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Hackney New School’s curriculum focuses on the core subjects of the English Baccalaureate, Music, and additional options such as French and Art, providing all our pupils with the opportunity to take at least ten GCSEs and four A levels. Our emphasis is to provide your children with an outstanding academic education, to teach them to think independently, and develop a sense of responsibility for the society in which we live. In this way, we will prepare them as well as possible for a challenging and interesting life. The School will reach a full capacity of 700 students by 2019 and now occupies new, state-of-the-art buildings close to Haggerston Station in Hackney. The School was oversubscribed when it opened and HNS was rated “good” with outstanding features at its first Ofsted inspection in June 2015. We opened an oversubscribed primary school in 2015, which will shortly move to brand new premises adjacent to the senior school. The School’s dedicated and gifted staff team of subject specialists has been instrumental in its development. They have benefitted from strong leadership, a clear shared vision, robust systems of training and support, and the opportunity for rapid progression. Our objective at Hackney New School is to equip students with the intellectual and emotional tools they need to lead an interesting, rewarding and diverse life. Our brand new buildings are located on the canal basin in Haggerston giving excellent access to residents of Hackney as well as East/South-East Islington. We hope you will be able to join us at one of our open days to see the School in action and hear about our plans which include our primary school which opened in September 2015 We are very excited to be able to offer a unique alternative for the education of your children and cannot wait to show you around our wonderful new buildings. If everyone at HNS wanted to go to Oxford or Cambridge and succeeded in doing so because of the education and grades they achieve at Hackney New School, we would be delighted. However, we are more interested in developing certain faculties that we believe are required to lead a good life regardless of whether they are being put to use at university or in some other walk of life – for instance, an ability to think critically, solve problems, and understand how and why others may have very different beliefs than oneself. If we achieve this, we will have delivered a very good education to HNS’s students. We are proud and delighted to introduce you to Hackney's New Sixth Form – a new Sixth Form for Hackney. Our core vision 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. We offer a challenging and interesting A-level curriculum that will provide outstanding teaching and learning opportunities from an experienced and highly motivated staff. We have the knowledge and experience to help your son/daughter achieve their full academic and personal potential to enable them to pursue their interests at the highest level and join an outstanding university in the UK or abroad. Hackney New School focuses on personalized learning for our students and this flexibility is enabled through our extended school day. The extended school day (particularly the Study Afternoon) provides the opportunity for further enrichment and development of student skills and knowledge through their individual Personalised Learning Plans. Through our students’ personalized learning plans, Hackney New School can offer an extensive range of support and enrichment activities to support and challenge our students. The personalized learning sessions for students requiring support include small group lessons in areas such as literacy, numeracy, or social skills. The following is an example of the Summer Term support program currently on offer to our students. The Library at HNS currently has 3700 fiction and non-fiction books housed in a light airy room on the third floor of the main Canal Building. The library is managed by two librarians with the support of a rota of Year 7 student librarians. In keeping with the school’s core beliefs of academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, responsibility, and self-belief, the library provides students and staff with a wide range of educational and recreational books and magazines designed to support the needs of all users, from ‘quick reads’ – that is, shorter simpler books aimed at teenagers – through to classics in beautiful hardback editions which students are encouraged to tackle to challenge themselves. The primary focus of the library is to foster a love of reading for pleasure within every student. Years 7-9 have a library lesson in the library every week in which they are encouraged to browse the shelves, choose books of interest and enjoy some unfettered reading time. A librarian is on hand throughout, to guide reading choices, make recommendations and, at the end of the period, lead a short literary appreciation discussion. There is an online catalog (the Web OPAC) accessible from any computer within the school. Students and staff can search for books and websites by title, author, subject, or keyword. The catalog homepage is regularly updated with news items, such as Author of the Week, book lists under subjects, and links to online resources. Users can also log on to their area of the catalog and see their borrowing history, review, reserve or renew their books, and create book lists. The library hosts weekly ‘reading buddies’ sessions during which year 9 volunteers read with year 7 students, supporting them with their literacy and helping them find books at their level. Year 9 reading buddy volunteers undergo training to help prepare them for this important role. We are in the process of setting up a formal arrangement with the international publisher Hachette a project which they will facilitate to encourage reading for pleasure amongst all of our students, including those who struggle with reading. 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. View full school

