Primary School Conversion
Happy Days, Bright Futures from Nursery to Year 6
We have decided to dedicate part of the weekly newsletter to bring you the latest information on how
West Ewell Infant School will become an all-through Primary school from September 2017.
This is an exciting new development for the school. We have the building blocks in place to make sure
that all the things that make West Ewell a wonderful infant school, will also make West Ewell a fantastic
primary school. These include:
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A nurturing school ethos that runs through all school activities
Happy children that are supported to reach their potential
Consistently positive views expressed by parents
Children achieving significantly above the national average in all subjects
Enthusiastic, experienced and well-qualified teachers and support staff
Experienced and skilled governors with a wide range of experience and skills, including
experience of running primary and secondary schools
And not forgetting a proven track record of excellence, with 10 years of Outstanding education
recognised by Ofsted
We hope the information here answers any questions you might have and keeps you up to date. If you
have any questions that are not answered here, please email [email protected] and we
will respond to you as soon as possible.
Clive Smitheram, Chair of Governors
What is the primary school conversion all about?
Following a long period of consultation with schools, parents and the local community between 2013 and
2015, Surrey County Council agreed in July 2015 to convert two infant schools (West Ewell Infants and
Ewell Grove Infants) and one junior school (Danetree Juniors) into all through primary schools, each to
provide places from Nursery through to Year 6.
Danetree will be taking Nursery and Reception children from September 2016. West Ewell Infants and
Ewell Grove Infants will have their first Year 3 children from September 2017. This means that
unfortunately our current Year 2 children will have to leave us at the end of this school year, but our current
Year 1 children will be able to stay at West Ewell and complete all of their primary education here.
What does this mean for children currently in Year 1?
All children currently in Year 1 are guaranteed a place at West Ewell for Years 3, 4, 5, and 6. Any children
currently in Year 1 who will have siblings already at Danetree by September 2017 will have the option to
transfer to Danetree as part of the primary conversion special arrangements. This will only be an option in
September 2017.
What changes are happening in the Nursery?
Nursery places for 3-4 year olds
West Ewell’s Nursery will be piloting a flexible nursery model for 3-4 year olds. As it stands, parents have
limited choice in the sessions they can choose for their children: they can either do 5 mornings or 5
afternoons a week. From September 2016, we will be offering the following flexible options:
 5 morning sessions a week
 5 afternoon sessions a week
 Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday morning
 Wednesday afternoon/Thursday/Friday
Parents will also have the option to pay for an additional 15 hours of Nursery sessions, on top of the 15
hours they access through the free nursery provision to give their child 30 hours Nursery provision.
We will be contacting Nursery parents in January to ask them to indicate their preferences for these flexible
options and we will try to accommodate everyone’s preferences. We will continue to use the Surrey County
Council admissions criteria. This means that the County Council will prioritise applications as follows: 1.
Looked after children 2. Exceptional circumstances 3. Siblings, 4. Distance between school and home
address 5. Any other applicant
Places for September 2016 will be offered in January/February.
Nursery places for 2 year olds
We are excited to announce that we will also be offering the flexible nursery model for 2 year olds from
September 2016, again with the option to top up nursery hours. Admission criteria will be 1. FEET
(including Looked after children). Please see the Surrey CC website for FEET funding criteria 2.Exceptional
circumstances, 3. Siblings, 4. Distance between school and home address 5, Any other applicant.
Dates for allocation of places to be confirmed in the New Year.
How are we going to make sure you have the information you need?
Every newsletter will include the latest information about the Primary Conversion project. There are a
number of issues yet to be agreed with the County Council, so we are not able to answer every question at
the moment.
Governors and the senior leadership team are meeting regularly with Surrey County Council contacts and
are pushing very hard to get answers as soon as possible. As soon as we have information we will share it
with you through these newsletters, and we will also post the same information on the school’s website.
We would also like to invite parents to information meetings on Tuesday 8th December at 7pm and
Tuesday 15th December at 2.30 to give you an opportunity to raise any questions in person. To enable us to
give you detailed responses please email your questions in advance to [email protected].
Frequently asked questions
If you have any questions that have not been answered here, please email [email protected] and we will respond to you as soon as possible.
1. What will the new school be called?
We intend our new school to be called West Ewell Primary School and Nursery. This decision will be
made by the governors in due course.
