Curriculum Page 6

Home-School Agreement

Parents are kindly requested to sign the school's Home-School Agreement on an annual basis. The Agreement is a contract explaining the school's roles and responsibility towards the children who are of compulsory school age, and the responsibilities of parents and the children. This is a legal requirement.

Special Needs

The school's Special Educational Needs Policy ensures that all children's needs are catered for on an individual basis. If a child needs extra help, the teacher will develop an individual learning programme tailored specifically for that child's learning difficulty. Extra support may be given by the County's Special Educational Needs Support Service (SENSS) or the school's educational psychologist. The child's needs will be discussed in detail with the parents as part on an ongoing programme of support.

The needs of children admitted with physical disabilities will be assessed and every effort will be made to provide appropriate facilities.

Parent/Teacher Liaison

The school hopes that during every child's stay at the school parents will on many occasions visit their child's classroom and observe how he or she is progressing.

On a more formal basis, the school holds two Parents' Consultation Evenings a year, in the Autumn and Spring terms when parents can discuss their child's progress with their class teacher. During the Summer term, the school holds an open evening, where parents are welcomed into school to look at the work the children have covered through the year. The children are able to show their parents around the school at this time.

Curriculum Workshops

During the academic year a number of curriculum workshops are arranged for parents to attend. The Headteacher and teachers give presentations on specific areas of the curriculum e.g. literacy, numeracy, assessments and ICT.

School Records and Reports

A written report of each child's progress is sent to parents during the latter part of the summer term. The report consists of an evaluation by both the class teacher and the child.

The school keeps comprehensive and regularly updated records of each child's progress which are filed by each class teacher. Medical records are securely locked in the secretary's office.

Assessment

Assessment of the children's progress in each year group occurs continuously in all areas of the curriculum. In addition to this, Year 2 children (aged 6-7 years) will take part in the national Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) during the Summer term. Parents will receive a report showing the results of the SATs which can be discussed with the class teacher.

All children from Reception to year 2 are formally tested in their reading, writing, spelling and mathematics ability on a termly basis. The results are then analysed and used to monitor standards.

Foundation Stage profile

At the end of the Foundation stage, in the final term of the Reception class he/she completes a Foundation Stage Profile. The assessment is informative, giving the teacher further evidence of a child’s social and academic development and the evidence has been collated during the whole time that the child is in Nursery and Reception.

Pastoral Care

All the staff are concerned with the welfare of each child. Every effort is made to share with parents any concerns over aspects of a child's academic, social, emotional and physical development. Parents are urged to inform the school of any worries expressed by their child. Parents are asked to help maintain a positive attitude to the school, making sure that their child attends punctually and regularly.

Open Door

The school has a successful open door policy, meaning that parents feel welcome in the school and feel part of a positive partnership between themselves and the children, teachers and Governors.

In the morning the school encourages parents to enter the school playground to wait with their child for the school bell. When the bell rings the children join their class lines, and come into school with their teacher. The children are then collected from the classrooms at the end of the day. At this time, after school has finished, parents are encouraged to come in to the school building and visit their child's classroom to look through the work trays and at the many displays to which their child will have contributed. If parents wish to talk to their child's teacher they are advised to make an appointment to ensure that she is freely available.

School Travel Plan

Chalfont St Giles Infant School and Nursery

School Lane, Chalfont St Giles

Site Assessment

Age range of pupils: 3-7 years (Nursery to Year 2)

Number on Roll: 200-230 (varies throughout year depending on intake to reception classes)

School start/finish times: Infants – 08.55 to 15.15; Nursery – 09.00 to 11.30 & 12.40 to 15.10

Assessment produced: September 2003

Map of school and surrounding roads

Shown on page 5.

Description of School Location

The school is in a village location on a single site in a narrow, one-way road close to the village centre.

Traffic problems centre mainly on School Lane although other major routes have issues. School Lane is very narrow with poor visibility. Road markings are unclear and there is no pavement, but cars regularly park along the road, making it difficult for other vehicles, especially emergency vehicles, to pass. Parking also prevents cars and pedestrians from safely sharing the space.

Along one side of the school is Milton Fields, a narrow road, unmade and unadopted in part, with no useable pavement. Across Milton Fields lies the Memorial Hall which is used daily by the school for children’s lunches and special events, and is also used frequently by groups in the community. The Memorial Hall is responsible for the unmade section of Milton Fields which links the school to Albion Road. Beyond the Memorial Hall lies the Shakman Field which is used by the children for PE and lunch breaks during the summer months. Children are therefore often crossing Milton Fields throughout the school day as well as on the journey to and from school.

