Opening Statement from Chair of Governors
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the Governors Annual Report to Parents. This report represents a summary of the activities of the school for the academic year from September 2022 to July 2023. I hope that you will find it useful and interesting.
The termly newsletters and school media pages should have kept parents aware of the wide range of activities that go on in Georgetown on a termly basis. All involve a great deal of effort and commitment from staff, pupils, governors and parents working in partnership in the best interest of the school.
It is important for you to address any comments that you have about the school to the Governing Body. The Governors very much value your views.
Kindest regards,
Mrs Johanna D’Amato
Chair of the Governing Body
Contextual Information
Georgetown Primary School was opened in May 1989 and is situated in the southern area of Tredegar town. It replaced the old school building which had served the community of Georgetown since 1877. Since the building of the premises on the main site, a steady expansion of pupil numbers resulted in the need for a new Key Stage 2 block of eight classrooms being built on the lower site replacing the demountable classrooms. The nursery opened in September 2003.
Our school caters for pupils aged 3-11 years old. The nursery provision caters for 80 pupils (40 Full Time Equivalent), this is organised into a.m. and p.m. groups. A 420 place primary provision caters for pupils age 4-11 and they are organised into 14 classes. We currently have 432 pupils on roll (November 2023). Most pupils transfer from Georgetown to the local secondary school which is Tredegar Comprehensive.
Members of Staff
Our Governing Body
The internal organisation of the school is the responsibility of the Headteacher in consultation with the School Governing Body. Our Governors are a group of individuals who have been elected, nominated or co-opted and are representatives of parents, teachers, ancillary staff, the LEA and the local community.
School Governors work with the Headteacher and are responsible for setting the strategic direction of the school. They meet each half term at school. Sub committees meet in addition to the full Governor meetings. The Governors are responsible for producing the Annual Report to parents.
Our Governing Body Members
Chairperson: Mrs. J D’Amato
Vice Chairperson: Mr S Baldwin
Clerk to Governors: Director of Lifelong Learning, Education Department, Anvil Court Church Street Abertillery NP13 1DB Telephone: 01495 311556
Our Chair of Governors can be contacted at the school address.
Term Dates 2023/24
Attendance Data 2022-2023
Our attendance figures for 2022-2023 can be seen below.
The school, parents and the LA’s Education Welfare Service all have a responsibility to promote the importance of regular attendance and to monitor and respond to cases of irregular attendance. In 2022-23 the Education Welfare Service (EWS) commenced face to face meetings or home visits for pupils of statutory school age, to promote good attendance. We continued to liaise with the EWS and support families to improve attendance on an individual basis.
Holiday/Leave of Absence
The Governors have agreed that holiday requests will only be authorised if a pupil’s attendance is above 93% and this is for a maximum of 10 days in one academic year. If parents/carers request a holiday then a form must be completed and sent for approval to the Headteacher.
Policies and strategies adopted by the Governing Body
The school has all statutory policies in place. These are updated regularly and any important updates shared with Governors during meetings. All policies follow statutory guidance as well as considering the school’s context and needs. Pupil safeguarding, health and wellbeing is at the heart of all policies.
Summary of Changes to the School Prospectus
Updates to the school prospectus are made on an annual basis, as and when relevant. Important changes are shared with the Governors. Changes this year have included staffing changes. Any important changes are shared with parents through Class Dojo, newsletters and information that is shared via our social media platforms.
Toilet Facilities
The school has very good toilet facilities within reach for every class in the Foundation Phase building. There is a disabled toilet and staff toilet on the ground floor. There is always access to toilet facilities throughout the day. The toilets are thoroughly cleaned in the morning and afternoon and are regularly checked throughout the day.
Toilets in the Key Stage 2 building are accessible to all pupils and are situated on the first floor. The facilities included a designated disabled toilet as well as a staff toilet. There is always access to toilet facilities throughout the day. The toilets are thoroughly cleaned in the morning and afternoon and are regularly checked throughout the day.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding of staff and pupils is of paramount importance to us, it overrides other considerations. All schools are legally required to follow the procedures of the All Wales Child Protection Procedures.
