This is a brilliant placement, it is a primary school that accommodates children from 3-7, there is also a Junior school, this is based further up the road, they are ran by two separate head teachers on different sites, the two sites are a couple of minutes walk apart.
There are a number of different ethnic groups within the school, the children are from a variety of different countries, Pakistan, Poland, England etc. Out of 220 children, 94% of them are from other cultures including British children who have parents who are from a different countries and 6% White British.
Some of the children within the Nursery have no English at all, many of the children pick up the language really quickly and become fluent in English within months of starting the school, some find it more difficult and take longer to pick up the language. For those children that have English as their second language, Makaton is used to communicate with them, the signs and symbols are around the classroom and taught to all the staff, so communication becomes easier. Makaton is a form of sign language and is used to sign out words not full sentences, words are still used, the staff and children say their sentence and use the relevant signs to explain the sentence.
The school have also employed a bilingual teacher, she speaks Pakistani and English, she speaks to the children in Pakistani and then English, telling them what she will be wanting them to say, and then getting them to repeat her in English. This develops their English but also keeps them feeling comfortable as she is talking to them in their own Language. She will also talk to the parents of the children, many of the parents have limited English, she will translate for the teachers, meaning important information can be passed on. On every door within the school the signs are in English and Urdu, this is for both the children and the parents, as some of the children and many of the parents do not speak English, this helps them to navigate around the school.
Some of the teachers are also from various cultures, some wear Hijab's and others wear their full national dress, this is promoted within the school and all religions are appreciated and actively encouraged, the school does have a school uniform but many of the children also wear Hijabs.
The dress code is smart casual and jeans are allowed, as long as they are not low and show your bottom and your breasts have to be covered, low cut tops are not allowed as many of the religions frown upon it, and obviously it is not nice for children when you are working on the floor with them.
Everyone within the school is lovely, everyone has been very helpful, they have been willing to carry out interviews and help out with anything you need. The school is open plan and in one big square. All the staff are willing to help out and are there for support whenever you need them. In 2012, the school is going to be undergoing a big change in the infrastructure and everything will be moved around but they are aiming to have it done throughout the summer holidays so hopefully this will not affect your placement when you come in the spring term.
As this is an English school, based in England, they follow the National Curriculum, the school celebrates all the religious festivals such as Diwali and they talk about the various festivals undertaken by different cultures such as Ramadan.
The school has a garden, this has a shelter, campfire area, digging area, a planting area, a walk through made from twigs/ vines, a pond and trees and various different kinds of plants. The children plant the plants and then look after them, watering them and learning about the various stages of growth, the use the digging area to make mud pies, dig for insects and treasure! Various other items are placed within the garden also, such as magnifying glasses and binoculars for looking at insects/ birds. The pond is used to teach the children about water, the dangers of it but also the positives to having one in the garden, they have water plants living in the pond and various types of animals such as fish, frogs and insects and also flowers/ lillipads etc. The children also learn about fire in the campfire area, the children sit around the edge of the campfire, they talk about how fire it made, the dangers of it and what it is used for, they also sing songs and toast marshmallows. As the photos show, the school is very eco- friendly and the children spend a lot of there time outside, either playing or helping the environment, they recycle all fruit and vegetables that haven't been eaten, and try to recycle all containers and paper- where appropriate. The children help to look after the garden, maintaining the flowers, trees and looking after the animals.
The children use clipboards to note down changes in the environment and draw pictures
They learn how to look after their plants.
They use the natural environment to make pictures and sculptures.
The school children and staff spend a lot of time outside, learning about the environment and the things that live in it.
Trees and plants are everywhere within the school grounds to encourage wildlife and for the children to look after and learn from.
This is the shelter within the garden, it provides the children with somewhere dry to sit and look at the garden, it is also used as a base, the children are taught in the hut and then sent out to look for the things they have just learnt about.
This is the garden, the children have the opportunity to grow their own vegetables and plants, they look after those plants, watering them and ensuring they are safe. They also look after the frogs that live in the pond and the water plants.
