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 FAQs

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Teaching/Democratic approach

How does a democratic school work from a practical perspective? How will the day be structured?

The class will meet in the morning for ‘morning circle’ - a chance to reconnect with each other, set out the plan for the day, address any issues and questions. Then there will usually be timetabled maths, literacy, topic or specialist lessons. Young people are expected to attend these sessions. After this there will be a mixture of other activities e.g. sports, specialist projects and self-directed learning time. Class 1 (Reception and Year 1 has more free-flow activities and small group work)

Do you follow the national curriculum?

Yes we follow the national curriculum for literacy and maths, and specialist subjects - art, science, ICT/media, music. We use a concept based curriculum from Common Ground Collaborative for social studies.

How do children create their My Learning Plan goals?

Young people work with their teacher and their parents to identify goals that they want to work on and get support for throughout the term. This may be social and emotional, academic, or a personal project. The young person is supported to have this discussion at the parent/teacher/student meeting that happens termly.

What if young people all choose to do something different that day? How will teachers manage multiple requests?

Literacy, maths, project and specialist skills sessions form the basic framework of the timetable and young people are expected to attend these lessons unless by prior arrangement with the teacher. During self-directed learning time the class may be divided around the school with some still in the classroom with their class teacher and some in workshops with the specialist workshop teachers, or outside.

Will children take exams? What if parents wanted their children to do exams earlier?

At the moment we expect to offer GCSE’s as an option. Young people can choose a selection of GCSE’s to take, they may combine this with a portfolio or perhaps an out-of-school qualification.

It may be that we can offer GCSE’s earlier for those who are ready, however at the moment we are not enrolled with exam boards, or a full teaching staff as our first year intake of young people are still only age 12. It may be that we can support with the learning for GCSE’s and then parents arrange the GCSE exams outside of the school, but we would need to look at this on a case by case basis.

Is The New School a totally new innovative model or have you adapted an existing approach?

Democratic education is not new, it has been around since pre 1900’s. The oldest democratic school in the UK is Summerhill school which is 100years old (started in 1921). There are many different variations of democratic education but none in the UK are non fee-paying and so are unable to work with a diverse range of young people. Our funding model is innovative to ensure education is a right of every young person. As far as we know in the UK no one has created an alternative outcomes framework that supports equity, inclusion and social justice as a means of challenging the mainstream education system but still holding schools accountable.

How many children per class?

There will be a ratio of 15:1 young people to teacher. There are four classes per age grouping (at capacity) – although within each class there are mixed age young people. See our class page for more information.

Will you be teaching languages? Can pupils vote for which language they wish to learn?

We currently offer Spanish as a timetabled lesson run by our art teacher Miriam. We also can offer French as a workshop activity. Young people have input into the workshops on offer, and so can ask for additional languages, although this will be subject to resource.

How do restorative circles work?

When harm has been done, or a conflict arises, young people are supported through a restorative circle practise. Usually with the class teacher, or another teacher involved. Teachers also come to restorative circles with young people to resolve teacher/young person conflict. Our pastoral lead supports with issues that are ongoing, or young people who need more support. Please see our community accountability policy (also known as a behaviour policy) for more information.

Teachers

Can you explain the staffing structure?

We have two of each of the Classes (1-3) at the moment and one Class 4 with another planned for 2023, so for each age grouping there is another colleague to team teach. We have specialist teachers – art, media/ICT and Science. We have part-time consultancy staff for other areas of the curriculum e.g. P.E.

Do you use Teaching Assistants?

We have teaching and learning support assistants that work across the school. Teachers can team teach if they choose to do so and we have a full-time pastoral support lead.

Are teachers more diverse in terms of their background, training, prior learning?

We recruit based on values so the teachers we’re looking for have a strong belief in the agency of young people. They are mostly qualified teachers, or qualified in the specialism they are hired to teach. We want our teaching staff and young people to reflect the demographic of Croydon, so we are specifically targeting our recruitment process to try to achieve this diversity, so that we can better support culturally responsive teaching practises for all our young people.

How do children address teachers?

By their first names.

Special Education 

Do you accept young people with EHCPs?

Yes, we have a clear protocol for SEND admission – see our admission policy and our SEND policy. As an independent school with limited budget we cannot easily apply for EHCP’s on behalf of young people, where an educational psychologist is needed to provide a diagnosis. We can apply for EHCPs where there is very clear evidence of need and accompanying paperwork, and we can accept EHCPs assuming as a school we can accommodate the needs of individuals, balanced against the needs of individuals already on the school roll.

What provision is available for young people with special educational needs?

Please see our SEND policy.