The LEA requires Headteachers to report any obvious or suspected cases of child-abuse, which includes non-accidental injury, severe physical neglect, emotional abuse and/or sexual abuse. This procedure is intended to protect children at risk.
The Child Protection Policy is available upon request. The Designated Safeguarding Lead in school is the Headteacher, Miss L Thomas and the Deputy Safeguarding Lead is the Deputy Headteacher, Miss H Kaya. Our Governor with responsibility for Safeguarding is Johanna D’Amato.
The Curriculum for Wales
The Curriculum for Wales aims to help each school develop its own curriculum, enabling their learners to develop towards the four purposes of the curriculum – the starting point and aspiration for every child and young person in Wales.
The Curriculum at Georgetown
Georgetown is committed to raising standards and providing opportunities and experiences for all to feel valued and achieve their full potential. To ensure all become lifelong learners who are ambitious capable learners, ethical informed citizens, healthy confident individuals and creative contributors of Wales and beyond.
Our aim is for our learners to be:
READY - to learn and grow
RESPONSIBLE - for themselves and for learning
RESPECTFUL - to each other and for everyone's learning
To deliver a relevant curriculum that develops learner ownership and equips them in the 4 core purposes of the Welsh Curriculum, whilst being flexible enough to deliver the 3 cross curricular disciplines; literacy, numeracy (LNF) and digital skills (DCF) which can seamlessly incorporate the Areas of Learning and Experience as they are developed.
Our Curriculum is called 'The GROW Curriculum' because at Georgetown we Recognise Outstanding Wellbeing.
Welsh Language Development
Welsh is taught as a second language. Children progressively develop their skills in oracy, reading and writing. In Foundation Phase children are introduced to the language through simple phrases and sentences, songs, poems, Welsh stories and folk tales. Key Stage 2 Welsh builds upon and expands the language previously experienced by introducing more complex language patterns. Throughout the school Welsh is used to deliver simple classroom instructions, exchange greetings and make requests.
National Literacy and Numeracy Framework
It is a statutory requirement for teachers to use the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF) as a curriculum planning tool to embed literacy and numeracy into the teaching of the curriculum.
Digital Competency Framework
We also use the Digital Competency Framework (DCF) as a planning tool to embed the teaching of digital skills into all areas of our curriculum. Digital competency skills are taught to all pupils throughout the curriculum, in line with the Curriculum for Wales. These skills are central to a young person’s success in life and are integral to learning. The competence strands we deliver are information, communication, content creation, safety and problem solving.
Curriculum Enhancement
Our school is at the centre of our community. People in the community such as local Fire Officers, Police Officers, members of the Church and others often visit us and tell us about what they do. We also visit people outside and take part in community activities such as arts and crafts and visits to our local Gym, singing carols at community events and enjoying the Harvest and Christingle Service at our local church and/or the Orpheus hall.
School Trips
We take great pride in the number of opportunities we provide for our pupils to experience learning outside of the school environment. These include trips to;
• St Fagan’s
• The Big Pit Blaenavon Heritage Museum
• Bedwellty Park
• Llancaiach Fawr
• Gilwern/Hilston/Talybont Outdoor Education Centres
• Cardiff Castle
• Brynbach Park
• Drayton Manor Park
• West Midlands Safari Park
• Eden Centre
• Heatherton
• Folly Farm
• Jump
• Cantref Farm
After School Clubs
We have an extensive programme of afterschool clubs that run termly and these have included sports clubs such as rugby, netball and football, creative clubs such as dance, arts and crafts and digital clubs including photography, IT, Minecraft and Lego. These change on a termly basis depending on need.
School Improvement
The school was last inspected by Estyn in July 2022 and the inspection report was published in August 2022 with three recommendations for improvement. The full Estyn report can be accessed here Georgetown Primary School June 2023
Our School Development plan for 2022-2023 was all based around the recommendations highlighted in the report and can be accessed HERE.
Budget Statement 2022-2023