23rd May 2025

Headteacher's Message

We have had a very busy term since we returned from the Easter holiday. Despite it being quite short, the pupils have managed to access a number of visits to the local community within our theme of “Let’s Go!”. The nice weather has ensured that all of these experiences have been very enjoyable and have really helped our pupils understand different types of transport they can access.

The older pupils have been sitting external accreditations and we have, once again, seen them be extremely successful! They deserve huge credit for the way they have conducted themselves and the effort they have put in to their studies.

Congratulations also to our Duke of Edinburgh group, who have successfully completed their overnight expeditions. It is always a real pleasure to see our pupils accessing this type of activity and we are very proud of them!

Next term we will be covering the theme of “In the Zone!”. This will allow the pupils to investigate aspects of mental health and wellbeing. This will include how physical activity can support our mental health, including our Sports Day event. We will soon share details of our summer events to support this.

Finally, please be aware that school will be closed from 3pm Friday 23^rd May 2025 for half term. Pupils will return to school on Monday 2^nd June 2025.

In the meantime, I hope you all have an enjoyable half term.

Geoff Cherrill
Headteacher

Safeguarding and Participation Team

Online Toxic Masculinity 

"You might have heard about the rise of online toxic masculinity and of misogynistic content shared by social media influencers like Andrew Tate. We know that children are reading messages and posts about violence towards women, and that the views shared by these influencers can be dangerous for both boys and girls. Read this factsheet so you're prepared and able to talk to your child about misogyny and 'the manosphere'." 

Online toxic masculinity: parent/carer factsheet | The Key Safeguarding 

Digital Dictionary  

The Key has produced a digital dictionary to help you understand the language your children might use both online and offline, and things they might read about on social media. 

Online safety: digital dictionary | The Key Leaders 

Tackling online scams 

Help keep children safe online by learning about the actions you can take to tackle scams with the link to the Internet Matters interactive guide. Research shows that parents who are informed about online issues feel more confident when it comes to keeping their child safe online. 

Improve your knowledge about tackling online scams and fraud to help keep your child’s digital experiences positive. 

Tackling online scams interactive guide for parents | Internet Matters 

Have a fantastic and mostly importantly safe holiday.  

Best wishes,  

Adam, Jo, Nicki, Abi and Kelly 

Medical

Sun cream

As we are now experiencing warmer days, please can we remind you of the need to provide adequate protection from the elements for your child.

Please ensure that your child brings their sun hat and water bottle to school every day. We also ask that all children wear sun cream to school, which is applied before they arrive in the morning, as this offers protection throughout the school day.

We would also like to remind you that it is essential that you provide in date, high factor sun cream, which is FREE FROM NUTS, which must be clearly labelled with your child’ s name.

Class teams will supervise those children capable of applying their own sun cream, whilst it may be necessary to apply creams or use a hand-over-hand approach with our younger children.

Our main aim is to educate the children about sun safety and the importance of re-applying as well as recognising other ways to stay safe, for example, wearing hats, drinking water and staying in the shade. Naturally, we are unable to accept responsibility in the event of a child being sunburnt if they have not arrived in school wearing sun cream.

Bites and Stings

Insect bites or stings are not usually serious and get better in a few days. But sometimes they can become infected or cause a serious allergic reaction.

Bites from some insects can also cause illnesses, such as Lyme Disease from ticks, Scabies from mites, and Malaria from mosquitoes in certain parts of the world.

Check if it's an insect bite or sting

The main symptoms of an insect bite or sting are:

• pain where you were bitten or stung
• a small, swollen lump on the skin

The lump may look red. It may be more difficult to see on black or brown skin, but you should be able to feel it.

Sometimes you may have lots of bites grouped together in a small area.

You may have a mild allergic reaction, where the skin becomes itchy and raised around the bite or sting.

The area may become more swollen and painful if the bite or sting becomes infected.

What to do if you’ve been bitten or stung by an insect.

You can often treat an insect bite or sting without seeing a GP.

Removing stingers, ticks or caterpillars

If anything is left on or in your skin, the first thing is to remove it gently.

