At Long Wittenham Primary School, our aim is to support your
children in developing and achieving…
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Dear Parents,
If you have never been to our school, please COME AND VISIT US! Here at Long Wittenham
Primary School, we are a friendly, welcoming and safe school where your child can be happy
and achieve true success, in whatever form that may be.
Long Wittenham Primary School is a ‘Good’ school with a happy and safe learning
environment in which your child, or children, will feel nurtured and cared for by all
members of our staff.
The education, care and happiness of your child are of paramount importance to us and we
make every effort to ensure they have fun, inspiring and motivational learning experiences.
Everyone in school, pupils included, is committed to the inclusion of each and every child in
our care.
Starting school, or joining a new school, is one of the most important events in a child’s life.
It is therefore our aim to make that experience the most pleasurable and reassuring
possible. From building friendship groups, to achieving success academically or otherwise,
every member of staff plays a key role in assisting your child to reach their true potential.
We strive to ensure that we cater for his/her social, emotional, physical and educational
needs, giving a firm foundation in learning, laughter and love on which your child can build
in the future. Whilst ensuring that we treat every child equally, we also recognise them as
individuals in their own right and nurture them in all that they do.
Long Wittenham Primary School strives for excellence in all that we do and we very much
welcome you into our ‘family’.
Yours sincerely,
Alison Mountain
Natalie Collier
Headteacher
Deputy Headteacher
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1. Our Vision
Developing a passionate and resilient community based on trust so
that each and every child reaches their true potential.
1.1 Nurture
We care for, listen to and support each other to continue to build
resourcefulness, confidence and strong Christian values.
Inclusion
We ensure that all children have access to the curriculum and make progress commensurate with
their developing abilities irrespective of gender, ethnic or social background or special educational
needs. The school continually reviews the literature it presents to the children. We have had
alterations made to the school buildings to enable easier access to all members of our community,
and we continue to do so.
Behaviour
The school has a Behaviour and Anti Bullying Policy which is reviewed every academic year and can
be viewed on our website. We foster a strong sense of responsibility where each and every child is
encouraged to make ‘the right choice’ in their behaviour. We reward good behaviour in many ways
through our reward systems.
Responsibilities
Children are given areas of responsibility from the very first day they start school. We have a system
of monitors in every class, as well as prefects in class 4 (year 6). We also have a school council
comprised of children who are elected to take on the role. We meet regularly to discuss issues,
make suggestions and plan fundraising events. Children can choose to be part of our Light the
Candle group who plan, prepare and lead collective worship.
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Safeguarding and Absence
We fully recognise our responsibilities regarding safeguarding, which encompass staff recruitment,
child protection, providing a safe environment (both at school and on trips), and teaching children to
be safe. Full details can be found in our safeguarding policy on the school website.
We are also duty bound to keep a strict record of absence, both authorised and unauthorised, which
we must report annually to the Local Authority and parents. We ask that you contact the school
office, either via telephone, Parent Mail or email to record your child absent. As part of our
safeguarding procedures, parents will be contacted if a child is absent without a valid reason.
Holidays should not be taken during term time and special requests for absence must be made to
the Headteacher using the Request for Absence form available from the school office. However,
parents must note that completion of this form does not guarantee that the absence will be
authorised.
1.2 Education
We provide stimulating and engaging learning experiences to enable our
children to enjoy, experiment and think.
The Curriculum
The school’s curriculum in Key Stages 1 and 2 includes all the core and foundation subjects specified
in the National Curriculum. These are as follows:
Core Subjects
English
Mathematics
Science
Information and Communication
Technology (ICT)
Foundation Subjects
Design & Technology
History
Geography
Art & Design
Music
P.E.
Primary Languages (PL)
Personal, Social and Health Education(PSHE)
In addition, your child will study Religious Education following the Agreed RE Syllabus.
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We have parent teacher meetings each term, where you can learn about your child’s progress, and
you will receive a written report every year. Children in Years 2 and 6 are also required to be
assessed using the Statutory End of Key Stage Standard Assessment Tests (SATs).
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
The National Curriculum starts from Year 1. Before that, we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage
(EYFS) curriculum, which aims to give children a broad and balanced start to their school years, and
enable them to develop the learning skills and attitudes they will need for their continuing
education.
The EYFS curriculum has 6 areas and these are further broken down into strands:
Communication, Language and Literacy
Problem solving, Reasoning and Number (PRSN)
Physical development
Creative Development
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Each term parents are invited into the EYFS classroom to see the work of the children.
Wider Curriculum
We aim to help every child reach their full potential, both in and out of the classroom. Alongside the
formal curriculum, we give our children the opportunity to experience other areas of learning, such
as drama and the arts, outdoor pursuits and sports. For example:
 All children in years 5 and 6 take part in a five day outdoor education course at Woodlands
Outdoor Education Centre.
 Children in EYFS enjoy Forest School activities with their Forest School trained teacher in the
local woods.
 We participate in the local Music Festival and work with dance and music specialists.
 We also offer a wide range of activities and clubs during and after school hours, including
language classes, art, cooking, football, science, drama and street dance.
