Cambourne School Competition

Public Meeting: Monday 18th February 2008

The Big Wide Talk Archive School

Cambridgeshire County Council is proposing to establish a new school in Cambourne. In accordance with the law and related regulations, the council held a competition inviting organisations to make proposals to run this school. Big Wide Talk has submitted a proposal; details of how to obtain the full document can be found at the end of this article.

There will be a public meeting on Monday 18th February, 7:30-9:00pm at The Hub, High Street, Cambourne. Big Wide Talk will be speaking at this event.

The challenge

The village of Cambourne faces the challenge of reaching out to every child irrespective of race, religion, disability or way of life. The Big Wide Talk Archive Schools Foundation is determined to work with these challenges and the desire of parents to do their utmost for their children.

Big Wide Talk and the Big Wide Talk Archive Schools Foundation believe first and foremost that if such ambitions are to be realised, every child must have the best education society can offer. This means that the new school must exemplify the best possible standards of teaching, learning and personal discipline at all times. The school must act in good faith with the local community to create and maintain a learning environment that touches every aspect of children’s lives.

“Every place has its own spirit, its own past, its own aspirations.” - International scholar, Jerome Bruner, on the characteristics of world-class education.

“Schools will find it difficult to generate further improvements unless they engage more directly with the social context in which they operate.” - National College for School Leadership.

“The Big Wide Talk Archive Schools Foundation will bring experience and innovation to enhance the creativity and learning of every child in the Cambourne Archive School. We will establish a special place at the heart of our school where every child can document her or his life as they see it. We will work with the parents and carers of all our children recognising the intense bonding which characterises the process of parenting. In return we want our children to believe that their school is the best school in the world.” – ‘Our commitment to the children of Cambourne’, The Cambourne Archive School Proposal, Big Wide Talk

Who are we?

Big Wide Talk is an education charity and company limited by guarantee that receives core funding from the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. The Big Wide Talk Archive Schools Foundation is being set up to make the Big Wide Talk approach to education available to children attending our schools every day. Since 2001, Big Wide Talk has worked with 16 local authorities, 86 primary schools and a similar number of pre-schools, nurseries and children’s centres.

What do we want?

Big Wide Talk wants every child’s creativity and learning to come to the fore and for every parent to be confident that their children will enjoy being part of The Cambourne Archive School and achieve the best possible levels of numeracy and literacy.

What can we do for Cambourne?

Big Wide Talk will provide first-rate education with parental involvement at its core. An on-site Big Wide Talk worker will continuously work with parents and teachers to understand and extend every child’s potential within a uniquely intimate learning environment. A central archive will be established in the heart of the school, where every child will have an equal space to record their achievements in their own terms, and express their evolving identity as they grow and learn in Cambourne.

What do people say about us?

“A lot can be done with this to encourage both parents and teachers to understand the children’s learning and also the amazing things they can achieve. This is outstanding.” - Matthew Taylor, MP for Truro, on Big Wide Talk’s work in Cornwall, 2007

“You have successfully engaged with a very large number of practitioners and parents over the discussion and documentation of what children actually say and do and it is clear that you have a valuable range of methods and tools that form a coherent process applicable to the assessment of individual children’s needs.” - Pauline Hoare, Senior Adviser, Early Years Foundation Stage, Primary National Strategy


To obtain a full copy of the proposal, please contact:

Big Wide Talk Archive Schools Trust, 2 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1JP
T: 01223 364727 F: 01223 309306
E:  ann.jamieson@bigwidetalk.org
W: www.bigwidetalk.org