Farnworth CE Primary School Achieves Flagship School Status

A Stimulating Learning Environment

It has been an absolute pleasure once again to visit Farnworth today. Farnworth’s aim as shown in their Home School Agreement is, “to provide a safe, supportive and stimulating learning environment in which each child is treated as an individual and where children are encouraged to work hard, behave appropriately and to take pride and pleasure in their own and others’ achievements.”

A Calm and Engaging Environment

The school is open and welcoming and full of happy staff and pupils working alongside each other in a calm and engaging environment. I was taken aback by the exemplary behaviour and impeccable manners of the pupils towards their teachers, visitors like myself and each other. There is a caring ‘feel’ to Farnworth and this comes from the administration staff who welcomed me on entering the school to the catering staff who made me a lovely lunch, staff and pupils.

Shaped by its Values

The school’s community is shaped by its Christian values of love, gentleness, peace, patience, faithfulness, self-control, joy, goodness and kindness which are those of the Fruits of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) The Ofsted Inspection Report of 2018 stated that, “The school’s Christian ethos and strong values underpin everything. The school is a friendly and welcoming community.”

Extra Curricular Activities

On the day of the assessment Year 6 pupils had recently been on a three-day cultural visit to London and took great pride in telling me that they had been to the West End to see ‘The Lion King’ musical. Every year group benefits from a residential trip from Year 2 through to Year 6. Only last week, over fifty pupils represented Farnworth in different sporting events.

The Outdoor Learning Environment

The school’s grounds remain extensive and include a natural woodland area. The grounds are utilised in every way possible and include a newly built Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) which is timetabled for all pupils to use. The Quiet Garden is also timetabled for use by all pupils and Year 4 Reading was observed there before the lunch break. Pupils said it was a quiet and relaxing area that they enjoy sitting in and the windchime and water feature enhance this.

IQM Cluster Group

Following the promotion of Ms Le Marinel, Mrs Heather Whitfield is now Deputy Headteacher and IQM Co-ordinator and I would personally like to thank her and Mrs Stillings for welcoming me once again to Farnworth Primary School today. Mrs Whitfield worked alongside Ms Le Marinel to ensure an effective transition into her new role. She attended the first Cluster Meeting at Ysgol Heulfan with Ms Le Marinel and has since attended two other Cluster meetings, sending representatives to the one meeting that she was unable to attend. Being part of the Cluster has enabled her to work with schools outside of Halton. Mrs Whitfield has compiled a grid system showing the focus of each Cluster meeting, ideas to take back to school and the impact of the focus on the practice at Farnworth which I have asked her to bring along to the next Cluster meeting to share with colleagues there. Following the most recent Cluster meeting at Nutgrove Methodist Primary School on progress of pupils with additional learning needs Mrs Whitfield has purchased the book shared on the day, “Teaching Literacy to Learners with Dyslexia: A Multi-sensory Approach.”

Inclusion Lies at Its Core

Every member of staff is very happy in their work and proud to work at Farnworth where the pupils’ learning and well-being are central to school life and inclusion lies at its core. All staff and pupils share a common ethos of caring for each another as well as a mutual respect for one another. Staff are dedicated and committed to the inclusion agenda. Year 6 pupils ready to leave the school in a couple of weeks’ time will leave as well-rounded individuals well prepared for the next stage of their education. This is down to the whole school atmosphere of inclusion and aspiration for all, within a warm and calm family environment.

Strong Community Links

Farnworth maintains its strong links within the local community, the local Care home, Everton in the Community, Halton Healthy Schools Team, Halton Health Improvement Team, the Church, Cronton College and Wade Deacon High School. Pupils recently performed at The Brindley as part of Halton Primary Arts Network. The theme was ‘Imagination’ and based on a book entitled, “Leon and the Place Between.” This resulted in the school singing two songs, ‘I have a dream’ by Abba and ‘What a wonderful world’ by Louis Armstrong. Next week at the Stadium pupils will take part in “Children of Halton Sing.” The theme is the 1980s and pupils and staff will dress up accordingly.

Vibrant and Interactive Displays

The school is full of vibrant and interactive displays showing children’s work. There are inspirational quotes around school willing the pupils to be the best that they can be. One example is, “Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.” When I spoke to pupils from Year 6, they shared that,

“Our school always thinks of new ideas and ways to learn outside of school, it is really inclusive”,

“I have been in the School Council before and school has got better, our community links have just got wider” and

“This year everyone gets an award at our Leavers’ Service.”

Find out more about the IQM Inclusive School Award

If your school is interested in obtaining the IQM Inclusive School Award or you wish to talk to a member of the IQM team, please feel free to telephone: 028 7127 7857 (9.00 am to 5.00 pm) or email: [email protected] for further details.