St Robert Southwell Catholic Primary School

About us

Our Motto:

God gave himself to you:
give yourself to God.

Our Mission Statement:

We welcome all children to engage in a Christ-centred curriculum, with the aspiration of forming compassionate, enlightened, faithful and active members of modern society; who give themselves to God, as he gave himself to us get you billet chapelle sixtine ici.

Our School Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Teach us to walk in your way more trustfully,
To accept your truth more faithfully
And share your life more lovingly.
By the power of the Holy Spirit
Help us in our work for our school,
So that we may come as one family
To the kingdom of the Father,
Where you live forever and ever.
Amen.

Who’s who

TITLE POSITION RESPONSIBILITY
Mr James Field Headteacher and DSL Subject Leader for Maths
Miss Lisa Willsher Assistant Headteacher, Class Teacher,

Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Damascus Class (Year 5/6), Assessment, RE
Mrs Crystal Chase | Inclusion Leader | SEND, Pupil Premium, Children Looked After, Gifted and Talented
Miss Sally Newman | Class Teacher | Bethlehem Class (Reception), Early Years, Computing
Miss Amelia Humphreys | Class Teacher | Nazareth Class (Year 1), Art and DT
Mrs Sandra Smith | Class Teacher | Galilee Class (Year 2), Humanities, Science
Mrs Alison Judson | Class Teacher | Jericho Class, English
Mrs Gail Rafferty | Class Teacher | Emmaus Class (Year 4/5)/ PPA cover and Pupil Premium Teacher
Miss Charlotte Ray | Class Teacher | Emmaus Class (Year 4/5), P.E
Mrs Clare Hudson | Class Teacher | Damascus Class (Year 5/6), MFL
Mrs Jo-Anna Burnell | P.E Teacher | Dance and Gymnastics
Mrs Jane O’Sullivan | Music Teacher | Music
Mrs Elizabeth Willsher | School Business Manager | Senior Leadership Team, Website, School Premises
Mrs Helen Blake | Administration Assistant/First Aider | School Office
Mrs Elaine | Gorton | School Secretary | School Office
JSPC | Computing Technician | Computing
Mrs Angie Williams | Special Needs Teaching Assistant | KS1 & 2
Mrs W Longo | Teaching Assistant/Lunchtime Supervisor | Nazareth Class
Mrs Suzanne Lanaway | Early Years Teaching Assistant, Learning Mentor | Bethlehem Class
Mrs Veronica D’Arcy | Early Years Teaching Assistant/Lunchtime Supervisor | Bethlehem Class
Mrs Slavka Van Dooren | Teaching Assistant/Lunchtime Supervisor | Emmaus Class
Mrs Rachel Irvine | Special Needs Teaching Assistant | Galilee Class
Mrs Jane Munson | Special Needs Teaching Assistant | Galilee Class
Mrs Debbie Morris | Teaching Assistant | Galilee Class
Mrs Cathy White | Teaching Assistant/Lunchtime Supervisor | Jericho Class/Bethlehem Class
Mrs Louise Knight | Special Needs Teaching Assistant | Jericho Class
Mrs Carmel Daly | Special Needs Teaching Assistant | Jericho Class
Mrs Kirsten Regan | Teaching Assistant | Damascus Class
Mrs Claire Shaieb | Teaching Assistant | Nazareth Class
Mrs Karin Howard | Teaching Assistant | Damascus Class
Mrs Lisa Ahern | Lunchtime Supervisor |
Miss Amy Flynn | Lunchtime Supervisor |
Mr Carl Van Dooren | Maintenance Supervisor |
Fr Aaron Spinelli | Parish Priest |

Key Information

Admissions

Admissions Policy 2018-2019

Admissions Policy 2017-2018

Admissions – Supplementary Information Form 2018-19

Admissions – Supplementary Information Form 2017-18

Policies

Action Plan for Single Equality Policy 2016

Anti Bullying Policy

Behaviour Policy

Charging Policy

Complaints Policy and Procedure

Collective_Worship_Policy_2017

E-Safety Policy

Homework Policy

Maths Calculation Policy

Policy for Spirituality

Prevent Policy

Religious Education Policy

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy

SEND Policy 2017-8

Sex Education Policy

Single Equality Scheme

Pupil Premium

What is the pupil premium?

