DOLPHIN SCHOOL unlocking each child's full and unique potential
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DOLPHIN SCHOOL unlocking each child’s full and unique potential
welcome Welcome to Dolphin School. We see the school as a place of safety when life’s storms buffet us and a secure base from which to view the wonders of the world. Whilst your children are with us, we commit to look after them well and to teach them to look after themselves, each other, the wider community and the planet. We have seven years to prepare them for the intellectual and personal challenges of secondary school, and we hope and pray that their experiences here will shed light across their lives long after they have left us. In this prospectus, I hope to give you a snapshot of daily life in the school which the staff and I have come to love so much. Mrs Jo Glen Principal Note: You will see that I have sometimes avoided the cumbersome ‘he/ she’ by alternating ‘he’ and ‘she’ in different paragraphs. Please consider your son or daughter included in all that the school has to offer! Examples of activities and trips are indicative of the kind of opportunities on offer.
love learn leap
A school is an intricate web We can’t start to learn until we Now, from a place of peace,
love
learn
leap
of relationships with strands know and accept ourselves. within the context of love,
running in all directions between One of our first jobs is to your child is ready to leap into
the Governors, the Principal, encourage children to value Dolphin School life. He/she is
staff, parents and pupils. themselves and their own gifts ready to dare to have a go,
Dolphin School’s Christian so that they can, in turn, learn to to risk a wrong answer, to try
ethos places these relationships value the gifts of others. This will ideas out. He/she is ready to
at the heart of school life. We lead to a peaceful community, seize every chance to grow
keep our classes small so that which forms the right context for and learn. He/she is ready to
we can personalise your child’s learning. We are all different, and face the challenges of life in
learning. Our starting point is we learn differently. Our job is a community, to grasp every
knowing, and our aim is to get to try many keys as we seek to learning opportunity that he/she
to know your child deeply: his/ unlock your child’s potential. is given, to ask questions and to
her strengths and weaknesses, wrestle with answers.
joys and triumphs, fears and
concerns, gifts and talents. How
does he/she learn best?
express examine explore
Your child is ready to learn Your child will be taught to Your child will have a chance to
express
examine
explore
to express herself. She will examine things carefully: the explore the complexities of life.
be encouraged to grow her meaning of words in English What can I, as one individual,
vocabulary and to manipulate comprehension, or in Spanish contribute to this school and to
language so that she can or Latin; the meaning of shape, the world? What does it mean
articulate her ideas and create number and symbol in Maths; to love my neighbour as myself?
imaginary worlds with words. the meaning of the past in Or to look after the planet for
She will be inspired to express History; of the world in Science future generations? What does
her feelings through visual art and Geography; and of life in it take to be a team? She will be
as she is taught how to turn times of class discussion. He given the chance to feel the air
shapes, lines and colour into will take a magnifying glass to on her face, to get muddy, to
images. She will be guided by the processes of language and sail or kayak, or build a raft or
specialist teachers to express number, to the stories of the a shelter, to learn the names of
herself through music, singing, Bible and to the wonder of the animals, plants and trees.
drama and sport. natural world.
train
trust
transform
School is a training ground, Team sports require trust as So, as we trust each other
train
trust
transform
and we expect to train. If no different members of the team and as together we train your
child ever made a mistake, we take up their position: the child, we start to see the
wouldn’t have anything to do. defender defends, the attacker thing that excites us most –
We must provide boundaries so attacks, the striker strikes and transformation. The mental
that poor behaviour and other the goalie saves. As it is in the block your child had in Maths
distractions do not detract from Dolphin football team, so it is in is broken down; the struggle to
learning. We expect to train your school life: we all take up our learn to read is won; the child
child as he becomes the best role and each is valued equally. who had to be first in line learns
possible version of himself. We We ask you, the parents, to to be second; the pupil who
expect to train him in every area trust us to treat your child with feared the exam wins an award;
as he flies as high as he can – a fairness and dignity. We ask you the child with the impetuous
different height for everyone. We to trust our professionalism as streak learns self-control; the
expect him to make mistakes we work in partnership with you pupil who hated the stage finds
sometimes – we all do. He will to educate your child. a voice. No child is labelled; all
receive outstanding coaching of us can change.
in a range of sports: football,
hockey, tag rugby, cricket,
rounders, athletics and so on.
unlock unleash unwind
We do not seek to mould Children’s gifts can be We all need rest, and we
unlock
unleash
unwind
your child into a pre-planned unleashed through love and therefore do not set homework
somebody but to unlock what encouragement, through the on Fridays (except on
is already there. Sometimes hard graft of practice and occasions in the final year),
talents, qualities and attributes drilling, through the acquisition leaving the weekend free for
are hidden beneath an outer of knowledge, through the families to enjoy together. No-
shell (perhaps of anxiety, self- experience of inspiration one learns best under pressure.
