At Abbey Farm Educate Together Primary we like to work collaboratively with families and the community around us to ensure our children have the best experience possible.
For further information about our school please visit the links below.
Euro’s 2021: ETAT Statement July 21
Educate Together Academy Trust (ETAT) is an equality-based Trust where we live by the mottos ‘no child an outsider’ and ‘learn together to live together’. Our schools celebrate diversity, individuality and respects each child’s identity and that of their family equally. We are an Academy Trust of Rights Respecting Schools, and this education is embedded in all interactions and explicitly taught. This supports and underpins our unique ethical Learn Together curriculum that is taught throughout the school.
At ETAT we have always fought racism and promoted equality, equity, and inclusivity through education, both within our schools and the communities they serve. We are very proud of our richly diverse school community and as a Trust, we do not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination.
ETAT is appalled by the racist abuse that England’s National Football Team, has received in recent days and weeks especially. We are aware that as a result black people across the country have received abuse too. Racism has no place in society in any context and at ETAT we reaffirm that we are dedicated to identifying and confronting racism head on.
The Trust will be working to develop a new Anti-Racism Strategy and with this, our schools will continue to use education to enact societal change. This Strategy will then be implemented across the Trust in collaboration and with staff, children, and the wider school community.
The Trust continues to educate itself to ensure that future generations understand, appreciate, and celebrate our diversity, differences, achievements, and histories.
Abbey Farm Educate Together strives to promote equality and celebrate diversity in all its forms. We feel it is important to make links available that address and reflect the ongoing events across the world and to support you in discussions you may be having with your children.
Below are resources that are aimed at supporting parents to hold conversations with your children and answer some of the difficult questions. It is important to stress that the resources shared below are not intended to be a home learning activity for your child to do alone. In school, we will discuss events in a supportive way, led by the children’s questions. If you have any questions, please e-mail us on info@abbeyfarmet.org.uk.
Resources:
https://educateagainsthate.com/parents/
https://yoopies.co.uk/c/press-releases/blacklivesmatter – A parents guide to Black Lives Matter
How the UNICEF Convention on the Rights of the Child protects children from discrimination
WHY ATTENDANCE MATTERS
Article 28: Every child has the right to an education.
As a school we aim for all children to achieve 100% attendance, unless illness or an unavoidable cause prevents them from attending school. Children who attend this amount of time are likely to reach their full potential in education and go on to college and university. Therefore it is really important that your child attends school every day.
If your child has 1 day off a fortnight this adds up to one and a half years during their school life, it is proven that this often limits what they can achieve when they are 16. Please only keep your child at home if they are really unwell. If you are not sure bring your child/ren to school and let the class teacher know.
Click HERE for our attendance information
< lessWe transport our hot dinners from a local Primary school, who supply us daily with the following menu: Menu Sep-Dec 2023
Meals can be ordered through Arbor Parent Portal or App at the cost of £2.30 for Pre-School and children in Reception are eligible for Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) so are free up until the end of Year 2. Our staff are trained in food safety and we are registered with the local authority as a food handler.
Children are also welcome to bring a packed lunch form home, please see the following document for ideas for a healthy lunchbox AFET packed lunch charter
We ask that no nuts or nut products are brought into school and do not use them in our kitchen or breakfast club.
< lessAbbey Farm ET Primary offers a breakfast to all pupils (including Pre-school), the cost is £4 per session which runs 8-8.45am and includes breakfast.
We outsource our after-school club which is run by The Big Adventure Club. Times and prices can be found on their website, all children must first register with them before booking a place. Sessions can be booked up until 10pm each Friday for the following week.
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Article 31: Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
To give all children the opportunity to engage in various activities after school we offer free enrichment clubs.
These usually start towards the end of the first year, once pupils have settled into the school. These change on a termly basis depending on the children’s suggestions and what staff wish to run.
Clubs can be anything from gardening, sports or lego, through to dance, coding and knitting.
< less* We value all children and the unique contribution that they offer to the school.
* We believe that all children learn best when they feel safe and are happy in school.
* We believe that respect underpins all of our relationships within school and with the outside world.
* We ensure that all pupils achieve their fullest potential and are fully prepared for the next stage of learning and life
Through being equitable in our work, all children and staff will have equal access to their rights and, regardless of background, all will be equally respected.
All of our children have the right to a holistic world class education. All our work aims to ensure that every child can make progress and achieve well in every aspect of their education.
Children are at the heart of every decision and activity. Their voices are actively sought and listened to. They play a lead role in shaping their education.
Our schools aim to be central to the communities they serve. As such, we look for opportunities to give voice to and work in partnership with all stakeholders of the schools.
