Welcome to our website. We hope it gives you a taste of what life is like at Godalming Junior School. Situated in the historic town of Godalming, we are an inclusive, ambitious and nurturing two form entry junior school serving the local community.

We endeavour to provide highly effective teaching and together with a language rich, ambitious and values based curriculum ensuring there is clear INTENT, IMPLEMENTATION and IMPACT.

ALL children develop excellent learning behaviours here. We offer immersive educational and life experiences that are engaging, challenging and purposeful and ensure ALL children are equipped with the confidence and knowledge to enter the next stage of their education. We have the highest expectations of each other and the highest aspirations for ALL our children to reach their full potential.

We provide unique opportunities that promote our children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in this ever changing world and their physical well-being enables them to thrive in a supportive, highly inclusive learning community. Every aspect of school life supports the children here and this is all underpinned by the Convention of Children's Rights as a Gold standard UNICEF 'Rights Respecting School'.

At Godalming Junior School we believe in promoting fundamental British values and here we give the children opportunities to expand their knowledge and appreciation of Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty, Mutual Respect and Tolerance. Further information on our school values can be found on this website.

We value each member of the school community as an individual and interact with them honestly, respectfully and politely.

Best wishes

Mr Adam Samson

Headteacher

 "Teaching and learning should bring joy" - Rita Pierson

Godalming Junior School is a two-form entry Junior School of 233 children aged 7 to 11 years that serves Godalming and Farncombe. It was built in 1907 and is housed in an attractive Edwardian building situated in Meadrow, a short walk across the meadows from the town of Godalming. Access to the school is from Hallam Road.

The surrounding houses are privately owned and children are drawn from this area and beyond, but the majority within walking distance of the school. Both governors and parents wholeheartedly support the school in its work and the School Association annually raise in excess of £4000 through a number of well-organised events. Practical assistance is also given on school visits, fairs, sports days and other projects. We are fortunate that some parents help in school on a regular basis.

Godalming Junior School is a two-form entry Junior School of 236 children aged 7 to 11 years that serves Godalming and Farncombe. It was built in 1907 and is housed in an attractive Edwardian building situated in Meadrow, a short walk across the meadows from the town of Godalming. Access to the school is from Hallam Road. The surrounding houses are privately owned and children are drawn from this area and beyond, but the majority within walking distance of the school. Both governors and parents wholeheartedly support the school in its work and the School Association annually raise in excess of £4000 through a number of well-organised events.

Practical assistance is also given on school visits, fairs, sports days and other projects. We are fortunate that some parents help in school on a regular basis.

Staffing and Accommodation

The current staffing is: Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, 8 full time teachers, 1 Sendco, 1 HSLW and 10 Learning Support Assistants. The staff are enthusiastic, dedicated and share ideas together, so operating as members of a team. All members of staff have a curriculum responsibility.Inside the main building there are eight classrooms, each with an interactive smart-screen and a networked multi-media workstation, offices and the staff room. The school hall is used for assemblies and as a gymnasium at certain times and has portable P.E. apparatus. The white Horsa building at the rear of the school houses our music room, food tech room and dining area. We also have a brand new dedicated Art Studio and a separate Library.

The school was fortunate to receive funding from Sport England in 2014 for improvements to our front playground. The £30k received went towards an all weather multi-sports astro-turf pitch and netball court. The back playground has a high level playframe and low-level trim-trail have been installed, together with an outdoor stage, a gazebo, sun shelters and a vegetable garden. In addition, we have the use of the nearby Canon Bowring Recreation Ground for sports activities and use the Godalming Leisure Centre for swimming lessons.

Organisation and Curriculum

Children transfer to the school from the area’s Infants’ schools at 7+ and are organised into eight mixed ability classes with the teachers being largely class based. Groupings within a class can vary in size according to the activities undertaken and staff assigned to a class at a particular time. Small groups are established for children experiencing specific learning difficulties and for children who are taught to play musical instruments by the County's peripatetic music staff.Literacy and Numeracy lessons are taught to each class daily.

Other curriculum subjects are taught as either an integrated topic approach or as stand alone lessons but contribute to a termly 'project focus'. French is also taught to pupils throughout the school. Residential visits are organised for our older pupils, and locations include Isle of Wight (Yr 6) and Sayers Croft (Yr 4).At Godalming Junior School we hope to create a happy, caring and stimulating environment where our children may work as individuals and co-operatively together. Wherever possible, we work from first hand experience, which can provide a starting point for more sustained studies. In addition we emphasise the importance of developing self-confidence and showing consideration for others in the school community.

Godalming Junior School provides a secure and caring atmosphere which encourages the children to learn in an attractive, rich and stimulating environment. At the heart of what we do is providing a LANGUAGE RICH and VALUES BASED education.

We provide a broad, ambitious and purposeful curriculum, which enables us to recognise the needs of individual children and their differing abilities and interests. Wherever possible, learning takes place through practical, first hand experiences focusing on developing real skills that can be used in a variety of interesting and challenging topic based contexts.

We seek to establish and maintain open and positive relationships between home and school and encourage parents to become actively involved in their child's learning

Our School Aims

At Godalming Junior School we foster a love of learning under 3 headings:

Love - "Article 31 - Every child has a right to relax and play"

• Fostering self-worth, self respect and a feeling of well-being
• Empowering children to respond positively to challenges and responsibilities
• Recognising individual talents and skills
• Developing an ability to make choices and understand consequences
• Fostering and encouraging a love and thirst for knowledge

Live - "Article 19 - Every child has a right to feel safe"

• Preparing children to fulfil a positive role in society through understanding our rights and responsibilities
• Encouraging and appreciating the benefits of diversity
• Celebrating and understanding our own culture and traditions and those of others
• Fostering a strong sense of worth in the local and wider community
• Understanding our responsibility for protecting the environment
• Preparing today's children to live in tomorrow's world

Learn - "Article 28 - Every child has a right to an education"

• Cherishing the enjoyment of learning
• Developing enquiring minds that can process, reason, question and evaluate
• Equipping the children with essential knowledge and skills
• Celebrating creativity, resilience, problem solving, perseverance and commitment
• Understanding our own learning and recognising that we are all learners
• Appreciating the full value of school education by attending as often as possible in order to be successful