Following the successful opening of its new secondary school at Downham Road, the Hackney New School Academy Trust is delighted to have gained a Funding Agreement from the Department for Education to open a new community primary school in September 2015. Work to prepare for the opening of Hackney New Primary School (HNPS), which will have a cohort of 50 children in two Reception classes, commenced in July 2014.
Our vision for HNPS is to provide students with access to the widest range of opportunities in life by fostering academic excellence and instilling self-belief, intellectual curiosity, and responsibility towards others in society.
If your child is born between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2015, you will be eligible to apply to Hackney New Primary School for Reception entry in September 2019. Admissions are administered by Hackney Learning Trust as part of the pan-London coordinated admissions process. You may include Hackney New Primary School as one of your 6 choices on the online admissions form.
Hackney New Primary School is organized into three phases. Each day at school comprises the Core Curriculum in the morning and the Foundation Curriculum in the afternoon.
Children in Reception are taught from the Early Years Foundation Curriculum and Year 1 children from the National Curriculum. The aim of Phase 1 is to settle children into school life as quickly as possible, supporting them to become autonomous and independent learners, who are calm, kind, and considerate to others. There is a focus on teaching every child to read, alongside rigorous teaching of the other core subjects. We aim to address quickly any differences in children’s early experiences through high-quality teaching and targeted support, so all children can play an active part in school life.
Phase 1 has a separate outside area for play. We hope that Phase 1 days are full of excitement and wonder as they learn about the world and develop their interests. By the end of Phase 2, we hope that all of our children will be committed learners, with the necessary core skills to access a rich and challenging curriculum and the curiosity to extend their learning. Children in Phase 2 receive specialist teaching for music and Spanish. Phase 2 have their own play space for break and lunchtimes. All Phase 2 children have the opportunity for small-group music tuition. We hope that the great majority will take advantage of the enrichment activities we offer, staying later at school each day to follow their interests and discover new activities.
We have the highest possible expectations for children’s achievement right across the curriculum. Our aim is for every child to be ready for secondary school by the end of the phase, able to communicate clearly and lucidly, both orally and through their writing. Phase 3 children have the opportunity to read and study great literature, encountering ideas and concepts beyond their current experience. Our children are taught to think and reason mathematically, applying their fluency in maths to solve a range of abstract and real-life problems. The challenging and motivating curriculum at HNPS enables every child to become well-rounded and interested in both their learning and the wider world beyond school. Children in Phase 3 have specialist teachers for music, English, mathematics, Spanish, and PE. Children in Phase 3 have the opportunity to make use of the resources at our sister secondary school, ensuring a smooth transition to secondary school. We hope every child will take the opportunity for individual instrument tuition and will join one of our bands, groups, or ensembles and perform regularly. We anticipate that every Phase 3 child will make the most of our extended school day to attend enrichment activities.
There are two types of school policies, statutory ones which exist across all schools, and non-statutory ones which may be similar between similar schools. There is a review cycle for policies to make sure their relevance is maintained. If you require a translated version please contact the school office and we will do our best to help.
There is much research to show that what makes a difference to a child’s achievement is when parents know and engage with what their children are doing in school. We have therefore devised a home learning program that is flexible to suit different children and their families. Each term there is a menu of activities and children are expected to complete enough of these to reach a total of 100 points. One family might choose to do this on one day by visiting a museum related to a curriculum topic, another child might complete weekly maths and English activities. The aim is to create positive shared experiences for all families through a mixture of creative and curriculum-linked activities. Our twice-weekly parent workshops are designed to give an insight into your child’s learning. Recent topics include behavior management, early reading, music, and speech and language support.
