Ofsted 2017 ” In short, no matter what (children’s) starting points or backgrounds, all children have an equal chance of making rapid progress.”
Portman Early Childhood Centre and Church Street Family Hub is situated off Church Street which sits between the Paddington Green housing Estate and the Lisson Green Estate. Over three floors there is a nursery school, a very busy drop in, opportunities for adult education and involvement of local health visitors.
We have a well established reputation for supporting families and for involving families in their child’s learning which we see as a proven way to reduce the tail of underachievement that affects so many children in this area.
Staff are hugely enthusiastic about young children’s learning. They see children as strong and competent learners, and relish their role as the child’s partner in their learning journey. As the more experienced learner, the teacher supports, extends and deepens the child’s learning, ensuring that children develop a positive attitude to learning. At the heart of this approach is the belief that good observation of the child’s play together with an ability to analyse these observations and a good understanding of child development and the early years curriculum will ensure that all children achieve their potential.
We believe that children can only achieve their potential if the school has the support and active involvement of parents and carers. Our partnership with parents is based on respect for them as the child’s first educators. We believe that if what happens at school is affected by information from the parent and what happens at home is affected by information about the child from school then outcomes for the child will improve.
We welcome many visitors and are happy to offer support to other practitioners. Our preferred way of working is to support practitioners within their own settings to identify areas that they would like to improve and to work with them on their own action plan. We are also happy to host discussion groups, to interrogate with practitioners areas of theory that might be of interest and to lead staff training.
