Home >>Caldicot >>Education >> Durand Primary School Designed by the Caldicot Community Website Committee
Dear Parents, Welcome to Durand Primary School. I am sure that your child will settle quickly, be happy and achieve a very satisfying and varied education in our school. The welfare and happiness of your child is of paramount importance to us, as happy and secure children enable us to help them to develop their full potential both educationally and socially. Please contact us should a problem arise so that this can be dealt with as swiftly as possible. As parents, you obviously want the best for your child and as that is also our aim, it is important that we work closely together to achieve this. Your involvement in the school is vital not just through the P.T.A. and Parent's evenings, etc. but also, if you have the time, as extra pairs of hands in our classrooms to help with a variety of activities such as art and craft, reading, needlework etc. if you are interested in helping, we would be very pleased to hear from you. On behalf of the staff and Governing Body, welcome to Durand Primary. Yours sincerely Mrs. Rhona Edwards Headteacher Durand Primary School is a modern school of about twenty-five years. It has eight classes and eight teachers, it is a junior and infant school with an age group of four to eleven. There is a headmistress called Mrs. Edwards and two secretaries, Mrs. Landers and Mrs. Barnet. There is a school P.T.A. which sometimes raises money for school uses. At dinner time there are lots of dinner ladies available, you can either bring your own lunch, stay for school dinners or snack-bar or go home for lunch. There is a wide range of sports to do, such as netball, cricket, PE and others. On Mondays and Thursdays some classes go swimming where they can achieve swimming certificates. There are also swimming galas. On Friday there is a choice of tuck (crisps, drinks, popcorn etc), which are 10p each. In PE there are lots of apparatus, like ropes, benches, climbing frame, mat, a horse and lots more. There are also dance lessons in PE which can be very enjoyable. Once a year there are school photographs which you can have taken with a brother or sister if they also go to Durand. There are also individual photos and class photos. With all these photographs you may choose if you want to keep them or not. Every so often there are chances of a school outing which you have to pay a little sum of money for (it is always worth it!). In, or after school there is a choice to play a musical instrument, the range is woodwind, brass, strings or the keyboard. After a period of time the musicians play their instruments in a school assembly. On special occasions throughout the year (e.g. Christmas) there are parties and discos which are always successful. At Christmas or Easter each class puts on a play which is videoed and can be bought. At the end of the year the children who are leaving the school put on an assembly about their years throughout Durand which parents can watch. This is also videoed. There is a big playing field outside the school which (at the top of it) has a conservation area with a pond, trees and plants. Sometime in the summer a class would go out and plant new trees or tidy it up. There is also a big playground with games painted on it. In the summer (about June or July) there is a school sports day in houses (Severn, Wye, Usk and Monnow). This is also a lot of fun with the three legged, late for school, obstacle race and lots more. By Rebecca Facey
As with all schools, Durand has a body of Governors whose responsibility it is to ensure that the school operates effectively, achieving high educational standards through efficient allocation of resources. At Durand this is achieved very much in partnership with the Headteacher and staff of the school. Durand School has remained within the family of schools supported by Monmouthshire County Council through the Local Education Authority (L.E.A.). Many of the responsibilities formerly held by the L.E.A. have now been transferred to the Governing Body but by remaining within the L.E.A. family the Governing Body and the school staff are able to call upon the specialist services/skills of the L.E.A. to help carry out those responsibilities. The work of a School Governor is voluntary and it requires a level of commitment both in time and effort. The Governing Body usually meets twice a term and is legally bound to hold an Annual General Meeting (A.G.M.) once a year to report to parents and the local community on the years accomplishments and on the general state of the school. Government rules dictate the make-up of the Governing Body. For Durand School these require that the Governing Body has:
Each elected Governor can hold office for up to 4 years before seeking re-election. In the broadest terms, the responsibilities of the Governing Body can be summarised as being to:- Set the standards and values for the school through policy. Ensure that the National Curriculum is delivered to the required standard. Monitor and approve the spending of the schools allocated budget to maintain the educational standards and facilities. The role covers many other aspects surrounding the operation of the school in support of the Headteacher and staff who manage the day-to-day activities. The running of a school today requires contributions from many people, from Caretaker through to the Director of Education. The Durand Governing Body recognises that success can only be achieved by working together with the school staff, the Headteacher, the L.E.A. and not least the parents. Only through this will our children receive the educational start they deserve. If you require further information about the Governors and the Governing Body, this can be obtained from