The BEIP schools educate over 8,100 pupils and students – a sixth of all the pupils and students in the London Borough of Bexley – working in 9 primary and 3 secondary schools. Pupils and students mostly live in the north of the Borough; a community rich in diversity of culture and an exciting, progressive place to be. However, in some important respects, they face greater challenges than their peers elsewhere in the Borough:
the proportion of these pupils and students known to be eligible for free school meals or Pupil Premium funding is more than twice that in the Borough’s other schools
the proportion who have statements of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) or are supported at School Action Plus is twice that of the Borough’s other schools.
English is not the first language of nearly a quarter of these pupils and students; in the Borough’s other schools it is only a tenth.
This is why the schools formed a partnership thirteen years ago to work together to increase the opportunities for these children to succeed in life. This included:
employing and training specialist Learning Mentors to encourage those children facing particular difficulties in learning
setting up learning support centres to give extra support where needed
providing specialist teaching and support programmes for the More Able or Talented
running staff development programmes helping our teachers to tailor their teaching and learning skills more specifically for our children.
