Peckover School - ‘an exciting place for pupils to learn and staff to teach’ (Ofsted 2016)

What makes us Peckover?

Our children are immersed in a creative classroom environment, which is themed to our learning focus. Our integrated curriculum has a detailed progression of substantive knowledge and procedural skills. It also exposes children to rich real-life experiences, inside and outside the classroom, developing a deep contextual understanding and love of learning, meaning children will know more, remember more and be able to do more.

 

Curriculum Design

We aim to provide a curriculum which challenges, excites and ignites curiosity in our children and will enable them to become successful, lifelong learners.

The curriculum has been developed by the Brooke Weston curriculum development team, subject leads and teaching staff, over time and has come about through many reflective and analytical discussions, based on the needs of our children.  A set of carefully considered, incremental, progressive knowledge and skills, for each subject area, have been designed to ensure our children become successful individuals, who are equipped for their future in this ever-changing modern society.  For every subject area, in every year group, key knowledge organisers are planned to encourage them to become independent learners. Our curriculum builds on prior learning year-on-year.

Nursery to Year 2

Due to the disruption of Covid we have noticed that many of our younger children have gaps in their language aquistion, physical, social and emotional development. Reflecting on the positive impact seen using the EYFS curriculum, we have adopted this style of learning in KS1 classrooms. Peckover staff have developed a progression of skills for continuous provision, from nursery to Year 2 to ensure children are constantly challenged.

We have designed our Early Years and KS1 Curriculum to be play based to meet the language, social, emotional and physical needs of our children, many of whom begin school significantly below national expectations.

We aim through our continuous provision, for our children to become independent learners. The curriculum and provision are designed to foster and ignite children’s curiosity and intrigue.  We believe that a high quality, stimulating, outside learning environment is integral to the curriculum, to ensure we engage with all learners, whilst meeting every child’s developmental needs. Each year, we aim to adapt the provision to meet the diverse and individual needs of each cohort, to ensure that every child reaches their full potential.

 

Everything we do at Peckover is underpinned by the Brooke Weston Trust core values.

Ambition for all

We believe children from all backgrounds should have the same opportunities and therefore provide a rich variety of art, music, PE, drama and practical experiences within our curriculum, highlighted by our 50 before Year 7. Our 50 before Year 7 is designed alongside our knowledge rich curriculum to provide cultural capital which powerfully addresses disadvantage. As a result, our pupil outcomes are rapidly improving year on year and exceed National outcomes by the time they complete their Peckover journey.

 

Peckover School is at the heart of the town of Wisbech; a town with a complex demography, with high levels of social deprivation and a changing population, due to levels of migration from Eastern Europe, making mobility a contributing factor to our challenges. Peckover School is a diverse and vibrant community, where children thrive.  We believe that quality teaching and our curriculum allows all children, including those with English as an additional language and disadvantaged children, to flourish. 

High Expectations

Peckover has high expectations of the whole school community. There is a strong emphasis on the teaching of language development and reading. In order to commit these basic skills to long term memory, we repeatedly and relentlessly refer to them in all aspects of learning. Our children are ever challenged to be the best they can in all aspects of school life. 
 

Excellent Teaching and Support

Our quality first teaching, from aspirational practitioners, has high impact for all children, with many pupils making exceptional progress, both academically and socially and emotionally.  Staff are highly reflective, innovative and create learning environments and experiences, which actively engage and excite pupils.

Using regular detailed formative and summative assessments, teachers link our curriculum to specific gaps in children’s understanding. Through highly effective teaching teams, we ensure no child is left behind, by addressing misconceptions and gaps in skills, through personalised interventions, and immediate feedback in order to commit core skills to long term memory.

We have recognised that in order to allow children to access our rich curriculum and achieve academic success, they must be emotionally and socially ready to learn, we therefore put high quality pastoral care, nurture and Forest School at the heart of our teaching and school life.
 

Working Together

Out school ethos centres on working together as a team including staff, pupils and parents and our colleagues across the Trust. We are ‘TEAM PECKOVER’. High levels of collaboration are evident throughout the school within and across staff teams and pupils in all aspects of school life.

We aim to create a caring and nurturing environment, where the whole family is welcomed.  In this family, we recognise that every child is unique.

Contributing to Society

Our curriculum doesn’t end in the classroom and we believe our PROUD school values create opportunities that enable our students to be full and active contributors to society.

P perseverance

R respect

O take every opportunity

U be united

D do your best

 

We are a school based on respect. Children contribute to raising standards by being active ambassadors within the school and local community.

By recruiting and training locally, we nurture many staff to achieve HLTA , QTS status and gain degrees which contributes to Peckover being a great place to teach and learn for all.
 

 

Impact

2016 RWM combined 50%  National 53%

2017 RWM combined 55%  National 61%

2018 RWM combined 66%  National 64%

2019 RWM combined 74%

2020 no statutory testing

2021 no statutory testing

2022 RWM combined 48% National 65%

The  whole curriculum is designed to ensure every child has the cultural capital to succeed to their full potential. Learners are prepared for the next stage of their education and move on to secondary schools as confident and independent individuals.