Easing your symptoms

If there’s nothing in your skin, or you’ve removed it, wash your skin with soap and water to lower the chance of infection.

The bite or sting should get better in a few days. There are some things you can do to ease your symptoms;

• put an ice pack wrapped in a cloth or a clean cloth soaked in cold water on the bite or sting for at least 20 minutes, if it's swollen
• keep the area raised if you can
• take painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen if the sting is painful
• use antihistamines to relieve any itching (but do not use antihistamine cream if you had caterpillar hairs on your skin)
• use a hydrocortisone cream to reduce itching and swelling
• do not scratch the bite or sting, as it could get infected
• do not use home remedies such as bicarbonate of soda to treat the bite or sting

A pharmacist can help with insect bites and stings

A pharmacist can advise you about medicines that can help ease the symptoms of a bite or sting such as:

• antihistamines
• steroid cream
• painkillers

Ask for an urgent GP appointment, Call 111 or get help from 111 online if:

If you've been bitten or stung by an insect and:

• your symptoms get worse or are not getting any better
• you were stung in your mouth or throat, or near your eyes
• you have tummy pain and are being sick
• you feel dizzy or lightheaded
• a large area around the bite or sting becomes red and swollen
• you have a high temperature and swollen glands
• you were stung more than once
• you've had a serious allergic reaction to an insect bite or sting before

Call 999 if:

• your lips, mouth, throat or tongue suddenly become swollen
• you’re breathing very fast or struggling to breathe
• your throat feels tight or you’re struggling to swallow
• your skin, tongue or lips turn blue, grey or pale
• you suddenly become very confused, drowsy or dizzy
• someone faints and can’t be woken up
• a child is limp, floppy or not responding like they normally do

You or the person who’s unwell may also have a rash that’s swollen, raised or itchy.

These can be signs of a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital. at

For further information;    

Insect bites and stings - NHS s, me suddenly become swollen

Medical Email

Please use our medical email address [email protected] if you would like to discuss the following:

Request referrals - School Paediatrician, OT Service, ID-CAMHS, Continence Team, Sleep Clinic, Community Dietician, Dental Service, Hearing Support Service.

General enquiry box – to be used for any other medical related issue other than listed above.

We aim to respond to all email enquiries the same day.

Prescribed Medications

If your child requires medications during school time for a medical condition you must complete an M2 form, this is available in reception or on the school website to download.

Paracetamol -please be advised that we have a Medication Policy in place that states we can only administer prescribed medications which includes Paracetamol.

As always if the medical team can offer any support or advice, please contact us.

Best Wishes

Michelle and Sue

Therapy Team

Gestalt Language Processing 

Jess W and Heather have delivered Gestalt Language Processing to the whole school staff on INSET day and ran a session for parents on the 6^th May.  

Children who fall into this style of language development start speaking in “chunks” of language. This often starts with echolalia. Echolalia is when children repeat what another person has said or phrases from music/TV. A gestalt is “a chunk of language that the child has stored in their memory for later use”. 

There is another parent training session on the 4^th June at 10:00-11:30, if you would like to book a place on the training session, please email [email protected]   

Food Sensory Stories 

Food Sensory Stories are a way to explore books through food-based messy play. The aim of this activity is that it increases pupils’ tolerance of a range of textures, helps develop vocabulary and understanding of the story, and may even encourage pupils to taste the food.  

Jess W and Heather ran Food Sensory Stories training for class staff in Ocean, Harbour, Starfish, Octopus, Penguin, Dolphin, Shells and Jellyfish classes on INSET day and based our tuff trays on the book ‘The Train Ride’ by June Crebbin: 

Pupils have enjoyed the food sensory stories that they have explored this half term, provided by their class teams, using books based on our theme for this half term ‘Let’s Go’. As an example, Shells class did a Food Sensory Story for their book ‘Amazing Aeroplanes’ by Tony Mitton: 

Whole School Physiotherapy Challenge 

Pupils have now started the summer physiotherapy inflatable challenge. Classes have been given an exercise video to follow designed by the Physiotherapist Jane Reynolds to improve the strength and stamina of the pupils. The younger classes have a yoga video to follow. They will be completing the videos as many days during the week as they can and adding stickers to their class chart to earn themselves a turn on the inflatable assault course at the end of the summer term. The therapy team have had some great feedback from the pupils so far and everyone seems to be enjoying the challenge!! 

