Kingsway Villagers

Make more of your Wednesday evenings
on our Spring series programmes
at Severn Vale School

Start a new interest or take your skills further

Go beyond Auto on your Digital Camera (6 weeks) £60.00 starts 17/04/13
Cooking around the world (10 weeks) £100.00 starts 10/04/13
Patchwork and Quilting (10 weeks) – call for the latest information
First Time Polish (10 weeks) – call for the latest information
Silver Jewellery Making (2 weeks) x3 – call for the latest information

Personal and professional development
workshop series facilitated by
Life Coach Altaf Hassanjee

Time Management (2 weeks) £50.00 10-Apr-13 and 17-Apr-13
CV Writing (2 weeks) £50.00 24-Apr-13 and 01-May-13
Overcoming Procrastination (1 week) £25.00 05-Jun-13
Interview Skills (2 weeks) £50.00 12-Jun-13 and 19-Jun-13
Self-Esteem & Confidence Building (2 weeks) £50.00 26-Jun-13 and 03-Jul-13

Discounts apply for individuals booking three or more
workshops in advance (enquire for details).

All Courses are 6:00pm to 8:00pm

To enrol, call Christine on 01452 583887
or email [email protected]
Make more of your Wednesday evenings
on our Spring series programmes
at Severn Vale School

Hello All,

Was anyone else aware of the progress that has been made on the second Kingsway School?

I stumbled across a website that shows quite a bit has happened on this recently including a new name, Waterwells Primary Academy, and also some drop-in sessions that have already taken place.

I’d heard nothing about this but apparently they have had leaflet drops and advertised locally. They are currently in a consultation period and are welcoming peoples comments until the end of this month. As a parent to two under 3′s I am very interested to know what is happening with this school.

Thanks,
Paul

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for the lovely words posted about Kingsway Primary School! As the Headteacher of the school I am delighted that many of you speak so warmly about us and would like to offer some help for those of you new to this area and a bit confused by what we offer:
Kingsway Primary School works together with your local cluster schools (Beech Green, Meadowside, Hardwicke, Longney, Haresfield, Field Court Infants, Field Court Juniors and Severn Vale) under a working partnership called Quedgeley Learning Community (QLC). The second Kingsway Primary School has been invited to join this partnership also. Together we have pledged to ensure ALL schools in the area are the best they can be and that ALL pupils get the opportunities they deserve. We have pledged to not compete against each other to the detriment of any school and that by offering a complementary range of activities across the network, we offer strength in numbers. Indeed we share opportunities so if I put on an event, I invite other pupils from across the cluster to attend and so do the rest of the schools. For example this term we have a Gifted and Talented Art Workshop run by Severn Vale’s Art department, an Arts Festival during the summer and previously undertook a large scale Olympics for over 400 pupils from all the schools.
There are no schools in your local cluster who Ofsted does not rate and none of us are in Special Measures or Requires Improvement - quite a feat if you look around elsewhere. Indeed, the majority of us our rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.
Under the new Ofsted framework we get only 12 hours notice of inspection. So when we were Ofsteded on 10th and 11th October 2012, we were rang at 12.15pm for an inspection that started at 8am the next day. Gone are the days of being able to ‘perform’ on one day and be less than perfect the rest of the time! In our inspection, evidence of achievement was traced back to 2010 and was extremely rigorous. We achieved ‘good with outstanding features’ in ALL areas and are so proud of achieving this in only FOUR years.
I count myself fortunate to be the Headteacher of such a vibrant successful school and I would urge any prospective parent to make a tour to any school to have a look - you won’t be disappointed in any of us. We are all different but we are all something I hope residents will continue to be proud of for many years to come.
Good schools usually increase house prices, attract residents seeking a successful community and therefore stabilise the area enormously. I think we should be a very proud community because our success is your success too.

With every best wish,

Mrs Needham
[email protected]

Hi,

Primary Schools serving Kingsway - Recommendations Wanted!

I am anxious to hear some good positive reviews on local primary schools in the area.
I am in the process of making my selections for my pre-school childs primary school application - due to enrol Sept’ 2013.
If the current reviews are anything to go by then it would seem there are no good schools within walking distance of Kingsway!

I know the OFSTED reports are not exactly brilliant for all the primary schools serving Kingsway, but I like to think that maybe the schools will have improved by the time my child has to start next year.

