Why should I send my child to William Harding?
At William Harding School, we believe that being a large school is one of our greatest strengths. It means we can offer your child something very special – a wealth of experience, expertise, opportunities and support, all within one school community.
A caring, values driven community
We are a safe, inclusive and welcoming community and our focus is ensuring pupils are happy and our school is built on kindness. Our school's ethos is centred on "Aim high... Work hard... Be kind...". Our values of Inclusion, Respect, Responsibility, Perseverance, Honesty and Collaboration are woven throughout school life, helping pupils develop not only academically but personally.
Staff experience and knowledge
With a large and highly experienced staff team, we have an extensive range of knowledge and skills across the school. Our teachers, learning support practitioners, SEND team, pastoral team and leaders bring expertise in many different areas of education and child development.
Our staff learn from one another, share good practice and undertake regular training so that our knowledge continues to grow. This means that whatever your child's strengths, interests or individual needs, there is likely to be someone within our team who has the knowledge and experience to help them thrive.
Inclusive support for children
We are a diverse school that is here for all pupils. As well as supporting pupils new to English, we also support all of our pupils through our inclusive approaches and our ‘needed for some, benefit for all’ approach. Teaching is flexible, supported, scaffolded and adaptive to ensure all have success. We have two Additional Resourced Provisions (ARPs) for pupils with speech and language needs and physical disabilities. It also emphasises strong pastoral support and pupils feel safe and well supported by staff, including specialist SEND and Family Liaison teams.
We recognise that children's experiences outside school can have a significant impact on how they feel, behave, learn and form relationships. We are therefore continuing to develop a trauma-informed approach across William Harding. This means looking beyond behaviour and considering what a child may be communicating through their actions. Our aim is for staff to understand how experiences such as change, loss, family difficulties, instability or other adverse experiences can affect a child's ability to regulate their emotions and engage with learning.
A strong academic record
Our pupils leave the school performing better than others nationally and above national averages in reading, writing, mathematics and grammar, punctuation and spelling. Over one-third of Year 6 pupils move on to grammar schools, suggesting a strong focus on academic achievement alongside a strong preparation for the next stage of education and life beyond school..
A broad, knowledge-rich curriculum
Rather than simply following the National Curriculum, we have developed a bespoke curriculum designed to match pupils interests and needs. It combines subject expertise with adaptive fluid teaching so that learning is accessible and challenging for all children. It also uses well-established programmes such as Read Write Inc for phonics, Power Maths and the Primary Knowledge Curriculum.
Excellent enrichment opportunities
We have an engaging enrichment curriculum enriched with experiences beyond lessons. Pupils benefit from:
Weekly enrichment activities
Structured debates to develop speaking and listening skills
Focused Learning Days on topics relevant to modern life and pupils experiences
Volunteering and community projects
A wide range of clubs and sporting opportunities
Outdoor learning
Personal development is taken seriously
Here at William Harding we have a personal development curriculum covering the character and wellbeing curriculum covering areas such as resilience, leadership, healthy lifestyles, online safety, careers education and British Values. The aim is to help our pupils become confident, resilient and responsible young people, not just successful learners. Pets play a large role in supporting pupils of all ages and needs.
Positive relationships and wellbeing
Despite being a very large primary school, William Harding has a "family" atmosphere with strong relationships between staff, pupils and families and collaborative working, which can contribute to a stable and positive learning environment. Wellbeing is high on the agenda for pupils and staff and Mental Health First Aiders are in post for pupils and staff. We also have a dedicated pupil school counsellor and a staff counsellor to support.