Laycock Primary School

We are at the heart of Highbury, just off Upper Street and around the corner from Highbury & Islington station inviting children locally and from other boroughs. We have a diverse intake of children, families and staff of which we pride ourselves in immersing children in a community where they can see themselves represented and learn about other people and their lives. Our new curriculum has a large focus on belonging and representation to ensure every child can thrive knowing they can achieve greatness.

At Laycock Primary School we develop ambitious learners who have the ability to achieve. We have a clear focus on learning and developing the whole child. We are determined that every child will exceed expectations and make excellent progress in all areas of learning. We are proud that Laycock Primary School provides a wide range of experience. We are proud that learning happens inside and outside the classroom.

We believe

• Every child is capable of great things. – ‘If you believe it you can achieve it!
• That if learners show Kindness this will lead to greater Unity.
• That a calm, respectful school is the best environment for our learners.
• That school community must work together to create an inspiring and supportive environment for ALL.

Our Aims and Values

• Kindness
• Unity

Good relationships and high expectations support much of the school’s work and the sound of laughter and groups of children and adults talking and sharing the learning is a common feature of life at Laycock Primary.

At Laycock Primary School, we believe that our curriculum should be challenging, exciting, enjoyable, and relevant. We strive to meet the needs of all children across the spectrum of abilities.

We want a curriculum that is a carefully planned, thematic approach to teaching and learning designed to support children’s natural curiosity and stimulate their creativity. It will offer children the opportunity to work in depth, giving them the time they need to reflect, consolidate and transfer their learning.

At Laycock Primary School we believe the classroom environment is extremely important. We aim to ensure our classrooms are lively, engaging, and belong to the children. Our class sizes in the mainstream provision are capped at 25. Our Hearing Impaired classes have between 6-8 pupils in each class.

Children in our Early Years Foundation Stage learn best by doing, i.e. through active participation in an environment where they are safe and secure and where their individual needs are catered for. Children do not make a distinction between ‘play’ and ‘work’ and neither should practitioners. Children need time to be engrossed, work in depth and complete activities.

Early Years at Laycock Primary aims to provide a curriculum which is carefully structured and integrated

• Provision for the different starting points from which children develop their learning, building upon what they can do, valuing learning through play and first hand experience
• Children are encouraged to be independent and autonomous in their learning
• Children think in a positive way about themselves so that they feel respected as individuals, whose culture and language are valued
• Parents and practitioners work together to provide a secure link between home and school
• Ensure that all children have high quality learning experiences
• Consider children’s interest, previous experience and needs when planning for their learning

At Laycock Primary we use the comprehensive synthetic phonics programme, Floppy’s Phonics Sounds and Letters, developed by phonics expert Debbie Hepplewhite to systematically teach and practise Letters and Sounds.

To improve the quality of Teachimg and Learning, and we have not looked back since. Phonics sessions are a regular feature of life at Laycock Primary.

The resources are fully matched to the DfES Letters and Sounds phonics programme and are further supported with Oxford Reading Tree stories enabling your child to build confidence by providing opportunities to practise decoding skills.

All children have a common entitlement to a broad balanced and enriched curriculum. All pupils at Laycock Primary School have access through a variety of resources. Adapted plans for both more and less able pupils are vital in ensuring all pupils make progress and all pupils have challenging next steps.

We respond to pupils’ diverse learning needs, and enable more suitable learning challenges to be set for all. Some pupils experience barriers to learning as a result of their disability, heritage, gender, special educational need, ethnicity, social group, race or culture.

These barriers to learning are recognised and support given to ensure all pupils are engaged and confident learners.

Pupils are confident using our ‘learning language’ to discuss their learning, and how to discover the next step. We are committed to building Learning Power at all levels.