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Pannal Shaped

What do we mean when we say “Pannal-Shaped”? 

At Pannal, we know the important role our values play in fosterning kind, well-rounded, responsible children and in creating a positive, supportive learning environment. These values of self-belief, respect, determination, passion, honesty and teamwork shape our children's behaviour, thinking, and decision-making both in school and throughout their lives. 

Our values are taught explicitly through lessons, assemblies, and  everyday activities, and implicitly through the consistent modelling of positive behaviours by all adults in the school community. 

What is different? What is the impact?
Our aim to be ‘Pannal-Shaped’ underpins all aspects of school life and defines our ethos, aims, vision and our curriculum. Being Pannal-Shaped defines our way of being; it influences our decisions and is shared, owned and understood by pupils, staff and parents. Our distinctive curriculum offer is defined by our Pannal-Shaped principles.
We converted to Academy status and have been a member of the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust since July 2016. Close-knit group of supportive schools and colleagues: 1 secondary and 11 primary schools, formed from 20+ years of collaboration. Wider opportunities for CPD and pupils to interact. Economies of scale for resources. Opportunities for shared staffing expertise, advice and support.
Our commitment to the Arts Dimension: Art, Dance, Drama and Music. Every pupil receives specialist music class teaching, over 100 music tuition lessons each week, thriving choirs and band. 3 pianists on teaching staff. Strong ethos of Arts across the whole school with many high-quality events. Arts subjects are highly valued and strongly promoted. Individual staff expertise is used to provide quality learning opportunities and effective role models. Performance standards are high.
Our commitment to the Environment Dimension: Forest Schools, outdoor learning, wind turbine, conservation activities, John Muir Award Bronze Award. Residential experiences in Years 4, 5 and 6. Whole-school commitment to Learning Outdoors for all year groups. Dedicated outdoor learning environment for all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Adjacent woodland enables Forest Schools Curriculum taught by 3 accredited teachers. Strong ethos of shared collective responsibility, conservation and appreciation of the environment.
Our commitment to the Active Dimension: PE and Sport, healthy lifestyles. Dedicated full-time PE specialist teacher. Real PE curriculum. Coordinated, high-quality skills progression across the school. Olympic Values celebrated in every classroom and linked to rewards. Behaviour is exemplary. Obesity levels are very low.
Our commitment to Well-Being across the school: JustB trained counsellor, Music Therapy, Play Therapy, Pastoral Support ATA, ELSA and Thrive trained TAs, Socially Speaking groups, School-funded Parent Support Advisor, Full-time School Health Worker, Reading Therapy dog. Reading for pleasure and enhanced provision via a strong link with our local independent bookshop. Wellbeing of all members of the school community is highly valued. A wide range of strategies is employed to ensure the profile of wellbeing remains paramount. Parent Support Advisor support to promote parenting skills is tangible and very successful. School Health Worker on site enhances provision for children with complex medical needs and allergies.
We are proud to be an inclusive school with a large proportion of children with additional needs, including children with an EHCP receiving 1:1 support higher than the national average. TAs have significant expertise, especially in Autism. We all benefit from the challenges and rewards of being a truly inclusive school. SENCo is experienced and coordinates support across the school. Dedicated 1:1 ATA coordinates EHCP staff and children. Children with additional needs make very good progress.
We have an inclusive and democratic “Forum Families” approach to Pupil Voice. Every child in Years 1–6 is in a “Forum Family”, a mixed-age group that interacts like a traditional School Council. Pupils appreciate the inclusive approach. Views are listened to and collated, and feedback is given. Pupils work together in these mixed-age groups to discuss aspects of school life and make recommendations for improvements.
We take data protection and privacy very seriously. All school communications are via email, secure comms or password-protected galleries. Our website does not carry day-to-day news, event dates, achievements or messages. No social media engagement. Parents can be reassured that information about their children is not being shared online or on any social media platforms. Information is kept in-house and restricted to the current parent body. Privacy is highly valued.
We have “In-house” teaching and pastoral supervision. All lunch cover is provided by TAs assigned to specific classes/year groups. All teaching cover is provided by school-employed staff; no agency cover used. Only staff with an in-depth knowledge of the children are teaching and supporting them, raising the quality of pastoral care and bespoke support.
Our learning environment has benefited from £2.4M investment in the last 5 years, including a purpose-built 60-place Early Years building. We have a coherent rationale for providing biophilic learning environments. All classrooms are accessible and have direct access to the outdoors. We have dedicated outdoor learning environments for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Biophilic principles of natural décor and uncluttered learning spaces reduce stimulus, promote calmness and are conducive to enhancing wellbeing.
We have a stable staffing profile with very low turnover and high retention; high levels of teaching expertise. Very few recruitment issues. High levels of expertise and commitment. All staff are committed to continuing professional development, keen to learn and embrace change. Newer staff have been appointed thoughtfully to further enrich skills and talents and provide challenge and new ideas.