Neston pupils in “inspiring” song at Peter Gabriel studios, Box

Welcome to Neston Primary School

Reception / New Starters - Sept 2027 / 28

Please contact the school for an individual tour and our Head Teacher, Mr Risdale will be happy to show you around and offer further information. Please contact the school office to book via admin@neston.wilts.sch.uk

Community, Creativity, Courage

Welcome to Neston Primary School, hidden within a beautiful village set in the Wiltshire countryside.  

Our Values

Our school values are at the heart of everything we do.

Community • Creativity • Courage

These values shape the Neston experience and are a significant reason why so many families choose our school.

• Community – placing relationships, kindness and belonging at the heart of school life.

• Creativity – inspiring curiosity through an engaging curriculum, memorable experiences and a love of nature and the outdoors.

• Courage – encouraging children to challenge themselves, embrace new opportunities and develop resilience, while ensuring school leaders continue to make the right decisions, always with children's best interests at the centre.

Our School Community

Neston is fortunate to have an incredibly supportive community.

• Local Governance Committee (LGC)

Our Local Governance Committee provides valuable support and constructive challenge to school leaders, helping ensure we continue to provide the very best education for every child.

• Friends of Neston School (FoNS)

Our PTA, Friends of Neston School (FoNS), makes an enormous contribution to school life. Through organising events throughout the year, FoNS raises thousands of pounds that directly benefit our children through additional resources, enrichment opportunities and memorable experiences.

Whether you have lots of time or only a little, every contribution is appreciated. New members are always welcome.

A Great Start to Every Day

Our school day begins at 8:45am.

Being punctual is incredibly important. Children begin learning as soon as they arrive through carefully planned morning activities that prepare them for the day ahead. Whole-school assembly begins promptly at 9:00am, and many interventions and additional support sessions also take place during this time.

Excellent attendance and punctuality have a significant impact on children's progress. Attendance is monitored weekly and across ten-week cycles, including attendance carried over from the end of the previous academic year. Our aim is for every child to achieve at least 95% attendance, ensuring they experience the full curriculum alongside their classmates. We want children to keep up, not catch up.

The school day finishes at 3:15pm.

Wraparound Care and Clubs

We are delighted to continue offering our own wraparound care provision, including both Breakfast Club and After School Club, providing a safe, welcoming environment before and after the school day.

A range of additional enrichment clubs will also be offered throughout the year. Details will be shared with parents as they become available.

Supporting Every Child to Succeed

Every child at Neston receives high-quality teaching every day.

Alongside this universal provision, we carefully match additional support to children's needs through a graduated approach.

• Universal Support

High-quality classroom teaching, carefully adapted and differentiated where appropriate to enable every child to achieve success.

• Targeted Support

Short-term interventions designed to address specific gaps in learning. These are flexible and responsive to children's needs and are regularly reviewed. Parents are not routinely informed when these interventions take place, but class teachers are always happy to discuss how learning is being supported.

• Specialist Support

Where children require more specialised provision, interventions may be delivered by trained staff, such as ELSA, Speech and Language practitioners or other specialist professionals. Families will always be informed when this level of support is being provided, and our SENDCo will communicate directly where appropriate.

School Uniform

We are proud of our school and ask that children arrive each day looking smart and ready to learn.

There is no expectation to purchase branded uniform. However, children should wear the agreed school uniform and come prepared each day with the items they need, including:

• A suitable waterproof coat

• A clearly named water bottle

• Appropriate footwear

• PE kit on the correct day

Behaviour Expectations

At Neston we expect every member of our community to be:

Ready. Respectful. Safe.

These three expectations underpin everything we do.

Class Dojo is used to recognise and celebrate children who consistently demonstrate these behaviours. Positive choices are acknowledged every day and celebrated across the school.

Children also need opportunities to reflect and learn from mistakes. Where expectations are not met, staff use restorative conversations alongside our behaviour systems to help children understand the impact of their choices and make better decisions in the future.

Our staff model the behaviours we expect from our pupils and apply our behaviour policy consistently and fairly to ensure our school remains calm, purposeful and safe for everyone.

An environment that allows all children to learn well

Children thrive when routines are familiar and expectations are consistent.

