St Matthew's CofE Primary

Headteacher's Welcome

Janet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am pleased to welcome you to St Matthew’s School. St Matthew’s is a successful and happy Church of England primary school. From our nursery class to Year 6, the children are at the centre of all we do and achieve. We are ambitious for our pupils and their academic achievements, encouraging high expectations and aspirations for children and adults alike. We are an inclusive, safe, learning-focused school, serving an exciting and diverse community. For nursery age pupils, part time and full-time places are available.

Caring Christian values are central to the ethos of St Matthew’s School where each child is known and encouraged as an individual with specific talents and needs. We believe in developing independent and resilient learners with a positive growth mindset. Our skilled and dedicated teachers endeavour to maximise each child’s potential, by providing a wide range of educational experiences and opportunities to help them develop spiritually, socially and morally as well as academically.

We are proud of all our children and their families and all that we can offer them at St Matthew’s School.

Janet Lightfoot- Headteacher 

 

Our Christian Vision and Values

Our Vision is to be 'Outstanding in everything that we do.' Our Mission is ‘The St Matthew’s way’. High educational expectations within a caring Christian Community so our children have successful futures.

Our Core Values:

  • We aim high - We are aspirational for our children, our school and ourselves
  • We encourage - We build people up, we recognise the value of the whole school family
  • We have faith - We have the courage to take risks and try new things knowing that this is a safe place and we have faith that God has great plans for the school 

This is rooted in a culture of love and respect, just like everything that Jesus did.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

 

Our Curriculum

Christian values and high expectations are at the heart of all aspects of our school life, providing a safe and happy learning environment where children are encouraged to develop respect, self-esteem and confidence. We aim to find exciting ways to educate and this is reflected in our curriculum which includes and exceeds all aspects of the National Curriculum. We use a thematic and cross curricular approach to drive and stimulate learning across the curriculum as well as support pupils in making links between information and skills. Our pupils learn to use key learning behaviours (such as resilience, reflectiveness, resourcefulness) to enable their understanding of the concepts and skills across each subject as we believe that that this approach provides our pupils with a meaningful and motivational way of learning enabling them to become successful lifelong learners. 

High standards in English and mathematics are a priority with opportunities for children to apply their skills and knowledge in context. Technology is used to support learning throughout the school. Science, computing, art, music, Physical Education, modern foreign languages, history, geography are taught in an engaging and practical way. Please use the links in the column to the left to find out more about each subject.

Our curriculum is also further enhanced with regular opportunities to deepen pupils’ cultural experiences, from utilising our nearby transport links into London with theatre and museum visits to welcoming a range of visitors into our school.

We regularly make use of our vast school grounds throughout the curriculum and beyond. Learning outdoors is something we are passionate about, whether we are encouraging our pupils to experiment, discover, connect to the natural world or engage in outdoor sports and adventure activities. We use Outdoor Learning for academic, social, mental health, wellbeing, inter and intra-personal development. 

Throughout the year we offer a range of opportunities for parents and carers to come in to school to experience lessons and approaches to learning for themselves as well as workshops and information sessions focusing on a range of subjects.