Welcome to Winchelsea School

Winchelsea is a community special school committed to meeting the needs of pupils with a wide range of learning difficulties. We are heavily over-subscribed and our 125 pupils, aged 4–16, are supported by just over 80 staff. We will also offer satellite provision for 24 pupils at Old Town Infant School and Canford Heath Junior School. In addition, we also offer Post 16 provision through an innovative collaboration with Bournemouth & Poole College.

We have a committed, knowledgeable and experienced staff team and we pride ourselves on creating bespoke packages for pupils which meet their individual needs and prepare them for life. We strongly believe we have created a safe, welcoming and inspiring environment which allows our children to feel secure and be successful.

We are passionate about improving outcomes for our pupils and we work very closely with families, outside agencies and organisations to facilitate this. To provide further support, we also provide an outreach service to a wide range of local schools.

Thank you for visiting our website. If you would like any further information or a tour of our school, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Geoff Cherrill, Headteacher.

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Latest News

Christmas Fayre - Reply Slips/Raffle Tickets

05 Dec 2019

Please be reminded that on the day of the fayre, pupils should either be collected from school or go home as usual on the bus and then brought back into the fayre.

Arrangements can be made if they travel by bus, for pupils to be met at school at the end of the day so that you can attend the fayre with your child. If you would like to meet your child at the end of the school day and wait until the Christmas Fayre opens at 3:30pm we will offer a classroom for you to wait in the warm!

Please let us know how your child will be travelling or if they are staying on the reply slip attached to the previous letter. All completed reply slips must be returned to school by Monday 9 December 2019.

In addition, please can I ask that all counterfoils and monies for sold raffle tickets be returned to school by Friday 13 December 2019.

Christmas Fair Raffle Tickets

04 Dec 2019

Dear Parents/Carers

Could we thank those parents who have already bought raffle tickets to support our Christmas Fair. This has been very much appreciated but there are still quite a large number of tickets we have not sold. Could we remind parents with tickets to please send these in as we rely very heavily on your support. Every pound raised from the sale of tickets will be spent on the children who attend this school. If any parents require further tickets, please feel free to contact the school office.

Many Thanks

Mr Steve Coates

Friends of Winchelsea

Help for hidden disabilities

03 Dec 2019

Dear Parent/Carer,

Please find attached details of the sunflower lanyard initiative.

Sainsbury’s and Argos have rolled out a national initiative of distributing sunflower lanyards in all stores, to help enhance the shopping experience for customers with hidden disabilities. The initiative offers shoppers the option to pick up a sunflower lanyard in store, which has been purposely designed to act as a discreet sign for store colleagues that they may need to provide a customer with additional support.

As the first retailer to trial the lanyards last year, Sainsbury’s and Argos hope to build on the success of the scheme, by providing reassurance to customers with hidden disabilities such as autism, dementia, visual or hearing impairment and anxiety. Lanyards will be available to collect for free in stores and are for each customer to keep so they can use it every time they come into store.

The sunflower design is now recognised by a number of organisations across the UK and was initially adopted by Gatwick Airport, whom Sainsbury’s worked closely with throughout the trial. By using the same design, it means customers have the option to use their lanyard in shops across the UK, in the knowledge that store colleagues will recognise what it stands for.

We have a small number of sunflower lanyards in school. If you would like one, please collect one from the school office - these will be distributed on a "first come, first served" basis.

sunflower_lanyard.pdf

Help for hidden disabilities

02 Dec 2019

Dear Parent/Carer,

Please find attached details of the sunflower lanyard initiative.

We have a small number of sunflower lanyards in school. If you would like one, please collect one from the school office - these will be distributed on a "first come, first served" basis.

sunflower_lanyard.pdf

Birds of Poole Harbour Boat Trip

29 Nov 2019

Dear Parent/Carer,

Further to our letter dated 11 November, I am pleased to advise that the Birds of Poole Harbour Boat trip has been re-arranged for Monday 2 December 2019.

