North West London

PRIMARY EDUCATION

Our Lady of Muswell Catholic Primary School

We are one community

Head teacher Angela McNicholas

O ur Lady of Muswell Primary School is a two-form-entry Catholic school in Haringey, north London. In their most recent Ofsted inspection, they were graded as “outstanding”. Their mission statement is: “One Community, Love of Learning, Making Time for God”. In everything they do, they live by it, and it sits at the heart of their school ethos and philosophy. It is a welcoming, friendly, bright and happy school where children feel secure. They have a clear moral purpose and a shared belief that the school can impact upon the lives and opportunities of children. Their culture is one grounded in the belief that all children and staff can not only achieve, but excel. Head teacher Angela McNicholas elaborates. A five-year journey Our journey to this “outstanding” grade began in 2013, when I was asked to become the acting head teacher of the school, with an unrelenting focus on teaching and learning alongside establishing a body of staff who were excellent practitioners. To achieve this, it was beyond important for staff to take on board ownership of this development. Staff meetings focused on unifying the team and their ideas; they helped to define what excellent teaching and learning should look like in our school, while sharing good practice and opening a professional dialogue. Altogether, this new educational climate has been about one thing: pupil progress. We knew that we had to focus on what happens within the classroom to ensure this progress. We became part of a research learning community in conjunction

REPORT CARD OUR LADY OF MUSWELL CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL » » Head teacher: Angela McNicholas » » Founded in 1959 » » Based in Haringey » » Type of school: Catholic primary school » » No. of students: 399 » » No. of staff: 20 » » Ofsted: “Outstanding”, November 2017 » » www.ourladymuswell.haringey. sch.uk

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