A child using some of the toys in the outdoor area, there is a lot of space provided for the children to play on, giving them the opportunity to spend as much time outside as possible. The school have brought the children 'snow/ wet suits' they can be warn in snow, wind, rain etc, they provide the children with an extra layer so they can still spend a lot of time and learn about the environment, even when the weather is cold or wet.
Accommodation
The tram stops at the bottom the street where the school is situated. It is a 1 minute walk from the tram stop, the tram comes from either Nottingham town centre or Hucknall/ Phoenix Park (this website will help you plan your journey by tram http://www.thetram.net/). There are also a number of buses that will also take you to the school, the Y81, Y82 or the local link 14 that goes from town(this website will help you plan your journey by bus http://www.nctx.co.uk/). But if you go on the Nottingham City Transport website there is a journey planner, this will give you all the buses that will take you to the school and how long it will take to walk to you destination etc. None of the buses will be more than a 5/10 minute walk after getting off. There is parking facilities on the school premises, these will hold around 10 cars, so unless you get to the placement for around 8 o'clock you won't get a parking space, there is parking on the road outside the school which is perfectly safe, many of the staff and students park there, however this turning into a blue badge holder area so you will not be allowed to park there unless you have a badge. Other than this there are streets off the main road which you are allowed to park on or park in the asda car park at the bottom of the road and walk up to the school, which is about a 5 minute walk.
This is where the school is situated
If you are a Nottingham student you will already know about the Nottingham night life, where to go and where not to go. There isn't a lot to do around the school area, as many of the pubs etc are in the centre of Nottingham. There are shops around Hyson Green where the school is situated, there is a Asda and also various other small shops owned by families, many of these are Indian shops selling takeaways or clothes. There is also a local market that is there a couple of times a week.
Things to do, things not to do
Again, as this school is based in the UK, you will already know what to do and what not to do. I will warn you though, the Hyson Green area has many different cultures within it and obviously you will see a lot of this whilst you are around this area.
Before you go on the placement, I would recommend that you attend a meeting before hand, the head teacher Jenny will give you a welcome talk, tell you about the school, what is expected of you etc and show you around the school, showing you where you will be working. This meeting will calm your nerves but also give you a rough time of how long it will take you to get there and also how to get there! This really helped both of us! You also get an induction booklet, which tells you what is expected of you, what to wear, the timetable and about the school- this is very useful and as you can keep it, you will always have it on hand to look back at and refresh yourself.
As this is obviously for your assignment, I would recommend looking into what is needed for the completion of the work, what you need to find out, and research a little into the country as this will help you to understand the culture within the school and also aid you greatly with your assignment. Take a notebook or jotter to write down anything you find helpful whilst you are there, once you are home you will forget what you have seen so it is easier to write things down as you see them. All the staff are extremely helpful and will help you with anything that is needed, I found that they helped me with not only my International Perspectives module but also my Different Childhoods and Early Foundations of Learning, I benefited a lot from this placement!
This website http://www.berridge-inf.nottingham.sch.uk/prospectus.pdf will help you understand the school and give you more information on how the school runs and their curriculum, their school rules and how they involve parents within the setting.
Overall, this placement didnt cost a lot, I stayed at home so was very cheap, to get the bus to the placement every day would cost around £3.40 on a city transport bus, some other buses are a little more expensive, as I drove to placement everyday it cost me around £1 in fuel. The school does allow for students to take their own food but you are also permitted to buy a school dinner from the canteen, this can eith be a baguette, sandwich, salad, hot meal, hot meal and pudding, the price for these range from £1.20 for a sandwich to around £2.50- this is a full dinner and pudding, the dinner order has to be palced before 9.30 to be ready for dinner at 12. The dinners are very nice and definately nothing like the old school dinners!!!!! Tea and Coffee is provided in the staff room, but the school do ask for 20p a day for the use of this, obviously if you don't drink it, you don't pay for it.
But most of all before you go.... look forward to it and whilst your there ENJOY IT!!!!! The children and staff are lovely and will go out of their way to help you and guide you along the right path, you really will have a great time!
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