Category: Pastoral

27th February 24

This week our School Reporters have enjoyed getting to know Miss Catherine Gomez, our new Deputy Head Pastoral, who joined the school in January 2024.

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26th October 23

Miss Caryn is our Social, Emotional and Mental Health Specialist and Education Consultant. In this blog, An Ode to a Colleague, she writes about our school dog, Fin.
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7th September 23

Beatrix Potter Primary School on Magdalen Road in Wandsworth is renowned for its warm community of 270 pupils. Lessons are built around the 5Es, ‘engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate’ so reading and all that books bring is at the centre of its ethos hence the motivation for their recently opened beautiful library. It is a stand out feature of the school and staff are building the collection of books with their PTA so that there is a good range for everybody.

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7th September 23

We are proud to have held a rewarding programme of outreach events last term which saw us sharing our resources with local schools.

Our partnership initiatives are made possible due to donations made by Finton families to the Annual Fund, which enables the school to reach into the local community and develop meaningful partnerships for the benefit of all children. To read more about these initiatives please click here.

On Wednesday 21^st June, to mark Make Music Day, our Year 4’s were joined by Year 4 pupils from Furzedown Primary School at Trinity Chapel for a big musical bonanza! “Children from both schools enjoyed an interactive workshop by Cavatina Chamber Music Trust, and specifically by Connaught Brass ensemble. The children were introduced to the different sounds of brass instruments – some of them even got the chance to conduct the ensemble!” says Miss Maria, Finton’s Head of Music. The event involved performances by the children from each school as well as a collaborative performance of the song “Let Love Shine Through”.

The sun shone down on Trinity Fields on the afternoon of Tuesday 23^rd May, when Year 3 pupils from Finton House and Earlsfield Primary School came together for an afternoon of cricket skills development. Pupils worked in collaborative groups under the instruction of cricket coaches from Spencer Cricket Club, alongside staff members from both schools. Four coaches worked with all of the boys and girls through a circuit of different activities, which they thoroughly enjoyed. It was reported that all of the pupils impressed the coaches from Spencer Cricket!

We were also delighted to host the inaugural Junior Trinity Shield on Monday 26^th June, in collaboration with Trinity Fields. Year 4 pupils from Finton and three neighbouring primary schools, Fircroft, Smallwood and Furzedown, were delighted to spend a fun afternoon together playing in a cricket tournament. All the pupils were excited to all go home with a medal and a huge smile on their faces.

A very big thank you to Miss Olivia (Assistant Head: Partnerships) and Miss India (Head of Marketing and Development) from the Finton community together with Miss Maria and Mr Anthony (Head of Games).

Click to donate now to the Annual Fund and make more of these partnerships possible!

10th January 23

The Good Schools Guide Gives Resounding Applause To All Things Finton!

 ‘If you are seeking well-adjusted, fulfilled children, look no further.’ says the Good Schools Guide in their latest review.

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16th September 22

This week our School Reporters conducted a tell-all interview with Mr Ben… introducing Fin Freeman, Finton’s therapy dog!

At our Summer Prize Giving ceremony in July, Mr Ben announced the arrival of Fin, a cavapoo puppy who would join us in September as a therapy dog in training. Now, two weeks into the Autumn Term, our School Reporters Krish and Sophia ask Mr Ben their burning questions…

How did you find Fin, and how did you choose her from the litter?

I noticed a cavapoo belonging to a Finton family sat really calmly outside the school gate, and so I took the phone number of the breeder from the parent and made the phone call… it was perfect timing as a litter was expected in April, which worked amazingly well to then take a puppy home in July.

When choosing from the litter, there were four puppies left (two girls and two boys) but there were two other people ahead of us in the ‘queue’ and so they had first and second choice. When we saw Fin, the first thing we noticed was her colour. The second thing was that we saw a photo of all the puppies drinking milk – but Fin was lying on her back with her paws in the air!

What is the purpose of having Fin at school?

I used to have a black Labrador at my previous school, and children used to come in and say hello if they were feeling a bit low or upset. Dogs are great for children to read to and build their confidence, and dogs also always get up to funny things and make everyone laugh!

How often does she need walking?

At the moment we are being careful not to over-exercise her. She’s 4 months old at the moment and so she needs 20 minutes of good exercise a day.

You mentioned that Fin’s hair is quite hard to brush, so how do you groom her?

Well, firstly you need two brushes…

She has a toothbrush as well, but we haven’t quite tackled that yet!

What three words would you use to describe Fin?

Fluffy, fun and (at the moment) clingy!

You can follow all of Fin’s adventures on her Instagram, @finatfinton

1st April 22

We celebrated Children’s Mental Health Week 2022, the theme of which was Growing Together, in many different ways this year.

We started the week with assemblies about the importance of growing not just physically and intellectually, but growing emotionally and finding ways to help each other grow.  Pupils considered how trying new things and taking on challenges helps us all to grow emotionally. During PSHEE lessons, each child was given a circle drawing replicating the growing rings on a tree trunk and then filled in the names of all the people who have helped them to grow and supported them through their lives.

As this was celebration of Growing Together, each member of the school community was given a sustainable pot containing a Love Plant bulb to take home and nurture.  As the plant continues to grow, it is our aim for everyone to give the ‘off shoots’ to someone special in their lives.

Finally, we wanted a whole school project to bring all year groups together and represent us growing together as a community. We commissioned local artist Tim Norris to produce a ‘Tree of Wellbeing’; made from rebars (reinforcing steel bars), the tree is now a permanent feature in the front garden. Throughout the week the children produced a specially designed, handcrafted item to go on to the tree, representing our collective growth and reminding us that looking after our mental health should be a permanent feature in our lives. This project is ongoing, and over time the tree has started to ‘blossom’ and will soon be populated with birds.

20th September 19

12th September 19

Introducing our first goal of this term, Mr Ben addressed Upper and Lower School this week to inspire them about the importance of self-belief. With a can-do attitude, we can achieve anything if we set our mind to it. He highlighted that not only children need to show self-belief, but also adults are often faced with challenging situations which require them to believe in their own abilities and strengths.

Rosie, Year 6 School Reporter writes: “Monday’s assembly about self-belief was thrilling. kicking off with the delightful song, “Sing Hosanna,” which we all sang beautifully! Mr Ben’s well-chosen example of self-belief was about cricket player Ben Stokes rescuing England from losing sooner in The Ashes. He had been batting for an astonishing 330 minutes (5 hours and 30 minutes) in total!”

Mr Ben concluded the assembly with a powerful message: “Believing in yourself is the first secret to success!”