The major routes to school are via:

1. The Deanway. There are problems identified with narrow pavements close to the village and cars parking across pavements at the upper end near Three Households.

2. The A413 through the village centre and up Silver Hill. Traffic is fast which makes for an unpleasant walk, but there are zebra crossings across the two main roads. Crossing Silver Hill can be hazardous due to poor visibility.

3. Bottrells Lane to Albion Road and Milton Fields or to School Lane. No pavement currently exists along Bottrells Lane but a proposal to create one is currently going through the approvals process within the County Council.

There are no useful bus routes as they have very low frequency and the children are too young to cycle to school, so travel is only by car, foot or both. Many carers are also looking after babies and toddlers so routes need to be pushchair friendly and take into account the safety of very young children on foot.

Car Parking

The Memorial Hall has two car parks, the upper one of which is, by agreement, for use of school staff only during school hours. It has about 20 parking spaces. The lower car park has about 8 spaces. The entrance to both car parks is very close to the school gates, and cars must pass within 3 metres of the gates to enter the upper car park.

There are about 5 legal parking spaces at each end of School Lane. Typically a further 5-6 cars park illegally or dangerously along School Lane and a further 8-10 by the Memorial Hall. The nearest council car park is in the village centre, about 300 metres from the school and a special payment dispensation has been agreed with the District Council for participants in the school’s Go for Gold scheme. Other on-street parking is mainly on the Deanway or in Albion Road.

Current Planning Applications

None.

Area by the School Entrance

There are No Parking signs and Keep Clear signs on School Lane next to the Nursery. These are often observed. There are no markings or signs on Milton Fields as it is an unmade, unadopted road.

The entrance to the Infant School is on Milton Fields, opposite the Memorial Hall. The entrance to the Nursery is on the footpath linking the Deanway with School Lane.

Road Crossings

There is a School Crossing Patrol on the Deanway opposite the entrance to the Junior School, and a zebra crossing has recently been installed at this location. There is also a zebra crossing in the village centre and one across the A413 between Pheasant Hill and Vache Lane.
Main Issues

1. Parents parking in unmarked sections of School Lane which is dangerous as parked cars block access and visibility.

2. Parents driving up School Lane in order to claim the few parking spaces along the road or in one of the Memorial Hall car parks.

3. Cars driving down Milton Fields during school start and finish times and whilst children are crossing during the day. The unmade surface and downhill slope make braking unexpectedly slow and there is no warning that children may be crossing.

4. Lack of a footpath on Bottrells Lane discourages parents from walking along a muddy verge.

5. Pavements along the Deanway are narrow and traffic passes close to pedestrians.

Traffic congestion has reduced greatly since the introduction of the Go for Gold scheme, but the cars that do use the road pose a continuing danger. Currently there are activities in the Memorial Hall on two afternoons a week which see increased traffic, and some traffic is unavoidable. But if no parents drove along School Lane the risk would decrease significantly.

Steps Taken to Date

· A School Travel Plan committee with representatives from parents, staff, governors, residents and the Memorial Hall committee was formed in November 2001.

· A Go for Gold scheme was introduced in May 2002. Traffic decreased from over 70 cars to seven in the first weeks of operation. Now about 20 parents’ cars can be seen along School Lane or in Memorial Hall car parks, which is regrettable but still a marked improvement overall. We are now running special “Go For Gold” weeks during the year to provide more focus to the messages and to renew enthusiasm regularly.

· Parents were warned via a letter from the school of the dangers of driving along School Lane and encouraged to avoid doing this. A reminder is included in each fortnightly school newsletter.

· Two Crocodile Trails started in May 2003, one along Kings Road, the other along Bottrells Lane, each on two days per week.

· The possibility of creating a car park in Shakman Playing Field was investigated but foundered on the legal issue of a restrictive covenant. Access to the field for cars has now been shut to discourage cars from using School Lane.

· Support was given by the committee to Council proposals to create a footpath along Bottrells Lane and a marked footway along School Lane. It is hoped that both will be realised during 2003.