centredness or timidity) and or another’s belief in them: School should be a place of
sometimes they are glistening mathematical wizardry, stage dynamic learning, of myriad
on the surface. Whether the presence, a novelistic turn opportunity, but also of fun
task is easy or hard, our job of phrase, a gift of kindness, and ease and laughter. There
is to find these gifts and grow footballing flair, a beautiful voice, must be a moment for a joke,
them. The teacher plants the scientific acumen, a talent for a chance to go off piste, to
seed and the pupil must water invention, linguistic skill, athletic enjoy the unexpected tangent,
it though concentration in class, ability… a place to unwind, time to toast
through following the teacher’s marshmallows around the
instructions, through careful camp fire…
completion of homework.sense savour see
Every sense helps us to We want children to savour There is so much to do and see
sense
savour
see
appreciate the wonders of the every experience of school in seven years at Dolphin. Every
world – and the senses may life: singing their hearts out year, alongside the curriculum,
easily be dulled by an over- in the school choir; abseiling we have a new theme inspiring
scheduled life, too much cyber- on the rock face at Viney Hill; us to do new things, to watch
reality or too short a childhood. tasting churros on Spanish chicks hatch, to release
Let’s start with the ears and the Day; paddling in the stream at butterflies on the common, to
dying art of listening which, St The Mill; smelling Spring in the change the life of an African
James assures us, is better than blossom; learning flamenco or orphan, to decorate an Easter
talking! If you want to do one Soca or Irish dancing; trying cross, to join Toad in his boat in
thing to prepare your children for their hand at the violin or Wind in the Willows. Every year
school, teach them to listen. In djembe drums; visiting the BBC we enjoy the rhythm of annual
this world of multiple foci, help studios or the West London rituals: school plays, Sports
them to focus on one thing at Synagogue or Hever Castle or Day, putting up the Christmas
a time. Give instructions once. the River Thames in Henley or tree, playing in the Consortium
Encourage them to listen to the Houses of Parliament or the Shield, saying good bye to our
another’s view. Tower of London or the Norfolk leavers at Awards Assembly
Broads… in July. They leave, having
learnt, we hope, to see behind
appearances, to see beyond the
material world, to see from the
perspective of another.love learn leap
express examine explore
train trust transform
unlock unleash unwind
sense savour see
take your child
on a journeyEducation is a journey, and each journey begins with a single steep climbs, rocky patches, peaceful glades, dense forests,
The Dolphin journey step – in this case, the first step through the school door. One
step must necessarily follow another as the pupil progresses,
guided by his/her teachers, through a series of attainable
open meadows, beautiful views – for each child these come
at different moments, but the guide is always there, always
ready to help and support. As each stepping stone is reached,
targets over seven years. Then he/she leaves through that the child feels a great sense of achievement (‘I gave it my best
same door, ready to face the challenges of secondary school and look where I got!’), greeting the completed target with
and life beyond. satisfaction and straining forward with ambition and aspiration.
What sort of a journey is this? It is a steady journey of seven Certain conditions make travelling enjoyable and achievable.
stepping stones. The journey is safe because the child always Children need enough sleep to travel well each day. They need
has a guide, a teacher whose face is turned both towards the times of rest and relaxation, time to enjoy the view. They cannot
child (in concern and care) and towards the destination (the travel hard all day, all evening and all weekend. Children need
end of each academic year, the end of primary school and life applauding as they travel, however far they get.
beyond). Though safe, it is necessarily challenging. There are
The journey should look like this:
SECONDARY SCHOOL
11+
AND LIFE BEYOND
YEAR 6
YEAR 5
YEAR 4
YEAR 3
YEAR 2
YEAR 1
RECEPTIONWe don’t believe in cramming.
What we don’t believe
1
We start preparing for the 11+ in
Reception, because the first step leads
to the second, the second to the third,
and so on.
We don’t believe any child
2
is too young to be challenged.
The challenge must just be appropriate
for his/her age. Potty training is an
appropriate challenge for a young child,
for example. Challenge should never be
avoided, just designed especially for the
individual.
3 We don’t believe parents
should have to choose between
happiness or academic challenge. We
believe that an appropriate challenge,
within an atmosphere of love, leads to
satisfaction, fulfilled potential and the
discovery of gifts, which in turn lead
to happiness. So challenge leads to
happiness and high self-esteem, and
avoidance of challenge the reverse.
