Thornhill Primary School

Our school is very special; our school motto is ‘Help Yourself and Others to Learn’. We believe that with support all children can become highly successful learners and that all children are entitled to high quality learning experiences in the classroom and beyond. At Thornhill we want our children to have a love of learning and develop skills for life. We want our learning environment to be stimulating and one which enables our children to be active learners, who are creative and critical thinkers. We encourage our children to reach their potential through our creative curriculum, and through creative arts, music and sports.

We aim to make Thornhill a place where

• We learn different things
• We learn by ourselves and with others
• We learn how to learn and explore new ways to learn
• We understand how our feelings affect our learning
• We enjoy learning and know that it needs our personal effort
• We will be known and respected for who we are
• We aim to achieve very high standards for learning for ourselves supported by others
• We work together to create a safe environment that helps us learn well
• We know that you can learn anywhere and all through our life

As leaders at Thornhill we help ourselves and others to learn. Thornhill’s Vision Statement: "Leading and Learning Together".

We will achieve this by

• Learning many different things.
• Learning by ourselves and with others.
• Learning how to learn and exploring new ways to learn.
• Knowing how our feelings affect our learning.
• Enjoying learning, but also knowing that it can be hard and it needs personal effort.
• Being known and respected for who we are.

We believe that high quality learning is much more than learning facts and information but is about the development of lifelong learning skills such as the ability to collaborate effectively, take risks, show resilience and persevere.

Our Enrichment Programme will seek to focus on work-related learning, community participation and personal, social, emotional development. Enrichment activities and experiences will have clear outcomes linked to Foundation subject objectives within the 2014 National Curriculum. To achieve this we believe it is essential to develop school links with different organisations to give our pupils a head start.

We aim to achieve a broad and balanced curriculum linked to real life experiences. The purpose is to promote the life-skills needed for everyday life, develop “soft skills” that, in the long term, employers and universities look for, while also giving pupils the opportunity to find out more about their interests and passions.

We believe that learning is so much more than attainment and grades on a page but a myriad of attitudes, emotions, beliefs and skills. Learning new skills benefits children in the long run. It not only helps them develop confidence and social skills from a young age, but enrichment programs are actually considered critical because the brain is developing so rapidly at this age.

At Thornhill we place great value on teaching children to read and love books. Thornhill uses Read Write Inc. to provide a structured and systematic approach to teaching literacy. It is used by more than a quarter of the UK’s primary schools and is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers.

The Read Write Inc. programme meets the higher expectations of the new National Curriculum and uses effective assessment to accelerate every child’s progress and prepare them for the 2016 National Curriculum tests.

At Thornhill we value excellence and celebrate the achievement of all learners. The Thornhill Learning Toolbox is a skills-based, child-centred approach to teaching and learning.

• Communication
• Thinking
• Creativity
• Social & Emotional
• Physical
• Learning about Learning