within each of these areas of learning, children will develop knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes.

The delivery of the National Curriculum is a mixture of themes or topics, subject specific lessons and the teaching of skills. Themes cover a range of subject areas, with the local environment being used as a resource for learning. We believe it is vital in children’s education to relate their learning to the world in which they live. This gives it meaning and relevance. We try to create as many special memories as possible for every pupil during their time at Saint Lawrence.

Some children do experience learning difficulties or may be in need of extra help, for whatever reason, in order to have equality of access to the curriculum. The Special Needs Co-ordinator acts as the link between parents, staff and support services in order to ensure that needs are met as far as staffing levels and resources allow. The school’s Statement of Policy for Special Educational Needs sets out in detail our philosophy and practice. Parents will be informed at all stages of the process when their children are involved.

Based on the themes of human development and family life, sex education is covered through a cross-curricular topic approach. This ensures that sex education is kept in perspective and not isolated as something special to learn. It is important that parents also take equal responsibility for dealing with this aspect of learning. Setting what is being discussed in the context of the family and caring relationships, they can build on and individualise what has been shared at school.

The 1988 Education Reform Act includes a section on charging for activities organised by schools such as day visits, swimming and residential weeks.

The section says that there is no obligation on parents to contribute and no pupil should be omitted from the activity because his or her parents were unwilling or unable to contribute.

However, the section also makes it clear that an activity may not take place if parents are reluctant to support it.

The Governors believe such visits to be valuable, interesting and worthwhile, and the school will continue to organise such visits and ask for voluntary contributions from parents to cover the costs.  However, if there are insufficient parental contributions to cover the cost of a visit then, unfortunately, it will not take place.

When pupils bring sums of money to school for these activities, it should be in labelled, sealed envelopes (a used one will do) and given directly to the class teacher. Children should not bring spending money to school.