Hawthorn Primary

[EduCativ]

We have agreed on a set of aims for the school which covers academic and school development. Our vision is to send out pupils from Hawthorn Primary School who are motivated, caring, confident, and skilled-equipped for the future. Our mission is to provide a happy, inclusive, safe, and stimulating learning environment where pupils, parents, and staff feel valued and develop as individuals.

Our Values:

• Every individual matter
• Learning is at the heart of all that we do
• We take initiative in making beneficial change happen
• We involve the community and the world beyond in our school life

In the May of 2010, the school had a very positive inspection report. The school was graded good or outstanding in all 40 judgments with no significant shortcomings in any aspect. The word outstanding was used 17 times in the summary alone. There were two recommendations in the report to move the school forward. To further develop learners' self-assessments skills. To improve provision for work-related education This year the school has continued to use some strategies to further develop learners and raise standards across the school curriculum.

The child is central to our curriculum. We aim to nurture all our pupil’s positive attitudes to learning that will enable them to become independent learners. Through this they will be able to adapt to new ideas and methods, using a wide range of skills taught. We believe in making full use of the children’s interests and provide rich first-hand experiences that will act as a basis to develop their skills. In preparing for the 21st Century, today’s learner needs to be able to adapt and refine skills taught to a variety of contexts and situations.

The school curriculum follows the requirements of the National Curriculum 2008. The new Literacy Numeracy framework has also been developed to be incorporated into the National Curriculum. Early Years and Years 1 & 2 implement the principles of the Foundation Phase. Through this approach, learning is based around structured play, including time being spent outdoors.

This approach follows the principles of early education that have been developed so successfully in Scandinavian countries for many years. The school will report to Year 2 parents on outcomes of attainment in English, Mathematics, and Science. There are also statutory assessments for Year 2 pupils that take place in May of each year. These are in Reading, Numerical Processes, and Numerical Reasoning. The outcomes of these assessments will be sent to parents when the results have been returned to the school.

Pupils in Years 3 to 6 follow a themed approach to deliver the curriculum. Many of the National Curriculum subjects are taught within a theme including RE, Literacy, and Numeracy. Literacy and Numeracy are taught as separate subjects during morning sessions and are applied as skills during the teaching of the Foundation Subjects in the afternoon sessions. Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning through this approach, by choosing which skills can best be developed through the activities undertaken. The work is as practical as possible allowing pupils to develop their Key Skills, which include Communication, Number, ICT, and Thinking. There is a strong emphasis on pupils working independently, developing problem-solving skills, and also working with others. A variety of teaching styles are used to maximize the effectiveness of this approach. Therefore there will be opportunities for children to work in groups to develop their talking skills, but there will also be whole class and individual learning opportunities.

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