Virtual Tour Our prospectus utilises augmented reality. To access this additional feature, just scan the QR Codes throughout the prospectus. It is my great privilege to welcome you to St. Thomas More’s Catholic Primary School and Nursery. Our aim is to ensure that every child leaves school feeling that they have achieved more than they ever expected. We aim to offer them opportunities and experiences that shape who they are now, and what they become in the future. We encourage children to respect the contribution that every human being can make to society, following in the footsteps of Christ, our teacher and saviour. Everything that we do or say is a reflection of the Gospel Values on which we are founded. This is evident in all of our policies and our actions. Today, more than ever, we are required to be good citizens. We are therefore proud to have St. Thomas More as our school patron and keep his words firmly as our vision. ‘The State’s good servant, but God’s first’ We want children to do their best academically, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. We believe that we can and do achieve this through a process of partnership with school and parents/carers within the Pastoral area of Havant. It is vitally important that we work together at all stages of your child’s education. Both the home and the school need to work together in partnership in order that your child can be the best that they can. We believe that together we will achieve our mission. We welcome applications from all who would like their children to benefit from our Catholic ethos. This prospectus endeavours to give you the information you need when selecting and starting at school. If you have any questions, please do contact a member of staff. Mr J Sendall Headteacher Welcome to St. Thomas More’s Catholic Primary School and Nursery
Our School Ofsted We are a Good School. ‘The provision for pupils’ personal development is a strength of this school. This starts in the early years, where children learn and play together well. Pupils show respect and empathy for others.’ Ofsted EARLY YEARS ‘Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are accurately identified and supported well.’ Ofsted CURRICULUM ‘Pupils talk enthusiastically about their learning in RE lessons, with one pupil commenting ‘in RE we learn to speak from the heart.’ They are religiously literate, and able to use their knowledge, understanding and skills to reflect spiritually and to think ethically and theologically.’ CSI inspection SPIRITUALITY ‘Staff are united in their determination for all pupils to succeed. Teachers use a range of strategies to check what pupils know, understand and remember.’ Ofsted TEACHING ‘Relationships between pupils and staff are warm and respectful. Pupils take care of each other and their environment. Older pupils in ‘buddy’ roles mentor their younger peers, helping them in assemblies and during playtimes.’ Ofsted Pupils spoke of [staff’s] patience, kindness and care. CSI inspection RELATIONSHIPS ‘Pupils take a leading role in responding to the demands of Catholic Social Teaching, they are keen to make a difference, both within the school and in the wider community.’ CSI inspection CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING ‘Pupils behave well. They are kind and courteous to all.’ Ofsted BEHAVIOUR View our Ofsted report Catholic Schools Inspectorate In our last CSI Inspection, we were graded as Good, with the Catholic Life and Mission of the school being graded as Outstanding. View our CSI report
The Mission of St. Thomas More’s School is to inspire every child by ensuring SUCCESS, providing OPPORTUNITY and fostering STEWARDSHIP within a loving, Catholic community. Our Vision is that everyone will leave our school feeling they have achieved more than they ever thought possible, and they will make a difference to the world by serving God by helping others. Everything which our school does is based around three aims; Ethos values We believe that there are core values which every member of our school community should hold with the upmost importance. These values should be displayed in our work with others, at playtimes and in the classroom. These values influence our approach to everything we do and our attitude towards others. They are steeped in gospel teachings and reflect the kind of person Jesus was and the person he wants us to be. School Houses All staff and pupils are assigned to one of four houses. The houses have patrons that portray strong links with the school values. They comprise of: • Claudette Colvin • Oscar Romero • Mahatma Gandhi • St Therese of Lisieux More information on our House Patrons can be found at the back of the prospectus. Vision & Values STMS Ethos Video
Our single storey school makes it easily accessible for all. Ramps for wheelchair access have been built. It is a priority for the building committee to ensure that any new developments address the needs of the community. The school has a toilet built for wheelchair users which also has a shower cubicle. All ceilings have been replaced with acoustic tiling to assist pupils with hearing impairments. The Learning Environment The needs of new pupils are carefully considered on entry to ensure that all children are able to fully access the curriculum. The school has eleven classes arranged in chronological order from EYFS to Y6. Each teaching space has a large workspace adjoining it. This enables the children to work as a whole class, in small groups or as individuals. The number of classes means that some classes are comprised of two Year Groups. All children