Wardley Primary School

Parents and Carer Questionnaire

2008-07-14T08:18:36Z

As part of our continued self-evaluation, we would like the views of parents and carers with regards to our provision for your children.

To make the process more efficient, we are using a computer based questionnaire which should allow us to identify strengths and areas for development, more easily.

The link below will take you to the secure site where you can answer some simple questions. Although a name is asked for, I can assure you that we do not receive this information; all entries are anonymous.

Survey Link

http://perspective.angelsolutions.co.uk/diagnostics/Survey.aspx?link=a1e6a2fd-1c84-4a39-840c-22548d3c8f06

I would like to express how grateful we are for those who share their views with us as we take all comments extremely seriously and use them to shape our practice.

The closing date for the survey is Monday 14th July, 12.00pm.

Every Picture Tells

2008-07-04T11:24:42Z

The arts company Every Picture Tells came to work with the Early Years children to produce some art and craft work related to traditional stories. Firstly, the children listened to an alternative version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. A storyboard was used to help to tell the story and afterwards, the children had the opportunity to produce a baby bear picture. To finish off the visit, the children took part in a mini quiz: Guess the traditional story. The children were excellent at the quiz and guessed all the answers correctly! A fabulous time was had by all.

Artsmark Silver Celebrations!

2008-07-03T17:01:09Z

We are extremely proud to announce that the school has achieved the Artsmark Silver award for our high level of provision to the arts. By gaining the Artsmark Silver award, the school has shown it's commitment to the wider development of pupils and teachers and to raising the profile of it's arts provision both within the school and the local community.

The arts cover the four artforms of art, drama, dance and music. Over the last couple of years, we have been developing and increasing the provision we offer to the children through organising a range of activities to enrich and broaden the curriculum, such as visits to arts organisations, artists coming in to school, various competitions, and events within school.

The awards ceremony was held at the Northern Stage in Newcastle and it was a fun filled event, with music and dance performances from various schools around the North East. Heather Seymour and Adam McIntyre accompanied Miss Gillie and Mr Malik to collect the award and to celebrate the achievement.

Thank you to all of the staff and pupils at Wardley for their hard work and dedication to the arts.

Summer Activities

2008-06-30T11:15:51Z

Over the summer holidays, there is a huge amount of work going on within school. The replacement of windows and panels continues in the KS2 building along with internal and external painting across the whole school. However, amongst this, we have managed to squeeze in the Active Kidz summer play scheme for 5-7 year olds.

For those parents and carers looking for activities that children can be involved in over the long summer, Gateshead's programme is designed to give competitively priced options. Please see the attached form which gives all the information necessary.

Active Kidz Programme

New Balls Please!

2008-06-27T14:26:51Z

Over the last two weeks, Wardley have competed in the Tyne & Wear Tennis challenges for Year 3 and Year 5.

]]> Both year group challenges required four boys and four girls to compete against seven other schools in a range of skills events and matches. The standard was extremely high with many of the children from the other schools also playing for local tennis clubs. However, the children from Wardley were extremely competative and enthusiatic. I was particularly proud of the children's behaviour and their sense of fair play especially when playing against such strong players.

More information about the events will be published on http://www.tynewearsport.org

Remember, tennis is not just a summer sport; so go out there, enjoy and keep it up all year round.

Line Dancing Festival

2008-06-23T10:14:18Z

On Wednesday 11th June 2008, Gateshead Leisure Centre held their annual line dancing festival. After weeks of practising, Miss Gardner and Miss Allan took a team of 12 excited children along to show off their line dancing skills.

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The evening was a complete success and even the parents had a chance to join in. Four main dances were performed with some primary schools having made up their own dances to perform (we plan to do this next year - now that we have a bit more experience!!). The children performed like experts and each of them recieved a certificate as a momento of their hard work and achievement. We can't wait for next year!!!!

We are Football Crazy, Football Mad!

2008-06-19T20:33:16Z

During our Be Healthy week, Stephen Turnbell, a professional footballer from Hartlepool United, came into Year One and Two to discuss with the children the importance of a healthy diet and doing plenty of exercise. He also delivered some coaching, wowed the children and staff with his tricks and skills, and refereed some 7 a side matches. The children had a great afternoon and discovered how much hard work and dedication it takes to be an elite athlete.

