Welcome from the Governing Board

Dear Parents/Carers and Stakeholders

Welcome to the Governor pages of our school website.  We hope they will give you a useful additional perspective of the school and an insight into the work we do to support our pupils and our staff.

As governors, it is always a pleasure and a privilege to go into school to see what pupils have been doing. We never fail to be impressed by what they know and can achieve and the way in which our highly skilled and committed staff take them on an exciting learning journey, embracing all aspects of the curriculum. During 2024-25, whole school activities to mark World Book Day, Children in Need, Maths Week, Neuro Diversity Week, Comic Relief and Health and Fitness Week demonstrated this very clearly. Individual class activities such as Pirate Day, Chinese food tasting, Ancient Greece Day, Live Q+A with Maya archaeologist, Dr. Davis, NSPCC workshop, Young Enterprise, Geography fieldwork further enriched the curriculum and broadened pupils’ outlook.   Pupils naturally enjoy doing well in their studies and Downsway creates an environment in which they are not afraid to say so and to be proud of their achievements.  In 2024 -25, governors conducted Pupil Voice visits with years 1-6 and a more informal visit to Foundation Stage. This potentially gave us the opportunity to talk to every child and to hear about what being a pupil at Downsway was like for them. We were so impressed by their enthusiasm, maturity of thought when describing their learning experiences and the amazing things they knew - staff never make assumptions about our pupils’ capacity to absorb new concepts and to deal with ‘difficult’ ideas. Care for others was also frequently in evidence during these conversations and there was always a mutually supportive ‘vibe’ about them.

During the course of the year, governors saw many examples of the way in which pupils, skilfully guided by staff, work together to give of their best both collectively and individually. This was very much in evidence on the sports field with some notable successes for teams including:  

Football, Year 4 boys- Adam Page Cup finalists; Year 4 boys- Trinity Indoor Tournament winners; Year 5/6 girls- Tony Mosson Cup finalists;Year 5/6 girls - Trinity Indoor Tournament Winners; Year 6 boys- Denefield Shield winners

Tag Rugby, Year 4 mixed- Long Lane Tournament winners; Year 6 mixed- Long Lane Tournament winners; Year 5/6 mixed- Abbey RFC tournament winners 

 Netball, League winners and finalists

 Pupils had access to a range of additional sports including Badminton, Cross Country, Parkour and Gymnastics, Swimming, Multi Sports, Martial Arts and Kickboxing, Didi Rugby. Pupils also completed Bikeability training.

Similarly in the performing arts, governors were impressed not just by the talent and confidence of individual pupils from Foundation Stage to Year 6 but their enthusiastic collaboration. Performances ranged from separate Christmas productions by Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, ‘Porridge’ by Years 3 and 4 and ‘Jill and Fred’s Most Hysterical, Historical Adventure by Years 5 and 6. Once again in 2024-25, the choir from Downsway participated in the Junior Music Festival at the Hexagon. A visit to Choir Club enabled governors to see some of the hard work which goes into preparing for this kind of event.

 The brilliant manner in which staff nurture our pupils’ creative skills means that, on any given day, the visitor is almost certain to see imaginative and technically accomplished writing and artwork of all forms. Some great examples of this last year were: Years 1 and 2 VE day artwork session; Year 1 webinar with the illustrator and author of ‘That’s My Flower’; Year 2 work generated during a visit by author, Peter Murray; Year 3 All About Me Artwork; pottery designs from their Ancient Greece Day; Year 4 brickwork sculptures based on Anthony Gormley’s work, The Brick Man. The school’s Art Gallery continues to have a rolling exhibition of pupils’ work throughout the year and can also be viewed on the website.

The school offers a range of extra- curricular clubs, which further enrich our pupils’ experience. It is a particular and ongoing focus at Downsway to ensure that as many children as possible can access these activities.  Last year they ranged from French to Parkour, from Chess to Cooking. Pupils were also able to take part in school trips including: Wellington Country Park (Foundation Stage); Ella’s Kitchen and Rushall Farm(Year 1); Windsor Castle (Year 2); Legoland, Marwell Zoo (Year 3); Vue cinema trip- Migration (Year 4); Windsor Castle (Year 5); Battle of Britain Bunker, the Wind Turbine at Green Park, Oxford Natural History Museum (Year 6);  School Council  visit to and from Long Lane School Council and a whole school panto trip to Cinderella at the Hexagon.

Additionally, there were residential visits for Y6 (Isle of Wight) and Y4 (Ufton Nervet). Year 5 also enjoyed Survival Night in school.

Downsway offers children a safe and nurturing learning environment whatever their individual needs and in which all can achieve their best. Whilst all class teachers are equipped and trained to develop the abilities of each and every pupil and to confront and minimise any barriers to their learning, they are also effectively supported in this by a well-trained and committed team of LSAs (Learning Support Assistant) and ELSAs (Emotional Learning Support Assistant) under the skilled guidance of the IM (Inclusion Manager). Our LSAs and ELSAs are highly knowledgeable practitioners in their own right and develop nurturing relationships with our potentially more troubled children, which help them to feel and keep safe. Downsway also has an Autism Champion, which further enhances its ability to address pupils’ needs. Whole school initiatives and practice based on sound educational research such as SNUG, Forest School, Therapeutic Thinking ensure that the work of our caring and committed staff is well directed.

This safe and nurturing environment is only possible with the help and support of the non-teaching staff and we are exceptionally fortunate in our Business, Maintenance and ‘Front of House’ teams who work to ensure that the school is a clean, safe, well-equipped and welcoming place in which to learn.

Our headline attainment data shows that our 2025 statutory data was higher than national for Early Years Foundation Stage and broadly inline with national for Year 6. 

If you are reading this page for the first time, we would particularly like to welcome you. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all parents/carers, Friends of Downsway and professionals from other settings for their continuing support and collaboration and to wish you all the best as we embark on another inspiring year, ‘Challenging Minds and Changing Futures’

The Governing Board

Downsway School

Autumn 2025