We will be leaving school at 9.10am in the morning on Monday 2 December and returning to school for 12.30pm. Due to the nature of the trip and the time of year, it can get quite cold on the boat. Therefore, we ask that you ensure pupils are wearing warm clothing, along with their school jumper. This includes warm trousers, appropriate shoes, a warm waterproof coat, gloves, scarf and a hat to ensure that the pupils stay warm on deck.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or questions regarding the trip.

PTA AGM - Weds 27 Nov 7pm

27 Nov 2019

Dear Parent/Carer,

A reminder to all parents and carers that the AGM for our PTA (The Friends of Winchelsea School) will be held tonight at 7pm here at the school.

All are more than welcome to attend.

Regards,
Steve Coates
Treasurer, Friends of Winchelsea

School Photos and Christmas Lunch Orders

26 Nov 2019

Dear Parent/Carer,

A reminder that all orders for school photos must be received in the school office by 9am on Thursday 28 November.

In addition, if your child normally brings a packed lunch to school and would like a Christmas lunch on Thursday 19 December, please complete the return slip on the letter dated 20 November and return the slip, together with payment of £2.25, to the school office by Friday 29 November. Unfortunately, any orders received after this date cannot be accepted.

Christmas Fayre - Monday 16 December

22 Nov 2019

This year, the Christmas Fayre will take place on Monday 16December between 3.30pm and 5.30pm. We have taken the decision to run this outside of the school day in order to allow as many parents, carers, family members and friends to attend as possible. It will, again, be an enterprise opportunity for our pupils to get involved in making crafts and items that can be sold on the stalls.

We will also be organising a silent auction, raffle and tombola. If you are able to contribute in anyway to support the school, through either a contact or a prize, this will be gratefully received. In addition, if you would like to donate a new item for the tombola or raffle please send it in by Monday 9 December. We would appreciate bottles, tins of biscuits, new books, new toys and new games. We politely ask that you do not donate DVDs or old books.

Admission to the Christmas Fayre will be 50p and the admission ticket you purchase will be put into a prize draw for a family sized tub of sweets. In addition to the silent auction, raffle and tombola, we will also have Santa’s grotto, refreshments, hot dogs, independent stall sellers and a Winchelsea stall where you can purchase the items your children have made.

On the day of the fayre, pupils should either be collected from school or go home as usual on the bus and then brought back into the fayre. However, arrangements can be made if they travel by bus for pupils to be met at school at the end of the day so that you can attend the fayre with your child. If you would like to meet your child at the end of the school day and wait until the Christmas Fayre opens at 3:30pm we will offer a classroom for you to wait in the warm! Please let us know how your child will be travelling or if they are staying on the reply slip attached to the letter sent out.

We would be grateful if all donations and the reply slip could be brought to school by Monday 9December please.

We look forward to an enjoyable afternoon. Please invite friends and family and help us to raise funds for playground equipment for the pupils to support more structured activities at play time.

Lockdown Drill

15 Nov 2019

Please can all parents & carers be aware that we carried out a Lockdown Drill today. I am delighted to say that the pupils were amazing during the drill!

Anti-Bullying Week and Children In Need

11 Nov 2019

Anti-Bullying Week and Children In Need 2019:

Tuesday 12 November – Odd Socks Day

Friday 15 November – Non Uniform Day

Anti-Bullying Week 2019 is taking place from Monday 11 to Friday 15 November 2019 and has the theme ‘Change Starts With Us’. This is coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, which is based at leading children’s charity, the National Children’s Bureau.

Odd Socks Day will take place on the second day of Anti Bullying Week, Tuesday 12November 2019 to help raise awareness for Anti-Bullying Week. For schools to celebrate Anti-Bullying Week in a positive way by asking pupils to wear odd socks to school. There is no pressure to wear the latest fashion or buy expensive costumes. All you have to do to take part is wear odd socks, it couldn’t be simpler!

In addition, to celebrate the end of Anti-Bullying Week 2019 and Children in Need, we are inviting pupils to wear non uniform on Friday 15November 2019, welcoming any donations that will then be shared between these two charities.