Why choose Lansdowne Primary School?
At Lansdowne, we RISE
We teach our children to show respect for themselves, for others and for the world around them. We listen to one another, value different viewpoints and take responsibility for our choices and actions.
Everyone belongs at Lansdowne. We celebrate difference and ensure that every child feels welcomed, valued and able to participate fully in school life. We adapt our provision so that all children have the opportunity to learn, develop and thrive.
We have high expectations for every child and encourage them to be ambitious, resilient and proud of their achievements. We recognise that success looks different for every learner and celebrate progress in all its forms – academic, personal and social.
We encourage our children to understand the feelings, experiences and perspectives of others. Through kindness, compassion and thoughtful choices, our children learn how they can make a positive difference to their school and wider community.
An engaging Curriculum that prepares children for the future
Our thematic creative curriculum challenges our children to be well informed, critical and creative.
Enriched through powerful experiences, children are inspired to produce their own personal and meaningful responses so their learning stays with them for the rest of their lives.
Our thematic creative curriculum prepares our children for the future by providing them with a well-rounded education that incorporates a variety of teaching methods and learning experiences that are engaging and meaningful to children.
These experiences can take many forms, including hands-on activities, school trips, learning projects, and visitors to the school, all of which can provide children with the insights, knowledge, and hands-on experiences that are related to the subject matter they are studying.
Learning through themed topics and experiences helps to make learning more interesting and relevant to our children, and can foster their curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, which ultimately can deepen their understanding and help them to retain information over the long term.
A modern approach to teaching and learning
Most other schools teach children by direct instruction – where the teacher stands in front of a classroom, presents information and then gives the children a task to complete.
We believe that in order to provide our children with an education fit for the 21st century, teaching by direct instruction should only form a part of our children’s learning experience.
Instead, our teachers focus on teaching using more flexible, interactive and personalised methods that allow children to become more involved in the learning process and develop the collaboration, communication and creativity skills that our children will require to thrive in our modern society.
It’s important to understand the difference between passive and interactive teaching methods.
Passive teaching is a way of teaching where the teacher presents information to children that requires little to no active participation from the class. This method is good for teaching basic skills and knowledge, but it’s not always the best way to teach, because it doesn’t always help students think for themselves or solve problems.
In contrast, interactive teaching is designed to engage children and encourage them to participate in their own learning. These methods often involve hands-on activities, group work, and problem-solving tasks that require children to think critically and independently.
To prepare our children for the challenges of the 21st century, we promote the use of interactive teaching to help our children develop the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
Devices for every child
To enable us to deliver a truly personal learning experience for every child, technology is readily accessible in every single year group.
Once a child enters Year 3, they will each receive an iPad and iPad pen which will be taken with them all the way until they leave for secondary school.
If children are excited about a topic and wish to carry on with their own independent research or even complete digital homework, they can take their device home!
By giving them their own device, our children can learn at their own pace and can work together with others and share ideas more easily.
We can provide more opportunities for personalised learning, as children can use their devices to access content and learning experiences that are tailored to their individual needs and interests.
With all children having access to the same resources and opportunities for learning, we can support the success of all children, regardless of their individual abilities or needs.
Purposeful integration of technology
Our children have access to a variety of technology to use in their learning such as green screen recording, QR codes, video recording, 3D world builders, audio recording and much, much more!
This technology is readily accessible in the classroom to allow children to produce highly personal and powerful responses to tasks through joyful and memorable experiences.
For example, children may take advantage of a green screen to produce a video response to a topic or even use Minecraft to demonstrate their learning in an interactive, online world!
Many schools today have access to technology in their learning environments. While technology can be a valuable tool for education, it is important that it is used in the right way. If a teacher simply uses technology for the sake of using it, without considering how it can support learning, it can be a distraction for children and be less effective at achieving the desired learning objective.
At our school, we use technology in our classrooms with purpose. We view technology as a tool that we can use to enhance and support the learning process in a way that is intentional, relevant, and designed to achieve specific goals. We carefully plan and implement the use of technology to engage and motivate our children, facilitate collaboration and communication, provide them access to a wealth of information and resources, and support a variety of learning styles and needs.
We believe that using technology in this way can greatly benefit our children’s learning experiences, and we are committed to using it in a responsible and effective way.
A child-centred, collaborative environment
Our classroom environments are child-centred and designed to allow for flexibility, collaboration and independence. The aim is to shape our environment to better reflect a 21st century workspace that promotes social interaction, communication and self-regulation.
In our child-centred classrooms, the emphasis is on child-led learning and the development of critical thinking skills rather than learning through direct instruction and memorisation. Our teachers facilitate and support learning instead of transmitting information directly to the children and expecting them to learn from it.
In addition to traditional desks and chairs, in our child-centred classrooms, we use flexible seating to enhance the learning experience by allowing children to choose the seating arrangement that works best for them. This means the classroom environment can support different learning styles and needs.
For example, some children may prefer to sit on a comfortable beanbag chair, while others may prefer to stand at a standing desk. By providing a range of seating options, our teachers can accommodate the individual preferences and needs of their children, which can help them to be more engaged and focused in the classroom.
A close knit community
We firmly believe in the importance of strong collaboration between our school and parents, as we understand the vital role that parents play in their child’s education. We are dedicated to fostering a close-knit community where parents feel welcome, involved, and valued.