2. Will the uniform change?
We will have a new badge to reflect the new school name, but there will be a grace period so parents
don’t have to buy all new uniforms immediately.
As it stands we have no plans to change the Nursery to Year 2 uniform. We are considering whether
the Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) uniform may have a different look, but no decisions have been taken yet.
3. Will staff be able to teach the Year 3 to Year 6 curriculum?
Yes, all of our teachers are qualified to teach from Early Years through to Key Stage 2 (Year 6). In fact,
we have very well-qualified staff, with six MAs, 2 National Professional Qualification for Headship and
most support staff trained to NVQ Level 3.
Furthermore, 6 of our teachers already have experience of teaching Key Stage 2.
4. How many classes will there be in each year?
As it stands, West Ewell Infants has four classes in each year group, so 12 classes in the school. In
September 2016, instead of four classes starting Reception we will have three classes. In September
2017, we will reduce the number of classes starting Reception to two. Thereafter, we will only have two
Reception classes joining the school each year.
The table below show how those classes will move through the school over the next few years.
Reception
Year 1
Year 2
2016/17
3
4
4
2017/18
2
3
4
2018/19
2
2
3
2019/20
2
2
2
2020/21
2
2
2
2021/22
2
2
2
2022/23
2
2
2
2023/24
2
2
2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
Total
classes in
school
11
Up to 4
4
Up to 4
3
4
Up to 4
13
15
17
2
3
4
Up to 4
19
2
2
3
4
17
Bulge classes to accommodate the transition period
2
2
2
3
15
2
2
2
2
14
Fully 2
Form
Entry
Why does it say ‘up to four classes’ for the year group starting Year 3 in 2017/18 as they move
through the school?
Every child currently in Year 1 will be guaranteed a place in Year 3 at this school. However, any of
those children who will have siblings already at Danetree by September 2017 will have the option to
transfer to Danetree as part of the primary conversion special arrangements.
We estimate that there are around 34 children who will fall into this category and so would be able to
move to Danetree from 2017 if their parents decide to do this.
We would love all of our children to stay at West Ewell, but we understand that families need to make
the decision that best works for them.
If a significant number of those 34 children did move to Danetree in 2017, we might only need three
classes for Year 3 in 2017 and beyond as this year group moves through the school.
5. Are any building works needed for the current site?
As we have fantastic facilities already on site, we will not need to have much work done. We had a
survey conducted last week which is a necessary part of the planning process which will enable us to
have the temporary extra classrooms that we will need to accommodate the ‘bulge’ set out in the table
above as the school moves through the early stages of becoming your local primary school.
6. How will the school be laid out? Which year groups will go where?
This will change over the first few years as we adjust to accommodate the ‘bulge’ classes and
we will have some temporary classrooms.
We are still in discussions with Surrey County Council about the detail of which year groups will be in
which buildings, but as soon as this is firmed up we will share this with you in this newsletter.
7. What will the admissions criteria be for West Ewell when it becomes a primary school?
We will continue to use the Surrey County Council admissions criteria. This means that the County
Council will prioritise applications as follows: 1. Looked after children 2. Exceptional circumstances 3.
Siblings 4. Distance between school and home address 5. Any other applicant.
8. My younger child is currently in Year 1 and I have an older child who is already in Danetree and I
want both my children to be in the same school. For Year 3, can I choose to send my child to
Danetree or do I have to keep them at WEIS?
Your child will have the option to transfer to Danetree for Year 3 in September 2017 as part of the
primary conversion special arrangements.
Every child currently in Year 1 will be guaranteed a place in Year 3 at this school and we would love all
of our children to stay at West Ewell, but we understand that families need to make the decision that
best works for them.
9. How will the transfer arrangements work for children with siblings already at Danetree if parents
want to move them across to Danetree? Will they need to apply through the application process
as if for junior school or will there be a special process?
There will be a special process for this as part of the primary conversion special arrangements.
10. If I don't have another child already in Danetree in September 2017, can I choose to send my
child to Danetree for Year 3 onwards?
The transfer arrangements outlined above only apply if your child will already have an older sibling at
Danetree in September 2017. If you want to send your child to Danetree for year 3 onwards, you will be
able to apply for an ‘in year’ transfer via Surrey County Council.
