Welcome
Thank you for taking the time to look at our website and find out about Broadwater Church of England Primary School. The primary years of education are crucial to a child’s development. Here at Broadwater we believe firmly in developing each child's potential, in partnership with the parents, and fostering Christian principles. This website can only begin to give you an idea of what our school is like. We would be delighted to welcome you and your children to come and see us at work.
Our School Vision
Turn your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding (Proverbs 2:2)
Broadwater is a Christian school. We will enable children to become wise confident successful learners with the motivation, skills and responsibility to make a positive difference in God’s world. Our vision is underpinned by the values we live by.
VALUE STATEMENT
Our school values are underpinned by Galatians 5:22: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! It is this fruit that, in partnership with parents we will instil in the children of the school. We will do this by:
- Providing an education based firmly on Christian faith and principles
- Demonstrating and modelling the qualities we value as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23
- Teaching children to love, value and care for one another and make a positive contribution to the world they live in
- Supporting children to understand and value their own self and to gain confidence in making choices, developing self-esteem, self-confidence and self-awareness (individual liberty)
- Developing mutual respect and tolerance towards others regardless of our differences.
- Teaching children right from wrong respecting the rule of law
- Implementing our clear behaviour procedures which rewards good effort and behaviour as well as providing clear boundaries and appropriate sanctions
- Encouraging, understanding and supporting democracy
Note – the statements in bold reference British Values (OFSTED)
In school life, this is demonstrated in the following ways:
- Within our teaching and daily routines
- Incorporation into curriculum topics
- RHE/RSE lessons and discussions
- Focus for assemblies
- Class and School Councils
- Child-led behaviour management
- Charitable giving
ABOUT OUR SCHOOL
Broadwater Church of England Primary School provides a safe, attractive and stimulating learning environment for around 430 pupils from 4 to 11 years old. Children have access to a wide range of good quality activities throughout the day. We have a specialised Food Technology area; a computer suite which is networked to the classroom computers; a dedicated music and drama studio, and several small group rooms of different sizes. Our large hall and Studio are used for dance, gymnastics and games activities, in addition to our daily Worship times.
The school has a very active parent and teacher association called Friends@Broadwater (F@B). They have raised many thousands of pounds to support the work of the school. Recent projects include replacing all of the ICT equipment in the computer suite and providing outdoor classroom structures. Parents also support our school’s work in many ways e.g. helping in class, helping on visits and running social events.
Our curriculum is deliberately creative with an emphasis on creating ‘hooks for learning’. There is a particular focus on quality literature to support learning. We believe that if children are inspired to learn then they can only achieve well. Children’s work follows a topic approach with each topic beginning with a ‘stunning start’ and ending with a ‘fabulous finish’. Where possible work is linked to life-skills. The many and varied school trips and visitors help us ensure children remain inspired throughout their learning journey over the term. The enjoyment of reading is key to our English curriculum and the school uses ‘Accelerated Reader’ to support this. Other software is used to support and enhance learning. Children have access to a range of technology and the school maintains a computer suite to teach computing skills.
Pupils’ work is carefully monitored and each pupil is ‘tracked’ to ensure they’re making progress. The school has a clear and structured approach to assessment to ensure pupils achieve well. Our aim is to help children to ‘keep up, not catch up’ and staff are employed to work with individuals and small groups to enable this to take place. National test data shows the pupils are generally achieving above national average by the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6).
As a Church Aided School, Broadwater provides an education based firmly on Christian faith and principles. Children are taught to respect, value and care for one another and the world they live in. Pupils are taught right from wrong; qualities such as kindness, honesty, integrity and humility and are demonstrated and developed. We have a clear behaviour procedure which rewards good effort and behaviour as well as providing clear boundaries and appropriate sanctions.
The school has a well-qualified, committed and effective staff who are keen to maximise children’s time in school for learning, and provide opportunities to develop pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding.
The teaching of the basic skills of Reading, Writing and Mathematics are key to our work, and we constantly strive to improve these aspects of our teaching. We are proud of the developments and improvements we have made, and celebrating achievement is an important part of the ethos of the school. Children are respected and valued and are central to all the decisions we make. All classes make visits relating to their class work and children in Year 6 benefit from a residential visit. We frequently have theatre groups and speakers into school; these provide rich and valuable experiences from which children’s learning can be developed.
The school has a strong musical tradition and pupils can have lessons in several instruments. All our children in year 4 learn to play an instrument under the Key2Music scheme. This year children will learn to play the violin. Children are regularly involved in musical-style productions. We pride ourselves on the many clubs that run covering sports, music and various hobbies – most children belong to at least one! Recently we have successfully competed in football, netball, athletics and sports tournaments. From September, the Wrap Around Care for children before and after school will be provided internally by the school.