Hornbill School - Brief Sheet - LSA - Hornbill School Website

Summary of ContextHornbill School is a primary school with a capacity to accommodate 500 children aged from 3 - 11.The school is pleasantly located in the centre of the BFB Garrison main housing area, close to theswimming pool, medical centre and NAAFI. Children who are unable to walk to school travel onorganised buses.The school follows the National Curriculum and Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum forEngland for all children. The principal teaching is delivered in English, with variations for Nepalichildren to meet their own national requirements and preserve familiarity with their first language andculture. The school is administered and controlled by HQ Service Children’s Education, UKMinistry of Defence (HQ SCE) in Wegberg, Germany, and maintains a higher than averageacademic performance. British teachers at the school are UK trained and employed as “UK-basedcivilians” within the UK Ministry of Defence. Teachers are recruited from both SCE schools inother Commands and from civilian UK schools and through our partnership with CfBT. The NepaliSpecialist Teachers are degree qualified and are recruited directly from Nepal for employment inBrunei. Like all SCE schools, Hornbill School is working under British legislation and is regulatedby the Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) for UK and the Department of Education for England.A team of HMI visits once every three years. Our school inspection was graded outstanding and thereport can be located on the Ofsted and school web site. In addition, we have an inspection and auditvisit from SCE/MOD twice a year when a review of standard and achievements, teaching andlearning, behaviour and staffing levels and performance is undertaken.Hornbill School BruneiPage 2

Current ChallengesStrategic point of view is:• The strategic aim of SCE is to provide first class educationfor service children and entitled groups overseas• Recruitment and retention of excellent staff at all levels• Continuing professional development of staff• Large support staff to manage training against constantmobility and inexperience in school.• Quality of provision and external accountability (Ofsted/Her Majesty Inspection for England).• To draw on the strengths and opportunitiesprovided by and with our Host Nation (Brunei) andwork in partnership and celebration to promoteValues and Community Cohesion for our childrenand staff.• Largest Early Years (3-5 year olds) group withinSCE.• Largest isolated Rest of the World schools in SCE – and one of thelargest in SCE with over 50% of all children in SCE with English as anadditional language (EAL)• HQ support limited due to distance and time - huge implications for selfsufficiency and critical thinking to ensure high standards and qualityprovision, particularly as SCE drawdown continues to make an impact.• The ongoing challenge of maintaining high standards andan ‘outstanding’ judgement against a most unique and unusualcombination of circumstances demands a more creativeapproach to MOD/SCE systems and procedures. In thisway the school can successfully continue to support militarycapability in BFB/UK.Hornbill School BruneiPage 3

Our Outstanding CurriculumThe Arts are such an important part of our school and eachchild’s education. Music and Drama help children expressthemselves and develop confidence in theirown abilities. We encourage our children toshare their learning journey through creativeassemblies and musical performances.A number of our children participate inextra music lessons learning how to play the violin, drums, keyboard and guitar.Our work with local schools ensures ourchildren have access to a wide variety ofcultures and celebrations.“The quality of the curriculum is outstanding. Pupilslove coming to school to learn because staff provide arich and exciting array of learning experiences, whichmeets the pupils aspirations.” HMIValues Based ProvisionHornbill School places ‘Values Education’Values Education’ at the centre of its curriculumand is considered a leading role model for SCE and UK schools fordisseminating best practice. Central to this work is the belief that workingclosely with local and global communities is essential in order to prepare childrenfor future success as global, responsible citizens. The school’s energetic andengaging approach to cohesion has had a profound effect on military, civilianand local communities where cultural diversity and equality is actively promotedand practised. It places a strong emphasis that we are ALL responsible in thepursuit of greater cultural harmony and peace.Hornbill School BruneiPage 4

OrganisationThe children are organised, where possible, into eight single age groups throughout the schoolwith pupil teacher ratios that allow for the special circumstances of combining two distinct curricula andextremely high mobility of both staff and children. Children who are three years old are admitted parttime to our large Foundation 1 setting. Children who are four years old by 1st September areadmitted full time into Foundation Stage 2 at the beginning of the school year. Children who are 11years old and have completed Year 6 will transfer to JIS or ISB in Bandar or return to UK orNepal.At present we have 28 full-time trained teachers and 10 Nepali Specialist Teachers. Yeargroups are split into Phases and each Phase is led by an Assistant Headteacher who oversees thedaily management and organisation of his/her particular group of children.We are pleased to have been recognised externally as one of the highest performing schools asmeasured by England national and SCE standards. We have to date been accredited with manynational awards as identified below and are particularly proud to have received for the second timenational awards in Basic Skills (English Maths and ICT) teaching and learning and in our artsprovision.Awards and KitemarksHornbill School works hard to create an environment conducive to learning. This has been recognisedby a wide range of organisations and educational bodies. We are particularly proud of our awardswhich show our dedication to learning. These are our current awards:One of the awards we are particularly proud of is our Arts Mark Gold Awardawarded to us by the Arts Council of England in recognition of our outstandingprovision in all areas of The Arts. The Arts Mark is awarded following rigorousassessment and monitoring which takes place every 3 years. We are the only SCEschool to be awarded this award twice!Hornbill School BruneiPage 5

