Our school is well and truly on the map as a hub of forward thinking learning! Professionals across Bexley and Kent are frequently coming to see our school in action. Prospective parent tours are oversubscribed and the word is out, Joydens Wood Infant School is a MAGICAL place for children to learn!
Over the past few weeks we have had two external advisers visit our school. As a team, we were so proud of the words that were shared.
Polly Sharman, Senior Early Years Improvement Advisor for Kent, came to visit and was inspired by our school’s journey in bringing Play-Based Learning into Year 1 that she is returning early next month with another colleague! We are delighted to share a snippet from her note of visit:
‘The provision is ‘magical’. All children are purposeful in their play. Teachers are knowledgeable about the curriculum and expectations are high. Children are challenged and immersed in deep level learning. There is a real sense of the ‘love of learning’ in all the classrooms and outdoors. No child was seen off task and children showed huge amounts of stamina and resilience. Thank you for allowing me to spend a morning with you, I felt truly privileged and enjoyed every minute!’ (Polly Sharman 21.11.18)
Our school has been a Mathematics Mastery Partnership School for nearly two years now which has hugely impacted the quality of the reasoning and problem solving across the school. The results in Mathematics during the last academic year spoke volumes to prove the impact this model has on the children’s education. Our Maths Mastery Development Leader shared the following in his note of the visit:
‘Pupils demonstrated some amazing mathematical thinking, partly due to teachers facilitating their discussions and allowing them to consider what might be correct or incorrect… Teachers do not miss any opportunities to refer to and make connections between other areas of maths… Questioning was used to draw out further mathematical thinking…’ (Mathematics Mastery Development Leader 15.11.18)
We are very lucky to have such dedicated teachers and leaders within our school. Without their enthusiasm and passion our school’s achievements would not be possible. On behalf of us all, I thank our team wholeheartedly.
