News
Minor Change to School Day
27th Jun 2010
We are proposing a minor change to the school day from September 2010. It is simply a change to home time from 3.25pm to 3.30pm. This small change will permit us to make minor variations to school timings during the day and make significant improvements to supervision levels during lunch time, and also activities we will be able to offer the children.
We invite parents to a consultation meeting at the school at 3.30pm on Wednesday 30th June to air their views regarding this change.
Summer Fair 2010
15th Jun 2010
Our Summer Fair event will be held on Friday 2nd July this year, 50p entry for adults and free for children. Our aim this year is to raise £12,000 for trampolining equipment.
We will be having our usual raffle - first prize is a "Sizzling Summer Barbecue Bundle", but also many other exciting prizes. Raffle tickets will be sold at the Poole Dolphin Centre on Sunday June 20th and Friday June 25th and if anybody is free on either of those days and wishes to help, please contact the school office. There will also be a fancy dress competition open to all Winchelsea pupils.
We will have many stalls as well as Bouncy Castle, Barbeque, Lucky Dip, Penalty Shoot Out, and many other fun activities.
Sponsored Skipathon and 'Wear Red' day.
8th Feb 2010
A sponsored Skipathon has been organised for our children to be held on Friday 12/02/10.
The money raised from this event will be split with 80% going to the British Heart Foundation and 20% going to the school.
As a result, the British Heart Foundation has already donated a large amount of skipping ropes to the school which we are now using during PE lessons.
It is also Wear Red day at the school in support of the British Heart Foundation. We will be collecting £1 from each child which will go to support their valuable work.
Winchelsea Children in Need Bandana Day 20th November 2009
15th Nov 2009
With all the coverage in the press and on TV, I am sure you are aware that Friday 20th November will mark the BBC annual "Children in Need" appeal.
Therefore, we would like to support this by holding a Bandana Day.
This will be a non-school-uniform day on Friday 20th Novemeber 2009, but made slightly different by asking that each child wear a bandana or head-scarf. Any colour will do and we ask that each child wishing to take part makes a donation to the collection of between 50p and £1.
In addition, we will be attempting to make a Copper Pudsey by covering the outline of a large Pudsey Bear with 1p and 2p coins. So any copper coins you may have would be very gratefully received.
OFSTED Inspection 14–15 September 2009
15th Nov 2009
We were recently inspected by OFSTED.
We are very pleased with the report. It acknowledges the many improvements we have made as a school since the last report in November 2006 and our grade for “Overall effectiveness: how good is the school” has improved from a 3 (Satisfactory) in 2006 to a 2 (Good) this time.
As the inspectors noted in the final report:
“Winchelsea is a good school where all groups of pupils, irrespective of their special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve well. Good progress has been made since the previous inspection in bringing about important improvements to the provision, such as developing the specialist skills of staff and improving the quality of the accommodation. Recent improvements to achievement in specific subjects also reflect the positive impact of leadership and management and, together with the drive and ambition shown by the leadership team, demonstrate that the school has good capacity to improve further.”
Other very positive comments from the inspectors concerned:
* Our excellent outreach support to mainstream schools (this was graded as Outstanding).
* Pupils enjoying being in the school and relating very well to the staff.
* Pupils confirming that they know they are safe.
* The good quality of teaching.
* The provision of a curriculum which meets the needs of all pupils well.
* Good planning between staff.
* Good links that ensure that pupils are fully involved in the local community.
* The good emphasis placed on ensuring equality of opportunities for all.
The views of parents and carers were also generally very positive. ‘We are really happy with Winchelsea School, everyone is so friendly,’ is how one parent described his view of the school, and this was supported by the majority of the parents and carers who responded to the questionnaire. These parents praised a variety of aspects including the efficiency of staff and the way they address the different needs of the pupils.
Overall, the report recognises the considerable progress we have made and recognises the many strengths of the school.
The complete report is available on this website and can be viewed by clicking on THIS LINK .
We are pleased with this report, but we continue to have the drive and ambition to improve still further. We owe it to our pupils to provide them with the best possible education, and we are determined that next time all aspects of the school’s work will be outstanding.
Parents’ Evening on 25th November 2009, 5.00 – 7.00 pm
15th Nov 2009
There will be a parents’ evening on 25th November 2009, from 5.00 – 7.00 pm, to give you the opportunity to meet your child’s teachers to discuss their progress this year.
A form to fill in first can be found HERE Please print it out, fill it in and hand it into school by Thursday 19th of November 2009.
We know that children make the best progress when we all work together so I urge you to please attend this.
