PHOENIX SCHOOL PROSPECTUS

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Phoenix School Cambridge

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Phoenix School CambridgeIndependent Pre-Prep for children aged 3 to 7 years

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Phoenix SchoolCambridge


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environment...”

School Prospectus 2010 – 2011

Phoenix School Contact Details

■ Address: Phoenix School Cambridge, Oakington Road, Girton, Cambridge, CB3 0QH.

■ Proprietor: Mrs T Best Email: [email protected] Tel No: 0845 533 1183

■ Head-Teacher: Mrs J Daire Email: [email protected] Tel No: 0845 533 1183

At the Phoenix School Cambridge we provide our children with the highest standard of education in a lively, stimulating environment. We believe that every child matters and they are entitled to have a personalised learning plan to enable them to achieve their full potential. Our curriculum is based on the National Curriculum and includes dance, drama, speech, French and ICT. All this is delivered by our highly experienced staff in small classes.

We believe it is essential to instill self-confidence and independence in our children and this is achieved with a strong pastoral care system supporting a carefully planned curriculum and access to challenging extension activities. We have clubs for ICT, French, chess, yoga, sewing, and we also offer individual and small group instrumental lessons. We have specialist staff available for children who require extra support or extension programmes.

We delight in welcoming parents who wish to see our school in action. Our children will always be proud to show their skills and abilities and to share their love of our school.

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Contents

p5 Welcome

p7 Mission Statement

p9 Our Core Values

p11 Curriculum Implementation

p13 Foundation Stage

p15 Key Stage 1

p17 Extended Services

p19 Board of Directors

p20 FAQ

p24 How to find us

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‘ I like playing with my best friend and my teacher’s jokes, she’s funny.’ – Amelie.

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Welcome to our new school! We look forward to meeting you and your children soon.The Phoenix Cambridge Foundation is committed to providing a warm, nurturing environment at our school which will allow our children to achieve their full potential in all areas of the curriculum. We believe that our children deserve the highest quality of education to prepare them for their progress into their future chosen schools. Our highly experienced teachers and support staff are devoted to preparing and delivering the foundations that will support our pupils in their current and future academic life.

We are an innovative school that faces the challenges of providing an outstanding programme of education with enthusiasm and dedication. We deliver personalised learning for all of our pupils to ensure that each child achieves their full potential. We constantly review and assess our provision to ensure that the children receive the highest quality of learning and pastoral care.

Our loving, nurturing ethos is at the core of our whole school. We believe that a happy, secure child will have the confidence to flourish and achieve and to this end we will ensure that our children feel cherished and valued. As a parent run school, our parents take an active role in our school and we enjoy strong links with many people within the Cambridge community who visit and enhance our lives.

The Phoenix School Cambridge uses the National Curriculum as its base with many opportunities to enhance and extend our programme of learning according to the needs of our children. All pupils study Literacy, Maths, Science, ICT, P.E., Art, Design and Technology, Music, French, History, Geography and R.E. We also include dance and drama in our curriculum and this is delivered by one of our specialist teachers.

The children have the opportunity to extend their learning by taking part in the many extra curricular activities that are available to them during and after school. We encourage our children to explore and develop particular interests and skills and we strive to provide experiences to enable this.

Why not contact us to find out more about our school and discover what we could offer your child. To meet with our teachers and talk to our founding parents please book an appointment.

Welcome

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CurriculumOur aim is to offer a balanced curriculum that can fulfil the entitlement of each pupil. To achieve this the school will:

■ Value every child’s individuality■ Make sure that each pupil follows a relevant curriculum that fulfils his/her potential.■ Set the highest standards in teaching.■ Encourage pupils to be ambitious and reward their successes.■ Provide a physical programme for all pupils.

Our aim is to create a dynamic interaction between home, school and the wider community. To achieve this, the school will:

■ Develop points of contact between staff and parents.■ Improve invitations and quality of hospitality to parents when they visit the school.■ Enable pupils to have contact with local services e.g. Police, Fire Service, Hospital, Postal Service and City Council

Recycling Project.

Our aim is to ensure that the pupils’ experience of relationships within the school promotes happiness, love and respect. To achieve this, the school will:

■ Insist on courtesy and service.■ Organise social occasions and situations where staff, parents and pupils can develop friendships.■ Promote a caring ethos and environment.

Our aim is to show concern for all within the school community. To achieve this, the school will:

■ Improve communications between all departments.■ Identify staff development needs.■ Provide a secure environment and support for all members of the community when required.■ Increase discussion/consultation at all levels.■ Improve the quality of induction both for pupils and new members of Staff.

