Welcome to Westlands Community Primary School

Our site is for all members of the school community and for those of you who seek to find out more about the school.  We are immensely proud of our school.   The facilities we offer are superb and the quality of education is of the highest standard.  The happiness and well being of the children is a priority. 

During 2002/03, almost £3 million was spent on creating the excellent school buildings and resources that we now enjoy.  We have two halls, two computer suites with an extensive computer network taking ICT into all areas of the school, including Interactive Whiteboards in all classrooms, and a very large all-weather sports pitch.  Our Early Years department, for children who are just starting school, is purpose built with a separate fenced playground.  It is superb.

If you would like to visit the school, please phone or email for an appointment.  We would be very pleased to see you. For more detailed information please access our school brochure by following the link at the top of the page.

Our aim is for each individual in the school community, regardless of gender, race, culture and background, to reach their full potential in an inclusive environment where happiness and security are a priority.

High expectations in teaching, learning and behaviour are reflected in the excellence and enjoyment at the centre of our vision.

Working together in an honest and respectful partnership is the way forward.

The vision of a school relates to its aims for the children and the ethos of the environment in which those aims are met.

Our aims are simple. In partnership with parents and governors we wish to offer the best education we can in terms of knowledge, skills, concepts and relationships.

We must give every opportunity for a wide variety of meaningful learning experiences. We will develop the skills and talents of the children to enable them to access information. Also to solve problems and effectively communicate their findings to others. We must teach them how to make decisions and, in making these decisions to appreciate the needs of others. We must be sure that the children are making proper progress at all stages of their educational development and in all areas of the curriculum.

Children must be part of an environment where they can be stretched to the full extent of their potential and responsibility.

Discipline within the School relies heavily on the ability of all staff, both teaching and support staff, to develop good relationships with each other and the children, and on the children's ability to exercise self-discipline. Children who feel cared for will generally care in return and will wish to please teachers and others by behaving in an acceptable manner.

We aim to create an environment where high standards are the norm and where consideration for others is manifest in our relationships. School days should be happy days when children can enjoy the company of their peers within the calm and ordered atmosphere; a time where all can experience the pleasure of acquiring knowledge and the success of mastering new skills and developing new talents.

We want children to have confidence in their abilities, to be able to make use of all that society has to offer. We want school to be a microcosm of the kind of community they will seek for themselves as adults. We want children to come out of school sensible, respectful, happy and well adjusted.

Westlands is a primary school and so accomodates both infant and junior school children. We are split into four teams:

The classes are named by using their Team letter followed by the initial of the teacher's surname (or Christian name when two teachers have the same initial for their surname). The class names are listed below.

Teams of teachers work together, planning the curriculum and sharing expertise and experience to the benefit of all the children. Each class has a Learning Support Assistant and there is provision for extra help to be given to children with special educational needs. This is provided by the Deputy Head Teacher who also has responsibility for Special Educational Needs thoughout the school with support from the SEN teaching assistants. Children with quite specific needs may have additional support that is funded by the Local Authority.

It is School policy that children will, if at all possible, not be taught by the same teacher in consecutive years.

Our main aim is to offer a broad and balanced curriculum which inspires children to achieve excellence and enjoyment in their learning. We endeavour to generate wide and varied opportunities for academic achievement across all subjects. We aim to nurture and develop pupils' skills and talents through the breadth and creativity of the curriculum in school and in extra-curricular activities.

The National Curriculum is the framework for our teaching, strongly supported by the Primary Strategy - 'Excellence and Enjoyment' which gives flexibility and creativity to the teaching and learning in school

The National Literacy Hour and daily Numeracy lessons are well established within school. They are taught as individual subjects and are also integrated into other subjects, thus creating exciting teaching and learning opportunities through cross-curricular links.

We are very keen to involve parents in their children's learning and the partnership between school and home is a high priority. One of the easiest ways to support children's achievement and attainment is for parents to regularly and consistently hear them read. Children are encouraged to take home their reading books and library books, to share with their parents. For most children, practice is the vital element in learning to recognise the shapes of words.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a key area of the curriculum and with our extensive computer networks, numerous computers and interactive whiteboards in each classroom, we are well equipped to meet this challenge. We were the first primary school to have a broadband connection to the Internet. All the 60+ computers in school are networked and have filtered Internet access. All teachers have laptops.

The other areas of the curriculum, including Science, History, Geography, Technology, Art and Religious Education, are planned using a topics approach. We use the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) Schemes of Work and have developed our own detailed planning procedures. Topics are identified, within each team and year group to give opportunities for a cross-curricular approach to teaching and learning.

We have high expectations of standards in all that we do, including the emphasis that we place on handwriting and the general presentation of work.

The curriculum is carefully planned to give proper progression throughout the school. To ensure that this is so we follow the QCA Schemes of Work for each subject. Teachers who are designated as Subject Leaders have the responsibility to see that Schemes of Work are being properly implemented. The Scheme of Work is planned and delivered by the teachers within each year group. Regular opportunities for assessing children's learning and progress are in place. The County software package known as Target Tracker enables records to be kept of children's progress, targets, achievement and attainment.