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Your questions answered!
We've tried to answer the main and most important questions here - but please do get in touch if you need more information, or have other questions.
Please do be aware that a key idea of the school is that of continuous development - and that applies to this page as well - changes will be made as policies become clearer and as our ideas get better.
We want to hear from you! Please get in touch, with questions or anything, either by email, or by 'phone on 020 8671 0420.
Click a heading that interests you - don't think you have to read it all from top!
It all sounds wonderful, but I suppose it's a fee paying school?
The Family School does not fulfill the criteria for state funding so, yes there are fees. However, the school is a charity, so the fees will not be going toward profits for anyone.
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OK, so how much?
For the 2008/09 year the fees are £2,500 per term. We have three terms a year. Over a full calender year this works out to be approximately £145 per week.
Fees are due termly in advance but can be paid by monthly standing order if desirable.
Each family will also be asked to make a one-off loan deposit to the school of around £1,000 - to be refunded after your child leaves the school less any . This helps with cashflow to fund school equipment and fittings.
At the moment we do not accept the government's nursery grant for 3 and 4 year olds.
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What if we can't afford these fees?
We are able to offer some bursaries toward fees, on the basis of need. The membership deposit may be able to be paid in instalments, in some circumstances.
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What are the basic principles of the Family School?
The detailed policies of the school have been, and will continue to be, based on five broad, strong principles.
Most straightforwardly, they lead us to the basic policies set out on earlier pages of the website - to a small, locally based school, with an ecological focus; high aspirations for helping children grow to their full potential through active, participatory learning; strong family participation in the life of the school and a wide range of purposeful, interesting and involving activities.
The policies and principles of the school are maintained in its governing constitution - the 'Living Plan' - which connects and makes clear the links from basic ethos through to day-to-day activities.
The founding principles of the school are:
SUPPORT THE DEVELOPING CHILD
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT IS FUNDAMENTAL
LEARNING IS PART OF LIVING
ETHICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND ACTION
SELF-GOVERNANCE
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SUPPORT THE DEVELOPING CHILD - what do you mean?
Aspire conscientiously to work with and understand as fully as possible the children as developing beings. Work to provide an environment (physical, social, emotional, institutional) that will give each child the opportunity to develop their abilities and explore their interests and aspirations, in the context of appropriate ethical and cultural consciousness, particularly as set out in the accompanying Principles. Aim to give each child the best possible opportunity to develop as confident, capable, ethical and healthy persons.
Most basically, we take a holistic view of the best current understanding of how children develop, and design our educational approach to work intelligently with this natural process, to encourage and nurture it.
Children's needs are broadly the same as everyone else's. As adults, we are all saddled with our individual past histories, which have shaped us in particular ways. But if children's needs are satisfied appropriately, they can grow and develop in the best conditions to realise their potential.
The psychologist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs|Abraham Maslow] proposed a hierarchy of needs, from those of basic physical survival through to those of personal fulfilment. As the lower order needs are satisfied, in a timely way, the individual becomes more able to address higher order needs.
He describes five levels of needs: Physiological, Safety, Love/belonging, Status (esteem), and finally, Actualisation (fulfilment).
Physiological needs: food, water, warmth, sleep.
The foundation of life - without these, it is hard to function, let alone grow. Whilst children obviously get all these from their home life, the Family School will provide fruit snacks and healthy, organic lunches, cooked on the premises. Our timetable will not place unreasonable demands on young children's capacities.
Safety
We believe that the 'standard' transition from family life to full time school life is traumatic for many children. A level of safety and security that the family gives is removed over the course of a few short days, and they are left to adjust to the world of the playground alone. Family participation will enable a more gradual transition.
Love and belonging
Children who feel that they are part of a loving and accepting group are given the confidence to try new things, knowing that failure will not bring scorn. The idea of the Family School as a large, loose, extended family is a way of making a wide circle of belonging for children to grow within.
Status and esteem
Self esteem is important for healthy development and confidence in engaging with the world in a positive way.
The Family School will always be interested in each child's particular needs and aptitudes, and as far as practical will respond to those. Additionally, the weekly School Meeting will be attended by all children over 5, who will be encouraged to speak up and take part in the affairs of the school.
