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Roxeth Manor First School is a three-form entry nursery and first school which serves families with a low socio-economic status in Harrow. A high proportion of pupils have a first language other than English, and 27 languages are currently spoken in the school. Building an inclusive school is given a high priority and is led from the top, by Headteacher Tina Stimpson-Howard and Assistant Headteacher Atiya Saithna.
There are a raft of successful initiatives in the school that have resulted in an OFSTED judgement that Roxeth Manor 'is a good, inclusive school which ensures pupils achieve well'.
With a significant number of pupils having English as an additional language, EAL strategies are integrated into all lesson plans. Performance management targets for all teachers include an EAL dimension. This year, one focus is to get more EAL learners quickly picking up mathematical language. This work is being undertaken in collaboration with Roxeth Manor’s local cluster of schools.
The home-school reading scheme includes a library of dual text non-fiction books, including books in Tamil, Somali, Bengali, Gujarati, Farsi, Punjabi, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, French, Hindi and Urdu.
Important letters to parents are also in Tamil and Somali and a translation service is always provided for parents’ meetings.
The school has a culturally diverse staff, which reflects the school’s intake. Every class has a teaching assistant (TA), many of whom speak the pupils’ first languages. Parent volunteers are encouraged to talk to recently arrived children in their home languages.
Many of these parent volunteers have become TAs. TAs are integrated into wider staff development and supported to progress into teaching. Two have already completed foundation degrees and another is currently studying to become a teacher.
Children who are new arrivals attend a lunch-time club. The children explore painting and storytelling, and are given an opportunity to learn the school rules in their mother tongue. All children are involved in ‘Talking Partners’ to promote speaking and listening skills and some children receive maths support in their home language in small groups. Children are placed on ‘Provision Maps’ to ensure their needs are met.
The school also harnesses local funding streams to offer extended services to parents and children.
These include the parents’ workshops funded by the Basic Skills Council. At one workshop, 15 Asian mothers were helped with improving their written and spoken English. The parents, taught by the literacy coordinator, were supported by Somali and Tamil language interpreters. The impact of these workshops was felt by the attendees, their children and the wider community, as they formed stronger bonds between school and community.
For young people, the school offers Tae Kwon Do and football in partnership with the Youth Inclusion Service. A diverse programme of activities under the banner ‘Rainbows’ will soon be offered to girls who are not currently accessing after-school activities.
School displays are bilingual and include photographs of the children, celebrating the school’s rich community.
Over the pictures of the children’s happy faces is the affirming statement:
The question is not how smart are you, but in what ways you are smart.
The children are smart in many ways, because of the many opportunities the school affords them.
Do you have some good practice that you would like to share with the rest of the network? Let us know.
