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Headteacher’s Welcome
Hello and welcome to our Woodlands Primary School website.
At Woodlands, our pupils know that we care for them and that we want them to thrive: “I love how you get treated in this school. You always get listened to, no matter what.”
Our Year 6 pupils have been enthusiastically creating personal speeches about our school. Pupil voice matters greatly here, as our highly effective School Council demonstrates. Here are some examples of how our children feel about our school:
” I want to say how proud I am being a part of Woodlands Primary. It feels like a dream come true school, with really kind friends and teachers- it feels like a big family.” (Kseniia)
” For me, Woodlands is more than a school, it’s a safe, calm and fun place for me to spend time.” (Alex)
” Woodlands is a place where I can share my ideas and note them down. I am proud to be a fellow Woodlander. It is my second home.” (Margaret)
” Firstly, I would like to say that, being part of Woodlands is an honour- it is a daytime home. For me, Woodlands is more than just a school. It’s family.” (Vlad)
” I’m proud to be part of Woodlands because the Headteacher makes funny, cheesy jokes. There are kind teachers and children. Yes- you guys are so amazing!” (Isabelle)
” One thing I love about Woodlands is the teachers always try to put a smile on our faces and make every lesson fun. Another thing I love about school is when our House Team gets extra play- I love spending time with my little yellow team-mates.” (Tina- Louise)
We respect our children and we respect their individuality.
We actively strive to provide and promote a welcoming, nurturing and inclusive community with equality of opportunity for all, that ensures we, ‘Inspire to Aspire.’
We want our pupils to thrive together, appreciating the rich benefits of diversity whilst simultaneously valuing everyone’s uniqueness: “We share our similarities; celebrate our differences.” (M Scott Peck)
We invest heavily in building strong respectful relationships and developing character.
Through a careful balance of challenge and support, our children learn to persevere in all that they do, growing in confidence, independence and responsibility.
One of our fundamental duties, as I see it, is to help our children to believe that they can achieve and to aspire to the fullest, deepest possibilities- in learning and in life.
With this in mind, we have created a unique “Enrichment Passport” for each child called “11 by 11”. This is to build up their cultural capital- “the accumulation of knowledge, behaviours, and skills that a pupil can draw upon and which demonstrates their cultural awareness, knowledge and competence”. Examples of the eleven activities/achievements include: learning to play a musical instrument; performing a play on stage; visiting a museum and/or an art gallery; representing the school at a sporting or musical event. These will be completed by the time each pupil leaves us in Year 6, aged 11.
Cultural capital has also been identified as one of the key ingredients a person will draw upon to be successful in their further education, in society generally and in their chosen career. We always look to our children’s futures, as well as to their here and now.
“Pupils speak with pride about their school. They really value the calm and supportive ethos.” (Debbie Tregellas, Regional School Improvement and Excellence Lead)
“Woodlands is a highly inclusive school. Pupils feel proud to attend. They enjoy school and talk enthusiastically about their learning. Pupils have warm relationships with adults.” (OFSTED report, May 2023)
One of the happiest and most rewarding parts of my role is to see the amazing, varied examples of quality learning that my pupils want to share with me, often on a very regular basis. Whether it’s showing how to carry out complex Maths operations, reading creative descriptions about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, hearing how a Y5 pupil has had her musical composition selected to be played by an orchestra, being told how many Y1 children have moved up two Phonics groups in one go, or finding out about the success of our mixed football team at the Salisbury Schools Football Festival, I still get excited about what our children achieve, and the meaningful progress made-day in, day out.
Please come and see us for yourselves; I would be proud to show you around our engaging and child-centred school.
With very best wishes,
Matthew Kitley
Headteacher