We aim to provide our pupils with a well-rounded and enjoyable education that ensures each child succeeds academically, physically, and emotionally - preparing them for life in an ever-changing world. We have identified six shared values, which we develop with the children throughout the academic year: Respect, Unity, Cooperation, Aspiration, Responsibility, and Integrity.
Our evolving curriculum has been designed to challenge and inspire the children exposing them to a wide variety of exciting experiences including visits, events, sports, music, and drama but also time to reflect and respond. As a result, our children develop excellent behavior and social skills while they learn.
Pupil Premium payments, which are used to enhance the quality of your child's education, are available to all eligible pupils. At Harris Primary Academy Orpington, Pupil Premium is used to provide your child with:
- Additional support with their learning including Speech and Language Support, Counselling, Booster Classes, and behavior and learning support
- Target support with reading
- Discount towards the cost of school trips, visits, and events
- Discount for all clubs and sports
We have a list of '100 things' that we would like every child to have undertaken throughout their primary education. This includes simple things like walking barefoot on a beach and flying a kite to visiting ten London landmarks and performing in a concert. We hope these activities will ensure that the children are exposed to a well-balanced, wide, and rich curriculum - preparing them for their secondary education and future lives.
- In work and play, our children are encouraged towards the 4Rs to be reciprocal, reflective, resilient, and resourceful.
- The specialism at our Academy is Literacy, which we chose because we believe that learning to read, write and communicate effectively is extremely important.
- All of our students have a reading lesson every single day – this is so that they can read fluently by the time they are age 7.
- Reports are sent home on a termly basis, providing parents with information about their child's progress and noted areas for development.
- Creativity and fun are important aspects of the way we do things at the Academy – there is always time and space for children to develop their imaginations and thinking skills.
We are extremely proud to be part of the Harris Federation which combines 42 primary, secondary and all-through academies across London. As part of a thriving community of schools, we benefit from the ability to share, learn, support, and challenge each other as we grow together.
Our academy is a member of the Harris Federation, a group of 44 primary and secondary academies in and around London educating some 30,000 young people. The Harris Federation Teaching School Alliance enables us not only to train and develop teachers and leaders in our academies but also to do so for other schools. Each academy is led and run by its Principal and other senior leaders: we are deliberately a federation rather than a chain. What unites us is a culture that ensures the children and teenagers in our schools get an excellent education within a happy, caring, and supportive environment.
As a result of this, all Harris academies so far to have been inspected by Ofsted have been rated either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ with the vast majority being Outstanding. Many of these academies replaced schools previously considered to have been failing.