“No child an outsider”
1) Children of all social, cultural and religious backgrounds have a right to an education that respects their individual identity whilst exploring the different values and traditions of the world in which they live.
2) Parents are entitled to participate actively in decisions that affect the education of their children.
TRUST BOARD
As an Academy, Abbey Farm Educate Together is governed by the Educate Together Academy Trust Board, comprised of highly skilled professionals volunteering to ensure our schools are well run.
Information about the Educate Together Academy Trust governance structure can be found on our website here, along with our Articles of Association, Scheme of Delegation and audited accounts.
For more information about the Trust Board please contact us on 0117 3790119.
LOCAL GOVERNING BOARD
Abbey Farm Educate Together has a Local Governing Board (LGB) comprised of staff, parents, local residents and co-opted governors generously giving up their time and expertise to help develop and shape the school for the community it works within. The Board also acts as a line of communication between the school and the Trust Board and as such has one Trust representative.
Sarah Wingrove, Chair and Community Governor
Peter Ford, Vice-Chair and Community Governor
Noah Kirby, Community Governor
Laura Cooper, Parent Governor
Dan O’Brien, Parent Governor
Janet Bremner, Governance Officer, acting Clerk for AFET LGB.
Governing-Body-of Abbey Farm Primary School September 2022
Meetings-AbbeyFarmEducateTogether Attendance 2021-22
We do have space for additional governors, so if you would like to find out more about the role, visit our Parents and Community Page.
or
Contact us on 01793 251109 or by email at info@abbeyfarmet.org.uk
< lessOFSTED
As a new school, we received a pre-registration visit from Ofsted on June 17th. We are delighted to say that Ofsted have now submitted their report to the DfE, with no conditions for opening attached.
This visit is for Ofsted and the Department for Education to ensure we are fully prepared for opening in September. It involved a scrutiny of documentation, safeguarding, visit to the site alongside indepth questions to a variety of school and Trust members.
Whilst the visit is different to a full school inspection, this is a crucial step for the school and confirms that we have crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s.
Following opening, the school will then be ready to welcome an Ofsted inspection in its third year of operation.
If you would like to view a recent Ofsted report from a fellow ETAT school, click here.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Whilst we do all statutory evaluations, alongside our teachers day-to-day monitoring and observations, a new school doesn’t have published performance data until their first Year 2 SAT’s year. These results are from a small sample of pupils and it can take many years for the data to show ‘trends’.
Whilst this data builds over the years, we will be sharing other data and results with the Local Governing Board and parent/carers, periodically and would encourage anyone interested to get in touch.
Of course, you can always visit one of our other ETAT schools and check out their results!
< lessAs a parent you’ll know how important the internet is to children – they use it to learn, play, socialise and express themselves. It’s a highly creative place of amazing opportunities. However the technology children use every day can be daunting and you might worry or not know about the risks your child can face online – such as bullying, contact from strangers or the possibility of them seeing illegal or inappropriate content.
Online Safety is an important part of keeping children safe at Abbey Farm Educate Together Primary. We have extensive security measures in place, which are monitored both internally and externally, to help safeguard pupils from potential dangers or unsuitable material.
From the outset, Online Safety is taught to all pupils explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online.
Online safety links – keeping your child safe online
Great sources of info are:
Article 31:
Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
Sports premium is additional money the schools received for pupils in years 1-6. The premium must be used to fund additional and sustainable improvements to the provision of PE and sport, for the benefit of primary-aged pupils, to encourage the development of healthy, active lifestyles.
There are 5 key indicators that schools should expect to see improvement across:
In the initial years at school (pre-school and reception class), PE lessons are focussed on confidence, balance and basic co-ordination skills. Of course, we also spend a lot of time learning how to change clothes independently.
As pupils develop skills, the range of activities broadens out to ensure all children experience a variety of different sports. Working with the Local Governing Board (LGB), parents and pupils, our staff will develop a timetable of ‘tasters’ and events, with local providers so pupils can try activities and sports outside the usual curriculum offer. This maybe additional tennis, cricket or archery.
Once the school begins to receive this funding, we will publish an annual report on spending, along with our plans.
< lessOur Pre school promotes an approach to education which is based on the core values of mutual respect, self-esteem, dignity and critical awareness.The inclusive nature of our unique ethical curriculum ensures no child is ever placed in a position in which they feel themselves an outsider.
Our pre-school offers:
-A qualified teacher working in our EYFS classroom with the support of a full time teaching assistant.
-A unique ethical curriculum.
-A place where no child is an outsider.
-A well-resourced indoor and outdoor learning environment.
