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Woodland Academy Trust

Members’ Newsletter

Summer 2016

Knockhall Academy to join our Trust Family The Trust is pleased to announce that the Department for Education has approved the Trust’s application to sponsor Knockhall

Academy in Greenhithe. This agreement is testament to the hard work and dedication of every member of staff, along with the

continued support of our parents and carers in our schools, that we have been given the opportunity to welcome Knockhall Academy

into our Trust family.

We are delighted that every one of our staff has been given the opportunity to share their expertise and excellent practices for the

benefit of the children and their families joining us.

Knockhall Academy will join our Trust on 1st January 2017 and we will be working closely with the school during the Autumn term

to ensure a smooth transition for the children’s learning.

Lime Wood Free School’s Journey continues The Department for Education approved the Trust’s application to open Lime Wood Free School, a new

primary school for Bexley, earlier this year.

Lime Wood, which is due to open in September 2018, will cater initially for a Reception cohort of children

with increasing capacity for children aged 5-11 years.

It is intended that the Lime Wood Free School curriculum will be very much based upon the

ecological and conservation principles on which the entire site is due to be developed. It will be

designed to promote children’s independence as learners and to provide them with the motivation

and skills to succeed, whatever their circumstances. Given the wonderful setting, and ecological

environment, a major part of our curriculum will be based on an outdoor and adventure theme. The

proposed site sits within an area dominated by housing, road links and industry, and is essentially an

oasis within the community.

Lime Wood will inspire all children through the use of the outdoors and strive for everyone to achieve qualifications in a wide range

of adventure pursuits; opportunities they would be unlikely to have access to otherwise. The Trust is passionate about serving the

children and their families in Bexley by ensuring outstanding provision and outstanding outcomes for every child within this community.

National Leader of Education The Trust is delighted that Mrs Angela Barry was chosen as an

inspirational leader to be a part of the celebration for the alumni

exhibition at the University of Greenwich.

Professor David Maguire, Vice-Chancellor of the university said:

“The alumni featured in this exhibition come from many walks of life

and disciplines: all are successful and inspirational. They have agreed to

share their stories so that current students can understand how to

achieve their dreams, strive for excellence and keep going in the face of

whatever challenges they may confront.”

Interim CEO, Lilac Sky Schools Academy Trust Mrs Barry, in her capacity as a National Leader of Education, was

chosen by the Regional Schools’ Commissioner to support Lilac Sky

Schools Academy Trust as their Interim CEO. Mrs Barry has been

instrumental in the rebrokering of the schools to new sponsors in the

best interests of the children and their outcomes.

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Pupil Premium Award Winners 2016 The staff and children were delighted to receive a letter from Minister Sam Gyimah

congratulating the school on winning a Pupil Premium Award 2016 for raising

aspirations and ensuring disadvantaged pupils have fulfilled their potential. The school

was selected for the award as being one of the most improved schools in the country

in terms of attainment and progress for its disadvantaged pupils since 2011.

This award is testament to the hard work and dedication of every single member of

staff, every parent and of course, every child. The school is passionate in ensuring that

every child, regardless of their background, is given the best possible opportunity to

achieve their optimum academically, socially and emotionally.

Twist and Pulse As part of the school's creative arts curriculum, BRIT school

graduates and Britain’s Got Talent runners up Twist and Pulse came

to Northumberland Heath to give a tailor-made dance experience

to our Year 5 children.

Born and bred South Londoners, they are role models for young

people in the area providing purpose and motivation.

“We love seeing children getting into dancing. We just want to

teach them everything we know and pass on our passion! We want

to show them that you can come from nothing and make it with

hard work and a dream.”

Year 6 Summer Production This year’s production “So You Think You’re a Superstar?” was produced by the Orchard Theatre. It is the story of

how Teen TV goes undercover in the most prestigious Sports Academy in the UK, where there are rumours of a

new Sporting Superhero who is unlike any other in history. With the 2016 Olympics around the corner the public

want to know more about this Sports Superhero with no name. Only Teen TV is allowed access and what they find

could damage the Academy’s chances of winning the Olympics. The children were challenged to discover the

Superhero inside themselves in this inter-galactic sports adventure comedy.

The children worked extremely hard and gave a fantastic performance. Well done Northumberland Heath!

Primary Science Quality Mark

The school is thrilled to have been awarded the Primary School Quality Mark which

is a scheme enabling schools to work together to share good practice and is

supported by professional development led by local experts. It encourages teacher

autonomy and innovation while at the same time offering a clear framework for

development in science subject leadership, teaching and learning.