Actualisation and fulfilment
The goal of the Family School is that children leaving the School at age 11 will have a developed capacity for taking charge of their own life, and realising their potential.
We also hope and believe that many parents will find increased fulfilment, and realise that they have more to offer than they might have thought, through the high level of engagement with school activities, as well as having a great time being with happy kids.
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FAMILY INVOLVEMENT IS FUNDAMENTAL - what do you mean?
All family members of the Family School should be actively and practically involved in the general life of the Charity as a living institution.
Absolutely fundamental to the idea of the Family School is that the experience of school should be an extension of family life, rather than something separated off. We strongly believe that continuing the pattern of learning by engagement with the family which is normal for babies and toddlers, will allow children to learn better, faster, and most crucially, as a natural part of life.
We believe that a school which has something of the character of a large, loose, extended family will help children develop good social and personal skills which are as important to living a happy, productive life as academic and physical achievement. We also believe that a strong school community is fundamental to a successful school.
1. All families will be welcome in the classroom, including siblings and grandparents!
2. Family Meetings per term.
Teachers will regularly engage with parents in discussion about their children's needs and difficulties at home and school as well as their progress. Three meetings will be scheduled at the beginning of the term, just prior to or following the term break and again at the end of the term. The meetings should include the significant adults in the child’s life as well as older siblings if this seems appropriate.
Occasional Meetings as needed. The family also will need to agree to attend any meetings which the Family School feels are necessary in order to support the child. These meetings may be needed if specific issues arise which are found to be not resolvable within the school setting, where the parent needs to be involved or when the child appears to be distressed and the problem is not apparent.
The Family school also agrees to arrange meetings or telephone conferences with the parents to address concerns of the family.
3. Useful work. We ask all families to support and engage the school for approximately forty four hours of useful work each term for each child they enroll. It suits some families to regularly give say four hours each week during term time and it suits other families better to give their support on a more occasional basis. Where possible this work within the school will, in the main, be geared to their strengths, interests, skills and aptitudes. Jobs might include assisting in the classroom or cooking the lunch/ordering foodstuffs, cleaning the classroom, helping with fundraising or maintaining the building, grounds and equipment.
You may also be asked to attend occasional workdays (probably in the holidays to maintain the buildings or grounds).
4. School meetings
Throughout the year, there will be school meetings which will be open to the entire community.
5. Other support.
We support families whose children attend by facilitating parental support groups,hosting regular educational and parenting seminars as well as encouraging the use of school facilities and resources where possible. This helps keeps the fees down, and also connects the school with the real world - where everyone has to join in with what needs to be done.
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LEARNING IS PART OF LIVING - what do you mean?
Aim to connect all educational activities with the reality of day-to-day life; promote participatory, transactional educational modes; work against the tendency toward institutionalisation of both teachers and the pupils.
If you are a parent, you will already know that small children are experimenting with the world all the time - trying new things, testing, pushing the boundaries of what they can do, re-arranging things to see what happens.
We firmly believe that the best educational methods thoughtfully and skilfully engage this natural instinct to find out how the world works, offering children exciting and satisfying involvement with things that are worth doing for their own sake.
So a fundamental principle of the Family School is that 'learning is part of living', and our basic educational approach is 'learning by doing'.
A child that is confident that s/he can learn, that likes to learn, who has experienced the increased appreciation and abilities that learning has given them, will find it normal and natural to approach new situations with interest and in the expectation of enjoying finding out more about life.
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ETHICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND ACTION - what do you mean?
In all the actions, policies and provisions of the Charity, encourage consideration of the widest practical ethical considerations, and aim to promote reasonable and positive ethical action, particularly in consideration of respect for others, the ecology of the Earth, and the development of a consciousness of ethics and ecologies as interconnected systems.
It is clear to us that the most important challenge facing our civilisation is learning to understand our connection into the wider ecological systems of the planet, and manage the relationship better. Our response to this is on two levels.
The deeper, and more important level, is to ensure that engagement with the reality and complexity of the natural world is an important part of the curriculum of the school. We intend to help them to discover for themselves the manifold interactions that make ecosystems so complex, and the realisation that there are no 'right' answers - that only continual and thoughtful attention to what is going on around us can help us decide what is best in any particular situation.
