West Pennard Primary School Partnership
We really appreciate all of the schools who partner with us, so let’s get to know more about them and our partnership. Today we are looking at West Pennard Primary School in West Pennard, near Glastonbury. West Pennard School grew rapidly in the late 1960s with the incorporation of Pilton and North Wotton Schools on the West Pennard site, and it therefore serves quite a large area. The school has a history of excellence and has a very good reputation in the area. Some families ask the school which houses on the market are the best to buy in order to ensure that they are in the catchment of the school. The catchment is mainly made up of the villages of Pilton, West Pennard and North Wootton, but children come from far and wide, as far as Wells, Shepton Mallet, and Compton Dundon to attend this school. They have a play time before school in order for the children to catch up with each other and get conversations out of the way before coming into class, as many don’t meet up outside of school due to the wide catchment. Many of the parents work far afield and need reliable wrap around care. The school therefore offers a wide range of after school extra-curricular activities, as well as breakfast club (universal free) and after school clubs.
TLE and West Pennard School found each other through the school not being satisfied with previous companies that they used for PE provision. The previous headteacher had reached out to neighbouring schools, some 7 years ago, for recommendations and were told about TLE! Initially TLE just did an after school club, not PE or any other activities, but the school were impressed, not only by the standard of the sports, but also the behaviour management. TLE dealt with any behaviour incidents at the source, instead of bringing it back to the classroom for the teachers to deal with, and so the relationship grew to what it is now, with Alternative Provision, PE, extra-curricular activities, Active Camps as well as the Nutrition workshops run by our Education Manager.
We have six coaches that work within the school, and this is what they all said about their time there.
Mr Cave, Jarrad, shared his feelings about the partnership saying, “West Pennard school is an amazing place to work, and I really feel like part of the team. The staff are welcoming and always willing to support us within the school helping us to run impactful PE session, very busy after school clubs and give children the tools to succeed. The work we have done in West Pennard is the basis to how many things within TLE has grown and developed over the past few years.”
Mr Bromham, Jack, shared his feelings about the partnership saying, “West Pennard is a truly brilliant place to work. From the amazing and supportive staff to the excellent children who always try their best and give 100%.”
Mr Tostevin, James, shared his feelings about the partnership saying, “West Pennard is an excellent school. Incredible location, fantastic staff and superb children. It is a wonderful school to be part of.”
Mr Jeans, Ben, shared his feelings about the partnership saying, “I always look forward to Tuesdays at West Pennard. I enjoy working with such a wide range of age groups, as it keeps things interesting and no two days feel the same. One of the highlights for me is running girls’ football after school it’s my favourite sport and something I’m really passionate about. The school has a really welcoming feel, and I genuinely enjoy my time there each week.”
Miss Davis, Evie, shared her feelings about the partnership saying, “West Pennard is an amazing school, all the staff are so welcoming and helpful. And all the children in West Pennard have such kind and welcoming attitudes towards PE and are always willing to give it a go, which helps me to develop my coaching, and it creates such a strong partnership.”
Miss Spence, Sophie, shared his feelings about the partnership saying, “Since going to West Pennard Primary I have received nothing but kindness and respect. The children are great and love every part of PE and give everything they go into with the best effort. The children and staff made me feel so welcomed since I started going there and made me feel ready for everything that may be involved with working with children. The school holds high motivation through any challenge and I’m very lucky to be involved in such a great school.”
The headteacher, Tony Wheat, has this to say of our sports educators and what they bring to the school, “Keeping up with names can be difficult (chuckles), but they fit in seamlessly really. They know the school really well, we’ve got that long association with Jarrad overseeing it all, which is useful so that he can prime them before they come, and tell them what they’ll be doing, but they have got that relationship. They know Rachel when they come, they’re informed, they know our plans for what they’re going to be doing, which year groups they will be doing, but then they follow their own curriculum which you guys have devised, so they become part of the furniture really. It’s very useful for us to have that relationship, it’s not really us and them, it’s like they are a member of staff.
I can’t fault TLE in any way. We’ve got the long association with them and whenever we’ve reached out and needed a particular aspect of the curriculum delivering, or a solution to something, it’s been a conversation of how we can get around that. Towards the end of the Autumn term we were losing our Bubble Club / yoga / well-being aspect to our enrichment days that we were doing on a Friday. Speaking to TLE, they came back with a suggestion of a nutrition workshop which we’ve taken on, and it’s been a great success. So it’s about finding solutions to work together really well, and that’s what we need as a school to have that seamless working together for the betterment of the children, and I feel that we have that relationship and I think it works well for us.”
We are glad to have such a positive impact on the children within the school, and hope that they enjoy their time with us. We cannot wait to see what happens with this partnership, and what further expansions await us!