Academy Information
Briar Hill is an 'Outstanding' Ofsted rated School and was the Primary TES School of the Year in 2022. We educate hearts and minds. We are ever evolving innovative school, which is fortunate to benefit from motivated, positive pupils and an exceptional team of dedicated staff.
Everything we do is based on love and the highest expectations of the children. Briar Hill Primary School provides a continuous learning journey for children from three to eleven years old and responds to developing and changing needs as pupils move through the school.
As a result of our high expectations, our children make at least good progress from their starting points and achieve well. We are well above national standards.
We deliver a curriculum based on important skills in literacy, numeracy and technology, to provide the secure foundation for learning in a wide range of situations, whilst also developing children’s creative thinking. We make learning interesting and fun; our children enjoy school and have a real enthusiasm for learning.
The School Day
Please refer to up to date Newsletters and MCAS messages regarding the school day, timings and assemblies for the week. Our day starts for nearly all the children at year groups at 8:45am and finishes at 3:15pm. During the day, children will take in a broad and balanced curriculum (updates of our curriculum and how we have adapted this are sent through MCAS, Newsletters and Class Dojo) which challenges and provides the building blocks for life. To find out more about the Curriculum at our academy please click here.
Please watch our showcase video to find out what life at Briar Hill Primary School is really like.
TES Primary School of the Year 2022
BBC Northampton TES Award - Northampton teachers and pupils celebrate best school award - BBC News
Showcase Video - Life at Briar Hill Primary School
copy of parents evening slides new.pdf
4208 briar hill a5 leaflet 2.pdf
Our Ethos and Values
Our values are:
-
Courage - Nothing holds us back
-
Aspiration - Always aiming high
-
Ambition - Being the best we can
-
Respect - Always leading by example
At Briar Hill, the heart of our ethos centres on the characteristics of effective learning. These are:
-
enabling equality
-
enabling the 4Cs of P4C (care, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking)
-
enabling identity and emotional intelligence
-
enabling metacognition
-
enabling challenge and curiosity
As a National Training Centre for Talk for Writing; a recognised Trained School for RWI Phonics and a flagship school for the Inclusion Quality Mark we are committed to ensuring the highest standards in all that we do. Our vision is to be nationally recognised for educational excellence, creating and shaping successful, ambitious young adults, who are equipped for the rapidly changing 21st century world.
We work relentlessly to nurture our pupils to unlock and achieve their full potential and raise their aspirations. We are determined that during the children’s time spent at Briar Hill, they will leave as confident members of society, who are ready to enter secondary school with a strong moral compass, a real sense of resilience and to be armed with the key transferable skills and knowledge that will allow them to succeed in an ever changing world.
To find out more about the Curriculum at our academy please click here.
To learn more about our Classes and Teachers please click here. To find out latest Newsletter, please click here
Meet our Team
Extended Leadership Team
Headteacher and Regional Director: Miss Janey Cooksley
Deputy Headteacher, Quality of Education, PP and LAC Lead: Mrs Katie Cross
Assistant Headteacher, Inclusion and Pastoral, JLT and Personal Development: Mr Ian Hickman
Care Team Lead, Wellbeing and LKS2 Lead: Mr Allan Crozier
Reading Lead and KS1 Lead: Miss Hollie Tranter
Mathematics, Data and PiXL Lead and UKS2 Lead: Mr Nicholas Warren
Senior Admin: Mrs Passmore
DSL and Assistant SENCO: Mrs Janice Marshall
Attendance and Behaviour Lead: Miss Bay Cameron - Leslie
Pastoral and Inclusion Team (PITS)
Headteacher and Regional Director: Miss Janey Cooksley
Assistant Headteacher and SENCo: Mr Ian Hickman
Care Team Lead and Wellbeing: Mr Allan Crozier
Attendance and Behaviour Lead: Miss Bay Cameron-Leslie
Senior Safeguarding Lead and Assistant SENCo: Mrs Janice Marshall
Teaching Assistants: Please see below...