The Pupil Premium provides additional funding on top of the main funding a school receives. It is targeted at students from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure they benefit from the same opportunities as pupils from less deprived families. Currently, the premium is worth £18,569 and goes to pupils who are currently on Free School Meals (FSM) or has been registered for (FSM) in the past six years, students in care, who have been looked after by local authorities for more than six months also continue to qualify for the Pupil Premium.

Reports and Results

St Robert Southwell Ofsted 2017

RE Inspection Report (Section 48)

Key Stage 2 Results 2017

DFE Performance tables

SEN

St Robert Southwell School is an inclusive environment and aims to accommodate the needs of all children.

Our Inclusion Coordinator, Mrs Crystal Chase, oversees our support for children with special educational needs, disabilities, behaviour difficulties and gifted and talented children. She is also the designated lead for Looked after Children.

Mrs Chase would be very happy to speak to you if you have any questions or concerns regarding a child at the school or if you are considering applying for a place.

SEN Policy 2017 – 2018

Links:

Schools and Colleges Performance Tables Service
https://www.gov.uk/school-performance-tables

St John the Evangelist Catholic Parish Horsham
http://www.stjohnshorsham.com/

Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Education Service
http://www.abeducationservice.org.uk/

Catholic Education Service
http://www.catholiceducation.org.uk/

Classes

Bethlehem (YR)

Welcome to Bethlehem

The teacher is Miss Newman supported by Mrs Lanaway and Mrs D’Arcy.

During your child’s first year at school we deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage by using the ‘Come and See’ Catholic programme topics as a starting point for our learning. In addition to this we also consider individual children’s interests and needs, to provide a holistic curriculum that supports each child’s ongoing learning and development.

We offer a continuous play-based approach where children can explore their indoor and outdoor school environment whilst engaging in challenging activities, interesting topics and learning through first hand experiences.

Autumn – Topic 1
Spring – Topic 2
Summer – Topic 3

Galilee (Y2)

Welcome to Galilee class
The teacher is Mrs Smith, supported by Mrs Morris, Mrs White and Mrs Longo.

Topics 2016-2017

Autumn term Spring term Summer term
Heroes of our times
(History) Around the World in 80 days
(Geography) Changes to our locality
(Science, History, Geography)

PE days are Wednesdays & Fridays
Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit in school each Monday. All kit should be clearly labelled – maroon shorts, white school t-shirt with the school logo & trainers for outside. Girls will need to have a pair of socks in their PE bags to wear with their jogging trousers.

In winter they can wear maroon jogging trousers & school fleece.

Swimming takes place on Thursdays during Spring term – towel, costume and a swimming hat.

School Uniform – All school uniform must be clearly labelled.

BOYS: grey trousers or shorts, blue polo shirt, maroon sweatshirt or jumper, grey or black socks & school shoes.

GIRLS: Grey pinafore, skirt or trousers, blue polo shirt; maroon cardigan or sweatshirt, white socks or grey tights blue/white check summer dress & shoe shoes.

No jewellery or watches. Stud earrings may be worn but need to be removed or covered for PE lessons.

What should your child bring to school each day?
Book bag with reading books, Reading record book, lunch

Water bottle (brought in clean on Monday and taken home on Friday). Please label the bottle AND the lid.

Homework book on WEDNESDAY

Homework

Reading Try to read every day, and at least 4 times a week to an adult. Read a variety of texts; fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Reading Record books checked on TUESDAY
Spelling National Curriculum words. Practise these using multi-sensory activities in your homework book Test on WEDNESDAY
Maths Written or practical maths activity or mathletics. Checked on WEDNESDAY
Homework books need to be handed in every WEDNESDAY so I can mark them and re-set work by Thursday.

Mrs Smith is available in class every morning from 8:30am if you need to discuss an important issue relating to your child. Please come and see her if you have any concerns. Alternatively, you can make an appointment for after school.

Jericho (Y3-4)

Welcome to Jericho class
The teacher is Mrs Judson, supported by teaching assistants Mrs White, Mrs Daly, Mrs Knight and Mrs Shaieb.

