What will the school be like?

Windrush Primary School will offer a broad, progressive education based on Christian values. It will be operated by River Learning Trust (RLT) and supported by the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education.

RLT already operates Madley Brook, Witney Community and Tower Hill primary schools in Witney. The Batt, The Blake and St Mary’s are the Church of England schools in the town.

The school is being built as part of the major development at Windrush Place on the western edge of Witney. The three builders involved with the development at Windrush Place are Persimmon, Bovis and Bloor.

Like all new schools in England, Windrush will be a free school. You can find out what being a free school means lower down this page.

Claire Doland
Headteacher

Our curriculum

Our curriculum will be rich in content – with an emphasis on knowledge to be known and understood. It will feature a strong commitment to reading, writing and maths, and there will be high expectations in these areas. Our curriculum will be coherent to ensure there is a progression as children move through school.

Extra-curricular activities

The school will run activities after school (sports clubs, homework clubs, music and arts clubs). It will run competitions within the school and also take part in competitions with other schools. These will be run by staff and external providers. We will always strive to ensure the widest range of activities are available to pupils.

Childcare before and after school

We recognise the importance to parents of providing first-rate childcare before and after school. This so-called wrap-around care will take the form of a school-run breakfast club and after-school care, the latter delivered by an external provider as is the case with RLT’s other Witney primary schools.

Nursery

The school will include a nursery for 39 children from the age of two to four. Provision will either be for 15 hours a week or 30 hours a week. Subject to availability and an additional charge, breakfast and after-school care will be provided for nursery children. The nursery will follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum requirements to help develop your child through structured play. The nursery’s facilities will be purpose built to support this. Details on how to apply for a place at nursery can be found on the admissions page.

The buildings and grounds

The school is being built as part of the major development at Windrush Place on the western edge of Witney. It will be a state-of-the-art facility designed to allow us to deliver all aspects of a first-class primary education. You can see more details in the approved planning application for the school by clicking HERE.

Religious character

Windrush Primary School will be supported by the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (ODBE) and will offer an education based on Christian values. It will be a progressive Church of England/Anglican school in character. But it will be for children of all faiths and none. No preference will be given to practising Anglican children and families in the admissions process. Click HERE to go to the ODBE’s schools page.

What does being a free school mean?

Windrush is set to be a free school, which means it is not controlled by the local council. It is not being established as a free school for ideological reasons, but because all new schools must be free schools. Free schools are funded by the Government and are inspected by Ofsted. They do not have to follow the National Curriculum, but we will. Being a free school means we are able to change the length of the school day and term dates, but we have no plans to do these things. You can find out a little bit more about free schools HERE.

SEND PROVISION

The school will eventually include an eight-place specialist resourced provision for children with communication and interaction needs (autism, and speech and language difficulties), and physical or sensory needs. Admissions for these places will be coordinated with Oxfordshire County Council and are for children with Education Health Care Plans only. You can find out about the county council’s SEND provision HERE.