The more day-to-day level is to operate the school in an ecologically responsible way. We will get off to a great start as the Family School is on a site which has lots of mature trees and is semi-wild already. The new school building will be an eco-building to the highest practical standards and a teaching aid in itself. We have an eco transport policy which ensures that children usually arrive at school by bike or foot rather than by car.
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SELF GOVERNANCE - what do you mean?
Aim always to maximise individual freedom and autonomy for all (children included), while recognising the need to set those policies necessary to define and nurture the promotion of the Charity’s objects. This Principle is also to be considered in the relationship of the Charity to the State, its statutes and policies, with the aim of best preserving the freedom of action of the Charity to achieve the promotion of its Objects.
On a deep level, we believe that individuals need to feel able to take responsible decisions about their own lives. Through the involvement of the children and families in the day-to-day running and decision making at the Family School, we hope to give children a sense of what this may mean, and lay the foundations for them growing into responsible and self respecting adults.
The small size of the school and the groups within it will make it possible for each person to have more freedom and personal responsibility than would be practical in a larger institution. Every individual member of the school will have some sort of regular responsibility toward the life of the school - from a six year old charged with raking a section of one of the paths, to a ten year old who makes sure the kitchen is stocked for the week's lunches from the store cupboard, to the parent who drives the minibus on awaydays. None of these jobs will be enforced by any particular authority - each will be trusted to manage their task responsibly, once they have understood and accepted it - including communicating with others if they are unable or unwilling to fulfil it. Lapses may well be noted and discussed by others - even brought up at a School Meeting, and changes made if necessary - but the job will ultimately be done by someone who is doing it because they have agreed to do so.
On a more political level, we believe that parents and families know best what they want for their children, and that this is one of the most important decisions they can make. We do not believe that central government is right to take such strong powers to itself in controlling how schools operate. There has been, and seems likely to continue to be, too much political interference with education. The Family School will be set up so that it is as free as possible to make its own decisions as to what is best for the children and the families.
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What is the educational ethos of the Family School?
The educational approach of the Family School has been developed to support the basic principles. Children will learn in a natural way, guided and encouraged by professional teachers to take on a broad range of skills, knowledge and techniques, with subject matter that interests and engages them, and which is connected to the reality of the world around them. Their families will be practically and socially knitted into the daily life of the school. Building strong relationships, good communication skills and social interaction are seen as important as acquiring academic or practical skills.
How does 'learning by doing' really work?
Anything that interests and excites children can be a vehicle for learning. What is needed is adults around who can work with the children's interests and draw out the learning opportunities, make the connections, ask the questions that make sparks fly in fresh minds - this is what the best teachers of young children do.
Useful practical life skills will also be a distinctive part of the curriculum. All the children are expected to help in the daily running of the school to help maintain their environment. For example, we run our own organic vegetable box scheme for families and the local community and this is a regular participatory activity for the children (sorting, counting, labelling etc will provide many real opportunities for learning), as well as being a fundraising activity and subsidising the school lunches.
We also think it important that children know that they too can do many of the things usually done by adults, for example, mending a bicycle puncture, baking bread, cooking a basic meal etc.
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What do you mean by 'highest aspirations'?
The Family School believes that children are capable of real engagement with whatever they take on, at all stages of their development. This does not mean that we wish to 'hot-house' or force children. We don't forget that they are children, or wish them to become mature too quickly, but we do believe in encouraging children to have high expectations of themselves, and in assuming that they can surprise us with their abilities and determination.
How does it compare to a Steiner school or Montessori school?
Maria Montessori and Rudolf Steiner both believed in childrens' innate desire to learn, both believed that human development is guided by some spiritual force of some kind. Both believed it the task of education to nurture the desire through creative activity and direct experience. Both thought that learning process is far more than than a series of abstract mental events with Montessori tending towards sensory dimensions of intelligence. Steiner was more esoteric homing in on primacy of the imagination. Although both were interested in uncaging the human spirit, they both were responsible for the development of highly structured methodologies that sometimes leave little room for children's individual developmental needs.