Horse Riding Therapy 

This term some students from Magna Seals class had the opportunity to attend 6 sessions of Horse Therapy at the Fortune Riding Stables in the New Forest.

All were awarded the Blue Badge Certificate and were able to show great resilience and skills progression. They are the first students from Winchelsea School to ride with reins, lead a pony and hand feed the pony. Their confidence led to them all being very keen to trot, which they loved. This is a fantastic achievement. They supported each other, encouraged one another and were able to reflect on their positive experiences. They have returned to school learning feeling confident about facing challenges; having experienced perseverance can lead to great success! 

Ocean

Whilst this has been a short half term, it has been a very productive one. 

This term the children have been thinking about transport. They have been developing early listening skills by identifying and making transport sounds, alongside thematic songs and rhymes such as ‘zoom zoom zoom’. Our thematic story ‘The Journey Home’ has been explored through a food sensory approach. We have explored ice, ice cream and cream; green beans, peas, broad beans and broccoli; and crunchy cereal. One of the biggest celebrations this term is how well the children have engaged in movement songs, particularly Storycise; and how amazing they have been developing their walking, stopping and waiting skills in the community.  

We move to the last term of the school year after half term, and our theme will be ‘In the Zone’.  For the children in Ocean class this will focus on wellbeing, happiness, calming and mindfulness. Have a wonderful half term, stay safe and have fun. 

The Ocean Class Team

Harbour

What a fantastic half term we have had in Harbour class! Our topic this half term, ‘Let’s Go’ has taken us on a wonderful journey exploring transport. The children have been truly engaged, and it’s been a joy to see their curiosity and confidence grow with every new experience.  

We began the half term with a sparkling car wash starter in the garden, where bikes and scooters were scrubbed until they sparkled. This hands-on fun set the tone for the rest of our learning which included lots of listening and identifying transport sounds, like the ‘nee-naw’ of ambulance sirens, the honk of boat horns, and the revving of car engines. We’ve also had great fun spotting real vehicles during our ‘PE in the park’ sessions and community visits.  

Throughout the term, we’ve introduced the children to Jolly Phonics, starting with the letter ‘s’. The children have loved singing ‘The Snake is in the Grass’, making silly soup with items that begin with ‘s’, and exploring early mark-making with pens, whiteboards and aqua mats. The children's' fine motor skills have been developing beautifully with lots of engaging activities using tweezers, pegs, grabbers and paint tools. In PE with Mr Callum, the children have been exploring movement and coordination, crawling through tunnels, jumping over hurdles and balancing with hoops. 

A real highlight of the half term was our trip to Poole Park where we saw the green train chugging along the track. The children were captivated by the train, waving to the passengers and listening carefully to the sounds all around them. They also had a wonderful time spotting ducklings, cygnets and goslings. We are looking forward to our end of half term trip where the children will be given the opportunity to go for a ride on the train themselves! 

Looking ahead, next half term our topic will be ‘In the Zone’ where we’ll begin exploring feelings, emotions and our bodies. This will be a gentle and supportive journey into recognising how we feel and how we can express ourselves through sensory play, movement and role play.  

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We wish you a restful and joyful half term break and look forward to welcoming everyone back for more learning adventures soon! 

Best wishes, 

The Harbour Class Team 

Starfish

Starfish have had a great half term!  

This half term Starfish Class have been thinking about different methods of transport and going on a journey.  The children have had lots of opportunities to see real transport when out and about within the community and even spotted a tractor with wheels that were bigger than the children! 

As part of the theme, the children have been able to explore lots of different transport toys and we have been thinking about the key vocabulary links, for example, push, pull, forwards and back, go and stop.  Not only have we used this language within play, we have also been using it across the curriculum in many different contexts so that the children can really begin to understand the words and what they mean.  

