2014 Prospectus. The Wooldale Centre for Learning Wootton Fields Northampton NN4 6TP

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1 The Wooldale Centre for Learning Wootton Fields Northampton NN4 6TP Tel: Fax: A community school for students aged 4-18 DfES No. 928/4005 Principal: Tony Downing Chair of Governors: David Atkinson Number on Roll: 1894 Prospectus 2014

2 A school for the community A growing school Caroline Chisholm School is at the heart of The Wooldale Centre for Learning. The Centre is a place for everyone in the community. Northamptonshire County Council recognised the need for a new school because of the rapid growth in Wootton, Wootton Fields and Grange Park. They also recognised that a new community needs a focal point, a place to meet and relax as well as a place to learn. Governors at the Centre for Learning have worked very closely with County Council officers to make sure that plans for the Centre are forward-looking and ambitious. Governors represent parents and children s interests. They are particularly keen to ensure that this is a happy school, where expectations are high and students can learn at the pace which best suits them. Governors have also helped with the selection and appointment of staff. We have been able to attract excellent colleagues to work here. As the school grows, new teachers and support staff join each year and Governors help to make sure that we maintain the high quality of appointments we have achieved so far. The Centre for Learning is designed to help parents with their younger children as well as their school-age children. There is a nursery as well as an out-of-hours club. There are also community seminar rooms, a recently extended café, a conference room, lecture theatre, drama studio, a newly modelled learning resources centre and a full range of sports facilities something for everyone. We recently improved our range of facilities in performing arts and PE with the opening of a new drama studio and multi-gym suite in October of this year In the evenings there are a wide range of sporting and cultural activities and evening classes. Further details of these activities can be obtained from Kajima on School opened in September We currently have 1894 students on roll. With the development of two form entry throughout our Primary phase and a little more growth in our Sixth Form, it is anticipated that this will rise shortly to about 2000 students. For September 2014, there are 240 places in Year 7, including students who are currently in our Year 6. We anticipate 190 places in our Sixth Form for September A separate 6 th Form prospectus is available from school reception.

3 Applying for a place Students joining Year 7. Caroline Chisholm School is an academy, but Northamptonshire County Council still co-ordinates admissions for all schools. This enables you to state three preferences for secondary schools. The easiest way to get information and apply is by visiting the County Council s website and going to the section on school admissions. There is an online application form to complete. If you have any difficulty with this please contact the County Council s Admissions Team on Three principles underpin our approach to admissions: Community cohesion schools can have a powerful positive influence in fostering a sense of community and bringing together diverse groups within the community. Family cohesion it is helpful for families and supports good relationships between siblings if children from the same family can attend the same school. Continuity of learning from primary to secondary phase children s learning is enhanced and they make better progress if the curriculum is coordinated between phases and the primary and secondary schools concerned work together to plan the transition from Year 6 to Year 7. The published admission number for this year group is 240. Children who are already in Year 6 at Caroline Chisholm School at the time the allocation is made do not need to apply for places in Year 7 but they are included within the admission number of 240. Places will be allocated to pupils who have a statement of special educational needs that names the school as appropriate provision. If the number of applications exceeds the number of places remaining, priority will be given to children in the following order: 1. Children in public care (looked after children) or previously in public care*. 2. Pupils with an older brother or sister continuing at the secondary section of the school at the time of the admission of the younger child AND who live in the linked area of Grange Park, Wootton, Wootton Fields, Courteenhall, and Quinton associated with the school.** 3. Pupils who live in the linked areas of Grange Park, Wootton, Wootton Fields, Courteenhall, and Quinton associated with the school.** 4. Pupils attending the designated contributory primary schools (i.e. Preston Hedges Primary School, Woodland View Primary School and Wootton Primary School) and continuing in attendance until the final offer of places is made. 5. Pupils who will have an older brother or sister continuing at the secondary section of the school at the time of admission of the younger child. 6. Other pupils. *Evidence may be required to support an application for a child who has previously been in public care. **Grange Park is defined by the development east of Saxon Avenue bounded by the M1 to the south, and to the north by Bridge Meadow Way, Little Field and Lark Lane. Wootton Fields is defined by the A45 to the west, the B526 Newport Pagnell Road to the north, Wooldale Road to the south and the extent of the Wootton Fields development to the east and south east. The hamlet of Courteenhall and the village of Quinton lie to the east and south east respectively. Evidence may be required to support a claim to a linked area address.

