PROSPECTUSPROSPECTUS

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OUR ETHOS

The West London Free School Primary will aspire to become one of the best state primaries in the country, renowned for academic excellence and the success of all its pupils, regardless of background or ability. Our aim is not only that every pupil should fulfil his or her potential, but that he or she should acquire a storehouse of knowledge and develop the necessary skills to thrive in the West London Free School Secondary and beyond.

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INTRODUCTION

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Three years ago, when a small group of West London teachers and parents set out to create a new type of school, we never imagined it would prove so popular that we’d end up opening a second. Yet it turns out that our formula – a classical liberal education, regardless of background or ability – is a big hit with local parents. This year, the West London Free School received nine applicants for every place, making it the most over-subscribed state secondary in Hammersmith and Fulham.

The primary school will offer the same liberal education, but to a younger age group. What does that mean in practice? It means all children will start learning a musical instrument in Year 3. It means they’ll study classical civilisation, beginning with Ancient Greece. It means that as children move up through the school fewer and fewer lessons will be taught by general practitioners and more and more by subject specialists – scientists, linguists, historians. We want children to leave our school with a storehouse of factual knowledge and we’ll be introducing a new, knowledge-based curriculum to make sure we achieve that.

The plan is to locate the new primary on Cambridge Grove in the site currently occupied by the secondary school. (The secondary is moving to its permanent home on King Street in 2013.) The proposal has the full backing of the Council, which recognises the need for a new primary, given the population boom in the borough.

The group behind the new primary school includes many of the same people who helped set up the secondary, such as John McIntosh, the ex-headmaster of the London Oratory School, and Kathryn Cooper, a governor at Southfield Primary School. While the two schools won’t function as a single, all-through school, they’ll sit alongside each other under the same charitable trust, with the primary being a feeder for the secondary. As such, it will be non-selective, co-educational and secular. Any pupil applying to the secondary from the primary will be given

priority and our joint-school sibling policy will mean children applying to the secondary who have siblings at the primary will be given priority and vice versa. The plan is for the primary to open with two Reception classes in 2013 and then fill up, year group by year group, until it has a full complement of children by 2020.

The West London Free School Primary won’t be to everyone’s taste. Some parents will prefer a less academically rigorous education for their children. But if you do choose our school we will do everything in our power to make sure your child can access our knowledge-based curriculum. That means a solid grounding in literacy and numeracy before they move on to the more advanced stuff, such as learning The Charge of the Light Brigade by heart. You’ll be amazed by what your children can achieve if expectations are high enough.

Finally, a word about our headmistress. I persuaded one of the best head hunters in the country to sit in on the interviews and when Natalie de Silva left the room he turned to me and said, “In my trade, that’s what we call a ‘process stopper’, as in, she’s the one.” I have no doubt that she is indeed the one and our primary will soon be one of the best in the country.

Toby Young Chair of Governors

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OUR KEY OBJECTIVES

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To encourage all pupils to be happy, confident, hard-working and ambitious

To provide children with a storehouse of factual knowledge and the skills to use it

To prepare children for the challenges they’ll face when they transfer to secondary school

To instil a lifelong love of learning

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USWelcome from the Headmistress

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the West London Free School Primary. For me, it is a tremendous honour to be the inaugural head teacher and lead the school as it develops, with the aspiration of becoming the finest state primary in the country.

At the heart of my educational beliefs and practice is the premise that every child can, and will, succeed, if they are provided with the right learning opportunities. At the West London Free School Primary, your child will be taught by outstanding practitioners who are passionate about educating children. All pupils will receive a first class education, full of knowledge and enrichment that will open their eyes with awe and wonder. They will develop the skills to use this knowledge to access every available opportunity that life offers them. Children attending the West London Free School Primary will be happy, well-rounded individuals who will be fully prepared for whatever secondary school throws at them.

Natalie de Silva Headmistress

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We want to instil a lifelong love of learning

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We want to instil a lifelong love of learning

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CURRICULUM AND LEARNING

The school will be introducing an innovative new curriculum that’s based on the Core Knowledge Sequence developed by ED Hirsch’s Core Knowledge Foundation for elementary schools in the United States, but adapted for English primaries. The idea behind it is that all children should complete their primary education with a storehouse of general knowledge, along with the skills to use it. We will, of course, use a variety of teaching methods to ensure that we cater for individual learning needs.

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USThe Infant School

Our Reception pupils will follow the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is comprised of seven areas of learning and development:

• Communication and language

• Physical development

• Personal, social and emotional development

• Literacy

• Mathematics

• Understanding the world

• Expressive arts and design

We will provide our pupils with a range of indoor and outdoor learning opportunities which will inspire them to develop their communication skills, ignite a curiosity and love of learning, and build their capacity to explore and learn.

We will use systematic synthetic phonics to ensure pupils make good progress in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Traditional stories and rhymes will also play a key role in the curriculum to stimulate children’s creativity and encourage an active imagination.

In Mathematics we will use a combination of practical and written activities which will inspire a love and understanding of numbers. We will also provide children with opportunities to use their knowledge and understanding of numbers to solve real world mathematical problems.

By the end of Reception we want our pupils to have achieved a higher-than-average national attainment level and be ready for their move to Year 1. We will make the transition as smooth as possible by continuing with a variety of practical activities to ease children into a more formal daily timetable. From Year 1 onwards, pupils will have subject specialists teaching Modern Languages, Music and PE/Games which will prepare them for their transition to the Junior School.

