F.A.Q
CANTINE: Are the meals provided in the school cantine balanced?
SWIMMING: Why don’t the children always learn to swim?
THE PLAYGROUND / The lack of space for children: How does the school make up for this problem?
Why is it so difficult to welcome new families in the school ?
STRIKES: Why aren't parents informed much earlier ?
ENGLISH: How English is taught in Jacques Prevert?
Why is there no NURSE based at the school ?
What is the status of the school and how is it managed?
The Clubs: What should you do if you cannot fulfil your tour of duty?
BULLYING: How does the school handle any bullying related issues?
CIRCUS: Why the circus activity is not available to all classes?
"Classes de decouvertes": Why is it that only some children go on school camp every year ?
CANTINE: Are the meals provided in the school cantine balanced?
As the managerial entity of the school, The Comite de Gestion is responsible for the cantine's organisation. The meals are prepared each day on the premises by Nora and her team using fresh products. The cantine works under the self-service principle with use of a tray. The children have a variety of choice for starters, main course and dessert. The children are only provided water as a beverage.
A time slot of 30 minutes is allocated to each class or group of classes.
The menu is posted on the APEEF board outside the school.
For more information please contact the school director (M. Le Directeur).
Texte/lettre de Chartwells de juin 2007 avec présentation de Nora :
« CHARTWELLS eat well – learn well
Dear parents,
Chartwells are delighted to be working in partnership with the school to provide your child’s school meals.
Feeding young people is a responsability Chartwells has always taken seriously – not just when it is in the news ! We have known for a long time, that while a child is at school, providing nutritionally balanced menus, consisting of fresh seasonal foods, freshly cooked and attractively served, by well-trained and motivated chefs and their teams, cannot be bettered.
As part of our Nutritional Policy, Chartwells aims to provide a well-balanced menu that is predominately home-made, using fresh ingredients. A menu that not only meets nutritional guidelines but is also attractive and fun.
We encourage children to be « food explorers » through the opportunity to taste new menu choices. This approach encourages children to broaden their palates and become aware that eating a variety of different foods can be both an exciting and interesting experience.
We are always delighted to have the opportunity to discuss with you any areas of the food service that we provide at the school. If you would like to talk to us, please contact the Chartwells catering manager at the school. »
« News from your catering team.
L’école française. Nora Mcshane – chef manager
Nora knows that the food she offers must be prepared using the finest ingredients including fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Every day she produces the most wonderful homemade dishes, fresh vegetable crudités and cut fruit to tempt the children into choosing the right foods. Nora has recently attended one of the Chartwells « Recipe for Life » workshops and has implemented some new recipe ideas from the menus this term. Executive Chef, Andrew Walker, has been involved, supporting our team and has held two assemblies with the aim of making food fun and assist our manager in getting the children thinking about good food and eating a balanced diet. We need to start them early. Andrew
will be on site on Tuesday 26th June to speak to the pupils and have a fun day with them !
Nora would be pleased to discuss and assist with your child’s special dietary needs (allergies). Please contact the school office to arrange a convenient time to meet. »
SWIMMING: Why don’t the children always learn to swim?
With any questions relating to the teaching, please speak to the teachers or the headmaster of the school. Please find below, however some of the replies from the Directors of the school to the APEEF when the question was asked in 2006. "The requirements of the National Education specify that water based activities and swimming contribute to the education of the child and aim to give them specific skills. This is especially for children from maternelle classes to take part in play activities so they can be comfortable in the water. As a consequence, there is no specific swimming lessons. At Jacques Prévert this familiarisation is provided by qualified swimming teachers. It so happens that all the children that follow these lessons learn to swim by the third key stage (CE2 CM1 CM2) and can therefore improve their swimming techniques in the future. Please note: the teaching is provided in English and will soon count as part of the hours of English taught (in progress)
THE PLAYGROUND/ The lack of space for children: How does the school make up for this problem?
For questions relating to the actual teaching, please speak to your childs teacher or the headmaster of the school. Please find, however, replies from the Directors of the school APEEF when the question was asked in 2007.
