At Westmeads, we believe that the very best learning takes place when children are engaged, enthused and excited. This is why all of our learning starts with our children and places them at its core. We ask questions, challenge ideas, take social responsibility, and find out for ourselves. We came together as a community and asked ourselves what our dream school looked like. We knew it needed to be inspiring, courageous, innovative, inclusive and warm, and this is what we strive to achieve every day.

Our vision is underpinned by our values. They form the very foundations for everything we do and are woven through our school journey from the moment we walk through the school gates, not only for our children but for our whole community. We believe in leading by example, and with that, we believe that learning never ends. We are dedicated to joining our children in their learning, taking every opportunity as a team to continually develop our skills and our practice.

Curiosity 

We take an inquiry-based approach to our curriculum. Our broad open-ended topics enable students to delve deeply into individual subjects and broaden their knowledge and understanding while making meaningful links to their own lives. Our curriculum is purposefully planned to build on previous knowledge and skills while being driven by the specific learning opportunities presented by each cohort. Our learning environment is carefully designed to provide opportunities for our children to explore their interests both in and out of the classroom.

Independence 

The curriculum we have in place encourages children to take ownership of their learning and provides exciting, hands-on, immersive experiences that allow them to develop authentic questions and ensure equality of experience. Our school environment supports children to use their initiative, whether this be using a working wall to support a maths lesson or clearing up at lunch time. Children take great pride in their own achievements and the feeling of succeeding for themselves. Praise is always qualified and focuses on effort and strategies rather than end products.

Perseverance 

We have the highest expectations of every child that we have the pleasure to work with. We approach every task with a growth mind-set, believing that as long as we keep trying, we will all always succeed. We believe that there are no barriers to learning here at Westmeads, only obstacles for us to help our young learners overcome. 

Love and kindness 

We work as a whole school community, learning with and from one another. We believe that to show kindness is to understand each other’s individuality and to celebrate both our similarities and our differences. We seek to share our learning with our loved ones at every opportunity and encourage our families into school to join us with our learning. 

Respect 

Our community is our strength. Every voice and experience is valued. We ask the big questions, we challenge the world around us and we explore the answers together, understanding that there are always many different perspectives. We enjoy learning about our diverse and fascinating world and we are unafraid to tackle discrimination through explicit teaching.

Equity

At Westmeads, we value equity above all else. Every child is entitled to feel joy and success in their learning, and we are responsible for providing equitable opportunities to all. Not everyone has the same skills, interests, and aptitude, so we need to find ways to scaffold, support and overcome any barriers children may have to learning. Everyone is welcome here.

Our Curriculum 

The National Curriculum and Early Years Curriculum provide learning destinations, but the Westmeads Curriculum maps out the children’s journey. Research and experience tell us that working in this way increases content retention, allowing children to learn more, know more, and remember more.  

Reading and books are the centre of each topic. High quality, engaging and relevant texts are carefully chosen as a starting point to develop the children’s learning. These texts support learning across the curriculum, reflect our unique community and are selected purposefully to represent the wonderfully rich and diverse world we live in. 

Just as life is interwoven, we know that our learning is interwoven, which is why we use a topic-based approach to explore and celebrate the links between subjects.  Our foundation subjects are tailored wherever possible to link to our topic title and question organically. We have carefully sequenced the learning to build upon prior learning of both knowledge and skills.

Our curriculum is wider than what our children learn in the classroom. From the moment they start school, we consider every moment an opportunity for growth and enjoyment.

Adaptive Teaching

We follow the principles of Adaptive Teaching. Adaptive teaching constantly evaluates students' skills and adjusts teaching methods to match. It creates personalised learning by adapting lessons to fit each student's needs. This helps all students succeed by considering their strengths and challenges. While technology can assist, adaptive teaching mainly relies on teachers' understanding of different learning styles.

The Effective Use of Adults within our school setting means that every single adult in our school has been trained to work collaboratively to ensure the children grow and have everything they need to learn, achieve, and succeed. They have specific roles, such as leading enjoyable activities in small groups, providing necessary assistance, and fostering an inclusive environment.