The children have continued to make the most of our broad and varied curriculum, accessing a range of Outdoor spaces across the week such as forest schools, outdoor learning time, and our regulation time across the week.  There has been a big focus on the weather and recognising hot and cold and how we feel.  Some of the children find it tricky to take off jumpers and tolerate suncream so we have worked on some of those key areas.   

Finally, we have been continuing as always to push communication, and this half term we have been working on labelling different transport, commenting on the world around us when out and about, and continuing to build on engagement opportunities and more structured activities within the classroom.   
 
Well done Starfish! Another wonderful half term!  

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Jellyfish

Oh my gosh - how are we on the penultimate half term of this academic year! Finally, the sun has been shining and we’ve tried to be out and about as much as possible. This half term’s theme has been ‘Let’s Go’ where we’ve focussed on transport and different journeys we may take. The ‘Word of the Week’ has supported this focus and each week the pupils have learnt new vocabulary and signs; ‘go’, ‘stop’, ‘forwards’ and ‘backwards’. Jellyfish Class have particularly enjoyed making their own vehicles using paper and 3D shapes.  

In Food Therapy, the pupils (and class team) have been enjoying making and trying different sweet treats. We have looked at melting and mixed different chocolate (and marshmallows one week) with different tasty cereals. Jellyfish also then practiced their waiting skills so these yummy cakes had time to set in the fridge before we tried them! This half term, Jellyfish have learnt a new game - ‘The Floor is Lava’. During this game, the pupils had to practice their listening skills whilst moving their bodies in different ways whilst avoiding the Lava! It took quite a few turns for all the pupils to learn the rules but we got there and all had lots of fun. We have been lucky enough to go to Whitecliff Park and Poole Park on our Community Visits as well as also enjoying the sun at Forest Schools.  

The whole school celebrated VE Day at the beginning of May. Jellyfish pupils made Union Jack headbands which they wore to a whole school picnic on the field. We also made 3D Spitfire planes and listened to old wartime music.  

For the final half term of this academic year, the theme will be ‘In The Zone’. Jellyfish Class will be exploring different emotions, what these may look like and what might make them feel a certain way. We look forward to more time in the sun and the transition into the Summer Holidays and new academic year in September.  

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Dolphin

This term has gone by in a flash, with Dolphins learning a whole range of concepts related to transport, as part of our theme ‘Let’s Go.’ We explored speed through racing cars across the playground. We delved into direction by sending boats ‘forwards’ and ‘backwards’ across the water. We also made planes, which we flew above the field and ordered the winners of our races into first, second and third. Students have loved this hands-on approach to learning these concepts across our Discoverers curriculum. 

In My Communication, we have been reading ‘The Way Back Home’ by Oliver Jeffers. A lovely book about fixing problems, vehicles and friendships. The Dolphin team built up excitement for the book by staging a spaceship crash in the playground. Pupils then made their own news reports and told their peers what they thought had happened and made predictions about the book. This helped engage pupils in extending their creative and communicative skills. 

One big highlight from this term has been our swimming sessions on a Wednesday. The whole class have loved their time in the pool and shown how well they can follow instructions from the swim teacher to develop their physical movement and gross motor skills.  

In ICT, we used remote control vehicles to help embed key language about direction and speed while also planning out specific routes around the playground. We then used these skills to look at bus routes in the area and plan a journey of our own. 

In cooking we have been making takeaway style meals and talking about how they might be delivered to customers. I was very impressed with pupils persevering to make mayonnaise from scratch to accompany a fish and chip recipe. 

We’ve also had some great events this term, for example, VE Day was very special and really brought the whole school together with a wonderful relaxing picnic in the sun followed by games on the field. This has made us all very excited for the rest of the Summer and our learning for next term which is ‘In the Zone.’ This will see pupils explore fitness and feelings in a way that promotes independence through exciting and motivating activities that will continue extending their abilities. 