We don’t believe children
4
should be pushed, like a broken-
down car. The broken child finds it
difficult to learn; he/she needs ideally
to be mended first, although mending
and learning can occur at the same
time in an atmosphere of love and
encouragement. Indeed, learning can
be healing. The teacher puts the right
key in the ignition, and the car starts. We
know that each car (child) proceeds at
a different pace, but we don’t believe in
keeping any car in the inside lane withthe brakes on. Nor do we believe in provide every club. Opportunities weekend (except sometimes in Year 6)
encouraging cars to spin out of control. are multitudinous, and we would kill for rest and family time.
ourselves and your child trying to
We don’t believe we can 11 We don’t believe in over-
5 provide all of them. Instead, we can
teach your child everything in examining children.
provide a selection of extra-curricular
seven years. Knowledge is infinite. We
provide the tools to unlock knowledge.
clubs and opportunities from different 12 We don’t believe parents
areas to ignite artistic, dramatic, musical, should have to do children’s
Different methods of reasoning are
linguistic and sporting passion. homework – it’s designed for the child.
passports to future learning. Maths and
We do believe parents have a key role in
English are foundational. For example, We don’t believe that rushing,
7 providing an ordered routine and a quiet
until you can read fluently and unlock exhausted, from one thing to
space for homework – and that parental
the meaning of complex words, most another is healthy. We believe that calm
interest in academic progress has a
subject disciplines are closed to you. and order are the right conditions for
hugely beneficial effect.
So we cannot teach your child the learning, and that repeated daily routines
whole of History, but we can give him/ are very helpful for children’s personal 13 We don’t believe that we
her the tools to begin a lifelong interest and academic progress. educate alone. We educate
in History. First, he/she must learn to in partnership with parents. This is
We don’t believe there is
read, to listen, to decipher, to uncover 8 definitely not a ‘singles’ match, where
anything shameful in going
facts, to understand the difference the school is pitted against the parents.
wrong. School is a training ground, and
between objectivity and subjectivity, It is a ‘doubles’ match, where you, the
we expect to train. Training includes
to see that different people in different parents, and we, the school form one
sanctions, which are designed to refine
places at different times were valuable, team. We look over the net together at
behaviour. Refined behaviour leads to
that their experiences of life differed, your child’s future.
growth of character, which gives the
that this affected their choices and
conditions for maximum progress.
self-understanding, that we should
not generalise or stereotype, that we We don’t believe every second
9
cannot assume that we (or our era) has of every day need be either fun or
everything right. We cannot teach your easy. Some things need drilling: times
child the whole of History, but we can tables, for example. Drilling can be dull
give him/her a hunger to learn more but is very important at primary school.
about the past and the sensitivity to Some things are hard – that’s ok.
approach the past well. And thus with
10 We don’t believe that
Geography, Science and so on. children should feel anxious or
We don’t believe we can pressurised. That’s why the journey
6
provide your child with every proceeds in graduated attainable steps,
single opportunity there is. We cannot not in a big rush at the end. Homework
visit every museum, nor can we is, therefore, done in small ‘portions’
play every single sport, nor can we from Monday to Thursday, with the»» At the back of the prospectus, you »» Children who join a class other (who are by far our best advert) to
Dolphin information will find information about term
dates, current school fees and
extra-curricular activities as well
than Reception are invited to join
their prospective class for a Trial
Day to see if they would fit with
represent the school with pride in
the local community.
»» Homework starts with plenty of
as the range of secondary schools ease into the existing community.
reading practice, and gradually
typically attended by Dolphin More details are available from the
expands to include spelling,
leavers. Registrar.
Maths, English and other subjects.
»» If you think Dolphin School might »» The school doors open each Our aim is that children complete
suit your child and your family, morning between 08.30 and 08.45. homework daily as early in the
please phone the Registrar on There are staggered departure evening as possible, spending
020 7924 3472 or email her at times between 15.25 and 15.45 about 10 minutes each day in Year
admissions@dolphinschool.org.uk according to age. After-school 1, 20 minutes in Year 2, 30 minutes
to arrange a visit. Visits take place clubs are available for older in Year 3 and so on.
at fixed times during the week and children on Monday to Thursday
»» Detailed information about the
include a chat with the Principal between 16.00 and 17.00. Children
minutiae of school life is available
and a tour of the school on a in Reception are dismissed at
in the Parents’ Handbook.
normal working morning. 12.25 on Fridays during their first
year, and at 12.25 on Wednesdays »» If you would like to read the
»» The next step (before or after your school’s most recent Ofsted
in the Autumn Term in order to
visit) is to register your child, and
effect a happy transition and to report, please visit www.
the registration form may be found
preserve energy levels! dolphinschool.org.uk
at the back of the prospectus.
»» If you are interested in Dolphin »» You are invited to join us for Friday
Assembly – a service where the
School, you are encouraged to
whole school comes together to
register as early as you possibly
celebrate our relationships and
can, as your registration date will
achievements.
inform your position on the list.
Siblings of Dolphin pupils are »» Dolphin children wear a school
given priority and a proportion of uniform, and the Uniform Policy
places are reserved for children is upheld robustly. This relieves
attending Noah’s Ark Nursery pupils of anxieties over wardrobe
Schools (prioritised in order of and image, builds a strong school
registration date). identity and enables the childrenYou can also read