Year 1 and 2 Become Firefighters for the Afternoon

2008-06-13T15:57:47Z

Two members of the local firefighters and their fire engine visited Year 1 and 2 for their annual fire safety talk. The children watched a video about the importance of not playing with matches. The children then had the opportunity to try on a firefighter's uniform and the see what different equipment a fire engine has on board. Some extremely lucky children had the opportunity to ride in the fire engine. The safety session ended with the children having a turn on the hose.

River Detectives

2008-06-13T10:46:42Z

On Thursday 12th June 2008, Y5/6 spent the day in the Ingram Valley, Alnwick, investigating the River Breamish / Till (the only river in the North East of England with two names!).

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The children had a fantastic day out and we would all like to thank Jane, a Northumberland National Park Ranger, for her expertise and help organising the trip. As always, the children were superb ambassadors for Wardley Primary School and their behaviour and attitude was commended by Jane, and members of the public who we met at the Northumberland National Park Visitor's Centre in Ingram. Check out the following website for information, events and ideas for days out (http://www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk/).

Whickham Thorns for Wardley

2008-05-26T14:01:26Z

On the 23rd May 2008, the Y6 children celebrated their SATS freedom with a wicked day out at Whickham Thorns. Everyone tried out; snow tubing, archery, the obstacle course and climbing.

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Watch out, he's behind you!!

The Great Escape!

There was a a lot of lying down on the job!

Most of the children simply decided to walk across, but hey-ho, each to their own!

This was supposed to be a treat for the children! Some people got a little over-excited!

"Don't get out until you come to a stop," shouted the instructor!

Some of the children thought it would be fun to STICK TOGETHER, c'mon, c'mon let's stick together!

"Did she say one hand or two," whispered the girl, aiming the dangerous weapon at the target.

Tennis coaching

2008-05-22T21:09:46Z

Ian, a tennis coach, has come into school and has provided us with 6 weeks of highly skilled coaching. We have done a range of basic skills which have taught us how to control a ball with more confidence.

The Ian showed us how to use the ball with our racket to get used to holding it correctly.

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We have learnt the 'ready stance' so our opponent knows we are ready to play.

Ian then taught us the principles for forehand and backhand which meant we were ready for more tricks as we had better racket control. He demonstrated the hard one, but the children proved how good they have become matching his skill!

We now can use a tennis racket and ball and bounce it off different parts of our bodies and what's even more impressive is that some of us can rally and volley. Callum Middleton even managed to match Mrs Dixon and Ian's score of 31!!!

It has been great fun learning from an expert and we hope to improve our skills each year.

Super Science Projects

2008-05-22T19:58:47Z

As part of our Science learning this half term, we have been learning about different habitats. Mr Scott challenged the whole phase to choose a species and create an informative piece of writing on it.

We were also lucky to have a visitor, Rebecca, from the Hancock Museum who brought stuffed animals for us to examine to see how they are suited to their habitats to inspire the children even more.

]]> We found a range of different species in the grass and bark habitats that are in the school grounds. The children tried very hard to capture these mini beasts.

The children accepted this challenge with great enthusiasm and we have recieved some excellent projects. These have come in the style of fact files, reports, booklets and even models. 34c examples are below. It is also worth reading what they think about each others work as children can be the most critical of all. Luckily in this case, the presentations were seen in a good light!!!! The children should be very proud of their achievements.

"I like this because it tells you lots of information." Megan Anderson
Megan said, "I like this because it tells people lots of information about dolphins."
According to Jack, "Brandon's has got lots of facts and information" and Ryan agrees but he also "likes the pictures which match the information."
Sam believes by reading Callum's project it told him "more about Pumas, how they leap up to 20ft!"
Jack's thoughtful observations show how much he has taken in as he chose Courtney's because it "has a poem, pictures and it tells you lots of information too."
Lauren found Daniel's to be very useful as "it tells you all about how to look after rabbits."

Jack Tweddell's project appealed to Julian because "it has loads of scientific words in it."

