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Davyhulme Primary School, Davyhulme
‘ Non-Uniform Day ‘ ( sports / football tops included ) - Bring in some chocolate for our PTA Bingo Night Event . Thursday 21st March is the PTA Non-Uniform Day - Wednesday 27th March is ‘PTA Chocolate Bingo Event ‘! | This Month's Value is... Respect! 
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Welcome

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

From the Headteacher, Mr McDowell

At Davyhulme Primary School we believe in helping every child achieve their very best in everything they do. The most recent government report on our school was last made in June 2013 .That last report was a long time ago and although it is always nice to receive praise we will not rest on our laurels and will continue to try to improve by embracing our Mission Statement of ' Reaching for the Stars '.

We also truly believe that each child’s development is not just confined to the narrow curriculum of English , Maths and Science. Throughout this website there are tremendous examples of our commitment to a broad and balanced curriculum – which has been recognised over the years by national award bearing organisations, such as Sport England , The Arts Council , Healthy Schools and Eco Schools. Most members of staff are involved in providing an extracurricular club for our children either at lunchtime or after school . Further opportunities are provided by working in partnership with a number of other local sports associations and clubs from a whole variety of different backgrounds and disciplines.

Children are given opportunities to develop as people by going on stage ( or working behind the scenes ), with every year group preparing a performance on our purpose built stage. They can also contribute to the life of the school by becoming an Eco councillor or school councillor or playground leader. Life skills and personal confidence continue to grow when children access a wide variety of rich and enhanced curricular and extra-curricular activities .

At the centre of our school lies our mission statement - ' Reaching for the Stars ' - this is a continuous process which is why we have chosen the word  'Reaching ' - as a community we are always in the act of trying to be better , to always be reaching and stretching for what is just beyond ...for in that act of reaching we will achieve moments of excellence and brilliance for each unique child in our own unique and distinct context that is Davyhulme Primary School. 

Underpinning our Mission Statement is our comitment to our core values of being Caring , Courageous , Collaborative and Ambitious which are values we seek to live out everyday in our school community. Visitors should be able to see evidence of these values all around them ...they are like a thread that permeates every aspect of school life. 

We have fantastic school grounds which we strive to include in as many aspects of our curriculum as possible, trying to strike a balance between the digital world and the natural world. Follow us on Twitter and our ever evolving Blogs . We continue to ‘showcase’ much of the good work produced by our children using a variety of digital media platforms with our website as the centre piece.

If your child attends our school, then you will already be aware of what a great school we have. It is our intention that this site should be a working site that helps parents, children and teachers reduce paper work but increase communication.

If you are thinking about sending your child to our school then I hope that what you have seen will have stirred enough interest for you to take the next step and arrange to see our school first hand.

In any case, I hope you enjoy your visit to our site and that you come back again soon !

Kindest regards,

                       Mr Patrick McDowell

 

         BEFORE YOU MAKE THE FINAL DECISION TO ENROL AT DPS , PLEASE READ BELOW.

Dear Parents , Carers and Legal Guardians ,

I would advise you to carefully read the following statement before making your final decision to send your child to Davyhulme Primary School.

The ‘ Mixed Year Group Class ‘ is an issue which rears its head every so often and plays havoc with the minds of anxious parents . If you are happy and trust the experienced and successful staff of Davyhulme Primary School then you need read no further , however if you feel uneasy or anxious about any aspect of a mixed class scenario then please read on for a full explanation of the school’s position.   

School Statement on Mixed Year Group Classes for 2020 -2021.

Trafford LA determine the maximum numbers for our school in relation to the physical space available  and funding for staff . For a number of years now the number has been set at 70 for each cohort. The law says that infant classes may not exceed 30 ( with one or two exceptions) , which means we are faced with a challenge in EYFS and KS1 about how we should organise our classes.  Trafford or the government will not build extra classrooms nor will they fund extra teachers for our school for the foreseeable future. Within these constraints we have tried many variations before settling on the current arrangements which we have found, suit the unique context of our school ; but of course these arrangements are not perfect and will not keep everyone happy.  

In detail , this will mean: Two classes of 30 in Reception;  One mixed class of 10 Reception and 20 Year 1s;  One class of 30 Year 1 children ; One class of 20 Year 1s and 10 Year 2s and finally, Two classes of 30 Year 2s. The mixed year group class does not apply to KS2 as the children are organised into two classes of 35 each.

  • Mixed classes are not our preference but the teachers are professional and will do everything they can to meet the needs of every child under their care. There will be a range of ability within all of our classes , but then there is a huge range of abilities throughout every class in our school , particularly Year 6 where we regularly have classes of 35 and the spread of the ability range can be huge.  
  • In recent years,  all Year 2 children in the mixed class have continued to make ‘age related progress’.
  • Please understand that as long as I have been headteacher,  there has never been a written policy on mixed classes or indeed of the process of composing any of our classes throughout the school. Class lists are composed following extensive discussions between members of staff and senior leadership with the ultimate decisions resting at the discretion of the headteacher and the SLT.  
  • Over the years - as a school -  we have trialled various approaches to the composition of classes including, for example, separating twins  from Y3 onwards , keeping older children together or placing younger children together. We reserve the right to make such choices as part of our professional remit.
  • The promise of not putting a child into a mixed class for one year only  is no longer sustainable , since to persevere with it, would be an admission  that there is something inherently wrong with going into a mixed class. All of our classes are mixed ability and not ‘ set ’.
  • There is no evidence to suggest that classes which are ‘set’ for the year, outperform classes which are mixed ability although we still reserve the right to group children in ability groups from time to time, within classes , across cohorts on a day to day or weekly basis to meet the needs of our children and rise to the challenge of the ever changing national curriculum.
  • In recent years there has been a growing belief among parents that the mixed Y1/2 class is second best and even a ‘remedial ’ ( parents’ description not the school’s ) class , which has not been helped by the electronic ‘ school gate ‘ of social media sites and associated gossip. This is a view the school will continue to challenge both in our exchanges with parents and in the selection of pupils who are placed in that class.  These pupils are not being penalised in any way – that is the perception of misguided parents.  Parents cannot come to our school and ‘ cherry pick ‘ the classroom , the classmates nor the class teacher for their child during their time with us. They cannot say that the ‘environment’ of the mixed class is suited to any other child but their own.
  • We reserve the right to employ a variety of teaching strategies and working practices to achieve the best results for all of our children across the school and we cannot be entering into in depth discussion or explanation with parents about what goes on in school on a day to day basis.
  • Since Covid19 we have reviewed the cohorts ( year groups Y3 - Y6 ) on an annual basis and adjusted some of them by moving some pupils from one class to another as a way of adjusting the balance and demographic within that year group to enhance the learning opportunities and environment .
  • Trust in our professional judgement , we have a long history of success and only want the best for each and every one of our pupils.

 

Mr P J McDowell  

 Headteacher