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Long Mead Community Primary is a small, mainstream single-form entry school located in Tonbridge with an on-site nursery. The school accommodates around 150 pupils aged from 3-11 years old. It takes pride in providing a caring and friendly community where staff, pupils, parents and governors work collaboratively to create a rich and broad environment where each child is valued and is able to fulfil their potential. The school is part of the Tonbridge Federation, a partnership between Hugh Christie School and Long Mead who work together commitedly with public services and the local community to improve the life chances of all young people in Trench Wood and surrounding areas of North Tonbridge. Staff members and in particular, Safeguarding leads always aim to go above and beyond to support families and pupils due to the high number of vulnerable and disadvantaged children the school accommodates, providing telephone calls to families as well as private appointments in school. The school has a highlight on being a tolerant and fully inclusive place where every child has the right to be safe, happy, respected and receive equality of opportunity whilst working actively against all forms of discrimination.

The website is fairly easy to navigate with a friendly feel as you are welcomed by the smiling faces of pupils engaging in various activities. The homepage shows latest news, events, and up-to-date announcements as well as displaying exciting photographs from various school trips and stimulating lessons. There is a vast majority of tabs under headings including ‘Required Information’ about the school for parents and carers, although this was a little jumbled. I am especially impressed with the ‘Home Learning’ tab and Facebook group for parents including an extensive list of useful links to resources to enrich pupils learning throughout the lockdown. Each class has a list of activities under a titled class tab to complete which are clearly set out and easy to navigate. The school has a vast list of policies laid out alphabetically to provide useful and essential information for pupils, parents and staff members. However, I feel that the sheer number of policies may appear a little overwhelming at first glance to a prospective parent. I also feel that the website could be categorised better in terms of providing information for parents, for example, about uniform and absences perhaps being placed all under a tab targeted specifically at parents, rather than having to search for this information under varying tabs.

Unfortunately, the 2017 OFSTED report stated the school ‘required improvement‘ in the effectiveness of leadership and management and the overall quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

Since 2017, the school has been led by a wonderful new Headteacher who is extremely passionate about the school and who has worked exceptionally hard to turn the school around for the better. The school has excelled in all areas since the last inspection, with the 2019 OFSTED inspection receiving ‘Good’ in all areas stating that pupils are “happy” and that “the school provides a good quality of education”, “leaders are ambitious” with a “detailed and exciting curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils”.

As a new staff member, I feel this school is a fully inclusive, supportive, nurturing and happy environment to be and I think prospective parents would be impressed with the school as it stands today.

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Long Mead is a well-resourced single form entry school, set in beautiful grounds that support the delivery of a rich broad & balanced curriculum. We take pride in providing a caring, friendly community where staff, pupils, parents & governors work collaboratively so that each child is able to fulfil their potential.

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Long Mead is a well-resourced single form entry school, set in beautiful grounds that support the delivery of a rich broad & balanced curriculum. We take pride in providing a caring, friendly community where staff, pupils, parents & governors work collaboratively so that each child is able to fulfil their potential.

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Review of North Borough Junior school website

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Review of North Borough Junior school website

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North Borough Junior school is a three-form entry, mainstream school located in Maidstone. It is a large junior school which can hold approximately 360 pupils aged between 7-11yrs. It has a strong focus on nurture provision and inclusion.

The website is bright, colourful and easy to navigate. On the home page you can find information stored under clearly labelled tabs. There is a vast amount of information for parents/carers and also pupils. There is a designated tab for the children where they can find home learning, extra maths work and audio books read by the teaching staff. I was immediately impressed with how user friendly both the desktop and mobile versions were making the website accessible for all.

The school Ofsted full inspection report was carried out in June 2014 with a further short inspection dated July 2018. Both reports graded the school as ‘good’ which was an improvement on the previous grading in 2012 of ‘requires improvement’. The school has widely improved due to having a new headteacher take over in 2016. I strongly agree with the opinions taken from both staff and parents that the new headteacher has turned the school around for the better and improved the teaching with high expectations. I was also interested to read how the school encourages it’s vast culture and diversity of both pupils and parents.