11. Will children that have moved to Danetree before 2017 (and so would be in Year 4, 5 or 6 in
September 2017) be able to come back to WEIS when it becomes a primary school?
No, this will not be possible.
12. The children currently in Year 1 will be the first year group to go into Year 3 and will be the first
to experience the ‘junior school’ bit of West Ewell.
As mentioned above, we have a hugely experienced team and highly qualified teachers and we are
confident that we will continue to provide excellent education for Year 3 and beyond. Our teachers are
trained to teach to at least Key Stage 2 (Year 6), and indeed already have primary/junior school
experience.
We also have the fantastic support of the County Council - our Surrey CC School Improvement Adviser
came a few weeks ago gave us a very positive report. Staying at West Ewell means staying with an
‘outstanding school’ with a proven track record - moving to a local ‘good school’ is an option of course.
We are further encouraged by the kind comments from parents when their children leave us at the end
of Year 2. A commonly expressed disappointment is that parents would rather their children stay here
until Year 6. That is something that is too late for many, but something we are delighted we can at last
offer to our children in Year 1.
13. The children currently in Year 1 will always be the oldest children in the school as they move up
through the year groups. How is the school going to prepare those children for moving to
secondary school, especially adjusting to being around much older children, when they won't
have been at school with older children for 5 years?
We already have good links with local secondary schools and will work together to ensure a smooth
transition.
14. I have heard that Danetree will only accept full classes to transfer over in September 2017, with
the suggestion that if there are 40 children who want to move across, they will only take a whole
class worth of 30 children. Is this true?
This is not our understanding. As far as we are aware as part of the primary conversion special
arrangements, all children currently in Year 1 at West Ewell who will have siblings already at Danetree
in September 2017 will have the option to transfer to Danetree to join their siblings. We will seek
confirmation of this to put parents’ minds at ease and will report back in this newsletter.
15. How do I ask a question about the primary conversion project?
Email [email protected] and we will respond to you as soon as possible.
Other questions have been put to us by parents (see below) and we will have answers to all these
questions over the next few weeks:
 How will the curriculum change?
 What facilities will the school need for children in Years 3 to 6, that you haven’t had to have for the
infant school? How will they be provided?
 What will happen at playtime and lunchtime?
 How will you provide access to the sports facilities needed for Years 3 to 6?
 Will lunch be provided at the nursery?
 I have a child in Year R and a younger child not yet of school age. If all current Year 1 children stay at
WEIS for year 3 and beyond, do you have any idea of the number of siblings potentially coming into the
school over the next few years? Will there be more siblings than places available when we are a two
form entry primary school?
 Will there be additional staff employed with specific KS2 teaching/ leadership experience?
 What support will there be for the leadership team as they work through the issues relating to the
conversion to a primary school?
A view from a parent
My daughter is in Year 1 and will be one of the first children going into Year 3 at West Ewell. As parents,
we have seen her grow hugely in confidence since she started in Reception last year, and we can see
that she feels safe, supported and inspired every day at school. Because of this we are thrilled that she
will be able to have her full primary education at a school that she loves.
We’re also pleased because West Ewell becoming a primary school in September 2017 means that our
younger daughter (who is due to start Reception in 2017) will be much more likely to get a place at West
Ewell through the siblings element of the admission policy. We’ve been so impressed with how West
Ewell has taught and supported our eldest daughter, and we want the same for our youngest.
I know that a lot of parents are excited by the school expansion plans because they will be able to have
all their primary school age children in one school, not least because it will help make the school runs
easier! Because of this, I think it is good that where parents have older children who will already be at
Danetree in September 2017, they will have the option to move their children from West Ewell to
Danetree from Year 3 in 2017 if they want to. It is great that parents will have the flexibility to make a
decision to best suit their family.
As a governor, I know that all the governors and Senior Leadership Team of the school are sad that our
current Year 2 children won’t be able to stay at West Ewell, and we hope that every child currently in
Year 1 stays with us at West Ewell. We are committed to making sure that the excellent support and
teaching our children currently get from the West Ewell staff will continue as we become a primary
school, and that West Ewell continues to provide Happy Days and Bright Futures for every single one of
our children.
Kate Herbert
Parent of Year 1 pupil and WEIS Governor