Somerlea Park Juniors

Bank Street, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 4JE

        Tel: 01773 602258

Email: SPJInfo@learnerstrust.org

‘Believe. Achieve. Succeed’  is our mission statement at Somerlea Park and our whole school community is focussed on this ethos. Here at Somerlea we are passionate about giving children experiences that they can keep with them forever. Somerlea children are very special to me and all of my team. I make sure that everything that happens in school is for the positive benefit of the children.

We believe that by giving children a broad and balanced curriculum, where they are given experiential learning, we are equipping them for life. Learning in a safe, stimulating environment is of paramount importance and here at Somerlea Park all the staff and governors strive to achieve the very best education for our children.

 My job in school is to make sure the children are provided with the highest quality teaching and learning so that they reach their potential and to ensure that all children are happy, safe and motivated to do their best.

We hope you find our website useful and informative.

About Us

At Somerlea Park, we offer a positive climate where children are encouraged to develop their learning, practise their skills and become confident learners through cross-curricular themes. We have developed a curriculum rich with innovative and exciting learning opportunities built upon our core, underpinning values. Taking a thematic approach, the curriculum has been organised under topic headings for phases within school, with each topic having a primary subject focus. 

The learners at Somerlea are at the core of our project-based learning; topics are developed with children to enable them to discover new interests and talents as well as provide children with the knowledge to succeed in life. Through all topics, learners are provided with real-life applications and future career aspirations. During the initial design of the curriculum we have involved all stakeholders (children, parents and staff) and the curriculum we have created incorporates their ideas as well as reflecting our community.  

Creative planning ensures that cross-curricular links are made and National Curriculum 2014 Programmes of study for KS2 are allocated to the topics, ensuring breadth and balance in core and foundation subjects. Hooks for learning engage the children from the beginning, while working towards authentic outcomes for each topic provides real purpose which motivates children to produce high quality work. We carefully consider the children’s previous learning and nay gaps in learning they may have and weave this into our experiences and learning to support children acquiring their cultural capital. English skills are taught within the context of the topic and the focus on written work is central to every topic. We aim to provide opportunities for children to be creative, flexible and innovative in their approach to learning and developing new skills, knowledge an understanding necessary for future success. Built into each unit are key knowledge and key vocabulary to help learners remember and use knowledge fluently. 

At Somerlea Park, we actively promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of our pupils. We uphold and teach children about the fundamental ‘British Values’ which are defined as: democracy; rule of law; individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs. These values are taught explicitly through Jigsaw, PSHE, Religious Education (R.E), assemblies and special presentations while our curriculum planning and delivery includes real opportunities for children to explore these values. 

During reviews, both termly and annually, staff will review Somerlea Park’s vision statement before analysing progress through each subject.

With this is mind we aim:

  • To make sure all learners feel happy, confident, cared for and included in school.
  • To encourage learners to take responsibility for their learning, be resilient and persevere to reach their goals.
  • To understand that hard work leads to success.
  • To encourage learners to take pride in all they do.
  • To work with all adults and families in school as a partnership.
  • To keep all learners safe and make sensible life choices.
  • To be respectful for themselves, other people and their environment.
  • To meet all learners needs.
  • To always support learners to be the best they can be and develop a love of learning.
  • To make every day enjoyable and filled with real life experiences.
  • To promote the physical, spiritual, social, cultural and moral development of learners.

Believe. Achieve. Succeed

 

You can find all our documents regarding our visions, aims, and values here   including British values and equality objectives

Executive Headteacher

H Kirkup

Head of School (Mon-Wed)

D Rizo

Administrator

A Noble

School Business Manager

T Adams

Attendance Officer

G Marsden

Inclusion Mentor

R Minshull

Teachers

D Rizo (Phase Leader Thurs-Fri) L Vine
D Dodds C Barker (SENCO)
R Carver L Vine
A Shackleton D Waller

HLTAs

C Bonsall J Hole

Specialist SEND TA

A Grundy

TAs

N Camm M Clamp  
 M Griffin L Ross
J Buxton

Midday Supervisors

A McDonough J Tomlinson
K Hardwick R Webster
D Ward M Clamp
S Watkinson

Caretaker

D Thorpe
  You can view and download our full staff list here. 