Reading though the ‘welcome’ letter from the homepage of the website; I feel a great sense of community. This is especially highlighted with the mention of working closely with the families of the children and the offers of contact via both telephone calls and personal appointments. I believe any prospective parents looking at the website would be highly impressed.

https://www.north-borough.kent.sch.uk/

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Bishops Down Primary School is a mainstream primary school located in Tunbridge Wells, which is modified for children with SEN and disabilities. It is a relatively small school with approximately 250 students, including the on-site nursery. The school is focused on the wellbeing and inclusivity of all students, no matter their ability, and this is made clear on both their website, and through the school values.

The website homepage is brought to life with a video of the school, including both staff and children. Instantly, you feel welcomed. The website is easy to navigate, with numerous tabs for various subjects. There is an extensive amount of information, and I was particularly impressed by the different class tabs, enabling children to access work through the website during these past few months. The school policies are easy to access and alphabetised.

The OFSTED report (2017) rated the school as ‘good.’ This was due to the leadership team excelling and more children than the national average exceeding expectations. The report highlights how teaching has vastly improved and how the next steps include deeper teaching than just the curriculum, to expand the pupils’ knowledge further.

https://www.bishopsdownprimary.org/

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Review of Royal Rise Primary School website.

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Review of Royal Rise Primary School website.

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Royal Rise Primary school is a small academy school, part of the Cygnus Academies Trust. In total, there are approximately 185 pupils in attendance.

The website is easy to navigate, and there is an extensive amount of information for parents and carers. I am particularly impressed with the section 'Summer Support,' which provides useful links to websites concerning support for children's well-being and their parents and carers during these unprecedented times.

The school policies are easy to find, and I am pleased to see numerous systems listed in alphabetical order.

The Ofsted report was published in 2016 when the school was known as St Stephens Primary School. It was rated 'Inadequate.' Looking through the opinions given at the time, I have seen a vast improvement in the school's leadership, teaching, behaviour, and overall performance.  Information on the recent success in SATS is on the home page; this would reassure parents who were perhaps looking at the school but were discouraged by its previous reputation:

https://royalriseprimary.kent.sch.uk/our-school/key-information/school-performance/

The website also highlighted the fact that it is in the top 10% of schools in Kent:

https://royalriseprimary.kent.sch.uk/news/were-in-the-top-10-of-schools-in-kent/

Prospective parents looking at the website will be impressed with the information provided. The school’s focus is to provide a high standard of education and opportunities for all pupils while ensuring that children are respected and valued as individuals at the same time.

https://royalriseprimary.kent.sch.uk/

Below is a link to my infographic.

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Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software - Canva

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Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software - Canva

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Well done everyone on some excellent reflections! I appreciate how open you have all been and it is clear this journey represents so much more than 'just getting a degree' to all of you!
This is also a good way to let the tutors know how you are feeling, to record your initial reflections and to give you a starting point. Kathy and Sophie have added two really useful writing resources which are worth you all taking a look at too.
Well done everyone - keep going!
Claire

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Prior to the pre-induction, I was extremely nervous and scared. Due to having already embarked on a university journey once before and it not working out, i was worried that this would end up the same. I may come across as a fairly outgoing and confident character but do not be fooled by my exterior!

As soon as i saw all the smiling faces pop up on my screen i felt slightly better.  Everybody seemed so friendly and after i found out we were all in similar current jobs and our aspirations for the future, my mind was put at ease. I felt very supported by both the tutor and other students.

I am very much looking forward to getting back into an educational environment and i am ready to rise to every challenge set! I feel slightly nervous about presentations as i am not a confident public speaker, but due to the class size, i am sure i will be fine!

