The curriculum is designed to be challenging. In Mathematics, our students acquire mastery of key concepts through modelled instruction and deliberate practice, giving them the knowledge and skills to solve the most difficult problems. All our students tackle modern foreign languages, including French and Mandarin, and in English, they explore both classic and contemporary texts. Across the curriculum teachers are always looking for ways to challenge and stretch the students.
Pastoral Care
The Junior School is led by its Head, Rachel Thompson, and supported by a faculty of well qualified, engaged and committed teachers who are well equipped to deliver both the academic curriculum in the classroom, as well as a wide range of activities outside of it.
At the heart of a good school is the way it cares for its students. At Eltham College Junior School we place great emphasis on Pastoral Care and respecting, trusting and caring for each other and these are the cornerstones of our community. Our students enjoy spending time together and thrive on the energy and enthusiasm that happy children generate. They are happy and confident and open to new experiences: they approach everything they do with the same verve. This zest for life and learning comes from knowing that we value each student as an individual. We take great care to get to know each student as an individual, so we can support and encourage them, nurture their strengths and help them develop their own personality and path. We want every student to know that we are beside them every step of the journey through school.
The Listening Space
In the Junior School, we are proud to support pupils pastorally with our in-house listening service: The Listening Space. Working with trained members of staff who use talking therapy and play therapy techniques, pupils are offered a safe space to explore pastoral issues that might require support outside of the classroom environment. The service has 3 strands, with pupils accessing the service on a one-to-one, ad-hoc, or group basis. Referrals to this service are made through form tutors, the wider pastoral team, or pupil self-referral. The goal of The Listening Space at Eltham College Junior School is for every pupil to feel heard. For more information, please see The Listening Space policy here.
Our Philosophy, Aims and Practice
Eltham College Junior School is committed to academic excellence and this underpins our philosophy and practices. We believe that the values that inform our other activities, reinforce our academic ones.
Challenge
Expectation
Our students are set high standards, both in terms of the nature and pace of their work, and in their own individual performance. Higher expectations invite higher aspirations, and inspire our students to excel.
Values
Academic enquiry should be enjoyable, stimulating and sow the seeds of a lifelong interest in the pursuit of knowledge. Students should become increasingly independent learners, acquiring a range of relevant skills to facilitate their learning. A focus on learning and the students is at the heart of this process. Hard work, perseverance, adaptability and co-operation all facilitate learning.
