We are a one and a half form entry primary school for ages 2 -11, in the London Borough of Islington. In 2013 we were named “National Primary School of the Year” in the Pupil Premium Awards.
Our school motto “Excellence for all, excellence from all” reflects our high aspirations and ambitions for children and there is a driving determination to ensure that all pupils and adults in the school reach their full potential. We are not complacent by any means and are continually looking for ways in which we can improve the school further.
Pakeman is a happy and inclusive school of which our children are proud. We want them to have special and happy memories of their time at Pakeman.
We expect high standards of behavior and manners, and children fill a range of leadership roles across the school. We offer a rich and varied curriculum and, in our last inspection, Ofsted noted that provision for music, art, physical education, and information and communication technology (ICT) are particular strengths.
We are committed to delivering an exciting and inspiring curriculum. We have updated our schemes of work to reflect the content and challenge of the new curriculum.
Our curriculum is taught with the consideration of the needs of all learners.
We place a high emphasis on basic skills and as a result, our children achieve well. We aim to produce well-rounded children who can play a positive part as tomorrow’s citizens.
During the year we have theme weeks, such as Arts Week and Science Week, which allow children to develop their skills in a more focused way. There are also educational trips that reinforce the learning taking place in the classroom. We have visits from a range of experts in their field -for example, musicians, historians, and artists.
Our vision is of Pakeman Primary as an outstanding school which:
- Is optimistic, reflective, ambitious, and relentless in its drive for continual improvement and excellence
- Is a challenging, stimulating, and rewarding place for children and staff to learn, work, and enjoy themselves
- Supports children to be happy, curious, positive, resilient, and healthy young people, with high self-esteem and self-belief, who love to learn, contribute fully, and achieve well
- Offers an attractive, safe, stimulating environment for teaching, learning, and play, and is well organized, staffed, and managed to achieve the highest standards
- Is inclusive and rights-respecting, with high aspirations and ambition for all pupils, enabling every pupil to make the very best progress and achieve the very best results they are capable of
- Recognizes and celebrates success and where happy memories are created
- Provides full and genuine equality of opportunity for all
- Has the full confidence of parents and carers who work with the school in a positive partnership and are involved in decisions affecting their children’s education and learning
Celebrating Success - We find that one of the most effective ways to encourage children to learn and to behave well in school is through praise and the celebration of their successes.
Achievement Assemblies - We have fortnightly achievement assemblies in which each class teacher makes a nomination of children who have made an outstanding achievement, in either academic or social terms, within their class. Parents are invited to assemblies to see their children being awarded a certificate.
“Pakeman Oscars”, given to children who have made a significant effort over time. Children’s successes and achievements are recognized in many other ways at Pakeman.
At Pakeman we take a whole school approach to the promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural education as we recognize that it plays a significant role in children’s ability to learn and achieve. We, therefore, aim to provide an education that provides children with opportunities to explore and develop:
- Their values and beliefs their spiritual awareness
- Their high standards of personal behavior
- A positive, caring attitude towards other people
- An understanding of their social and cultural traditions
- An appreciation of the diversity and richness of their cultures
At Pakeman, we teach pupils about British Values which are defined as:
- Democracy
- The rule of law
- Individual liberty
- Mutual respect
- Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs
We aim to develop and broaden the range of children’s learning experiences, to leave them confident, eager, and enthusiastic learners who are looking forward to school. We hope to play our part by treating your child as an individual and offering him/her a variety of experiences and activities which are designed to further their development process.
Much of the children’s learning will be through play where children are offered a range of activities each with an underlying educational purpose. Play is how the children explore a variety of experiences in different situations for a variety of purposes. It is a process that provides for children a way of learning about the world around them.