Mental Health & Wellbeing

Do you be including alternative/holistic practices such as yoga and meditation?

Yes, as choice based workshops that are voted on by the young people and offered as long as resources are available.

Do you focus on mental health?

Mental health is a growing concern in education. Our school is designed so that mental health issues are less likely to occur, although this is not to say there won’t be young people that need more support. We have much more free time to follow interests and passions, supporting a growing awareness of self-identity. We have space for young people to voice their opinions, to develop social skills with the support of a restorative justice approach to conflict. Our teachers are expected to speak and interact respectfully with young people and to support their classes with social and emotional skills and early identification of any issues. We also have inclusive teaching practices to ensure all skills and talents can be recognised. We have a pastoral support leadfor those young people who need additional support and play therapy, and we work with parents and other stakeholders to ensure these practises are supported at home and in the community. All of our teachers are supported with continuing professional development and training about the nervous system, stress states and techniques to keep themselves grounded and calm, as well as the skills to teach this practice to their class.

What range of therapeutic support do you offer?

We offer a range of therapeutic support including therapeutic play and counselling. Using play in therapy helps young people to express themselves in their own way; especially if they are struggling to understand how they are feeling, or are finding it hard to put their experiences into words. Learn more here.

Other curriculum activities/approach

Are there school trips? How will you decide?

Yes, this is often a discussion between the young people and the teachers to decide where to go, what to see and who is going to organise it.

DO you use the forest school approach and encourage young people engage in nature?

Yes, connecting with nature is incredibly important and we are lucky that we have an outside forest school area, woodlands and a large playing field. We have specific forest school sessions but also young people have access to the outside space at self-directed learning times.

Would you create a band if there was enough demand?

Music is part of the curriculum and young people can choose to sign up to music workshops. As part of this, young people may choose to create a band, a choir or other music sessions, but this will be based on demand.

How do you incorporate the ethos of play into the learning approach?

Play is fundamental human need and the school environment is set-up to facilitate this. Having more time and space to follow personal interests means young people can be playing much of the day. Lessons are often focused on experimental, project based exploration which also facilitates play. Each of the classrooms are richly resourced age-appropriate play spaces, co-designed with young people to facilitate their interests. However, we are a school with timetabled lessons, and we're not a democratic homeschool project.

Attendance & Timings

Are children expected to attend every day?

Yes, apart from Friday’s if parents choose to flexi-school although this must be agreed a term in advance. Minimum attendance is four days a week. As we are a school we have to keep attendance registers and admission rolls, and any unauthorised absence has to be noted.

How do you manage flexi days?

Flexi-days are offered on a Friday, but this has to be pre-agreed a term in advance with the Co-Headteachers. This cannot be used on an ad-hoc basis, as it is a statutory requirement that we log this information.

How do you track and measure non-attendance?

We are scrutinised on our attendance registers at every school standards inspection, so if we have a young person with continued non attendance without valid reason this would have to be a discussion with the parents and the Co-Headteachers to make a decision about how to move forward and whether The New School is the right educational provision for that child.

Is there a toilet pass?

No!

Can we take children out of school during term times e.g. for holidays?

Attendance for four days a week at school is compulsory (five days if you have not agreed a flexi-day). However we do offer 5 days holiday that can be taken any time during term-time by prior arrangement with the Co-Headteachers.

What time is the start and end of the school day?

The school gates open at 8.45a.m and teachers will be in their classroom or waiting at the designated meeting point from this time. The school day starts promptly at 9a.m and if young people are late this will need to be recorded in the attendance registers. The school day finishes at 3.15pm.

What are the dates of each terms and the holiday dates?

Please see the term dates on the contact page of our website. At least one week of every school holiday will match mainstream school holidays.

Is there any after school provision? 

We are trialling after-school club on 3 days of the week. We don't have high demand for this, so we are monitoring carefully and we will review each term.

Funding

Do you have all funding secured/will you be fully funded before we apply?

We are funded through to September 2023. We actively work to raise additional funding for the school, however we may not be fully funded before you apply for a school place as admissions close on 31st January 2023, however we will not offer a school place without sufficient funding, and it is a requirement of our school place acceptance form, that you sign to acknowledge our funding model.

What types of funders are you working with?

Trusts and foundations, major donors and corporates. We are looking to increase our statutory funding through working innovatively with local authorities.

What impact measures are required by funders?

Our impact measures have been determined by us and funders fund on the basis that they agree with, or want to see the results of, our theory of change.