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. View full school

Hackney Community College is part of the New City College group, formed by the merger of Hackney, Tower Hamlets, and Redbridge colleges. Being part of the New City College group means shared resources and expertise, greater financial stability, and increased opportunity for students, staff, and our local communities. School leavers and adults can choose from hundreds of popular courses, and study full or part-time. We also have flexible opportunities for employers to train their staff, through our partner company View Training. Our Shoreditch campus is based right in the heart of Hoxton – the vibrant home and workplace of the fashion and creative industries and on the doorstep of Europe’s fastest-growing technology hub, Tech City. There’s plenty of space to study and learn, with fabulous facilities for students to learn skilled trades as well as classroom-based study. There’s also a spacious courtyard and buzzing student lounge with plenty of room for students to relax. We love our campus and know that you will too. We are accredited by several external organizations, including Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services, and Skills. Also, Investors in People, the organization which assesses leadership and people management. Hackney Community College aims to operate an effective, efficient, and fair admissions and recruitment process. We regularly review and update the following policy to underpin practices and procedures that ensure that all sections of our diverse communities can access and make the most of opportunities for further education and training. The College offers many learning opportunities. Whether you’re a school leaver seeking an academic or vocational qualification whether you want to progress to higher education, or you wish to develop new skills to improve your career prospects, we have a course to suit you. And we’re happy to offer any advice you need to make the right decision. With many days, evening, and weekend courses available, you can fit your studies around your other commitments easily. We are committed to helping anyone who wishes to improve their learning potential, including students with language or learning difficulties. There are loads of choices at Attlee Academy. You can choose from a great range of academic A Levels and BTECs, professional qualifications, and qualifications in specialist trades. Unlike a school, you’ll study in an adult environment – and are treated with respect. Having a safe and secure sixth form center within a larger college is fantastic. The campus is amazing and the facilities are really good – particularly the extensive library which includes lots of PCs and iPads for you to use. All 16-18-year-old students on any study programs at New City College take maths and English alongside their main course. If you haven’t already achieved a grade of C/5 in English and Maths we will support you to re-take and improve your grades. The popular student lounge is where we can chill out with friends when we’re not studying – and there’s an amazing sports center – which is so good it was used as an Olympic training venue for the basketball teams during the London 2012 Games. The teachers treat everyone as an adult and as an individual. They spend a lot of time listening to you and helping you with individual needs you have as well as run revision classes over the holidays. They make sure that your voice is heard – and there are forums that you can participate in – and you make your own decisions. There are student advisers who offer fantastic careers advice – and can also give you access to hardship funds and other bursaries. You’ll get to go on lots of field trips to complement the classroom lessons – including visits to universities and businesses in the area. Your teachers can also help you to find internships with leading City Investment Banks – which does set you apart from other university applicants. You can choose to become a Student Ambassador while studying, which as well as giving you paid work, also adds to your CV. You’ll gain a lot of customer service skills and make some great friends too. Employability Service is available to all students at all stages of their college journey. Whatever course you’re on, this applies whether you are a current full/part-time student or recent alumni. Our qualified and experienced Careers Advisers are on hand to assist you with making decisions about course choices, develop your employability skills while studying, or investigating what your future options are when you leave us, we’ll be there to help you through the process. Our services are free, impartial, and confidential. We offer a non-judgemental and confidential service. You can get a range of advice and information about mental health issues as well as emotional, practical support with your education needs. As a student, you automatically become a member of Hackney Community College’s Student Association. There are elections for key positions for the Student Association Executives i.e. President Vice President, Equality and Diversity Officer, Media Officer, Women’s Officer, Entertainment Officer, Activity Officer, and Welfare Officer. With Stonewall’s support, we are building on our work in celebrating difference among the student community and tackling any instances of homophobia. We are working to make sure that we consider these issues across our work and college life – from our policies and the language we use to tutorials, activities, events, and the books and publications we have for our students’ reference. We are also committed to working with our local community to tackle homophobic bullying and celebrate differences within our wider community engagement work. View full school