You can find out what your children will be learning in each subject and in each year here: www.coreknowledge.org.uk/sequencetable.php.

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The Junior School

As the children move up through the school we will aim to develop their self-reliance and self-organisation. Teaching from Year 3 onwards will be subject-based, with more lessons being taught by subject specialists than in a typical state primary where the majority of lessons are delivered by general practitioners. The following subjects will form the basis of the curriculum: Mathematics, English, Science, History (ancient and modern), Geography, Philosophy, Classical Civilisation, Modern Languages, Music, Divinity, Art and Design, Games and PE.

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

The West London Free School Primary is a fully inclusive primary school and is committed to meeting the requirements of pupils with special educational needs. If your child needs specific support you will be invited to meet with the Headmistress and SEN Co-ordinator to discuss the provision required in more detail.

English as an Additional Language (EAL)

The West London Free School Primary will serve an ethnically diverse community. As such, we recognise, and will actively celebrate, linguistic diversity within our school. This means supporting pupils for whom English is an additional language.

Our house system

Every pupil will automatically become a member of one of four houses: Athenians, Corinthians, Olympians and Spartans. Houses are organised vertically and will contain pupils from all year groups in the primary and secondary school.

Each house supports a charity and pupils are encouraged to participate in fundraising activities throughout the school year. The house system also enables us to provide a diverse range of activities, including sport, music, art and drama competitions. Giving pupils the opportunity to work with children in other primary and secondary year groups will develop their confidence and create strong bonds throughout the school, which are invaluable in ensuring a smooth transition through each key stage, particularly from primary to secondary. All members of staff will belong to a house and be active in supporting house events, as well as acting as an additional source of pastoral support for pupils.

Every child will be given a copy of H E Marshall’s Our Island Story

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USExtra-curricular activities

The curriculum will be enhanced with a range of lunchtime and after-school activities that will promote creativity and encourage pupils to discover hidden talents and passions. In turn, this will develop their personal confidence and life skills. Our extra-curricular clubs will include activities such as music, sport, chess and reading. In the main, these will be mixed-age activities enabling older pupils to play a mentoring role, as well as enabling year group barriers to be removed, thereby enhancing the school’s sense of community. In some instances, Year 6 pupils may be able to combine with older pupils from the secondary school.

An extended school day

The school day will be longer than at a typical primary school. In Reception, children will begin the day at 8.30am and finish at 3.30pm, but from Year 1 onwards children will sometimes stay later to participate in after-school clubs. Aside from the additional learning benefits this provides, the extended day gives an additional layer of structure to pupils’ lives, ensuring they’re well prepared for life at secondary school and beyond.

Code of conduct

All pupils will be expected to observe a strict code of conduct based on courtesy, common sense and co-operation, together with kindness. We hope that a combination of high expectations, strong discipline and academic rigour will enable all the pupils to reach their potential, regardless of background or ability. We want all pupils to set themselves the highest possible goals and have the confidence to pursue them.

Behaviour management and pupil wellbeing

Pupil care will be at the heart of the school. Each child will have a form teacher assigned to him/her who is responsible for his/her welfare, behaviour and academic performance. The high standards expected of pupils will apply to dress and appearance, behaviour in and out of the classroom, and manners.

MUSIC

Music is our school specialism and forms a core aspect of a classical liberal education. Instrumental music lessons will be included in the Music curriculum from Year 3 and we expect all our pupils to make a serious commitment to their musical education.

SPORT

At the West London Free School Primary we believe that sport is both a physical and intellectual exercise. Pupils will learn the value of teamwork and enjoy competing against each other in Games.

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US Community

Parents will be involved in the learning process from the outset and parental engagement in all aspects of the school will be a key feature. We ask all parents to sign our ‘Home School Agreement’ whereby you promise that your child will arrive at school punctually every day, completes all his or her homework in full and on time, adheres to our uniform policy and subscribes to our code of conduct. We also welcome parents who want to volunteer their time to support us in reading with the children, join us on educational outings or help run an extra-curricular club.

Our Parent Teacher Association (PTA) will also play a valuable part in the life of the school. It will support fundraising and social events in order to develop community cohesion within the school and beyond.

Admissions policy

The Admissions arrangements of the West London Free School Primary will fully comply with the School Admissions Code and Admissions Law. The school is open to anyone and is non-selective. There will be 60 places available each year, starting with Reception in 2013 and then filling up year group by year group.

Priority will be given to children with statements of Special Educational Needs, looked-after children, founders’ children, children with siblings at the primary or the secondary school and children of staff at the school who have been employed for more than two years. But the lion’s share of places will be allocated according to straight-line distance from the school gate, thereby ensuring the school serves local families. Our draft admissions policy can be viewed at www.wlfs.org/primary-school.

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This prospectus is a guide only and is believed to be correct at the time of publication. Nothing contained herein shall form the basis of a contract. Those wishing to place specific reliance on any matter should seek further clarification from the school.

We’d like to thank Laura Lund, Headteacher of Brackenbury Primary School, for her kind permission in allowing us to use the school for photography.

Designed and produced by Radius Brand Consultants

Photography by Eleanor Bentall

West London Free School PrimaryCambridge GroveHammersmithLondon W6 0LB

T 020 8600 0670

www.wlfs.org/primary-school