Summer 2009 Newsletter and Other Documents
17th Sep 2009
Our Summer 2009 Newsletter is now on this site and can be found on the Information page or by following this LINK.
A guide to the types of meetings at school parents can attend for help or to become more involved in the school community can be found on the Community page or by following this LINK.
Parent Governors Vacancies
10th Sep 2009
We have two vacancies for Parent Governors. This is a real chance to become fully involved in the life of the school and to make a real difference. It is a big commitment, but is a really worthwhile one.
All parents/guardians over the age of 18 are eligible to stand for election with the exception of undischarged bankrupts, persons recently convicted of a serious offence and those who, if appointed, would be governors of more than two schools.
If you are interested, please contact the school for a form or print out the Parent Governor Vacancy Letter and Form found on this site. You may also like to write a brief factual statement about yourself (NOT an election address) and hand it in to the school complete with the form. Your statement should not exceed 200 words, and these items must be handed into the school by Friday 2nd October 2009.
New Staff Members
9th Sep 2009
Three new teaching staff have joined us this year.
Mr. Steve Cottee as Deputy Head Teacher.
Mr Tim Parker-Smith as Assistant Head Teacher.
Mr. Chris Robinson as Teacher with teaching and learning responsibilities for ICT, PE and educational visits.
All bring a wealth of experience and are very important members of our school community and we warmly welcome them.
We will all have the chance to meet them at the Parents Evening (16th September) and at a forthcoming Head Teachers Coffee Morning (date yet to be confirmed).
Parents Evening
9th Sep 2009
The Parents Evening will be on Wednesday 16th September from 7:00pm till 8:15pm. You will already have received your letter. We look forward to seeing all of you.
Not only are children welcome, we wish you to bring them with you.
Christmas Fayre
9th Sep 2009
Early notification: This year, the Christmas Fayre will be on December 4th. We rely upon your support and will be approaching you for help with this.
More Fund Raising News
30th Jun 2009
Friday 22nd May - A Sponsored Walk.
Taking into account Barclays £4£, the Sponsored Walk in May went really well and raised around £2,000 for the school.
Friday 26th June - The Summer Fête.
The Summer Fête raised around £3,000. Around £1,350 was raised on the night and a further £800 on ticket sales. Barclays £4£ again adds to reach the total.
Taking into account what was raised at Christmas and we have in excess of £9,000 raised for the school from only 3 events which is a fantastic achievement.
A big "thank you" to all who helped make these such a success for the school.
.
Fund Raising News
28th Apr 2009
We can now confirm that the total amount raised in connection with our Christmas Fayre was £4,275.88 and is the highest amount we have ever raised just from one event.
We can also confirm that the Variety Club have agreed to provide us with a new minibus and hopefully we will take delivery of this in the Autumn Term. However, we have to raise £10,500 toward the cost of the new minibus. Currently the balance of our fund is approximately £7,500 and this takes into account the amount we have had to contribute toward the cost of this years residentials. This means we have to raise a further £3,000 in order to meet our target.
As with last year, we plan to run two events during the Summer Term which we hope you will support.
Friday 22nd May - A Sponsored Walk.
Friday 26th June - The Summer Fête.
Please make a note of these two dates in your diaries.
.
Spring 2009 Newsletter
13th Feb 2009
Our Spring 2009 Newsletter is now on this site and can be found on the Information page or by following this link.
New Facilities For Pupils With Autism Spectrum Disorders
26th Mar 2008
There have been major improvements for the teaching of autistic pupils at Winchelsea.
We have:
Adapted Lilliput and Rockley classrooms so that they provide better facilities for all pupils, but particularly for children with autistic spectrum disorders, by building quiet low sensory areas and safe enclosed playgrounds.
We have resurfaced and repaired all the exteriors of the mobile classrooms to make them more attractive and better places for learning.Installed a new playground in Brownsea
Put new fencing in the Brownsea playground to make sure that they are safe and secure.
More and more of our pupils are on the autistic spectrum and we have quality facilities to help them achieve.
Healthy Schools
17th Mar 2008
Winchelsea has been awarded Healthy Schools Status 2008 - 2010.
Other Building Work
17th Mar 2008
We have resurfaced and repaired all the exteriors of the mobile classrooms to make them more attractive and better places for learning.
School Visioning Day
17th Mar 2008
A New Winchelsea School
The planned opening date of our new school is summer 2013.
We have been doing a lot of work in preparation. On Saturday 1st March 2008 we met to answer one very important question - “What sort of school do we want?”
This doesn’t mean just bricks and mortar, but actually what we want the school to achieve and what we want its role to be in the local community.
As the Government says, we are not rebuilding schools – we are transforming them.
Over 50 people contributed to the vision.