Key Info

bottom

Covid

In response to Covid-19 these are the details of the school's risk assessment; how the school will spend its additional 'Catch-up Funding' and the 'Contingency Plan' for remote learning if a year group or school is closed.

School Policies

Below is a list of the school policies. Should you have any further questions or cannot find what you are looking for, please contact the school staff.

Safeguarding

Arden Forest Infant School is committed to safeguarding all children.
Mrs Gunn (Headteacher) is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL). However, we also have a team of staff whose role includes being Deputy Designated Safeguarding leads.
They are:

  • Mrs Winfield
  • Miss Gailey
  • Mrs Wagstaff – Family support/Learning Mentor

We also have staff who take a lead with “Online Safety”.
They are:

  • Miss Gailey
  • Mrs Gunn

Please read our Child Protection Policy for information about how we carry out our roles as well as the protocols & procedures.

Prevent strategy

What is the Prevent Strategy?
  • Prevent is a government strategy designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes.
  • The Prevent Strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent Islamist groups and other causes.
How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?
  • From July 2015 all schools (as well as other organisations) have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism.
  • This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from any other harm.
  • Importantly, we can provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues, at an appropriate level so they better understand how to protect themselves.
What does this mean in practice at Arden Forest Infant School?

Many of the things we already do in school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy. These include:

  • Having a strong Aims and Ethos which pervades our school.
  • Focusing on core values.
  • Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity.
  • Challenging prejudices and racist comments.
  • Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity.
  • Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils, as well as British values such as democracy.

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using monitoring and filters on the internet to make sure they can’t access extremist and terrorist material, or by vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils.
Different schools will carry out the Prevent duty in different ways, depending on the age of the children and the needs of the community.

Isn’t my child too young to learn about extremism?

The Prevent strategy is not just about discussing extremism itself, which may not be appropriate for younger children. It is also about teaching children values such as tolerance and mutual respect. This is what we will focus on at Arden Forest.
The school will make sure any discussions are suitable for the age and maturity of the children involved.

Is extremism really a risk in our area?

Extremism can take many forms, including political, religious and misogynistic extremism. Some of these may be a bigger threat in our area than others.
We will endeavour to give children the skills to protect them from any extremist views they may encounter, now or later in their lives.

Further information

Contact the school - If you have any questions or concerns about the Prevent Strategy and what it means for your child, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
See our policies - You will find more details about radicalisation in our safeguarding policy, available on our website. We also have information about spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and British values.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to schools?
Key Terms
  • Extremism – vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values.
  • Ideology – a set of beliefs
  • Terrorism – a violent action against people or property, designed to create fear and advance a political, religious or ideological cause
  • Radicalisation – the process by which a person comes to support extremism and terrorism

Behaviour


At Arden Forest Infant School we work hard to develop positive relationships in order that the children have and demonstrate excellent behaviours. All children have the opportunities to collaboratively work together in their school families: Birch, Hazel, Oak and Willow to collect “gems for the jar”. Equally at lunchtimes the children can earn “Golden Tickets” as rewards for their manners, behaviours and good attitudes.

We believe that a combination of “high warmth and high boundaries” enables the children to feel safe as well as understand the expectations of them at school. Bullying is not tolerated. If there are any concerns, please raise with the class teacher in the first instance or send an email to the office staff who will pass this on to the most appropriate person. Please see our Behaviour Policy for further details.

Ofsted

Good - 2023

Arden Forest Infant School achieved GOOD status in our November 2022 inspection.

Find and compare schools using the DFE performance table link.

Read the report

  • OFSTED REPORT NOV 2022

Our page on ofsted.gov.uk

Ofsted Website

Financial Information

We are required to publish financial information, in accordance with the latest Government guidance, stating how many school employees (if any) have a gross annual salary of £100,000 or more:

Arden Forest Infant School has no individuals earning over £100,000.

View our school’s financial data on the government’s Schools Financial Benchmarking website, and see how it compares with other similar schools and establishments: Schools’ Financial Benchmarking

Pupil Premium

The Pupil Premium is additional funding for the purposes of improving the quality of education of disadvantaged pupils. All children in the infant years (Reception, Year One and Year Two) are eligible for free school meals therefore, parents will need to apply separately for the pupil premium for your child’s school.

The Pupil Premium Strategy  and review shows how Arden Forest has planned to use this years funding, as well as how last years funding was used.
The review also identifies the impact of this funding on improving the outcomes and progress of the disadvantaged pupil cohort.

Sports Funding

Arden Forest Infant School, like all schools in England, receive funding to enable schools to provide opportunity for all young people to live healthy and active lives.

The Sports Premium Funding plan gives details about how the school plans to use this funding. The review also identifies the impact of this funding on improving the quality of PE and other physical opportunities which supports the wider personal development of pupils.