Grove Road Primary School Prospectus

our family school where all are equally valued “

WELCOME TO GROVE ROAD

Choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions that you will make as a parent. Our prospectus is intended to give you a feel of what makes Grove Road so special and the right choice for your child.

Grove Road Primary School is a happy, welcoming, diverse school where we pride ourselves on having a family feel, with real family values. We create an atmosphere where all of the children are known and supported by our dedicated staff and we provide an educational experience which is both challenging and fun.

Our Autistic Centre enables us to meet the very individual special needs of these children in a mainstream environment. The children are inclusive in the classes and share all the same experiences as their peers.

The children at Grove Road learn the value of commitment to successful learning and in addition to this; they develop discipline and a sense of responsibility. Throughout the school, it is evident that we have pupils who are well adjusted, global young citizens who are encouraged to fulfil their potential and become confident, independent lifelong learners across all areas of the curriculum.

We strongly believe in forming partnerships with parents and you are actively encouraged to be involved in your child’s education, so that together we can enable your child to reach their maximum potential.

Lyn Gray Head Teacher

VALUES HEALTHY

At the heart of Grove Road life and our curriculum lies our 6 Key Values and Skills. These underpin the choices we have and the decisions we make. From the moment you enter Grove Road School we want you to feel our open, welcoming, family ethos .

School life is an important journey but is not just about the academic subjects. Children need to learn key life skills and values in order to become healthy and respectful citizens. All parts of school life are equally important and thus our key skills and values fortify all experiences at Grove Road School.

Each Half-term we will explore one of these skills & values in more detail through assemblies and activities. They also form part of our behaviour policy and the expectations of behaviours for everyone at Grove Road School.

Our children take pride in demonstrating how they can use their initiative in their learning or express empathy to a friend. They are encouraged to use their creative minds in every challenge and to be curious about the future. They do this with confidence and resilience and will tell you that if something is worth doing, we should never give up!

CURIOSITY CREATIVITY EMPATHY INITIATIVE RESILIENCE

CURRICULUM

At Grove Road, we are continually developing a curriculum which not only meets the standards of the National Curriculum but which enriches our children’s lives. We want to develop the skills and knowledge our pupils need to become the best learners, citizens and people they can be and for them to be excited about and engaged with everything happening in our school. Our school values are what drives our curriculum. We want every experience that pupils have here to help them develop the following skills:

Curiosity Creativity Empathy Initiative Resilience self confidence

The curriculum was developed with our community, our families and our children.

Some of the main barriers to achievement at Grove Road are:

• A lack of English language skills at home and in school

• Limited access to quality texts at home

• A limited set of life experiences, making the context of learning sometimes difficult

With these in mind, we have planned a curriculum which aims to

• Plan for key experiences such as trips which give pupils the opportunity to contextualise their learning

• Focus on key vocabulary which gives pupils technical knowledge but also allows them to explain and investigate their understanding

• Link our topics with key texts which are explored thoroughly

• Ensure that access to the school library are part of our learning experiences

• Ensure a curriculum which links ideas, knowledge and skills from different subject areas so that not only do pupils know what they are learning, they know why they are learning it and remember more.

• Ensure that our curriculum is inclusive through varied approaches to teaching and learning, access to a range of resources, appropriately scaffolded methods of teaching and appropriate support where necessary.

• Provide as many opportunities for high quality reading and writing as possible across the curriculum.

We are continually trying to improve our curriculum and looking to keep it relevant and fit for purpose. Currently, our main foci for improvement are

• Ensuring that our curriculum is flexible enough to follow the interests of children but also to teach the key skills

• Taking a less rigid approach to timetabling so that opportunities for cross curricular learning are even more evident.

ART ENGLISH MUSIC PE EMPATHY IS PUTTING YOURSELF IN ANOTHER’S SHOES

CURRICULUM

EMPATHY

SEND

At Grove Road School all of our children are individuals and, as such, they have a range of strengths and needs. We aim to include all children, including those with additional needs, in every aspect of school life.

