Headteacher

Southover School has been part of Lewes life since it opened in 1872 with just 79 children, one teacher and two assistants in 2 rooms. Eventually it outgrew the site and over 100 years later moved to its present premises, which had been the Girls’
Grammar School and, more recently, the Lower School for Lewes Priory School. The building was well suited to the needs of primary age children with large classrooms and plenty of open spaces. The Early Years and Key Stage 1 classrooms are on the ground floor, while the Key Stage 2 classrooms are mainly on the first floor. There is a large hall, a gymnasium, a dedicated SEN room, an extensive playing field and an open-air learner swimming pool. The site is shared with Western Road Community Primary School, which occupies a separate wing of the original building and has its own entrance and playgrounds. The playing field is used by both schools on different days and the kitchens in Southover School provide hot lunches to both schools.

School structure

The number on roll is currently 322, with the children divided into eleven teaching groups:

Early Years Two classes totalling 45 children

Years 1/2 Three parallel mixed age classes

Years 3/4 Three parallel mixed age classes

Years 5/6 Three parallel mixed age classes

Our standard admission number is 44 at present but the school is regularly over-subscribed. The number of first preferences for 2008/09 was 47 and the number of total preferences was 99.

Management structure

Southover School is managed by a Senior Leadership Team consisting of the Headteacher, the Deputy Headteacher, the Assistant Headteacher, the INCO/SENCO and the Early Years Coordinator. The current “acting” Deputy Headteacher also has responsibility for Years 3/4 and the Assistant Headteacher for Years 1/2. There are 5 other full-time teachers, including the Y5/6 team leader, and 4 job-share teachers plus a part-time teacher who takes Maths groups in KS1 on 3 days a week and in KS2 on 5 days a week. In addition staff members each have responsibility for leading specific curriculum areas. There are currently 13 Teaching Assistants who work in all classes on a regular basis. Some PPA cover is provided by Premier Sports across the school and by French teaching in KS2. The school has links with the Diocese of Chichester and St John the Baptist Church, Southover, where we hold our Christmas, Easter and Harvest services. 

Curriculum developments

We have recently introduced the Big Writing programme with the aim of improving writing throughout the school. We use the criterion scale to assess it and the results are passed on to their next teacher. We also have whiteboard games for Big Writing which are great fun, a favourite being Kung Fu punctuation. Staff and children have responded very positively to this initiative. We are currently developing outdoor education for the Early Years and differentiation in Maths across the school. Our Gifted and Talented programme has provided workshops for children all the way through the school, most recently in Music for KS1. New computers have very recently been set up in all classrooms.

Moving on

The majority of Year 6 pupils from Southover move on to Priory School, Lewes. There are strong links with this local comprehensive school. Priory staff and our pupils have been involved in a number of creative projects throughout the year including taster lessons in Modern Foreign Languages and Beacon School projects. Priory staff and Southover staff have joined forces in training programmes.

Sport and Music

Sport and Music play an important part in the life of the school. Children are encouraged to take up a musical instrument under the County Music Scheme and to play in the school orchestra, while the choir and recorder groups participate fully in local music festivals. There is also a very popular drumming club. Through Premier Sports the children are introduced to a wide variety of sports, including team games such as football and tag rugby as well as athletics in the summer. The school’s sports teams regularly take part in local tournaments with great success. A table-tennis club has recently started and is proving popular. Southover holds the Activemark award for above average participation in PE each week and for holding a Sports Day.

Healthy School

At Southover School we place emphasis on the children being healthy and environmentally aware. The school has a Healthy School policy that encourages a focus on exercise, diet and PSHE issues. The school takes a proactive approach to educating children about healthy eating which is reflected in the menus provided by the school kitchens. Three years ago we were awarded the Healthy Schools Silver Award. Workshops and clubs encourage the children to improve their health through exercise. We had a successful Skipping Day in March and the Walk to School Weeks are organised throughout the year. A Walking Bus operates on several days a week. Last year (2007) we received the Colin Hutchinson Award from the Global Action Plan (GAP) for our efforts in recycling and raising environmental awareness. The School Council went to the Houses of Parliament to collect the award. The newly constructed wooden gazebo in the Reception playground offers opportunities for the further development of the outdoor curriculum. We also want our children to feel safe and well supported. All children are supported through Circle Time in class and through the Playground Friends system. The children report that they feel safe in school and this aspect of the school’s life was very favourably commented on in our OFSTED report.

Visits

Educational visits are an important part of school life. Residential visits to the Isle of Wight for year 6 children take place every year and non-residential visits to places of interest that support the school curriculum are regularly undertaken. During the last year groups have visited the British Museum, Lewes Castle, Glyndebourne Opera House, an outdoor activity centre and Seven Sisters Country Park. We also welcome visitors to the school to carry out educational projects such as the enactment of a Victorian school day.

Friends

Southover School has an active and enthusiastic PTA (Friends) who through their fundraising efforts have recently enabled the purchase of glockenspiels and have regularly subsidised theatre trips and the maintenance of the swimming pool. They organise activities that enhance the school community, which this year have included a Valentine disco, a magic show for charity and the Christmas Bazaar. As the prospectus states “Southover School prides itself on having happy children who work hard, achieve highly and have an enjoyable time at school. We expect high standards and achieve high standards both academically and socially.”