Putnoe Primary School Achieves Centre of Excellence

The School’s Motto

At Putnoe Primary School, their motto is ‘Aiming high and Learning for Life.’ The school embodies this motto in two specific ways. Firstly, in terms of the opportunity, the school provides its learners, not just through core subjects but most noticeably across the arts; the school is committed to providing the children with the opportunity to experience a wide range of learning so that they have the opportunity to be successful in a range of things, truly offering learning for life. Secondly, the school allows the children to aim high and reach this destination by personalising learning and personalising the care they give to the children. Accordingly, it is evident that they personalise the way they treat staff and how they address staff needs also in order to create positive outcomes. Opportunity and personalisation are overarching themes evident at the school.

?Successful Arts

?In its development of the arts the school ensures it offers a wide range of opportunities to allow children to be successful through creativity and expression, and open up possibilities in terms of activities and career choices; for instance, the school has its own radio station, complete with mixing board and on-air sign, where the children have the opportunity to write and produce their own radio shows and podcasts; the school also has its own green screen allowing children to film videos with superimposed backgrounds on; the school has its own performance hall with sound and lighting rig where the children learn how to be performance technicians. The school has put together an amazing video which is shown on their website “The British at Putnoe,” which is a performance poetry piece that demonstrates the school’s commitment to the arts and showcases the talent of its pupil in this field.

?Behaviour is Outstanding

?Across the school, the children all demonstrated excellent learning behaviours: they were engaged in learning and could articulate their knowledge and understanding. When asked about their learning one child said,

?“The school has lots of learning opportunities. It is a really interesting school and the teachers help you. If you find it easy, they challenge you and if you find it hard, they help you.” another child explained that “I find things easy but only because my teacher explains things in an understandable way.”

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The general behaviour displayed across the school was outstanding: children were incredibly polite and kind; adults were incredibly polite and kind. In essence, Putnoe Primary School feels like a wonderful and welcoming place to be. When asked what other children were like at Putnoe Primary, one child commented,

?“People treat you really nicely and you feel confident and can achieve anything in life here.”

The School is A ‘Home From Home’

?The environment at Putnoe is enticing to learners. One parent explained that:

?“The facilities at Putnoe are amazing and it feels like an extra home for our children…its modern and really well looked after.”

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One of the most enticing areas of the school is the school library. You are greeted by this on entry to the school. Children clearly enjoy visiting the library and enjoy reading here.?It was evident the children were reading for pleasure in the school. The librarian who has a clear passion for books and children’s literature discussed the wide range of activities the library facilitates, such as book review sessions, reading buddy sessions, where older children read to younger children, and their work with the ‘Booktastic Bedfordshire Book Festival.’ The school is one of three schools involved in Bedfordshire with the book festival where a group of children collaborate with the librarian to decide and influence what will be on at the upcoming festival.

There is Clear Progression

The SENDCo explained, “We provide a safe environment for the children to make mistakes and learn from them. They sit and work with peers and are taught ‘three before me’…which is three things to do before you put your hand up; for, example, talk to your partner, re-read and check the success criteria or refer back to previous work in their books to see if this might help.” Across all subjects, you can see a clear progression in learning. This was especially evident within the artwork displayed around the school, showing a clear progression of skills, culminating in some outstanding year 6 artwork, based around abstract art showing fabulous skill and technicality.?

Staff Wellbeing is Important

The leadership team believe in providing personalised approaches to bring out the best in people and this was evident in their induction process of new staff. One teacher who joined the school in September explained that before joining, a comprehensive induction programme was delivered to them remotely so they had a full understanding of the school’s policies and procedures. Importantly though this teacher explained that “The induction process was a chance for the Headteacher to check on my wellbeing, ask how I was and ask if I needed anything. I explained that I was concerned about teaching computing and because of this, the Headteacher put the right training in place for me.”

?Everyone is Supported

The leadership team provide a supportive environment for staff to be successful and in turn help children to be successful. One staff member commented, “We are well supported here, everyone feels like a team and family and it’s really welcoming. It is so positive here and nothing seems too big to deal with.” The leadership team have developed structures within the school to offer capacity for improvement, for example in the creation of an English team, led by the Deputy, where staff can work collaboratively towards outcomes. These structures work further in creating a supportive atmosphere where staff can work collectively towards a shared vision.

?The Headteacher is Passionate

The Headteacher is clearly passionate about the supportive and inclusive environment that has been created at Putnoe and demonstrated sincere warmth and kindness to all adults and children throughout the school. One parent explained,

‘The Headteacher and the Deputy Head greet me every morning at the gate. I really feel like they care about me and my children…In fact, everyone is really approachable and happy to help.”

It is evident that the Headteacher leads by example in creating a warm, welcoming and safe environment. Several years ago the school was involved in the Junior Police Squad and the Headteacher saw the benefit in positive links with the police and school and now works as a local special constable. This enables him to create a positive link between the community, school and the police, while also providing an up-to-date profile of safeguarding trends within the area that can be shared with staff and other schools within the area.

?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.