Griffin Primary School

Here at Griffin, we are set to begin our 1st official year as part of the Elliot Foundation, which will support our drive to improve the progress and attainment of every student across the school. As many you of will know, The Elliot Foundation (TEF) are a Multi-Academy Trust of primary schools. We have chosen to join with them because they share the same ethos and philosophy of education that we value here at Griffin. TEF are committed to creating an inspiring environment in which everyone can help children to achieve; ‘where children believe they can because their teachers know they can.’ TEF believe in ‘supporting diversity, creativity and specialism’ and we also deem these to be very important.

We also begin this year as key partners in a brand new 3-Academy Federation with 2 local schools. Greenside, Griffin and Lena Gardens are now working together (GGL Federation) to make the experience of all our communities even better. Each will maintain their unique and very different identity but together we will continue the recent improvements to our creative curriculum and Griffin way of learning - anything that we can do better together, we will do.

The Autumn Term will see the launch of our exciting new Inside Out learning model with a focus on 3 key strands of learning: Forest School, Sports and Arts World. Students will work creatively and collaboratively, within a rich and engaging curriculum, that supports them to learn and consolidate key skills. Running alongside our thematic ICB (International Creative Baccalaureate) curriculum, we are now facilitating Inside Out Fridays - where every class will be ‘off timetable’ and will use the day to explore, apply, reason, question, design, collaborate, cooperate, discuss, problem solve, create, discover… The possibilities are endless.

In the Autumn Term this year our students in each year group will be studying an aspect of our whole-school theme ‘Maybe it’s Because I’m a Londoner.’ Each term we focus on a key strand of the arts, the first of which will be photography. Working alongside local artists and photographers, all students, staff and members of the wider school community will participate in a large-scale Griffin photography project, capturing moments in everyday life. A selected image from each student and member of staff will be printed onto postcards, and displayed in an exhibition - in our school and also at the Battersea Power Station. What an exciting opportunity.

Our whole-school themes for the rest of the year will be ‘Music Today, Music Tomorrow, Music Forever!’ ‘Life on Mars’ and ‘The Great Griffin Makeover.’ Each one will enable us to instill our whole school ethos and mottos for learning: ‘Experience the world with us!’ and ‘Give your best and get the best!’ which capture our philosophy that learning is about actively engaging with the world and striving to achieve our personal best. We are so fortunate to have such positive and enthusiastic students and, therefore, every learning experience we provide will aim to encourage students to talk, think and question so that they get the very best from their learning.

At Griffin we believe that our students learn best when they are challenged, engaged and inspired and aim to achieve this through our curriculum and our new Inside Out Learning model. This encompasses many things: taking learning from inside of the classroom to the outside world through Forest School, striving to achieve our personal best (inside ourselves) and working together as a team (with others outside of ourselves) through sports and expressing our inner thoughts and feelings to the outside world through the Arts. It also captures the work we do through RRS and PATHS: how the choices we make on the inside affect the outside world and how we manage our feelings internally in order to develop positive relationships on the outside.

On Inside Out Fridays we will learn in a new and exciting way, by working on a creative project across the day, incorporating different curriculum areas, that helps students build on and extend the skills they have been learning throughout the week or learn new skills altogether. Sometimes the whole school will work on the same Inside Out Friday theme together.

Our Griffin pedagogy will enable us to instil our whole school ethos and mottos for learning: ‘Experience the world with us!’ and ‘Give your best and get the best!’ which capture our philosophy that learning is about actively engaging with the world and striving to achieve our personal best at all times.

At Griffin we are proud to be a multi-cultural school where many students are learning English as an Additional Language. We work hard to provide them with broad educational experiences that will develop their spoken language, reasoning skills and ability to fully engage in their learning by both asking and answering questions. These 3 skills: to talk, think, and question, will form the basis of every learning experience we plan and deliver for our students in order to support them to make the best possible progress.

Griffin Primary School is a place of excellence where students can achieve full potential in their academic, creative, personal, physical, social, moral spiritual and cultural development, Our Mission:

• All students will be high achievers who fulfil their potential.
• All students and adults have the right to be treated equally and with respect.
• Students will take pride in what they do and be inspired to become life-long learners.
• Everyone has the right to learn and work in a happy, enjoyable and safe environment.
• The partnership between school, family and our local community is strong and effective.
• Students develop as healthy citizens who are equipped to participate fully and responsibly in a 21st century world.

Griffin Primary School provides every child with regular access to a variety of high quality learning opportunities, meeting the requirements of the National Curriculum. We strongly believe in using the curriculum as a tool for broadening horizons. Our students are aspiring global learners.

We are committed to offering an inclusive and creative curriculum, to ensure the best possible progress for all students. Our educational aims for children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities are the same as those for all children in the school. More Able students are identified within school, and provision is adapted to meet their needs.

We run a school ‘Nurture Group’, following the Marjorie Boxall method, where the prime focus is on meeting social and emotional wellbeing needs. Building emotional literacy is an essential focus within the group. Stimulating opportunities for play and collaboration are provided, as a basis for the development of social skills, alongside daily access to the relevant curriculum.

Throughout the school year, students are given the opportunity to perform and present in a variety of contexts for different purposes. We hold weekly class assemblies, to which parents and family members are always invited. We have strong links with high quality cultural organisations, including the National Theatre. As part of their 8-year school journey, every student will access a range of projects through these organisations. Creative arts skills are introduced, developed and consolidated, ensuring a long lasting impact on Teaching and Learning. As an Artsmark Gold school, we embed creativity in everything we do, and we are extremely proud of what we have to offer.