Downham Feoffees Primary Academy

Headteacher: Susan Jaques

Welcome to Downham Feoffees Primary Academy (DFPA), part of Meridian Trust where we hope you will experience a wealth of enthusiasm for learning and for supporting and helping each other within our learning culture. We are sure you will quickly feel the friendly and positive ethos in the academy from both the staff and the children who would love to share their latest pieces of work and activities with you.

Downham Feoffees Primary Academy is part of the Meridian family of academies. Our academy is situated in the heart of the village of Little Downham and caters for children aged 4 – 11 (Reception, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2).

We have approximately 160 pupils, organised into seven single age classes. The majority of our pupils come from Little Downham; the remainder are from the surrounding villages.

We aim to provide engaging learning activities for our children within a stimulating and challenging environment. Although our purpose is to promote the development of academic and practical skills, we also seek to guide children in their social, wellbeing and moral development. The environment we provide for our children promotes an inquiring mind, independence, self-motivation and confidence. We aim to develop the numerous social skills that are necessary for children to become responsible members of society.

In February 2021, Downham Feoffees Primary Academy was awarded ‘The Gold School Mental Health Award’. We were elated to become the first academy within our trust to attain and be awarded The Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools, School Mental Health Award at Gold level for our outstanding mental health and wellbeing provision.

In June 2020, Downham Feoffees Primary Academy was awarded for ‘Excellence in Science Teaching’.  Our academy has become one of just 160 schools across the country to be recognised for its excellence in science. We are delighted to have been awarded a Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) in recognition of teaching and learning in science, across the whole school.

Since academisation, we have had a determined drive and focus on raising the profile of mental health and wellbeing throughout the academy for all stakeholders. Work has included: auditing and redesigning our whole school curriculum with regards to the intent and implementation and our vision, values and ethos. Threaded throughout our curriculum the following elements are key: the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) curriculum; raising aspirations and inspirations; fostering positive growth mindsets and character strengths; devising a mental health menu and referral system, and reducing stigma associated with mental health. At DFPA we are committed to continuously improving provision within the school, therefore over the coming years we intend to continue to embed mental health and wellbeing within our academy and the wider curriculum and community.

We are proud of our academy and of the part it plays within our local community. Our success works in unison with the partnerships fostered between the home and school. We value the hard work and support provided by parents/carers and their families, plus the Friends of Downham Feoffees (FODA) and our Academy Council. We have fostered links with businesses and charities both within the locality and further afield; we look forward to further developing such opportunities.

As part of the Meridian family, we have forged robust links with Ely College Academy and The Lantern Primary Academy, and we have made strong links with Busy Fingers Pre-School which is adjacent to our academy.

For more information about our Downham Feoffees Primary Academy, please visit our website: https://www.downhamfeoffees.org