Vision and Values

At Highgate Primary School, our vision and values are at the heart of everything we do. We believe that a strong sense of purpose and shared values create the foundations for a happy, successful school community.

At Highgate Primary we are successful because…

We are are ambitious for every child

At Highgate Primary we see children as individuals: we spot their special potential, we develop and celebrate their strengths, and we love their quirks and differences. We nurture the whole child and we are ambitious for them in every sense: creatively, socially, emotionally and academically. Our pupils leave us with very strong foundations. We raise independent-minded, confident, questioning, creative thinkers who love learning and are exceptionally well placed to thrive in the future.

We know that consistently great teaching leads to outstanding achievement

Our teachers are special. They are exceptionally talented, well-educated, committed and funny, and they teach phenomenally well. From their earliest days in Nursery and Reception our pupils take part in talk of the highest quality. Learning is play based – children are enticed into exploring rich, small world or scientific activities, or into role-play based around high quality stories. Further up the school, in KS1 and KS2, our teachers have superb classroom pedagogical skills. In every lesson, they model expertly, scaffold learning in achievable steps, target questions precisely, and adapt the task so everyone can master it and then extend their understanding further. Daniel Willingham famously said: ‘Memory is the residue of thought’ – we make our children think, and it shows in what they achieve.

We know that child centred learning works

Children are at the heart of everything we do at Highgate Primary. Our topic-based curriculum and our teaching are designed to engage children fully in every lesson. Pupils learn through hands-on and brain-on activities, by exploring and asking questions, through collaborating to find solutions, and by sharing their discoveries. Lessons are built around their interests, abilities and needs, and learning is enriched through performances, trips, expert visitors, and by sessions in our art and cookery studios, at Forest School and at the school allotment. As a result, learning is joyful and our pupils love coming to school.

We know that strong pastoral support can make all the difference

Children only learn if they are happy and safe. All children are sad or worried sometimes – they can struggle with friendships, fear of failure, grief, anxiety, concern about parental ill-health, or separation and divorce, or about poverty and war. When sadness and worry are significant, they block children from being able to learn effectively. We know support at school can have a profound impact. Our staff recognise when children are struggling. Teachers check in with every child, every day; they make time to really know children and to listen to them. When needed, we create a network of support for a child and their family: regular support from one of our pastoral team; weekly sessions with a play therapist, wellbeing counsellor or therapy dog and free sessions for parents from an experienced psychiatrist and psychotherapist on site. We do all we possibly can to help.

We pay attention to detail in everything we do

Details matter. We will notice if your child uses a wonderful piece of new vocabulary, we will notice if they are struggling to count beyond 10 or with long division, we will notice and celebrate if it’s their birthday, and we will spot if they have had no breakfast or have fallen out with their friends. We pay attention so that we know your children deeply, so we know the next step they need to take in their learning, and so we spot barriers getting in the way of them taking it. We are not promising that they won’t lose their coat. But we will support them to look after it, to find it themselves and to put their own name in it for next time.

We know that children learn best through positive messages

Criticism is rarely helpful. Children need to feel heard, valued and understood if they are to learn what we have to teach. We really like children at Highgate Primary, even if they sometimes find learning difficult or behave in challenging ways. We know that behaviour tells us something. Our staff are hugely patient, positive and kind; they give children lots of specific, descriptive praise, and they recognise effort and character as well as attainment. As a result, children trust us, and they feel loved and supported. They let us work with them, decipher what their behaviour is saying, and support them to be the very best they can be.

We have talented staff who inspire

Highgate Primary is full of musicians, scientists, TV producers, bakers, ultra-marathon runners, herpetologists, lawyers, and experts in international relations with a particular focus on China, who have discovered that working with children is the best job in the world. Our staff have a wealth of talent, experience and enthusiasm which they bring into school every day, enriching our children’s education.

We value flexibility, collaboration and effective communication

Schools and parents want the same thing – happy children who love to learn. To achieve that, we have to work as a team. We know a lot about educating children, but we don’t know your child as well as you do. We will always listen to your view, work in collaboration with you, and communicate with you clearly, positively and promptly. If problems arise, the best way to resolve them is to meet, talk things through and make a plan together. At Highgate Primary, we are always ready to listen and to improve things if we can.

We are there for our community from birth to secondary

Our school community is warm, welcoming and vibrant. Highgate Primary pupils speak 42 different languages, and our families come from all over the world, from many different cultures and from all walks of life. This richness is a gift – children and parents share their food and music at One World Evening, they sing or play in our Community Concert, they run stalls and play games at our seasonal fairs, and dance in the dark at our autumn Fire Show. Many pupils start off as visitors to our weekly baby and toddler groups, then go on to join our Nursery or Reception. Our year 6 leavers (and their parents) come back to visit us – to volunteer at after-school clubs, to gain work experience, as Better Reading Partners, or as teachers or support staff. People don’t want to leave our extended, extensive family.

We listen to what children say and allow them to dream

Children are profoundly curious, thoughtful and worth listening to. At Highgate Primary, children are respected equally to adults and we pay full attention to what they say. We encourage children to express ideas and opinions and to actively listen and respond to each other. Classrooms hum with discussion and even the youngest children discuss works of art and philosophical ideas. Our pupils give us feedback too – through our School Council and Rights Respecting Schools group. Our Highgate Primary curriculum creates space for imagination and for dreaming: children invent their own Greek mythological creatures and design future space stations on Mars; they write poems to their future selves; and paint portraits of who they are and could be. We manage to keep the reality of the outside world at bay, just a little – to allow them to play freely, unburdened, under the sun and stars.