4 Applying for a place [continued] Distance Tiebreaker: If the admission number is exceeded within criterion 3, priority will be given to those who live furthest away from the nearest alternative school. If the admission number is exceeded within any other criterion, priority will be given to those who live closest to the school. Years 8, 9, 10 or 11. There is presently a waiting list for these year groups. Please telephone school to discuss the arrangements. Years The Sixth Form Open Evening is scheduled for Thursday 16th January For details of the Open Evening, please telephone Kate Edwards at school. Special provision. We have designated special provision for students with a statement of educational need for autism or Asperger s Syndrome. Please see the separate section later in this prospectus..

5 What students learn and how they learn The Curriculum at Caroline Chisholm reflects our view that all young people have a right to an education which meets their individual needs and which enables them to achieve their best. We are keen to make sure that students benefit from our allthrough status, so we work hard on the transition between primary and secondary phases. We have a Business and Enterprise specialism and this means: We encourage children to think for themselves, to work in teams, to support each other s ideas and to communicate effectively with each other and with adults. ICT skills are a key part of learning. Students learn how to use computers to a high level and how to link ICT with other aspects of their learning. We have extra resources for Business, ICT and Maths courses. We have an Enterprise Centre in school which has excellent resources for learning and we also place a strong emphasis on STEM [science, technology, engineering and maths] As the children get older they learn more about the world of work and at Key Stage 4 or 5 they will gain direct experience of the workplace. Throughout school we aim to offer lessons which are varied, challenging and fun. The chart below shows the subjects students are currently studying at Key Stage 3. We regularly review our curriculum in school, in light of national changes. Some subjects currently begin GCSE courses in Year 9, but others continuing to embed their core skills in year 9 before offering GCSE courses starting in year 10. Year 7 Year 8 English English Maths Maths Science Science Spanish Spanish and French Humanities [History, Geography and RE PSHE / Citizenship] Technology [Food, Textiles, R.M. ] Visual Art Performing Arts [Drama, Music] ICT PE Humanities [History, Geography and RE PSHE / Citizenship] Technology [R.M. Food, Textiles, Graphics, Electronics] Visual Art Performing Arts [Drama, Music] ICT PE Spanish is followed by all students, but we try to give equal emphasis to French for those students who wish to pursue more than one modern foreign language. Religious education is offered as part of the Humanities programme; parents have a right to opt out of this for their child and also to opt out of school assemblies. If parents exercise this right, alternative provision will be made for students, to ensure that they are supervised and undertake appropriate alternative work. At Key Stage 4, students choose from a wide variety of options and a booklet detailing these is available separately. As well as all the national curriculum subjects, the choice also reflects our status as a Business and Enterprise Specialist School: Business Studies, Applied ICT and GCSE Computing all feature. We also offer a choice of one, two or three science GCSEs. Parents who wish to discuss the Key Stage 4 programme in detail should contact school. The Sixth Form options booklet is a separate document, available from school on request.

6 School Day After-school activities School Uniform School starts at 8.45am. The school day includes flexible lunchtime arrangements so that all staff and students have time for a proper break with good access to our dining facilities. There is a broad range of extra-curricular activities for students to choose from at lunchtimes and after school. We very much value these activities and encourage all students to take part. Activities include: Badminton Cross-Country Rugby Netball Football Basketball Hockey Athletics Cricket Rounders Tennis Table Tennis Keep Fit Orchestra Wind Band Drama and music productions KS3 Drama Club Strings Group Jazz and brass bands Rock Challenge Create Computer Club Creative Writing Computer Club for Girls A range of musical instrument lessons We have high expectations of all our students and we give them clear guidelines to follow. All students at Caroline Chisholm School wear uniform. We rely upon parents to help us make sure that all our students are smartly and appropriately dressed. Boys Caroline Chisholm School blazer Caroline Chisholm School tie White shirt Black trousers Black shoes Dark socks PE Kit Girls Caroline Chisholm School blazer White revere collar blouse Black trousers or skirt conventional cut Black shoes Dark socks / dark or tan coloured tights All students in Years 7 11 need the following items: Navy Caroline Chisholm School polo shirt Navy and gold Caroline Chisholm School rugby shirt Navy and gold socks for football, rugby and hockey Navy football / athletics shorts Short navy, black or white socks for indoor PE Trainers [indoor] Football boots / hockey boots / outdoor trainers A Caroline Chisholm School track suit is optional and is available from our suppliers. Students can wear navy/ black tracksuits over their PE kit The golden rule is that students dress smartly. Our uniform suppliers, T King Associates, operate a phone / internet ordering service for all badged and special uniform items. Our uniform can also be bought at Schoolwear Shop Ltd, Abington Square.

