Welcome | Orchard Infant School

Welcome to Orchard Infant School!

On behalf of our school community, I would like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome you to Orchard Infant School and our school website. My name is Jane West and I am very proud to be the headteacher of this outstanding school.

Our school is truly blessed by our wonderful local community, a highly skilled team of Governors, who both challenge and support the everyday work of the school, a phenomenal OISA (Orchard Infant School Association) who organise a variety of fundraisers throughout the year and a superb parent body who are keen to support their children in school! I am proud of our excellent staff team, who work their hardest to ensure that all children are well supported, but also challenged to take risks, which helps each and every one of them to achieve and flourish!

Orchard Infant School really is a wonderful place to be a learner! We have an incredibly motivating and exciting curriculum of which we are very proud. In Year R its all about child- initiated learning. Children have the opportunity to take full ownership of what they want to learn under the skilful direction of their class teacher. It is where their learning journey really does begin.

In Year 1 and 2, our engaging and motivating Integrated Curriculum really hooks the children into learning with clear and purposeful outcomes within each of the exciting projects. Children line up at the Orchard Airways check-in desk as they prepare for their journey to Auckland, New Zealand where they study the physical and cultural geography, taking note of the continents and the seas as they fly overhead.

In every year group here at Orchard Infant School, trips and visitors are always a key part of making learning memorable: a visiting ecologist who brings his wild animals for the children to hold, museum guides who come into school and tell us everything about the Titanic, trips to local educational centres, Lepe Beach and much much more...

If you want to know more about what we do here, take deeper look at our website under "Curriculum", listen to our intent statements, look at the photos that reflect our exciting projects where so much learning takes place! Our projects are regularly evaluated and reviewed so we keep the freshness in learning experiences that continue to deepen children's knowledge, skills and understanding of each of the subject areas.

Our children are truly inspirational; they are polite, well mannered and over the three years with us, develop a deep understanding of what it means to be truly resilient! Children are heard to say... "Its not that I can't do it...its just that I cant do it YET! Children's happiness and well being is at the core of our philosophy and we know that this is key to their achievement and attainment. Every day I witness children running into their classrooms across our playground, eager to get into class and soak up all the learning experiences the school has to offer. Over the years, our children consistently attain highly above national average in reading, writing and maths.

Our school is at the heart of the community. We often receive compliments regarding children's behaviour and conduct both within school and when out and about in our community. When you come and visit us you will see happy, smiling children and a buzz of learning permeating throughout the school.

The partnership between home and school is fundamental to your child's success. Children achieve more when school and parents work together. There are lots of opportunities for you to get involved in your child's school life. Our fund raising committee (OISA) is a great way to support the school and meet new friends so please look out for pleas for help to support future fund raising activities!

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require further information about us, we will hopefully booking parent tours again in the Autumn term (Government guidance permitting) which will give you the opportunity to come and see us in action!

We look forward to welcoming you and your child,

Jane West

Headteacher

Our Vision

At Orchard Infants everyone is made to feel welcome. We provide a secure, supportive and stimulating learning environment. Children and staff are equally valued as individuals and encouraged to develop to their full potential. We strive for excellence in all we do.

Our Aims

We recognise that “Children develop emotionally, intellectually, morally, physically, spiritually and socially at differing rates. All aspects of development are equally important and are interwoven.”

To promote high standards of educational achievement for all abilities.

To continuously pursue the improvement of standards.

To promote the development of the whole child.

To provide equal opportunities for all children.

To provide a broad, balanced and relevant curriculum including teaching children to:

Communicate effectively for pleasure and information;
Write legibly for a variety of audiences and purposes;
Read effectively for pleasure and information;
Use mathematical skills with confidence and accuracy;
Use Information Communication Technology;
Apply knowledge, skills and understanding of the world;
Be physically competent and confident.

To develop personal, moral and spiritual values.

To develop creativity, imagination and curiosity.

To promote each child’s self esteem, confidence and independence.

To promote high standards of behaviour.

To develop social skills.

To promote a high level of expectation.

To engender respect and understanding for all people and cultures in society.

To encourage a positive partnership with home.

We are a busy but friendly school, with lots going on. This website aims to give you a taster of the school, as well as providing regular updated information for both parents and pupils.

We hope that you enjoy your visit to our website, and that you find any information you are looking for. Please feel free to contact the school direct with any queries you may have.

Thank you for visiting!