John Rutherford

Chair

Sep-21

Aug-24

Helina Kirkup

Headteacher

Sep-17

 

Ian Bennett

Co-opted

Feb-20

Res June 2020

Dominic Waller

Staff representative

Sep-17

Aug-21

Ben Widdowson

Trust/co-opted

Sep-17

Res March 2020

Sarah Gray

Co-opted/Head

Sep-17

 

Keely Williams

Co-opted/Staff

Sep-17

Res Nov 2020

Michelle Clamp

Co-opted/Parent

Jan-21

Res Sept 2021

Michelle Rowe

Co-opted/Parent

Jan-21

Dec-24

Lisa Bird

Trust Partner

Sep-17

 

Fiona Middleton

Staff representative

Sep-21

Res Dec 2021

Stacey Plant

Co-opted/Parent

Jan-21

Dec-24

Neli Pencheva

Co-opted/Parent

Jan-21

Dec-24

Sana Saneel

Co-opted/Parent

Jan-21

Dec-24

 

You can view and download all documents relating to our school champions here – incuding attendance registers, meeting minutes, and register of interest forms. 

School Information

Somerlea Park Junior School is part of the Learners’ Trust MAT. We continue to follow the Derbyshire Admissions Policy and Guidelines. Please contact the local authority to find out about our admissions arrangements.

Local authority website, or call 01629 537479.
Local authority’s admissions criteria

Our school day begins at 8:55am and we finish at 3:30pm (32 hours 55 minutes per week)

School Curriculum and Standards

We are proud to offer an amazing opportunity that will bring fitness classes directly to your home, made possible by the National Lottery Community Fund.

At the click of a button you will have access to a wide variety of fun exercise workouts, suitable for the whole family and for all abilities. Whether you’re at school, in your living room or at the local park this is a great and inclusive way to be active together.

Simply click on this link and enter the password “pk” to access the brilliant range of activities.

LOTTERY COMMUNITY FUND LOGO - Cancer Focus Northern Ireland

Our Pupil Premium Documents

he Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011 and is allocated to schools to work with pupils who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6 FSM’). The Government believes that the Pupil Premium, which is additional to main school funding, is the best way to address the current underlying inequalities between children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and their peers by ensuring that funding to tackle disadvantage reaches the pupils who need it most.  Whilst schools are free to spend the Pupil Premium as they see fit, they are required to publish online information about how they have used the Premium and the impact it is having. 

  

Who receives the Pupil Premium? 

Pupil Premium is allocated to pupils in school from Reception to Year 11 from low-income families who are registered for FSM, or who have been registered for FSM at any point in the last six years (known as ‘Ever 6’), together with children that have been in care continuously for six months or more.  Early Years Premium funding is also allocated to Nursery and Reception children. Funding is available for pupils for whom one or both parents work in the armed forces. 

  

Pupil Premium Impact at Somerlea Park Junior School 

Our most recent Ofsted report highlighted that historically Somerlea Park Junior School hasn’t always made effective use of the Pupil Premium funding:  

‘The pupil premium funding has not been used effectively to improve the achievement of eligible pupils.’
‘In 2016, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds did less well than their classmates and other pupils nationally. This is because leaders have not used the pupil premium funding effectively to raise pupils’ achievement.’ 

(March 2017) 

This previous ineffectiveness has led to a full overhaul and review of how Pupil Premium is spent in school. As a result, the recently devised Pupil Premium plans and spending allocations draw upon EEF Research principles, examples of strong practice (from within and outside Learners’ Trust), data trends and information from within the school, as well as what we know about our children at Somerlea Park Junior. Progress towards objectives, outcomes and the impact of the spending are monitored carefully at regular intervals (precise dates are specified within the plan).     