The Family School sees the development of the child as an individual within their family and wider society as paramount. Our approach is based on sound theory and research. The Family School is based on an experiential model of learning. This model draws on the work of theorists such as Carl Rogers, David Elkin and Howard Gardner; philosophers such as Dewey (1938)--"all genuine education comes through experience" and on the theories of Piaget regarding how children construct their own knowledge through interaction with the environment. In addition, children do not learn in isolation but rather in the company of their peers and significant others who can support them as they learn. In this way, the experiential model of learning is also deeply rooted in Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism. We see examples of this every day as children learn from each other, from adults and from watching and sharing in play.
The structure of our Family School timetable comes from the people involved in the group at any time. Their interests and concerns and stages of development are what drives the curriculum. It is deliberately loose to enable flexibility and spontenaity. We believe wholeheartedly that children are individuals should develop at their own pace and in their own way so we support a child to read when we see signs that they are ready or interested but do not impose or coerce them to do it.
In our classroom we see some aspects of the steiner model, for example the use of natural materials, open ended resources, the importance of imaginative play, oral storytelling, creative activities, engagement with nature and an understanding of the seasons. We find Montessori equipment such as the movable alphabet immensely useful in supporting our children's emergent writing and spelling and we do use some Montessori early maths and sensory equipment.
However there are however key differences. The Steiner model has no books in the classroom for under sevens, we have many. Children will read at different ages with us, whereas the Steiners teach reading as a skill to all at a given age. Our respectful communication techniques for helping children to resolve any problems that come up are unique to our approach. Our curriculum is also very different in that it is genuinely child centred and emerges from the children concerned and is not laid down nor is it delivered to whole class groups. Children play a lot in our 4 - 7s group like they do in the Steiner kindergarden but at 7 the Steiners adopt a more structured delivery based curriculum where our children are still able to self initiated plans and manage their own school day. We find that the character of their activities develop from largely play into being more project oriented as they get older.
What is The Family Schools stance on reading?
Often we as a society confuse the acquisition of skills with learning. Reading is a skill set that is useful for pursuing knowledge and information. Reading is unfortunately often taught as a subject, as an end in itself. At the Family School we see reading not as the thing to learn, but as a means to learning and knowledge acquisition.
Much research has been done regarding early childhood learning and skills acquisition, especially with regard to early reading.
Several educational theorists have looked at the differences in the approach to teaching reading in the various areas of the world. In the French-speaking areas of Switzerland, where early reading skills are taught to preschoolers, there is a large percentage of children who later are assessed as poor readers, whereas in the German-speaking areas of the country, children do not begin formal reading instruction until age seven and very few children experience reading difficulties later. Teaching and Learning in Early Childhood in German-Speaking Switzerland: A Case Study; Marti-Bucknall, Wendy; Childhood Education, Vol. 78, 2002
It should be noted that Finland, which does not begin formal education until age 7, consistently scores highest internationally in reading comprehension (as well as scoring high in mathematics and science) among 57 nations, with the most recent international study (PISA Programme fir International Student Assessment) conducted in 2006. Programme for International Student Assessment. http://finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25825
Longitudinal studies, which can overcome some of the built-in problems of attempting to “study” learning and classroom behaviors, have been conducted in various countries through out the past century, and consistently show that an experiential early learning model seems to work most effectively. In Denmark, where reading is not taught formally until after the age of 7, there is a very high literacy rate (97%). An older study carried out by Carleton Washburn in the U.S. indicates that formal instruction in reading could be taught at age 4.5, 6. Or 7 with no differences in reading ability showing up at age 14. However, the children assessed at age 14 by independent assessors with no prior knowledge of when the child learned to read, showed that those who learned later were more motivated to read independently.
