Here at Windwhistle, we are proud to be able to offer so much more outside of the curriculum to all our children. High quality activities and experiences are a wonderful part of school life. They are an excellent way to grow good relationships between staff, pupils and parents. 

Educational Visits

We aim to make the most of educational visits linked to the curriculum, to help learning stay in children's long-term memory.  Research shows that well-organised outdoor learning, offsite visits and Learning Outside the Classroom can have a powerful impact on young people’s learning and development, and achieve a wide range of outcomes – including improvements to academic achievement, personal development and behaviour. 

All visits are planned well in advance and carefully risk assessed so that children can make the most of every opportunity.

Examples of visits are:

• SS Great Britain
• Weston-super-Mare museum
• Bristol Museum
• Colston Hall, Bristol
• Theatre, Weston-super-Mare
• Wild Place, Bristol
• Caerleon
• Longleat
• Beach
• Local farm
• Local park
• Local library
• Roman soldier visiting school
• Railway police visiting school
• Cinema (as a reward)

Year 6 Residential Trip

We take Year 6 children on a 4-night residential visit which strengthens pupils experience of the outside world as well as their social and emotional development. The experience provides rich opportunities to learn new knowledge and skills within a creative and adventurous framework.  

Music Teaching

Different year groups take part in drumming workshops and music festivals with other local schools at a range of venues throughout the year.  Additionally, one year group every year will have the opportunity to learn to play an instrument with their class over a whole term and perform to the rest of the school through the Wider Opportunities programme. Instrumental tuition classes are run in school by teachers from the peripatetic music teaching service.  These classes are paid for in advance.  We try to keep costs as low as possible to encourage children to take part.

Mini Police

Mini Police is an innovative police engagement programme, which is delivered in schools with the support of local Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). The scheme provides a fun and interactive way to introduce children to a positive experience of policing and to get them involved in the local community.  We take part in this each year with Year 5 pupils.

Holiday Clubs 

Holiday clubs are a perfect opportunity for children to make new friends and try new activities. They can offer a wide range of activities such as sports, outdoor and indoor games, arts, crafts and drama. The XTND Holiday Club is open to children aged 4 - 11 years old. They are usually open every holiday apart from Christmas. Booking forms are available from the Windwhistle school office. 

Find out more about XTND by looking at their website and social media. 

www.xtnd.org.uk

Twitter: @XTNDCharity 

Facebook: XTND 

Lunchtimes

We have lots of different activities going on during the lunch time, such as sports with the coaches for KS1 and KS2. They run football, dodge ball and gymnastics. On the playground we have bats & balls, basketball, building blocks, tyres, giant chalks, the mobile library, a quiet area, climbing wall, climbing frames, skipping ropes and space hoppers. In the summer we also run a range of team building activities.  

Activity Clubs

Alongside our exciting and engaging P.E curriculum, we also offer a range of extra-curricular sports clubs to provide opportunities for all children to take part in competitive sport. This accompanies children's learning in PE, creating positivity, to show that sport is enjoyable, healthy and something essential for life.  

We are delighted to welcome Jimi, our sports coach, back to Windwhistle again this year. He will be with us 4 days a week, providing lunchtime and after-school clubs across a range of sports and to all ages. We are also delighted to have Mrs Davies and Mrs Harford to run Dance club, culminating in a public performance at The Playhouse.  

Gardening Club

We are very lucky that the green-fingered Mrs Saunders runs a spring and summer gardening club. The children enjoy planting in pots and our raised beds, watching their plants grow and harvesting crops. They also make and design additions to the garden and make the grounds look beautiful.