are taught according to their appropriate curriculum age group and academic ability. Our staff are experts at planning the curriculum for mixedage classes and will always be willing to answer any questions about this process. There is also an information area comprising the library and computer suite. This is a central area for the school used for supporting and developing the children’s learning. We have developed the provision for play and outdoor classroom facilities. These include a new secure pond and wildlife area. A quiet seating area with log stools, a willow hedgehog and an outdoor play area add to the interest of the site. Sporting Facilities The School benefits from spacious grounds, including three playgrounds, a hall and a large playing field. This means that we can run a wide variety of Sports clubs, and we were the first school in the region to gain the Gold Sports Mark Award! Play is a very important aspect of school life. Children who are happy and play well will also settle to learning more effectively. We have therefore developed the role of lunchtime staff to encourage active, co-operative play, both indoors and out. The children are encouraged to develop leadership roles to assist other children with play activities. Facilities
Essential items • White tailored shirt • School tie (dark blue with narrow red and yellow diagonal stripes) • Tailored school trousers, skirt, or pinafore in mid grey • Navy blue V-neck sweatshirt or sweatshirt cardigan embroidered with school logo • Grey socks or grey tights • White socks (only to be worn with summer dresses) • Flat, closed black shoes • PE KIT - Navy P.E. shorts, plain white top and plimsolls to be kept in a drawstring bag. • Children will also require warm P.E. clothing for cold weather – preferably navy-blue jogging trousers and sweatshirt or navy-blue tracksuit. Optional Items • Children may wear trainers instead of plimsolls for outdoor PE. • French navy gingham Summer dress, worn with white socks. • School book bag can be purchased from our uniform stockists. Please note that large bags are strongly discouraged. Hair and Jewellery Long hair should be tied back with very plain navy blue or white hair bands, bobbles or clips. Extreme hairstyles and colouring are discouraged. Children should not wear jewellery to school (Exceptions – Medical Alert bracelets/necklaces). Small stud earrings are permitted only if the child can independently remove them for PE lessons and put them back in afterwards. A watch may be worn but must be removed for P.E. lessons. No make-up, including nail varnish. Uniform Suppliers Uniform can be bought from either Skoolkit or Fosters. We also have second-hand uniform available from a rack in the Junior Playground at the end of most days.
The school day is 08.45 - 15.15 Morning break 15 minutes (KS1/KS2) Lunch Break 60 minutes Afternoon break 15 minutes (KS1 only) All children should arrive at school at 8.40am, doors will close at 8.45am any child arriving after this time will be classed as late. The playgrounds are supervised from 8:40am daily. Children should not arrive before this time and should not be left unsupervised. The school office is normally open between 8.30am and 4.00pm. The Academic year Our school uses the term dates provided by Hampshire County Council. To check on the dates for this and next academic year, please go to https://www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/schoolholidays or scan the QR code below. The School Day School Meals School lunches are cooked on the premises. EYFS / KS1 All pupils in Foundation Stage, Year 1 and Year 2 are eligible for a free school meal. This offer does not depend on your household income or whether you receive any benefits, however, for the School to benefit from Government subsidies for families eligible for Free School Meals, it is VITAL that the School office are notified of this. You can check to see if you are eligible using the QR code above. KS2 They are provided at a cost of £2.60 per lunch. This can be paid daily or weekly and the account must be kept current. There are two lunch sittings, which are supervised by our lunchtime assistants. Pupils who wish to have sandwiches at lunchtime will have a place at a table in the hall. Water is provided. Play assistants supervise the outdoor or indoor play activities. Playtime Snacks Children may bring fruit from home to eat at playtime. There are also healthy snacks available for purchase from the kitchen at playtime. Infant children receive a free piece of fruit or vegetable. Check to see if you are eligible to claim for Free School Meals
Before School Care (Breakfast) 7:45am – 8:45am - £4:00 8:00am – 8:45am - £3.00 Children are offered a selection of cereals, toast and fruit, with orange juice or milk to drink. After breakfast children are able to play table top games, draw or have free play. Infant children are delivered to the classrooms and Junior children make their own way to their classrooms for registration. After School Care 3:15pm – 4:30pm - £5.00 3:15pm – 5:45pm - £10.00 Children have access to a range of craft activities and games. Children are collected by parents from the door on the Infant playground. Booking information For new bookings please email [email protected] or telephone 02392 475909. Payments It is possible to pay fees online. All accounts must be paid in advance. To pay online, please register with the office for a Scopay login. Tommy’s Childcare: Breakfast & After School Care
