Working at St Paul's

Why choose St Paul's?

St Paul's is a small school with big aspirations. We pride ourselves in putting the children at the heart whilst ensuring that we consider the balance for our staff. Our staff is made up of members with a variety of experiences within and outside of education. We are very proud of the support that we provide for ECTs, but also welcome the knowledge and experiences of staff who join us after working in other schools. A new perspective is always interesting.

We are a Church of England school and our core Christian Values run through everything that we do. We meet together as a whole school daily for Collective Worship and use this as a time to discuss and reflect. Our whole community gets involved in these worships, with all members being given an opportunity to participate. We also promote the development of our values (learning behaviours) for all members of our community: pupils, parents and staff. We place a large focus on positive mental wellbeing and are teaching the members of our community practical strategies to develop this for themselves.

We focus on the development of the whole child, providing not only high quality first teaching across the core curriculum, but also finding opportunities to promote learning across the wider curriculum. We value music and PE, and are very fortunate to have music taught by our own music teacher and specialist PE coaches who teach each year group from Year 1 to Year 6 weekly. We have a musical production each term which allows all of our pupils to have a chance to perform on stage and offer a wide range of extra-curricular clubs across the year (some led by our own school staff).

We are extremely proud of our school and warmly invite those who would be interested in joining us to contact us on: head@sph.rbksch.org or bursar@sph.rbksch.org for more information about current opportunities.

Continuing Professional Development

Within School

A robust ECT (Early Career Teacher) induction programme comprising of a mixture of remote and face-to-face development sessions.
A robust yet supportive 'Performance Management Policy', ensuring a collaborative approach to development.
A commitment to providing development for staff at all levels.
Opportunities to work alongside the SLT in the monitoring of individual subject areas.
Opportunities for 'Team Teaching' and 'Lesson Study' sessions.
Termly 'Best Practice' networks led by AfC (Kingston Borough).
Regular subject leader network meetings led by AfC (all staff lead a subject - except ECTs).
PPA time in one block covered by specialist PE and music teaching.
Release during the school day to complete Pupil Progress meetings.
Regular additional middle-leader release.
Half-termly middle leader meetings led by SLT members to support development of individual subject areas.
Weekly staff meetings based on development areas identified together as a staff and prioritised on the SDP.
Encouragement to plan school visits and other enrichment experiences.
An active Governing Body with individual members linked to subjects and working alongside subject leaders termly.
A commitment to supporting the training of teachers with opportunities for experienced staff to mentor student teachers on placement.

Within the Local Network and Diocese

An active 'cluster' group of schools (South of the Borough).
Links to other Southwark Diocese schools locally and across London.
Opportunities for observing practice in other schools (cluster or Diocese).
Opportunities to attend training sessions with cluster schools or led by Southwark Diocese.
Opportunities for working with cluster primary and secondary schools linked to individual subject leadership.

Within the Wider Borough Group

Termly 'Best Practice' networks led by AfC (Kingston Borough).
Regular subject leader network meetings led by AfC (all staff lead a subject - except ECTs).
Opportunities to take part in SPARK Ed Projects (as appropriate and linked to Whole School Development).

What our staff and parents say:

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much – Helen Keller

Staff

"At St. Paul's we are all a team, there's always someone on hand to help and share a smile with!" Class teacher, joined as an NQT.

"This year has been my first at St Paul's CofE Primary School. Without a doubt, the strength of the school is the sense of community and belonging you feel from the minute you step into the school. At the heart of everything, you will find colleagues who are always looking for ways to build you up and help you to recognise your own areas of strength. Development opportunities are given to all staff and often tailor made to suit individuals as leadership has really listened and valued staff voice. Alongside the staff, the children are really listened to and they are the starting point for all school activities and development. It is a small school with a big heart." Class teacher, joined after working in other schools.

Parents

"St Paul’s has a lovely atmosphere amongst all who attend there. As a parent, I love seeing that my son is known by all members of staff and has friends in all years, not just his own. There are lots of opportunities to see the children’s work and what they have been doing through book looks and on the website. Teachers and other school staff are always available and happy to chat if you need them. On the whole, St. Paul’s is like a big family and we really enjoy being part of it." KS1 Parent

"I have been a parent at St. Paul’s C of E Primary School in Chessington for 17 years! Seeing the school change in appearance, with its new building and the staff changes which have taken place during this time, whilst some changes may feel unsettling initially, the school take on board comments and criticism from parents and children to incorporate these and make it the school it is today. It is such a lovely school with the most kind, caring and considerate team of Head Teacher, Deputy Head, teachers and staff who make themselves available upon any request and always do their best to ensure all matters are dealt with professionally and amicably. It is so welcoming and nice to be greeted personally at the gate in the mornings and also with an “enjoy your evening” message on leaving the gate at the end of the school day - both the Head and Deputy Head Teachers make time to do this too. The community is also considered when the school makes decisions and it’s connection with St. Paul’s Church and the lovely Vicar there is also very welcoming. I would highly recommend this school." KS2 Parent