Monken Hadley CE Primary School

Monken Hadley Church of England primary school is a place where you meet inquisitive, young learners within a unique setting, surrounded by woodland and common. With a rich history and strong community links, we endeavor to provide a wealth of opportunities for all our children. Underpinning all that we do is our Christian faith and commitment to meeting our pupils’ needs in this safe learning environment.

Our children are joyful risk takers, curious learners, intelligent thinkers, polite servants who support and are supported by one another in faith and friendship. As an inclusive community, we share the responsibility of nurturing our independent learners who, through their experiences here at Monken Hadley, can flourish and achieve their full potential. In doing this, we are preparing our children for their future roles within this changing world.

Our school is built on the edge of the beautiful Monken Hadley Common at the northern tip of the London Borough of Barnet. Monks founded Monken Hadley in the 13th century and a school was built by the Church of England in partnership with the government in 1832. The Common leads to Hadley Woods which used to be part of Enfield Chase. Royalty hunted here and in 1777 King George the 3rd passed an act of parliament giving the villagers local farming rights.

From the small one-class beginning, this small school has grown so that now there are 150 children housed in 5 classes. Increasingly diverse in culture, the school represents the richly varied community in High Barnet and the surrounding area. The school enjoys a strong partnership with the parish church of St Mary the Virgin. The children and staff attend church services there on the major Christian festivals in the church calendar. The school badge features our church tower and its famous 'cresset beacon'.

Growing as a learning community through Joshua 1:9, we endeavor to seek what is good, treasure what is true, do what is right. Rooted in our Christian understanding of who we are before God, we strive to be fearless advocates of this, dedicated to service and the flourishing of peace.

A Christian ethos is about much more than Christian values, but any ethos implies and promotes certain values. We have identified nine values for particular attention in our school: integrity, humility, joy, gratitude, service, grace, kindness, peace and resilience.

Using an image of a tree, we think about these values in terms of root and fruit values: The Four root values relate to the gift character of life and linked to love of God. The Four fruit values show how love of neighbor is expressed, not least in response to what we have received from God. Resilience acknow­ledges that remaining rooted and bearing fruit need to be won again and again in the face of adversity and drawbacks.