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St Ivo is a Specialist Humanties College with extensive facilities for students to enjoy.
A light, bright dining hall is available for students to enjoy hot or cold school dinners or packed lunches. Breakfast is available between 7.30 and 8.30am and snacks are served at breaktime.
Each subject has its own suite of teaching rooms, and the science department has 14 well-equipped laboratories.
A large art and design block houses specialist accommodation for art and technology, including food technology rooms, a kiln and a photographic dark room.
Sports facilities are of the highest quality. On site, these include a large sports hall, weights room, rugby and football pitches, a well-equipped gymnasium, floodlit tennis courts, and an artificial cricket wicket. The school also has use of a synthetic athletics track and all-weather hockey pitch at the nearby Outdoor Centre, plus the swimming pool at the Leisure Centre. By arrangement with the local authority, the school can use these facilities until 3.00pm, after which they are available for community use.
Performing arts are well provided for, with a purpose-built drama studio in the Leisure Centre, and a music suite including practice rooms and a performance space. A scene from the 2003 school production, A Midsummer Night's Dream, is shown to the left.
The Resource Centre is open daily from 8.00am until 4.30pm. Students will find a bright, spacious area where they can do research, prepare homework, borrow and return resources. The Resource Centre is much more than just a library, with over 14,000 items, including books, audio CDs and DVDs available to borrow plus newspapers and a growing selection of journals and magazines. There are 14 computers with flat screen monitors that can be used by students during lesson times, break and lunchtimes and before and after school. Educational games and quiz books are available at lunchtime and there are regular craft sessions. All the applications on the school network are available in the Resource Centre including the school's website. Students can use the two designated computers to search SEARCHSTAR, the database of all items held in the Resource Centre.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) facilities are developing all the time. The whole-school PC network, shared with Adult and Community Education, can be accessed from 10 ICT suites as well as the Resource Centre. Many departments also have laptops, mobile devices and other computers in their teaching areas. Items of ICT equipment, including interactive whiteboards, digital cameras and multimedia projectors, are available for use throughout the school to enhance teaching and learning, including some public areas such as the main hall. All suitable classrooms have a data projector, and interactive whiteboard. Wifi is available in the Keep (Sixth Form building) and some other areas of the school.
All students are allocated individual user names and passwords to allow access to a range of applications, including Microsoft Office, Adobe Macromedia suites, photo and graphic manipulation software, department specific software, as well as the school intranet and the world wide web. They have their own area for storing work, as well as an individual school email address. Access to curriculum resources is through 'Projects' - an internal section of the network organised by subject area. Subject resources and information are available through the subject pages on this website and the school's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Computers are available for use at break, lunchtime and after school in the Resource Centre and through a number of clubs. Wifi is available in the Keep (Sixth Form building) and some other areas of the school.
Year 7 students are introduced to the Resource Centre at the beginning of Year 7, with one of the many resource-based learning projects that they will be involved in throughout their time at school. Projects encourage students to use a wide variety of resources such as encyclopaedias, the internet, CD-ROMs and books. Students are taught the independent research skills that help in lifelong learning.
The Resource Centre is open for parents to visit as part of the Year 6 into 7 Evening in July. Parents/carers can look at newly purchased resources and see examples of the information skills materials that will be used with Year 7. Parents are encouraged to take an active part in supporting their children's learning and homework. The Resource Centre, along with many out-of-school-hours clubs and activities, shows how the school supports children and parents. A Homework Club takes place every afternoon except Friday in the Resource Centre between 3.00 - 4.30pm.
The school has set up IvoOnline, a secure online system which facilitates communication between the school and parents/carers. Amongst the information available is real-time attendance data, behavioural data and merit points, letters home, assessments and reports, and the business centre, where you can purchase school uniform, canteen credit and much more.
All parents/carers are encouraged to create an account so that they can benefit from the information provided by this system. It has been in use for several years, and currently over 90% of parents/carers are using the system. For them it is a quick and easy way to get some feedback on how students spend their time in lessons, and at lunchtime so that they can discuss current progress as a family and with the school. In addition the usual ways of home-school communication as described below complement the system.
You will want to ensure that your child makes a good start to their secondary education. Ways that you can do this include:
Each child is provided with a St Ivo planner in which to record their homework. Students are also encouraged to use their planners to note in any achievements (in or out of school), and to write down anything they need to remember. There is also a section for them to write any comments on each week, and to set themselves targets. The targets do not need to be huge: examples might include remembering PE kit, asking for help with something they have found difficult, learning a few spellings, putting their hand up at least twice in class discussion, or making a special effort with a particular homework. This planner is a three-way process; student co-operation, parental supervision and the tutor overseeing this by signing the planner weekly. It is important that this system is maintained to keep the whole process running smoothly and any problems can then be spotted quickly.
If you have concerns about your child or their work, their form tutor is usually the most appropriate person to contact, either via the planner, or by leaving a telephone message. Your child's form tutor sees them every day, and will be looking at planners regularly. For serious or urgent matters, it is usually best to contact the Head of Year or Assistant Head of Year. When telephoning the school, it is helpful if you can say what tutor group your child is in.
Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning, and students' work will be regularly assessed, informally and formally. Students of all abilities have a range of opportunities to show what they can do. We aim to involve students in their own assessment, by making them aware of the criteria by which their work will be assessed. Books are marked in accordance with departmental policies. In Key Stage 3, each department will have identified points in the year when students are encouraged to reflect upon their progress, often following completion of a major piece of work.
All KS3 and KS4 students will receive three assessments a year which will show their progress against national targets. One of the assessments will include a written report by the subject teacher and it will indicate progress and give targets for improvement. If there are any concerns about a student's progress there is the opportunity for a member of staff to write a comment about progress.
Parents and carers are asked to discuss their child's assessment with them, and can respond on the sheet provided if they wish. The targets on the assessment sheet are a guide to a student's potential and the student should be aware of the skills they need to acquire and the tasks they need to do to reach their target in a particular subject.
One evening is held for each year group, when students book appointments for their parents/carers to see their subject teachers. In addition, there is an opportunity in the first term of Year 7 for parents/carers to see their child's form teacher to discuss how their child is settling in. In Year 9 there is a consultation week when parents are invited to discuss option choices for Year 10 and a curriculum evening when the GCSE courses are described and explained. Also, there is an open evening for Year 11 students who are considering continuing into the Sixth Form.
The school recommends the following websites for both pupils and parents:
S-Cool (revision website)
Top Marks (revision website)
Childnet "Know IT All" - a guide for parents'/carers' to getting the most out of the internet and keeping children safe online
