3SOUTHAM PRIMARY SCHOOL |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE
perhaps best encompassed by our
motto: “Where Getting Better Never
Stops”. We want our children to reach
high and try hard – we want them to
understand that they shouldn’t feel
demotivated when things are hard, but
instead should apply themselves harder
in order to accomplish their goals. In
other words, we want them to know
that it’s fine to find things difficult.
Another focus of ours is on the quality
of teaching – we will settle for nothing
less than the best-possible teaching
for our young ones. When we say
“Where Getting Better Never Stops”,
we mean this in every area of the
school. Indeed, the staff never stop
learning and refining their skills. We’re
all reflecting on how we can improve,
adapt and adjust to improve outcomes
for allpupils.
Budget squeezes and moving
forward
Services like occupational health,
speech and language assistance, and
mental health were once available via
referral, and we could access these
kinds of agencies externally. Now,
however, schools are being expected
to perform these skills in-house and to
deliver them accordingly. This is a real
challenge for schools, not least ours.
Another difficulty we’ve been facing
is the increasing number of children
starting in Reception who are not
“school ready”. This is problematic for
the school, as it concerns a part of a
child’s life which we have no control
over – namely, the period before they
enter our school. This is a political
problem with a political solution.
Many of the children who come to our
school would have previously benefited
from a wide range of experiences and
support through our local children’s
centre. Unfortunately, due to budget
cutbacks and restructuring, many of
these opportunities are no longer
available to families, and schools are
having to pick up these issues.
This, however, feeds into a broader
problem that we have, which is
reaching some parents who are
elusive. One of our stronger ambitions
is to get as many parents involved in
their child’s education as possible, even
if it means working with their child in
an art or DT lesson, or visiting a class
assembly. We appreciate that coming
into school can be difficult for those
who didn’t have the most positive
experiences at school, so we do all
that we can to be as accommodating
as possible. If we get this right, it will
make the school community broader,
more collaborative and more fruitful.
Our ultimate goal, though, is ensuring
that all children reach their potential
regardless of barriers. In this regard,
we are restlessly proactive in finding
solutions (a strength our staff regularly
display). This means being open to
new ideas, but it also means keeping
hold of that which has proved itself
in the past. With this strong sense of
purpose, we face the future with a
great deal of optimism.
Due to budget
cutbacks and
restructuring,
many of these
opportunities
are no longer
available to
families
“
“
Getting better never
stops
Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett
Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles
