Bowmansgreen Primary School

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Bowmansgreen Primary School's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Bowmansgreen Primary School is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

bowmansgreen.herts.sch.uk

1BOWMANSGREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

Beautiful rural grounds for play,

eco-school and forest school

Headteacher Anna

Lippa (right) and Deputy

Headteacher Claire Golding

Bowmansgreen Primary School have adapted their provision

to meet the needs of their pupils, focusing on combining the

pastoral with the academic to ensure the full development

of each student. Headteacher Anna Lippa had previously worked

as an inclusion manager for students with special educational

needs and this experience has been applied to designing a

comprehensive support programme for all, particularly their most

vulnerable students. She tells

The Parliamentary Review

about the

progress they have made over the last few years and how their

location close to the London boundary brings specific challenges.

We are a vibrant community school, committed to providing a high-quality,

inclusive education. We have an increasingly wide catchment area and are now

able to offer our school experience to students from farther afield. Despite there

being fewer children within our natural catchment area because of the birth rate

decreasing, we have been able to maintain student numbers by attracting students

from outside the locality.

We have high expectations of all our pupils and teach and support them to

work hard, behave well and give their best. We seek to provide a nurturing,

stimulating learning environment where all pupils succeed, underlined by our

mission statement: “Inspiring, nurturing and achieving excellence together.” This

is supported by our school vision, which is: “For all pupils to flourish, succeed and

achieve their potential.”

REPORT CARD

BOWMANSGREEN PRIMARY

SCHOOL

»Headteacher: Anna Lippa

»Founded in 1952

»Based in London Colney

»Type: Two-form entry

community school

»No. of students: 356

»bowmansgreen.herts.sch.uk

Bowmansgreen

Primary School

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

2| BOWMANSGREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL

Our school mission statement and

vision underpin everything that we do.

We value and celebrate each and every

one of our pupils as individuals and

get to know them all well enough to

personalise their learning experience

and pathway to success. We aim to

ensure that coming to school is a

positive experience for every pupil.

Mixing the academic and the

pastoral

We understand that children learn

best when they are happy and feel

secure, and we work hard to make

this a reality every day. We seek to

nurture the whole child throughout

their journey with us and to support

pupils effectively, covering both their

academic progress and their social and

emotional development. It is equally

important to us that pupils develop

their self-esteem, independence and

resilience as their academic knowledge

and skills.

As a primary school, we have the

responsibility of laying the foundations

for lifelong learning.Watching pupils

progress through the school and

seeing them ready and prepared

for the next stage of their academic

careers is a privilege and responsibility

that I do not take lightly.I am very

proud of the curriculum and provision

that we offer, and I strongly believe

in the choices that we make for the

pupils entrusted into our care. We

nurture, challenge and support well-

rounded, happy, responsible pupils

who recognise and celebrate their own

achievements and aspirations, as well

as those of their peers.

We are very much a community school

and build strong partnerships with

families, local businesses and other

services within the area.If you choose

to send your child to our school, I am

sure that you will feel welcomed as

part of our community and will enjoy

the many varied experiences and

opportunities to get involved.

Adapting to the needs of our

pupils

Many of our students struggle with

language and communication skills

or have special educational needs,

either diagnosed or undiagnosed.

The complexity of these issues is

a challenge, so we offer a lot of

support for socialisation. Before

becoming headteacher, I worked

as an inclusion manager, and feel

strongly that our provision offers a

curriculum and culture to support and

include all pupils, including our most

vulnerable. We have school-based

psychotherapists and an art therapist

We nurture and

challenge all pupils

through a broad, rich

curriculum, including

regular PE and fitness

sessions

All pupils share in the

care of our school

animals

We value and

celebrate each

and every one

of our pupils

as individuals

and get to

know them all

well enough

to personalise

their learning

experience

“

3BOWMANSGREEN PRIMARY SCHOOL |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

to assist children with emotional

difficulties and undiagnosed special

educational needs. Our curriculum

is tailored to supplement this, with

outdoor learning, school animals, a

nurture room and forest school.

As with all schools, it is essential

to get our harder-to-reach families

through the door. We have an open-

door policy, meaning that even if

people drop in, we remain accessible.

Regular meetings with parents help

them to support their children with

their academic work as well as their

emotional and mental health needs.

