Here comes the summer!
Dear Parents & Carers
Another academic year draws to close… is it me or do these seem to pass quicker each year? It’s probably an age thing….
We’ve had another great year at Woodlands – as always, the children have been the stars of the show – from those starting their educational journey in nursery to those who have completed their time with us & are heading off to high school in September. The work they produce is astonishing & the way they support each other is wonderful to see. They truly are Working together, achieving more.
We were inspected by Ofsted in March & were very pleased with the outcome. Liz Kelly, the lead inspector, wrote some lovely things that we believe reflect Woodlands accurately.
The opening sentence of her report is a good indicator of how the rest of the report read. Leaders have achieved their aim of creating a happy, caring, secure and stimulating community.
Throughout the inspection, Liz Kelly was impressed by our children both in terms of their behaviour & attitude to learning:
- Pupils really enjoy school.
- Pupils are proud to live up to teachers’ high expectations of their work and behaviour.
- Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), participate enthusiastically in learning and achieve well.
- Children in the early years learn to be polite to each other and to adults and to take turns. This ethos of mutual respect and care permeates all aspects of the life of the school.
Mrs Kelly was also impressed with opportunities our pupils are given to develop as well-rounded human beings throughout their time at Woodlands:
- Teachers ensure that pupils celebrate cultures and lifestyles which are different from their own.
- The school gives pupils many opportunities to develop a sense of social responsibility, for example by taking part in the eco club and charity work in the local community.
- Pupils relish the many leadership opportunities that staff give them, such as being register monitors in the early years and play and sports leaders or reading buddies in Year 6.
- By the time that they leave this school, pupils have undertaken many leadership roles, such as being part of the ‘tech crew’ that organises technical equipment for assemblies and school events.
Woodlands’ staff were wonderful throughout the inspection (as they are each & every day). Mrs Kelly was impressed with their dedication to the children in their care:
- Pupils feel safe and make the most of the high-quality learning opportunities that leaders and staff provide for them.
- Teachers make sure that lessons are calm and purposeful so that learning is not interrupted for the need for reprimand.
- Teachers have a very good knowledge of the subjects that they teach.
- When pupils find work challenging, teachers encourage them to be positive, resilient and independent.
- Teachers and teaching assistants are skilled at using a wide range of strategies and resources to make sure that pupils with SEND successfully follow the same ambitious curriculum as their classmates in all subjects.
- Pupils trust that adults deal effectively with bullying.
Personally, I feel the report was a validation of all the hard work everyone involved with the school (staff, pupils, parents & governors) has put in over the past years. We think our school is great – it’s nice to have someone outside our community agree.
Our Y6 pupils achieved brilliantly in the KS2 end of year SATs – again this reflects their hard work (with some outstanding support from home) & also the time & effort put in by the staff at Woodlands.
Our Y6 pupils are, spending their last few days at Woodlands before embarking on their next adventure at Range, Formby, Chesterfield & Merchant Taylors high schools. We wish them all the best for the future – we know they will do us, and their families, proud. They have made a positive impact on life at Woodlands in a variety of ways: house captains, playground pals, ecowarriors, sports leaders, tech crew, school councillors. They have planned, organised & run their own clubs for younger children too: from cheerleading to football, from art club to reading club. They are the very best of Woodlands.
Thank you to all of you who have sent messages of thanks to your children’s class teachers/TAs – you will never know how much a few words can mean to our staff. The partnership between home and school is vital and we know that when this is strong our children will thrive – this is something that is strong at Woodlands & I’m sure will continue next year.
Please encourage your children to read over the summer – if they say they don’t like books it’s just because they haven’t found the right ones to read yet! There are so many wonderful books & wonderful authors who write about anything & everything – there’s no excuse not to read. It’s so important. Research has shown that children who read during the summer actually do better with their reading (& therefore writing) when they return to school.
Formby Library is running the Summer Reading Challenge - your child just needs to read 6 books over the summer break to complete the challenge. We are the defending champions of the schools in Formby – we had the highest percentage of successful participants last year. It’d be great to retain our title!
I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge THANK YOU to all the members of staff at Woodlands. I know I’ve said it before (but probably not often enough) – I am so lucky to be headteacher of a school with such extraordinary staff. From teachers to TAs, from our office staff to Mr Inskip (site manager), from our LWAs (dinner ladies) to our cooks in the kitchen. Their dedication to the children in their care is inspiring – I’m privileged to witness this every day..
I must say a final thank you to the members of staff who are leaving us this summer: Mrs Chapman, Mrs Denton, Mrs Falconer & Mrs Smith. They will be missed.
The summer term finishes at 2pm on Tuesday 19th July (1.30pm for Y6).
Good luck to Y6 – we know they are going to fly at high school. We can’t wait to see the rest of you in September! There are INSET days for staff on Thurssay 1st & Friday 2nd, so school begins for the children on Monday 5th September.
Have a lovely summer
KD Williams
Headteacher
Last Word [Greatest Hit]:
My wife said she was leaving me due to my obsession with the The Monkees.
I thought she was joking…
then I saw her face.
