Aragon is a very popular three-form-entry school set in spacious grounds to allow and encourage healthy outdoor activities. The teachers and governors value honesty, care and respect for others, a sense of responsibility, creativity, and imagination, and an understanding of what it means to live in a close community.
We are committed to safeguarding the welfare of all our pupils and believe that all children, whatever their abilities, their strengths, and weaknesses should be given the same opportunities, the same support, and encouragement to learn and to develop academically and spiritually in a secure, loving and disciplined atmosphere.
We consider that learning should be a pleasurable activity and therefore all children should work hard and so recognize and achieve their maximum potential with a strong sense of self-worth. Children are encouraged to have high expectations of their achievements, to be confident of their individuality, to be able to share their experiences with others, and to respect different beliefs.
Every child’s achievements, however small, are highly valued by the whole school community. We believe in a broad curriculum, emphasizing the creative arts for example Room 13 art studio, as well as the “three Rs”. This gives every child a chance to shine: we want every child to find at least one thing at which they excel.
Aragon Primary School is part of the Pan London Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme for primary admissions. Applications must be made through the London Borough of Merton during the period 1st September to 15th January in the year before the child is due to start. Attendance in the Nursery does not give priority for a place in Reception, therefore a separate application must be made by parents wishing to apply for a place in Reception. If you wish to apply for a place at Aragon Primary School, you must name the school as one of your preferences on the application form. Aragon Primary School has 90 places available in Reception. Included within this figure are children with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) which names Aragon Primary School, who will be allocated a place before other applicants are considered.
The Governing Body of Aragon Primary School ensures a transparent recruitment process and governors are appointed following nomination and election according to statutory guidance and in consultation with the Board of Trustees of the Willow Learning Trust.
Our Governing Body consists of eleven elected Governors and four Associate Governors and includes members of staff, parents, and those co-opted from the local community. All volunteer their services and time and have been selected because of their specific knowledge and skills essential for the effective governance of the school. Terms of office for co-opted/ community governors are for 4 years with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body as well as the Chairs of Committees requiring an annual election.
Full Governing Body Meetings and Committee Meetings are held every term and along with Ms. Davey, Headteacher, who is responsible for the day-to-day management and control of the school, we provide the school's strategic focus and direction. We are entrusted with ensuring the clarity, vision, and ethos of the school, the strategic leadership and accountability, and by ensuring financial probity. Trustees and appropriately nominated governors also attend regular Willow Learning Trust Board of Trustees and Committee meetings.
The Governing Body’s Code of Conduct is strictly adhered to and signed annually, we also must publish our Register of Interests, set out for each current governor and those who have served at any point over the past 12 months. This includes any relevant business/pecuniary interests of governors, details of any other educational establishments they govern, and any material interests arising from relationships between governors or, relationships between governors and members of the school staff (including spouses, partners, and relatives).
At the commencement of all Governing Body Meetings, Governors are asked to declare whether they have any pecuniary or personal interests, this is documented in the minutes of the meeting and the appropriate form completed if interests have been declared.
The role of governor can be a challenging one, it is rewarding to be a representative of an organization that has such a positive impact on the children that attend and the community it serves. All decisions we make are always in the best interest of the school, the pupils, the staff, and the parents/careers.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is dedicated to eradicating the abuse of children. That means we are part of UK policing and very much about tracking and bringing offenders to account either directly or in partnership with local and international forces. But our approach is truly holistic. Walk through the CEOP Centre today and within any one team, you will find police officers specializing in this area of criminality working with professionals from the wider child protection community and industry. You will find seconded staff from organizations such as the NSPCC, teams sponsored by the likes of VISA and SERCO, and experts from government and corporations such as Microsoft offering specialist advice and guidance. That approach is dedicated to building up intelligence that in turn drives the business, informs our operational deployments, steers our CEOP Academy programs to law enforcement, child protection, and educational sectors, and drives our dedicated Think You know program for children and parents of all ages. It is an approach that sees the development of specialist areas such as our Behavioural Analysis Unit, our approach to victim identification, or the development of our Child Trafficking Unit as well as filtering into all areas of our outreach activities such as the Most Wanted initiative and our public awareness plans. The real lifeblood of the CEOP Centre is intelligence - how offenders operate and think, how children and young people behave and how technological advances are developing - all are integral to what we are about and what we deliver.
