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Our School

OUR
SCHOOL

Phoenix Primary School is nestled in central Chatham, close to rail and bus routes.

Chatham is part of the unitary authority of Medway which incapsulates the towns of Chatham, Gillingham, Strood, Rainham and historic Rochester. We are privileged to be surrounded by history and culture from the castle and cathedral at Rochester and the historic dockyard where Nelson’s HMS Victory was built, to the Theatres in Chatham and the many state-of-the-art sporting facilities across the towns. We have access to a rich and diverse heritage steeped in tradition and more modern customs and celebrations.

From 2021 Phoenix has become an all-through Primary school who are part of the Beyond Schools Trust. We are a medium sized trust and a family of five schools, Fort Pitt Grammar School, Thomas Aveling School, Robert Napier School and Balfour Junior School. Within our Trust we collaborate and support each other in many ways for the benefit of the children in our care.

Our school team at Phoenix will work hard to ensure that your child enjoys their time at our school and leaves ready to start a new chapter in their lives. While attending our school your child will be encouraged to be independent, to persevere, be honest and caring, whilst feeling safe and valued. If your child works hard, they will be able to achieve their very best, becoming positive and successful learners who are ready to face the world equipped with skills they can use for the rest of their life.

I place a strong emphasis on building relationships with our children, parents and their families. At Phoenix there is a dedicated team whose job it is to support children and their families so that all children can attend school and receive an education. We operate an open-door policy and if there is anything we can do to support your child, or you have any concerns, please come into school for a chat with myself or one of my team.

We are committed to providing an exciting education for all pupils. We aim for children to achieve the best and be the best they can.

Values Based Education and Character Education.

We are extremely proud that we hold the highest accolade of being an Enhanced Values Based Education School and more recently, in June 2022, we were assessed by ACE to become a Character Education Plus school, which is the highest award they present also.

Please click on the icons to see the full reports.

At Phoenix we promote an educational philosophy based on valuing self, others and the environment through the consideration of an ethical values vocabulary.

Values are principles that guide behaviour and choices. At Phoenix, adults model values and give time for reflective practices. We believe that this empowers individuals to be effective learners and good citizens. The Values that we teach help pupils develop their character, to know that individual differences should be valued, to be resilient, reflective, to have empathy and respect for one another.

Our Values Based Education philosophy underpins our work to actively promote fundamental British values of democracy, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those from all faiths, backgrounds and cultures. A rounded programme of assemblies and events promote children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, enabling them to develop their own moral and ethical compass to guide what is right and what is wrong.

OUR
VALUES

We have twenty-four core school values that guide children's choices, behaviour and learning. These values are the basis of all our values teaching and will help children understand connected values.

These values have been chosen by carefully observing and discussing which of our previous values have worked well and which ones would help to develop our children the most morally and educationally.

HOW WE TEACH THE CORE VALUES

Each term we concentrate on one of the values, this is through assemblies, and it is threaded through the curriculum. This is supported by the values ladders which sets out the aims for each year group in the cycle.

The values are celebrated termly where we invite nominations for children and staff who have shown those virtues and these are presented at a special assembly where parents are invited.

Our staff and children quickly use the language of values because they are embedded and they become part of our discussions. Teaching of values is cyclical, we return to each value frequently to deepen their understanding and implementation.

BRITISH VALUES AT PHOENIX PRIMARY SCHOOL

In June 2014, David Cameron wrote an article that emphasised the important role that British values can play in education. How well a school promotes such values is now an aspect of Ofsted’s inspection process. Ofsted defines fundamental British values as ‘democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs’.

At Phoenix, British values are promoted in so much of what we do, not least during our school assemblies and Religious Education in a whole-school approach. The values taught in these sessions are integral to our school ethos and they complement British values.

As well as actively promoting British values, the opposite also applies: we would actively challenge pupils, staff or parents expressing opinions contrary to fundamental British values, including ‘extremist’ views.

Our staff acknowledge that exposure of children to extremist ideology can hinder their social development and educational attainment alongside posing a very real risk that they could support or participate in an act of violence. Radicalisation of young people can be compared to grooming for sexual exploitation. Safeguarding against exposure to radicalisation and extremism is no different to safeguarding against any other vulnerability and should be approached in the same way as protecting children from other risks. We are in the process of arranging e-learning sessions for all staff to enable them to to identify people who may be at risk to being drawn into terrorism, and how to refer them into the Channel process, thus fulfilling their Prevent duty.