We are not adopting a Steiner approach to reading. All of the children at the Family School currently are interested in reading and writing and are each progressing at his or her own pace in developing these skills. On any given day you will find various children creating books, listening to stories, reading a book together, making up stories and asking an adult to write them down, writing songs, plays and puppet performances, writing letters, writing poems, cutting out letters, making lists of rhyming words, labeling artwork and telling stories. Books and the written word play a large part in the classroom, as do games, music, songs, creative and imaginative play, measuring, counting, weighing, cooking, building, quantifying and many, many other skills and activities. Over time these skills will evolve and the day will become more project based. But again, this will all be based on the interests of the children and adults who are in the classroom. As the school grows and when we have a group of children who are 7 and older, we will most likely begin to introduce other learning models. The Cuisenaire Rods will become more essential in studying mathematics; we may include a Writers’ Workshop. If a child under the age of seven were to say “I want to learn to read.” There would be a place for this. We want children to learn at their own pace and in their own style. If a family is preparing to move or the child is going to be enrolling in a different school then a meeting could be held and all involved would discuss how best to prepare that child for the transition.
Enough theory! - how will the school actually run?
The Family School has mixed age learning groups: the kindergarten group for 4-7 year olds, and the older group of 7-11 year olds. Each group will have between 12 and 20 children. Each group will have its own home space, and there will be a large common room, where everyone will be able to gather to eat lunch and for other whole school activities.
The timetable will be flexible to allow all sorts of different activities and events. School will be limited to four days per week. We plan to have longer school holidays along the line of other independent schools.
Why mixed age groups?
It is clear that children learn some skills better and more naturally in varied groups - notably social, behavioral, creative and practical skills. In these groups, older children enjoy the feeling and responsibility of being more advanced, while younger children are keen to copy the successes of their elders. In other areas, particularly the more abstract and formalised subjects such as maths and problem solving, children of different ages have very different needs.
The Family School has two basic age groupings; 4-7 and 7-11, both groups will have flexible ages, depending on the individual child. Each of these groups has a distinct stage of emotional, physical and intellectual development. Most activities are based on these groupings but there will also be whole school activities.
The mixed age group structure enables children to stay in the same group with the same teacher(s) for three years. This enables continuity and a longer term relationship to develop between teacher, child and family which is beneficial to all.
A strong advantage of mixed age groups is the ability to manage the differing aptitudes of different children without stigma. For example, some children will arrive at the 7-11 group reading already. Others may not be ready to start reading until 7 or later. The group will always contain children who read well, and others who are just beginning, and this will be seen as normal. The educational aims will be for children leaving the group - so that each child will get three years to cover the ground.
Why these particular group sizes?
From our research, it is clear that class sizes can be too small, as well as too large. To give each child a good chance of finding close friends, we plan for each group to have between 12 and 20 children, aiming for an optimum of around 15-18, and an adult/child ratio of about 1:6.
Our plan for September 2008 is to have a group of 8 - 12 children aged 4-7. The school will grow 'organically' from there on in, taking on 5 to 8 more children per year, until the school is full.
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What will the timetable look like?
The school will run for only four days per week.
We will have a school day that runs from 9.30am - 3.00pm Monday to Thursdays. Parents will be able to drop off their children from 8.45am and collect at 3.15pm
There will be a sit-down lunch for everyone on the site once a week. The other days everyone brings a packed lunch and this can be eaten whenever one feels hungry.
In keeping with the idea of the Family School as the home base for a large, loose, extended family, the site will be available for use on evenings and weekends as well. We expect that there will be a wide range of more specific 'clubs' that will operate during these times- for particular games, music, drama, dance, science, astronomy, languages.
The school buildings will also be available to member families as practical for events like birthday parties.
How many teachers will there be?
There will be a full-time teacher, who will have responsibility for the detailed implementation of the curriculum and day-to-day school management. Another teacher will be part time (3-4 days per week). These two teachers, together with parent assistants and visiting experts, interns and volunteers will run the classroom activities. We plan to attract trainee teachers as interns, and we aim for a high adult to child ratio.
Will you be following the National Curriculum?
Everyone associated with the National Curriculum, Key Stages and SATS is likely to be aware of the strait-jacket it imposes on teachers and pupils alike, with too many objectives and targets.
No, the Family School is not bound by the National Curriculum (it will be kept in the background for reference) - we have read a lot of progressive thinking about other ways of designing a broad and balanced curriculum. We like approaches known as 'enquiry based learning' or 'emergent curricula' as developed by the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy and child centred "Free School" models from the USA.