The Interim Head Teacher, Ms Joanna Walkden said “Science is an important part

of our curriculum and this can even be seen in our Reception classes where they

have investigative areas. We are extremely proud to receive this award and we

thank Miss Kang for leading on this initiative in our school.”

Northumberland Heath Primary School

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Winter 2015

Peareswood Primary School Tree House Hall is officially open !

The staff and children were delighted that the Mayor of

Bexley, Mrs Eileen Pallen, officially opened the school's rock

climbing wall in June 2016. The Mayor presented certificates

to award the Year 4 pupils who had completed the NICAS

syllabus. There was also a display of our children’s newly

acquired climbing skills.

Peareswood is fortunate to be the only school in the

London Borough of Bexley to have such a spectacular

resource on the school grounds. Rock climbing is linked to

boosting brain function, whilst building muscle and

endurance.

Learning Outside of the Classroom

Peareswood has shown itself to have a strong commitment to providing excellent

learning outside the classroom (LOtC) to its pupils by achieving a national Learning

Outside the Classroom Mark (Bronze).

Awarded by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, the LOtC Mark

(Bronze) accredits those schools that have a strong awareness of the benefits of

providing frequent, continuous and progressive LOtC experiences to all pupils and

have begun to integrate LOtC into the life of the school.

Mrs Kerry Smith, Head Teacher said “Being awarded the LOtC Mark (Bronze) is a

real coup for all the staff and governors here as it shows that we are really making

strides in providing our pupils with potentially life-changing opportunities. We are

thrilled to get official recognition for our efforts and we look forward to building on

this award to integrate LOtC into the everyday life of the school.”

Lots of fairies have taken up residence in

our Forest School. Tread carefully and

you may see them fluttering by...

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Willow Bank Primary School Our newest arrivals !

Our children were absolutely thrilled to be able to watch the Willow Bank

ducklings hatch. All the children in the school could watch as there was a “duck

cam" installed. The children also watched the ducklings very first swim ! How

exciting !

Fantastic Science Week

The children enjoyed a fantastic week of forensic science and visits from dogs from Battersea, snakes, lizards and

many more furry and scaly creatures ..... here is what our children had to say ...

“I enjoyed the fingerprint person coming in to show us DNA.”

“The reptiles were thrilling and exciting. There were snakes like Anacondas and Corn snakes. I thought it was a

new experience in my life and the snakes were a

bit scary!”

Unexpected Visitors to the school …….

The children of Willow Bank Primary School had an extremely exciting day when a

swarm of bees arrived at the window of one of the classrooms!

The members of staff and a dedicated volunteer who are all qualified apiarists

moved the bees to a new home within the school's empty hive. We will let you

know how they settle in ......

Eggs—cell—ent !

Our chickens are absolutely thriving and producing dozens of

eggs which are used by our catering teams in our children’s

school meals and are also donated to our parents.

We would like to thank Ms Tania Stupples, our Teaching and Farm Assistant for her dedication to the welfare of our animals

Our Very Own Model Village

Willow Bank held a competition for the children to design a "model" house

for their model village. The winners had their drawings turned into real model

houses and heartfelt thanks goes to "Age Concern Men in Sheds" for creating

these for our children. Once painted and varnished they will be placed in a

newly created planted flower bed which will be seen by all who come into the

school.

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Spring 2016

TRUST NEWS

Working in Partnership Awards The Trust is delighted of the achievements at the “Working in

Partnership Awards” at the University of Greenwich. We are proud

to work alongside the University of Greenwich to deliver school based

initial teacher training and offer exciting and innovative professional

development days for their students. Our in-house training is provided

through our team of experienced staff, including but not exclusively by

our five Specialist Leaders of Education. Congratulations to the

following:

Willow Bank Primary School

Mrs Meena Malhi, Assistant Head Teacher, accepted the ‘Top 50

Schools in Partnership 2015/2016’ Award.

Mrs Ellen Copsey, Assistant Head Teacher, accepted the ‘Professional

Development Excellence’ Award.

Peareswood Primary School

Mrs Lauren Longhurst, Acting Assistant Head Teacher accepted

the ‘Professional Development Excellence’ Award.

This is another proud moment for our schools and our Trust in

delivering the best education to our children to ensure positive

outcomes.