The PTA (Parent/Teachers’ Association) The PTA are organisers of fund raising and social events. There are quizzes, discos, cake sales, a sponsored walk and a summer fete etc. The hope is that all events are enjoyable. If you want to be actively involved then you can be part of the organising committee, or you may want to just come along to meetings and offer ideas or help out with just one event each year. However much or little you can do is always appreciated! Any help, no matter if it's only as a one-off and for only a short time, we'd greatly appreciate it. We understand that life can be very hectic and the thought of signing yourself up to a commitment helping out the PTA is pretty daunting! However, there's no need for a huge commitment - many hands make light work, so if you able to help for a particular event for a set time, that's great! You're in control! The religious nature of our School Our children are the future of our faith, and aim to prepare them for the world of tomorrow, within the context of our Mission Statement. We aim to provide a caring environment in which our children grow and develop, founded on Gospel values, and supported by a co-operative partnership between home, School and our Churches. Our teaching is in accordance with the Christian faith in the Catholic tradition. Our lessons promote the knowledge, skills and attitudes of this subject, whilst daily acts of collective worship and regular liturgies combine to offer the opportunity for our children to reflect upon our beliefs, through prayer, meditation, encouraging consideration and respect for others and their beliefs. The whole school meets together for Assembly on Mondays and Fridays. The Monday Assembly is the first opportunity in the week to meet together as a whole community and share an act of collective worship, and in our Friday Celebration Assembly we join together as a School community to celebrate the achievements of the week. Every class has a daily act of Collective Worship on Tuesdays to Thursdays. The class prayer table and its candle is usually the focus for these times of reflection. The children will experience formal and informal prayer and will have opportunities to develop the stillness and respect that they will need for becoming fully involved in the liturgical life of the school. We benefit from close links with the surrounding Parishes of St. Joseph's, Havant, Ss. Thomas’, Emsworth, St. Michael and All Angels’, Leigh Park, and St. Patrick's, Hayling Island. All our priests are regular, welcome visitors to our school. We have regular school Masses and Liturgies, and endeavour to maintain and strengthen links between home, school and Pastoral Area. Events from both school and church are in our regular newsletters. ‘High quality questioning enables the children to think more deeply about the learning, making links and building on their understanding.’ CSI inspection R.E. The School Community ‘Links with the local parishes are exemplary. There is a strong partnership which contributes to the Catholic life of the whole community.’ CSI inspection PARISHES Watch one of our Liturgical dances at Portsmouth Cathedral
At St Thomas More's we celebrate the successes of all our pupils who strive to demonstrate our school values and achieve their best in all aspects of school life. We wanted our House patrons to; 1. be role models of our school values 2. be of different ethnicities and genders in order that different children can feel represented 3. be in photographs - it may sound strange, but I felt it was important that children saw our role models as modern, as real people, and for St Romero and Therese, that sainthood is something we can all strive for as saints are not all from distant history. Claudette Colvin - Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, Colvin did the same. She wasn't being rude or selfish (as there was a seat free across the aisle from her), but this was a stand for all humans to be treated with dignity and respect during segregation in 1960s America. Colvin was only 15 when she took her stand against racism, and so she is an excellent role model for our pupils - to be dedicated to what is right, even if it means standing alone. Oscar Romero - Catholic Social Teaching calls us to give preferential treatment to the poor - not just those who are poor in monetary value, but those who are disadvantaged in any way. Oscar Romero spoke out for the voiceless, which ultimately cost him his life. He serves as a reminder to us to be that voice for those who can't make themselves heard, to empathise with how they may be feeling and take action to put things right. We teach the children that equity is more important than equality. Mahatma Gandhi - The Indian political ethicist is often quoted as saying "Be the change you wish to see in the world" - a motto which fits so well with the teachings of the Catholic faith. However, Gandhi is our patron for the value of Forgiveness. He said, "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong." We teach children to forgive, but it is important that they also recognise forgiving shows great strength. It isn't always easy to do, but forgiving is something Christ taught us, therefor we must strive to this. St Therese of Lisieux - St Therese struggled in many ways, something which we all do, but she lived her life doing random acts of kindness for people, calling people to love Jesus. This is something very simple for the children to understand and emulate. We teach the children to be stewards of all that they have been given - their time, their talent, their treasures, and to be generous with all of these things, just like St Therese. House Patrons
www.st-thomasmores.hants.sch.uk