Academic StaffThe Staff of Phoenix School Cambridge will endeavour to achieve the highest professional standards in all their actions. In order to do this the Staff agree to:

■ Fulfil the obligations imposed by the terms of their contracts and the job description contained in the Staff Handbook. ■ Be informed about all policies adopted by the School after due consultation with all concerned.■ Adopt a child centred philosophy and treat all pupils with dignity and respect.■ Insist on high standards of behaviour and discipline throughout the school.

Mission Statement

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‘ I like school because it has so many teachers that we love.’ – Samantha.

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Tradition with Innovation Our approach to education is to provide a mix of both traditional and innovative teaching approaches that will ensure our pupils are offered every opportunity to thrive and excel in our school. We strive to provide a flexible and stimulating school environment for all our pupils engendering crea tivity, imagination and fun in all that we do.

A Loving EthosWe will always provide a loving and caring environment for our children, where friendship and shar ing are encouraged, they will feel at home with our teachers and their well-being and personal devel opment will be an integral part of the educational process.

ExcellenceWe aspire to be excellent in all that we do and as a result our children will hopefully be inspired to do the same in everything they do. We are always looking for improvements our performance and wel come feedback from both our parents and teachers to ensure that excellence is maintained in every aspect of our school.

Our School Objectives■ To re-invent a new Pre-Prep school called Phoenix School, from the ashes of St Colette’s and by 2012 to have proven

that our excellent reputation has continued, using the same ethos, teachers and teaching approaches of our forebear to create the foundation for our Prep.

■ To make our school feel like a second home to our pupils and their parents and ensure that our■ To ensure that our children are happy in everything they do whilst at the school and that they are pupils feel safe and

secure whilst at the school. Encouraged to develop a love of learning that is with them for life.■ To grow and develop our highly skilled and competent teaching team and improve on our educa tional facilities to

prepare for our first Prep year in 2012.■ To ensure that we maintain our core values in all our school and charitable activities.

Our Core Values

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■ Phoenix School Cambridge provides a broad and relevant curriculum by:• Offering to all pupils a spiritual dimension which is at the heart of all education. • Offering an appropriately wide range of subjects. • Ensuring the ‘core’ is adequate. • Ensuring the pupils follow courses which are relevant to their needs.

■ Phoenix School Cambridge places an emphasis on essential knowledge and skills through the core curriculum and those subjects which enhance the Key skills of: • Communication. • Application of number and • Information and Communication Technology.

■ Phoenix School Cambridge focuses on the development of the additional skills of: • Working with others • Improving their own learning and performance and • Problem solving.

■ The Staff will make relevant use of the facilities of the Library and ICT.

■ The Staff will keep abreast of developments at national level by:• Allocating money for relevant INSET. • Regularly reviewing the curriculum and courses offered. • The use of Foundation Stage and Key Stage l and 2 tests.

■ The Staff will provide a wide range of activities by:• Encouraging teachers to organise trips • Organising appropriate agencies to visit ‘in house’ to support the curriculum.

■ The Staff will make provision for physical education and games by:• Providing the necessary space and using it effectively. • Providing the necessary equipment for a range of activities. • Providing adequate supervision by Staff. • The allocation of adequate time for lessons.

■ The Staff will support those pupils who have special educational needs by:• Implementing the Special Needs Policy. • Providing qualified Staff who can give both individual tuition and classroom support. • Coordinating mainstream Staff by INSET and information and by liaison with SEN teachers.

■ The Staff will maintain a happy, successful and secure community in which we:• Provide a caring environment where in which each individual is valued. • Foster communication between school, home, parish and the wider community. • Provide support for all members of the school when required.

■ Regularly review the curriculum by:• Appropriate discussions within the school e.g. at curriculum development meetings and Key Stage and Year meetings. • Aspects, standardised tests and PIPS. • The evaluation of examination success for transfer to Preparatory School at the end of Year 2.

Curriculum Implementation

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‘ I have the bestest teachers in the whole widest world.’ – Harry,

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At the Phoenix School our priority is to provide education tailored to individual needs. We aim to produce happy, motivated children who are eager to learn.

The Foundation Stage covers children in the Nursery, Transition and Reception classes. All children follow a balanced curriculum using the six areas laid down by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (D.C.S.F.).

These are:

■ Personal, social and emotional development■ Communication, language and literacy■ Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy■ Knowledge and Understanding of the World■ Physical development■ Creative development

Children are taught through planned play activities, some of which will be adult led and some child led, to ensure children are given opportunities to become independent learners. These activities will take place both inside and outside.

As the children develop reading skills they are introduced to a variety of reading schemes that instill a love of reading and encourage sound comprehension skills. Reception children and the majority of Transition children are heard to read daily.

Numeracy is introduced through practical activities with more formal learning supported by the Abacus Evolve Maths Scheme. This will be introduced when appropriate to each individual child’s development.

I.C.T. will be used throughout the Foundation Stage to support all areas of the curriculum.

Foundation Stage

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‘ I love school trips. My teacher took me to see aeroplanes at Duxford. I love Concorde, it’s the best.’ – Adam

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At the Phoenix School our priority will continue to be high quality education tailored to individual needs. Our core ethos of providing a warm, stimulating environment in which our children can flourish and grow will be evident in all areas of our school life.

In Key Stage 1 the children follow the National Curriculum which includes Literacy, Maths, Science, I.C.T. Humanities, Art, Design and Technology, P.E. and Music and this is delivered by highly experienced teachers. The children also have the benefit of specialist music, speech and dance teachers to extend the curriculum and develop self-confidence and a love of the arts.

The children continue to build on the skills that have been acquired in the Foundation Stage and are heard to read daily using a variety of reading schemes. This develops and extends all the reading skills required to achieve a passionate love of reading and the confidence to research and discover the various genre of literature available to them.

The maths curriculum continues to be taught using practical activities supported by Abacus Evolve and a variety of software. Our aim will be to ensure that each child is confident and enthused mathematically and has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Our personalised learning is often delivered through topics which allow the children to develop individual interests as well as practising planning, research and communication skills.

Children have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise during class assemblies and in Performing Arts afternoons which are presented to the school and families.

Key Stage 1

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At the Phoenix School we offer a range of facilities to support our families. These are staffed by teachers and highly qualified teaching assistants who provide a range of stimulating activities in a caring and safe environment.

Our Sky Larks (8.00 am – 8.30 am)

Children are welcomed with a warm smile and a variety of fun activities to help prepare them for the school day.

Our Barn Owls (3.30 pm – 6.00 pm)

Barn Owls allows our children to extend their day with their school friends and familiar faces to care for them. A light tea is provided and the children can enjoy a variety of activities both inside and outside.

Additional School ActivitiesChildren have access to a variety of activities to extend and develop their interests. There is the option to continue into Barn Owls if required.

Holiday Play SchemesThe Phoenix School will offer holiday play schemes for children 3 – 8 years old to support our families. There will be a variety of interesting activities provided by experienced internal and external staff and this will give the children the opportunity to make new friends and gain new experiences.

Additional School ActivitiesAt the Phoenix School we enjoy the opportunity to extend and develop the interests and skills of our children. We provide additional activities, delivered by both school staff and external instructors, which our children can access either during the school day or as an after school activity.

Our additional school activities include instrumental lessons, sewing, I.C.T., Tatty Bumpkins – children’s adventure, movement and yoga sessions, French and chess.

Some of our activities are free and some carry a small fee.

Extended Services

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The Phoenix Cambridge Foundation Board of Directors (Trustees) is responsible for the overall management of the charitable foundation and the provision of effective governance and strategic direction to the school. It has ultimate accountability for all affairs of the foundation and the school.

The Board of Directors will be constituted from school parents, at least one educational expert, one member of the school teaching team and one member of the local community.

The Directors are best thought of as trustees for the performance and well being of the school and supportive friends to the school’s governing body. Below you will find a list of the current Board of Directors, who are some of our founding parents:

■ Tracey Best (Chairperson)■ John Hopkins■ Pete McKeown■ Nick Balon

The Phoenix School Cambridge Governing Body is accountable to the Board of Directors for the educational governance of the school and will be constituted from at least two of the Directors mentioned above, other parents (to ensure representation from each year group) and the Head Teacher. The Governing Body will be committed to the promotion of high standards of educational achievement in a warm and loving environment.

Whilst the governing body is responsible for the school’s overall management and ensuring an outstanding educational provision, the day-to-day running of the school and its business will rest firmly with the Head Teacher and their team.

We hope to add other members of the local community and the educational fraternity to our Board of Directors and to form our governing body over the coming months.

Should you have any further questions about the school then please do not hesitate to contact one of our Chair of Governors on 0845 533 1183.

Board of Directors and the Governing Body

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What are the basic details of the School?We are a co-educational school with children aged 3–7yrs. There will be a maximum of 48 full time equivalent children in our pre prep and we are aiming to grow organically into a full prep (taking children through their education to 11 years).

