VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM
View from the classroom
am a teaching head for four of the five days, I have a Year 3 & 4 teacher who is moving up to 3.5 days next term, and a nursery/early years teacher who teaches four days a week. The majority of our children come from the farming community which the school has traditionally served, although in recent years we have seen increasing numbers of children coming from professional families who have moved from surrounding towns to the area. We are also currently going through the process of becoming a Forest School.
T
his month in our regular View from the classroom feature, we speak to Jenny
Morgan, headteacher at Whitley Chapel First School in Northumberland. At the time of writing, the school (along with other small schools in the area) is at risk of closure, as part of Northumberland County Council's rural school consultation. Parents and other stakeholders affected by the potential closures have set up STARS – Save Tynedale's Amazing Rural Schools – an action group to fight the closures.
Tell us about your school Whitley Chapel First School is a small Church of England school for pupils age 3 - 9 in the beautiful surroundings of rural Hexhamshire. Our aim is to provide an education of the highest quality within the context of Christian belief and practice, in a happy, secure and well-disciplined environment, and to give our pupils space to learn and grow. We currently have 26 pupils on roll in the main school, from Reception to Year 4, and 8 in our on-site Nursery. In terms of staff numbers, I
What are the advantages of being a rural school? Well firstly, I’d have to say our location. We are situated in a beautiful part of the world, and we are truly rural – unlike some village schools, we are very much out in the countryside. Our school grounds reflect this – we are surrounded by fields, we have a wood very close to us for the children to explore, and we make sure they get plenty of fresh Northumberland air! Aside from the location, from a teaching and learning perspective, our rural location means that our classes are very small, and our children receive a lot of attention which might not be available or practical in schools which draw from a larger population.
There must be pressures and challenges associated with it as well? One of the main challenges associated with being a rural school is the obvious one – the weather! In winter, the weather can be quite harsh in Northumberland. The school is situated on a hill, and as a number of our children are brought to school on school transport, when it snows the school transport can’t get them. This can affect
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www.education-today.co.uk April 2018
classroom dynamics, and we do sometimes have to deal with those children who have made it to school wondering why others in the school couldn’t get in. But overall, the benefits of being a rural school far outweigh the inconveniences.
Being a small school, does this generate positives which larger schools could learn from? Because our classes are small, we are able to make very close relationships with the children. Smaller classes also force us to mix older and younger children together, and we find this breaks down barriers and stops cliques developing which could affect the dynamic of the classroom.
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