We regularly invite parents to our school to celebrate their children’s achievements and witness their progress. Our regular parent events provide parents with the opportunity to witness the growth and development of their children’s skills, knowledge, and creativity. These events also serve as a platform for children to take pride in their accomplishments and share their learning
Throughout the year, we organise various events that encourage parental attendance and participation. These events include:
Curriculum Workshops: Parents are invited to attend these informative evenings to learn more about the curriculum, teaching methods, and classroom expectations. This allows parents to better support their child’s learning journey at home.
Parents evenings: Regular meetings between parents and teachers foster open communication and provide an opportunity to discuss a child’s progress, strengths, and areas for improvement.
Special Assemblies: During these events, we celebrate our children’s achievements, showcase their talents, and recognise their hard work.
Family Workshops: We host interactive workshops for parents and children, designed to help families better understand various subjects and engage in fun, educational activities together.
Annual School Fairs and Festivals: Our school organises fairs and festivals throughout the year, providing an opportunity for families to come together, have fun, and strengthen the sense of community within the school.
By actively engaging parents in their child’s education, we promote a supportive and collaborative learning environment that benefits both children and families. We are committed to maintaining strong connections with parents and encouraging their involvement in the educational journey of their children.
Wrap-around care
We recognise the importance of providing childcare options to assist working parents.
Lansdowne Primary School is open from 7:30am – 6:00pm Monday to Friday.
As well as our Breakfast Club and After School Club, we offer a range of free Extra-Curricular Clubs every term that children can take part in after school.
Breakfast Club is booked online using the Arbor Parent Portal and is paid for at the time of booking.
Breakfast club runs from 7:30am – 8:30am at the cost of £3.25 per child. Children are offered a wide range of breakfast meals and use the space in the main hall to play games and spend time with their classmates.
After School Club is booked online using the Arbor Parent Portal and is paid for at the time of booking.
GUIDE – How to book After School Club on Arbor Parent Portal
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The After School Club will run Monday to Friday and is split into two sessions. The Twilight session is from 3:15pm until 4:30pm and the Late session is from 4:15pm until 6:00pm.
| Twilight Session | 3:15pm until 4:30pm | £4 |
| After Enrichment Club Session | 4:15pm until 6:00pm | £6 |
| Both Sessions | 3:15pm until 6:00pm | £10 |
The After School Club will offer a wide range of activities for the children and provide drinks and a freshly prepared fruit snack for all children. For those children that stay on for the late session, a picnic snack will be provided, which varies on a daily basis.
Payments must be made in advance, either termly, monthly, weekly or daily. There are no exceptions to this as it is essential that the club in self-financing.
If you are late collecting your child, an extra charge of £1 will be incurred for every 5 minutes past 6:00pm.
We offer an extensive range of Extra Curricular clubs throughout the year which are booked using the Arbor Parent Portal.
Guide: How to book an Extra Curricular Club
Please note that all clubs have a restricted number of places.
The clubs start at 3.15pm and finish at 4.15pm.
Choices for clubs will be sent to parents every term.
A commitment to well-being
We prepare children to succeed in their personal and professional lives by nurturing both their thinking and social-emotional skills.
We define bullying as “deliberately hurtful behaviour that is repeated over a period of time.” Bullying can take many forms, but the three main types are physical, verbal and indirect.
We encourage parents to inform us immediately if they suspect their child is being bullied. The sooner we know, the sooner we can act to stop it! Please see our anti-bullying policy for further details, including early signs of distress.
Bullying will not be tolerated in our school. It is everyone’s responsibility to prevent it happening and our policy contains guidelines for all members of the school community.
Our school takes part in the National ‘Anti-bullying week’ each year.
Throughout the year, children are encouraged to report all incidents of bullying to an adult and are supported in developing strategies to combat it, including the use of discussion and role play. Children are also taught awareness of ‘Cyber bullying’ throughout the year and this form of bullying will be dealt with in the same robust manner as any other form of bullying.
Year 5 and 6 children are trained as ‘buddies’ to support any pupil who may feel susceptible to bullying or for those who may behave in a bullying way.
Nurture is at the heart of the school where we offer short term, inclusive, focused interventions to help with SEBD needs.
Our nurture room is a calm and inviting base for the children. We provide an inclusive curriculum where we work on literacy including Language Through Colour, maths and phonics.
In literacy we use a focus books that appeal to the children which allows us to offer them a stimulating and colourful learning experience.
Within the Nurture room we also address other aspects of development using child focused, tailor made interventions such as fine motor skills, sensory needs and social and emotional support. All of which are led by the 6 Principles of nurture:
Where needs are identified, well-being interventions will be implemented following a discussion with parents/carers. These may take place in a separate area or may form part of provision within the classroom. All classrooms have a dedicated area where children may withdraw to when they are feeling less settled and need to be in a quieter area in order to focus on their learning tasks. We call it the ‘calm down’ area.
Our aim is to ensure that not only do all pupils feel happy, secure and valued but that they are also able to work in a calm, pleasant and purposeful environment without disruption.
A smooth transition to Reception
Do you want to help your child’s transition into their first year at school?
From May to July, we host stay and play sessions every Thursday at 2pm to help familiarise children of pre-school age with our school.
Our sessions start with a welcome from our reception teachers, followed by lots of wonderful activities and will finish with a story or song.
No need to book, just turn up!
Please contact us for more information.
- Have the chance to meet the Headteacher and EYFS team
- Become familiar with the school setting
- Increase your confidence and understanding of school life
- Enjoy a story or fun activity with your children
- Younger siblings welcome
Part of a transformative Multi Academy Trust
Lansdowne Primary School is part of The Stour Academy Trust, a Multi Academy Trust of 9 Primary Schools across Kent.
The Stour Academy Trust has set out to transform schools to better prepare our young people for the 21st century.