Special Educational Needs
We recognise that all our pupils have their own needs that are special to them. However, where
pupils experience particular difficulties, as recognised in the school’s Special Educational Needs
policy, we ensure that every effort is made to respond appropriately. We have a Special Educational
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Needs Coordinator who works with teachers, pupils and parents to address individual needs and
provide additional support and resources as required. Close involvement and support from services,
including Speech and Language therapy, occupational therapy and Educational psychologists
enhances our provision for pupils with Special Needs. A copy of the school’s Special Educational
Needs Policy is available from the school.
More Able, Gifted and Talented Pupils (MAGT)
As we truly feel every child is important we aim to provide a curriculum that enables each child to
achieve their very best. At the same time we are required to maintain a register of those pupils who
are particularly able in one or more activities or areas within the National Curriculum. In line with
national guidance, our more able, gifted and talented register is comprised of between the top 5 10% of our school population.
‘Gifted’ means pupils who are exceptionally able in one or more of the “academic” subjects (e.g.
Maths, English, Science, Geography, History etc).
‘Talented’ means pupils who are very or exceptionally able in Art, Music, Drama, PE or Dance.
There are also children identified as ‘more able’ who are generally the pupils who have been
identified as in the top 10% of the year group. Parents and pupils are informed if their child is on the
school’s MAGT register. Teachers will use the assessment information they have about their pupils
to inform their provision and to identify opportunities both within and outside of school.
1.3 Our School
We create a safe and healthy environment in which our children can flourish
using the best resources we can.
Our school is steeped in history and this is something we are particularly proud of. Visitors always
comment on the ‘family feel’ we have and how everyone is so friendly and approachable. We make
the very best of the space and resources we have, and both the children and staff are immensely
proud of our learning environment.
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Developing a Love of Learning
As a truly inclusive school everyone works together to ensure that every child is recognised and
treated as an individual. We want to foster a love of learning that the children will take with them as
they go through life.
We all learn by experience and we all have different learning styles. Our staff work tirelessly to
ensure that they cater for each and every style in their class. Learning takes place both inside and
outside the classroom and we are always working hard to ensure that we improve on this across all
year groups. We always use our resources to the very best of our ability.
We all believe that children learn best by doing what they really enjoy and we do our best to make
learning exciting, stimulating, practical and fun. All activities take account of our children’s needs
and allow them to learn at their own pace, ensuring that each and every child makes good progress
throughout the school. We all take responsibility for our learning and foster a growth mind set in
doing so.
All classes are vertically grouped and of mixed ability, and are supported by our highly skilled
teachers and teaching assistants. This ensures that our children are always challenged in their
learning and supported at every level, either by working in smaller groups with an adult, or by taking
part in interventions to support their learning.
We are a small school of approximately 90 pupils aged 4- 11 years. Children come to us from Long
Wittenham, surrounding villages, Didcot and Abingdon.
Being situated in a village, we are incredibly lucky to have very strong links with our community. We
work closely with our church to attend services, and our clergy deliver weekly assemblies here in
school. The village helps out with fund raising events, and they host their summer fete in our school
grounds. Our children are very conscious of the world around them and our Eco Club works very
hard to monitor and improve our recycling.
The children are taught in 4 classes of mixed year groups:
Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1
Mars (Class 1) - Reception and Year 1
Neptune (Class 2) - Year 1 and Year 2
Key Stage 2
Jupiter (Class 3) - Year 3 and Year 4
Saturn (Class 4) - Year 5 and Year 6
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Admission to our school
Admission to Long Wittenham Primary School is through Oxfordshire County Council and follows the
admissions policy of the Local Authority. This process is summarised below, but for full details of the
Oxfordshire admissions policy, including the appeals procedure, please refer to the County Council’s
website at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions
When must my child start school?
By law, all children should be in full-time education by the beginning of the full term after their 5th
birthday (i.e., September, January or April). Before this, parents can choose whether their child
attends part or full time. Children are entitled to start school at any time during the school year in
which they become five. A school year runs from 1st September to 31st August.
For children born between 1st April and 31st August, it may be possible to defer their entry to school.
For information on how to do this, please see the admissions section of the County Council’s
website.
Starting school for the first time
If your child is starting school for the first time, you must follow the Oxfordshire admissions process.
This process, including the deadline for application, is set out in the Starting School booklet that is
distributed in the autumn term each year. The approximate timetable is:
 Autumn term - Starting School booklets available. Deadline for application – online or
paper.
 March – May – allocation letters sent out and deadline set for accepting places.
Joining school later
If you wish your child to join our school after the initial admissions process, you should contact the
school office to see if there are spaces available in the appropriate year group. If spaces are
available, you should make an appointment to visit the school and the process is then managed by
Oxfordshire Local Authority as above.
The maximum year intake at Long Wittenham is 15 pupils.
The School Day
The school day starts at 8.50am and finishes at 3.20pm. Each term there is a range of after school
clubs and activities provided by the teachers or ‘bought in’ clubs. We also run a Breakfast Club which
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starts at 8am. Children can come and enjoy a healthy breakfast with their friends before school
starts.
