Thank you for taking an interest in Shaftesbury Park Primary School. The school was built in 1877 and is situated at the heart of the Shaftesbury Estate, an area of housing well known for its distinctive cottages, just off Lavender Hill in Battersea.
The well being, achievement and progress of each child is our highest priority. We have developed Rights Respecting values and an understanding of global citizenship as the core of how we learn together. Through achieving an understanding of the United Nations Convention Rights of the Child we are able to work together to develop mutual respect and a positive learning environment. It enables our pupils to make sense of their place in the world and their local community.
We have a good reputation for being an inclusive school where everybody; governors, staff, parents and children share a vital role in ensuring we provide the best education possible. As a fundamental principle we aim to develop rounded children who participate fully in their classes and are interested in the world around them.
The fact that we draw from a wide range of nationalities and have a successful bilingual stream, enhances the lives of all at Shaftesbury Park and adds to its energy and vibrancy. We have high expectations in all aspects of school life and are extremely committed to providing the most appropriate academic challenge for all our children. Behind these ambitions lies a strong and dedicated staff team with a real commitment to teacher development. We know our pupils as individuals, and understand the importance of pastoral care as well as high academic achievement.
The school has recently completed a program of modernising building work to ensure we are well equipped for our expansion of the bilingual stream. In the academic year 2013-2014 we received an Ofsted ‘good’ rating, which reflects our high standards and the quality of our teaching and learning.
Our Vision is Shaftesbury Park Primary School – the local school of choice providing an outstanding education to its diverse community.
At Shaftesbury Park Primary School every child will make the best progress and reach the highest possible standards they can in all aspects of their development. Pupils will be nurtured as individuals within the school and wider community. They will be aspirational, reflective learners who enjoy their valued role in our school. Through a creative and diverse curriculum, and with the benefits of a bilingual provision, all children will be empowered to succeed academically and socially so they can take a confident place in an increasingly global and digital future.
Our Mission At Shaftesbury Park, we are at our best when we:
In September 2013, the school opened its first bilingual (French and English) class in Reception. This will move throughout the school so that eventually each year group will have one bilingual class in addition to the traditional class. All children in the school will benefit from the increased exposure to another language and it will give children in the bilingual class the unique opportunity to learn in and about another language whilst still meeting the demands of the EYFS/ National Curriculum and striving for high standards and progress in their learning.
Staff in the bilingual stream will be a mixture of both fluent and native French speakers and there will be carefully planned discrete and integrated opportunities for cultural awareness as well as linguistic development. Children benefit from links with French speaking countries and other bilingual provision in the local area.
There are certain parts of the timetable which we commit to consistently teaching in English; we recognise the importance of high quality phonics teaching, and so ‘letters and sounds’ phonics sessions, as well as guided reading/ writing activities will be in English during the Foundation Stage. During KS1 children will begin formalised French reading and writing learning, which builds on good practice seen in other bilingual settings.
At Shaftesbury Park we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and National Curriculum in KS1 and 2. For further details please see: Curriculum . In addition to this, to further support and extend the children in the KS2 bilingual classes, we follow the Nouveaux Programmes – Coccinelle.
The Social curriculum is very important in terms of developing speaking and listening skills. We maximise on these opportunities in the day and give children many opportunities to hear and use their French language in context; to have lots of opportunity to converse during lunch, play and when socialising with others. We staff the social times of the school day carefully to ensure we maximise the children’s French language experiences.
Lunch service: As in Reception, a French TA will help with lunch service at year one, helping the children make requests from the food service and salad bar in French
Lunch time play: When the children return to their classrooms following lunchtime there is twenty minutes of play based activities before afternoon lessons start. The French TA will lead story activities, songs and games in French.
Afternoon play time is a great opportunity for the children in the bilingual stream to socialise across the three classes (Leopards, Badgers and Foxes). This outdoor session is carefully planned so that the children access songs, traditional French playground games, circle games, storytelling and physical play. The session is generously staffed with both French speaking teachers and TAs to ensure the best language modelling and conversation opportunities for the children. Children who need more support with their French acquisition have additional support to practice in this natural context. In addition to this children from the classic stream classes, who show a real flare for learning French are invited to join these play times.
Children enjoy learning together through a play-based curriculum, which includes a significant emphasis on phonic awareness, learning to read and write, and learning to use number confidently. Classrooms are bright, well resourced and celebrate the children’s achievements. Learning takes place both inside and outside every day, throughout the year. All classes in the Foundation Stage benefit from exposure to the bilingual learning environment. Small group French lessons are provided and the children acquire some basic French through songs, stories and games. In the bilingual class, during the afternoon there is a French immersion curriculum where all teaching and modelling by the practitioners is in French. Children take part in both whole class and small group activities linked to the topic with an emphasis on oral language development.
Key Stage One builds on the learning which has taken place in the Foundation Stage, with staff working together to ensure smooth continuity from Reception to Year 1. Children begin more structured literacy and numeracy lessons linked with their topic learning in a broad range of activities. From year one onwards, pupils have two terms of swimming a year, travelling to our local swimming pool for these lessons. Children in the traditional classes learn French. Our bilingual class begin French phonic sessions in addition to their topic work in French, and this developing phonetic awareness helps with the introduction of French reading and writing.
As the children move through Key Stage Two, there is more emphasis on independent learning in preparation for their transition to Key Stage Three. In addition to the focus on academic achievement, many opportunities are provided to develop children’s physical, moral, emotional, creative and social skills, which is a particular strength of our school. All children are offered the opportunity to go on two residential trips throughout their time in KS2, with one of these being in France. We expect our Year 5 and 6 pupils to take on positions of responsibility throughout the school and be willing to assist in the wider community. Our bilingual classes will continue dedicated sessions to develop their French reading and writing as well as learning about other areas of the curriculum in French.
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