Rack House Primary School

Rack House Primary School is a Community School for children aged 3 to 11 years. It was first opened in 1935. It serves the community of Northern Moor. The main entrance to the school is on Yarmouth Drive. There are also two pedestrian entrances: One on Lawton Moor Road and another on Newall Drive.

The Governing Body needs to take a strategic role, and be accountable for its decisions. It should set aims and objectives and agree, monitor and review policies, targets and priorities. The Foundation Stage covers the curriculum for ages 3 – 5 years and follows guidance from the Early Years Foundation Stage known as EYFS. The children are taught according to the stage of their development rather than their age and are grouped for specific tasks and activities.

The National Curriculum is divided into four Key Stages that children are taken through during their school life. Key Stage 1 is taught during Years 1 and 2 of primary school, when children are usually aged between 5 and 7. Key Stage 2 is taught during Years 3 to 6 of primary school, when children are usually aged between 7 and 11.

At Rack House Primary we work hard to provide support for all children to enable them to achieve their full potential at school. High quality teaching which is differentiated and personalised should be available for all pupils. At the heart of the work of every school class is a continuous cycle of planning, teaching and assessing which takes account of the wide range of abilities, aptitudes and interests of children. The majority of children will learn and progress within these arrangements, however, those children whose overall attainments or attainment in specific subjects are significantly outside the expected range may have special educational needs.

Keeping our children safe is clearly of paramount importance to us all and below is a series of links to information and services that may help to keep our children safe in a digital world. Just click on the relevant logos on the left to visit the various information sources.

The governing body fully supports and is committed to the aims and objectives of Manchester City Council and the Children’s Services Directorate to provide a safe, secure and reassuring environment for staff, pupils, students and visitors, encouraging everyone to have high aspirations and a love of learning.

As eSafety is an important aspect of strategic leadership within the school, the Head and governors have ultimate responsibility to ensure that the policy and practices are embedded and monitored. The named eSafety co-ordinator in our school is Katie Butler who has been designated this role as a member of the senior leadership team. All members of the school community have been made aware of who holds this post. It is the role of the eSafety co-ordinator to keep abreast of current issues and guidance through organisations such as Manchester LA, CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) and Childnet.

Senior Management and Governors are updated by the Head or eSafety co-ordinator and all governors have an understanding of the issues and strategies at our school in relation to local and national guidelines and advice. This policy, supported by the school’s acceptable use agreements for staff, governors, visitors and pupils (appendices), is to protect the interests and safety of the whole school community. It is linked to the following mandatory school policies: child protection and safeguarding, health and safety, home–school agreements, and behaviour/pupil discipline (including the anti-bullying) policy and PHSE.

Rack House Primary School will put into place effective strategies for assessment and record keeping providing a continuous record of learners’ achievements and their progress. It will be kept to the minimum necessary to be fit for purpose. It will be the basis for passing on information from one stage to the next to make transition smooth. It will be used to keep parents well informed of their child’s progress and achievement through both verbal dialogue and written reports. Parents and learners will be involved in the assessment, record keeping and reporting strategy at appropriate points.

Assessment is not separate from, but an integral part of, the curriculum plan and its strategies for teaching and learning. Recording achievement recognizes not only the skills and knowledge in written form but also practical skills, social attitudes and personal qualities that represent the wider aims of education. This policy should be read in conjunction with the marking policy.