Dallington School

Dallington School is dedicated to helping children develop their interests and passions without unnecessary pressure. We pride ourselves on enabling children to achieve academic success whilst still being able to enjoy their childhood.

We aim for all children to love learning and to grow and develop life-long skills, knowledge and attitudes to succeed in whatever they set their mind to.

Everything that we do in our school is based on a Vision we have created for our children and is underpinned by six fundamental values which shape the way we approach life, relate to each other and help children develop.

We encourage our children to become confident and enthusiastic learners. Our children work and play together in a co-operative, supportive way and great emphasis is placed on nurturing the development of the powers of reasoning, reflective and critical thinking. We provide an environment where children can openly relate to others and expect to be listened to and respected for their points of view.

The school is widely creative and the children are encouraged to assume responsibility in a self-regulated, purposeful way. Art, design and technology, music and dance are strong elements of the curriculum which run throughout the school.

Dallington has been a great passion and source of pride to me, since we opened the school in 1978. Children are at the heart of everything we do at Dallington. They are part of a unique community in which we celebrate childhood. Our children enjoy a happy and relaxed environment.

They are encouraged to contribute, to extend their imaginations, to develop their ideas and to take responsibility for their actions. We want our children to challenge how we use their time, not acquiesce and get on with it.

Dallington is a friendly, open environment in which children develop self-confidence and feel a great sense of belonging. We nurture active learning, inquisitiveness and natural progression. We introduce and develop skills such as Tap Dancing, Ukulele, Circus Skills and ‘Forest Schools’. A full education at Dallington is not only academic, it is an opportunity to experience and maintain a diversity of activities.

Our school community reflects our commitment to a non-selective intake and values our children as active learners.

Our curriculum is organised broadly on a topic basis with mathematics and some language development activities taught outside the topic framework. A programme of topics is followed throughout the school.

The multi-sensory, multi-disciplinary experiences in which the children take part, allow the individual child, the peer group and the adults, to acknowledge and celebrate success.

These experiences also promote a willingness to take on the challenges of independent learning, with a degree of rigour that holds a child in good stead throughout its life.

When your child progresses through Dallington and is prepared for selective competition, albeit for the very first time in their lives, we are delighted to confirm that we have never been unsuccessful in placing a child in a setting that matches their skills and abilities.

During the Foundation Stage, children are introduced to the bases of all future learning in a creative, exploratory and non-judgmental manner. It is at this stage, of course, where the early acquisition of independent literacy, numeracy and research skills are introduced in a naturally progressive manner.

It is at this stage that the children are introduced to swimming, dance, French and Sports, taught by specialist teachers on a weekly basis, enriching the curriculum. The atmosphere we create nurtures the individual and provides a happy, supportive and stimulating environment.

On entering Middle School Dallington children are encouraged to take even more responsibility both for their own learning and as a group member. Our curriculum is topic based which enables children to develop their research and problem solving skills. This allows them to become autonomous learners which in turn builds their self esteem and self confidence.