About Us

Edmund Waller is a community primary school for boys and girls. There are currently about 500 children on roll at the school. For organisational purposes the school is divided into three phases. These are:

  • Foundation Stage consisting of a part-time Nursery and two full-time Reception classes
  • Key Stage 1 traditionally known as the infant department and consisting of 4 classes (Years 1 & 2)
  • Key Stage 2 traditionally known as the junior department and consisting of 8 classes (Years 3, 4, 5 & 6).

The day-to-day management of the school is the responsibility of the Headteacher. This responsibility is delegated to the Headteacher by the school’s Governing Body. This group oversee the work of the school and ensure policies and procedures are followed correctly. The school lies just within the north

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eastern boundary of The London Borough Of Lewisham and Lewisham Council are the Local Authority responsible for the delivery of services for children and young people for the Borough. Their work and the work of the school is ultimately the responsibility of the Government’s Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

 

The Edmund Waller School community is very reflective of the diverse nature of New Cross Gate and its surrounding area. 

Approximately:

  • 70% of our children are from ethnic minority backgrounds
  • 40 languages are spoken in our school community
  • 30% of or children having English as a second language

The school has a happy and welcoming atmosphere. Our children are talented, creative and well behaved; our parents and governors are lively, interested and involved; and we have a committed, supportive and conscientious staff team. In short there is an enormous reservoir of talent, good will and energy within the school which results in what parents and visitors refer to as the ‘constant buzz of excitement’ about the place.

 

For an inner city school Edmund Waller has a surprisingly spacious and pleasantly ‘green’ site. There are three main buildings all named after children’s authors:

  • Lloyd Building (after Errol Lloyd) - a single storey 1970’s building which houses Foundation Stage and Year 1 classrooms
  • Blume Building (after Judy Blume) – a single storey Victorian building which houses Years 2 and 3 classrooms
  • Rosen Building (after Michael Rosen) – a two storey Victorian building which houses Years 4, 5 & 6 classrooms.
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These buildings are surrounded by our award winning grounds, comprising a number of climbing structures, two Foundation Stage play areas, a floodlit Multi-Use Games Area and a mixture of grassed, garden and tarmac play areas.

 

The DCSF arranges for every school to be regularly inspected. This job is carried out by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). Edmund Waller was last inspected in March 2008. The report from that inspection praised the range of learning opportunities available, in particular the use of visits, visitors and extra curricular provision. We were also commended for our open and welcoming philosophy and a strong sense of community.

Our challenge ahead is to maintain our wonderfully creative and vibrant curriculum while at the same time ensuring greater consistency across the school. We are optimistic about meeting the challenge. Through working together as a team and encouraging in people the habits of hard work, the exercise of initiative, the sharing of expertise and an emphasis on collective responsibility this school will continue to grow from strength to strength.

To read about the history of Edmund Waller Primary School click here.