Learning EnvironmentsOur learning environments help to encourage children to learn, explore,reflect, engage and experiment with their learning in our wider Bruneian location. The opening of ournew building has meant that we are able to continue to offer outstanding provision to our children bothinside the class and outside. Our landscaped courtyards and gardens encourage reflective and firsthand learning across all ages.School GroundsWe believe that our school grounds play a very important part in children’s education. Over the last 5years we have developed our grounds to include: a school pond, reflection garden, trim trail, peacegarden, orchard, Eco garden, School Council area, music centre and play environments.Our Reflection Garden encourageschildren to think about themselves and othersaround them. Children use the garden duringlessons and at break times to talk to theirfriends and reflect on their own learning.We also boast specialist sport facilities with a multipurpose hall and extensive grounds. All childrenfrom the age of three make good use of the swimming facilities at the Garrison Swimming Pool.We work in a unique way, in a wonderful setting, celebrating the richness and diversity of cultures andlanguages, working together to build a successful future for our children.Hornbill School BruneiPage 6

Successes of Hornbill School• Strong links with Brunei Ministry of Education, the BHC , CfBT and local/regional schoolsteachers - promoting of host nation links and strengthens our role here in Brunei.• Strong staff team recruited with substantial knowledge and capability for leading professionaltraining• We have been recognised externally as one of the highest performing schools as measured byEngland national and SCE standards. We are a role model for our Bruneian colleagues andinternational models including England. Invited to share our practice at national andinternational levels.• Official Opening of new school site in May 2011 after 6 years of planning and developmentwork beyond normal work practices.• Exciting and developing provision continued to be offered to all children and families.• Received for the second time, nationalawards in Basic Skills (English Maths andICT) – June 2011 and Arts Mark Gold.(National accreditation)• Community Cohesion ,supporting BFB inwider role – we lead significant projectsinclude Family Learning Programme, Stateof t h e art ‘V irtu al Le arningEnvironments’ (use of internet for familiesre home access to learning/homework andkeeping in touch with dads on deployment),University for Children (Award CeremonySept 2011) High Commissioner Rob Fenn’s strong support.• New Build – significant 6 year project alongside 3 UNIT MOVES and 3 major deployments,(setting up new schools every three years).• OpH14 Support for families, particularly mums, whist dads are away – training courses, familyprogramme, newsletters to dads, celebrations – very positive feedback from parents and soldierson their return.• Largest Garrison employer of dependent staff, 80+with flexible part-time hours ensures we are supporting thelife of the Garrison, particularly in areas of welfare andgeneral well being.• The way in which, to date, the school has risen to thechallenge of managing a unique combination of organisationaland contextual circumstances – all operating simultaneously.Hornbill School BruneiPage 7

Mission StatementOur multicultural school values and promotes a happy, safeand caring environment that is committed to helping allchildren experience success, whatever their background orabilities, and to ensure they achieve the highest standards inall they set out to do. The health, safety and well being ofevery child is our paramount concern.Successful Future For AllPupils, parents, and staff work in partnership to create andmaintain an atmosphere where values and principles underpin ourpractice and are encouraged and promoted at all times.We CARE and have CONCERN for the safety and well being for eachother and our school;We have COURTESY and respect towards all people in school;We show CONSIDERATION and valuing of others;We enjoy CO-OPERATION, accepting the contribution and collaborationof everyone builds success for all.We show CREATIVITY, innovation and CHALLENGE, having theCOURAGE, COMMITMENT and CONFIDENCE to make a difference.CELEBRATION, to value our own achievements as well as sharing thesuccess of others;We know the importance of CITIZENSHIP, to appreciate thedifferent values and cultural differences that make up our world, and makechildren aware of their place within a global community.‘Flying High’Working Together to Build a Successful Future for AllHornbill School BruneiPage 8