Welcome To Our School!

Welcome to our school website! We are very proud to be able to share with you the wonderful opportunities and developments at Woolden Hill Primary School!

Woolden Hill Primary School is a vibrant school where children are enthusiastic and motivated to achieve endless possibilities. The children are at the heart of every decision we make to ensure that they are happy, confident and that the opportunities that are provided for them are relevant to their needs both now and in the future.

At Woolden Hill, we believe that children should be curious about their learning. Through our engaging curriculum, we ensure that children can foster a passion for learning that will help to develop high aspirations and a lifetime of memories. We believe in ensuring that children receive a well-rounded curriculum; where individual talents can be spotted and nurtured to ensure that all children experience success and reach their full potential. We are a Route To Resilience School and believe that providing opportunities for children to develop characteristics for effective learning and life.

The school has a dedicated team that works hard to reach high standards in everything we do and this is further embedded through our successful relationships with parents, the local community and the other schools in the Discovery Schools Academy Trust. We firmly believe that education is a partnership between home and school and regard you as an active partner in your child’s education and value your interest and support. Our Senior Leadership Team includes Mrs Norman and Mrs Sadler who work closely together to ensure that your child receives the best education and that there is always somebody available to support you.

I hope that this website will give you as much information as possible about our school, the staff and the many activities that our children enjoy through our curriculum and our extra-curricular activities that you need. It will grow over time as we add more information, but can never replace the first-hand experience of coming to visit us. If you have suggestions to make about its content and design or would like to see us at work please contact me.

Mrs Candi Norman

Headteacher

What is a Woolden Hill education like?

Woolden Hill Primary School is a one-form entry primary school (a maximum of 30 pupils per class) and has one class per year group. We are proud of our vibrant classrooms, break-out spaces and extensive grounds.

At Woolden Hill, we believe that all pupils have the ability to achieve wonderful things. Our aim is to ensure that our children are happy and enjoy their time at school. This is achieved by providing an environment where children feel safe to explore the new challenges and learning opportunities they encounter.

We aim to help develop creative children who are inspired learners, are considerate citizens, are independent thinkers, have curious and enquiring minds and are caring friends.

You might have heard people in education talk about pedagogy – the theory and practice of teaching. We are very serious about pedagogy at Woolden Hill. Thinking hard about how we teach and how children learn allows us to provide a bespoke curriculum that works best for everyone in our school. This curriculum is based on the most authoritative and up-to-date research and it allows children to develop the skills and knowledge that they will need to cement understanding through their school career.

Our teachers use news about our local community and what is happening in the wider world to plan topics that are relevant and stimulating for our children. We have a well-stocked library so that children can become immersed in books at any time of the day. We strongly support children to become avid readers, and we encourage them to share their love of books with their peers.

At Woolden Hill Primary, we take pride in the vast number of opportunities that we offer children beyond the four walls of the classroom. Many topics are supported with visits to interesting places, such as the zoo, farm parks, museums, historic attractions and gardens. A memorable residential trip takes place in Key Stage Two to develop children’s resilience and independence.

Woolden Hill Primary is also partnered with the Asha Charity, based in New Delhi, which supports children who live in extreme poverty to access education. Each year, our children raise funds for the charity and send letters and artwork to the children there.

Our large indoor and outdoor areas ensure that specialist teachers provide sporting and music activities before, during and after school. Most of our children choose to attend extra-curricular clubs that are on offer throughout the year.

The Woolden Warriors Breakfast and After School Clubs offer wrap-around care for parents, and a holiday club provides care between terms to best support your childcare needs.

How we care and support children

We care about every child in our school. Through our strong commitment to pastoral care we strive to ensure that we provide outstanding support for all of our pupils and families.

Our school is very proud of our friendly, open-door policy that allows parents and staff to openly discuss any issues and resolve them together. We strongly support our local community and we are involved in and host many community events that help to unite Anstey. We also have our own stay and play for parents and toddlers. Our amazing Parent and Teacher Association plan a variety of events to raise funds for the children at the school such as our annual fireworks event, Christmas and Summer Fairs and our Wooldstock open air summer concert.

Woolden Hill prides itself on supporting all children, regardless of their background or additional circumstances. We believe that a child’s potential should not be limited or pre-determined and have a range of provision in place so that all children can thrive.

In each school day we encourage every child to develop confidence in themselves. To help support this, our Emotional Literacy Support Assistant works closely with children who may need support with friendships, bereavements or a personal issue.

For children with specific requirements, our school is highly inclusive and we will work with a range of professionals to ensure that all needs are met. In addition, our access to EPIC Educational Psychology and Speech and Language team ensures that, if necessary, children receive rapid support. This has also enabled all our staff to benefit from bespoke training to support all children in our school.