The playground has been modified at the beginning of September 2007 with areas designated for specific games to avoid collisions (basketball, hopscotch etc). The school has also put in games that don’t take up too much space: Three vertical tracks which allow children to play with toy cars, other games for the younger children are brought out for their play time and put away after. Each class is given a foam ball that they can use during playtime. As well as this, the school hires a number of external venues for physical education and Sport: access to 3 pools (Fulham, Chiswick, St Pauls), 2 nearby gyms (Addison, Masbro). The children go to Brook Green daily during their lunch break. When the weather allows, the younger classes also use this space for sport. From the beginning of the year, the classes from key stage 3 have gone to Holland Park to play rugby and athletics.
Why is it so difficult to welcome new families in the school ?
The number of children is limited to 250 pupils (OFSTED report) For any questions you may have regarding the policy to be accepted in the school, please visit the school's website under 'reglement interieur-policies'.
STRIKES: Why aren't parents informed much earlier ?
Can you still bring your children to the school ?
From a legal perspective, unions can inform the school only 24 hours prior to the actual strike. However, APEEF, in association with the school's management will always try their very best to gage the information as early as possible. The school's management will then immediately inform all parents in writing through the 'individual child's communication pad' and via the school's website.
In the event of a strike, the school strongly encourages parents to keep their children at home. However, the school will still provide to look after the children, whose parents are unable to keep them home, but there will be no teaching.
Why is there no NURSE based at the school ?
The school's premises are quite restricted. In addition, because the school is financially subsidised, the budget does not allow for a nurse on a full time basis. However, the school does recognised the need of a nurse, in case of emergency and 2 teachers (Mrs Lucas and Mrs Quillerou) have been professionally trained to assist the children in case of an emergency. For any further information, please refer to our policies: 'First Aids' and ' Medical Requirements' and on our website 'Interior-Policies'. Since September 2007, Mrs Annie Claudel a specialised school's Doctor, is under contract with the Jacques Prevert School. She has studied each pupils' medical history and circumstances at the beginning of the scholar year and has discussed with the school' s Director the many procedures to put in place in case of an emergency:
- Emergency written specific instructions
- PAI (individual requirements Project) when required
ENGLISH: How English is taught in Jacques Prevert?
For questions specific to an educational subject such as the teaching of English, please refer to the teachers of your children or the Director of the school. Each class follows an English course of 30 to 45 minutes (depending on age level) per day, given by professional English teachers. Classes are divided into three groups. From CE1 a part of the history and geography programs is assured by English teachers. This program is aligned with other French schools in London. Please note that the teaching of swimming given by English teachers will soon be integrated into the overall volume of hours of English teaching.
What is the status of the school and how is it managed?
See Management comittee section
For questions of this type, please visit the school website www.ecoleprevert.org.uk/ section Presentation and operation.
The Clubs: What should you do if you cannot fulfil your tour of duty?
If, for whatever reason, you are unable to carry out your assigned duty watch, it would be helpful if you could make arrangements directly with another parent in order to switch times as soon as possible. Do not forget to warn the person running the club as well as the school office.
Bullying: How does the school handle any bullying related issues?
The teachers and school management are very vigilant to this problem. Teachers have had training to enable them to identify and handle any instances of bullying. The school usually holds an “information” week on the subject and in 2007 the English teachers covered this topic this with all the classes.
A written policy on the subject, to be used as a guideline, has been drafted and can be consulted on the school premises. Please visit www.ecoleprevert.org.uk, under the heading “internal rules and policies” – anti-bullying.
CIRCUS: Why the circus activity is not available to all classes?
For questions specific to an educational subject, please refer to the teachers of your children or to the Director of the school.
This activity is conducted at the initiative of volunteer teachers and is programmed based on a class project (about 4 classes per year). Please note that this activity has been systematically run for several years in Maternelles classes, where children can take this opportunity to develop skills which specifically match the specific programs of the children of this age. The APEEF subsidizes every year this activity up to £ 1250 per year to limit the participation of parents (£ 55 per child for the year). The total project costs approximately £ 9000 per year.
"Classes de decouvertes": Why is it that only some children go on school camp every year?
For questions specific to education and the school curriculum, please refer directly to your child's teacher or the school Headmaster.
These projects are carried out at the initiative of the teachers who volunteer to organise and participate in the school trip. They are not mandatory and are not in the Curriculum. However, it has become a much liked tradition at Jacques Prevert that the oldest children go on a "Classe de decouvertes" once in their time at Prevert. These projects are subject to the views of the French Consulate's Cultural Services and require a rigorous organisation in order to comply with all regulations. The cost of these trips is funded by the child's own family.