Octopus

This half term, Octopus Class have been diving into our theme 'Let’s Go', all about journeys, transport, and adventure. As part of the Discoverers' pathway, we’ve been exploring how people travel, what types of transport we might see in different places, and using stories to support learning through overlearning, early phonics, and imaginative thinking. Our main story this term was "You Can’t Fit an Elephant on a Bus", written by Patricia Cleveland-Peck which sparked lots of fun and learning about different vehicles and how we travel from one place to another. 

A key focus has been developing our understanding of the words stop and go. Some of us have been learning to respond to these instructions, while others are beginning to recognise when to stop and go based on signs and signals in the environment, such as traffic lights. Our food sensory activities have also linked to storytelling - "We’re Going on a Bear Hunt" written by Michael Rosen gave us a fun and engaging way to explore a variety of textures and tastes like salad, yoghurt, chocolate custard, watercress, and whipped cream, representing different parts of the journey. 

Our community visits have supported the journey theme, giving pupils the chance to experience real-life travel and transport. We’ve enjoyed walks to spot vehicles, trips on the minibus to the local aquarium, Upton Country Park, and a nearby park.  

We’re excited to continue building on everything we’ve achieved this half term and can’t wait to share more with you soon. 

Shells

What a busy half term Shells have had - the past 5 weeks have gone very quickly! Shells have really enjoyed our topic of ‘Let’s Go!’ this half term, where we have focused on transport and journeys.  

Over the weeks we have focused on different types of transport and the journeys we may take in them. We have looked at aeroplanes, where we planned what country we would like to take a trip to, and set up the classroom so we could role-play being on an aeroplane. We have used a range of materials to make a boat and then tested to see if it would float in the water, as well as exploring with rockets where we planned what we would need on a rocket ride followed by a sensory rocket experience. It has been wonderful to see the children demonstrate their creativity and problem-solving skills during this topic, and the results of their amazing imagination! 

We have also started swimming this half term. We are so proud of how well all the children have been doing! We have been working very hard on supporting the children to be independent with their changing during our swim session, and already we are seeing some great results. In the pool the children have loved practicing kicking with their legs and exploring in the water, with some children even having a go at swimming through a hoop! We can’t wait to see them continue to build on these skills as we continue swimming next half term.  

The children have also really been enjoying our cooking and food sensory sessions. They have followed instructions brilliantly to make a variety of different food (cheesecake and fruit lollies to name just a few!) and have enjoyed honing their skills with chopping and weighing. It has also been lovely to see all the children explore with different types of foods and textures over the weeks, and tolerating trying new things.  

We hope you all have a fun and relaxing half term break. We look forward to all the children joining us on our final topic of the year, ‘In the Zone’, where we will be focusing on moving our bodies and regulation.  

Shells Class Team  

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Penguin

It’s been a fresh new term full of experiences at Old Town, linked to our transport theme, ‘Let’s Go’. We have had the opportunity to go out together to all the different transport locations in Poole and see the buses, trains and boats. We finished the topic off with a lovely experience on one of the Poole Quay harbour cruises, and a visit to main site to race Didi cars on an inflatable track in the hall.  

In preparation of all our trips out we have been packing things we need such as our drink bottles and our travel pack (fiddle toy, eye spy game and bubbles) just in case we need them. Also, for Forest School this term we have been preparing a picnic each week to share together. During the sandwich making we have explored different tastes, developed our preferences of jams, and moved towards juices at the end.  

In our split-class-groups we have been able to really focus on specific skills for each child in their writing, phonics, reading and sound exploration phases, as well as number, shapes, and cause and effect.  

We have exploited the fantastic weather we have been having with some PE outside as well transport exploration involving floating and sinking boats, car ramps, and paper helicopters and planes.  

Next half term’s theme will be ‘In the Zone’. We will be working on things that make us feel happy, expressing our preferences in individual activities, as well as spending time together in shared activities.  

Sea Lions

Well in the blink of an eye it’s gone!  It’s been a super quick half term - but we've managed to fit a lot in!  

We have enjoyed a real range of trips this half term to support our topic, ‘Let’s Go’. The pupils enjoyed visiting Farmer Palmers and exploring all it had to offer! Feeding the baby goats and holding a rabbit were a highlight, not to mention the outside play park, bouncy castle, hay barn slides and the go-Karts! We had a few Lewis Hamilton's on our hands!  

