My name is Angela Comley and I am the Numeracy Subject Leader at Westover Green. I have included copies of leaflets that you may find useful in supporting your child in their numeracy. These are based on the old National Numeracy Strategy but are still relevant and a good starting point. I do a weekly Maths Club and you will find details of this under the extra-curricular activities section, including a monthly maths challenge.

Thanks for visiting.

Mathematics

Mathematics is an incredibly exciting and important subject. Whatever we do in life, we need maths. Maths is everywhere and it helps us make sense of the world in which we live.

At Westover Green, we aim for our pupils to have a positive attitude to maths, encouraging them to actively participate in lessons, always striving to extend themselves and do their best. We want our children to become confident with numbers as well as the other aspects of maths.

Maths is a very wide and varied subject. Children can often be very confident in one area but may need more directed support in other aspects. To allow for this, children are generally taught maths in mixed ability classes, by their class teacher. In some instances in Year 6, children may be taught in ability groupings. This is to ensure that children are as fully prepared as possible for their SATs.

In the past, Mathematics at Westover has been based on the National Numeracy Strategy (NNS). This has now been replaced by the Primary Framework for Numeracy, which we are in the process of fully embracing. This is supplemented by other teaching schemes such as Abacus, and backed up by the teacher's own ideas. As a school, we have invested in some fantastic interactive teaching programmes such as Maths Packs and Primary Games as well as those provided by the National Numeracy Strategy. These complement our Smart interactive whiteboards and enhance the teaching and learning of maths, whilst also making it fun for all concerned.

Although a separate daily maths lesson is taught, wherever possible, opportunities are taken to make links with other curricular subjects such as Art and Design, ICT and Science. This allows the children to build on the skills already learnt and use their maths in more meaningful situations.

Mathematics should be fun. Throughout the year there is a weekly lunchtime Maths Club, aimed at all ages. Children can also have access to a wide range of puzzles and challenges to further extend themselves or simply have fun.

We want our children to do their best, enjoy their mathematics and be successful with their learning. We welcome parents who encourage and help their children to improve. On our website are copies of termly targets on how you can support your child. These are based on the old NNS but are a good starting point. Have fun and enjoy.

Click here to view the Numeracy Targets across the age ranges

Hello there - my name is Richard Coath and along with Mrs Chris Durant, we are the co-ordinators for Physical Education at Westover Green. Our ethos is one of sport for all with each child actively participating in lessons and also having the opportunities to play sport or take part in swimming, gymnastics and outdoor/adventurous activities. The information below gives a little more detail and we will be showing P.E at Westover Green in the form of photos in the near future.

Thank you for visiting.

Physical Education

We at Westover Green believe that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. We plan our physical education to take account of this and so we include elements of games, gymnastics, dance and also some outdoor and adventurous activities into our broad curriculum.

Our main aims are:

• That each child performs to the best of their ability and none are excluded from the activities.
  
• That all pupils enjoy sport and receive positive feedback in all aspects.
  
• That each child understands the concepts of good sportsmanship.

We also offer many after school sporting activities including football, basketball, netball, rounders, cricket, table-tennis and athletics. We take part in may competitions with schools in the area and regularly compete in the Bridgwater leagues for football, netball, rounders and cricket.

Our outdoor activities are undertaken throughout the year by visits to various specialist centres including the local YMCA, Pinkery and Irthlingborough in Northamptonshire.

PSHCE at Westover Green Primary School

My name is Donna Jolley and I am the PSHCE Subject Leader at Westover Green. In the PSHCE section of the website I have enclosed a copy of the prospectus. I have also included the story we looked at for "Anti-bullying Week". This very special week occurs in November. Each class addresses the issues that surround bullying behaviour. We discuss what a person who is getting bullied can do, how other people can help and also how we can impact on another person's bullying
behaviour.

Go on and read the story and find out what happens to Laura at school.

Click here to find out more about PCHCE at Westover Green Primary School

Art and Design - Spring Term

The artists that we shall be studying are Andy Warhol and Gustov Klimt. Our focus of work will be on Print and Pattern through the 2 key stages. Books on both of these artist will be available at Bridgwater Library.

Design and Technology - Spring Term

Key Stage 1

• Focus on winding mechanisms using the story of Incy Wincy Spider,
• Food as a material, using a range of vegetables to make a healthy nutritious soup, reinforcing our school's Healthy Eating Policy.

Key Stage 2

Middle KS2 Years

• Using levers and rotating discs to design and make a pop-up card
  
• Food as a material, making a bread product, reinforcing our school's Healthy Eating Policy.

Upper KS2 years

• Greetings card with a moving part
  
• Food as a material, making a bread product, reinforcing our school's Healthy Eating Policy.
  

Literacy

Literacy is at the heart of our school curriculum, from the Foundation Stage through to Y6. Our aim is to encourage our pupils to explore the intricacies of our language through a range of mediums.

Throughout the school we encourage pupils' talk through paired talk, group talk, discussion and debate, questioning and responding. This 'talk' enables them to explore their own thinking, listen to others, question each other's thinking, build their vocabulary and fully express themselves.

Interwoven with the role of talk is the use of a variety of drama techniques, such as hot-seating and freeze-framing. These enable children to explore characters and situations in a creative and safe environment. Where once again they are able to express themselves and develop their thought processes.

Reading at Westover begins with the teaching of synthetic phonics, using the DfES publication 'Letters and Sounds'. This is supplemented with 'Jolly Phonics'. Westover fully endorses this approach to teaching in the Foundation Stage and KS1 where the specific teaching of phonemes, blending and segmenting has proved to be very successful.

KS1 through focussing on phonics, also begins the process of comprehending a text and identifying different text types.

As pupils move into KS2 the emphasis moves from phonics to the comprehension of text, and the knowledge of and understanding of a variety of text types.

By the end of KS2 pupils would have been taught the difference between narrative and non-narrative and be able to identify the features of different types of text.

Above all our aim is for pupils to realise the enjoyment that can be found from reading the written word.

Writing is intrinsically interwoven with reading. as pupils learn to read and understand, so do they learn to write.

In Foundation Stage and KS1, the emphasis is on the formation of letters to create words that become sentences. Phonics is used to build words and aid spelling.

As pupils move through the school their previous learning is built upon as they are taught the rules of grammar and punctuation. By the end of KS2, pupils would have been taught how to write narrative and non-narrative pieces, thinking about audience and purpose, layout and organisation and specific language features.

However, most importantly, they are taught that writing is another means of expressing themselves and it is a tool they can use.

At Westover, we aim to teach the importance of reading and writing but overriding all of this is the desire for pupils to enjoy the subject, become life-long readers, to be able to express themselves fully, so they are confident, happy members of our society.