At Soaring High the children are taught upholding the specific Montessori philosophies and practices, which we believe are in the best interests of primary aged children and their education. These methods may be different from your expectations of a Primary School, or how you were educated. Three of the most obvious differences are:

• The children are in mixed aged groups - we have 3 broad age groups, up to 6yrs from 6yrs to9yrs and from 9 yrs to12yrs. This allows children to mix and learn from each other. The younger children watch the older children, absorbing and aspiring to their work; the older children help the younger, so reinforcing their own learning. We do split children into various groups for different activities, Music, Drama, Art, French etc.
• Children have individual work plans and so work at their own pace, moving forward when they have really understood and grasped a particular concept. There are very few whole class lessons, but many individual presentations. Our Curriculum is mapped to The National Standards so we can see how children are progressing according to more widely known measures, but we do not expect children to be at a certain stage at particular ages. Learning happens at different times and at different rates. We aim for each child to follow and finish their individual learning journey by the time they leave us. Soaring High is a commitment to the long term Primary education of your child, up to their transition to their Secondary school.
• Each day the children have a 3 hour work cycle. This runs from 9am to 12 noon. During this time they all have an opportunity to have a snack, taken at a convenient time for each individual, but we have no formal morning break. This allows the children time to concentrate and become fully involved in a variety, or one, activity - as determined between themselves and the teacher.

As a Montessori School it is particularly important that parents support the Montessori methods and ethos. We appreciate that there are many factors that affect your choice of school - fees and teacher / pupil ratios amongst them. We would request that all parents see beyond our low pupil ratios and comparatively affordable fees and choose the school because it is a Montessori School and this approach to education is what you want for your child.

Places are offered on a first come first served basis, giving priority to siblings and those who have attended Absolute Angels Montessori Nursery, part of our Coggeshall Montessori group. All children aged 5 - 11yrs are welcome regardless of cultural background or religions, we embrace all children for who they are.

Children transferring to Soaring High from other Primary Schools have a 3 day trial period, to familiarise themselves with the workings of the school and determine if the school is the right school for all parties. Once this is mutually agreed we will provide you with all the information you need as a welcome / induction package. Once all the forms are signed your child can start at Soaring High as soon as we all feel is appropriate.

At School we manage behaviour through growing respect, for the individual, other people and the environment in which we work. We focus on the positive, identifying, praising and rewarding what is done well. We have high expectations. In instances where these expectations are consistently not being met, the School will communicate with parents and we will all agree strategies to implement change and make improvements.

Alongside our positive behaviour policy we do need to reserve the right to use temporary exclusions as an option or indeed ask a child to leave school permanently where it is deemed to be to the advantage of the overall community.

A key concept in the method of our School is that children learn through concrete examples first before making mental abstractions. This is particularly obvious in Maths, where each mathematical operation, fractions, algebra, area, geometry, measurements and the manipulation of shape, has specific pieces of equipment which enable a child to work in a tangible way with the abstract concepts.

As their understanding grows children are then able to make the abstractions mentally and over the course of time, lose the necessity for the materials to calculate answers, as they have created a picture in their mind of the concepts.

The Language curriculum builds on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) - moving from phonetic words only, gradually introducing all the idiosyncrasies of the English Language in a logical, methodical manner. The children move from the known to the unknown, in simple steps, never knocking the delicate balance between self esteem and speed of progress.

The children's confidence in reading, sentence analysis, spelling and sentence formation come with the progression through the many and varied resources, all of which assist in stimulating the desire to progress from one level to the next. We do not use a set reading scheme, preferring to use a wide variety of resources to develop self confident, self motivated readers.

There are a wealth of books within the school taken from different reading schemes, as well as an extensive research library which supports the other areas of the curriculum.

Outside of the main areas of literacy and numeracy we use a series of "Great Lessons" to inspire research into particular elements that fascinate the individual children. History, geography, science, and other humanities all fall within the Great Lessons. It can be truly heartwarming to hear a child say "I want to learn about the eye" then watch them carrying out a detailed project on the nature of sight in humans, animals and indeed carry it further into the nature of light!

