If you can dream it, you can do it.

WHAT MAKES OUR SCHOOL SPECIAL?

Our Children

We live for our children. They are everything to us. We have wonderful children that make up our school and all of them are very special to us. They brighten up the mornings, make our lessons an exciting learning experience and fill the breaktimes with fun and laughter. They take part in everything that we have to offer and then come back for more. It is the children who give our school its energy, its vibrancy and its excitement and it is our children that we serve.

Our Staff

We want to give our children as many exciting learning opportunities as possible, so the dedicated and skilled staff work late into the evenings to devise the best possible lessons or run fun clubs for our children to enjoy and learn from. They love our children and strive daily to give them the best possible start in life, acting as fine role models, as well as excellent professionals. We have a fabulous Nursery, which provides close links and good transitions into school and the staff work closely with our Reception teachers to coordinate work and events.

The Atmosphere

The atmosphere of the school is that of partnership and togetherness, with the community spirit being nurtured carefully through the involvement of the local community. On meeting the children you immediately sense the warmth of the welcome as you are surrounded by smiling faces eager to show you their work and share their achievements. New children are immediately looked after and encouraged to grow by other willing children – there is a real sense of community as the children seek to learn together for the future.

We are proud of the friendly atmosphere here, which is enhanced by the help and involvement we receive from parents and the wider village community. Many parents support the curriculum voluntarily (holding reading conferences or helping at after-school clubs) and the school responds by holding regular meetings and events for parents to feel included in their child’s early life – for example we have a Christmas Fayre coming up soon - and there are lots of productions. The Governing Body itself is community-oriented: it includes parents/ grandparents, ex-pupils and local employers.

However, we want to get better and better, so we can be the best school in the world, so why not join us and help us in this journey?

Our Values

As a school committed to making the dreams of our children come true, we believe in:

1. excellence in learning and teaching of a broad, balanced and evolving curriculum, underpinned by the development of basic skills within a vibrant, challenging and interactive environment.

2. a warm, welcoming, inclusive atmosphere, full of opportunities, both during lessons and through a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

3. the potential of ICT to enhance and extend learning and teaching across the whole curriculum where appropriate.

4. nurturing and valuing each individual’s talents, abilities, learning styles, strengths and qualities, based on high, but achievable expectations.

5. encouraging everyone to believe in themselves, build self-esteem and allow time for reflection on personal and academic development.

6. encouraging values of love, respect, tenderness and mercy and also respecting the right to hold other beliefs and ways of life.

7. creating a safe, secure and calm learning environment in which all strive to achieve their full potential, whilst also feeling confident that they can learn from their mistakes.

8. developing a consultative partnership between children, parents, staff, governors and the wider community, based on mutual respect and regular communication.

Characteristics Of Our School

By staying faithful to our values we believe we are creating a school where:

• children feel valued, unique and precious as children of Lydiate Primary School and have a concern for the world community with a strong sense of integrity.
• everyone feels welcome and can access the full range of learning opportunities, regardless of faith, gender, race or disability.
• a happy, thriving school community puts children first, recognises the contributions of all and values every individual.
• children, staff, parents and governors work together as a team within a welcoming, hard-working and inclusive atmosphere.
• our children learn from an integrated, interactive curriculum, which is taught in a fun and exciting way, by enthusiastic teachers.
• modern cutting-edge technology characterises the learning process, giving our children the skills needed for life in the future.
• honesty, respect and discipline are promoted and valued and where we treat others as we wish to be treatedourselves, showing kindness and warmth to all.
• children love learning, strive to be happy, confident individuals with a sense of wonderment and who see learning as a life-long experience, as they realise their dreams and aspirations.

The Vision

In the next three to five years we are working towards:

1. a modern building with the facilities to serve the local community, which is completely inclusive and accessible by all.

2. a more welcoming entrance to the school.

3. more rooms and areas for non-educational purposes, such as store rooms, a parents’ room and quiet areas for all parts of the school.

4. the Jubilee Garden as beautiful and interactive as the Millennium Garden, so that Lower School children can use it as a learning resource.

5. more lessons based on independent learning with independent learners who can choose their own equipment and sometimes the direction of their learning.

6. children, who are more aware of how they learn.

7. a modern foreign language that is embedded into the curriculum in all classes.

8. children, who are video-conferencing and making digital videos, with enough laptops/computers for 1 between 3 children in the school, whilst also incorporating new technology as it evolves.

9. all classes of single age and with no more than 25 in a class.

10. clubs every night of the week, including a wider array of sports and non-sporty clubs with a system of rewards for those children who attend.

11. 75% of our children doing at least 1 hour of extra-curricular sport per week.

12. a full time teaching assistant attached to every class.

13. a Careers Day, where children get to see what the life of work is like.