7 Helping students with special needs Helping students with disabilities Making school accessible Gifted and Talented students Attendance We are committed to looking after the needs of all students at Caroline Chisholm School. Our Assistant Principal, Tracey Fleming, leads our work in this area, and we have a team of learning support assistants to support individual children and work with small groups. We have specialist areas both in the primary and in the secondary areas of school for small-group and one-toone work. Students with learning difficulties have individual education plans to ensure that their needs are met. We discuss students progress regularly with parents. Where a child has a statement of educational need arising from a disability, the area special needs office will consider parents wishes in naming an appropriate school when the child transfers to secondary school. The Children and Young People s Service can offer advice on this and parents may also wish to speak to their child s current SENCO. Caroline Chisholm School has been designed to be as accessible as possible for children with physical disabilities. There are three lifts in the school, enabling wheelchair users to access all teaching areas. Steps taken to prevent disabled students from being treated less favourably than other students include arrangements to enable disabled students to take part in school trips, a school minibus with facility to accommodate a wheelchair and training for staff in working with autistic children and children with Asperger s syndrome. The school has been assessed for accessibility for students with visual impairment and recommendations arising from this will be incorporated into the accessibility plan in due course. The plan will be modified to address other access issues identified by disabled people themselves or by support services. The Disability Equality Statement is available on the school s website. Over the year, we offer a varied range of extension activities for gifted and talented students. Colleagues in feeder primary schools send us information about students with special abilities in a range of curricular areas. We regularly update our register of academic potential where their particular abilities are identified within the school curriculum and in enrichment activities as they progress through school. Parents are very welcome to give us information about exceptional abilities their children develop beyond the school curriculum as well, because it is very important to us that we get to know the abilities and talents of all our children. Our average attendance is above 95% and unauthorised absences are very rare. Most students have excellent attendance records. Schools are no longer allowed to authorise holidays in term-times and there are no exceptions to this. High attendance and academic success go hand in hand so it is particularly important that students maintain high attendance during their examination years. If a child is absent through illness for an extended period, we can send work home.

8 Assessments and exam results Keeping in touch with parents If there is a problem... We assess the children every 6-8 weeks and parents receive an assessment report at least 4 times a year. In Years 7, 8 and 9 the assessments are based on National Curriculum Levels, except where GCSE courses begin during year 9, when GCSE grades are given. In Years we use GCSE and A - level grades. As well as assessing what students have learned in each subject, we also assess their overall approach to work. Since our first cohort of exams results at GCSE in 2007 we have achieved results which are significantly above the national average and achieved our best ever outcomes in June Similarly, we are proud of a five year track record which consistently places our A-level results in the top 25% nationally, with over 100 students progressing to university annually. Information about progress is reported electronically to parents several times a year through a secure site, for which parents receive an encrypted password. One report will be a full written report and there is at least one parents evening each year. We also have information evenings to explain new courses. Our communications include a text and service for parents. We also provide a round-the-clock database of students timetables, curriculum overview, student attendance, student reports and an on-line booking service for parents evenings. This is all available through the Parent tab on our website. The Form Tutor is the first point of contact for parents. Students also have a Head of Year. Heads of Year and Form Tutors, supported by our Assistant Principals, work together to monitor students progress and address pastoral concerns; they also encourage students to be active participants in all aspects of life at Caroline Chisholm School. At the point when children transfer from primary to secondary education we have special arrangements to ensure that children can get used to their new year group before term starts. This applies not just to Caroline Chisholm students but to all the students who join us from our family of primary schools. If we believe there is a problem with your child s progress, behaviour or welfare, we will contact you to discuss the matter and we will seek your help to put things right. If you have concerns about any of these matters, your first point of contact is your child s form tutor. When your child starts at Caroline Chisholm School, we will give you all the contact details you need and if there is a problem, you will be able to call in to reception and make an appointment to see the teacher. For more serious concerns, staff such as the Vice Principal, Assistant Principal, Year Head or Special Needs Co-ordinator will contact you and you will be welcome to contact these people if you believe they can help. If, having taken these steps, you believe that there are still matters of concern, then you will be welcome to contact the Principal and, equally, the Principal will contact you if there are serious matters to discuss. However, we believe that in most cases, parents and teachers should be able to resolve any matters which arise. If you are not happy with a particular aspect of your child s education and you believe your concerns have not been addressed, then you will be welcome to write to the Principal who will investigate your concerns and respond to them. If you believe there are still outstanding issues, you can contact the school Governors by writing to the Chair of Governors at the school.

9 Examination Results Key stage 2 results 2013 Key stage 4 results Post 16 results