Children have opportunities to share their learning and so it spreads across the ages.

To support this we have many Cultural resources that aid learning about the world we live in, both physical and human. These feature on a child's individual work plan.

Incorporating the techniques of Kodaly and Dalcroze we teach music using as many senses as possible such as singing, hearing, sight and movement. We teach through singing, as our voice is our first instrument, and has the most direct access to the musical mind.

Progressing methodically from the simple to the complex, basic theoretical elements are taught unconsciously through fun songs, games and instruments. We explore and foster an appreciation of a variety of musical genres, composers and their history. In addition the school comes together each week for choir and we sing a broad range of accompanied and unaccompanied songs, often in 2 and 3 part harmony.

Additional individual music lessons are available using external peripatetic teachers. Currently this includes recorder, guitar, piano and cello.

Drama takes place in small groups and aims to build children's confidence, creativity and expression.

Initially short stories are interpreted, with the complexity and demands increasing with the older ages. The children are given the freedom to design and script their own work, being introduced to elements of stage craft, and audience consideration as their ability matures.

The drama at Soaring High is integrated to support all areas of the curriculum. The children's learning can be brought to life through this art form. As an example, re-enacting 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' allows children to get a greater understanding of prepositions such as in "over" and "under" the bridge as well as working with partners to make their bodies into shapes to tie into the maths topic. The Great Lessons also provide many creative opportunities and the stories are often told and presented by the children in a performance based setting.

Through the drama sessions the children will learn how to trust and work together with their peers and foster the disciplines of theatre work allowing them to focus, listen and follow direction while developing their imaginations. We do work on whole school productions, particularly at Christmas time, where we take a celebratory theme and try to reflect some of the work that we have been doing throughout the previous term.

Art is taught in several ways, looking at the techniques of media manipulation, studying great artists and their work and as a support for the children's learning and research in other parts of the curriculum. This allows them to present their learning creatively using various artistic methods.

Art materials are freely available for use in the work cycle and so can be part of a child's normal learning day.

All the children in the primary school are involved with Advanced Life Skills - ranging from using an iron to wiring a plug. These fall into 3 main areas: Care of Self, Care of the Environment and Grace and Courtesy. This is independent work that develops their physical coordination and concentration, as well as being incredibly useful for them in later life.

Children have access to Computers (Windows or Apple Mac) either as part of their research or with specific programs to support and aid learning. They also use other technology as an integrated part of their work; cameras; music etc. Specific ICT skills are gained from other activities such as Lego Mindstorms.

Within the Montessori philosophy children learn and develop their individual ball skills, spatial awareness and target practice. They have the opportunity to use these skills to play team games and so learn about sportsmanship. As a small school with mixed age teaching we do not presently have school teams and do not compete in interschool leagues.

Weekly the children go on a cross country run and they participate in swimming at various times throughout the year. We have music and movement classes as well as INPP (Institute for Neuro - Physiological Psychology) exercises designed to develop their all round physical and intellectual capabilities.

We help the children learn about all the main religions and engage with St Peter's Church in Coggeshall at key points in the Christian year.

We actively teach the children how to resolve their own conflicts, through a daily peace circle, teaching respect for themselves, others and their environment.

Children have a French lesson every week. In the French class the children are taught vocabulary, word recognition and basic grammar, through lively games and role play. This allows for maximum participation, which in turn maintains their interest in the subject. The French groups are kept small so that in each lesson all children have many opportunities to fully interact with their classmates and the teacher.

We currently ask parents to provide their children with packed lunches. This does give you more control over what your children eat, although we are open to explore the possibility of providing cooked meals in the future.

We currently have very low staff to pupil ratios of between 1 staff member to 8 / 10 children.

This increases through the school as the children become more independent learners, but in line with our ethos, there will always be a relatively small number of children to each staff member.