the school or direct from the L.E.A. Mr. Phil Harrison (parent/governor) May 1998 The school was opened in 1973 and was originally of an open plan design. However, during the 1991/1992 academic year the building was completely remodeled into 8 separate classrooms, each with its own "wet" area. The school roll varies between 225 and 250 pupils (depending on movement of families in and out of the area, the number of new reception children and the numbers of children transferring at 11 to the Comprehensive School). We are the only combined Infant and Junior School in Caldicot taking pupils in the age range 4 - 11 years. We maintain a close liaison with both Caldicot Comprehensive School and West End Infants School in order to ensure a continuity of learning experience for our children. Records of individual progress are maintained so that transfer from school to school may be effected with minimal interruption to the child's educational and personal development. The school seeks to promote equal opportunities for all its children, in all aspects of school life. An integral part of our Religious Education policy and scheme of work is to learn about the religions and traditions of other cultures. Children are taught to respect and value these. In this way, we hope to prepare our children to live and ultimately, work in harmony with fellow citizens of whatever background. The curriculum taught at Durand complies with National Curriculum guidelines for English, Maths, Science, and I.T. (the core subjects) and for History, Geography, Technology, Music, Art, P.E. and Welsh (the foundation subjects). The curriculum for Reception pupils is based on the Welsh Office Desirable Outcomes for this age group. The curriculum for the rest of the school is divided into two Key Stages. Key Stage 1 for pupils in Years 1 and 2 and Key Stage 2 for pupils in Years 3 to 6. Each Key Stage has its own programmes of study for the different subjects. When children come to us, they come as individuals, each at his/her particular stage of development and attainment. It is our aim, as far as possible, to provide for them as individuals, to bring out the best in each child and to help them achieve educationally, personally and socially. Religious Education is also taught throughout the school, based on the Gwent R.E. Guidelines. This is an agreed non-denominational programme, but parents who, for a religious or conscientious reason, wish to withdraw their children from R.E., retain the right to do so - by letter please. Our aim is to teach the curriculum through a thematic (topic) approach, so that children are able to see the relationships between different disciplines and acquire the necessary skills to apply their learning to real situations. However, some discrete subject teaching does take place where subjects do not fit into the current theme e.g. for maths. The School Development Plan As a school we are constantly seeking to move forward and improve our performance through the educational achievements of our pupils. We have a development plan which sets out our short term and long term targets for improvement and how these are to be achieved. This is regularly reviewed and updated and is monitored and evaluated by the Governing Body. Any parent who is interested is welcome to borrow a copy. We also have detailed policies for all curriculum subjects along with schemes of work which set out what is to be taught and when. These are regularly updated in line with current educational developments and form the basis of out teaching. Again, copies may be borrowed by any parents who are interested. Durand Parent Teacher Association The P.T.A. is a Committee run for the benefit of the school to raise funds to help provide items of equipment that may not otherwise be bought out of cash stretched school funds. Over the years the P.T.A. have provided a number of CD ROM Computers; Sports equipment; TV and Video equipment; Play equipment Educational toys; CD Equipment and CD's and lots of miscellaneous items that have been of benefit in the classroom. Meetings are held on a monthly basis where decisions on all fund raising activities to be held during the school year are made. If you have any fund raising ideas please pass them on to a Committee Member or come along and put your ideas and views forward at one of the meeting. As well as holding fund raising activities we hold social events for both adults and children; i.e. Children's Discos are held every term - infants and junior discos being run separately; a Ceilidh dance, Skittles Night and Race Night for the adults. A large Christmas Fayre is held in the School Hall - Santa usually pays the children a visit; and an even larger Summer Fayre is held both inside the school and on the playing field which helps bring in most of the funds throughout the school year. Other ideas in the pipeline are a Quiz Night and a Beetle Drive. At the A.G.M. which is held in September, a Committee is formed for the coming school year. All parents of children at Durand School are members of Durand P.T.A. and are able to attend meetings, whether you choose to get involved and join the committee or have any fund raising ideas you will be made very welcome. A Tuck Shop facility is run by the P.T.A. and at present the price is 30 pence, which includes a drink and a packet of crisps / a pack of biscuits or a piece of cake. Tuck is held on Friday's only during the afternoon break. It is run by parent helpers serving the children on a rota basis; if anyone is interested in helping please let us know. Thank you in anticipation of your valued help. We look forward to seeing you at the P.T.A. Meeting with your comments and ideas. Vanessa Barnett ***** Joanne Milliken
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