Ethos & Values

Our Staff

OUR
STAFF

Mrs M Ireland-Hubbert

Mrs J Studniarz-Thring

Miss E Parsons

Miss C Beer

Mrs E Branscombe-Ling

Mrs E Barnwell

Miss S Groom

Miss J Penn

Miss E Roworth

Miss A Foster-Johnson

Mr N Roper

Miss R Lakha

Miss G Evans

Miss R Page

Headteacher

Deputy Headteacher & Inclusion Manager

Assistant Headteacher

Designated Safeguarding Lead

SENCo / Class Teacher

FLO / Pastoral & Wellbeing Support

Pastoral & Wellbeing Support / HLTA

Office Coordinator

Attendance & Admissions Coordinator

Receptionist / Admin Assisstant
Site Manager

Upper KS2 Phase Lead / Class Teacher

Lower KS2 Phase Lead / Class Teacher

EYFS & KS1 Phase Lead / Class Teacher

Miss G Harris

Mrs L Page

Miss K Trotman

Mrs S Dhaliwal

Miss H Smith

Miss S Line

Miss S Farne

Miss E Callow

Mrs W White

Miss H Lawrance

Teacher in Training

Class Teacher

Ms C McCormack

Mrs C Jenner

Miss S Cairns

Mrs K Wells

Mr B Hodges

Mr J Vine

Mrs M Kakol

Mrs G Vickery

Ms L Cocianga

Mrs T Coulson

Ms S Kapija

Miss J Spillett

Mr B Shawsmith

Teaching Assistant

HLTA

Teaching Assistant

HLTA

Teaching Assistant

HLTA

Teaching Assistant

HLTA

Teaching Assistant

Mrs M Munday

Mrs K Jackson

Miss E Cullen

Miss B Harding

Midday Meals Supervisor

Mrs S Woolmer

Mr A Lowes

Mrs A Przybyla

Mrs O Oladipo

Cleaning Supervisor

Cleaner

GOVERNORS

SCHOOL
GOVERNORS

PHOENIX PRIMARY SCHOOL LOCAL GOVERNING BODY

The Beyond Schools Trust Board has the overall legal responsibility for all aspects of the academies schools and delegates specific responsibilities to the individual Local Governing Body (LGB) as stated in its Scheme of Delegation.

Currently some members of the Trust Board sit on the LGB of each school.

For more information about our Trust and governance structure, please contact office@phoenixprimary.com

Local Governing Body and Business Interests

Local Governing Body Attendance

Name

Mrs Mel Ireland-Hubbert

Mr Nick Smith

Mrs Nikki Drury

Mrs Barbara Fincham

Mr Rob Wilkin

Mrs Jane Wright

Ms Katarzyna Wronowska

Position

Headteacher

Chair of Governors (Community)

Governor (Parent)

Governor (Community)

Governor (Parent)

Governor (Community)

Governor (Parent)

Appointed by

Trustees

Former Governors (Resigned or Ended Term in the Past Year)

Mrs Carol Winn – 01.08.23
Mrs Denise Ford – 14.02.23
Mrs Sarah Phillipson – 07.02.23
Mr Vince Maple – 24.03.23

SAFEGUARGING

SAFEGUARDING

Our school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We strive to ensure that consistent effective safeguarding procedures are in place to support families, children and staff at school.

THE SAFEGUARDING TEAM

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mel Ireland – Headteacher.

The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead is Claire Beer.

Our Governor, Barbara Fincham, has governor responsibility for Safeguarding.

Melissa Ireland-Hubbert

Headteacher
DSL

Georgia Evans

Lower KS2 Phase Lead

Claire Beer

DSL

Elizabeth Branscombe-Ling

SENCo & Class Teacher

Jolanta Studniarz-Thring

Deputy Headteacher & Inclusions Manager

Eirini Parsons

Assistant Headteacher

Rachael Page

EYFS & KS1 Phase Lead

SAFETY INFORMATION FOR VISITORS

If you visit the school, we hope that your visit will be enjoyable, informative and safe. Please help us by reading and complying with the guidance contained within this page, which is intended to ensure your health and safety whilst at Phoenix Primary School. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact a member of staff who will be happy to help. Our Safeguarding and Child protection Policy covers everything you need to know before and during your visit.

FIRE AND EVACUATION

The alarm is a continuous bell. You must leave the building immediately by the nearest fire exit
The assembly point is the playground, please go straight there and let a member of staff know that you are present
Do not take any personal risks
You must not re-enter the building until told it is safe to do so.

If you need first aid or feel unwell please report to the school’s Reception where you can be seen by a qualified first-aider.

Contractors must ensure that they follow any health and safety guidelines that may apply. By doing so, you will assist us in meeting the requirements of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974

SECURITY

All visitors and contractors coming into the school must sign in at Reception using our electronic system. Please ensure your visitors pass and lanyard are clearly visible at all times.

If you are going to be working unsupervised with students, you will be asked to produce your DBS certificate, together with proof of identification, i.e. passport or driving licence. Without this you may not be granted access.

REPORTING CONCERNS ABOUT PUPIL WELFARE

If you have a concern about the welfare or safety of a child, please do not hesitate to contact the school’s safeguarding team. The email addresses of the Safeguarding team are available on this website, or you can call the school office and speak to one of them to confidentially report a concern.

If you want to report an incident or suspicion of abuse, you can contact:

Medway Children’s Services: Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on 01634 334 466

Local Authority Designated Officer: 01634 331 065

Police – call 999 in an emergency or otherwise 101

NSPCC Whistleblowing: email: help@nspcc.org.uk or call 0800 028 0285

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).

This is the UK’s national police agency for dealing with child protection, particularly online abuse. If you’re worried about someone’s behaviour towards a child online, you can report this online at www.ceop.police.uk

FAMILY LIAISON OFFICER (FLO)

Erika Barnwell is our Family Liaison Officer, she is able to offer advice and support to our children and families.

She helps overcome any difficulties or barriers which may affect the children’s well-being and experience of school, for example: working on friendship issues, behaviour problems, attendance or self-esteem, through to family worries such as debt, bereavement and relationship changes.

If you have any concerns or need help or advice please call the school on 01634 829009 or email ebarnwell@phoenixprimary.com or pop in to see me, I am in school Monday – Friday between 08:00 and 15:00

DATA PROTECTION OFFICER

The Data Protection Officer is responsible for overseeing data protection within the School so if you do have any questions in this regard, please do contact them on the information below: –

Data Protection Officer: Craig Stilwell
Company: Judicium Consulting Ltd
Address: 72 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 6AE
Email: dataservices@judicium.com
Web: www.judiciumeducation.co.uk
Telephone: 0203 326 9174