Explain what is meant by the 'Emergent Curriculum'.
This method builds on the enthusiasms and actions of children, serendipitous events and the skills offered by the adults during the sessions using the energy and interest these generate, and evolving learning activities from them. The knowledge and experience of professional teachers ensures that these learning activities are guided and encouraged so that each child, over the course of their time in the school, experiences and gains knowledge, confidence and skills in the various subject areas.
This style of curriculum planning is based in the following premises:
- Curriculum is what actually happens in an educational environment, not what is planned to happen.
- Everything in the world is on the curriculum for young children.
- Young children invent and organize their own curriculum all the time. They are actively motivated learners, studying the world through their play, their interests and enthusiasms.
- Creative energy comes from intrinsic motivation, from doing what one wants to do when one wants to do it.
- Young children are active learners. Curriculum planning should focus on action, not lessons to be taught.
- All curriculum plans are tentative, and children modify them by their response. Like the universe, curriculum is always expanding. To carry out this approach teachers engage in an ongoing process of planning, analyzing, observing, and evaluating the children's activities, ideas, needs and interest.
The curriculum in the kindergarden group will largely emerge from childrens' free-play activities as well as adult and child initiated planned activities. The older group's daily activities will also emerge from the interests of the adults and children involved at the time but will often develop on a deeper level into extended "projects", sometimes on an individual basis, sometimes in a group.
Teachers will work with the children to develop a 'web of possibilities', exploring topics that interest them, then naturally extending these into new areas of discovery in a natural, inquisitive way. This style not only allows space for fascinating deviations, but means that individual children can feel a continuous connection running through all their activities, rather than arbitrary 'subject' categories.
The experience of this flexible, varied and responsive flow of activities will require and encourage the children to interact on a variety of levels: social, personal, emotional, and intellectual, using the full range of possibilities:- listening, speaking, writing, researching, making, reading, understanding, experimenting, observing, planning, acting, analysing, singing, predicting, recording, making music, designing, dancing.
Working with the children, the teachers will draw out activities for exploration. The teacher's job will be to use their skill and knowledge to engage with the children with their choice of activities in a deep and broad way.
More specifically, the teacher will work with the children to think of as many connections as possible from each subject, and draw upon the resources of their own and parents knowledge and skills, as well as considering whether visitors from outside can add to the richness of the experience. The children will learn to look upon the teacher as a source of exciting new avenues of enquiry into subjects that they are already interested in.
Teachers will be looking all the time for opportunities to encourage the development of skills, experience and knowledge in all the curriculum areas.
A child who is interested in tennis, to take a seemingly limiting example, can be introduced to the science of materials through the different types of racquets; can look at the social, cultural and economic history of the sport and its relation to wider issues; can be introduced to concepts of speed, time and distance in relation to service delivery (statistics too); can be introduced to the interesting concepts required for the understanding of slow motion replays - perhaps being introduced to the early time and motion photography of Edward Muybridge; can learn about the various muscle, bone and tendon groups involved in playing the game, and plan an exercise regime that develops them; can find out about the Barnardo's children who traditionally act as ball boys and girls at Wimbledon; can be asked to organise a visit to the All England Club for others in the school; can read Betjeman poems about tennis; can consider issues relating to sex equality over the issue of prize money; can try to design and build a ball lobbing machine so they can practice alone ... the list can be extended for as long as you want, and each separate avenue of enquiry may well throw up further interesting subjects.
All of this will be engaged with and developed by the children as a natural result of their carefully supported interest in their project as it develops.
A vital part of each plan/project will be the documentation, often by the children, of their work. This re-presentation of their own journey of discovery and the outcome of their efforts will both reinforce the experience, skills and knowledge learnt, will develop further skills of communication and presentation, and will give immense positive feedback and self-esteem as they review what they have produced.
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Why do you place importance on communication skills?
Developing listening and articulation skills will be especially important for the early years group. Listening is a prerequisite of any teaching-learning relationship. Listening is a relationship of reciprocity - it means being open to and welcoming differences:recognizing the value of points of view and interpretations of others. It means waiting and expecting whilst people express themselves, it means having the capacity to respect others and what they have to say.
