Harris Primary Academy Mayflower Prospectus

An exceptional education for local children

Your child’s education It is a pleasure to welcome you to our prospectus.

Harris Primary Academy Mayflower opened in September 2014 in order to meet the significant need locally for new places. We have started with a Reception cohort and will grow by a year group at a time.

We are a sister school to Harris Primary Academy Chafford Hundred and Harris Academy Chafford Hundred, along with the other Academies in the Harris Federation. We work very closely together. Our shared belief is that children thrive when they feel consistently happy and safe at school.

Although we are temporarily based at Harris Primary Academy Chafford Hundred, we are hugely excited about our new building. This is being constructed just off Mayflower Road. It will be ready for the new academic year in September 2015.

Whatever a child’s background or starting point, we want to make sure that they finish Year 6 at Harris Primary Academy Mayflower with the academic skills, social skills and knowledge necessary to succeed. Every lesson at our school will be creative and there will be plenty of time for children to think, to play, to discover and wonder.

Each child will be taught in the way that suits them best and we will step in quickly if a change is needed. For some children, this might involve one-to-one support if they are finding something difficult and for others it could mean stretching them more to keep them interested.

I have three children of my own, all of whom are either in primary or secondary education, which I hope gives me a perspective in the way I work with parents. I am looking forward to meeting lots of local families during our Open Events – please check our website or give us a call for the dates.

Matt Britt, Executive Principal

Mrs Beth Chapman, Principal

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Happy in the classroom Especially at such a young age, it is important children are taught and looked after in the right way for them. Our staff support each child to be the best they can.

This section of our prospectus describes what education here is like.

Every lesson is creative The aim of our teachers is always to deliver lessons that children enjoy and feel motivated by. We believe that all lessons should be creative, not just arts subjects.

We want all of our pupils to be confident readers, writers and mathematicians. Our teachers make sure these areas as well as the rest of the National Curriculum are taught in ways that engage the natural sense of curiosity that children have.

The result of this is that children become eager, confident pupils who understand the joy of learning and are prepared well for academic success.

High standards in every classroom With each week, term and year being so significant in a child’s life, consistency is particularly important in their primary education.

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As part of the Harris Federation, which has its own training school for teachers, our staff receive outstanding professional development to make sure that standards are consistently high in every classroom.

Children treated as individuals We want children to retain their individuality and be treated the right way for them.

We step in quickly if a change is needed. For some children, this might involve one-to-one support if they are finding something difficult and for others it could mean stretching them more to keep them interested. As an Academy parent, you would be welcome to discuss your son or daughter with us at any time. We also send reports home every half term.

We welcome children of all abilities and want them to enjoy school and thrive. For children with special needs, one of our first steps is to work with their parents and other specialists to create a plan for supporting them. Our approach as a whole is reviewed with children’s classroom teachers, relevant specialists and parents every half term.

Our Literacy specialism We chose Literacy as our specialism because we believe that learning to read, write and communicate effectively underpins all learning.

Reading is taught through the teaching of traditional phonics and children are encouraged to read for pleasure and take books home.

An academic head start As children progress through the school, one of our aims will be to make sure we give them a ‘head start’ for the rest of their education.

Once they reach Years 5 and 6 they will begin to be taught by specialist subject teachers, just like in Secondary School.

Our new building will be just across the road from Harris Academy Chafford Hundred, which Ofsted judges to be an ‘Outstanding’ secondary school. As children progress through Mayflower, they will also be taken by their teachers to its specialist facilities such as science laboratories.

As well as engaging them in the excitement of the subject at hand, these experiences help prepare children for a successful transition to secondary school.

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What are the 7Ps? At the heart of our expectations in all teaching lie the 7Ps • potential • passion • pace • positive teaching • partner work • participation • progress No child deserves less

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What is the purpose of the 7Ps? The 7Ps underpin effective teaching, which results in high quality learning.

Our aim is to provide the best possible primary education in a stimulating and creative environment. We want to develop in our pupils and staff, a passion for learning, inspired by highquality teaching and modelling, which builds upon individual strengths and talents.

We expect all children in our schools to reach and exceed agerelated levels, in line with national expectations, as a minimum, and we aim to ensure that the barriers to learning are removed, so that every pupil at Harris Primary Academy Mayflower reaches their full potential and is motivated to learn and to have high self-esteem.

What impact do they have on children’s learning?

Continued and sustained improvements depend on the quality of teaching and learning that’s takes place on a daily basis.

So by embedding the philosophy of the 7Ps in our everyday teaching styles across the academy we are able to ensure that all pupils are provided with motivating, learning experiences. Our committed and passionate teachers deliver lessons with pace and purpose, that lead to consistently high levels of pupil achievement and progress.

What do the 7Ps look like around the Academy?