The school is run by the PHOENIX CAMBRIDGE FOUNDATION, a not for profit company that trades under the name The Phoenix School Cambridge. The foundation is in the process of seeking charitable status, and is made up of a board of Directors, some of whom are our founding parents. They work closely with the teaching team and our parent/teacher governing body to help run the school.

The day to day running of the school is the responsibility of the Head Teacher, Mrs J Daire and her teaching and administrative team.

How do I get a Prospectus?Either contact the Administrative team on 0845 5331183 or by email at [email protected]

At what age do pupils enter the school?The main points of entry are:

Transition (age 3+) – Children can join the Transition class the half term after their third birthday throughout the year, as long as places are available.

Reception (age 4+) – Children join this class the school year that they turn 5. We recommend that children start at the beginning of the academic year, however if places are available, mid year starts will be considered on an individual basis. If this class is oversubscribed, children will be taken through an informal assessment process.

Year 1 and Year 2 (age 5+) – Children will be expected to join these classes at the beginning of the academic year if places are available, however as above, exceptions will be made and individual cases will be considered.

Year 3 (age 7+) – Children will flow through the school as we grow organically (the first Year 3 class is planned to be in place from September 2013). Any places which may be available for this year for external candidates will be subject to an entrance assessment during the previous school year. Pupils already attending our pre prep will also be assessed at this stage.

How do I register?A Registration Form can be requested by calling our Admissions Department on 0845 533 1183 or by contacting us by email on [email protected]

Registration carries a non-refundable fee of £50. If your child is offered a place, which you accept, then a deposit of £150 will be required. If for any reason, child does take up their place at the school your deposit will not be refunded. In all other circumstances, your deposit will be refunded to you at the end of your child’s education at The Phoenix School Cambridge.

When should I register? Most parents like to come to the school and meet the Headmistress at a preliminary visit before formally registering. Some pupils are registered at birth, but at the very latest, we must receive your registration by the end of the Autumn Term in the year preceding the proposed September entry. Individual cases will be examined on merit for those who have missed the registration deadline, and will rely on places still being available. Places cannot be reserved by deposit until the assessment process has taken place and your child has been offered a position at the school.

For our September intake, the Entrance assessments and interviews take place early in the Spring Term. The exception to this will be for pupils who are looking to enter the school at non-fixed entry points, such as relocation to the area and Transition. These cases are looked at individually depending upon the availability of places. There is a non-refundable £50 charge for registration.

Frequently Asked Questions

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How do I get to see the School?We have a formal Open Day in the Autumn Term. No appointment needs to be made to attend this. You will be shown around the School by a parent governor and have the opportunity to meet the teachers and view the facilities.

Whilst the Open Day is always a special occasion, we would also suggest that you come and visit on a normal working day. Please make an appointment with the Admission Secretary (0845 533 1183) and she will arrange for you to meet the Headmistress, followed by a tour of the School. You will also have the opportunity to meet the relevant class teachers.

How are pupils selected?For entry into Transition (age 3+) and Reception (age 4+), parents and children are invited to the School during a working day to see it in operation and for the children to acclimatise themselves prior to the assessments. Staff from the School will also visit your child either at home or at their nursery school or playgroup. The assessment includes activities designed around skills expected of this age group, and is loosely based upon the six early learning goals at Foundation Stage. The assessment at this stage is not to check whether your child is a “genius”, but to make sure that your child will be happy at the school and be in an environment which will suit them and encourage them to flourish both academically and personally. We are aware that The Phoenix School Cambridge may not be suitable for everyone, but hope that we can accommodate as many children as possible into our school family.

Entry to Year 1 and above is via assessment tests including Maths, English and Reasoning (7–11 years). Children also spend some time visiting a class with their prospective peer group and may stay for lunch. An informal interview will take place with each child.

When places become available in Year One and Year Two, children visit during a working day and join a class where they can interact with their perspective peer group, and reading and numeracy skills are assessed by the class teacher.

To view our admissions policy in full, please see our website www.thephoenixschool.co.uk or request a copy from our admissions office on 0845 533 1183

What are the chances of my child obtaining a place?This will, of course, differ from year to year. Candidates have to meet our base selection criteria and if your child is not offered a place, it is because the Phoenix School Cambridge will not provide the right educational environment for them. It is very important to us that your child is happy and comfortable at school and it would be unfair, from both your and the School’s viewpoint, to therefore offer a place at that time. Usually we would expect to be oversubscribed at each entry point, but we are not a highly selective institution and most pupils who apply gain a place.