The pupils also enjoyed a visit to Poole Park using the public transport. We were able to consolidate all the prior learning we had done on animals and their habitats.  

To ensure we had a delicious treat before the end of term we also went to the Spire Café in Poole on the bus. The pupils had a great time choosing their seat and then deciding what sweet treat they would enjoy.  

Overall, the pupils have amazed us again with their resilience, humour and approach to learning! 

As always, we are very proud of them! 

Happy half term 

The Sea Lions Team 

Sea Turtles

What a wonderful, sunny term we have had! Our theme has been ’Let’s Go’. We began our community visits by going to Farmer Palmers. Pupils enjoyed being able to interact with the animals, such as guinea pigs and sheep. Sea Turtles have also been to Poole Park on the public bus. To ensure we ended this half term on a sweet note, we visited the Spire Café in Poole, again on the bus! The pupils had a great time choosing their seat and then deciding what sweet treat they would enjoy in the café. 

In English, we have been reading the text ‘Emma Jane’s Aeroplane’ written by Katie Haworth. Pupils really enjoyed being able to explore different cities that our character visited. We used moving pictures to learn and retell this story. Also, pupils used their shape coding skills to write sentences about their trips out, focussing on our adventures at Farmer Palmers, Poole Park and the Spire Café. Sea Turtles have continued to blow us away with their phonics and reading skills this half term.  

In Maths, we began our learning by recapping number sequencing and times tables. We then moved on to looking at 2D and 3D shapes. Pupils have been amazing recalling the names of different shapes, such as a hexagon and a pentagon. They independently found out the different sides and corners of our shapes. 

In RE, we have been exploring different important religious places. We began by looking at Bethlehem, and why it is important to Christians. We then moved on to look at Mecca, and the pilgrimage of Hajj that many Muslims make. To finish we thought about what places are important to us and why.  

As the weather has got warmer, pupils have enjoyed a range of Forest School activities. Pupils enjoyed trying to make dream catchers; with some of the materials scavenged from the woodland areas. They have also enjoyed being able to use the hammock.  We have been particularly impressed by pupils who have been brave enough to try tree climbing.  

Next half-term, our topic will be ‘In the Zone’. We will be developing our understanding of emotions through Mental Health and Physical Wellbeing. 

Have a lovely half term, 

Kind regards, 

Miss Nancy, Miss Sarah and Miss Sana 

Puffin

Puffin had a fantastic half-term enjoying learning linked to our theme, ‘Let’s Go’.  

In English, we have been reading a book called ‘Ocean Meets Sky’. The pupils have identified how the setting has been described and have answered who, what, when, where questions about the story. The pupils have also described the characters in the book, using a range of adjectives. The pupils then used their adjectives to write simple and compound sentences.  

In Maths, the pupils have continued with developing their number, statistics and geometry skills. The pupils have learnt about position and direction, including the eight compass points. Additionally, the pupils have been practicing a range of subtraction strategies, using concrete resources to find the difference between two-digit, three-digit and four-digit numbers. Furthermore, the pupils have been naming and identifying properties of 2D and 3D shapes.  

As part of our wider curriculum, the pupils have been engaging in different activities which include learning about religious pilgrimages. In our My World lessons, the pupils have been learning about how transport has changed from the past to the present, which links to our STEAM project, where the pupils have investigated how different transport moves.  

A highlight of this half term has been our first SoundStorm music lesson with Mr Jack. The pupils learnt different chords and created a piece of music as a class. 

We are excited to immerse ourselves in the final theme for this academic year, ‘In The Zone’.  

Thank you for your continued support and we hope you have a wonderful break.  

Best wishes, 

Puffin Class Team 

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Lobsters

Lobsters class have worked extremely hard to fit a huge amount of work into this very short term. The bulk of our time has been occupied with; exams, completing accreditation work, Duke of Edinburgh preparation, work experience, running Lobsters’ Light Bites and our usual topic-based lessons across all curriculum areas. On top of this, we have also found time to cover additional important topics such as VE Day, Mental Wellbeing and Diversity Day! 

