Brindishe Lee School

Brindishe Lee is a community school where learning together is seen as a very important part of the education that we offer. The school building is open plan, which means the way we organise teaching and learning is different from traditionally designed schools. Each year group of children or class has its own classroom. Each class also has a shared area outside the room, has access to smaller rooms and also use of our outdoor learning areas. Children will use different spaces in the school depending on the curriculum area or the type of learning in which they are involved. They are not always limited to one classroom under the direct supervision of their teacher. You might imagine this creates a lot of noise. In fact it doesn’t – Brindishe Lee is a very quiet and calm school. Children learn in a calm and considerate way and behave responsibly.

Being part of an open-plan school encourages a feeling of commitment and belonging in our children. They are encouraged to see themselves as part of the whole school, they get to know all members of staff and all members of staff know them. Teaching and support staff work closely together sharing responsibility for making a very organised and educationally stimulating environment, ensuring that resources are well looked after and available. They also help all children to behave well and become successful learners.

Although Brindishe Lee has a very informal feel, structure and organisation are important to us and we have clear procedures and policies for every aspect of school life. These are carefully applied to ensure that Brindishe Lee children achieve high standards, are well supported in their learning and develop a strong sense of community and good citizenship. Our values are

• Children, families and staff at Brindishe Schools are drawn from a rich variety of social backgrounds, family structures, ethnic groups and religions.
• We value the right of each person to respect, courtesy and the recognition of individual differences. We work actively to ensure that all adults and children are given every opportunity to achieve, to recognise their own worth and to play an important part in our community.
• We expect and work towards high achievement from all pupils. Each child’s contribution to the classroom and school is welcomed and valued. We make sure that they have the opportunity to learn to the best of their ability and to raise their individual academic achievement.
• Education at Brindishe Schools is designed to benefit all of our children and to celebrate the rich, cultural diversity of Lewisham’s local community.

Brindishe Schools do not select according to ability and therefore the children within each class will be of mixed ability. We recognise that children are better or more confident in some areas or subjects than others and they learn and develop at their own pace and in their own way and so we use a mixture of teaching methods and plan opportunities to cater for different learning styles. This way we ensure that all children are able to succeed. We always look for creative ways to introduce and link areas of learning.