Woodlands Primary School

Working together, achieving more

Rather than write a long, rambling piece which tries to convince you how wonderful our school is, I am just going to include some quotes from a recent pupil survey (summer 2021). The children, from all year groups, were asked what they liked best about Woodlands. Here are some of the things they wrote:

• The teachers / the teachers listen to you / the teachers make us feel safe
• You make great friends
• People always make sure you’re ok
• I love coming to school
• Friendships, food & the teachers
• Challenging lessons
• The way the teachers & TAs support us
• I love all the lessons
• The school field
• We are taught to be kind
• The dinner ladies
• Playing with my friends
• Holly’s (school chef) wonderful dinners! / The delicious dinners!
• Woodlands’ Mile
• Forest Schools
• TTRS (Times Table Rock Stars)
• Sitting outside & eating my packed lunch with my friends
• The kindness
• Everyone at the school is caring & always listens to you & your problems… The teachers are always there for you…. There’s always someone I can go to if I’m upset
• We learn lots, we have kind friends, we are hard-working, we are caring, we are the best!
• I love everything

We know we’re not perfect. We are constantly striving to build on our successes, make  improvements where we can and raise standards in our school even further. When asked in the same pupil survey how they would improve our school, children wrote:

• Ban single use plastic [We know this is an important issue. We had started to make progress in this area before the pandemic but now need to address it again once we return to school in September 2021. Our Plastic Free Schools Action Group will hopefully be able to meet regularly again & we hope to apply for Plastic Free Schools Status during 2021/2022]
• We could get a school pet like a fish or a dog or cat / penguin, dolphin, hamsters, whale[Personally, I would love to have a pet whale but I'm not sure about the logistics of this... We would be interested having a reading dog at Woodlands but this would depend on a member of staff getting the right breed of puppy at the right time. Watch this space...]
• Upgrade / replace the junior trim trail [Sadly, this has reached the end of its natural life. Thankfully, the wonderful people of FOWSA (Friends OF Woodlands School Association) are working with us to help fund a new trim trail in the juniors. We are hoping to have the trim trail installed in the spring of 2022!]
• More equipment on the junior playground[This is an issue that should be raised with our school council once it's operating fully again in the autumn term]
• Extra chicken korma[We know this is one of Holly the Chef's most popular meals but we are on a school meal rota so I don't think it can be more than once. I know Holly has rejigged her menu to ensure everyone's tastes are catered for. Personally, my favourites are Holly's competition winning braised beef & pasta dish &  the sweet potato, chick pea & spinach curry - trust me, they are delicious!]
• Repaint the markings on the playground[Again, I think this is a suggestion that you need to take up with the School Council]
• More sports/playground equipment for the yard & the field [I know that this is something our School Council will be looking at over the coming months]
• I wouldn’t change anything because it is perfect [We must be doing something right…]

I do think our school is wonderful – I just thought you should find out from our children.

Keith D Williams

Headteacher

Woodlands on TV: Mary Berry - Love to Cook

We were lucky enough to be featured in an episode of Mary Berry's latest series. Our wonderful chef, Holly, was featured on the programme along with her team in the kitchen & quite o few of our children too!

A summary of the programme is below, as is a link to the programme on iPlayer.

MARY BERRY: LOVE TO COOK - ON A BUDGET - Thursday 16^th December, 8pm, BBC Two

Making the most of ingredients, limiting waste and cooking from scratch are a few ways to keep a frugal kitchen, and in this episode, Mary cooks up four delicious recipes that prove that watching the pennies does not mean having to sacrifice on flavour. A sumptuous Crab Courgetti Spaghetti dish which uses tinned fish at a fraction of the cost of fresh, a Sausage Spinach Filo Swirl demonstrates an inventive way to stretch 6 sausages to feed the family, a Thyme Bavette Steak is a cost-effective cut of beef that is luxurious but doesn’t break the bank, and a beloved Lemon and Lime Meringue Tranche Pie pudding utilises the humblest of ingredients.

Mary also shares some clever tips on how to keep ingredients fresher for longer to stretch the budget just that little bit further.

One person who knows all about cooking on a shoestring is School Chef of the Year, Holly Charnock. With a budget of just £1.30 a head, Holly recreates her award-winning recipe in the school canteen, much to the delight of the primary school children. A genius at making the budget stretch, Holly is proud to help the children grow and develop, and thrives in making something that brings the kids joy.

There is no ingredient more useful and economical than an egg, and Mary visits Cackleberry Farm, to meet Paddy and Steph Bourns. Along with their daughter Sybil, they are passionate about producing good eggs because of the way they treat their chickens

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/m0011h25/episodes

I hope you enjoy watching the episode as much as Holly & the children enjoyed filming it!