-The option to purchase additional sessions if required.
For more information about admissions for pre-school click HERE
< lessComplaints Procedure – please email all complaints to governanceofficer@educatetogether.org.uk
Child Protection (Safeguarding Policy)
Environmental Policy – pending
Health Safety and Wellbeing Policy
Image Consent – this consent is given during our Data Collection process
Offsite visits and activities policy
Privacy Notice Pupils & Parents policy
Relationships and Sex Education Policy
SEND, Disability and Inclusion Policy
Please contact the school by emailing info@abbeyfarmet.org.uk to request paper copies.
< lessArticle 26:
Governments must provide extra money for the children of families in need.
What is Pupil Premium (PP) funding?
Pupil Premium funding is given to schools to help support disadvantaged children in order to raise their attainment and to help close the gap in attainment between these pupils and their peers. It is allocated to schools for every pupil who has been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years.
It is for schools to decide how Pupil Premium funding is spent as they are best placed to assess what additional provision should be made for the pupils within their responsibility.
At Abbey Farm, we are fully committed to ensuring that all children have equal access to the highest quality teaching and learning through an exciting and balanced curriculum and targeted individual or group support based on their needs or abilities.
Once the school begins to receive this funding, we will publish an annual report on spending, along with our plans.
To find out more about Pupil premium please click here.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Your child may be able to get pupil premium if you receive any of the following:
HOW TO APPLY:
If you think you are eligible to qualify for Pupil Premium funding please follow the link below and complete the application process here.
The money received for PP children is used to address barriers to learning for children which may include:
How will we monitor the impact of PP funding?
To monitor progress on attainment, new measures will be included in the performance tables that will capture the achievement of students covered by the Pupil Premium funding. The usual cycle of data collection and the monitoring and tracking of the cohort’s attainment, will be used to inform student progress and enable the early identification of need, support and appropriate intervention. The strategy is reviewed regularly to ensure maximum impact with a full review in July each academic year.
< lessArticle 23:
A child with a disability has the right to live a full and decent life with dignity and, as far as possible, independence and to play an active part in the community. Governments must do all they can to provide support to disabled children and their families.
Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is: Tracey Rogers
Tracey can be contacted via email at tracey.rogers@abbeyfarmet.org.uk or by phoning our main office: 01793 251109
Our SEND governor is: Peter Ford
SEND and Inclusion at Abbey Farm
For a detailed report on how we implement our SEND and Inclusion policy on a day to day basis, please see our SEND information report
For an overview of our vision, ethos and values in relation to Inclusion, please see our SEND and Inclusion Policy
If you have a specific question, please use the contents page at the start of the report to ensure quick access to the information you need.
Our Accessibility plan and Equality objectives can be found here: AFET Accessibilty plan
Abbey Farm Educate Together Primary Academy has a true commitment to providing all children with high quality education where they can achieve their full potential. As part of Educate Together’s core principles we ensure that all children are valued and treated with respect.
We aim to ensure that:
* all children have the best possible education which meets the specific needs of individuals and groups of children
* all children are fully included in all aspects of the school
* all children have the support and provision necessary to enable them to achieve
We truly believe that by working in close partnership with parents/carers and adults outside of the school we can give our children high quality care, support, education and opportunities to enable them to succeed in life beyond Abbey Farm ET.
Resources and support for Parents and Carers of children with SEND
Useful documents and links
Identification and assessment procedures Educate Together
Swindon Borough Council Local Offer
Happy Maps (Parent support for children’s mental health)
Ages and Stages Parent Guide (Speech and Language)
‘Listen up!’ – a practical guide for parents of children aged 0-5 (Speech and Language resources)
‘Listen up!’ – a practical guide for parents of children aged 5-11 (Speech and Language resources)
Specialist Autism Support Service
Family Fund
Family Fund help families across the UK who are raising a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 17 or under. If eligible, you can apply for a grant. For more information visit https://www.familyfund.org.uk/
Educate Together’s core principles are of valuing every child regardless of need and we will always ensure that all children have the best possible education and the provision necessary to enable this. Our SEN information report contributes to Swindon Borough Council’s Local Offer. It is updated annually.
< lessWe are very keen to be a hub for our local community and beyond, we have started letting several facilities within the school building, click HERE for more info. All enquiries can be sent to info@abbeyfarmet.org.uk
We are a warm space every Monday 9-12am – feel free to pop by to use the space and have a tea or coffee, kindly donated by our neighboring Co-op .
Children attending AFET can attend WIMS 11 clubs on site and these can be booked HERE
The community can attend Martial Arts on Mondays, use the link HERE
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