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welcome from the headteacher dear parents welcome to the very first edition of the victory primary school brochure if your child is joining us for the first time we welcome you as parents and look forward to a happy and successful association over the coming years if you already have a child here we hope to strengthen our existing links with you to enable us to provide the best education possible last year was an extremely exciting time for all of us as we moved into a brand new purpose built primary school the positive views of our children and our parents and the considerable increase in pupil numbers illustrate how supported we are by the local community we are committed to providing the highest standard of education for every pupil we share with parents the responsibility for teaching our children and preparing them for the future our children really matter and every individual s ability is recognised developed and rewarded we hope you will find the information given here reassuring and useful when making decisions during your child s time at the victory if you have any concerns please make contact with us as we are always ready to discuss any matter with you formally or informally yours sincerely mr peter sykes headteacher the victory primary school page 1

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the victory primary school chair of governors letter dear parents you will see from this brochure that the facilities at the victory are truly outstanding your children are offered the very best start in life and the entire team of staff and governors strive continually to make the differences that matter i thank you for your support of the school and of the children s learning and i thank you for working with us so that every child may attend school every day i also look forward to seeing many of you in school yourselves during the year ahead at various events demonstrating good habits to your children as parents and carers you have a key role to play in your children s learning and in the life of the school i d like to encourage you to consider the contribution you can make to the community of the victory primary while your child is with us and join in whenever possible i look forward to meeting you in school yours sincerely david wilson chair of governors the victory primary school page 2

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at the victory primary school we have the highest expectations and hope for everyone and believe every child has the potential to achieve we strive to achieve this by creating opportunities for every member of our school community recognising every achievement and widening their horizons laying the foundations for later success in life we aim to work together learn from each other and include all members of our community in our mission to learn care and succeed the victory primary school page 3

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contents school information page 5 teaching staff list page 6 non teaching staff list page 7 school governors page 8 our school page 9 admissions policy page 10 contact with the school page 11 pupil records page 11 freedom of information page 12 school website page 12 visitors and security page 12 attendance page 12 the curriculum page13 other aspects of the curriculum page 17 special educational needs page 18 free breakfast provision page 20 healthy schools status page 20 pastoral care page 20 newsletter page 23 prefects page 23 school council page 23 uniform page 24 jewelle y page 24 school meals page 24 clothing allowance page 24 water page 24 milk page 25 transport page 25 christmas and summer fayres page 25 pupil comments page 26 parent comments page 28 data protection act page 30 the victory primary school page 4

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information the victory primary school allaway avenue paulsgrove portsmouth po6 4qp tel 02392 001160 e-mail admin1@thevictory.portsmouth.sch.uk director for children s services mr julian wooster portsmouth education office civic offices guildhall square portsmouth po1 2be tel 023 92841202 times of day early years and key stage 1 8:55am ­ 12:15pm 12:15pm ­ 1:15pm 1:15pm ­ 3:15pm lunch key stage 2 8:55am ­ 12:30pm 12:30pm ­ 1:15pm 1:15pm ­ 3:20pm children should not arrive at school before 8:45am the school office is normally open between 8:00am and 4:30pm the victory primary school page 5

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teaching staff headteacher peter sykes deputy headteacher james munt senco/language unit manager penny sherwood leadership year 6 lucy faulkner louise ball emma lamb johan wessels paul craig kath bunce jenni gibson kim radlett stacey appleton sarah read cheryl collins sophy tudge karen featherstone kate couldwell cheryl humphrey charlotte meaden emma james lucy jones naomi twiss zoe lyndon jackie rapley year leader class teacher support teacher year leader/leadership class teacher asst headteacher year leader class teacher year leader class teacher year leader class teacher year leader class teacher asst.headteacher/year leader class teacher class teacher class teacher class teacher class teacher year 5 year 4 year 3 year 2 year 1 eyfs language unit ecar ppa sports kath unitt co-ordinator the victory primary school page 6

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non teaching staff business manager jill newton leadership network manager john lacey asst senco sandy wyatt class support belinda bevan deb black sharon broad lesley chapman lorraine devine michelle durow alison eaton may edwards karen gauntlett gill hansler sue hansler teresa harris louisa hawkins vicky hopgood deb jones maggs kelly louise ainsworth jane cragg margaret longhurst sue reader sharon binns donna findlay ruth houghton sharon wood bev allen senior asst jenny clover chris groves rosemary hart jenette houghton michelle lucas tammy mcphail caroline mellish patsy phillips carol ohm jackie law home family link worker site manager asst site manager cleaners lisa leavers sarah lovelock sarah mcquilken kevin midgley jackie owen claire pellett sue pinney claire robins sarah sadler annette shires audrey smylie carol stephen libby van der lugt heidi westbrook maria wood sharon wood natasha charles learning mentors steve cooper rob mellish pat ardrey karen egan barry jenson jane tewkesbury admin finance support supervisory assistants primary mental health worker the victory primary school page 7