We are measuring:
Self Efficacy - Young people have the confidence and belief they will succeed in all they set out to pursue
Self Esteem - Young people understand and value the attitudes and personal values they hold and express, pursuing these into the future
Educational Engagement - All young people participate fully in their learning experience, complete schooling and raise aspirations
Life satisfaction - Young people feel positive about their experience of day to day life and the direction of their future

The above impact measures are all researched based determinants of equitable education and future engagement in learning.

Can anyone make a donation to The New School?

Yes please! Please click on the Donate button on our website.

How can parents support fundraising activities?

By joining or supporting our parents' circle!

School Facilities

Do you have a swimming pool?

No!

What facilities are included in the school e.g. A library, kitchen?

We have a kitchen, a library, a sick room, four workshops – Art, Science, media/ICT, DT. We have a forest school, a large playing field, and a basketball court. We have a grassy outside area and a concrete playground.

Can we see the school before we apply?

If your application is successful, you’ll be informed by the end of March and there will be a chance to see the school before you accept the place.

Catering

How do you decide what to eat? Will this also follow the democratic approach?

We have an approach to food based on Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility model. Adults decide what to eat, when and where, children decide whether they eat and how much. We have family style tables with a class and a teacher eating together. The food is served in the middle of the table and then young people can serve themselves.

Can you tell us about the food that is offered?

There are menus created weekly by our two fabulous chefs. This includes foods we want to introduce each term e.g. beetroot. The menus are drawn up based on this, and this food will be introduced each week in a different way e.g. beetroot coleslaw, beetroot soup, roasted beetroot.

There is always one ‘safe’ food on the table that young people can fill up on if there is nothing else they want that day e.g. rice, plain jacket potato, fresh bread. We try to rotate the menus often, but children do have their favourites and so these may be repeated more often than other dishes.

Do you provide free school meals for those that need it?

Yes. This is funded by the school as we have no access to mainstream free school meal funding.

Can you cater for a range of dietary requirements?

Yes. We are also a fully gluten-free and nut-free school.

Do you focus on healthy eating?

Yes. Lucy’s background is as a nutritionist so the menus are carefully designed with this in mind.

Admissions

What is your admissions policy?

Please see our documents section.

When can we enrol?

Up until January 31st 2023 for school start in September 2023 (when the admissions round opens in November). Until then you can apply to be added to our waiting lists for this school year 2021/2022.

What is the admissions process and timeframe?

Please see our admissions policy.

Do we need to live in close proximity to the school?

No. There is a final oversubscription criteria that is based on 50% proximity to the school and 50% random allocation

What year groups can children join?

Please refer to our admissions page for school places available for academic year 2022/2023. Please note we do not have an admissions deadline for Year 1 and above as the school is full. You can however apply to be to our waiting list should a school place become available mid-year.

Could my child join a year below their age group if I choose?

It is not likely as we are so oversubscribed. However, if there is a valid reason e.g. an EHCP that states your child will do better in a different age group then we will consider this on a case by case basis.

Are you taking secondary school children? If not why not?

No we have no admissions intake for secondary school age (Year 7 and above) as our school is full for these year groups. We do have an in-year waiting list for Year 7 places as above. The other reason for no secondary admissions above year 8, is that is much harder for a mainstream ‘schooled’ young person to integrate into a different structure of school and they will only have 1-2 years to do this before they would need to start more structured GCSEs or qualifications which doesn’t leave much time to integrate into a democratic setting.

Misc

What attracted Lucy to The New School approach?

I’ve spent the last few years researching different school models since I left teaching 15 years ago. I left because there were too many young people who were simply square pegs in round holes, and I felt that the constant pressure on exams was squashing the personality out of the children in my class. Also there were at least 3-4 in my last class who I felt would have been expelled when they got to secondary school – small fish in too big a pond.

Is there a uniform?

No, unless the young people decide they want one.

What happens if there is bullying?

We have a very clear protocol for anti-bullying (see policy), and it is also something that teachers are looking out for. They work closely with all the young people in their class to support social and emotional skills, to discuss issues and to ensure the group has the skills they need to resolve conflict.

What kind of safeguards do you have in place? What agencies do you work with?

We have a clear safeguarding policy (see documents) and we refer into Croydon.

Are parents encouraged to help out?

Yes, this is our intention, although we do have to abide by safeguarding regulations, and it is also dependent on the needs of the class and the teachers. We are working to integrate parents into the school as we love volunteers and interns to support, so please get in touch.

Do you allow visits from interested educators?

We do, but given the massive interest in our school and the time it takes to run visits, we have a small charge for visits that contribute to in-school resources. The cost is £25 per person for a one hour tour and chat with a co-Headteacher and £50 per person for a tour and a class visit.