Newcomen Primary School is a family school with a strong sense of identity and tradition. The school is embedded deeply within the community and parents are very supportive. Parents’ and carers’ opinions are welcomed and acted upon reflecting an honest and genuine home school partnership.
There is an overwhelming energy and team ethos at Newcomen Primary School. The ‘Can Do’ culture of the school is positive and progressive and our established shared mission statement, Believe Achieve Succeed, is embraced by all.
At Newcomen Primary School we are passionate about enthusing our children with a love of learning which is both meaningful and relevant. Our curriculum is designed to allow our children to develop all important human qualities and dispositions. While knowledge is integral to the design of our curriculum, the key driver is the ethos and values of our school. We have a holistic approach where pupils can access a knowledge rich, vocabulary focused curriculum which builds skills and reinforces learning.
We offer children an exemplary education in a safe, calm and purposeful environment. Our aim is to nurture well-rounded, respectful and resilient children who will develop skills for life-long learning. We openly encourage all our children to be respectful of themselves and of others in our school, our local community and the wider world.
At Newcomen Primary School our values reflect our commitment to a school where there are high expectations of everyone. Children are provided with high quality learning opportunities so that each child attains and achieves all that they are able to. Everyone in our school is important and included. We promote an ethos of care and trust where every member of our school community feels that they truly belong and are valued working in partnership with parents and carers. We work hard to ensure there are no ‘invisible’ children here, recognising and celebrating everyone’s uniqueness and success. We recognise learning in all its forms and are committed to nurturing lifelong learners. We are a safe school, committed to improving children’s confidence and self-esteem. We know that safe and happy children achieve.
We champion a knowledge-based and humanity-based curriculum which is broad and balanced, and which builds on the knowledge, understanding and skills of all children. Our intent is to equip pupils to have the requisite knowledge, skills and wider understanding to be successful, independent and motivated learners in readiness for their next stage of education. Within this curriculum, the children will develop their learning of key facts, important events and will develop their understanding of the world around us.
Reading is a priority at Newcomen Primary School and we place great importance on fostering a deep love of language and literature. Pupils enjoy reading the high-quality novels which form the basis for English and texts which classes read together both in story time and shared reading aloud. Phonics is a priority in teaching reading and our language rich environment is one in which the adults in school talk with children throughout the day.
We take our responsibility to prepare children for life in modern Britain very seriously and ensure that the fundamental British Values are introduced, discussed and lived out through the ethos and work of our school. Our curriculum promotes respect for the views of each individual child, as well as for people of all cultures, backgrounds and beliefs. We value the spiritual and moral development of each person, as well as their intellectual and physical growth. Visits into the local community and further afield broaden our children’s understanding of the wider world and make meaningful links with their learning in the classroom.
Personal development is at the heart of our school as it promotes and embeds a range of skills that allow children to be life-long learners. It encourages our pupils to believe, achieve and succeed. It is our purposeful intent to create a place of belonging; where all our pupils feel they belong and can become their best possible self…knowing who they are following their individual chosen path and standing tall, being comfortable in their own skin. Whilst celebrating and embracing unique virtues and qualities, our intent is that our children are informed citizens with a respectful compassion for all.
We passionately believe that strong personal development is the most fundamental part of our curriculum as it supports the children to acquire the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to manage their lives, now and in the future. We strive to offer an education to the children that enables them to develop the qualities and attributes needed to thrive. We prepare them to manage many of the most critical opportunities, challenges and responsibilities they will face growing up in such rapidly changing and challenging times.
People who say it cannot be done
should not interrupt those who are doing it.
At Newcomen Primary School the personal development of our children is part of a whole school approach which promotes effective relationships between all members of the wider school community. We believe strongly in helping our children to build their personal identities, confidence and self-esteem and understand what influences their decisions. Developing self-understanding, empathy and the ability to work with others helps our pupils to enjoy healthy and productive relationships in all aspects of their lives.
We aim:
- to provide a safe environment in which each individual feels valued and safe.
- to ensure that all children are provided with a broad and balanced curriculum and are supported and challenged to reach their full potential.
- to raise self-esteem, develop positive attitudes towards life long learning and to celebrate success.
- to provide a well managed and efficient school that actively creates challenge and stimulation to develop enquiring minds.
- to encourage honesty, fairness and a caring respectful attitude towards others and the environment.
- to provide a positive approach to the welfare and guidance of children, promoting spiritual, moral, cultural and social development whilst establishing a close relationship between home, school and the wider community.