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school governors chairperson david wilson local authority nia carr david horne vice chairperson linda jenkins community gillian beadle rosemary hart brian mcclarin parent angela burton karen drysdale marie honess kate packham tammy pye associate member james munt ­ deputy headteacher staff susan pinney penny sherwood peter sykes headteacher johannes wessels sandy wyatt clerk brenda burnett all governors can be contacted c/o the victory primary school governors normally hold office for four years the committees of the governing body meet half termly the full governing body usually meets once a term but will meet more regularly if necessary there are currently 3 governor vacancies as follows local authority x 1 community x 1 parent x 1 the victory primary school page 8

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our school the victory primary school is a brand new school on the outskirts of portsmouth that serves a lively and cohesive community we opened on 1st of november 2010 and have settled into our fantastic facilities very well we are the best equipped school in the area and are very proud of all the facilities we are able to offer the children and our community these include state of the art sound and lighting equipment that we use to best effect in our school productions we currently stage four productions a year allowing all the children the chance to perform we also have cutting edge ict equipment and have over 200 laptops in the school for children to use and interactive smart whiteboards in every classroom this is complimented by an array of other equipment ranging from animation and microscope software to a new interactive floor in our activity studio the school is set on a large plot and we are fortunate enough to have two large playgrounds and five smaller playgrounds in the school in the coming year we are installing new play equipment for all ages across the school grounds we also have an all-weather pitch which we can use for outdoor games and community use we strive to match our outstanding facilities and technology with outstanding provision for the children in our school the victory primary school page 9

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admissions policy the victory primary school feeds the local community of paulsgrove and portchester although any child can be admitted if there is space in the school to apply parents will be asked to complete the appropriate form catchment areas for secondary school are arranged to where the family lives rather than primary school attended in the autumn of each year the primary school will send out notification of the secondary school designated to them if families wish to choose a different school for their child they should apply to the portsmouth education office the school has adopted the la admissions policy which is available on request from the headteacher if the victory is oversubscribed applications will be considered first according to the following priorities in the order set out below 1 children who are looked after by a local authority i.e in their care or provided with accommodation by the local authority for a continuous period of more than 24 hours 2 children who have significant medical physical or psychological condition evidence must be attached applications under this criterion must be supported by written evidence from the medical professional involved stating clearly why the preferred school is the most appropriate for the child and reasons why other schools in the city are inappropriate all applications received under this category are considered by a multi-disciplinary team of the local authority 3 children whose parents have a religious and philosophical conviction for attending the school relevant evidence must be attached to with the application form this would usually be a letter of support from the religious leader the evidence must clearly state why the school is the most appropriate for the child and reasons why other schools in the city are inappropriate 4 children living within the school s designated catchment area if the school cannot admit all applications from the catchment area priorities 5i to v will be used 5 children living outside the school s catchment area in the following priority order i children who have a brother or sister living in the same household already on roll and who will still be attending the following academic year note ­ this category does include step-brothers/step-sisters adoptive brothers/sisters living within the same household or children whose parents are married or cohabiting and live together within the same household ii children who live closest to the school based on the shortest distance from home to school measured `as the crow flies this distance will be used where necessary to prioritise application note ­ should a school be oversubscribed from within the criteria 5 i above then distances as given in 5 ii will be used to prioritise applications within these categories should there be two or more identical distances requiring prioritisation this will be done by casting lots the victory primary school page 10

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pupils with statements of special educational needs the admissions code states children with statements of special educational needs that name a school in the statement are required to be admitted to the school that is named the governing body even where it is the admission authority does not have the right to refuse admission children with a school named in their statement of special educational need will have priority for admission over and above all other admission applications and will be included in the admissions allocation process fair access protocol the local authority has a fair access protocol which prioritises admissions for certain categories of school age children this protocol relates to admission applications throughout the year the protocol will take priority above the school s admission policy for those on a school s waiting list and the la may require schools to admit above their published admission limit distance measurement distances will be measured using city council s geographical information system gis the local land and property gazetteer llpg unique property reference co-ordinates will be used to represent the school whilst home co-ordinates will be primarily derived from the llpg with ordnance survey s address-point product used as support catchment area further details of our school s catchment area will be provided in `admission to primary and secondary schools ­ information for parents 2011/12 and on the council s website contact with the school parents are welcome to contact the school at any time if they have any concerns or questions most concerns can be addressed by a conversation with your child s teacher a short note or a telephone call otherwise appointments can be made for all members of staff when a parent needs to see a member of staff urgently the leadership team will usually be available parents are asked to bear in mind that the beginnings and ends of the school day are our busiest and there may be a short wait before someone becomes available pupils records portsmouth schools keep careful records on the development and progress of each of their pupils in primary schools these are on a standard city wide system which helps to make sure that when children are transferred from school to school as they get older all the necessary information can go with them each secondary school keeps similar records there are two main reasons for keeping records on children in school firstly it is important that the school has the facts concerning the child e.g who he/she is how old where he/she lives etc secondly teachers need to record how and what each pupil has learned so that progress can be maintained portsmouth records are marked `confidential as they are not open documents the victory primary school page 11