Having only been back from the Easter break for a short time, we are extremely proud of how hard everyone has been working towards completing our accreditation evidence and sitting examinations. 

In ICT we have been learning about how we can plan journeys using apps on our class mobile phones, which everyone has thoroughly enjoyed. We have been continuing to practice this and look forward to putting these skills into practice next half term. 

This term Ty, Olek and Lucas have been busy practicing and preparing for their upcoming Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition. This has included walking, keeping safe, cooking, putting up tents and preparing camp. We wish them the best of luck with this and look forward to hearing how it went. 

Lobsters Class have also enjoyed getting out in the sunshine to practice Athletics events, in preparation for Sports Day next term. The most popular event so far has been Javelin. 

We hope all the pupils and their families have a fantastic half term break and we look forward to seeing you all again soon. 

Lobsters Team 

Navigators - Seahorses, Manta and Orca

As we reach the end of this half term, we wanted to share some of the fantastic learning that has taken place across the Navigators pathway. 

In English, we began reading our class text ‘Race to the Frozen North’ by Catherine Johnson. It tells the inspiring true story of Matthew Henson, one of the first men to reach the North Pole. Our discussions have focused on the powerful themes of determination and racial segregation, exploring the challenges Matthew faced as a black explorer in the early 20th century. The children showed great maturity and empathy during these conversations. 

This linked beautifully with our My World lessons, where we have been learning about the Arctic landscape and some of the famous explorers who ventured into this extreme environment. The mystery surrounding the disappearance of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror particularly captured the children’s imaginations. 

In RE, we worked in pairs to research different world religions and their pilgrimages. Building on this, the children designed their own meaningful pilgrimages, with wonderfully creative and thoughtful outcomes that reflected their individual values and beliefs. 

Our PSHE lessons this term had a practical focus on planning journeys and learning to use travel technology. The children used Google Maps and the More Bus app to plan a route from school to Poole Park - and then successfully carried out the journey themselves! 

In our STEAM lessons, the children put their creativity and engineering skills to the test by designing their own vehicles and building rollercoasters. It was wonderful to see such teamwork, problem-solving, and enthusiasm throughout these hands-on projects. 

Alongside all this fantastic learning, the children have also been working hard on their English and Maths assessments. We are incredibly proud of their resilience and determination, and we hope their results reflect the amazing effort they’ve put in. 

We wish you a relaxing and enjoyable half term break and look forward to welcoming the children back for an exciting Summer 2, where our new topic will be ‘In the Zone’! 

Magna Seals

We have had a busy and exciting start to the Summer term in Seals Class, diving into our new topic ‘Let’s Go!’ with enthusiasm.   

In English, we have been writing our own diaries, written from the perspective of an explorer. We each thought of a place we would like to explore in our diaries, which ranged from climbing freezing, snow covered mountains to exploring an exciting African safari.  We planned our diaries carefully, ensuring we included all the relevant features such as emotive language, chronological order and past tense.   

In Maths, we have been naming and sorting 3D shapes according to their properties and looking at fractions of numbers and shapes. Linking to our topic, we also looked at position and direction, including reading compass directions.  

Georgia O’Keefe has been the focus of our artwork this half term. We drew some extremely detailed line drawings of flowers which we then enlarged to create stunning and colourful flower paintings in an abstract style.   

Linking to travel and journeys, in RE we have been looking at why some people go on pilgrimages and how these important journeys allow both personal and spiritual growth.  

We really enjoyed our discussions about the positives and negatives of various methods of transport in our My World lessons, including speed, cost, convenience and environmental impact.   

We are looking forward to our next topic ‘In The Zone,’ which will focus on learning about our bodies, our emotions and how to develop a healthy a positive attitude towards our mental health.   

Post 16

Although it has been a short term we have been very busy. 