Action Plan

Completed Actions

Action	Status	Timescale	Lead person	Resources & Cost	Priority (H/M/L)	Expected Impact	Next Steps
Develop School Travel Plan	Complete		DW	Photocopying	High		Redraft in new format and circulate
Develop Bid Award to request funding for structural measures	Completed & shelved due to legal constraints		AH	Photocopying	High		None
Re-site nursery entrance to side gate	Done	Nov 2001	GB	None	Medium	Reduce number of people using School Lane coming from Deanway. Stops children running straight out of gate onto road.	None
Car sharing scheme	Abandoned due to lack of interest		BR		Medium	Would reduce total number of cars used, especially by those living some distance from school.
Zebra crossing on Deanway	Complete	Completed Feb 2003	BR	Already budgeted by CDC	High	Make crossing between schools safer, especially when no lollipop person, should also help to slow down traffic along Deanway	None
Create access to Shakman Field car park from Silver Hill	Shelved due to legal constraints.		MB/ AH	Estimated £21K	High	Provide safe parking for the limited number of parents who have to drive for reasons of health or distance. Reduce the need to park in less safe places next to school.	none

Initiatives Underway

Action	Status	Timescale	Lead person	Resources & Cost	Priority (H/M/L)	Expected Impact	Next Steps
Communication from school to parents on dangers of illegal parking and where they can and should not park	Completed but ongoing for new parents	Leaflet completed June 2002	DW	Photocopying	High	This will ensure that all parents are aware of the dangers of parking in certain danger spots and hopefully will reduce or eliminate the number of those who do so.	Final version to go to new parents with each term’s intake.
Regular updates on initiatives via school newsletter or stand-alone leaflets. Reminder about not driving on School Lane in every newsletter	Ongoing	At least twice a term	CF	Photocopying	Medium	Maintain awareness of safety issues and benefits of walking	Continue current practice.
“Go for Gold” scheme to reward children who walk all or part of way to school.	Scheme underway.	Scheme started June 2002	CF/JS/ME	Photocopying, staff time	High	Encourage more parents to try walking or to use parking facilities further from school. Break habit of using car for some within walking distance. Involvement of children in road safety, health and environmental awareness.	Moving to GfG only during “Walk to School Weeks” at least once a term to renew enthusiasm and prevent complete collapse of scheme.
Ramp between infants and nursery playgrounds	Funding secured but will now be a lift rather than a ramp	Work will be completed by end 2003	KW	Already budgeted by Bucks CC	High	Enables people to walk between Deanway/Nursery and Milton Fields/Infant school without using School Lane. Should reduce number of pedestrians on the most dangerous stretch of road.	Awaiting completion

Initiatives Underway contd.

Action	Status	Timescale	Lead person	Resources & Cost	Priority (H/M/L)	Expected Impact	Next Steps
Free parking in village to encourage “Park and Walk”	Agreed with CDC	Pilot agreed Summer 2002 and agreed to extend indefinitely October 2002	JS	If permits given to parents only for use at school times so cost minimal as few parents use the car park at present anyway.	High	This measure is necessary if all children are to be able to participate in the “Go for Gold” initiative. Those living too far away to walk can participate if they walk from the car park, but it will be difficult to encourage parents in this if they have to pay for a ticket twice every day.	None
Reduce parking accessed via School Lane by shutting Shakman Field and staff car parks at key times	Measures in place	Shakman Field shut 2002. Staff car park gate manned by caretaker from Sep 2003	KW	Caretaker’s time	Medium	Reduce the number of cars driving up School Lane by 20-30 as they realise that no parking is available.	Continue measures.
Crocodile Trails	Routes along Kings Road and Bottrells Lane assessed. Both trails started May 2003 and are ongoing two days a week	First parent training April 2003, children’s “Footsteps” road safety training started May 2003 and ongoing for new participants	Alison Robinson	Parental time and SRS co-ordinator for training	High	Involves Middle School as well. Reduces car use by about 20 cars when operating. In future would like to extend to Deanway route from Narcot Lane.	Continue to extend participation. Eventually hope to Footsteps train all children in Year 1 each year regardless of participation.

Future Plans

Action

Status

Timescale

Lead person

Resources & Cost

Priority (H/M/L)

Expected Impact

Next Steps

Footsteps Training for all Year 1 in Summer Term each year

Planning resource allocation

Planned to start May 2004

Parents’ time, SRS team time to train sufficient parents

High

Increase children’s awareness of road safety issues. Increase participation in walk to school initiatives as parents feel happier about children’s safety on the road.

Use Foundation and KS1 Road Safety loan boxes in first half of Summer Term to support topic work in all years

Loan Boxes requested

April – June 2004

No additional cost

Medium

Materials will support Y1 Footsteps Training and incorporate road safety and environmental considerations into topic subjects.

Teachers to plan specific activities in class.

Speak to all new parents at induction days

Agreed with Head

Starting Dec 2003

Parents’ time