Families and Community
Burton Green is a small, friendly, nurturing school based at the heart of our community. The Pastoral Lead and Head Teacher are on the gate at the start and the end of every day to welcome the children and their families. Teachers are also available on their classroom doors at the start and end of every day.
Ofsted 2019: Pupils’ sense of pride and belonging is tangible. This sense of pride extends to the wider community, including parents. They value greatly the support you provide, especially in times of need.
Quotes from Parents
Choosing Burton green school was the best decision we could have made for our child. The staff are caring, communicative, well informed and always give us time to discuss our child’s progress. Michelle Boden
What an amazing sense of community at Burton Green. There is such a warm welcome and sense of friendship. All of the staff in the school have the ability to connect with every age group and this has been wonderful for our family. The staff at Burton Green also know the parents and understand that we have concerns and worries about our children. Whatever the issue is, the school will work with each individual need to the best of their ability. What an amazing start my children have had. They are learning through fun, love and laughter and this shows in how proud they are to go to school every day. Thank you Team BG! Emma Yates
Pastoral Lead
At Burton Green, we are incredibly lucky to have a full time Pastoral Lead, Yvonne French. Yvonne works with the children and families in our community and is frequently referred to as ‘the heart of the school.’ She has recently won an award at the Community Pride Awards – Public Hero of the Year. Yvonne has worked at Burton Green for 27 years and in that time has supported countless children and their families. Many children quote ‘Mrs French’ as the reason why they feel safe in school. Her pastoral room ‘The Nest’ is open for children all day long, including at playtimes and lunchtime. She has recently completed the Mental Health First Aid course. Yvonne regularly meets parents and grandparents for a cup of tea to support them as well as their children.
Quotes from children:
‘I love Mrs French, it is like she is in my family.’ (Year 3 boy)
‘Mrs French is amazing. She is kind to us all and helps me if I have any worries. I have my lunch in the Nest with her and she has helped me to get faster at eating.’ (Year 4 boy)
‘Mrs French is wonderful as I can tell her all of my worries and she helps me to feel better. I know I can go to her if anything is wrong.’ (Year 5 boy)
‘Mrs French is a kind lovely person. I can talk to her about anything and she is always there for us. She makes me feel happy.’ (Year 6 girl)
Parents
We love welcoming our parents into school. We hold events such as Family Phonics and Book Breakfasts in school time so that parents can take part in sessions alongside their children.
Supporting our Families
We support our families in a number of ways:
- We have excellent links with the Salvation Army who help us provide families with toys at Christmas
- A gift of warmth – coats are regularly outside so that the children have a warm coat
- We have regular donations of children’s books which are free to a good home
Our Community Garden
At the front of school, we are lucky to have our lovely Community Garden. This is a place for our families to sit and talk in a relaxed, peaceful environment. The community garden project was partly funded through a grant from the Clifton Ward. We recently used blackberries from Forest School and apples from the Community Garden, to make delicious muffins.
Wider community involvement
We have regular visits from Ollie Maskell, our local PCSO. He spends time with children across school and helps them to understand how they can stay safe at school, outside of school and online. We also have visits from other people who can help us such as: firefighters, doctors, nurses, dentist and vets.
Nature Friendly Schools
Nature Friendly Schools is a ground-breaking project funded by the Department for Education and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) with support from Natural England.
By developing teachers’ confidence and ability to drive forward outdoor learning in schools, Nature Friendly Schools is giving thousands of children in England the opportunity to get closer to nature benefitting their learning, health and wellbeing, and care and concern for the environment. It is fuelling creativity and a sense of adventure, allowing children to experience the joy that nature can bring. At Burton Green, we have developed our Forest School and also each child has planted a tree in the school grounds.