A Royal Celebration “What a super afternoon tea party to

celebrate the Queen’s birthday party. We

ate cucumber and cheese sandwiches

followed by a yummy piece of cake. We

sang along to the National Anthem and

waved our flags Happy Birthday Your

Majesty.”

- Pupils of the Woodland Academy Trust

Our three schools are all top of the

class Gold Award Winners ! Following our schools' participation in the Walk to

School Awards, representatives from our Junior Road

Safety Officer pupil groups were delighted to collect the

Gold Travel Plan Award on behalf of their school at a

celebration event at the Civic Offices.

Well done to all our children, staff and parents'

commitment to the environment and helping to reduce

school-run journeys, pollution and road congestion and

for encouraging healthy lifestyles for our pupils.

Another proud moment for our schools.

School Direct The Trust’s Teacher Training has gone from strength to strength with our partnership with the University of

Greenwich truly blossoming into a strategic, systems leadership. The Trust and University have been sharing

resources that bring improvement to each organisation, influencing best practice to make a real difference to

the lives and education of our children and their future teachers. Congratulations to all of our School Direct

students who have completed their courses this year and will be teaching within the Trust from September

2016. We have successfully recruited for our student places for 2016-2017 and our applications for places for

2017–2018 placements are currently being processed. By offering Initial Teacher Training, the Trust is able to

grow skilled, experienced and successful teachers to join our Trust family from the very beginning of their

teaching career.

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Spring 2016

TRUST NEWS

Recruitment to the Trust Senior Leadership Teams

Lime Wood Free School

Miss Claire Ingrams (currently Deputy Head Teacher as Peareswood) has been appointed as the Principal

Designate and will leave Peareswood in January 2017.

Northumberland Heath Primary School

Mrs Sarah Gordon has been appointed as the Head Teacher with effect from January 2017. She has been

working closely with Ms Walkden since January 2016 and will continue to do so to ensure a smooth transition.

Peareswood Primary School

Ms Carla Ferla has been appointed as a Deputy Head Teacher with effect from September 2016. She will be

working closely with Mrs Smith and Miss Ingrams prior to her departure.

Mrs Lauren Longhurst has been appointed as Acting Assistant Head Teacher with effect from September 2016.

Willow Bank Primary School

Mr Brian Simber (the Interim Deputy Head Teacher at Northumberland Heath) will be leading Willow Bank as

temporary Head Teacher while Mrs Hayward is unwell. Ms Clare Beresford has been appointed as Assistant

Head Teacher with effect from September 2016.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our Trust staff for the commitment and loyalty

they give as we strive to make our schools the outstanding learning environments that our children

deserve. For those staff who are moving to pastures new, we wish you good fortune as you embark upon

the next phase of your career.

The Trust has appointed The Contract Dining Company

to provide healthy school meals in all of our schools from

September 2016. Two pupils from Northumberland

Heath joined the interview panel and tasting session.

Well done boys !

Thank you to all the parents/carers who have joined the

taster sessions over the past few weeks.

Join our Team, become a Champion

Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give

up on them, who will fight their corner, an individual who

understands the power of education and strives to ensure that

every child will become the best that they can possibly be.

Every single member of staff within the Woodland Academy

Trust is a champion.

http://www.woodlandacademytrust.co.uk/recruitment/

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Spring 2016

Woodland Academy Trust Pupil Outcomes By Mr Phil Powell, Executive Head Teacher for School Improvement

We celebrate the achievements and uniqueness of every one of our children every day through their

engagement with learning and they are a real credit to our schools.

Children in our Early Years’ provisions continue to thrive, with a record number of children reaching a ‘Good

Level of Development’ in relation to the Government’s attainment measure at the end of the Reception year.

Within Peareswood, 86% of children reached the standard, within Northumberland Heath we had 83%

attaining the standard and within Willow Bank, 84% reached the standard. This is the highest percentage ever

to reach this standard in Willow Bank and reflects the excellent provision that has been provided for the

children. These figures are well above the percentage of children nationally achieving a good level of

development which was 66% in 2015.

All three schools have performed well in the Year 1 phonics screening check. At Northumberland Heath, 83%

of children met the required standard, whilst at Peareswood and Willow Bank, 91% of children met the

standard. This again reflects the high quality provision that we make for our children, giving them the best start

we can in their reading.

