William Patten Enrichment Statement

1. A strategically aligned enrichment offer

The school’s core and extra curriculum activities are designed and planned so that children have a structured enrichment offer.  This is part of the school’s commitment to provide a broad and balanced curriculum with active and practical learning experiences that enable children to develop skills and an extensive base of knowledge across the curriculum.  As enrichment is part of this commitment, it is overseen by the SLT and understood by staff, with teachers and supporting adults actively involved in the planning and delivery of enrichment opportunities that enhance the children’s learning and school experience.

2. A broad and well-rounded enrichment offer

Every pupil has access to a range of activities, including experiences that align to the following categories:

• Civic engagement;
  This includes the children’s understanding of democracy and democratic processes, which all engage with when they are asked to vote for their school council and eco committee representatives.  Children who would like to stand as their class representative, are able to write a manifesto for each and present their ideas for the school council to the class prior to class vote.  There are planned opportunities for debating in Write Stuff English lessons, as well as in Jigsaw PSHE lessons.  Debating is also one of the named disciplines within Hackney’s approach to RE and Worldviews, ensuring this as a regular key feature of lessons.  Visits to places of worship from different faiths and beliefs is also a component of this curriculum area.  The school also has a debating club as part of the extra-curricular offer.  School events such as International Evening and the community Iftar are further ways in which children are actively engaged with their community, and coordinated trips across all year groups ensure that children have access to and learn from community resources.  This includes access to significant places, such as Hackney Museum during International Women’s Day and Windrush week.  Annual visits by the choir to a local nursing home are a further example of how the school values and provides experiences for community engagement.

• Arts and Culture;
  Children take part in live experiences of music and expressive arts during annual shows, and the Y6 end of year show.  The steel pan band and school choirs also perform annually at the Hackney Music Festival and year groups are also involved in specific music performance projects, such as ‘Young Voices’.  An annual ‘Big Arts Day’ provides a focussed and progressive whole school experience for developing children’s knowledge and understanding of specific artists, artworks and genres and visits to museums and galleries are a significant part of the educational visits and trips offer.

• Nature Outdoor and Adventure;
  The school has a rewilded nature playground which all classes have dedicated time during nature workshops led by a lead practitioner from Hackney Outdoors. Teachers also plan learning activities in this space within the wider curriculum.  A growing an planting schedule is in place for all year groups, which enables children to grow and sow from the raised bed on the school’s roof terrace.  The school raises children’s awareness of sustainability through its celebrations of national events, including Walk to School Week and its commitment to climate education is recognised by achievement of the Eco Schools’ Green Flag Award.  The Y6 residential provides further means for children to engage with nature, the outdoors and adventure activity, through a programme of activities at the Kench Hill Centre in Tenterden, Kent, including a stream walk and orienteering in unfamiliar grounds.

• Sport and Physical Activities;
  The school’s PE curriculum ensures that children participate in a range of physical activity across the disciplines of team games, outdoor and adventurous activity, dance, athletics and gymnastics (led by a specialist sports coach).  School sports days give a further opportunity for children to compete in teams.  As part of extra curricular provision, the school has football teams which take part in competitive borough-wide events, and running clubs, cheerleading clubs and gymnastics.

• Developing wider life and skills;
  Food technology is a key component of the schools Design and Technology curriculum, with regular visits across key stages to the Hackney School of Food for enrichment as part of the core curriculum.  Digital literacy is also a key component of the school’s computing curriculum, and the school offers a coding club as part of its extra-curricular provision.  The school runs an annual STEM week in addition to core curriculum STEM activities, during which members of the community with specialist skills and knowledge talk to the children about related careers.

3. A well-communicated enrichment offer that celebrates participation and achievement

Information about educational visits and trips is communicated to parents and carers in the weeks before each activity.  Trip letters always state the curriculum area in which the activity enriches.  Details of clubs are sent at the beginning of the school year, and children are given choices as to their preferred club.  You can read more about our club offer here: Extra Curricular Clubs | William Patten Primary School and the extended school’s offer here: Extended Schools | William Patten Primary School. Priority for extra-curricular club places is given to children who qualify for pupil premium funding, and these children are actively encouraged to participate in the extra-curricular offer, including places for music lessons led by a specialist music teacher.  Participation and achievement in enrichment is acknowledged and celebrated during Headteacher award assemblies, including through certification and awards which are also communicated in the school’s bi-weekly newsletter.  At the end of each programme of study, pupils are supported to reflect on their enrichment experiences, considering their learning, progress, personal interests and skills as part of the process of end of topic review.  The school also holds the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Mark at Gold level in recognition of its inclusive and ‘well-planned, engaging and impactful learning beyond the classroom.

