Staff, parents and pupils at Raysfield Infants and Junior Schools have an extra reason to look forward to the start of a new term in September, with the news that they will formally come together to create Raysfield Primary School at the start of the new academic year.
The decision was approved by South Gloucestershire Council Cabinet Member for Schools, Councillor Erica Williams, and is the final step in a process to bring the two schools, which operate under the Raysfield Federation banner and operate on a shared site, together as a single school, leading to benefits for pupils and staff.
Being a single school will mean Raysfield Primary can take pupils from Reception through to Year Six and prepare them for secondary school, managing their progression seamlessly with no need to go through an application process to move from Year 2 to Year 3.
Pupils and staff will have access to all the facilities of the two existing schools throughout their time at the Primary school and the curriculum will allow for a more consistent approach to each individual’s learning as they progress. The children will also benefit by sharing their school with pupils across the full primary age range, with older pupils acting as role models for the younger children.
The school has written to parents to explain that there will not be any changes to uniform or the timings of the school day and the change will bring benefits including:
• An improved educational experience for pupils across the site.
• A curriculum, which is broad, balanced in content, and relevant to all learners’ needs.
• Children’s learning journey will be seamless throughout their time in school, building on experiences, skills, knowledge and understanding as they progress.
• A primary school is in a stronger position to plan for both continuity and progression in learning, delivering the curriculum in a continuous and coherent way from the Foundation Stage through to the end of Key Stage 2.
• By opening up our two school sites to operate as one, all pupils will be able to benefit from the spaces and resources across the two (currently separate) areas.
Councillor Williams, said: “This is a really positive way to end the school year at Raysfield, and I know that the teachers, pupils and parents are all looking forward to coming together as a single primary school in September.
“Improving outcomes for all children in South Gloucestershire is this council’s top priority and this amalgamation will help the staff team focus on making the best use of this site for the benefit of all of the children from Reception to Year Six.
“Across South Gloucestershire all of our schools, pupils and families have worked so hard over the past few months to make sure the young people can keep learning in difficult circumstances. There is still work to do to plan for September, but I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone for their hard work as we approach the summer break.”
Head teacher, Claire Hill, said: “We have long been one family across two schools though from next term and following a long process and lot of work by the school, the council and many parents, we will finally be one school family with all of the benefits that will bring for our pupils and staff.
“Our staff have been wonderfully supported by parents and carers throughout the COVID-19 situation to ensure that our children continue to learn and this exciting change means that we will be able to build on that as a single school community from September.”
Chair of Governors, Nick Kelcey, said: “The Raysfield Federation is committed to continuing to improve opportunities for our pupils and to concentrating all of our efforts to give them the very best possible start in life at school. By bringing the existing two schools together under the leadership of a single head teacher, with a strong staff team working across the primary school, we know that Raysfield can continue to go from strength to strength.”
