Dear Parents and Carers,
It’s been another incredibly busy week at Warden Hill! The children are full of excitement as they prepare for our Christmas performances – with Reception taking to the stage next Tuesday. I personally cannot wait to see them!
ORACY
Last Friday marked the culmination of our whole-school Oracy Week, and what a fantastic finale it was! Our special assembly showcased some superb talks from the children, who spoke with confidence and clarity. Oracy is such an important part of our curriculum, and we believe it deserves dedicated time and space to be delivered effectively.
A huge thank you to our Oracy Subject Team – Mrs Wintle and Ms Scarrett – who have been developing our Oracy curriculum over the past three years. Their work ensures that Oracy not only enhances other subjects but also stands proudly in its own right.
We are also excited to announce the launch of this year’s “Look Who’s Talking” competition! Last year, Alin won the Lower Key Stage category for Gloucestershire and we can’t wait to see what this year brings. Good luck to everyone taking part – we know you’ll make us proud.
STAFF TRAINING
This week, we’ve also invested time in staff development. Mr Herbert (our writing lead), Mrs Sperduti (one of our reading leads) and Mrs Prew (maths lead) all attended the Local Authority network meetings – full-day sessions designed to share key updates and best practice and deliver training. By keeping our Subject Leads informed and up to date, these professional development days strengthen teaching and learning across the school.
RECEPTION 2026 OPEN MORNINGS
We also hosted our final Open Morning for this term (with two more scheduled after Christmas). Once again, prospective parents were blown away by our learning environment – but more importantly, by our children. During each visit, we tour Reception classrooms, pop into Year 1 for a phonics lesson, and finish with our Year 6 pupils. Parents are invited to ask any questions (nothing is rehearsed!) and our children have been incredible. They have spoken confidently and enthusiastically about life at Warden Hill. From favourite subjects and trips to the Bronnie and Bob book drops, they really represent our school so well and I am very proud of them all.
PARENT SURVEY
I’ve started capturing feedback from the short survey “open box” responses and sorting them into themes. For now though, I’d like to share the results of three key questions and also share comments on what we do.
The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.
Our approach:
Each term, we send out Curriculum Newsletters ahead of the start of term. These outline what our children will learn that term and they are also available on our website – here. These come out 3 times a year – one the Autumn term, 1 for the Spring term and 1 for summer. In addition, our Curriculum Progression Maps show what children will cover in each subject across the year – they can be found here.
The school lets me know how my child is doing.
The DFE state maintained schools must give each year group at least 1 chance per year for parents/carers to discuss their child’s progress with a teacher as well as one annual report.
Our approach:
We hold two formal Parents’ Evenings – one in October and one in March. You receive an annual report in the summer term which captures progress as well as attainment. Informally, we have the spotlight showcase mornings each term as well as our staff being available for a meeting with you.
The school supports my child’s wider personal development.
Our approach:
We are committed to developing the whole child. This includes a rich curriculum, extra-curricular opportunities, trips, and experiences that build confidence, resilience, and a love of learning. Our values underpin everything we do, ensuring children grow not only academically but personally and socially. We do this through whole school and key stage assemblies where themes such as diversity and wellbeing are shared, class assemblies to parents, author visits, STEM days, opportunities to sing at different events, leadership opportunities within the school – School Council, Eco Council, Reading Ambassadors, Sports Leaders, Art Captains, Inter School and House events, to name a few.
That just leaves me to say, I look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming Christmas events, but until then – have a wonderful weekend.