School History

The original Diocesan School opened in 1814, using the old jail in the parish of St Dunstan's. This was an unsuitable building and so a new site was found in Broad Street. This site involved the purchase of some cottages and part of the town ditch. Mr Butterfield was appointed architect and the new school was opened on the 8 January 1849 for 720 children of the parishes of Northgate and St Alphege. There were three departments, Boys, Girls & Infants.

The Boys Department was closed in 1906 because of continuing poor inspection reports. In 1923 the older girls transferred to Payne-Smith School, although a special practical senior class for girls was kept at the Diocesan School. In 1932 the Infants and Girls' Departments merged to make seven classes covering the age range of 3- 14 years.

The original Payne Smith School was opened in Chantry Lane, Canterbury in June 1896. [This site is now Longport car park] It accommodated 320 pupils from age 7 upwards and was intended as a Higher Elementary Church School. In July 1902 an Infant Department opened with 68 pupils but was closed in September 1941 due to lack of numbers. In 1937 the Boys' Department was closed and the boys were transferred to St Dunstan's School. Vice-versa, the girls from there were transferred to Payne Smith School.

In 1942 this building was destroyed in a bombing raid in June 1942. In September of that year the Payne Smith School was amalgamated with the Diocesan School on the Broad Street site as one school. It was organised as a nursery class, an infant class, two junior classes and four streamed senior classes. In September 1957 the senior pupils transferred to the new Archbishop's School and the Broad Street site became a primary school for pupils aged 3 - 11 years.

"excellent conditions for work to be carried on; each teacher now had a separate classroom and an abundance of space for all kinds of work."
(Diocesan School Girls Log 1912 - 1942)

Currently, the school is one form entry with a Nursery Class. The main site in Broad Street houses seven classes and the Nursery Class is 200 metres away in a post-war Horsa hut. There is active negotiation to acquire a new site in the area and to build a new school to replace the present buildings, which are now over one hundred and fifty years old.

As a Church of England (VA) Primary School the curriculum is delivered within a specifically Christian environment, where Christian festivals are observed, and close links are established with local churches.

It is important to us that pupils are happy at school, giving their best, and that we are providing the stimulation and motivation to enable skills and talents to be developed to their fullest potential. Love and care are uppermost in our dealings with the children, their parents and the staff.

It is our aim to:

• Develop independence, self-motivation and achievement together with the ability to make moral decisions, in all situations.

• Create an environment in which pupils think well of themselves so that they will develop a sense of personal value and self-confidence.

• Develop social and personal skills where everyone regardless of gender, race, disadvantage or class, is encouraged to participate fully in all school activities.

• Place particular emphasis upon speaking, reading, writing and numeracy within a balanced curriculum.

• Set high, but realistic expectations, and cater for the specific needs of the individual in order to develop skills and concepts within a clear structure of guidence.

• Encourage competition, not necessarily against others, but rather set against a pupil's own past performance.

• Seek the active involvement of parents both in curricular and extra curricular support.

• Recognise our geographical location in relation to Europe, by introducing our children to foreign languages.

• Take account of our special circumstances as a city school, in that we will:
  
  1. Operate an Early Years Policy in the Numeracy which we will continue in Reception to reinforce language, numerical and social skills, thus providing a sound basis for future development in Key Stages 1 and 2.
  2. Maintain a close liaison between Nursery and Reception classes to ensure a smooth transfer of pupils.
  3. Enhance the physical environment, providing light, colour and visual stimulation.
  4. Ensure that pupils have access to local playing fields and leisure facilities on a regular basis as part of physical education.
  5. Encourage cultural and aesthetic awareness through visitors, performances and off-site visits.

The National Curriculum 2000 consists of a range of subjects, with five being considered "core" subjects, English, Mathematics, Science, RE and Information Communication Technology. The others are defined as 'non-core' as follows: - Design, Technology, History, Geography, PE, Art and Music. Children in Key Stages 1 and 2 are working to the requirements of the National Curriculum including the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. The Early Years children follow a specific Foundation curriculum for their age range which is based on "Early Learning Goals" and covers six areas of learning - Personal and Social Development, Language and Literacy, Mathematics, Knowledge and understanding of the World, Physical Development and Creative Development.