4. An enrichment offer shaped by the school or college community

Feedback from parents on the school’s enrichment offer is sought as part of the parent surveys.  Regular phase meetings also provide the forum for teachers to feedback on this aspect of practice to inform the offer.  The school council provides a forum for child voice.  Children’s written responses are routinely gathered during participation in whole school themed days and classroom discussion (particularly following educational trips and visits) further informs evaluation and shapes the development and delivery of the enrichment offer.  The school provides meaningful opportunities for pupil leadership of enrichment activities, including, for example, the reading buddies role in which classes of older children are able to support younger children in their enjoyment of books.  Staff with specialist skills, interests and expertise are also able to lead enrichment, and this includes a number of extra-curricular language clubs.

5. An accessible and engaging enrichment offer

 Every effort is taken to provide enrichment that equitable, inclusive and accessible to all pupils and students, particularly those at risk of missing out.   This includes priority places for extra-curricular clubs and funded places at the school’s breakfast club.  Planning for educational visits and trips considers the needs of vulnerable groups and considers how these will be met through practical adjustments.  Participation in extracurricular activity is monitored to ensure an equal offer that is broad and inclusive is available to every child. The allocation of clubs, as well as their focus considers individual circumstances, local context and community needs.

 6. An enrichment offer that works in partnership

 The school actively explores opportunities for partnership working, and this includes partnership work with local secondary schools.  As a result, the children at the school have access to positive role models from KS3 who lead learning activities at the school and support in special events, such as sports day.  The school has close links with Hackney Outdoors, which has been integral to the development and use of the rewilded nature playground.  Through this, the school has engaged with and had access to resources provided through the ‘Our Classroom Climate’ platform, supported by Colt Technology Services.  The latter having provided visits to the Eco team to a corporate workspace.   The school’s curriculum is enhanced by its connections with Clissold Leisure Centre, and the use of specialist sports coaches for gymnastics. The programme of educational visits and school trips makes full use of community resources and venues, including local museums and theatres, and the involvement of community members with specialist expertise and knowledge enriches themed curriculum events at the school.  The school’s practice is informed by the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) framework, for which it holds the Council for LOtC’s Quality Mark at gold level.  For more on our partnership working, please see our ‘Partnerships’ page: https://www.williampatten.hackney.sch.uk/partnerships/.

7. An outcomes-focused enrichment offer

The school views enrichment as a key component of a broad and balanced curriculum, with opportunities planned and mapped within the school’s ‘core’ curriculum.  As such, the children demonstrate high levels of enjoyment for learning which contributes to strong educational outcomes and engagement with learning.  The enrichment offer considers and supports children’s social and emotional development and, as such, the school is part of the Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools Projects.  You can read more about this on the school’s Wellbeing page: Wellbeing | William Patten Primary School.  Extra curricular clubs and additional activities within the school day, such as djembe drumming, are part of the offer. These are available to provide further means for children to develop their collaboration and team-working skills, as well as more activity and discipline-specific skills.  Subject specific enrichment, including engagement with community celebrations that recognise significant individuals and the impact on the local area, further promote children’s sense of belonging within the school, as well as wider ongoing community engagement.  Children’s progress and attainment is carefully tracked, as well as their participation in enrichment activities.  Attainment informs how best to utilise specific opportunities for the impact of enrichment, including with local external agencies, such as ongoing ‘the Ministry of Stories’ project (2025-2028), and Hackney Pirates.  These opportunities specifically tailored to develop skills and progress in a specific identified area of learning.

8. An outcomes-focused enrichment offer

Regular end of year surveys are one way in which the school gathers additional feedback from parents.  Curriculum leaders also gain feedback from staff and pupils, including through surveys, as part of their subject development planning and evaluation.  Appropriate opportunities for feedback are also embedded in the design of ongoing work with a range of external partners.  Planning for educational visits and trips throughout the year is informed by the five categories, and the school engages with families as part of its commitment to equal opportunities. This promotes access to enrichment, including through the offer of free, subsidised and paid activities where this is a barrier. The school is committed to continuously improving its enrichment offer.