Our topic this term is the Stone Age.

Homework

Homework is set on Thursdays and due in on Tuesdays.

Daily reading.
Spellings – words to learn and use of spelling rules or patterns.
Times tables.
Maths task.

Emmaus (Y4-5)

Welcome to Emmaus Class
The teachers are Miss Ray and Mrs Rafferty.

There’s a lot to look forward to with an exciting and broad curriculum. We aim for our puplis to develop a strong sense of independence with a clear view on making positive choices so that Y4/5 is a time filled with both enjoyment and challenge.

We follow the ‘Come and See’ RE programme to help guide the children on their faith journey.

We continue to ensure that the year 5 children have access to the same opportunities as the year 5 children in Damascus class and that the year 4 children have access to the same opportunities as the year 4 children in Jericho class by liaising closely with Miss Wilsher and Mrs Judson.

We are always grateful for your help. Please let us know if you are able to come in and hear readers.

Please don’t hesitate to come and speak to us if you have any queries or concerns especially if you see us on the playground before or after school -that is the perfect opportunity to talk.

Homework

Reading
We encourage the children to read 5 times a night and record their reading in their reading records. We also run class reading challenges and book bingo to encourage their reading.

Recommended Reading List for Year 4
https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-lists-for-ks2-school-pupils/suggested-reading-list-for-year-4-pupils-ks2-age-8-9/

Recommended Reading List for Year 5
https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-lists-for-ks2-school-pupils/suggested-reading-list-for-year-5-pupils-ks2-age-9-10/

Maths
One piece of written homework is set each week. Mathletics will sometimes be set as homework but otherwise please use it support your child’s learning.

Learning

Computing

Our mission:
At St Robert Southwell we aim to promote a love of learning through the safe use of technology, equipping children to succeed in a rapidly changing technological world and facilitate learning in an interactive way, drawing upon the knowledge and skills they have acquired.

We follow a broad and balanced computing curriculum using a variety of tools to support us.

Starting with Early years, technology is addressed as part of Knowledge and Understanding of the World. The children have access to a variety of toys and technology that they can choose to use throughout the school day. Specific skills and safety are taught alongside this.
From Year 1 to Year 6 we follow the Barefoot Computing Curriculum and Switched on Computing to provide children with the necessary skills to stay safe online, understand the digital nature of our world, become digital citizens and build on self-taught skills they have acquired themselves.

Children are challenged appropriately to create algorithms, debug programs, understand how and why the internet works as well as embedding the knowledge and skills they have acquired.

A full curriculum map for Year 1-6 is attached in addition to our e-safety road maps. You will find our Computing and E-Safety policy online in our policies folder.

Computing Leader: Miss L Willsher and Miss S Newman

E-safety curriculum

English

At St Robert Southwell, we teach the English National Curriculum through the use of high quality texts. The skills are taught in units, based around a single text, or a group of linked texts. Reading and writing objectives will be explored through the text or texts. The children will experience a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and will meet a variety of children’s authors.

Reading
Children are encouraged to read widely, and the class teachers use reading challenges to motivate the children to read as often as possible. In EY and KS1, the children progress through the ‘book bands’ (levelled texts) and the KS2 classrooms contain a variety of age appropriate books.

Writing
Writing is given a purpose, either linked to a text or real life. The children are immersed in texts, usually through a variety of reading and drama activities, before planning, writing and editing their own work.

Grammar
The teaching of the grammar objectives is linked to texts or topics as often as possible, but will sometimes be taught discretely.

Phonics and Spelling
In EY and KS1 we use ‘Song of Sounds’ to teach phonics. The children have daily phonics sessions, and a longer session once a week in which they explore the phonics further through games and activities. In KS2 the children are taught the NC objectives and word lists using a multi-sensory approach.

Handwriting
The children are taught a fully cursive handwriting style from Reception.

Literacy Week
We have an annual English immersion week. The theme varies each year. Our recent themes have been poetry, traditional tales, author studies (each class studying a book by the same author) and book studies (all classes studying the same book). The week is a highlight of the school year, and we try to incorporate cross curricular work, competitions, performances, mixed age activities, and we have even published our own school poetry book containing a poem by every child in the school.