The intention of "Early Learning Goals", the National Curriculum and associated assessment is to ensure that all children will study essential subjects and that children will be helped to progress at the rate that is right for them. All progression is at the rate required to meet the child's needs and not to match a particular age band or class.

In designing the curriculum the school pays attention to the four elements of learning: -

Concepts - these are fundamental ideas, which are the keys to our understanding of the world. They are usually developed from definite experiences and will include the concepts of pattern, interaction, change, communication, movement, spatial awareness, process, systems and resources.

Skills - these are a range of activities which children are encouraged to develop in each area of study. They may be intellectual, physical, personal or social skills, which are often transferable to a variety of situations.

Attitudes - the school considers the development of positive attitudes to be of great importance within the development of the whole child. All adults who come within the school community should have, and encourage in the children, high standards, values and expectations, self-respect and a respect for others and the environment.

Knowledge - the National Curriculum describes the essential content that any child needs to cover at any particular time in school. Teachers, working in co-operation, are able to use their professional judgement in order to develop specific schemes of work that the school will use to deliver the National Curriculum. The content of the schemes of work should be worth knowing, understandable, interesting to the pupils and relevant to their immediate stage of development and to their future.

There are also certain characteristics that help the school in defining the nature of the curriculum. These are: -

Breadth - in order to bring pupils into contact with all areas of learning and experience including aesthetic and creative, human and social, linguistic and literary, mathematical, moral and spiritual, physical, scientific and technological; also to give due attention to the development of concepts, skills, positive attitudes and worthwhile knowledge. The curriculum should also hold and maintain the pupil's interest and be understandable.

Balance - this will enable each area of learning and experience to receive appropriate attention during the school year, in relation to the others and the curriculum as a whole.

Relevance - this will enable the curriculum to be seen by the pupils as meeting their present and future needs. Both teaching and learning should be acknowledged as being valuable in the eyes of pupils, parents and the community.

Differentiation - the broad aims of education are the same for all the children whatever their ability. The curriculum is designed to allow for differences in the ability of children and to enable them to achieve relevant progression, in all areas, at the rate, which is appropriate for the individual.

Progression, continuity and coherence - is provided for by the framework of the National Curriculum where pupils' progress is ordered from level to level and stage to stage. This requires close liaison between teachers within our school, and between schools when pupils change schools, so that the continuity of experience is achieved which leads to a coherent education for the individual child.

Nursery - children do not wear uniform to Nursery, although a school sweatshirt or plain navy sweatshirt may be worn if required. They should be dressed sensibly with comfort and independence in mind. A named bag should be brought to each session containing a spare set of clothes.

The Governors expect that children from Reception to Class 6 will wear school uniform from the following list. The wearing of this enhances the ethos of the school and avoids any problems about the sort of clothes that can be worn to school. The parent's support of school uniform is very much appreciated by both staff and governors alike. It is vitally important that every item is clearly labelled with your child's name to avoid any confusion when items are misplaced. This particularly applies to the sweatshirt and tee shirt.

Uniform List ( for boys and girls as appropriate)

• shirt, blouse or polo shirt - white

• long trousers (not jeans, tracksuit, ski pants or leggings) - black, dark grey or navy

• (short trousers, if appropriate)

• navy blue zip up fleece with school logo (available from the school office)

• tunic or skirt - navy

• small check or narrow stripe cotton dress - red and white

• socks

• shoes - black or brown (KCC Health and Safety advice is that trainers are not to be worn all day)

• sandals (closed toe, not thin strapped, open-toed or jelly sandals) - black or brown

• hat baseball/legionnaires - plain navy (available from school office)

• art overall - (adult shirt/blouse)

PE kit

• drawstring bag (available from school office) plimsolls (gusset type for Infants outdoor PE)

• trainers (for juniors outdoor PE) shorts - plain navy or white

• tee shirt - plain navy or white [in school office] a change of socks (for outside PE)

The school fleece or tracksuit may be worn over the PE kit in cold weather. A tracksuit may be worn over the PE kit when walking to PE.

There is no spare PE kit at school so it is important that children have PE/games kit in school ready for different activity lessons. It is the parents' responsibility to ensure that PE kit is in school in a named bag ( not carrier bag ). Children who continually miss PE/games because of lack of PE kit will be unable to take part in the full curriculum and may be referred to the Educational Welfare Service.

Please note that rucksacks are not needed in school and create a safety hazard in cloakroom areas .