At John Ball, we offer you and your children a warm welcome to the school and hope that time spent with us is successful and enjoyable. Whether you are an existing member of the John Ball community, a prospective parent, or just an interested visitor we hope you find the site interesting and informative.
Our school is continually responding and changing to offer the highest quality of education for our children. We are committed to offering our pupils a broad curriculum and the opportunity to excel academically, in sport and the arts, all within a safe and caring environment. Due to this, we are a popular and highly oversubscribed school, recognized by Ofsted as being an Outstanding Provider. John Ball takes seriously its duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Our Safeguarding Policy sets out the measures in place to ensure that this happens. Our policy can be found under “Our School” / “School Policies” Tab
We have a very dedicated and highly qualified group of staff and governors, who see their role very much as a partnership with you and your child. We are all determined to realize our vision of “Achievement, ambition, and progress for all…”. We are recognized as a National Support School by the DfE for our work in supporting and working with other schools.
John Ball is a fully inclusive school at the very heart of its community. We pride ourselves in preserving the family feel of our school with a clear focus on positive relationships as a central driver of all that we do.
We are focussed on the learning of every single person connected with the school whether they are pupils, staff, governors, or parents and carers. As adults, we must model being a learner! Only by ensuring that we are all still willing and open to learning about ourselves and what we are trying to achieve, will the school continue to thrive. We believe that everyone in our community can learn and achieve beyond what others may expect. This belief in a “no limits” approach is a key driver of what we believe in and how we do things.
We cherish individuality and want everyone who learns here to be able to express themselves as an individual whilst sharing the core values of our school. We wish our pupils to leave us as confident individuals who are resilient and ready to cope with the ever-changing world around them. The children with us now will have jobs that don’t yet exist, using technology yet to be invented. As such, they need to have a broad range of skills and values to prepare them for this challenge.
Our approach to learning is holistic and child-centered. Learning is designed to celebrate the rich, cultural diversity of Lewisham’s local community. We also take advantage of being at the heart of the city of London and access as much learning within this truly global city that we can. We also ensure that initiatives and developments are evidence-based and research-led to ensure their impact on learning.
We are committed to honest and open communication about everything to do with the school both from those who are part of it every day but by positioning ourselves as an outward-facing school, learning from other schools and organizations. We value collaboration and partnership, whether formal or informal. We are always happy to share what we have learned, are learning about, or could learn through visiting being visited by others!
We fundamentality believe:
- That all learning should be fun!
- In the right to feel safe, healthy, and happy within the school environment.
- In respecting individuality and valuing everyone equally, irrespective of their abilities, interests, or difficulties.
- In the importance of building relationships and working together to create positive change.
- That all members of our school community have the right to engaging learning experiences which will unlock their potential.
- That our school should promote learning to everyone as a lifelong process.
Our core values are:
- Honesty
- Responsibility
- Kindness
- Creativity
- Respect
- Cooperation
- Individuality
- Fairness
- Confidence
- Positivity
- Trust
- EnJoyment
We promise, that by the time a child leaves John Ball School they will have had the opportunity to:
- Sing in a concert
- Play an instrument in a concert
- Learn a new language
- Visit a central London Museum
- Go to a museum or place of interest outside of London
- Sleep at least one night away from home with your class
- Visit a farm
- Have a speaking part in a play
- Represent our school at a sports event
- Hold a position of responsibility within the school
- Take part in a celebration for another faith/culture from your own
- Grow – cook – and eat a vegetable in school
- Join a School Club
- Go to the theatre with your school
- Perform in a concert/production outside of school
- Enter a school-based competition
- Enter a national competition
- Had a piece of your artwork displayed for all to see
- Be an ambassador for your school
- Work alongside an expert
- Spend an evening at school