Help to make our school happy, safe and secure:
1. We operate a cashless payment system in school and ask that all parents sign up to Parent
Mail via which all payments can be made. Parents receive all correspondence this way and
can give permission for trips etc. too. Of course, should you not use email, paper copies can
be sent home via your child.
2. We ask that children leave their toys at home to avoid the disappointment of them being
lost or broken at school.
3. Please help us to encourage your child to walk calmly and quietly around the school at all
times.
4. At playtime, we try to use our outside space in all weather, where possible. Please make
sure your child is suitably dressed when they come to school.
5. Children are not allowed to wear jewellery in P.E. Earrings must be removed by the child or
parent; teachers are not allowed to do this. If children are to have their ears pierced, please
do this at the start of the summer holidays to give them time to practice removing them
before they return to school. If earrings are unable to be removed, please provide your child
with surgical tape to cover them.
6. For the security of your child, the outside gates at the end of the playground are locked at
9:10am and opened at 3:10pm in time for the end of the school day. Should you need to
visit the school, please use the side gates in the car park, ensuring they are closed behind
you.
Volunteering in School
Volunteers are very warmly welcomed indeed. By working together, we can all achieve the very best
for your child. We have lots of ways in which you can be involved in school life; everyone has
qualities they can bring to school and we would like you to share them with us.
We always ask that you sign a volunteer agreement beforehand in order to ensure the
confidentiality of the work we carry out in school. You will also be required to undertake a
disclosure check to ensure the safety of everyone, including yourself.
Collective Worship
We value the time spent in Collective Worship, often referred to as ‘Assembly’. A daily act of
worship is statutory and in our school these are either whole school, in Key Stages or class based.
During the year there are special themed assemblies. Parents are also invited to join class assemblies
where the children share their work during that term. Our Collective Worship follows value based
themes, with a focus on a different value each month. Each Friday there is a special ‘Leaf’ assembly
where 2 children from each class are awarded with a leaf acknowledging an achievement they have
made. This leaf is added to our special tree of achievement in the library area.
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1.4 Wider World
We work in partnership with our families, the Church, our immediate and wider
community to enrich our school. We motivate our children to take
responsibility for our world.
As a small school at the heart of the village, we have strong links with our local community. Visitors
often comment on the family atmosphere in our school and this is something of which we are very
proud.
We have a number of regular events which involve the community and which are very well
attended, including our Christmas play, Easter service and tea, and Sports night. We also have a very
active Parents’ Association which organises many events during the year and raises valuable funds
for our school. All parents are automatically ‘members’ of the Parents’ Association (PA) and parents
are invited to join the committee to plan fundraising for the school and social events for children and
families.
The Church
As a Church school, we have strong support from our vicar and the St Mary’s Church community.
Children attend church at key times in the year, including Harvest, Christmas and Easter, and parents
are invited to attend this worship. The children join with the local community to commemorate
Remembrance Day at the War Memorial.
Didcot Partnership
The school is part of the Didcot Partnership of schools and also a federation of smaller village schools
within this partnership. This benefits both the children and staff in sharing facilities and events. For
example, we regularly meet with other local village schools for events such as sports matches,
international day, country dancing and the annual teddy bear’s picnic. We also share training and
resource ideas amongst our staff.
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The Wider World
Further afield, the school is currently expanding links with other regions so that our children can gain
a better understanding of the world beyond rural Oxfordshire. We have recently established links
with schools in Ealing in London, Grenoble in France and a member of staff has attended an event in
Abu Dhabi which gave insight into life and education in a completely different culture. When
possible, we also arrange class trips to places of interest that support our learning.
Our Mission
Our Mission is to always strive for excellence and maintain extremely high standards, both in the
work we do, and in the way in which we behave. In doing so, we provide:
1. A happy, friendly and caring environment in which children feel safe and secure.
2. A learning environment in which it is good to make mistakes so that we can reflect on what
we have learnt.
3. A rich, stimulating and structured learning environment.
4. Access to a broad, balanced and challenging curriculum appropriate to the needs of each
and every child.
5. A wealth of learning experiences that both excite and challenge our children.
6. A committed, motivated, dedicated and skilled staff to equip our children with the skills
needed to help them succeed.
7. A community (parents, staff, governors and Parents’ Association) which works as a team in
ensuring that we do our very best for all involved in our school life.
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Staff
Teaching Staff
Headteacher
Deputy Headteacher and Class 3 Teacher
SENCo
Class 1 Teacher
Class 2 Teacher
Class 4 Teacher
Ms Alison Mountain
Mrs Natalie Collier
Mrs Philippa Purvis
Miss Rebecca Apps
Mr Dominic Evans
Miss Fiona Smith
Support Staff
Teaching Assistant
Teaching Assistant
Teaching Assistant (ELSA)
Teaching Assistant (ELSA)
Teaching Assistant (1:1)
Teaching Assistant
Angie Hefferman
Sandra Purvis
Tracey Eltham
Nicky Folkman
Nat Bream
Angela Green
Office Administrator
Sian Buttery
Breakfast Club Supervisors
Clare Winterbourne
Midday Supervisors
Tracey Eltham
Denise Clark
Clare Winterbourne
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