Whiteknights Growing Greatness
“It is great to be part of a school that has a dedicated headteacher and staff. I’d describe the school as understanding, motivated, outstanding, visionary and hardworking. My son is happy and is progressing well. It’s a great place to learn.” Year 1 parent
Welcome
Our mission
Dear Parents/Carers,
We will nurture each individual and help them to grow in greatness.
On behalf of the governors and staff, I would like to welcome you and your child to Whiteknights Primary School. Our school strives to attain excellence in a happy, caring, secure and dynamic environment, where we all have the opportunity to achieve our highest potential. I am sure the years our pupils spend here will be happy and successful. I passionately believe that education is a means for us to change our lives for the better. A good education gives us the chance to live longer, enjoy success, create life chances, provide for a family and much, much more; something that every parent and carer wants for their children. By working together, your child will leave Whiteknights with a life-long love of learning and well prepared for the challenges ahead. Yours sincerely, Francois Walker Headteacher
We aim to provide outstanding educational opportunities that develop happy, confident pupils, who have the skills to be successful lifelong learners, and are able to fulfil their ambitions. We do this by: • Maintaining a focus on attaining high standards at the heart of all that we do. • Providing pupils with quality experiences and opportunities. • Providing outstanding leadership, including governance.
Inspiring “Pupils enjoy learning and are proud of their achievements. They are well-mannered, behave well towards one another, and look after each other. The school cares for pupils well and keeps them safe.” Ofsted “The school works very well with parents and keeps them informed about their children’s learning. As a result, parents have high levels of confidence in the school.” Ofsted “I enjoy coming to school. I’m getting much better at reading and maths, but my favourite thing to do is take part in the drama club.” Year 4 pupil
Our well organised curriculum is structured to stimulate creative thinking and dialogue between pupils, staff and parents. We encourage pupils to explore the world around them through practical exploration and discovery. Every pupil is given the opportunity to learn in our forest school, participate in cooking lessons and become fit and healthy through games lessons and after school clubs. At the core of our curriculum is the belief that all pupils must become expert readers. We are very effective at teaching pupils this skill and are proud of the positive impact this has on our pupils. Our highly skilled teaching team have received national recognition which has celebrated their effectiveness in teaching pupils to read. Each classroom has a small library of fiction and non-fiction books. We also have a good school library containing a wide selection of appropriate resources. Children are encouraged to borrow materials from the school library that they can take home and share with their parents. From joining in Reception all the way through to Year 6 we help pupils develop the belief that they can achieve the highest academic standards. This growth mind set is woven into our curriculum through assemblies and positive reflection within lessons.
“Pupils’ results in reading, writing and mathematics are above national levels at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2.” Ofsted
Challenging “Teachers have high expectations of their pupils and want them to do as well as they possibly can in lessons and over time.” OFSTED
We are fortunate to have many extra curricular clubs, which are run by staff and external providers. The range of clubs include: choir, environment, football, netball and dance. The clubs run at lunchtimes or after school.
We always maintain a strong focus on academic achievement.
Whiteknights has representatives from each year group elected to a School Council which discusses matters of importance to the pupils. This fosters a sense of belonging and encourages children to think about their school and wider community and how they can improve life for all pupils.
This is central to our philosophy, and is a key factor within each element of our curriculum. We dedicate our morning teaching to pupils gaining English and Mathematics skills. This enables them to flourish in National Assessment tests and tasks. Day trips and expeditions are features of school life. Each term, staff arrange trips for the pupils in their Year groups. These excursions relate to their current topic, enrich learning and support pupils in developing their understanding. Following this, pupils return to their classrooms having applied the knowledge and seen it implemented in the real world. These trips are well supported by parents who value the contribution they make in developing well rounded, high achieving pupils. All pupils have the opportunity to play musical instruments. We offer group lessons on a variety of instruments including the violin, cello, woodwind, guitar, drums, brass instruments and keyboards.
It is our desire to develop pupils into adults who understand and are therefore able to work with people from all cultures and religious backgrounds. Religious education is provided in accordance with the agreed syllabus adopted by Wokingham Borough Council. The syllabus reflects the fact that the main religious traditions in Great Britain are Christian, and also taking into account the other principal religions. Acts of collective worship are held daily and these are mainly Christian in content.
“The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. It ensures that pupils are being prepared effectively for life in modern Britain.” OFSTED
“Children and staff relate well together.” OFSTED
Supporting Staff work hard to ensure that our pupils are effectively supported; building strong and effective partnerships with parents. All teachers monitor the children’s achievement and progress, giving additional support as soon as a need has been identified. We work to ensure that all our pupils reach their full potential. For those pupils who require extra help, our Inclusion Leader consults outside agencies and works with staff and parents to implement the advice that has been given. All classes have additional adults working with the class teacher to support pupils within lessons.
“Relationships between pupils and adults are caring and respectful.” OFSTED
Breakfast Club and After School Club Our Breakfast and After School clubs are a great asset and both are run on site. Breakfast Club opens at 7:40 am and runs until 8:40 am. After School Club runs from 3.20 pm to 6.00 pm. Children are provided with a nutritious breakfast in the morning and a light tea in the evening. This popular resource provides parents with the peace of mind that their children are well looked after.
Your involvement We are proud of the amount of help and support that parents give to the school. This support ranges from listening to pupils read, going on school trips, cheering our sports teams and attending our termly parent consultations.
“Parents are invited into the classrooms regularly to enable them to join in their children’s learning at school.” OFSTED
“After School Club has been a life saver. My son is very happy to join in and insists that I pick him up as late as possible, especially on a Friday when they watch a movie.” Year 3 parent
Facilities Inside and out, Whiteknights has excellent facilities to enhance our pupils’ learning. ICT is well catered for with permanent desktop machines in each class and a suite of laptops for pupils to use in their own classrooms. Netbooks and ‘Learn Pads’ are available for our younger pupils. Outside, we have an orchard, a vegetable patch and a greenhouse alongside a sheltered classroom which is perfect for outdoor learning. Whiteknights is committed to the teaching of Physical Education and we are lucky to have an expansive field for team sports and athletics. Within our various playgrounds, we have a netball court and separate ‘Jungle Gyms’ for Foundation and Key Stages 1 and 2.
Joining Whiteknights Primary School Whiteknights has a planned admission figure of 60 children per year group. All admissions are handled by The Admissions Team, Wokingham Borough Council, Shute End, Wokingham, RG40 1WN. Details of the admissions policy operated by the local authority can be found at the following link: http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/schools/primary/ All applications must be made through your own home authority. Parents of prospective pupils are very welcome to visit our school and appointments can be arranged through the school office.
Whiteknights Growing Greatness
Fairlawn Green, Shinfield Rise, Reading RG2 8EP Tel: 0118 987 2588 Website: www.whiteknights.wokingham.sch.uk e-mail: admin@whiteknights.wokingham.sch.uk twitter: @wokinghamknight Designed & Produced by FSE Design Tel: 01933 303520 www.fsedesign.co.uk