Primary Strategy for Change - First Stage

Please note the consultation has now closed

• Introduction
• Principles:
  • 1: Enjoy learning and make good progress
  • 2: Promote learning
  • 3: Secure health and well being
  • 4: Develop leadership capacity
  • 5: Integrate ICT
• How can you have your say

Introduction

In 2007 the government launched the Primary Capital Programme and announced that £1.9 billion would be available to local authorities for major improvements to primary school buildings over a three year period. There are 23 pathfinder local authorities currently piloting the project, two of which are our neighbours, the London Borough of Barnet and the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The experiences gained during this process will inform the full project.

In order to access these funds local authorities have to prepare a ‘Primary Strategy for Change’ document setting out their strategic approach to transforming learning in primary schools. Haringey is already in a good position to undertake this as there exists a well directed and successful approach to primary school improvement which will underpin our strategy.

There will be three strands to the consultation:

• Oral soundings taken from identified individuals and groups including children, parents, headteachers, teachers and governors, the 5-11 forum and associated task groups.
• Submissions written and electronic are open to all stakeholders who wish to contribute.
• Analysis of key local authority and schools’ data.

The outcomes of this consultation will be:

• A Primary Strategy which will go alongside a detailed submission to the Department for Children, Schools and Families for an allocation of funding to improve the quality of Haringey’s primary schools.
• A set of recommendations on the essential elements of improvements to schools which will transform primary education in Haringey in terms of teaching and learning; the curriculum; and extended school activities for children, young people and the wider community.

We have five principles on which we want you to consider our Primary Strategy for Change. For each of them we have a list of activities to help us to achieve the principles and then how this could impact on the building programme

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Principle 1

• We want all children to be able to enjoy their learning and to make good progress.

To do this we will:

1. Provide access to a primary education including the foundation stage without fear of discrimination and regardless of disability.
2. Enable the vast majority of pupils to achieve at least 2 levels progress in English, mathematics and science by the end of Key Stage 2 and work to ensure that at least 75% of Haringey pupils achieve level 4 or above in both English and maths by 2009.
3. Give the opportunity to study a modern foreign language in Key Stage 2 and provide support for languages that pupils can already speak.
4. Provide flexible and adaptable teaching environments capable of meeting the needs of many different learning styles.
5. Have exciting, vibrant learning environments and opportunities to achieve and develop new skills, knowledge and understanding through physical activity, art, music and other creative arts.
6. Encourage high levels of attendance and promote an inclusive curriculum.
7. Achieve the Department for Children, Schools and Families statutory targets and the goals set out in the Children’s Plan for 2020.

For school buildings this means:

1. Remove the barriers to learning caused by poor quality and old buildings.
2. Have special facilities to fully develop the curriculum through physical education, play, art, music and other creative arts.
3. Promote inclusive campus arrangements for our special schools and units co-locating them with primary schools so that pupils can learn together and share facilities.
4. Where existing premises do not contain sufficient outdoor space/facilities we will look at ways in which these can be accessed.
5. Move towards constructing 2 forms of entry schools as a minimum through new and refurbished schools individually or in federations.  
6. Help all schools to conform to the requirements set out in the government’s guidance document for school buildings.
7. Make sure carbon emissions meet required standards and there is minimal environmental impact in line with the Council’s greenest borough strategy.

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Principle 2

• We want to promote learning through access to greater opportunities for all within the community.

To do this we will:

1. Make sure that our schools are attractive and welcoming to pupils and our visitors whilst at the same time keeping pupils safe and secure.
2. Make sure our primary pupils have access to extended school activities both during and outside term times, including the use of the school grounds and sports facilities, breakfast clubs and after school provision
3. Enable the community to access learning opportunities and to use facilities in our schools in the day, evenings and at the weekend.
4. Look at how we can co-locate community facilities and/or group wider services in and around groups of our schools.
5. Make sure that processes for transition between key stages of education are widely understood and that there are strong linkages across providers.
6. Have good systems of communication in place with the local community.

For school buildings this means:

Having appropriately zoned areas for extended use by young people and the wider community to make the accommodation more secure, accessible, affordable and practical for letting and extended use.

1. Having attractive, welcoming and secure entrance/reception areas.
2. Appropriate IT systems which enable children and their parents/carers to know what is happening in their locality.
3. Safe and secure access to play and sports facilities beyond school hours.

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Principle 3

• We want to secure the health and well being of our children and young people and safeguarding their welfare, especially the more vulnerable.

To do this we will:

1. Have swift and easy referral systems.
2. Ensure that all pupils are able to make at least two levels of progress especially the gifted and talented, those with special educational needs and those from ethnic minority groups.
3. Make sure that all children have access to appropriate spaces indoors and outdoors for exercise relaxation and personalised learning.
4. Encourage children through carefully designed external areas to warm up and warm down after activities.
5. See the outside as space for quiet reflection and study as well as for group and individual exercise.
6. Ensure that toilet and cloakroom spaces are age related and of the highest standards.
7. Co-locate health and social care facilities in or near schools wherever possible.
8. Provide access to fresh drinking water.
9. Encourage environmental awareness and sustainability amongst schools and the wider community.

For school buildings this means:

1. Having formal and informal play areas encouraging the development of creativity, physical skills and structured games play.
2. Providing high quality toilet and cloakroom facilities.
3. Provide access to fresh drinking water.
4. Meeting Child Protection requirements through our designs.
5. Ensuring that children are safe in the buildings and grounds.
6. Using effective design to encourage good behaviour.
7. Ensuring that there are rooms for small group work as well as larger groups.
8. Exemplifying sustainability and through this develop greater educational awareness, eg rainwater harvesting.

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Principle 4

• We want to further develop the leadership capacity in our schools.

To do this we will:

1. Support school leaders through mentoring and succession planning strategies.
2. Have leaders who will promote diversity of provision across schools.
3. Develop the workforce to support integrated children’s services.
4. Plan for the cost, use and management of extended facilities provided under the programme.

For school buildings this means:

1. Building and refurbishing so that they are manageable with appropriate staff areas established strategically throughout.
2. Having clear views through the internal and external areas for ease of monitoring the safety and security of children.

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Principle 5

• We want to integrate ICT throughout as part of the transformation of learning experiences for children, young people and the community.

To do this we will:

1. Provide ‘learning anywhere, anytime’ provision within the buildings and to some extent external learning spaces.
2. Give pupils and the community access to ICT.
3. Enable schools to develop personalised learning.
4. Have effective systems to report attendance and progress to pupils and their parents/carers where possible electronically.

For school buildings this means:

1. Ensuring that our new and refurbished schools will provide both wireless and hard wired facilities for learning with laptops and other mobile devices.
2. Being flexible and adaptable in order to accommodate personalised learning and future developments.
3. Providing secure facilities for storage, recharging and the provision of peripheral resources within all schools.
4. Having effective IT systems to track and report progress.

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How can you have your say

The consultation closed on 20 March 2008.

If you want further background information on the Primary Strategy for Change the Department for Children, Schools and Families guidance for local authorities can be found in the external links section below.

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Attached Files

Filename	Filetype	Size
primary strategy for change.pdf	PDF	83K
primary strategy for change questionnaire.pdf	PDF	29K
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Useful External Links

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• Primary Strategy for Change

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