Hotham Primary School

At Hotham our vision is to equip children for life by providing them with the academic, social and personal skills they need to succeed in education, to relate well to others and to pursue their dreams. We are a two-form entry school with a ‘Bilingual’ and ‘Open’ class in each year. Children in both the ‘Bilingual’ and ‘Open’ classes are taught part of the English National Curriculum in French. Although we have a bilingual stream, the children in both the ‘Bilingual’ and ‘Open’ classes are taught part of the English National Curriculum in French, through the CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) approach to learning a foreign language.

While we are well-known locally for our bilingual stream, there is much more to life at Hotham than language learning. A number of Hotham pupils will cite Music and PE amongst their favourite subjects. Each year we enter a number of local sporting competitions as well as having inter-house competitions within school. Children have the opportunity to learn a range of musical instruments including violin, piano and clarinet. This year we are also excited to have a resident Art-teacher working with us for two days each week.

We are proud of the inclusive richness that exists at Hotham. Our children come from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the wide range of languages, cultures and social backgrounds within the London Borough of Wandsworth. Our parents are very supportive, with a large number of them trained as parent volunteers, invited guest speakers, arranging special events, raising funds for major school projects. Staff at Hotham work hard to ensure that children’s time at primary school is happy and memorable. A number of educational visits including residential trip to the Isle of Wight and France, enhance the curriculum.

Our pupils are confident and happy, independent learners who celebrate their achievements and diversity whilst discovering their life long potential for success.

At Hotham School, we equip children for life by

• Working collaboratively with all stakeholders (home / school /child / governors / community).
• Providing a stimulating, child-centred curriculum which celebrates academic excellence.
• Teaching children to respect each other and themselves.
• Helping children to recognise their place and responsibility in a culturally diverse, global society.
• Encouraging curiosity, enthusiasm and independence.
• Promoting challenge in a safe and nurturing environment.
• Championing the importance of physical, emotional and spiritual well being and healthy lifestyles for our children.
• Teaching diversity is a strength which should be respected and celebrated by all who learn, teach and visit our school.

At Hotham, we believe that learning should take us on an amazing and fun filled journey! It is an active, social adventure which is engaging and creative. Children, from EYFS upwards are encouraged to be active in their learning and our topic based curriculum is designed with the children’s interests at the centre. High quality teaching and learning opportunities support individual needs and encourage children to identify future learning targets. Parents/carers are sent an outline of what topics and subjects their child's class will be covering at the start of each term.

Our curriculum is enriched by a wide range of educational visits, including residential trips for pupils in Key Stage 2. We offer pupils a number of extra-curricular activities, ranging from Cheerleading to Chess to French. All pupils in Year 4 learn to play the clarinet and there are opportunities to learn other instruments as well.

We believe every child deserves the best possible start in life and the support which will enable them to fulfil their potential. The Early Years Foundation Stage is a very important stage as it helps prepare children for future learning and success. We believe children’s early years’ experience should be happy, active, fun and secure: and support their development, care and learning needs.

We strive to provide children with memorable and exciting learning experiences! We allow children to take ownership of their own learning, encouraging them to be active and independent learners. The learning environment we create ensures that self-initiated learning is automatic and spontaneous, leading to enthusiastic, curious and confident children with enquiring minds. We hope the learning process will be a ‘two way process’ where we share and celebrate your child’s success, achievement and development together.

The Key Stage One team respect and build on the Early Years curriculum, promoting continuity and cohesion for pupils moving from the Foundation Stage to Key Stage One and ensure a smooth transition into Key Stage Two.
The children are provided with stimulating and nurturing classroom environments, are encouraged to continue a love of learning through our creative cross-curricular planning and make excellent progress academically. They also have fantastic fun in topics such as ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ or ‘Bright Sparks: Looking at Light’!

In both Years 1 and 2, the children continue to receive daily phonics teaching as one aspect of their overall reading and writing development. Our children love reading and through our English and guided reading sessions, we teach the skills required for our children to enjoy both fiction and non-fiction texts, as well as fostering the sense of wonder that only a good book can provide. We also read a lot of French stories as part of our bilingual curriculum and enjoy spending time in our well stocked Media Room."

Lower Key stage 2 compromises of four classes, two classes of Year 3 and two classes of Year 4. We ensure a smooth transition between Key stage 1 and Lower Key Stage 2 which is tailored for all children so that they are ready for the change in timetable and curriculum.

Upper Key Stage Two is made up of two Year 5 classes and two Year 6 classes. In Upper Key Stage Two pupils have opportunities to take on more responsibility throughout the school in a variety of roles. We encourage independent learning where pupils are engaged and challenged.
Pupils experience a variety of whole class lessons, individual and group work, as well as differentiated lessons in class. Year 6 pupils participate in Booster Sessions after school in preparation for National Tests. We aim to inspire pupils to become self-motivated learners with a love of learning. Our curriculum includes subjects such as geography, history, science, art, design and technology, which are taught through exciting topics, ‘The Battle of Britain’, ‘Staying Alive’ and ‘Coasts and Rivers’ to name a few. Literacy and Numeracy are taught daily in engaging and challenging lessons.