Effective assessment provides information to improve teaching and learning. Teachers, children and parents can work together to raise standards because there are thorough, open assessment procedures in place.

On-going teacher assessment is the most effective way of knowing how a child is progressing. We supplement teacher assessment with end-of-term tests – these are used to inform (never decide) the teacher assessments. In addition, at various stages, there are national assessments to be carried out, too, such as Year 1 phonics screening ‘checks’ and end of Key Stage 2 tests (often known as ‘SATs’).

All subjects are assessed by teacher assessment. In the core subjects, for example:

• In Reading, teachers will listen to children read (assessing their fluency and ability to cope with new words) and question the children to ensure their understanding and opinions of a text are developing. They will also use other techniques including drama, reading tasks and reading comprehensions.
• In Writing, teachers will consider pupils’ written work in books and also their contributions to whole-class and group work. As well as in the English lesson, children write in topic work and therefore teachers are able to assess children’s ability to effectively use their writing skills in wider contexts.
• In Maths, teachers can assess skills and knowledge through methods such as marking written work, questioning (especially open-ended questions) and observing practical work.

See our age-related expectations for more information about core and foundation subjects.

Reporting to pupils and parents

We believe that feedback to pupils is very important as it tells them how well they have done and what they need to do next in order to improve their work. Pupils have many opportunities to reflect and discuss their progress.

We have a range of strategies that keep parents and carers fully informed of their child’s progress in school.

Each term we offer parents and carers the opportunity to meet their child’s teacher and discuss learning and progress. During the summer term, we give all parents and carers a written report of their child’s progress and achievements during the year. In this report we also identify target areas for the next school year.

Please contact the school if you have questions or comments about any aspect of your child’s work. Staff are nearly always available for a quick discussion before or after school, or an appointment can be made for a longer meeting.

Read our Assessment Policy for Key Stage 1 and 2 here.

The link between attendance and attainment is clear: just 40% of persistently absent children achieve expected standards in Key Stage 2, compared with 84% of pupils who were regular attenders. But attendance is important for more than just attainment: regular school attendance can help positive peer relationships and this in turn helps mental health and wellbeing.

It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school when they’re unwell. Check out:

• NHS guidance: Is my child too ill for school?
• Healthier Together guidance: Should my child go to school/nursery today?

Healthier Together have also put together this handy poster with links about different common illnesses.

Read our Attendance Policy.

If your child has to miss school, please tell us as soon as possible on the first day of absence. This is so we know your child is safe. Leave of absence will be given for attendance at medical or dental appointments or for examinations in music, dance etc. However, where possible such appointments should be made outside of school hours.

School leaders and other staff at St James’ CE Primary School are always happy to hear your views, comments, questions and concerns. This way, we can avoid any problem escalating into something more serious. Read more about opportunities to raise questions, comments and concerns.

Complaints are rare at St James’ CE Primary. However, all schools are required to have a complaints procedure in place. Our policy sets out the school’s approach to dealing with parental concerns and complaints. It also contains a form which you may find helpful to use to submit your complaint.

We value good home/school relations and will, therefore, do everything we can to establish and maintain them. This includes seeking to resolve any concerns or complaints promptly, and to the satisfaction of all concerned. We welcome feedback on what parents feel we do well, or not so well, as a school. We consider carefully all feedback, whether positive or negative, and review our policies and practices accordingly.

We treat all concerns and complaints seriously and courteously and advise parents and others of the school’s procedures for dealing with their concerns. In return, we expect parents and other complainants to behave respectfully towards all members of the school community. In particular, any disagreement with the school should not be expressed inappropriately or in front of pupils.

The majority of concerns from parents, carers and others are handled under the following general procedures. The procedure is divided into three stages:

• The informal stage aims to resolve the concern through informal contact at the appropriate level in school.
• Stage one is the first formal stage at which complaints are considered by the Head of School or Head of Federation.
• Stage two is the next stage once stage one has been worked through. It involves a complaints appeal panel of governors.

How each of these stages operates is explained in our policy.

Read the Department for Education’s guidance for schools on best practice.

The aim of this policy is to set out what charges will be levied for activities, what remissions will be implemented and the circumstances under which voluntary contributions will be requested from parents. The Governing Body of the federation are responsible for determining the content of this policy and the Head of Federation for implementation. Any determination with respect to individual parents will be considered jointly by the Head of Federation and Governing Body.

Read the Charging and Remissions Policy.

Read more about school dinners and charges for these.

For all our children, we want St James’ CE Primary to be a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe. This includes children who are looked after by the local authority and those who have previously been looked after.

These children receive additional funding – this is called pupil premium. It’s important that the specific needs of children who are looked after and children who have previously been looked after are understood by staff and reflected in how we use the pupil premium funding.

Each school has a member of staff who is the designated teacher for these children – at St James’ CE Primary, this is Miss Beatson, the Head of School. Her role is to promote educational achievement for these children and support other staff members to do this, too.

The provision for children who are looked after is overseen by a ‘virtual school head’. This person is a local authority officer responsible for promoting the educational achievement of the children who are looked after in the authority. They work across schools to monitor and support these pupils as if they were in a single school. They provide support for staff and parents or carers, too.

Each school has a significant role in working with other agencies to make sure the children and their families experience the stability that they need and deserve. We closely work with the virtual school head to agree how pupil premium funding for children who are looked after can most effectively be used to improve and sustain their attainment.