Within our planning documentation we have carefully spent the Premium in a variety of ways to enable pupils to access a wide variety of life experiences that might otherwise be inaccessible. Furthermore individual staff have been deployed in a focused and targeted manner to ensure that all children eligible for the Pupil Premium receive high quality teaching and learning experiences, thus enabling them to achieve their full potential.   

Our Pupil Premium ambitions 

‘To become one of the top 17% of schools in the country, where pupil premium children outperform the national average in all subjects, for all children.’ 

And in line with the Learners’ Trust vision…   

‘Our goal is to create the best learning experiences possible to enrich lives and enable choice.’ 

and our own Somerlea Park vision… 

‘Believe. Achieve. Succeed.’  

Pupil Premium: The Somerlea Park Junior way… 

Regardless of their prior attainment and ability, all children eligible for the Pupil Premium will receive academic support to enable them to achieve their potential.  Additional support staff are funded so that support is in place for selected groups of pupils at any given time. At Somerlea Park Junior School we provide in class support during English and Maths lessons, dependent on the needs of the child. In addition, we use additional staff to support children at playtimes, this takes the form of one to one support or small group restorative practice. Additional staff also support children at lunchtimes by providing children a place to complete reading or homework. Careful monitoring and evaluation of the Pupil Premium strategies we use takes place to ensure our work in this area provides value for money and also has a strong, positive impact on the progress and outcomes of individual children. An example of how we enact this is through the time given to our regular pupil progress meetings and how appraisal is utilised to improve outcomes for children eligible for the Pupil Premium.  

Learners Code is a system used in many Learners’ Trust schools. At Somerlea Park, the Learner’s Code enables us to challenge and motivate our Pupil Premium children to earn Dojos for all aspects of their learning behaviour. The children can then use their Dojos to spend in our Brainsbury’s shop. This benefits our children by them feeling motivated to have improved behaviour at playtimes and have a positive attitude to all aspects of their learning. 

Beyond the academic, we aspire to support the development of the ‘whole child’ through our Pupil Premium work. We realize to make the best possible start to the day children need a structure but relaxed start, therefore we offer a free Breakfast Club space to every Pupil premium child. We also know that some of our Pupil Premium children need additional social and emotional support, therefore we offer one to one and group Nurture support. This is a tailor made program to suit the needs of the child. We also employ a Family Support Worker to offer support to parents of Pupil Premium children. Priority is given to our Pupil Premium children for afterschool clubs and extra-curricular activities. As part of our Cluster of schools, we offer a wide variety of enhanced learning experiences or experiential learning which priority is given to Pupil Premium children. These take the form of Forest School Days, Science Days or Sporting events. SMSC is incorporated into all our Project Based Learning to ensure that we are meeting Pupil Premium children’s social and emotional needs.  

We work closely with families and their children to provide good or better attendance for all pupils. The daily monitoring by the Family Support Worker and our nominated TAs help us to monitor the attendance and punctuality of Pupil Premium children. The resultant liaison with families helps to facilitate strong partnerships between school and home, as well as enabling all children to gain their statutory entitlement of full-time schooling. A range of reward systems underpin and help reinforce these monitoring strategies.    

A proportion of the Pupil Premium has been used to subsidise off-site visits, experiences and support extra-curricular activities where cost may have prohibitive to some families. We work carefully to ensure that all children feel part of the school community. An example of this is our commitment to allocate money to providing a uniform to each eligible child within the school.    

Could my child be eligible for free school meals/pupil premium? 

 

Our school’s latest progress and attainment figures can be found on the Department for Education’s website. 

Policies

Contact Details

Address

Somerlea Park Junior School, Bank Street, Somercotes
Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 4JE

Tel: 01773 602258

Email: SPJInfo@learnerstrust.org

For all enquiries please contact Mrs Noble using the contact details above.

If you wish to contact our Executive Headteacher, Helina Kirkup, please contact the school office using the number provided above.

If you wish to contact our SENCo, Mrs Barker, please contact the school office using the number provided above.

If you wish to make a complaint please contact the school office in the first instance.

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