25th June 2020

School Update

Dear Parent/Carer,

We trust that you are all safe and well!

The increase in children over the recent weeks has brought a welcome ‘buzz’ to the school, which has beenmissing for far too long! Saying that, the hustle and bustle of school life is nowhere near ‘normal’, and we arelooking forward to welcoming all children and staff back to school in line with Government guidelines. We arecurrently awaiting detailed guidance after the Prime Minister’s announcement about children coming back inSeptember.

With a considerable number of children off school for a number of months, the new school year is likely tobegin in a different way as the children (as well as staff and parents) will probably feel quite differently aboutit! This morning, teachers met (at school and remotely) to discuss what our priorities will be for the newschool year, with the interests and welfare of the Westbourne children at the core.

Guided by our shared school vision (Belonging, Excellence, Success and Happiness), we will be using a verypositive approach when the time comes: Building Back Better. We aim to re-ignite the love of learning intochildren at school, and promote confidence, enquiry, creativity, risk-taking, practice, resilience andperseverance.

Understandably, the events of recent months have brought enormous stress to many, with a wide spectrumof experiences for the whole community. A great deal of negative language has been used in the media whendiscussing children’s educational experiences during this time of partial school closures: ‘lost learning’, ‘fallenbehind’, ‘desperate need to catch-up’, ‘achievement gap irremediably widened’, etc.

We acknowledge the unprecedented challenges that children (and their families) have been facing; however,our goal must be to ensure that a return to school is a positive, enjoyable and successful experience for allchildren and staff. We want to Build Back Better: celebrate the learning that has happened – in so many forms;focus on positive outcomes; use it to propel children into even higher achievement and success!

As an High Performance Learning (HPL) Pathway School, we share an aspirational vision for all children toachieve high levels of academic prowess together with a high degree of social confidence, motivation,empathy, creativity and resilience.

In the last three weeks of term left, the incredible Westbourne staff will continue to work with the children inschool and out of school (via Seesaw), and make all of the necessary preparations ahead of a return for all ofour children.

25th June 2020

HPL at Westbourne!

We are extremely excited to announce that Westbourne has been accepted onto the prestigious ‘HighPerformance Learning’ (HPL) accreditation! Reserved only for the most successful schools across the globe, wewill be beginning our journey in September, and have plans to be fully accredited in 2-3 years.

Of course, there will be a full introduction in September for everybody linked to our school (including parents!),but in summary, HPL is based on the founder’s 40 years of research in education with the belief that every childhas the potential to be successful through their way of thinking, learning and general approach at school.

We are one of only a handful of state primary schools in the UK to be accepted and feel the timing would beperfect for building children’s belief that they can succeed and flourish at school following a very unsettled fewmonths. Initially, our curriculum will be adapted with a huge emphasis on wellbeing, successful habits oflearning and settling our children back into school life - a perfect time to begin the HPL approach to learning!

We will be keeping parents and carers updated regularly, with a section of our school’s website dedicated toHigh Performance Learning. Part of Westbourne’s vision states, ‘committed to achievement and sharing in thesuccess of each individual’ and the statistics below show how students’ beliefs changed through the HPLapproach - fitting perfectly with our school’s ethos. A very exciting time for Westbourne!

25th June 2020

Excellent Home Learning AwardCongratulations to the following children who have been chosen by theirteacher in recognition of their super effort with home learning this week!Great work – keep it up!

Nursery (AM/PM): Millie/HafsahAvon: AadhvikEmber: EvaanThames: GrahatiCherwell: ElizavetaRibble: KhadeejaWaveney: AaranEden: Daniel S.Mersey: TiffanyTay: Danni

Beverley: Alex K.Dart: GarethMole: LeonardoKennet: Jordan Wandle: ArvinDerwent: EvanMedway: CaitlinTyne: EleniFleet: AlfieTrent: Tianna