Daniel enjoyed Lauren's project as "it had lots of information about dogs."
"Lorielle's has subheadings and lots of images which makes it look good," commented Emily.

Bethany told Megan, "This made me learn more about rabbits."
Marco observed, "it told the reader there's lots of different tigers."

Reece Thompson modestly commented, "I like mine because it's really good."
Reece Foster chose Ryan Gaffney's project as "he's made it fun and educational."

Fruity Friday 16th May 2008

2008-05-16T19:06:02Z

Fruity Friday is a charity fundraiser created by Cancer Research to raise the awareness of how vital fruit is in our diet as a strategy to fight against cancer.

Back in February, the School Council decided they wanted to raise money for a worthwhile cause and as cancer is something that appears to be a disease that can always be linked to someone you know, they decided this was a good cause.

A letter was sent out asking for a donation and School promised to make the afternoon all about fruit. The kitchen bought star fruit as a special fruity lunchtime treat and across each phase, a variety of different activities were completed. Furthermore, all classes entered the Fruity Superhero Competition. Have a look below at the class winners who have been entered into the national competition as well as some of the fruity fun we got up to!

We managed to raise £184.00, so thank you to all those who contributed!

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Year 3/4 had to crack a fruity suduko puzzle then we made fruity faces and more impressively, the children tried a wide range of different fruits which they commonly tell us they don't like. Have a look at our creations!

Wardley Win Year 5 Football Tournament

2008-05-15T08:44:04Z

The Year 4/5 football team were joint winners of the Felling Schools Year 5 Football tournament. Having qualified for the finals last winter, the team competed with Oakfield, South Street and Harlow Green for the trophy.

In the opening match, Karl Young scored a great goal to give the team a one-nil win against Harlow Green. We then had two goalless draws with Oakfield and South Street. After all the matches were played, the team finished first, level on points and goal difference with Oakfield Primary.

Mr Scott and Mr Evans were extremely pleased with the children’s efforts. Mr Scott was particularly delighted with captain Aidan Willis, who showed great pace, strength and maturity in defence. He also identified goalkeeper Nathan Barnes for special praise, as he kept three clean sheets. He was also outstanding on the rare occasion he was called upon to make a save. The children have been fantastic all season and will hopefully continue to progress next year.

The teaching staff at Wardley would like to thank the parents for their continued support. Without their lifts to the competition, the children would not be able to participate in so many events.

Racial Equality Policy

2008-04-01T08:56:10Z

The new Racial Equality policy has been developed and is now available from school.

]]> As a school with predominantly white British children but with an increasing mix of children from other cultures, we understand the need to provide children with positive experiences of other cultures. We are committed to raising the attainment of all our pupils with due regard to their individual, social and personal circumstances. We are committed to challenging racial discrimination and harassment ensuring race equality and equipping all pupils for life in a culturally diverse society

Legal Requirements

The Race Relations Act 1976 prohibits schools from discriminating on grounds of race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origin.
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 places a general duty on schools to:
• eliminate racial discrimination;
• promote equality of opportunity;
• promote good relations between people of different racial groups

The specific duties require us to:
• prepare a written policy on racial equality;
• assess the impact of our policies, including this policy, on pupils, staff and parents of different racial groups including, in particular, the impact on attainment levels of these pupils;
• monitor the operation of our policies through the impact they have on such pupils, staff and parents, with particular reference to their impact on the attainment levels of such pupils.

Tackling Racial Harassment
Any incident of racial harassment is unacceptable in our school. Incidents could take the form of physical assault, verbal abuse, and damage to a pupil’s property or lack of co-operation in a lesson, due to the ethnicity of a pupil. Any adult witnessing an incident or being informed about an incident must follow these agreed procedures:

• stop the incident and comfort the pupil who is the victim;
• reprimand the aggressor/instigator and inform the victim what action has been taken;
• if the incident is witnessed by other pupils, tell them why it is wrong;
• report the incident to the Head Teacher and inform them of the action taken;
• inform the class teacher(s) of both the victim and the aggressor/instigator, then, alongside the Head Teacher, record what happened on the appropriate LA monitoring form;
• inform both sets of parents.

Racial Equality Policy 2008