Call us on 01937 583 379 or send an email to Natalie Beatson, the designated teacher for children who are looked after: stjamesheadofschool@spherefederation.org

Sphere Federation aims to ensure that all personal data is collected, stored and processed in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).

Our policies apply to all personal data, regardless of whether in paper or electronic format. They meet the requirements of the UK GDPR and the provisions of the DPA 2018. In addition, the policies comply with regulation 5 of the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005, which gives parents the right of access to their child’s educational record.

• Data Protection Policy
• Privacy note: children and families
• Privacy note: governors
• Privacy note: job applicants
• Privacy note: visitors
• Privacy note: staff
• Freedom of Information Policy

We want St James’ CE Primary to be a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe for everyone. We are committed to advancing equality and promoting respect for difference and diversity in everything that we do. We are committed to ensuring equality of education and opportunity for all pupils, staff, parents and carers. We aim to develop a culture of inclusion and diversity in which all those connected to the school feel proud of their identity and able to participate fully in school life. Doing so will help to ensure the vision for our schools to be happy and healthy places.

Read our combined Equality Policy, Equality Objectives and Accessibility Plan.

You might also like to read more information about Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Anybody can compare a school or trust’s income and expenditure with similar establishments in England. You can view our financial data and see how it compares with others.

Schools and academies are also required to publish how many school employees (if any) have a gross annual salary of £100,000 or more. We have no employees who fall into this category.

St James’ CE Primary School is committed to reducing the barriers to sharing in school life and learning for all its pupils. Our ‘Managing Medicines’ policy sets out the steps which we take to ensure full access to learning for all our children who have medical needs and are able to attend school.

So that children who require medicines receive the support they need, and that we work within approved guidelines, we follow local and national guidance.

If medicine must be administered during the school day, parents / carers must provide full written information about their child’s medical needs – a form is available to complete.

If a child is responsible enough to carry a particular medicine eg an inhaler, permission from a parent / carer is needed.

Regarding prescription medicines, please note:

• Parents / carers should if possible administer dosages outside of the school day eg if there are three dosages per day, one first thing, one on return home and one at bedtime.
• We will only accept medicines which are essential; that is, where it would be detrimental to the child’s health not to have the medicine during the school day.
• We will not administer medicines that have not been prescribed by a doctor, dentist, nurse prescriber or pharmacist prescriber, unless it is done as part of an individual Health Care Plan. We can inform parents of this policy.
• Medicines should always be provided in the original container.
• Staff never give a non-prescribed medicine to a child unless there is specific prior written permission from the parents / carers; no medicines should be kept in children’s bags.

We want our school to be a happy and healthy place to learn.

Read the Governors’ Statement of Behavioural Principles. This relates to all: pupils, staff and parents/carers and other visitors.

Specifically for staff, we have additional policies in place, including a Code of Conduct.

Parents/carers and other visitors should check out our Questions, Comments and Concerns page, including our Home-School Positive Relationships Policy.

And for children, we have our Positive Relationships Policy includes our Anti-Bullying Policy. Central within this is choice: good choices lead to good consequences. Each teacher and their class develop their own systems of reward and praise for their class. There are whole-school positive consequences, too.

We have just three school rules for our pupils:

• We’re respectful.
• We’re ready.
• We’re safe.

Our pupils make good choices by following our school rules. Occasionally, a school rule might be broken – a bad choice. If a pupil makes a bad choice, they are given a warning – the first warning is simply a reminder of the school rules. There is time built into the series of warnings and consequences to allow a child to reflect on their choice and to explore ways to make better choices and a fresh start.

Smoking and vaping are not permitted in any part of the school’s premises and grounds.

Read the full uniform policy.

At St James’ CE Primary School, we’re proud to be members of our school community and we want all our children to feel part of our community and to represent our school. Wearing the school uniform helps us to do this.

Other items are useful, too. You can buy book bags, PE bags and hats from our uniform suppliers. Also useful are a separate bag for packed lunch (if your child does not have a school dinner) and a water bottle – any clear plastic water bottle, labelled.

Please avoid expensive items.

Only discreet (ie small, not brightly coloured) stud earrings and items that are absolutely required by a religion are allowed. Advisors recommend no earrings are worn for PE; therefore, we will ask your child to remove earrings before the lesson and put them back in after the lesson. This will be carried out by the child. If they are unable to remove or put their earrings back in by themselves, they must not wear them on the day they have PE.

A watch or step counter is allowed. Any device that connects to the internet (eg a smart watch) or that can record (including taking photos) is not allowed for safeguarding reasons.

We don’t accept responsibility for any loss or damage to an individual’s property.

To reduce lost property, clearly mark all clothing, bags, bottles etc with your child’s name. Found lost property is stored in the school office.

Our uniform suppliers include:

• Kool Kidz, 17 North Street, Wetherby, 01937 589 422.
• Myclothing.com, https://myclothing.com/
• Rawcliffes Schoolwear Centre, 617-619 Roundhay Road, Leeds, LS8 4AR; 0113 249 4025 https://www.rawcliffesleeds.co.uk/

Check out Leeds School Uniform Exchange – there’s lots of great quality second hand school uniform in Leeds – and much of it’s going to waste. (We can reduce our environmental footprint by sharing uniform, too.)