A look at Silverdale St John's Primary School.
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NewsTranscript
00:00It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Silverdale St John's Church of England
00:24Primary School. I'm Sarah Sanderson and I have been the head teacher at school for just
00:28over one term, since April 2022. I have really enjoyed my first few months here in school,
00:35getting to know the staff, the children, families and of course the community. Our children
00:40are our biggest advert. Behaviour is good, meaning that children can enjoy learning in
00:44and out of class. Our children are fun, full of energy and have such a yearning for learning.
00:50They love a challenge and they know just what tools they need to ensure that they can be
00:55the best that they can be. Our staff play a pivotal part in this and the children are
01:00securing their relationships with the adults around school. Every member of staff cares
01:05deeply about the children, building them into confident, resilient young people ready to
01:10face the challenges of modern life. We work very closely with our school community to
01:15ensure parents are an integral part of their child's school life. Regular visits to church,
01:21as well as visits from the local clergy, help ensure our children's spiritual well-being
01:25is nurtured. We also work closely with outside agencies, speech and language therapists,
01:31occupational therapists, they all come into school, as do educational psychologists for
01:35those children that just need a little bit of extra support and give advice to teachers.
01:41Hello, I'm Mrs. Berry and I'm the UIFS teacher here at Silverdale St. John's. In our early
01:52years unit, we are very passionate about the first years of your child's school life. We
01:57aim to set them up to enjoy, grow and be the best they can be throughout their time at our school.
02:01The early years is the foundation of each child's individual learning journey. We ensure the
02:06transition is a smooth one. They are supported and nurtured from the very beginning, from the
02:11new starter parents information evening to meeting your child in their individual preschool settings,
02:15we will ensure that the transition process is a smooth one. We also invite you and your child
02:21to visit our wonderful classroom environment in the summer term. This enables us to get to know
02:25the children holistically, building on opportunities to make new friends and become familiar with the
02:30setting. Young children learn best through play, so our setting is filled with activities and
02:36resources to enhance children's learning opportunities. They love to explore all the
02:40exciting areas from the construction area where your child can use their imagination to design,
02:45build and create to the home corner where they can role play making dinner or talking on the
02:50phone. The reading area where they can explore a variety of exciting books. Children are encouraged
02:55to be confident learners to use their open imagination and ideas to have a go at solving
03:00problems. Our environment really is a stimulating place for children to learn throughout the day.
03:06We have a wonderful outdoor area where children can put on their mudsuits and learn through play
03:16in the mud kitchen and large water area. We have worked closely with the community to create our
03:21own forest school area in the church grounds. We spend weekly sessions here led by our forest
03:26school teacher Anna. She teaches us about the outdoor environment, the plants and wildlife
03:30around us, as well as showing us how to use tools and even light fires. We love exploring and
03:35climbing in the forest school environment in all weathers. Our Starlings class is for our
03:47three-year-old children the year before they start formal schooling. Our highly skilled and
03:53caring staff plan carefully the activities in this area as children encounter school life for
03:59the first time. We encourage children to build on those early relationships very quickly. These
04:05relationships include the older children and members of staff. We provide a very broad and
04:11balanced curriculum and have worked hard to ensure it promotes a breadth and depth of activities. As
04:16well as learning in the classroom, we like to give children opportunities out of class too. We have a
04:22range of enrichment clubs in school to try and meet the needs of the national curriculum this
04:27doesn't offer. Silverdale St. John's is all about the holistic child. Subsequently, we have clubs
04:34that try and meet the spiritual, emotional, physical needs of our children. This might be
04:38through Jesus and Me club, coding club, football, baking, jujitsu, gardening. We also have regular
04:46peripatetic teachers that come into school to teach guitar and piano. Every child joins in
04:52with outdoor education trips during the year. Adventure scrambles, caving, camping, canoeing
04:58to name but a few. The children embrace these opportunities and for some, it really pushes
05:04them out of their comfort zones. Coming out of the other side with a strong sense of achievement and
05:09being an overcomer. I am Head Boy and I am Head Girl. Our mission statement at Silverdale St. John's
05:24is inspiring success through learning, community and faith. We have lots of lovely teachers and
05:32learning support staff in school that help us with our learning. Our Chair of Governors is Mary
05:39Ashton and like all of all our Governors, she makes sure that our school is the very best that
05:46it can be. Our classes are Starlings, Curlews, Bittons and Harries. We are named after the
05:54birds of Leighton Moss, a local RSPB nature reserve. Our school is in an area of outstanding
06:03natural beauty and is surrounded by beautiful woodlands, Morecambe Bay and the Lake District
06:10Mountains. In fact, our houses are named after Coniston, Hellvellyn and Scarfell. We are the
06:23Worship Leaders. Our Vicar is Reverend Mary Ashton. Mary comes into our school once a week and shares
06:30Bible stories. We visit church for RE lessons and for special Christian festivals. We celebrate many
06:37other faiths and cultures and are looking forward to visiting multicultural places of worship in
06:43the northwest of England. Our Christian value this term is thankfulness and we are very thankful for
06:50our wonderful school and community. We are the sports ambassadors for Silverdale St. John's
06:58Primary School. We love sports at our school and we do lots of it for a small school. We have lots
07:06of energy. As sports ambassadors, we do play leader training so we can support the younger
07:13children on the playground. Every other year, all the children in years 3, 4, 5, 6 go swimming to
07:22our local swimming pool. Our play times and lunch times are always very active with a wide range of
07:29games and equipment out. All the children are encouraged to take part in PE and to have fun
07:38keeping active. Our wraparound care runs in school time and is for children of all ages. Breakfast
07:49club starts at 8 a.m. where children are encouraged to have a healthy breakfast. After school club is
07:54led by our two highly skilled supervisors and runs in two sessions 3.15 to 4.15 and 4.15 to 6
08:02p.m. Wraparound care gives children the opportunity to relax after a hard day of learning. We offer
08:08craft activities, computer time and baking and role play. The younger children love having the
08:13opportunity to engage with the older children. Every interaction is a learning opportunity. I
08:20hope you have enjoyed this virtual view into life at Silverdale St. John's Primary School. We would
08:26love to show you around our school in real life. If you are interested in becoming part of our
08:31school family, please ring the number below or email our school bursar to book an appointment.
08:36Our school website is also full of information and our Facebook page is regularly updated with
08:43exciting events that are happening in school. We are very proud of our school, our children and
08:48our families.
09:18Silverdale St. John's Primary School