Please, please, please, if there are any parents who have anything good to say about Kingsway Primary can you comment on this post, or if there are any parents like me with a pre-school child due to begin school in 2013, and intending to send their little ones to Kingsway Primary, I’d be interested to hear their views on the school.

I am now a resident of Kingsway following the much anticipated completion of our new build home in June 2012! I must say how very different my family and I are finding Kingsway compared to our old home and neighbourhood back in Emersons Green, Bristol/South Glos’, phew… very different indeed! It’s going to take some getting used to! Already we are feeling like we are one of the minority residents - neither of us own a crossbred dog, we do not wear hoodies, jogging bottoms (and I’m not talking visits to the gym here), football tops, we do not have a smoking habit, and neither of us sport any type of tattoos, or chunky gold chains! Sounds a bit harsh you may think, but I am being brutally honest here!

Day 1 of our house move, our belongings still being carried off the back of the removal lorry, and we were approached by one of the neighbours, who as bold as brass introduced herself, and her SIX children (all aged under 10 years). Even the removal men commented to us about how ‘full on’ she seemed! Three months on we have heard several accounts, and ‘warnings’, from other neighbours (all from affordable housing) on how to watch out for the family with all the kids on the corner as they have a habit of ‘pinching things’. The only problem I have with the rather large, and young family on the corner, is the amount of noise that can be heard coming from their house from the crack of dawn through ’til midnight! I can report that nothing, (touch wood), has been taken from outside my house, my garden plants still remain safe!

I was disappointed with the lack of respect for the new build park on the corner, a stone’s throw away from our house. The new turf had been down for less than a week when it was strewn with litter - mostly kids sweet wrappers, and the rides covered in child-like graffiti! I was tempted to take a bucket of bleach and have a go at removing the rude marker pen drawings and swearwords from all the new kids’ play equipment, but it seems bleach would not even do the trick! The children clearly need to be taught a valuable lesson in respect for their Community! I can’t imagine the parents would be the ones to do this, judging from the number of parents who seemed to turn a blind eye to their own offspring littering the park!
Teachers in the local primary schools need to take some responsibility here, and perhaps a visit from a Community Police Officer would help. I was also astounded at the number of very young children left unattended in the park. Children as young as four (could have been much younger, but giving them the benefit of the doubt), left to play with their young friends and siblings, no sign of their parents! I witnessed a very young child screaming after she had been left alone in the park by her seven year old sibling. I took her hand as she attempted to climb the railings because she could not open the gate herself. We managed to track her sibling along the footpath, and I watched them walk home together. I simply do not understand why any parent would allow such young children out on their own, left to their own devices, when if they did the same in their own home, left home alone so to speak, the Social Services would come down hard on them!
There were similar type scenes in the local Tesco Express. I couldn’t believe the high numbers of very young unaccompanied children in the store. A lot of them were riding their scooters around the aisles, and the store staff didn’t seem to mind! Back in our old village, there was a strick rule in our local Tesco Express - a maximum of two unaccompanied children at any given time, and certainly no bikes or scooters allowed in the store!

My family and I decided to give the Summer ‘Fun Day’ a go at the Kingsway Primary School. Firstly we were all quite shocked at how the lady taking entrance money at the school gate had a can of lager in one hand, drinking it in between taking our monies! We were hard pressed to find a single non-smoker at the fun day, unless we were to count the very young children, or police lady on the premises!

I know I’m probably coming across as quite judgmental here, but really I am shocked at the different lifestyles here in Kingsway.
Kingsway is a newly built area, and the surrounding countryside looks quite picturesque, so I really can’t understand why any resident wouldn’t appreciate their new home (affordable or owner occupied)!

Hi

My family and I will be moving into our new home in Kingsway tomorrow, 25th June 2012. I have lots of researching to do regarding new schools, pre-schools, dental and doctors surgeries. I have come across information online suggesting that there is a new ‘state of the art medical centre’ in Kingsway, and also TWO new primary schools, but I have only noticed ONE primary school in Kingsway, and I have no idea where the new medical centre is.

Since my two year old is due to start primary school next year - 2013-2014- and I need to register our preference of local primary school this October, I am keen to find out about the new primary school, where it is, and the name of it. It would be nice to hear from any other parents in Kingsway who like myself, will be seeking a reception primary school place for their little ones for next year.

Any local info very much appreciated!