Halley Primary School

Our school is in a vibrant part of east London, a short distance from Canary Wharf. We work in close partnership with our parents and other members of the local community including businesses. Halley is always a busy and stimulating place to be and the whole community is very proud of the school and its successes.

We aim to make every day an exciting one for our pupils and staff. We have a great deal to offer, not least our rich and creative curriculum which is enhanced by ICT and extended by our out of school hours activities.

We have a strong commitment to inclusion and as a barrier-free school are able to accommodate a number of children with physical disabilities. We have a large team of specialist and support staff working with pupils with Special Educational Needs. We also work extremely hard to challenge and stretch our most able children.

We are extremely proud of our school grounds which have been developed to ensure that all pupils have stimulating and happy playtimes. We encourage older children to support the play of younger ones. We have recently added a Japanese garden to our play space, which offers a calm, peaceful corner away from the hurly-burly of the playground.

We see our school as a community of learners - pupils, their parents and members of staff are all on a learning journey. We offer many opportunities for parents to work alongside their children as well as to learn for themselves. We also have a long-standing commitment to the professional development of our adult team. We hope that our pupils are able to thrive and develop in their school and we have high expectations of them in terms of their achievement and their conduct. The school's behaviour policy is entitled "Great Expectations".

The school has defined seven principles through which it aims to provide a learning environment for all associated with it, whether they are children, parents, staff, other professionals or the wider community of Tower Hamlets. They are also principles by which we try to evaluate our work and support the diverse needs of the community in which we work.

Our aim is to deliver the National Curriculum by providing high quality teaching and rich experiences for all our children to learn well and achieve their personal best. We aim to provide the best resources, facilities and programmes of work to meet the breadth and range of a child’s personal and educational needs in the most cost effective way.

It is our intention to develop a greater knowledge and awareness of the wider community in order to understand children, support their families and to benefit from the richness of opportunities for positive interaction and co-operation. We are committed to exploring partnerships with both community and business groups to promote active citizenship on a local, national and global scale.

At Halley we understand that greater things are always on the horizon and that success is not an end point. We are at our best when we are striving for something better. We all commit to school improvement; ensuring that we take time to celebrate what we do well, to consider ways in which we may build on our strengths and to rethink things that may not be working as well as we want them to.

Our motto, "Including all learners and achieving great things" sums up our vision and is applicable to all our pupils, their families our staff and other members of the wider community. We understand that for some of our school community the barriers to learning and achievement are significant and we work tirelessly to ensure that all are included meaningfully in the life, work and thinking of the school. For our staff to be the best they can be, they too must continue to learn, to improve their skills and receive time and appropriate support to develop. Training and development is central to the school's organizational structures. We recognize that we can add significant value to the life and work of the school by working in partnership with parents, families and the wider community.

At Halley we strive to present the best possible learning opportunities to our children and continually review and evaluate the curriculum being offered. Central to the most recent review and development is our desire to move from a National Curriculum to OUR curriculum. Our curriculum is designed to meet the current and future needs and aspirations of our children as well as make the most of the learning opportunities offered by the richness and diversity of the cultures and environment on our doorstep.

We believe that a broad, balanced and creative curriculum in which the development of skills and attitudes take central stage will not only result in excellence and enjoyment but will also drive the push towards higher standards and profound life-long learning. We want to own an outstanding primary curriculum that will challenge and inspire all our pupils and prepare them for the future. Although there is an emphasis on the development of personal, social and learning skills and attitudes, there will be a continuing stress on securing the essential expertise in English, Maths and ICT.