Headteacher Newsletter - 446 - End of Year Message

You may be aware of the growing pressures facing schools nationally, particularly around funding. Like many others, Woodland View is operating in a climate where costs are rising faster than the funding we receive. This creates difficult decisions for all schools as we work hard to set balanced budgets and protect the quality of education we provide.

Despite these challenges, I want to reassure you that our commitment to your children remains unchanged. At Woodland View, we continue to be ambitious for every child, seeking out creative and careful ways to manage our resources while still providing a nurturing, high-quality education.

We are incredibly proud of what our pupils and staff have achieved this year and we are grateful for the continued support of our families and the wider school community. Together, we will keep striving to give our children the very best start in life.

Our recent Parent and Pupil Survey results demonstrate the great work we continue to do. These tables highlight some of the key strengths of the surveys.

Across both surveys (totalling 35 statements) our average score for Agree+ is 95%. We recognise that this is a fantastic achievement, however our aim is to get to 100%. Therefore, we carefully review all constructive feedback and consider the ways in which we can continue to adjust where needed, and implement bigger changes if necessary. Thank you to everyone who completed a survey.

Our attainment data has been strong again this year. From Foundation Stage to Year 6, all children have termly assessments or national assessments. In school, we monitor the attainment and progress of all children, and use the information to adapt our planning and teaching. Below are the latest Year 6 SATs results compared to national data, demonstrating that we are achieving comfortably above the national average in all areas.

While assessment data has its place, we believe real success is measured by the richness of experiences we provide - experiences that spark curiosity, build confidence, and support every child to grow and thrive. We want to develop children’s love of learning and help them become citizens of the future by understanding and showing our school values of Respect, Kindness, Courage, Cooperation, Honesty and Creativity in all they do.

Some of the opportunities we have provided children this year are: Culture Day, Remembrance Day Immersive Room Reflection, Author Visits, Elf Production, Science Fair, National Storytelling week, World Book Day, Safer Internet Day, Holi Celebration, School Sport Lunchtime Challenges, Kingswood Caterers launch, Science Week, Performing Arts Soirée, Brass, Woodwind and Recorder instrumental Projects, Cinema Clubs, Achieve With Me Sessions, Maths Week, Pirate Day, Spanish Immersion Sessions, Young Minds Mental Health - Wear Yellow Day, Volkswagen Volunteers, Christmas Book Advent Launch, Winter Wonderland, Money Matters Visit, Children’s Book Awards, Breakfast with Father Christmas, Choirs Performances at Richmond Village and The Wig & Walnut, Life Education Sessions, Blue Butterfly Poster Competition, Open Views, Bikeability Course, Scavenger Hunt Competition, Walk to School Week, The Big Sing, Great Generations Project, Values Awards Assemblies, Football, Netball, Athletics, NfL and Dance Competitions, Family Bingo Evening, School Discos, Sports Days, and many more!

The list above is not a complete list. You just need to see the Year Group Blog Pages to see even more wonderful opportunities the children have had.

Providing our pupils with a rich curriculum offer would not be possible without the wonderful work of so many groups of people: 
We have had a record number of volunteers this year (and more signed up for next year) who help us in school by reading with the children, supporting in classrooms and running our library at lunchtimes. We also have a fantastic Friends of Woodland View team, spearheaded by Bex Spires, who organise a range of exciting fundraising events for the children.

Our school Governors go about their business in a quiet, yet purposeful manner. Our Full Governing Board meets 6 times a year, and spends an additional day in school. We have sub-committees who meet regularly throughout the year, including one committee who visits school an additional 3 times. Each of our 7 Governors has at least one additional role (e.g, Health and Safety, Safeguarding, Special Needs, etc) and they carry out monitoring visits to school at least once a year each. Our Governors continue to offer challenge and support to myself and the senior leaders, and they represent our parent community superbly.

Our school community is made up of so many individuals and groups, such as Reverend Nat, Woodys, NMPAT, Club Providers, linked organisations like Richmond Village, our PCSO, and the list goes on, and on, and on. All of these contribute to us during the year, and provide us with a varied community to utilise and feel part of.

The support we get from our parents is vital too. Attending events, staying up-to-date with communications, adapting to changes, keeping us informed, supporting your child with learning at home, reinforcing our messages; these are just some examples of the great impact you have. Our children have the best chance of success when we work in partnership. Thank you! 

We are very lucky to have such a skilled and dedicated team of staff educating and caring for our pupils. Teachers, support staff, the admin team, site and the lunch team, all work hard in their roles in school, but above all, they care deeply for the children. This week we say goodbye to Mrs Atkinson and Mrs Brennan from our support staff team, and Mrs Khalil from the lunch team. We also say goodbye to a volunteer, Mr Baxter, who has completed a whole academic year of voluntary support as he prepares for the next step in his educational journey. I would like to thank them all for their hard work and dedication to Woodland View and wish them luck in the future!

Lastly, I would like to thank our children; they are the heartbeat of our school. They are the reason we are all invested in making Woodland View the best it can be. We have high expectations of our children, and they respond brilliantly and make us proud every day. This sentiment is particularly true of our Year 6 pupils who leave us on Friday. They have been great ambassadors of the school, and they have led by example, particularly to the Year 5s who are getting ready to follow in their footsteps, and to their Foundation Stage Buddies who they have cared for this year. Year 6, you are ready, and we wish you well in the future - thank you.

As one year draws to an end, we have already begun to think ahead to next year. We are excited about the opportunities it will bring, and we are already exploring ways to build on the successes of this year. Our Magnificent 7 remains at the heart of everything we do, guiding the way we learn and how we grow as a community. As always, we are committed to creating a school environment where children are inspired every day, enjoy their learning, and are supported to achieve their very best.

Our focus is clear: to keep evolving as a school while staying true to what matters most - our children, our values, and our shared belief in Inspire, Enjoy, Achieve.

For the pupils and parents returning to us, see you on Wednesday 3rd September when the new year begins.

For everyone, I wish you a fantastic summer.

Mark Horsley