Across the school, classrooms follow common approaches to organisation, routines and calm, uncluttered learning environments. This consistency helps children settle quickly, feel secure and transition confidently between year groups.

Staff employ a range of evidence-informed pedagogical approaches that maximise every minute of lesson time, carefully manage pupils' cognitive load, and free working memory to support long-term retrieval, retention and the secure embedding of knowledge.

Part of Mosaic Partnership Trust

This year marks our third year as part of Mosaic Partnership Trust.

Joining the Trust has brought many positive developments while allowing Neston to retain everything that makes it special.

We remain incredibly proud of our identity as a village school with a rich history and strong sense of community. At the same time, Trust membership enables us to work alongside outstanding educational leaders, researchers, school improvement partners and subject specialists from across the country.

This partnership gives us the very best of both worlds: the warmth and personalised approach of a village school, alongside the ambition, expertise and collaboration of a high-performing academy trust.

Curriculum and Key Information

Throughout the year, parents will receive information about:

• Reading expectations, including reading at least five times each week, phonics, spellings, multiplication tables and key number facts.

• Statutory assessments, including the EYFS Good Level of Development, the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check (and Year 2 re-check where appropriate), the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check and Year 6 SATs.

• PE and Forest School days.

• Snack and Story sessions—a much-loved Neston tradition.

• Assemblies and special events.

• Year group curriculum overviews (available on our website and shared during Term 1).

• Educational visits and enrichment opportunities.

• Curriculum information for every subject.

Working Together

Strong communication between home and school is essential to every child's success.

Throughout the year we will communicate regularly through:

• Our fortnightly newsletter.

• Tapestry (EYFS).

• Email for essential information.

• Facebook to celebrate learning and school life.

Each year we also invite parents to complete a whole-school survey. We genuinely value your feedback and have made a number of significant improvements in recent years—including our communication systems, wraparound care provision and curriculum information—as a direct result of listening to our families.

We hold three Parent Consultation Evenings each year, alongside three SEND Parent Evenings for families whose children receive additional support. At the end of the academic year, parents receive a written report summarising their child's achievements and current attainment. However, we firmly believe that strong relationships and regular conversations throughout the year are far more valuable than a report alone.

If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to your child's class teacher in the first instance. Should you wish to speak to a member of the Senior Leadership Team, our School Office will ensure your enquiry is dealt with promptly and confidentially. We are always happy to meet with families and believe that even the most challenging situations are best resolved by working together.

Here's to another exciting year of learning, friendship and success at Neston School. We look forward to everything the year ahead will bring.

Gary Risdale, Head Teacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) 

Ofsted 2023

‘Pupils enjoy attending this friendly, welcoming school. The relationships between adults and pupils are strong. The ‘Neston Promise’ runs through all aspects of school life.’ 

‘Pupils are safe and have trusted adults who help them if they have any worries. They are confident that they will always be heard. The school has high expectations for all. Pupils enjoy learning, both in the classroom and beyond.’ 

 ‘The curriculum is carefully planned. The school has considered the important knowledge pupils should learn and the order in which they learn it.’ 

‘Staff know the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. The school adapts the curriculum to support pupils with SEND to build their subject knowledge successfully.’ 

‘Pupils’ personal development is strengthened through a well-planned curriculum which is supported by wider opportunities.’ 

The Neston Promise

We explore, we discover.

We shine and reach for the stars.

We learn from our mistakes, we do not give up. 

We look after each other, we are a team.

We laugh, we celebrate.

We imagine, we dream, we believe.

Safeguarding at Neston

Keeping children safe is our highest priority: all adults in school, both staff and volunteers need to undergo Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks if they work with children; we have very clear Safeguarding Procedures for staff and visitors and staff have regular Child Protection training.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Mr Risdale. Mrs Juanita Morgan (School Business Manager), Miss Chloe Turner (SENDCo) and Mrs Sonja MacFarlane (Administration Officer) are the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSL). Our Child Protection Governor is Mr John Andrews

Safeguarding at Neston is everyone’s responsibility and we work tirelessly to keep our children safe.

If you need to contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead in confidence please call 01225 810478 or email admin@neston.wilts.sch.uk