Community
Annfield Plain Junior School was established in 1875. In May 2015, the 140th Anniversary Celebration took place. As a community school, we have close links with local residents, businesses, schools and agencies. We use the curriculum, enrichment activities and partnerships to develop our pupils’ understanding of how their heritage and the school are at the heart of their community.
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In the curriculum, Geography and History are used to develop an understanding of heritage. Life skills sessions help pupils develop an understanding of how to care for their local and global community. Visits and visitors such as Beamish Museum, Geocaching Navigation Days and business visits e.g. Tesco Food to Fork Trail, Lanchester Energy Visits, Derwentside Homes, Nissan Factory visit are some of the ways we develop this understanding. We also have, in recent years, completed community projects ending in book/leaflet publications of, “Our Community, Our Responsibility, Our Future”, “When I Grow Up…Project” and an educational trail leaflet around the village. We share these with our local community and local infant school, as we do our bi-annual publication of our community newsletter, “Annfield Appletree”. We also visit the local churches, the local library and Stoneleigh care home regularly. Remembrance memorial services in Annfield Plain Park with other local schools, community residents and a community partnership group help embed an understanding of heritage.
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We have close relationships with other agencies working in the community e.g. the school health services, the police, the local wardens, the local councillors, the fire-brigade and green team. They visit school regularly and have been involved in annual “Bringing Communities Together Events” which have taken place from 2012 to 2016, for the parents, carers and pupils of Annfield Plain Junior School, Annfield Plain Infant School and Catchgate Primary School. Many other partnership activities between schools and agencies take place, including an annual singing picnic with the Infant School, a week’s residential to Howtown Outward Bound with Dipton Collierley Primary School, school sporting competitions with cluster schools etc.
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Caring for the global community is also a key part of life skills sessions and we have in previous years been a partner school with a primary school in Amiens, in France. We also have completed partnership work with a school in Mexico and the “Pulling out the Stops” – renovating the organ project, with a school in London and the Royal Festival Hall.
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