Home

Message from the Headteacher: Jane Wallington.

Welcome to Mabel Prichard School’s website - I hope you enjoy finding out about our school. At Mabel Prichard we like to work in partnership with parents & carers to ensure we make a difference for the child in and out of school.

Parents & carers know their children best so we value your contribution in all aspects of school life. Each term we promote one of our twelve school values i.e. Trust, Thoughtfulness, Responsibility, Caring, Patience, Friendship, Love, Respect, Understanding, Honesty, Co-operation and Tolerance to help the children become better citizens and take a positive role in society.

Life-long learning is very important for our children as they take longer to acquire skills, knowledge and understanding. Transition to Colleges of Further Education post sixteen is carefully planned to ensure the children are well prepared for the changes in buildings, staff and the curriculum.

We like to work with the whole child so value the contribution of a multi disciplinary team. This includes a School Nurse, Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist and a Speech and Language Therapist. In addition we can access further support and advice from a range of services including Social Workers, Behaviour Support, Autism, Hearing and Visual Impairment.

The school works very closely with a local partnership of primary and secondary schools in developing cross phase links including integration opportunities into mainstream lessons, joint in-service training for staff and the offer of work experience placements to students in years 10&11 as part of their Health and Social Care coursework. This work helps our young people of today become better informed adults for tomorrow about a range of disability and hopefully reduces further discrimination in our society.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about our very special school.

If you require any further information please contact me on 01865-777878 to arrange a visit or have an informal chat on the telephone.

Background - Mabel Prichard School was opened in 1954 and named after Mrs. Mabel Prichard O.B.E., M.A. J.P. for her outstanding commitment to public health and welfare in the City of Oxford.

Structure - The school is situated on two sites. Our primary site is co-located with Orchard Meadow Primary School and our Upper School co-located with Peers Technology College

Governing Body - The school has a governing body made up of three parent governors, two staff governors, two LEA governors and two Community governors. The full governing body meet once per term. The governing body has two sub committees for Finance and Personnel and Curriculum and Co-location.

The Governing Body oversees all aspects of the school.

Parent/School Relationship - Each child has a home/school diary used by teachers and parents to share news and/or concerns at either home or school. Parents and carers are crucial to the success of each child's achievements - the school values their unique contribution to their child's welfare.

Parents are always welcome to visit the school - a previously arranged appointment with the class teacher or Headteacher is beneficial to avoid disappointment. Throughout the year we have informal meetings e.g. coffee mornings, Carol service, special assemblies etc.

Parents meet formally once a year with the Headteacher and other professionals at their child's annual review when we report on the child's progress to date, plan future targets and review their Statement of Special Educational Needs.

Transport - The LEA provide transport for the majority of children free of charge.

Uniform - We will have a compulsory school uniform from September 2007. It will consist of a white polo shirt and either an electric blue jumper (primary site) or a navy jumper (secondary site) - both garments will have an embroidered school logo. Garments can only be purchased though the school office. The tops are to be worn with either black or grey skirt or trousers.

Fund raising - The school welcomes the support of parents, carers and friends help the school raise funds for extra equipment. Most classes hold termly coffee mornings in addition to the school supporting national events e.g. Comic Relief.

Meals - The school has its own kitchen so a hot meal can be provided every day. We can cater for various special and religious diets. Parents on income support are entitled to free school dinners. Some children opt to bring a packed lunch to school. The children eat at tables, supported by staff, in class groups.

Philosophy

We want to:

provide each pupil with a means of communication to help them understand and access the world around them. We use a number of alternative means of communication for those children who do not speak e.g. PECS, Signing, Rebus symbols, Objectives of reference and ICT.
help each child become as independent at possible.
enable each child to become a valued member of society.
enable each child to reach their full potential.