Children enjoy coming to school, as they enjoy dynamic learning opportunities where they can be both independent and part of a team.

Praise/positive teaching

Purpose

Potential

Children learn quickly in the positive climate. With positive teaching children feel comfortable in taking risks in their learning and know that new learning can be uncomfortable and that overcoming obstacles is how we all learn.

Every part of the lesson has a specific purpose. The curriculum relates wherever possible to the real world and therefore pupils understand the “how and why” of their curriculum.

Through AFL, targeting and careful planning children reach their potential. As a parent you can rest assured that we will never limit our perception of what your child may be able to achieve.

Pace

The energy, enthusiasm and passion that teachers put into the lesson that bring the teaching and learning to life. All our staff are aware this is a pre-requisite of joining the Harris Primary Academy Mayflower team!

Good pace is essential to the lesson without it children get bored and the learning purpose is lost. Pace at Harris Primary Academy Mayflower means increasing opportunities for purposeful pupil talk and reducing the teacher talk.

Passion

Participation A strong feature of all lessons is partner work and the partners ‘teaching’ each other. This is based on research which found that we learn 70% of what we “talk about” with our partner and 90% of what we “teach” to them.

Progress With all of the above in place children will make exceptional progress. However, we also use an effective marking and feedback approach, which ensures that children become partners in their learning journey. The books and work portfolios you see at Harris Primary Academy Mayflower should reflect the outstanding progress which is our aim.

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Happy outside the classroom There is always time at the Academy for children to think, to play, to discover and wonder. This section of our prospectus describes our approach to helping pupils to become well-rounded, resilient and confident.

Hobbies, skills and experiences Our teachers and other staff seek to discover and nurture special talents within each child. There is something for everyone in our extracurricular programme which is packed full of music, dance, drama and sport.

As your children progress through their education, typical outings and trips might include learning about World War II at the Imperial War Museum, exploring the solar system at the Science Museum and finding out about the Tudors at Ightham Mote in Sevenoaks.

Healthy and tasty meals Our school lunches and other snacks and meals are healthy as well as tasty. School lunches are provided free of charge for every child in Key Stage 1 but pupils may bring in packed lunches if they prefer.

Every pupil has a friend

Wrap-around care

We want the Academy to feel friendly and welcoming and we always make sure that every pupil has at least one friend. Our children are taught to respect each other and their teachers.

We provide a Breakfast Club and After School Club for all children whose parents require these.

The clubs are well organised and fun.

There is a zero tolerance approach to any type of bullying.

Traditional standards of behaviour Our Academy is relaxed and comfortable but pupils know that good behaviour is expected of them. They are frequently praised and rewarded for trying their best and for being kind, hard-working and well-behaved.

Safeguarding We put pupil well-being and safety before every other consideration.

Parents, staff and pupils know if they have any concerns they must report them to a staff member and our children are encouraged that ours is a “Telling� academy, where everyone has a voice. Staff are recruited using national safer recruitment guidance and employment and vetting checks carried out as required.

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A Federation of Academies Our school is part of the Harris Federation. This is a not-for-profit charity with almost twenty five years of experience of education in London.

The charity was created by Lord Harris of Peckham.

He and his family take an active interest in our achievements and the progress of our pupils.

Every Harris Academy is different, serving its own pupils and community, but we share an ethos that ensures children are happy, enjoy learning and want to go to school.

Being part of the Harris Federation means that our teachers and support staff have access to excellent training and resources from a team of experts in primary education.

All Harris Academies are located in and around London, with three of us here in Thurrock, and we work very closely together. Our teachers get together to share their best ideas and develop successful ways of teaching pupils. Our children also come together for events such as the annual Battle of the Brains contest and, each summer, the Harris Federation Sports Day. You can find out more about the Harris Federation at www.harrisfederation.org.uk or by following @HarrisFed on Twitter.

Brand new building Our new building will be just off Mayflower Road.

It will be a bright, modern and welcoming place for children to be, with plenty of facilities for learning and play.

It will be ready for September 2015: keep an eye on our website for pictures and other information.

Admissions We have 60 places available in Reception. The dates for our Open Days are on our website. Please do take the time to come and meet us.

If there are more than 60 applications, Looked After and Former Looked After Children will be admitted first, followed by children with a statement of Special Educational Need that names the Academy.

Children from our catchment area, which you can find on our website or by calling us, will be prioritised next: first those with siblings at the Academy, and next those without.

After that, children with siblings at the Academy but who live outside the catchment area will be prioritised, followed by those without siblings.

All remaining places will be distributed on the basis of proximity between home and school, with children who live closest to our permanent building being prioritised.

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Mayflower Road, Chafford Hundred, Essex RM16 6SA T. 020 3772 4588 Email. info@harrisprimarymayflower.org.uk  www.harrisprimarymayflower.org.uk

@HarrisFed