Furzedown Primary School

Furzedown is a two form entry primary school situated in Tooting, South London. The school reflects the community it is part of, with children coming from a wide range of backgrounds. This diversity is celebrated as a real strength of the school. The school is organised into 8 year groups, Nursery – Year 6 with two classes in each year group. Key stages one and two have 3 teachers assigned to every year group whilst EYFS have an additional teacher across the phase.

Teachers and support staff are committed to delivering a creative and exciting curriculum which inspires children to learn. We place a high emphasis on developing children’s personal and social skills so that they are:

• Enthusiastic about learning.
• Confident and proud.
• Respectful of others.

Furzedown is a friendly, happy and stimulating place to learn. We have a strong sense of community and we ensure that our children feel safe and nurtured.Above all we want our children to have a variety of experiences during their time with us, to be willing to try new things without fear of failure and to become independent, confident and open minded young people.

We aim to make this a school, where children of all abilities and backgrounds are given the skills to explore, investigate and learn exciting new things for themselves. Where they feel valued. Where the whole community promotes positive interpersonal relations. Where the thrill of learning means they want to find out more. Where everyone has the opportunity to explore and develop their strengths and participate in new experiences. A place they care about and take responsibility for making even better. A place where they are secure and happy and they have positive relationships with peers and adults. We aim to become an inspirational school to produce good citizens for the future in an atmosphere that promotes confidence, high academic achievement, physical health and emotional well-being.

At Furzedown School we have high expectations of all our children, encouraging them always to do their best regardless of their gender, ethnicity, additional needs or beliefs.We are committed to educating in a holistic way, focusing on the social, moral, creative and artistic as well as the academic. We have worked hard to build a school community with positive relationships based upon mutual respect and support. We are proud of the cultural diversity that makes up our school community, we see it as a strength that we should celebrate. We help children see the importance of taking responsibility for themselves, their actions and their learning. Ultimately, this encourages them to become independent learners and active members of society.

Everyone at Furzedown is a learner. This is at the heart of everything we do and guides the school’s development. We believe that every child is entitled to the very best educational experience.
We raise standards by self-evaluating our practice, communicating our high expectations clearly to children and to each other, setting aspirational yet realistic targets and goals based on what we know about each child. We are determined that our children are given every chance to realise their full potential and enjoy their time in primary school.

We aim to make the quality of the children’s experience our main priority, focusing on teaching and learning, the curriculum and the child as an individual. We look to involve the whole school community as much as possible, to support us in promoting positive attitudes to learning and to each other and to all members of the school and wider community.

We focus on the curriculum to ensure

• it is broad and balanced.
• It is interesting and appropriate.
• early identification and support of pupil’s individual needs.
• It supports all children to make progress linked to their own ability.
• It adheres to government advice and law.
• It reflects our community and maximises the resources of London.

Our focus on teaching and learning means that

• the quality of the children’s experience is our main priority.
• we build opportunities for staff to progress professionally and improve their teaching.
• we build on our ability to highlight strengths and areas that we need to improve.
• the school’s whole community (pupils, parents and staff) are its main resource.

We enable children

• To be confident in themselves as learners.
• To take part in an exciting and stimulating curriculum.
• To take part in extra-curricular activities.
• To learn through experiences in and out of the classroom.
• To engage and involve parents.
• To support the local community.

We work hard to ensure all children at Furzedown Primary School receive a broad, balanced and creative curriculum which engages and challenges them. As a primary school, we educate children aged 3 to 11, covering Nursery, Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

The Foundation Stage makes a crucial contribution to children’s early development and learning. We provide children with a rich variety of teaching and learning experiences that are appropriate to their needs. The Foundation Stage is about developing key learning skills; listening, speaking, concentrating, persistence and learning to work and co-operate with others.

The six areas of learning that make up the Foundation Stage Curriculum are

• Personal and social development
• Communication, language and literacy
• Mathematical development
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Physical development
• Creative development

The outdoor environment is also a special part of the Foundation Stage curriculum. Our use of the outdoor areas is carefully planned as regularly as the weather allows! The reception classes have their own specially equipped outdoor area which is planned for and in continuous use.