Articulating thoughts helps to consolidate them. Children obviously have the capacity for reciprocal listening and mutual respect but it needs to be supported, practiced and encouraged. Children need to be able to discuss problems and plans, resolve conflicts and negotiate with one another. They learn about sharing cooperation and respect. Through interaction with others the child finds his own identity.
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What are the 'adult led activities'?
'Learning by doing' will be the watchword for these activities. Wherever possible reading, writing, science and maths opportunities will be built into these carefully chosen authentic activities.
- Making the World - with a focus on gardening, growing things, engagement with the natural world - obvious connections here with science, but also opportunities for artistic work and social connections outside the site - we hope to look after local people's gardens for them, and run a vegetable box scheme.
- Making Things - all sorts of practical and artistic creation - cooking, art and craft, design and construction etc
- Making Music/Performance - music and drama, often linked to upcoming events, but also a time for individual music study.
- Making Ourselves - with a focus on working with our bodies:- sports, dance, yoga, co-operative games. This is obviously the physical exercise part of the week, but connections will be made with creative expression, experience with competition and co-operation, self-awareness and self-confidence.
Additional activities will often be suggested by the children, for example we can envisage all sorts of exciting ideas...skipping, swimming, football, playing trains, scrapheap/recycling workshops, environmental crafts, bicycles workshop, book club, chess club...the scope is endless!
I've noticed you say you are 'non-denominational' - what is your attitude to religious education?
The Family School is non-religious. The founding parents come from a variety of religious, non religious and spiritual backgrounds, with an awareness of different religions. The Family School will encourage children to appreciate the wonder and ultimate un-knowability of the Universe, and will seek to engage children as appropriate in discussions as to what that might mean for them.
The school is open to families and children of any religious leaning, or none, as long as these are similarly tolerant of those of other, or no, faith, and as long as there is no intent to evangelise.
The Family School will encourage study and understanding of all and any religions, as real features of the world around us, when and if relevant to the wider curriculum.However, there will be no teaching of religion as a specific part of the curriculum.
There is no mention of computers or IT - what is the policy?
While computers are moving more and more to the centre of everyday life, the Family School doesn't feel that there is any great need to spend time with them at this age. If anything, use of computers at this age disconnects children from more important physical and mental exercise.
Engagement with programmable toys and robots will be encouraged, particularly for the older group. Getting a fundamental grasp of the mechanistic, logical nature of computers in this way is significantly more empowering than learning how to use a word processor. Use of computers will not be banned, but children will need to make a clear case for their particular relevance to the task at hand.
Computer games and game consoles will not be permitted on the site. Calculators will be actively discouraged. Screens will be used only occasionally for presentation of films and slideshows - there will be no television on the site.
Will there be lots of homework?
No! The Family School won't have a policy of setting homework.
However, if someone expresses an interest in continuing to discover more with regard to project s/he is working on then support would be given to suggest ways that this could be done. It would be entirely the child's decision as to how much of this they do, if any. And it certainly won't be handed in for marking the following day!
Will there be tests and exams?
No, the Family School will not carry out the government SATS and will have no framework of testing or target chasing. We will however monitor the progress that children make by documenting the work undertaken in various ways for example keeping their work, photographing and videoing certain projects and noting things that occur. This documentation is then used for reflection and critical analysis by the teachers on a regular basis.
If there are no SATS and you are not following the National Curriculum what will happen when the children are 11?
We aim for all our children to have the necessary skills - be they academic, practical and social to be able to transfer into mainstream education if required. Ideally we will evolve a secondary school for them.
Will there be a school uniform?
Our preference is for children to wear their own clothes to school. An apron or overall will be required to protect their clothes during messy activities. Warm/waterproof clothes and wellies will be required for outdoor activities. The classrooms will have a no-shoes policy so parents may provide slippers/slipper socks/indoor shoes if they wish.
Can you tell me more about the setup and status of the school?
We have a solid legal constitution and have Charity status. As a not-for-profit Company limited by guarantee we will be able to fundraise to keep the fees low and hopefully raise some bursaries in the future.