This term’s topic was ‘Let’s Go’ so we have had a walk on the Castleman Trail, visited Poole Lighthouse to see what goes on behind the scenes (which they found fascinating), a walk in Poole Park, had a look around another Careers Fayre in Wimborne, and have been  to Hengistbury Head to fly the kites they have made in My World. We also celebrated VE Day by having a party. 

Some have started to make their own lunches (which have had various outcomes - all edible!) and in cooking they have made, shortbread, chocolate chip cookies, cheese straws, brownies and jam tarts. 

In Maths they learned about estimating and measuring in various forms and money word problems. 

In English they learned about instructions and recall, understanding body language and all about debating (which resulted in some interesting debates!) 

Most of them are sitting exams, and although feeling a bit anxious have completed them to the best of their ability. 

They are still working towards their Food Hygiene and Allergen Awareness certificates in ICT - a big congratulations to Sam who passed his Level 1 Food Hygiene! 

Next term we have some more amazing items on the agenda both at Broadstone and out and about in the community. 

Best wishes, 

Post 16 

Creative Arts

Art
Go Go Go!

It’s been super busy during summer 1 and Starfish class have been enjoying some lovely sensory activities! It has been so nice to get outside and paint on the windows! 

Lobster class have been reading Richard Scarry books and planning their own vehicles. They have dreamed up some wild and whacky ideas!

Enjoy your half term break! 

Miss Tash

Music

It has been a fabulous half term for music across the school! 

Our KS4 Arts Award group have been exploring Afrobeat music which started in West Africa with pioneers such as Fela Kuti. They have learnt about the different sounds and instruments used and how this style of music is an amalgamation of traditional West African music and Jazz. They used Yu Studio, a digital song writing tool to make their own Afro Beat compositions. 

In our Enquirers music lessons, we have been looking at music from several continents and how different they are. We journeyed from the Andes mountains of South America where we learnt about pan pipe music to the beautiful lands of West Africa where we explored traditional rhythms. We ended our journey with looking at Bhangra music and dancing from India. 

Our Discoverers have been on journeys across the globe, visiting Africa where they played the Djembe drums, South America where they played in a samba ensemble and most recently Asia where we partook in some Bhangra dancing! Our earlier discoverers have also been on journeys to space and on Bear hunts, using music to create soundscapes and movement. We have been working on being able to stop or start playing instruments when prompted.  

Our Explorers have had a great time continuing to explore sensory musical equipment that has linked to our topic and journeys we have been going on. We have worked on clapping short rhythms in our hello songs and adding movement to action songs such as Zoom to the Moon!

PE

This term we have been enjoying the sun in the PE department!   

Our Discoverers pupils have been practising their running, throwing and jumping skills in a variety of sports day themed activities. They have enjoyed taking part in all the different activities.

Our Enquirers pupils have been learning different techniques to improve their running, jumping and throwing skills such as swinging their arms when running and jumping. They have then put these skills all together to show great improvements in their all-round athletic skills.   

Our accreditation groups have been working towards their OCR Entry Level qualification. This term we have been focusing on the sport of football as well as some sports week preparation with activities such as javelin throw and standing jump. In these lessons we have been practising our passing and shooting. We have also been learning how you score and the different rules. 

Forest School

This half term, in keeping with our theme, ‘Let’s Go’, we have been focusing on navigation. Students worked hard on learning how to read a map and use a compass, and even planned routes for us to go and explore our local green spaces. 

Summer is definitely on its way. Thankfully the trees now dressed in their new leaves have offered us some great shelter from the sun and some lovely opportunities to slow down a bit and look at how nature has changed with the turn of the seasons. 

Winchelsea Wellness

During this half term we had ‘Children’s Mental Wellbeing Awareness Week’ we had an assembly, and an event organised and ran by the sports council. 

For the event the sports council set out a number of activities to promote mental wellbeing such as; Lego, mindfulness colouring, reading and exercise. The Mayor of Poole was invited and happily joined in with all activities.

VE Day Celebrations

We commemorated VE Day at Winchelsea by educating ourselves about the event and celebration during our weekly assemblies, followed by a picnic and various games on the field. Many of our students wore red, white, and blue, enjoying games such as tug of war and egg and spoon races.

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