I am very excited about starting university this time around. The timing is right, i am on a course that i will thoroughly enjoy and it is on my doorstep (i am a homegirl!) My family have been so supportive of my decision to come back to university. They know how much this will mean to me, and i know how much they want me to succeed! I am determined to show everyone that i can do this. I hope to improve my note-taking and study skills, and develop my time management skills further. I am very lucky to have a close friend who has just completed this exact course this year and therefore I will have somebody with exact course knowledge and I hope this will benefit my learning! I am ready to start my journey on this course and thoroughly excited to see where this will take me.

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Prior to the pre-induction session I was feeling extremely nervous but also excited and intrigued. In person I am usually quite a confident character but as this session was held via zoom I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Immediately I felt at ease with everyone sharing a friendly face. Being part of such a small group online was far less daunting than walking into a room full of people!

After listening to all of the information about the course, and seeing how much support is on offer, I know that I have chosen the right course for myself. I am looking forward to gaining a greater depth of knowledge to support me in my current role within my setting, and also using this to further my career into teaching. As it has been such a long time since I was in education, I am hoping to enhance my skills in both note taking, academic writing and referencing. I am also looking to gain confidence in delivering presentations to adults. Currently I feel I am much better at this with thirty children in front of me!

I am very lucky to have supportive family, friends and work colleagues. This will make my time at university slightly easier knowing that I have people around me for help and guidance when needed. I would also like to show my children that you can achieve anything with both hard work and determination no matter your circumstances, or at what time in life you decide to embark on the journey.

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Prior to the session, I was both anxious and excited to meet my course leaders and fellow learners as well as to gain more of an insight into the course I was embarking on for the next three years. After inputting our current occupations and prospective career paths into the Mentimeter app, I was immediately put at ease. Everybody seemed so passionate about what they did for a living and I saw very similar job titles and areas of specialism as ambitious as my plans for my further career in education. I was instantly reassured that this was the correct course for me and that I shared the same enthusiasm for the field I love as my fellow learners and course leaders alike.

I have thought about embarking on this particular course for some years now and finally feel I am ready to undertake it on a personal level as well as being at the correct stage of my career personally in order to maximise my success. I am both excited and keen to absorb as much information and knowledge as I can. I hope to improve my study skills strategies and planning for assessments, having been out of full time education for a few years now. I hope to give myself set times to study and be vigilant and self-disciplined to stick to this.  I have always put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed, however I hope to understand and improve learning where my shortcomings are, recognising them and talking about them with course leaders in order to reach my full potential. Having a musical theatre background and feeling confident about public speaking, I look forward to presentation sessions and sharing my findings with those around me.

My friends, family and work colleagues have been extremely supportive about my decision to go to university and are excited to see where this course could take me in the future. My friends are a huge part of my life and understand furthering my career by undertaking this course means the world to me. Having said that, they have been warned I will be less available to socialise in order to maximise my potential for success.

Over the duration of the course and beyond, I think and hope that I will begin to analyse situations and events both on a personal and academic level, more critically and with greater reflection. I hope to improve my academic study skills and time management as well as exploring different ways to take notes during sessions to make assessments more informed, less stressful and more thorough. I also hope to acquire graduate attributes such as further employability and professionalism as well as broadening my intellectual depth and adaptability into the world of education.

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Kathy - Reflection on Pre-Induction Session.

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Kathy - Reflection on Pre-Induction Session.

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I am not ashamed to admit I was nervous prior to the pre-induction, not sure what to expect, and a huge dose of self -doubt! I had no need to be nervous. Looking back, I found everyone to be really friendly and this put me at ease.

I am excited about starting university, it has been an ambition of mine for many years. I am a natural worrier and I am hoping that this degree will improve my self-esteem, public speaking, (which I dread), and my overall academic skills. This course will give me the opportunity to pursue a career in teaching, something I set my heart on in my early twenties. I still can't quite believe that I am a university student! I am hoping that the skills and learning I develop over the next two years will assist me in my current educational setting and further improve my confidence.

My family and work colleagues have been extremely supportive and they know how much this means to me. I want to be a positive role model for my children and show them that you can achieve anything,  no matter how old you are.

https://www.port.ac.uk/student-life/help-and-advice/study-skills/written-assignments/reflective-writing-introduction