Welcome to Windwhistle

We are all VERY excited to be welcoming our new children and their families to Team Windwhistle.

Starting school is an exciting time for young children and their parents. It can be a daunting time, too. But with a little preparation and encouragement, most children will settle in easily at school. It is understandably a time filled with mixed emotions: Where has the time gone? How can they be starting school already? Thank goodness! I’m going to miss them. ;-)

What should children know before they start school? Schools are a lot less worried about if a child can read or write and much happier to see a child who has manners, can use the toilet independently, knows how to wash their hands and can recognise their name.

You are trusting us to help guide your child over the next seven years and this is a huge privilege and responsibility that we do not take lightly. Our teachers are dedicated professionals who inspire a love of learning in your child and we provide opportunities for them to explore their interests and develop their talents outside of the classroom.

WELCOME ABOARD!

You will be hearing lots of new terminology over the next few months. We try to keep things simple and clear to understand, but please do let us know if we are falling short! You can find out more about Reception and the early years here. 

One of the first you may come across is that Reception class may be referred to as EYFS, which stands for Early Years Foundation Stage. We've included a few more terms for you at the bottom of the page.

To find out more about the following, just click on the title below and it will take you to the right page. 

• Windwhistle Reception/ Year 1 Classes
• School uniform information 
• Windwhistle staff
• Reception/EYFS curriculum
• School meals
• Term dates
• Windwhistle Facebook
• Windwhistle Instagram

Jargon buster

‘EYFS’

This stands for Early Years Foundation Stage and officially covers the standards for learning, development and care of children aged 0 – 5 years old. In terms of primary school, it means the reception class/es, who have a different curriculum and style of learning to the rest of the school.

‘Reception’

Not to be confused with where you go when you arrive at the school and collect information, letters etc, ‘reception’ is the first year of official schooling.

‘Key stage’

After reception, the school curriculum is divided into key stages. Key stage one (KS1) is years 1 and 2. Key stage 2 (KS2) is years 3, 4, 5 and 6. 

‘Phonics’

Children learn the mechanics of reading (matching letters and sounds) through what is known as ‘phonics’. You will mostly hear about these in reception, year 1 and year 2 but children will ‘use their phonics’ throughout their reading and writing journey in the school. 

‘SEND’

This stands for children with ‘Special Educational Needs and Disabilities’ and is used to refer to the system that supports the learning of these pupils. All schools will have what is commonly known as a ‘SENDCO’ whose role it is to ensure these children are catered for and can access the curriculum.

‘Ofsted’

The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills is an independent organisation which inspects and judges schools with the aim of improving standards.

‘INSET’ Days

‘In Service Training’ Days are a series of days when the school is ‘closed’ for pupils while staff partake in professional development. 

'ELAN' 

Stands for Extend Learning Academies Network which is the name of our multi-academy trust. You can find out more at www.extendlearning.org 

A multi-academy trust is a legal entity that governs a group of schools through a single set of trustees. It is set up by a group of schools, usually a local collaboration, that share a common ethos and vision. Academies are publicly-funded independent schools at either primary or secondary level. They are still funded by the government but the money goes directly to them, rather than via the LA (local authority). This means they have more control over how they do certain things, for example, they don’t have to follow the national curriculum and can set their own term times. They do however have to follow the same rules on admissions, special educational needs and exclusions as other state schools and children sit the same exams. They are also inspected by Ofsted.