Abbotsbury Primary School

We are proud to be a part of our local community, benefiting from its diversity and resources and contributing to them.At Abbotsbury, we encourage the children to express their views and opinions so that they can develop their citizenship skills. We value the childrens’ suggestions about certain aspects of school life and they are often consulted about important changes. Each year, every year group elects pupil representatives to serve on the School Council. The School Council meets regularly to share ideas and discuss any concerns. The Abbotsbury School Council also sends representatives to Merton Children’s Council, held at the Civic Centre. This gives Abbotsbury pupils the opportunity to influence local government policy making.

Nursery Children are admitted to the Nursery in the term after their third birthday. You can obtain a form to apply for a Nursery place from The Civic Centre or preferably complete online.It is advisable to complete a form when your child is about two and a half years old. Before your child starts in the Nursery, the teachers will visit you at home to talk about your child and you will also be invited to a meeting at school.As in all Merton schools, children who have a place in the Nursery are not necessarily guaranteed a place in the main school. Children are admitted to the Reception Class in the academic year when they have their fifth birthday. The School Admissions Team at The Civic Centre hold transfer forms for the other year groups in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. It is this team that allocates all school places in the Local Authority, so you will need to return the application form directly to the team.

Parents are a valued part of our school community at Abbotsbury. We encourage parents to become involved with a wide range of school activities, such as accompanying outings, helping with after-school clubs and listening to children read. All these parents need CRB clearence.All parents are automatically members of the Friends at Abbotsbury and may join in to raise funds for the school by organising discos and fairs. Parents are consulted for their opinions when important changes are made in school and their views are always welcomed.

The School Governors are representatives of parents, school staff, members of the local community and the local authority. Together with the Headteacher, the Governing Body is responsible for the management and decision making in the school. The Full Governing Body hold termly meetings. Smaller working parties and committees meet more frequently to discuss issues of finance, curriculum, personnel and premises. If parents wish to contact Governors or view the minutes of Governor meetings, the school office will be happy to provide them with this information.

At Abbotsbury we seek to make creative links between curriculum subject areas and make learning enjoyable and relevant for our children. We promote independent learning and the development of thinking skills. Much of the children’s learning centres around cross-curricular topics. We have recently begun to use a new curriculum, which is called The Inspire Curriculum and is based upon the model created by Cornwall Learning.This curriculum covers all the programmes of study in the most recent National Curriculum and is organised into a series of exciting and motivating topic areas, which change every four weeks. We use a variety of teaching methods and allow the children to benefit from learning in different styles and environments. We encourage the use of visits to different places, such as museums, galleries, the theatre and outdoor spaces to widen the children’s experiences and to involve them in their own learning. We also arrange for many visitors to work with us in school.

Children in Year 4 have the opportunity to go on a residential trip. Parents can pay for this trip in instalments to spread the cost. In cases of financial hardship, parents should approach the Headteacher to make a request for assistance. In Year 6 the children are invited to take part in a week of fun filled activities. These take place more locally and do not involve overnight stays to keep the cost down.

Children at Abbotsbury have the opportunity to participate in many different after-school clubs and also some lunchtime clubs. Clubs run by the teaching staff have included: board games, computers and choir. Teachers also run sports clubs (for example, netball, gymnastics and football) and some of the teams have gone on to compete successfully against other schools and boroughs. At Abbotsbury, we also host after-school clubs run by outside agencies. These have included Fulham Football Coaching, music lessons, French tuition and ‘Aikido’.

At Abbotsbury, it is our policy to bring the curriculum to life by arranging class visits to places of educational interest over the course of the year. Children may visit places such as museums, art galleries, religious buildings, theatres and concert halls. We also seek to enrich the curriculum by inviting artists, musicians and theatre groups to come in and perform to, or work with, the children.

The governors’ work affects most aspects of the school’s work. They establish, with the Headteacher, aims for the school and approve policies – for the curriculum, behaviour and discipline, for example; and are responsible for the school’s budget and the use and maintenance of the premises. More generally, they are expected to be in touch with the local community and to help guide the school to meet the community’s educational needs. They are also expected to help the school explain to the community what the school is trying to achieve for their children.

The governors, together as a body, have a range of legal responsibilities, so being a governor is an important commitment and new governors should be willing to attend training to help them learn what is entailed. If you feel you would like to be a governor at Abbotsbury Primary School please drop into the school office in the first instance and we will put you in touch with our Chair of Governors to enable you to discuss in more detail what is involved in being a governor.