We work in collaboration with a range of external agencies including Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Educational Psychologists and Play Therapists to ensure that our children receive the best possible support available. We aim to identify difficulties early and provide the appropriate intervention in order to help children make good progress. When children come into Reception, we carry out a language monitoring. This helps us to identify which children may need some extra support with developing their language skills. Identified children then take part in group work led by our Specialist Teaching Assistants before being assessed again to see how much progress they have made.

We also deliver a wide range of interventions across the school, within the classroom as well as in small groups or 1:1 settings aimed at improving children’s literacy, maths or social skills. Parents of children with special educational needs are encouraged to talk to us in school and to share ideas with each other.

The ASD Centre

We are very fortunate at Grove Road to have an ASD Centre with 12 places for children who have Autism but are able to access a mainstream education. There is a criterion that children need to meet to be considered for a place in our centre which is assessed by our highly skilled staff with the support of the Local Authority Special Needs team. Our focus is on successful integration and inclusion in the mainstream classroom and the amount of time a child spends within a mainstream classroom is specific to each child. We work towards as much inclusion as is beneficial to the child in question.

SCHOOL LIFE

The school day starts at 8.55am and we expect all of our children to be present and on time. Punctuality and attendance are paramount to a good education and learning experience.

Children start in the Early Years Foundation stage (Nursery and Reception Classes) where we offer a range of exciting activities to motivate and inspire the children through a free flow system which offers purposeful learning both indoors and outdoors. In Nursery, our aim is also to develop the children’s personal and social skills and their speech and language in preparation for the main school.

Nursery runs from 9am to 12 noon five days a week and admissions are processed by the school. From here the children move into the Reception Class, the second part of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Here learning is focussed around the statuatory Early Learning Goals with more emphasis on Reading, Writing and Mathematics.

The children are encouraged to build on their independence fostered in the Nursery and develop skills to allow them to be more investigative and curious about the wider world.

We then move into Keystage 1 (years 1 and 2) where we start work on the National Curriculum. The children learn all curriculum subjects which includes: Mathematics, English, Science, RE, PSHE, Music, Art & Design, Geography, History, Computing, French and PE.

However, we are dedicated to ensuring that all children in years 1 and 2 have a sound grasp of the basic skills in Reading, Writing and Maths. We believe that children learn best in a context that is exciting and relevant where links between subjects are made explicit and so children are given opportunity to practice key skills through our topic curriculum. Outdoor learning is also encouraged as a wonderful resource for learning and we are fortunate to have our own pond and environmental area.

INITIATIVE

YOU DON’T HAVE TO SEE THE WHOLE STAIRCASE, TO TAKE THE FIRST STEP

Learning continues in a similar way in Keystage 2 (years 3, 4, 5 and 6) and covers the same curriculum subjects as before but in greater depth and with greater expectations. Pupils will be given a Homework Diary which they are expected to use and carry daily to and from school. This encourages them to develop better organisational skills and greater independence. We endeavour to instil in children the belief that continuous effort and engagement brings great personal reward.

By Year 6 we ask pupils to apply for Roles in the school such as Head Boy and Girl or Prefects. These positions of responsibility require great role models and ambassadors for the school. These roles are seen as a privilege and a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the school. As well as this the staff work closely with the children in supporting their transition to Secondary School education.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR

CREATIVITY

At Grove Road we like to offer as many opportunities as possible to children to explore their creative and sporting talents and to develop hobbies and pastimes.

We offer lunchtime and after school clubs to children in Reception to Year 6. These range from ballet to football, chess to choir and Art club to Gardening. We are always looking at new and innovative clubs to try.

Throughout the year there are sporting competitions in football, rugby, gymnastics, basketball and cricket with opportunities for children in all year groups to participate. These take place within local schools and are an occasion for our sporting champs to parade their talents.

IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA MAKE IT HAPPEN

SELF-CONFIDENCE

Grove Road Primary School Cromwell Road, Hounslow, TW3 3QQ groveroadprimary.co.uk

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND YOU CAN FLY WITH THE UNICORNS