Religious Education

Religious Education is at the centre of all we do, here at St Robert Southwell Catholic Primary School. It can be seen throughout our school, not just in our RE lessons, but through Collective Worship, our links with our local parish and our behaviour towards one another. RE is a core subject and, in line with Bishops’ Conference recommendations, 10% of teaching time is allocated to RE. The school, like all of those in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, changed its RE syllabus from September 2013, after two decades of the “Here I Am” programme, to a new programme called “Come and See.” After two successful years of teaching this carefully structured scheme, it is clear to see it has been well received by the children and staff. Come and See allows children to explore the religious aspects of life, dignity and purpose within the Catholic tradition. Children reflect on personal experiences and links are made with Catholic and non-Catholic faith traditions. Over the academic year, two other faiths are taught, during the Autumn term we look at Judaism and during the Summer term will be immersing ourselves in Islam. A variety of teaching methods and resources are used, including stories from the Bible, songs and hymns, role play, liturgical dance, creative activities, videos and CDs and discussion. The children cover three themes each term and 63 topics in total from Reception through to Year 6. The themes are: Autumn term: Our church – family, baptism and confirmation – belonging, Advent and Christmas – loving. Spring term: Local church – community, Eucharist – relating, Lent and Easter – giving. Summer term: Pentecost – serving, reconciliation – inter-relating, universal church – world. You can see more detail about each topic on the RE Curriculum Programme document below. All of the topics are rooted in the children’s own experiences in life, our teachers then extend the learning further through reflection and purposeful activity. We look at Scripture passages that match the topic being covered and unpick the meaning and how we can use this Scripture to enhance our lives and help us to be better Christians.

There are many events throughout the academic year that the children and their families can be involved in. These include:

Mass to celebrate the new school year
Harvest Festival
Christingle
The Christmas Carol Service at All Saints Church
The Year 1 and 2 children share the Nativity story with us in the lead up to Christmas
Reception children also share the birth of Jesus with us through carols and role play
Epiphany Mass
Stations of the Cross
Mass of the Risen Christ
Rosary which takes place every Thursday
The May Procession and Crowning of Our Lady
The Good Shepherd Celebration in the Summer Term
End of Year/Leavers Mass where we will celebrate the successes over the past year and the events over the last seven years for our Y6 leavers
Reconciliation Services throughout the year, with the opportunity for those who have and those who will be making their First Holy Communion

We do hope you will be involved in as many of these events throughout the year as possible. If you would like anymore information on these events please contact Miss Willsher, the RE Leader.

Friends

To everybody associated with The Friends of St Robert Southwell Charity,

We would like to thank you for your kind contributions of time and money which has made this years Christmas Fayre another huge success. With a variety of outside stalls, mulled wine and Santa’s Grotto we managed to raise over £4,000. This includes contributions from significant donors, raffle sales prior to the event and Class Christmas Cards.

For the current academic year to date, the Friends have raised over £5,500 from a variety of events, all of which we could not have done without the significant contribution from the Parents, Carers, Friends and Staff associated with St Roberts. In accordance with our mission statement this money will go a long way to enhancing our school and our children’s learning experience, especially in lieu of recent and continual government funding cuts.

We would like to have a general meeting on Saturday the 6th of January at 4pm at the Norfolk Arms (Crawley Road, Roffey, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 4NB, just down the road from school) to discuss the Christmas Fayre, to understand any concerns or suggestions you have and to discuss our plan for the rest of the year.

We would encourage all who have been associated with the Friends of St Roberts, School Representatives and those who are generally happy to lend a hand or share ideas to attend this meeting.

We would like to wish you a very happy Christmas and a prosperous and happy new year from us all and look forward to your ongoing support in 2018.

Kind regards,

The Friends of St Robert Southwell

Chairman – Dean Bedggood

Vice Chair – Annamaria Shipton

Treasurer – Andy Huddleston

Contact Us

If you have any questions or queries please contact Mrs Elizabeth Willsher at the school office.

St Robert Southwell Catholic Primary School
Lambs Farm Road
Horsham
RH12 4LP

Telephone: 01403 252357

Email: office@strobertsouthwell.co.uk