At Key Stage 1, our children have coped well with the demands of the new, more challenging National

Curriculum. They have been studying this curriculum since the start of Year 1 and have therefore not had a

bridge to gap in terms of their skills and knowledge. At Northumberland Heath, 75%, 69% and 72% of children

met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths respectively. At Willow Bank, 77%, 72% and 81%

achieved the standard and at Peareswood, 91%, 88% and 86% achieved the standard. The focus for all three

schools must now be making sure that these figures continue to improve by the time the children reach the

end of Key Stage 2.

At the end of Key Stage 2, our children have really noticed the increased expectation in the new national

curriculum. Unlike Key Stage 1 children, who have been taught the new curriculum from the start, our Year 6

this year have had four years being taught the old, less challenging curriculum. This is reflected in their results,

with 51%, 69% and 47% of children at Northumberland Heath reaching the required standard in reading,

writing and maths respectively. At Willow Bank, 45%, 79% and 41% reached the required standard and at

Peareswood, 46%, 75% and 50% reached the standard. The challenge for each school next year will be to

increase the percentage of children meeting the requirements of the new curriculum.

Short Inspection at Northumberland Heath Primary School

Ofsted carried out a visit to the school on 10th May 2016. The Inspector noted that when Ms Walkden joined

the school as Interim Head Teacher she accurately identified what needed to be improved and set about

tackling it rapidly and firmly.

The school has established a clear, comprehensible set of core values to guide the personal development of the

children. The recruitment of senior leaders has strengthened the school’s capacity to sustain the improvements

and has introduced a more consistent, robust approach to tackling unacceptable behaviour from a small

minority of pupils. Checks on the quality of teaching are extensive and frequent.

Safeguarding is effective and Governors provide strong support and challenge. The Local Governing Body

works well with the Board of Trustees to maintain a strategic vision alongside strong local knowledge.

The school continues to be good and we look forward to working with our parents and continuing the journey

of school improvement towards outstanding. The Trust wishes to sincerely express its gratitude to Ms

Walkden for her excellent leadership during this academic year.

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What is the Trust’s Philosophy?

The core business of the Woodland Academy Trust is to ensure outstanding provision

and outstanding outcomes for every child within our community. We aim to do this

through:

Developing the whole child to enable them to become exceptional learners.

Nurturing the strengths of the local community.

Involving the extended family in the successful development of our young people.

All staff, Members, Trustees and Governors sharing a clear understanding that

excellence is required at all times.

Creating a stimulating and engaging environment which generates excitement in

coming to school.

To find out more about the Woodland Academy Trust, please do look at our website

www.woodlandacademytrust.co.uk

LET US KNOW YOUR VIEWS

As a follow up to previous surveys, we would welcome further comments from parents.

Members, Trustees and Governors will be convening their next meeting at Peareswood

Primary School on 9th November 2016. On the day there will be the opportunity for

parents and carers to come into the school to talk to us about our Trust and, in

particular because we are within Peareswood, about the successes of that school. For

any parents who are unable to stay and meet with us, we will also meet with parents in

the playground before school.

As we are keen to hear your views and opinions, please do complete and return the

form below.

As Members, we look forward to working with you in the new academic year as we

embark upon yet another fantastic year.

Parent’s Name: _____________________________________

Child’s School: ______________________________________

One thing that I really appreciate/like about my child’s school is:

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

One thing that I would like explained in further detail is:

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Would you like to share your views about our schools

with Ofsted and comment upon our many successes? If

so please follow the link below:

https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/login?

destination=give-your-views

The Woodland

Academy Trust prides

itself on working in

close partnership in

order to benefit our

pupils, staff and

community.

The Trust is a happy

friendly community with

a hard working, caring

staff. A child’s learning

and development makes

greater progress when

parents and staff work

closely together.

We emphasise a positive

approach to learning and

behaviour. This approach

is used consistently

throughout the schools

thus promoting a good

self-image and respect for

other people.

The school actively

promotes British Values

which we believe will

prepare pupils for life in

modern Britain. To

achieve this we use our

curriculum to enable the

pup i l s t o r e l a t e

experience to learnt

knowledge. In particular

these values are woven

into assemblies and

many more aspects of personal, social, moral

a n d c u l t u r a l

development. We

promote democracy,

the rule of law,

individual liberty, mutual

respect and tolerance of

different faiths and

beliefs.

Northumberland Heath

Primary School

Wheelock Close, Erith Kent, DA8 1JE

Tel: 01322 334638

Peareswood Primary

School Peareswood Road

Erith, Kent, DA8 3PR Tel: 01322 332379

Willow Bank Primary School

Seacourt Road,

Thamesmead, SE2 9XB

Tel: 0208 320 1900