Enrichment
Our curriculum offer extends far beyond the academic to allow all pupils to develop in many diverse aspects of life. We believe that enrichment activities play a crucial part in enhancing the experience of all pupils, particularly the most vulnerable to build their capacity as learners. This is encapsulated in our enrichment and personal development programmes. Children leave Brougham Primary School with the confidence to try new things and make mistakes, seeing the opportunity that lies within adversity.
We strive to provide all children with broad horizons and a wide range of opportunities this is reflected in our guiding principle ‘Be everything you can be’ To achieve this, we provide rich experiences in a coherently planned way. These events and activities may involve families and the wider community through parent workshops, community celebrations and fun events. We also offer a wide range of clubs which pupils appreciate make good use of. This also includes opportunities to develop their academic interest and skills further through our Phonics Fun Club and Mathmagicians club.
We believe that it is our role to inspire all children and to fill them with confidence, personal development and the desire to do something great. To achieve this, throughout our curriculum the life stories and impacts of many key figures are weaved throughout all subjects from explorers and pioneers to scientists, ecologists, authors and artists. This allows all children to recognise role models and see for themselves how people achieve amazing things and help to motivate them to challenge themselves.
Teachers also work hard to engage pupils with society by providing plentiful opportunities to do so, such as: litter picking, beach clean ups, visits to recycling centres, providing artwork to decorate a local church along with fundraising for local and national charities. As a result, children at Brougham Primary School know and understand their role in society; they have a good sense of self and can contribute positively to their community. They are aware of their responsibility as a citizen of the modern world and have secure and developed moral foundations on which to further build.
We work hard to develops pupils to become responsible, respectful and active citizens through a range of activities that include moral and ethical issues such as: the impact of plastic pollution in our oceans and climate change. We have also received national recognition for our commitment to nature and protecting the environment. As a result, we have achieved the Young Tree Champion National Beacon Status. To do this we have transformed one of our grass fields into a wealth of flowers, trees and shrubs to encourage wildlife. We even developed whole school vegetable patches and poly tunnels to plant and grow seasonal vegetables. Children have planted trees, hedgerows and wildflowers and now our Forest School is now alive with nature and gives the children an opportunity to explore nature. During every forest school session, the children are given opportunities to explore making things with natural materials. They are encouraged to use their initiative and explore independently to make and build things using natural materials. All the activities will have the aim of boosting confidence and self-esteem and include developing outdoor survival skills such as building shelters, using tools and cooking on a camp fire.
We consistently promote an inclusive environment where the needs of all pupils irrespective of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Equal opportunities including developing pupils understanding of protected characteristics and how equality and diversity are promoted throughout the curriculum. As a result, pupil in Brougham Primary School understand that everyone’s voice should be heard and everyone’s views should be acknowledged and respected.
We wholeheartedly believe in creating a pupil leadership culture where children take on key leadership roles and get their voice heard. We encourage our children to be actively involved in school improvement. We strive for as many opportunities for children to become confident and articulate leaders who can share their views to any audience and apply their leadership skills to real life situations within our community and beyond. We believe in giving the children the opportunity to make a vital contribution to continually improving their school and their learning journey. The aim of the various pupil leadership roles such as Curriculum Ambassadors, School Council Representatives, Head Boy and Head Girl, Librarians, Eco Warriors, Young Tree Champions, Playground Leaders and Trust Pupil Leadership roles are to enable children to take on leadership responsibilities within the school, ensuring their voices and opinions are heard and acted upon. We actively encourage children to challenge, discuss and debate issues which are important to them.
We also provide high-quality pastoral support through a high-quality package of support to ensure the physical and mental well-being of all pupils. This includes the provision of a strong and experienced safeguarding team, a Senior Mental Health Lead (SMHL), trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistants, Mental Health First Aiders, Wellbeing Lead & Physical Education emotional support lead who work together to support all pupils, staff and families. At Brougham Primary school we also ensure that no child is too hungry to learn through the provision of a free healthy breakfast snack. Our school is supported by Greggs Breakfast which ensures that we offer nutritious food to our pupils. We offer free cereals, toasts and juice everyday with the help and support from The Greggs Foundation. Pupils can also take part in our weekly Wellbeing Club which is a fun and interactive club exploring a wide range of activities linked to mental health and wellbeing. Throughout each session, pupils learn about the 5 ways to wellbeing (Connect, Be Active, Keep Learning, Give and Take notice) and how to incorporate them into their daily lives
We understand the importance of pupils developing an awareness of their own wellbeing and the use of mindfulness in order to support both a healthy mind and healthy body. There is a whole school focus on mental health and we have specialist trained staff. Through a strong focus on developing pupils’ confidence, resilience and knowledge pupils are developing the tools they need keep themselves mentally healthy.
Our Wellbeing Team, led by our Senior Mental Health Lead (SMHL) in school, effectively completes the important role in advocating for the needs of children and young people, through taking a strategic lead for the whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing.
In addition to promoting mental health, our curriculum has a focus on physical health too keep physically healthy, eat healthily, stay safe in the sun and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We also ensure that all pupils complete 2hrs of PE each week along with giving pupils ample opportunities to be active during the school day and through a wide range of after school clubs such as competitors club and basketball club, along with our cooking and nutrition programme which includes understanding a balanced diet, adapting recipes on a budget and developing healthier recipes for family favourites.
We have strong links with local clubs such as Hartlepool Athletics Club who complete weekly sessions delivered by experienced coaches with children in all year groups. These sessions teach the children a wide range of skills and techniques for all aspects of Athletics. Every Wednesday after school, our children have the opportunity to work with Huskies Basketball Club. Sharing our ethos ‘Be everything you can be’, the qualified coaches not only teach basketball skills but provide a safe, inclusive environment where children are encouraged to ‘have a go’ and develop transferable life-skills such as teamwork, commitment, and respect. Huskies Basketball also works in the classroom with our children, supporting them to explore the wonders of STEM and the hard-hitting issues surrounding knife and violent crime.
As part of our Collective Cluster Local Sports Partnership we take part in a competition calendar which includes a whole school year of competitive and non-competitive sporting tournaments and festivals. These events also allow pupils to progress to Hartlepool Town, Tees Valley and Cleveland County finals. This allows our pupils the opportunity to take part in over 18 different competitive sports over the school year.
In order to develop children’s understanding and appreciation of the wide range of cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and that of others, the curriculum focuses on the North East and North Yorkshire’s cultural heritage, when relevant, along with other cultural influences of the pupils. From Early Years, children develop an understanding of their local area. They will appreciate the characteristics of the town that make it unique and understand the role the town plays beyond Hartlepool. This is encouraged by whole school visits to the Tall Ships events, Visits to the Heugh Battery to learn about the bombardment, Visits to the National Museum of the Royal Navy which is based in Hartlepool. In KS1, as part of their explorer’s topic, children will appreciate the impact explorers have made on modern day societies. They will look at the resilience of Captain Cook and his crew. To enhance their knowledge, they also visit Captain Cooks birth place in Great Ayton.
There’s a real genuine heart to Brougham Primary School. A love of learning, of getting out and exploring the world, of traditional family values, of respect for teachers, parents and for each other. This shines through in all areas of the curriculum and even the school logo. You’ve probably already seen it, but when you tip the B of the logo on its side a little, it perfectly replicates a heart! The school’s ethos of love underpins everything we do. Consequently, pupils are taught in a loving and caring atmosphere and show these values of love and consideration for others.
Brougham is where the Heart is
