2 <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> BACK TO SCHOOL <strong>2016</strong> | www.primarytimes.net/staffordshire
Anne Marie Scanlon for <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> Dear reader W elcome Get ready for Secondary <strong>School</strong> back to school. We hope that everyone had a lovely summer holiday and you are all refreshed and look forward to the term ahead - the Autumn term is a very busy one so we trust the energy levels are running high. For those of you who are reading our magazine for the first time, welcome. We hope you will find <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> useful in helping you to plan activities for the weekends and holidays. You will find lots of fun things to do with your children in our WOW - What’s On and Where - section. Our regular Box Office feature lists some great productions that are ideal for primary aged children and our Kids’ Book Reviews are particularly helpful if you are looking for a good read for your child, the reviews are written by children of all ages. Also in this issue we embrace Performing Arts on page 11. Whilst we don’t really want to start thinking about Christmas yet, we have now opened entries for our Christmas Card creative competition. Every year we send out thousands of Christmas cards and this year we would like your primary aged child to create it! One lucky entry will be selected from across <strong>School</strong> Publishing’s 13 <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> magazines to win this competition and details of how to enter can be found on page 12. Plus win a family ticket to see “I got superpowers for my birthday” on page 15. Good luck. Don’t forget to send us your news if your child has an achievement to celebrate on marion@schoolspublishing.co.uk. The <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> team: Marion, Julie, & Catherine As another September rolls around it could soon be your child’s last one in primary school. Even if your child is still in the middle of primary, it’s never too early to start thinking about secondary school. If your child has just started year 6, now is the time to apply as the deadline for Secondary <strong>School</strong> applications is 31 October. All schools have admission criteria to decide which children get places and these criteria differ depending on the school. Before deciding to apply for a place in a particular school you need to check with your council to see if you are in the catchment area. The catchment area for schools is defined by the local authority and every year stories are numerous of people living next door to a particular school yet not being part of the catchment. Do not assume that because you are within walking distance of a particular place of learning that you are within the catchment. Check now to avoid disappointment later. The local council/authority should be able to provide you with a list of application criteria for the school(s) of your choice, as they can, and do, vary from school to school. Many schools will give preference to a child who already has a sibling there, which means that if you are new to the school (even if you live on the doorstep), your child will fall ‘after’ siblings in the queue for a place. It is good practice to contact the school directly to double check their admissions policies. If you are sending your child to a private or fee paying secondary school, then contact them directly to find out what they require for admission as your child’s place could depend on passing an entrance exam. It is not uncommon for parents to consider tutoring for entrance exams as early as year 4. Unfortunately, unless you are prepared to educate your child privately, you cannot choose your child’s secondary school. You can express a preference when applying but there is no guarantee that your child will get a place at your first choice. It is a good idea to attend the open days of a few schools in the area - even if you hadn’t considered them until now. You should certainly put more than one choice down when applying and this will help you make an informed decision for your second and third preferences. To stand the best chance of being allocated a place at your first choice, it is crucial to get your application in on time (by 31 October <strong>2016</strong> for September 2017 entry). Secondary school placements will be confirmed by the council on 1 March 2017 (or the next working day). If your child did not get a place in the school you preferred there are some things you can do... First, accept the place you have been offered – this doesn’t mean that you have to take it or that you won’t be in a position to try to get into your preferred school. Simply, if all else fails, it means your child has a place to go to school next September. A place, even in a school that wasn’t your first choice, is better than no school place at all. If you know nothing about the school where you’ve been offered a place, then make an appointment to visit; you might be pleasantly surprised. As soon as you find out that your child has not got into your preferred school find out immediately what the appeals process is. There will be a very limited window when you can appeal so don’t delay in finding out when it is. Once you’ve applied for an appeal you will only have a short time to assemble evidence to present to an ‘Appeal Committee’ as to why your child should get a place in the school of your choice. If you are contemplating an appeals process, then it is best to seek out advice. Talk to secondary school teachers and anyone who has already been through the process. Check to see if there is a waiting list for your preferred school and if there is make sure your child’s name is added to it. Ask where on the waiting list your child is and how many children from the waiting list got places the previous year – this means you will have some idea of Contents inside this issue whether or not your child will get in. To further your child’s chances of getting a place at a school you want you can be on several waiting lists at the one time. (Don’t forget though your child may be pushed down the list if another child is added who fulfils more of that school’s application criteria.) If the secondary school you’ve been allocated is over 3 miles walking distance you can contact the council and ask them what provision they will make to transport your child to and from school every day. Whether or not you get your 11 child into the school of your choice try to stay calm. Moving up to secondary school is a huge transition for children and often a frightening one. Be sure to emphasize the positives which could include the fact that some of their school friends will also be going to the same school while equally they will make lots of new friends. For some children it will be an opportunity to expand their sporting prowess whilst for others it could be the chance to advance their artistic skills. For almost all children Secondary school marks a new era of independence and that really is something to celebrate. CALLING ALL FAMILIES AND TEACHERS! Remember to send in your news for our news pages – we would love to hear from you! Secondary school subjects Just like primary school, secondary education is divided into two keys stages – KS3 and KS4. The first part, KS3 applies in years 7 through to 9 (ages 11-14). In KS3 schools are required to provide both Religious and Sex Education respectively although parents can have their children opt out wholly or partly from either subject. Subjects include: English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, Modern foreign languages, Art & Design, Physical Education, Citizenship, Computing. Don’t forget to visit us online at www.primarytimes.net /staffordshire 4 13 4 Get ready for Secondary <strong>School</strong> 6 WOW: What’s on where 11 Performing Arts 12 Design a Christmas card 14 Box Office 13 CONTENTS THE PRIMARY TIMES TEAM Editor: Marion McAdam marion@schoolspublishing.co.uk Sales: Julie Daruvalla ptstaffs@schoolspublishing.co.uk Tel: 01491 411848 Production: productionpt@schoolspublishing.co.uk Design: Catherine Crook <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> in <strong>Staffordshire</strong>, <strong>School</strong>s Publishing Limited, St James’s House, 118 Greys Road, Henley on Thames, Oxon, RG9 1QW. TEL: 01491 411848 FAX: 01491 411416 www.primarytimes.net/staffordshire ...the UK’s biggest, free ‘what’s on’ magazine for parents! <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> in <strong>Staffordshire</strong> distributes more than 42,000 copies six times a year, and is part of a national network distributing more than 2.7 million copies in 61 regions across the UK and Ireland. <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> is independently published and distributed free through national primary schools in <strong>Staffordshire</strong>. It aims to inform families and children about current educational issues, forthcoming events, courses, attractions and to give teachers, pupils and parents the opportunity to participate in the magazine by adding to its contents or by joining in the competitions. It is NOT our intention to publish any racist, sexist or politically based material whatsoever. We also undertake not to carry any advertising which we would consider to be offensive to young families or harmful to the best interests of young children. <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> would like to thank all the schools in <strong>Staffordshire</strong> for their assistance in distributing the magazine and for their contributions to its contents. We would also like to thank all the advertisers who have supported this publication and therefore made it possible. Please support their endeavours when and where you can. The copyright on all written material, logos and advertising artwork produced by our studio remains with <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> or with the relevant contributor. <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> is currently publishing over two million copies per issue under franchise licences throughout Britain. www.primarytimes.net/staffordshire | BACK TO SCHOOL <strong>2016</strong> <strong>Primary</strong> <strong>Times</strong> 3
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