Welcome to Water Mill Primary School

Water Mill is a small school with a remarkably rich community. Families with roots in Birmingham and across the world learn and grow alongside one another here, and it is a privilege to serve that community as Headteacher.

Our size is one of our strengths. With one class in each year group, we can know our children not simply by name, but as individuals: their strengths, their stories, the things that inspire them and the barriers they may need our help to overcome. Some children are with us from Reception to Year 6; others join us partway through their primary journey, sometimes new to Birmingham or learning English for the first time. Wherever they begin, we want every child to feel safe, understood and fully part of Water Mill.

We believe that a strong primary education should be both joyful and rigorous. Children need secure foundations in reading, writing and mathematics and a rich knowledge of the world. They also need the language to express their ideas, the curiosity to ask questions, the creativity to see possibilities and the confidence to contribute. We are thoughtful about how we teach, ambitious about what children can achieve and committed to continually improving our practice.

Our motto, ‘Anything is Possible’, captures that ambition. It does not mean that learning is always easy or that success comes without effort. It is our promise that a child’s background, language, needs or starting point will never limit our aspirations for them. We teach children to work hard, respond positively when things are difficult and take pride in the progress they make. Our values—Caring, Creativity, Respect and Integrity—shape how we learn, how we treat one another and the people we hope our pupils will become.

Education at Water Mill extends beyond lessons. We want children to perform, create, explore, debate and contribute to their community. We give them experiences that widen their horizons and help them recognise that their ideas, voices and work have genuine value. Our aim is that they leave us well prepared for secondary school, but also curious about the world, secure in who they are and confident that they can make a difference within it.

This is only possible through a close partnership with families. We value honest conversations, listen carefully and work together both when things are going well and when they are difficult. The trust between children, families and staff is central to who we are.

A website can provide useful information, but it cannot fully capture the warmth, calm purpose and character of a school. I warmly invite you to visit us, meet our children and staff, and experience Water Mill for yourself.

Mr Martin Hill
Headteacher

‘Anything is Possible’

Please contact our school office if you want further information or a tour of our school.   Please ask at the school office if you would like paper copies of any of the information on our website.

Our Vision

Water Mill children will be proud of what they have achieved. They will be creative, independent learners and will be prepared for the future.

Our Aims

Our aims are reflected through our values which are:

• Caring: To provide a welcoming, safe and happy environment for all members of the school community.
• Creativity: To offer opportunities for every individual to learn, apply new skills and to excel in all areas.
• Respect: To treat every member of our diverse community with equality and consideration and to have positive attitudes towards each other.
• Integrity: For all members of the school community to be honest and trustworthy and to do the right thing at all times.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide outstanding provision for our pupils so that each child achieves the four key elements of our vision:

Proud of what they have achieved:
Intent: At Water Mill Primary School, all pupils will make more than expected progress across all areas of the curriculum and will therefore all consistently achieve exceptionally well.
Implementation: All staff and leaders will have high expectations for every pupil and will deliver a broad, balanced and challenging curriculum that is carefully planned to meet the needs of all learners. Staff and leaders use assessment well to help pupils to embed and use knowledge, to check understanding and to inform teaching.
Impact: Each pupil will be proud of what they have achieved because they are able to recognise the progress that they have made and will know what they need to do to reach the high standards that have been set.

Creative Learners:
Intent: All pupils at Water Mill Primary School will be able to apply their learning across the curriculum and will use the skills and knowledge they have gained to confidently tackle new concepts and problems.
Implementation: All pupils will be encouraged to think deeply about what they are learning and to think of different ways of expressing their learning. Through the teaching of creative and performing arts pupils will develop confidence, imagination and talk for learning.
Impact: All pupils will be creative learners because they will be curious about what they are learning and will think ‘outside of the box’ when applying their learning to different situations. They will be able to see beyond what needs to be done to decide the ‘how’.

Independent Learners:
Intent: Water Mill Primary School pupils will take ownership and initiative in their learning and have the confidence to succeed as lifelong learners.
Implementation: Staff and leaders will enable pupils to have ownership of their learning by involving them and their parents/carers in the planning for and delivery of learning. Pupils will be encouraged to view mistakes as learning opportunities and to choose their own success criteria in order to improve. They will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own academic and personal development and to support others to do the same.
Impact: Pupils will be independent learners because they will be able to confidently recognise how to improve their own learning and will be comfortable about taking risks. They will be self motivated and will be able to plan, understand and monitor their own learning and personal development.

Prepared for the future:
Intent: Water Mill Primary School pupils will have the skills, knowledge, personal, social, moral and emotional attributes to succeed in their future lives.
Implementation: Through a combination of actions from the previous three elements pupils will be taught the skills, values and knowledge that will enable them to become successful lifelong learners and active citizens of modern Britain. They will be given ‘real life’ activities and problems to solve and will participate in transition, careers and wider learning opportunities, including activities relating to safety, welfare and enterprise. They will value and respect the wonderful diversity of the school and wider society.
Impact: Pupils will be prepared for the future because they will be confident, creative, independent learners with the values, knowledge and cultural capital to succeed in life.

The Water Mill Promise

At Water Mill  Primary School we aim to provide a wide range of valuable life experiences that will help to better prepare children (from Selly Oak, Harborne and beyond) for the future. The ‘Water Mill Promise’ is a range of different trips, visits, experiences and activities that all children will have the chance to take part in as they make their learning journey through our school. Click on the link below to see our ‘promise’.

Be Outstanding!

We want all of our children to 'be outstanding'. We believe that through following our values and British values and by developing our 'owl standing' learning skills pupils will become expert learners and model citizens.

Each of these values and skills are taught, discussed and encouraged in school weekly. At the end of the year our Enterprise Week is their opportunity to show how well they can use them.

We call these our 'Owl-standing' skills and values in honour of Grace our adopted barn owl.

Click on the link below to see our 'Owl-standing' Skills poster which is on display in each class.