We have also run a programme of

parent workshops that focus on

different parts of the curriculum.

This year, we launched our new

school website and app, designed to

easily and frequently signpost and

disseminate information and news.

Many of our parents are worried about

online safety, so we have instigated a

workshop on this too. This dialogue

promotes a sense of community and

means that everyone is involved.

The challenges of our local

area

One of the main challenges we face,

much like many schools in our area,

is our status as a fringe school. As

we are classed as outer London, we

do not receive the additional funding

that is given to inner-city schools.

Our proximity to this area, as we are

only about three kilometres away

from being classified as inner city,

means that teachers can earn higher

salaries by moving just down the

road. Thismakes the recruitment and

retention of the best staff a particular

challenge.

More generally, the demographics of

our area have changed significantly.

Whereas once there was very little

movement of residents, the area has

become much more transient, with an

influx of working professionals coming

into the area and longer-established

families moving out. This has led to a

change in expectations from parents,

as they have become more discerning.

Much like with our teachers, parents

have a range of schools they can

choose from, so it is essential that

we demonstrate our benefits. When

I first arrived at the school, one of my

priorities was to stabilise staff turnover

and to demonstrate clearly, to both

parents and staff, what our school

could offer.

To ensure we maintain our progress,

we have designed a two-year school

improvement plan. Our priorities are

not likely to change significantly,

and we are focusing on continuing

to improve the quality of teaching

and learning. We have managed to

improve student outcomes significantly

over the last two years, and it is great

for both the pupils and their parents to

see these results. We are also looking

to develop our middle and senior

leaders to fortify this improvement and

ensure that we can continue to grow

and improve.

As with all

schools, it is

essential to

get our

harder-to-

reach families

through the

door

“

All pupils benefit from

weekly music lessons,

including EYFS

bowmansgreen.herts.sch.uk

The Parliamentary Review Publication, in which this article originally appeared, contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss.

Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss

Even by the standards of the day –this has been one of the most exciting and unpredictable years in British politics.

The leadership election we’ve just seen marks a huge moment in our country’s history. This government is taking a decisive new direction, embracing the opportunities of Brexit and preparing our country to flourish outside the EU.

As international trade secretary, I’ll be driving forward work on the free trade agreements that are going to be a priority for the government. Free trade isn’t just an abstract concept bandied around by technocrats. It is crucial for a strong economy and for the ability of families to make ends meet. Free trade benefits people in every part of our country, as British firms export to new markets and people doing the weekly shop have access to a wider choice of goods at lower prices.

The essence of free trade is in the title: freedom. It’s about giving people the power to exchange their goods without heavy government taxation or interference. Commerce and free exchange are the engine room of prosperity and social mobility. I’m determined to tackle the forces who want to hold that back.

One of my priorities is agreeing an exciting new free trade deal with the US, building on the great relationship between our two countries and the Prime Minister and US President. But I’ll also be talking to other partners including New Zealand, Australia and fast-growing Asian markets.

And with the EU too, we want a friendly and constructive relationship, as constitutional equals, and as friends and partners in facing the challenges that lie ahead – a relationship based on a deep free trade agreement. Our country produces some of the world’s most successful exports, and the opportunity to bring these to the rest of the world should make us all excited about the future. It is this excitement, optimism and ambition which I believe will come to define this government.

For too long now, we have been told Britain isn’t big or important enough to survive outside the EU – that we have to accept a deal that reflects our reduced circumstances. I say that’s rubbish. With the right policies in place, we can be the most competitive, free-thinking, prosperous nation on Earth exporting to the world and leading in new developments like AI. To do that, we’ll give the brilliant next generation of entrepreneurs the tools they need to succeed. Since 2015, there has been a staggering 85 per cent rise in the number of businesses set up by 18 to 24 year olds – twice the level set up by the same age group in France and Germany. We’ll help them flourish by championing enterprise, cutting taxes and making regulation flexible and responsive to their needs.

As we do that, we’ll level up and unite all parts of the UK with great transport links, fibre broadband in every home and proper school funding, so everyone shares in our country’s success.

2019 has been the year of brewing economic and political revolution. 2020 will be the year when a revitalised Conservative government turbo charges the economy, boosts prospects for people across the country, and catapults Britain back to the forefront of the world stage.

Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss
Secretary of State for International Development