Sarah Rowledge is the Proprietor of Soaring High and the Director of Coggeshall Montessori which includes Absolute Angels Montessori Nursery for 3 - 5 year olds, and Little Treasures Centre for the 0 - 3 year olds.

The Curriculum is managed by Denys Lyne and the School is managed by Andy Beaumont. Other staff members have specific responsibilities as described below.

We welcome all children, from all backgrounds, and with diverse needs. We want to be sure that the school is fully able to meet the needs of all its pupils, so for those pupils with an identified need or statement we would ask to meet with parents and assess the specific details before they join us.

Sometimes the school may not be able to meet the needs of all children without additional specialist help. We are proud of our excellent links with a variety of specialists but their use falls outside the normal school fees, and so will incur additional charges.

Soaring High Montessori Primary embraces diversity and welcomes the opportunity to have pupils from all backgrounds. A child with English as a second language would be asked to come and meet with the staff, and the parents to have a meeting with the Head Teacher. Admissions would be discussed at that point.

The Montessori classroom is an ideal environment for the child's educational needs to be met. They would receive one to one tuition as all other children; literacy being promoted across the whole curriculum and it is the aim of Soaring High to create a language rich environment. The Literacy scheme is based on a concrete introduction to language and can be started at any stage.

We are proud of our highly qualified and dedicated staff. Between them the staff bring a wonderfully diverse range of experiences and backgrounds that all contribute to how the school works. The range of qualifications is also extensive, from those specific to a Montessori Education, through to broader educational qualifications and specific individual capabilities. Many of our Staff are involved in training teachers, adults and parents from other schools.

Our core staff includes:

Sarah Rowledge is the Principal of Soaring High as well as the Director of Coggeshall Montessori, with its early years and adult training activities. She is responsible for the coordination of the School and its development.
Denys Lyne is Deputy Head and manages the learning at Soaring High. She is responsible for the curriculum, record keeping and timetabling in the school.	Andy Beaumont assists the Principal in managing the school. He is responsible for the development of the school as well as its day to day operation.	Lisa Lovelock teaches at Soaring High and has responsibility for how we support special education needs and Drama. She also coordinates school productions.
Emma Dagleish teaches at Soaring High in the primary years. She also has responsibility for the development of the Art curriculum.	Jo Schofield teaches at Soaring High with responsibility for the Early Years Foundation Stage and their transition into Primary.	Sarah Awad provides administration support for the school in the school office - with all the things that this entails in a busy, vibrant school.

As well as our core staff Soaring High is supported by a group of talented specialists who join us to teach Music, Choir, Drama, French and Sport.

The transition from Primary to Secondary can be a challenge for children from any school. Secondary schools work very differently from the vast majority of primary schools. Our ethos of creating independent learners is already building the skills and habits that are essential in a secondary environment.

We continue to build good links with all our local secondary schools, be they state or independent. Our aim is to ensure a smooth progression into secondary education for all children.

For those schools that require an entrance examination, we help prepare children for these as appropriate.

There is a school sweatshirt, and/or cardigan and school bag. The children will be required to wear a white polo shirt or white shirt under either a school sweatshirt or cardigan, with grey trousers or skirts and black shoes.

All special items are available to purchase in school.

The termly fees are £1,850.00. This can be paid in one installment at the beginning of each term, or annual fees can be paid monthly (over 10 months) by direct debit starting on August 20th of each year.

If you require further information, the documents listed below are available on request, from the office:

• Example of individual records / learning plans
• Curriculum Policy
• Anti-bullying Policy
• Child Protection Policy
• Health and Safety Policy
• Behaviour Policy (including sanctions adopted in the cases of pupils misbehaving)
• Complaints Procedures; also, details of the number of complaints registered under the formal procedure during the preceding school year
• List of all staff, their qualifications, what they teach / whether they are full time, part time or temporary
• Particulars of the children's attainment and progress