Is there any financial assistance/scholarships?There are no bursaries or scholarships for the pre prep department, however as the school evolves into a full prep, we hope that there will be both scholarships and bursaries available. These will be assessed on an individual basis, via means testing for bursaries and on recommendation (by the teaching body) and academic assessment for the scholarships. We hope that these will be available to children from Year 3 upwards. If your child is awarded a scholarship/bursary this will continue for their entire schooling at Phoenix School Cambridge, provided that School policies are being fully adhered to. More information regarding these will be available at a later date.

All children will be entitled to Nursery Funding from the term after their third birthday until the term after they turn 5 years old. This will be deducted from school fees each term and accounts will be held by the school regarding these transactions.

What are the class sizes?There will be a maximum of 12 pupils (or full time equivalents) in each of our classes.

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How are the children assessed throughout their time at The Phoenix?Our children are being assessed in the classroom on an ongoing process throughout the school year. We have Parent Consultations in the Autumn and Spring terms and a full, written school report for each child, sent directly to parents, at the end of the Summer Term.

PIPS and SATS will be used to assess the children on a more formal basis every Spring. As a parent, you will be made aware of the level your child is attaining at these assessments.

What is the provision for gifted and talented pupils?At Phoenix School Cambridge we recognise and understand the needs of high achievers and the resulting pressures that they may be under. We take an individual approach to supporting and developing talent and use our strong pastoral and academic support structures to provide the environment that will help them to succeed.

Pupils with recognised gifts in particular or all subject areas are extended in their learning through subject specific provisions within the curriculum and through opportunities to explore topics beyond the curriculum in after School clubs and societies.

Children who have recognised talents in music, the arts or sport are given the support they need to develop their skills through the use of both School facilities and external facilities, the technical expertise of our staff, help with time management and timetable issues and the provision to enable them to develop their skills with their teachers and coaches outside of our school.

What is the provision for Special Needs?All pupils have to attain a certain academic level to be offered a place at the School.

Thereafter, for those with specific learning difficulties (of which the most common is dyslexia) we have a Special Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo), who provides a one-to-one teaching service for those who require it. This personalised teaching is designed to meet the needs of the individual and there is an additional charge. Pupils with Special Needs have their own IEP (Individual Education Plan) which all teaching staff use.

We also have a number of children for whom English is their second language, and therefore have specialist educational resources as well as everyday tailored teaching to cater for these pupils. If external teachers are required for personalised teaching, this will be provided at an additional charge. We do find however that a classroom, peers and a caring staff will overcome most issues caused by any language barriers and that external professionals are very rarely needed to support these children.

What transport do you provide at the beginning and end of the school day?As a small pre prep school, we have no school bus provision at moment, however we would be able to organise transport via a taxi at an extra cost to the parent.

Do you have a formal complaints procedure and policy?The Phoenix School has a formal complaints procedure which you will be able to access through the website in the near future. However, whilst the website is under construction, if you require a copy of this policy, please contact the school office on [email protected] or on 0845 533 1183

Frequently Asked Questions

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School Policies are very important to me, how can I see copies of them?All of our school policies will available from the school office and a limited number will be linked to the website in the near future (which is currently being added too). If you require a copy of these policies, please contact the School Office on 0845 533 1183 or [email protected]

The Policies available are as follows:

“ Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment In Education” This policy will be available online in the near future, and refers to the school’s policies on staff and outside recruitment.

“ Admissions Policy” This policy covers admission criteria as well as stating that no exclusions will be made due to discrimination of creed, colour, background, ethnicity, disability or sex.

“Anti-bullying Policy” and the “Policy Overview”

“Safe To Learn: Embedding Anti-bullying Work in Schools” and “Policy Overview”

“Health and Safety Policy”

“Behaviour Management Policy”

“Pastoral Care and Discipline Policy”

If you require any more information regarding these policies or indeed have any questions that they may raise, please contact the School Office.

My question has not been asked?If you cannot find the answer to your question, or require further information regarding any of the points raised, please contact the school office on 0845 533 1183 or [email protected] or [email protected]

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Phoenix School CambridgeIndependent Pre-Prep for children aged 3 to 7 years

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How to find us

Histon

Impington

Girton

Oakington

CambridgeM11

A14

A428

A14

A14

A1307 B1049

B1049

Madingley

We are here

Phoenix Cambridge Foundation, a not for profit company registered in England and Wales No: 7237799

Photos: Louise Young ([email protected]) and www.istockphoto.com

Designed by Jamie Bello ([email protected])

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PHOENIX SCHOOL PROSPECTUS