The Olive School, Hackney is a Muslim faith primary school, established in response to community demand for high-quality education that meets the aspirations of local families. We are a Muslim faith school that promotes traditional British values and welcomes applications from all faiths and none. Our vision for Olive Hackney is that it is a happy, friendly, safe, and encouraging place where everyone feels welcome and valued a place where expectations are high and achievement is expected and celebrated a place where all members of the school community care about each other a place where behavior is exemplary and where the success of all kinds is celebrated. The Olive School, Hackney is part of the Tauheedul Education Trust. As a progressive, inclusive, and outstanding Muslim faith school, the Governing Body will consider all applications equally without reference to faith. To help you to understand the admission process better, we have produced several documents listed below. Please read the documents carefully. We hope you will find them helpful and informative. Our pursuit of educational excellence is based upon our unshakeable belief that every child is unique, special, and has the capacity within them to succeed. As a result, staff offer an inspirational and life-enhancing educational experience for all children and work tirelessly to ensure that every child is nurtured, inspired, challenged, and supported to succeed and develop their natural gifts and talents. We aim to build the skills, knowledge, and positive attitudes necessary to help all our pupils become responsible, respectful, and tolerant citizens of the future – exemplary members of their community who contribute to the development of a successful society. At the Olive School, we recognize that all knowledge is sacred and worthy of pursuit and that lifelong learning is a tradition of Islam and other world faiths. The curriculum at the Olive School is designed to foster thought, curiosity, and a desire for learning in all children regardless of their backgrounds, strengths, and needs. The curriculum will provide a solid foundation for future learning ensuring that the key skills in English and Mathematics are taught well through creative and enjoyable lessons. The curriculum will operate at three levels and will address all pupils’ academic, personal, and social development. Most of our parents responded to our request to complete our annual questionnaire. We were delighted by your responses. Some of you also gave us some really helpful suggestions to make our school even better. Here is what you said and what we did about it. Each pupil has a personalized learning journey designed to challenge and support them. The school has a rigorous half-termly assessment cycle to track progress in Reading, Writing, Phonics, and Mathematics and these are regularly reviewed by the senior leadership team and governing body. Half-termly pupil progress meetings are also conducted with all class teachers to discuss progress and early action is taken to address any areas of concern. Parents also have an important role to play. They receive termly progress cards and are required to attend performance review meetings that cover their child’s academic progress, attendance, and behavior. The pupils’ levels are obtained from the tests and from the teacher’s assessments that are carried out during the year. This shows us what pupils have learned and retained during the previous two years. The tests help the school understand the strengths and weaknesses of each pupil in each subject. The Governors are passionate about The Olive School and are here to make sure that every young person is given the best education, opportunities, and experiences possible. Our Governors play an important role in overseeing the work of the school, acting as “critical friends” for the Senior Leadership Team, and holding the school to account for performance and development. We teach our pupils the importance of being kind, compassionate, and respectful to everyone that they meet, irrespective of their faith, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, or any other perceived differences. Through our leadership specialism, community service projects, and interfaith alliances, our pupils meet inspirational people from a diverse spectrum of backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures, and are encouraged to embrace all that life in modern Britain has to offer. We also consider it essential for our staff to lead by example and exemplify and model British values. British values are therefore built into our staff induction processes and reiterated in all staff training exercises. The examples provided below – whilst by no means exhaustive – serve to demonstrate how British values permeate our curriculum, ethos, and a wide range of leadership activities, along with our commitment to providing ample opportunities for our pupils to develop a strong moral foundation and a drive to make a positive impact in their local community, Britain and beyond. Our pupils are introduced to the concept of “democracy” and “the majority vote” from a young age, participating in Pupil Council elections (where representatives are elected by way of a democratic process) and engaging in a wide range of discussions concerning issues that directly affect them. Pupil's voice is considered to be of utmost importance, and members of the Pupil Council are encouraged to vote on key issues that are likely to affect their classmates, as well as bringing their proposals to staff for consideration. Pupils who are appointed to leadership roles are taught how to effectively represent their classmates and the importance of considering everybody’s viewpoint when making an informed decision and reaching a common consensus. Such pupils must demonstrate civic, moral, and performance characteristics to command the respect of – and act as an advocate for – their peers. Pupils are encouraged to become politically aware from a young age and participate in debates concerning age-appropriate issues, developing arguments for and against carefully chosen topics. In doing so, they learn how to put forward a strong case for causes they believe in (an essential part of the democratic process), as well as how to employ both facts and emotion to resonate with other people. View full school