A MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER

I wish to extend a very warm welcome to you and your child. I feel very proud and privileged to be the headteacher of this school and I hope that you and your child will be equally happy and proud of the school by joining our extended ‘school family’. Our aim is to make every child feel cared for, to foster high aspirations and give each child the best possible opportunity to succeed both at school and in later life.

There are a wide range of opportunities for our children to try new challenges and to find their vocation and passions. We want our children to be confident, to take their place in the world, to be independent, to have courage and to think for themselves, to also know how to lead healthy lives, including knowing how to keep themselves safe. 

We are also passionate that our children have access to a broad and rich curriculum, including advanced computing skills, which will be essential for employment in the world our children will enter in years to come.  I feel that the school’s rich blend of traditional values, well-behaved children, high standards of teaching and a dynamic learning ethos, makes the school a really special place for children to spend the most important years of their lives. 

We may have traditional values, but this does not mean we are ‘set in our ways’. Quite the opposite! We are always striving to be at the forefront of new and innovative practice. We have a very good reputation for inclusivity and our Resource Provision (Evergreen) offers places for children with very specific needs related to Autism and Communication and Interaction. Visitors regularly compliment us on the good manners and enthusiasm of our children, along with the warm welcome they receive as visitors. This positive ethos is also reflected in our pupil data and our ‘Good’ report from Ofsted.

With Treehouse, a preschool provider and wrap-around childcare based on site, our wide variety of school clubs, our strong ethos of improvement and high expectations, places at our school are always in high demand.

With High Speed Rail (HS2) construction close to the 141 year-old school building, in September 2019 we moved to a brand new site on the opposite side of the village green. It is an exciting development and we are really thrilled with the opportunities this new site offers, in a beautiful landscape, but with practical improvements, such as the 'Drop-Off'  to help parents and carers with day-to-day school routines and events.

We constantly work to improve communication with parents through a number of means and we hope this website and app will support this. Parents of Reception, Year 1, 2 and Evergreen can also keep up to date with our Homeroom app. You can also browse through the thousands of photos of past events on Flickr and parents will be able to link up to the Water Orton Parents Facebook Page.

If you still can’t find out what you need to know, or you have concerns, we suggest you email or call in at the school office and speak to Mrs Hanson, Mrs Bishop or Miss O'Reilly who will be able to help. 

Please note that we have a dedicated email hotline for any parental concerns related to Covid-19.  Please find out more through the Communication tab or email: covid19@welearn365.onmicrosoft.com

Finally, by getting involved in school, you can, as parents/carers, help us make our school even better and I would very much encourage you to play your part in school life, working with us to make your child’s time at Water Orton Primary School a time that they will treasure for life.

Emma Smith

Headteacher