Information About Us.

We are a successful school that is always seeking to be better. Whinfield Primary School is a large school, following the successful amalgamation of the infant and junior school in 2004. This has meant lots of new facilities, including a new entrance hall, reception play area, toilets, space for a library and a new staffroom. And there are still more changes to come.

Our recent ofsted inspection in May 2006 said we were a good school which children enjoy coming to.  In a letter to the pupils they said;

'Like you, we believe your school is a good one. You clearly like lessons, work hard and, as a result, achieve good standards in all subjects. Teachers generally expect you to work hard, and they make lessons exciting and lively and encourage you to play a full part in them. We know that you appreciate the exciting activities and visits that they provide for you.'

School Aims    

It is our wish for Whinfield Primary School to be a happy family and by working together we will succeed in making it so!

                                                                   Aiming High Together

Our aims are:

1. To create a happy, secure atmosphere so that each individual can develop his/her potential.
2. To provide a broad, balanced, curriculum, which is monitored and evaluated to meet changing needs and circumstances.
3. To help children acquire the knowledge skills and practical abilities which will facilitate their understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of life and their personal role.
4. To work as a team and provide quality teaching in pursuit of excellence and enjoyment.  
5. To arouse children's curiosity and enthusiasm and help them to become well motivated with lively enquiring minds, eager to discover, able to question and argue rationally and apply themselves to tasks and physical skillls.
6. To liaise and work in partnership with the school community and as a result  widen children's experience of the world around them, past and present, deepening their understanding of the world and their relationship to it.
7. To respect the rights of all individuals and value their contribution to the life of the school.  
8. To develop a tolerant and understanding attitude towards one another, towards other ways of life, other races and religions, both at home and abroad, and through this to deepen the children's awareness and understanding of moral and religious values.
9. To develop, as fully as possible, children's potential powers of expression, stimulating and enriching their imagination, extending their use of language and developing and refining their thought processes.
10. To develop a sense of self respect through the acquisition of self-confidence, self-discipline, self-responsibility and self-awareness. To increase children's sensitivity to language and the arts, to the environment and to other people and equip them to live in a technological age.

Special Education Needs

We make every effort to be a fully inclusive school.  

                       We recognise that some children have special talents which need nurturing and other children may need help occasionally or even  continuously in order to overcome specific difficulties and help them make progress.

In determining children's needs we look at children's verbal, physical and academic abilities, emotional problems, attitudes, aptitudes and interests.  When a child is identified as having learning difficulties consultation takes place between the class teacher, the Special Needs Co-ordinator and the child's parents and this informs the programme of work designed for the child.  Any support given will normally take place within the classroom in a group situation.  If there is a need then the child will be referred, after consultation with parents, to one of the support services, eg Educational Psychology, Speech Therapy, Behavioural Support, Medical Officer.  A formal assessment of Special Educational Needs would then be made where appropriate.

Our Special Educational Needs Policy is written in accordance with the SEN Code of Practice which came into effect on 1st January 2002.  Children with special educational needs are identified as soon as possible.  We make detailed observations and keep careful records exploring the nature of the difficulty by involving parents and, if necessary, other professionals.  All children on School Action and School Action Plus are given an Individual Education Plan, which gives specific targets for improvement.  These are produced half yearly and copies are given to parents.  Reviews for Statemented children are held annually, with parents attending.  We keep the effectiveness of approaches adopted under review.  Appointments are offered annually with the Special Education Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) to all parents with children with Special Educational Needs.

Details of the school's Special Educational Needs Policy, any statutory statements and circulars about the National Curriculum, the Governors Statement of Curricular Aims and Objectives, the published Ofsted Report and schemes of work are available for inspection by any parent at the school.  Information about how to make a complaint about the curriculum to the governing body is also available in school.   Parents wishing to see any of this information are requested to make an appointment with the Head Teacher.

 Children with special academic abilities are catered for within the classroom with extension activities.  Children who have ability in music have the benefit of string and brass instrument tuition with our visiting peripatetic musicians.  Children with ability in sport will benefit from our extra-curricular sporting activities.

The school admits disabled children under the same arrangements as those for all other children with the proviso that the school has the facilities and the resources to cater for children's individual needs, both physical and educational.  The school's equal opportunities statement applies to all pupils, regardless of circumstance and will ensure that disabled pupils are treated in the same way as others.  They will be encouraged to take part in all activities which lie within their capabilities and to develop their abilities to the fullest possible extent.

The school is not built on one level and at present there are several sets of steps. However, lifts have been added to enable access to all parts of the school.