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they are `confidential to the school and the child s parents or guardians parents may within the arrangements made by the school ask to read their child s records but it will probably be most helpful if progress is discussed in a general way with the child s teacher when a fuller explanation can be given freedom of information foi with effect from 1st january 2005 anyone has the right to request any information held by our school foi is about being open with our information it is good for the victory to be open and to share information freely this gives parents more confidence in us it helps you to trust us to make a good job of running the school and educating your children foi covers any information that the victory holds or that a third party holds on our behalf it can be in any form e.g letters e-mails photos cctv audio etc the victory has to provide the information in 20 working days unless exemptions apply despite foi personal data is still covered by the data protection act and therefore we will not give personal information to anyone who does not have the right to see it our foi lead officer is mrs jill newton please address any enquiries to her school website our school website can be found at www.thevictoryprimary.co.uk the website is a useful tool for all parents in the school and for prospective parents interested in the school it has up to date information and newsletters and has many photos from all the different activities the children engage in the website has a link to twitter and you can follow the school on twitter and it also has a login link to the vle virtual learning environment the vle will be developed during the coming year and will be a resource that children can access from home which will have information activities and homework on that will further help children in their lessons we are always interested to hear the views of parents and other members of the school community so there is a `contact us link on the website that allows you to give us feedback and suggestions for ideas visitors and security we ask all visitors to report to reception situated at the main entrance to sign the visitor s book and wear a visitor s badge all staff and children are asked to help visitors by enquiring what is the purpose of their visit attendance at the victory primary school we currently have 449 children registered since opening in september 2010 until may 2011 our attendance was 94 of the 6 absences 4.4 were authorised and 1.6 unauthorised we actively encourage excellent attendance by celebrating 100 attendance for a class with a special nonuniform day children s 100 attendance with special certificates and yearly 100 attendance with a trophy as well as through our behaviour and attendance medals we are also fortunate to have working one day a week from september 2011 an educational welfare officer who will work to support the school children and parents with issues regarding attendance the victory primary school page 12

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the curriculum the victory primary school aims to deliver a broad and creative curriculum that meets the requirements of the national curriculum prepares the children for later life and engages their interest in the wider world the national curriculum divides subjects into two areas core subjects literacy numeracy science ict and re and foundation subjects history geography art music pe design technology pshe and citizenship core subjects early years the eyfs is a single quality framework to support children s learning and development from birth to 5 years the eyfs is delivered through a well-planned play based approach to learning and development for all children learning begins at birth the eyfs will help practitioners provide appropriate play experience to enable your child to develop in all areas the activities that are provided for young children will underpin the skills they need to work towards the early learning goals in the following at the end of their reception year at school · communication language literacy · personal social emotional development · problem solving reasoning · creative development · physical development · knowledge understanding of the world all areas are of equal importance and many activities will cover many of the areas each area is divided up into stages of development and practitioners are able to identify resources and learning opportunities for individual children dependant on their development needs the eyfs also encourages practitioners parents and carers to work together to help children develop to their full potential literacy we place high emphasis on reading and writing these skills underpin every part of the curriculum and are key skills for future learning children receive a daily literacy session based upon the renewed national literacy framework as well as a weekly phonics session for which they are grouped according to ability this session builds on and revises phonics knowledge and skills begun in key stage 1 there is also a further session to support speaking and listening handwriting and extra time for longer writing tasks every class has a guided reading session at the beginning of the afternoon four days a week to improve reading and comprehension skills we make good use of our well-stocked and attractive library and encourage every child to take a book home to read every day children who are identified as having particular weaknesses in literacy are given additional support through programmes such as wellington square the further literacy strategy and catch-up the victory primary school page 13

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numeracy maths is a core subject and as such all children receive daily discreet lessons in the subject except in eyfs where children develop the skills they need through play-based activities as a school we follow the national curriculum and primary framework for mathematics the learning takes place in a variety of ways including whole class sessions group work and individual application of skills children learn through the use of practical equipment to support problem solving investigation oral participation and written methods where possible maths is also included across the curriculum and in our topic work for example in design technology pe and science children are taught about the importance of maths to their lives and future economic wellbeing they are taught to use a variety of different strategies to solve problems and are encouraged to record their work in a variety of ways appropriate to their age and ability children who have special educational needs or are identified as not making progress receive extra support using intervention materials both in and outside of the normal maths lesson children should receive weekly or biweekly maths homework depending on their age and parents are encouraged to help their children at home with this as well as practising skills such as telling the time and counting science science is taught weekly in either an extended afternoon or two separate sessions we follow the qca schemes of work which use a topic-based approach to the subject as well as teaching scientific facts we aim to ensure that children understand scientific investigations and understand how to plan and carry out experiments before analysing the results and drawing conclusions as a core subject children will have the opportunity to access excellent resources and to use interactive whiteboard programs they will also be taught in a fun creative and inspiring way to release every child s potential ict the school benefits from an air-conditioned ict suite with high speed internet access and an interactive whiteboard this allows us to deliver a curriculum that teaches children skills that they can then apply in other subjects children follow a planned progression of work which covers word processing spreadsheets multimedia presentations effective use of the internet and control technology every class has its own networked computer and interactive whiteboard which are used daily these allow ict to be used to enhance teaching and learning in all other subject areas other ict equipment such as cameras are used to support the wider curriculum the victory primary school page 14

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