Curriculum Leadership Team
All staff contribute towards the curriculum, however these are the leads of specific subjects.
CLL Team
Reading: Miss Hollie Tranter and Mrs Katie Cross
Writing: Mrs Katie Cross
Languages: Modern Foreign Languages (French): Ancient Language (Latin) Mrs Zoe Peters
STEM Team
Science: Mr Ian Hickman
Maths: Mr Nick Warren
Computing: Mr Jordan Cross
Design Technology: Mr John Hall
Humanities Team
RE: Mr Allan Crozier
History: Mrs Katie Cross
Geography: Mrs Katie Cross
Eco Education: Miss Marie McGovern
The Arts Team
Art: Mrs Emma Crozier Music: Miss Jessica Johnson
Care Team
PE: Mr Tom Mair
PSHE: Mr Allan Crozier Healthy Schools: Mrs Laura Kowal
Teaching Team
- Mrs Laura Kowal
- Mrs Sammi McMillan
- Mrs Emma Crozier
- Miss Marie McGovern
- Mrs Dawn Evans
- Miss Jessica Johnson
- Miss Hollie Tranter
- Miss Emily-Grace Rumsey
- Mr Tom Mair
- Mr Ian Hickman
- Mr Jordan Cross
- Mrs Hue Luu
- Mrs Zoe Peters
- Mrs Katie Cross
- Mr Nick Warren
- Mr John Hall
- Mr Allan Crozier
- Miss Janey Cooksley
Learning Support Team
- Mrs Leanne Rowton
- Mrs Eileen Upson
- Mrs Louise Flowers
- Miss Doville Jokuliene
- Mrs Judy Rainbow
- Mrs Cam Dinh
- Mrs Yvonne Grant
- Mrs Joanna Garrett
- Miss Charley Hicks
- Mrs Stefania Catalano
- Mrs Rachael Kinchett
- Mrs Sally Wharton
Office Team
Mrs Jacqueline Passmore
Mrs Mandy Hardy
Miss Sultana Begum
Breakfast and After School Care Team
- Miss Sultana Begum
- Mrs Stefania Catalano
- Mrs Yvonne Grant
Lunch Team
- Miss Julie Welsh
- Mrs Stefania Catalano
- Miss Nikki Hurle
- All learning support staff
Caretaking Team
- Miss Julie Welsh
- Miss Claire Carroll
House System
The house system is an integral part of Briar Hill and is predominately utilised during inter-school competitions, which occur every half term, each with a different focus.
Our children are proud to be part of their house teams. Every child and member of staff is allocated to one of four houses, which they then support. Our houses teams are grouped vertically which enables children to socialise and engage with peers and staff beyond their everyday environment. It is an essential part of school life as it facilitates a growing community spirit and enables children to participate collectively, involving children from all year groups who are contributing to something bigger than themselves.
It was important for the house teams to be named after relevant, diverse and inspiring individuals, from different backgrounds within Great Britain. Therefore, the houses are all named after four successful British Artists. These artists each have a different discipline within art, they are: Gormley, Hockney, Banksy, Wiltshire.
House Points and Class Dojo
House Points are awarded through Class Dojo. These points are awarded for positive behaviour and efforts. Pupils also participate and compete in competitions and events for House Points. They are then recorded and over the course of a competition, the winning team announced. The children in the winning house are rewarded. At the end of the year, once all points are collected, the House Champions are announced.
Parents are encouraged to connect with the school through the Class Dojo system and they can check on points given, message teachers directly and also enjoy photos and videos from the class direct to any devices.
Typical school day at Briar Hill Primary School
Please refer to up to date Newsletters and MCAS messages regarding the school day, timings and assemblies for the week. Our day starts for nearly all the children at year groups at 8:45am and finishes at 3:15pm. During the day, children will take in a broad and balanced curriculum (updates of our curriculum and how we have adapted this are sent through MCAS, Newsletters and Class Dojo) which challenges and provides the building blocks for life. To find out more about the Curriculum at our academy please click here.