The Family School has a Board of Trustees as the ultimate authority. Teachers and an administrative assistant will be employed by the charity to run the school.
Independent accountants and lawyers will be retained by the Family School to ensure its affairs are kept in order.
The Family school's bankers is the ethical Triodos Bank.
Why a charity and not a co-operative?
Charities are set up to benefit the public, while co-operatives are set up to benefit their members and so cannot have charitable status. (There are also advantages to having charitable status: it enables us more easily to raise funds, pay reduced rates on premises and obtain tax relief on donations made by covenant and by Gift Aid. These benefits will help us to keep the fees low) But this need not stop us working together in a collective way.
Is it a parent-run school?
No. There will be practical limits to the power of parents to radically change core policies and principles. We want to be able to give parents plenty of opportunities to be involved in the daily life of the school but we need to maintain stability for all children and for the long term future of the school.
So how will the school actually be run?
Children, parents and teachers are recognised and valued as an integral part of the school alongside the trustees.
The board of trustees will bear the ultimate responsibility for the financial and legal aspects of the school, and the teachers will have practical, day-to-day authority for the day to day running of the school.
In accordance to our principle of 'Self government', all decision making will be taken at the most immediate level practical. So, taking things from the grass roots upwards, all individuals, including children, will be given as much freedom and responsibility for their own actions as is appropriate - older children and adults will be expected to look out for younger children. Daily meetings will be held which will discuss and deal with any day to day problems occurring amongst each group. At the next level, the teachers will have responsibity for their classes - with as much input and inspiration taken from the children as practical.
Who decides school policy? Can policies be changed over time? How will this be managed?
The Family School has been started after long years of thought, research and discussion about education, rounded off (and sharpened up!) by the real experience of being parents. As you can hopefully tell from the contents of this page, the policies of the school are firmly based in rational, thought out principles, based on a clear understanding of what children need, underpinned by a fundamental love of life.
All of the features of the way that the Family School will work have been developed from clearly described core principles, set out as interlinked 'policy pages' in a hierarchy, from basics at the top, through to simple day-to-day policies at the bottom. All of these policy pages, taken together, are a 'Living Plan' for the Family School - its DNA.
We call it a 'Living Plan', because, like DNA, it must adapt to ensure that the school can get better, and cope with change of all kinds. And because, unlike most plans, it will be a 'live' document - because all of the policies of the school are up for debate, and possible change, as the need or desire arises. Both the weekly School Meeting and the monthly School Council can debate and agree changes to policies. Major policy changes will require debate and voting at the AGM, and agreement of the Trustees.
This doesn't mean that the aims and practices of the school are going to change wildly from one year to the next, as each new group of parents comes in. The hierarchy of 'policy pages' is arranged so that it becomes more and more difficult to change policies as they are closer to the core, founding principles. And each proposed change to a policy must be assessed in the light of the more basic policies it follows. Only if a change is agreed to better serve the core principles can it be accepted.
Who owns the school? and the site? Does the School have security of tenure on the site?
The school is owned and operated by the charity. The site and the school buildings are owned by one of the founder parents. The school will have a long-term, secure, legal lease, at a fair rent.
Will the school be registered and checked by Ofsted?
We have not registered as a school with OFSTED yet and given that we are offering only part time teaching support this actually isn’t required. The implication of this, however, is that each child is the responsibility of their parent(s) and hence technically being home educated, albeit with some professional teaching support and as a group in a social setting. It is important that all families understand this as they may be contacted by the local education inspector. Once our building is complete we may take the decision to register with OFSTED who would then make sure we comply with all the same standards regarding educational quality, Health & Safety, insurance, staff, police checks, suitability of site and buildings,etc. that apply to all schools.
Will the school building be ready by September 2009.
No. We hope that it will be ready to move into in 2010 and until then we will use alternative temporary accommodation in Brixton Hill.
Do you have a child protection policy?
We have a carefully drafted Child Protection policy, as part of which, and under law all adults involved on a regular basis with school activities (i.e. including all parents working in the school as volunteers) will have to undertake a Criminal Records Bureau enhanced check.
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We want to hear from you! Please get in touch, with questions or anything, either by email, or by 'phone on 020 8671 0420.