Statutory Information
'Letters and Sounds' scheme is used for EYFS and KS1 phonics teaching scheme is used for EYFS and KS1 phonics. A selection of reading schemes are used in KS1 but these are graded by progressively coloured book bandings. More-able KS1 readers and KS2 readers choose books within a range recommended to them by the Accelerated Reader programme. Children undertake quizzes on completion of each book to check their comprehension and reading accuracy.
Reading for Pleasure Statement
At Bassingbourn Community Primary School we believe that reading should be a fundamental part of childhood and a skill which should be developed to support lifelong learning.
Our aim is to develop and embed a strong, sustainable reading culture within the school community. Confident and competent readers will foster a love of reading through a rich and varied experience of texts, in which they are empowered to exercise freedoms of choice and independence.
Inspiring children to read is a moral imperative and their fundamental right. It underpins all learning and secures a good trajectory for personal development, understanding the world in which they live.
We believe that a reading child is a successful child and that:
- Children deserve a rich curriculum which encourages extensive reading of books and other kinds of texts;
- Planning enables links across learning, which create a wide range of opportunities in which children can read for pleasure;
- Children will have the opportunity to experience whole books to support them in their understanding of literary structures and allow them to become absorbed in the story itself;
- The active encouragement of reading for pleasure should be a core part of every child's educational entitlement, whatever their background or attainment. Extensive reading and exposure to a wide range of texts make a huge contribution to students' educational achievement;
- Children will be encouraged to read texts which reflect their own heritage and that of other cultural groups. Children should be allowed to explore and engage with texts in their native language;
- All children should have access to a wide range of texts in different formats and genres and support in enjoying them where necessary;
- The school will engage and support parents in enabling access to a full range of reading experiences. Where this is not possible, action will be taken to provide compensatory measures which allow equality of access to all children;
- Home-school relationships will promote the importance of all adults in fostering a love of reading;
- School reading should not only be seen as synonymous with attainment and judgement as this could influence children's perceptions of books and reading;
- Professional development and support for teachers will be provided to allow them to explore the huge range of printed and electronic reading materials available and to enable them to support children in their reading choices.
The school has a commitment to evaluate the outcomes of this Reading for Pleasure statement and continually review practice to ensure all children become lifelong readers.
The DSL's at Bassingbourn Community Primary School are Amy Luu, James Fraser, Anna Remington-Davidson and Louise Simmons
Under the Education Act 2002 (section 175/157), schools must 'make arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children'. We will endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued. The school will therefore be alert to signs of abuse and neglect and will follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) procedures to ensure that children receive appropriate and effective support and protection.
Parents/carers should know that the law requires all school staff to pass on information which gives rise to a concern about a child's welfare, including risk from neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. The school should make parents/carers aware that records of welfare concerns may be kept about their child. They should be informed that school staff will seek, in general, to discuss any concerns with them including referrals to other agencies. However, in situations where the child is suspected to be at risk of harm, the law says that schools may take advice from other agencies without informing parents/carers.
In accordance with local Information Sharing protocols, we will ensure that information is shared securely and sensitively. Information will only be shared with other services where it is deemed necessary and proportionate to ensure that children and young people are safe and receive the right service.
We will seek advice from Social Care when they have reasonable cause to suspect a child may be suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. Occasionally, concerns are passed on which are later shown to be unfounded. Parents/carers will appreciate that the member of staff in the school with responsibility for child protection (known as the Designated Person for Child Protection) was carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the law and acting in the best interests of all children.
Under Section 3 (5) of the Children Act 1989, schools or any person who has care of a child 'may do what is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child's welfare'. This means that on rare occasions, a school may need to 'hold' a child in school whilst Social Care and the police investigate any concerns further.
All schools have a duty to provide both RE and collective worship. Collective worship represents a powerful way to develop and establish a school’s ethos and values. Collective worship in maintained schools and academies of no religious designation must be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character, though not distinctive of any particular Christian denomination. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from both RE and collective worship. Collective worship is about a school’s duty to develop pupils spiritually, morally, socially and culturally. This may include learning about interesting cultural traditions and their meaning, listening to stories with a moral message and reflecting on themes such as strength, courage or loyalty. Collective worship should draw pupils’ attention to the values the school wishes to develop both as a body and in each individual. Collective worship is about the growth of the person, their character and social outlook, whatever their academic aptitudes.
The School Information (England) Regulations 2020 require maintained schools to publish on their website the number of school employees whose gross annual salary is £100,000 or more in £10,000 bands. We have no staff earning this amount.
