Palace Wood is a fantastic and unique place, and one that I am very proud to be the Headteacher of.  Children will only do well in school if they are happy, settled and their well-being is high.  Our goal, here at Palace Wood, is to cultivate a safe, supportive and inclusive environment that gives our children the chance to discover lifelong interests, as well as, a love of learning. We want our children to feel nurtured, listened too and confident to tell us how they feel.  We all share the same aim – every child will fulfil their potential regardless of any barriers they may have.  We hold high aspirations for all our children and try our best to nourish a sense of wonder for the world around them.

We recognise that children have the energy and curiosity that most adults can only dream of! We therefore, aim to harness these natural instincts in their learning, and provide children with a curriculum that is exciting, engaging, knowledge-rich and provides many memorable experiences. All our children are encouraged to have a voice and oracy activities are embedded into all areas of our learning. We understand that children learn through real-life experiences and the richness of our curriculum helps children develop an understanding of the world beyond their school and our aim is that they thrive and flourish to become well-rounded, happy and informed young people.

We have 4 core values that we hope will help shape the mindsets and behaviour of our future adults.

To be curious - the mind is like a muscle, which becomes stronger through continual exercise; the mental exercise caused by being curious in all you do makes your mind stronger and stronger.

To be courageous – children do better in school when they dare to take risks in their learning.  Courage empowers us all to discover our inner strength!

To embrace challenge – challenge is the core of the growth mindset; it helps children understand that learning takes perseverance and that failure is a positive step in a learning journey.

To show compassion – learning to be compassionate helps children to be kind to themselves, others and to help those in need.  Compassion will help them think creatively, make decisions that takes others into account and pursue life with purpose.

Choosing a school for a child is a crucial decision and I believe that Palace Wood is the right choice because we offer children an education that takes into account their uniqueness and gives them the space and time to develop their own strengths and interests.

In summary, Palace Wood focuses on the positive impact we can have on the lives of our young people and provides them with the strong foundations to continue on their learning journeys.

I look forward to welcoming you to our school.

Mrs Cairns