NEW OPENING
Sneak preview: Kids get a tour of the new school site Research shows the greatest influence on whether a child is active or not is
whether they have an active mother. Parental engagement will therefore be crucial to the success of the concept – it has to be about supporting families
costs are in the region of £100,000. Once the school is up and running, however, it will receive the same per capita funding as any local authority-run school, says Barnett. Ever since the government introduced
them, free schools have been controversial, generating accusations that they take pupils – and therefore funding – from other schools. But in Luton’s chronically over-subscribed primary schools, this could not be further from the truth, says Barnett, who is keen to stress that the venture has the full backing of the council. “The first thing we did was go and talk to the local authority, because we have a very positive relationship with them,” she says. “They were 100 per cent supportive, which is not typical for free schools. But they recognised we had the credibility and were really appreciative that we wanted to work alongside them.” Barnett also points out that, unlike
other free schools which have attracted criticism for eccentric curricula, River Bank Primary is following the National Curriculum; it’s not so much what is taught but how it’s taught that will vary. The real difficulty, she says, was not convincing the council but convincing
parents. “It was a massive challenge to persuade any parent to send their child to us, because at the time the school had no track record, no teachers and no building, and there were other quality schools in the area. So it was a huge leap of faith for parents, much as they believed what we saying.” Getting the community on board was
also challenging. “We knew some of the groups were looking at us and thinking:
‘What do you know about being part of our community? You manage sports centres.’ It was a case of winning hearts and minds. We’ve had people walking up and down the high street dressed in all sorts of ridiculous outfits, and been to no end of community events, just to get them to trust us.”
EDUCATION IN ACTION River Bank’s ethos, says Barnett, is based on Olympic and Paralympic values so amply demonstrated in the 2012 Games: teamwork, trust and respect, but also a competitive spirit: “It’s about doing your best and competing against yourself to do even better.” As at Foxdell, there’s a strong
emphasis not only on high-quality PE provision – the new building will
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include a dedicated two-court sports hall – but also on integrating activity into non-PE lessons. So in maths, for example, learning to count and add up might involve throwing and catching, while in English the children might be asked to create an interpretive dance to accompany their poems about the sea. With the majority of pupils at River Bank coming from Asian or Polish families, this practical approach to learning is particularly helpful for children for whom English is a second language, says Barnett. The importance of diet in a healthy
lifestyle is also on the agenda, with lessons on healthy eating and a designated cookery area in the new building. And although it’s less relevant for the reception classes, there will be a strong emphasis on activity-focused breakfast, lunchtime and after-school clubs as pupils move through the school. While the school will employ PE
specialists, other teachers aren’t expected to be PE-qualified, though they are expected to be “outstanding practitioners” with a passionate belief in active education. The other factor that’s crucial to the success of the concept is the involvement of parents. “Research
February 2014 © Cybertrek 2014
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