Eden Primary School, Muswell Hill

Eden Primary School is a cross-communal Jewish Primary school or Jewish day school in Muswell Hill, in the borough of Haringey, North London, UK, catering for children aged 4 to 11.

Eden Primary

Eden Primary School
Address
79 Creighton Avenue Muswell Hill London , N10 1NR England
Information
Type	Free school
Religious affiliation(s)	Jewish
Established	2011
Local authority	Haringey
Department for Education URN	136808 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Head Teacher	Jo Sassienie
Gender	Coeducational
Age	4 to 11
Enrolment	205
Website	http://www.edenprimary.org.uk/

It is distinctive for actively welcoming children irrespective of their religious background.[1] It opened in September 2011.[2] Eden Primary is the first Primary Free School to be commissioned by the UK Government under the Free school (England) programme.[3] Of those initial Free Schools whose costs were released by the UK Government, it received the largest amount of investment, at £6.2 million[1]

The school's original working name was 'Haringey Jewish Primary School', but the permanent name of Eden was adopted in order to convey the school's ethos more clearly.[4] Eden is a small, single-form-entry school, admitting 30 children into Reception each year. It began with a single Reception class and is building up its population gradually, with a new class of 4-5-year-olds joining each September. Its first year was spent in temporary accommodation,[5] and it moved to permanent premises in September 2012. The cost of construction was budgeted and delivered at £2.6 million.[6] 323 applications to open Free Schools were received by the Department for Education in the first year of operation, out of which 24 schools opened in 2011.[7] Admissions Policy: like all faith-based Free Schools Eden admits 50% of places on the basis of proximity, not faith. The other 50% of places are offered on the basis of Jewish practice.[8] As with other state-maintained schools, the admissions process is run by the Local Education Authority. In 2010 one family attempted to enrol their daughter before she had been born.[9] Eden Primary's building received planning permission on 13 September 2011.[5] It was erected between September 2011 and September 2012 by Rydon Construction. It is a cedar-clad construction, designed to emphasize the school's interest in nature.

The school provides both a general and a Jewish education, and also teaches Modern Hebrew as a spoken language. Jewish Studies and Hebrew make up approximately 17% of the total curriculum time.[10]

The school's Head teacher is Jo Sassienie. The Chair of Governors is Peter Kessler.