White Woods Primary Academy Trust

What a year it has been at White Woods Primary Academy Trust. We’re pleased to share our End of Term Write Up for 2025 – there sure has been some amazing things happening in our schools. Have a read below!

At WWPAT, we truly appreciate every person within our organisation, whether that be a member of Support Staff, a Caretaker, a Leader, or a Teacher and every year we try to spread a little extra joy at Easter with our Willy Wonka-inspired WWPAT Golden Ticket wellbeing initiative.

As our sponsor this year, Computeam helped us provide chocolate bars for each of our colleagues across 16 schools – Over 500 in total – Who doesn’t love a freebie, especially when it’s chocolate?!

Whilst each employee received a sweet treat, we also hid Golden Tickets inside 17 bars of chocolate, entitling the lucky finders with an extra half a day of annual leave – A small gesture of appreciation, but one that goes a long way!

This initiative genuinely creates a buzz throughout the Trust; sparking conversation and shared excitement across our schools. It’s was so nice to see the winners announcing they’ve found a ticket (and the congratulations from other staff) in our Trust Announcements Chat.

A massive thank you to Computeam, our dedicated IT Service Provider, whose support and generosity have made our wellbeing initiative possible for another year!

And a huge congratulations again to all our lucky golden ticket winners – Same time next year?

At the start of this year, Mr Booth (Kilnhurst Primary) and Mr Jones (Brinsworth Manor Junior) were tasked with devising a series of engaging sporting opportunities for our Trust schools as part of our commitment to improving our child-centred offer. After a couple of after school meetings, they were able to hold its first-ever sports event, a Year 3/4 football tournament called the White Woods Autumn Cup. This first event, held at Dinnington High School’s astro turf pitch, was a remarkable success, with nine of our trust schools participating in a day filled with excitement, competition, and sportsmanship.

The tournament was a real showcase of determination, heart, and integrity, with every child giving their best on the pitch! One of the most impressive aspects was the level of respect and teamwork displayed among all of our children, highlighting the positive attitudes we strive to foster across our schools. After a thrilling and close group stage, the teams were whittled down to the final between Anston Park Junior and Woodsetts. It was a tense match throughout which ultimately ended goalless. The subsequent penalty shootout saw Anston Park Junior eventually emerge champions!

Throughout the competition, we had several parents commenting how much they enjoyed the event, with one commenting, “I hope the trust do more of this as it was fantastic!” The enthusiasm and positive feedback have set up for a great starting point for future sporting events within our Trust, as we continue to focus on enhancing our child-centred experiences for all.

Watch this space for the next one!

Our recent TT-Rockstar Day was a fantastic success, with 9 of our schools coming together for an engaging and exciting event. The energy and enthusiasm from our pupils was incredible, as they dressed up as rockstars and took part in times table battles between classmates, teachers, and the other schools. The high level of participation highlighted just how much our children enjoyed the day, and the positive impact on their learning was clear. It was wonderful to see so many children embracing the challenge, supporting each other, and developing their maths skills in such a fun and creative way.

Overall, TT-Rockstar Day was a testament to the power of collaboration and challenge, with our children leading the way in an inspiring and fun learning environment. The collaboration between schools, teachers, and children demonstrated our commitment to working together to support achievement across our Trust. This event was child-centred, putting our children at the heart of the experience and allowing them to flourish and curiously embrace new learning. We would like to thank all schools who were involved and congratulate them on their success! A shout out to Brinsworth Manor Junior School for coming first place with an incredible 190,000 points.

Take a look at some of their amazing rockstar outfits!

What do you get when you put a group of headteachers on a coach for several hours with promises of a trip to Apple HQ? A mix of giddy tech enthusiasm, curious professionals, and perhaps, just a little bit of travel-weary hysteria!

After a long trip, Battersea did not disappoint. We were warmly welcomed and led seamlessly through demonstrations that exemplified the power of technology to support learning. There were many ‘penny drop’ moments but Apple’s accessibility features were particularly impressive and provided simple but incredibly powerful ways to break down barriers for students with SEND. 

The development of Apple classroom provides a really simple way of managing devices in the classroom, providing a really clear teacher overview, much needed with a group of school leaders with a variable grasp of Garageband!

But, the day wasn’t just about IT, accessibility and functionality. It was also about the pursuit of excellence, the sparking of curiosity, the encouragement to innovate and the building of culture. All things we strive for across the Trust everyday. The long journey back certainly provided time to reflect. Yes, it had been a tiring day. Yes, the coach seats weren’t exactly ergonomic – but it had been more than worth it.

“Have you tried restarting it?” – A phrase that has become synonymous with IT troubleshooting, often met with a groan or a chuckle. Surprisingly, it’s a very effective solution! As an IT professional with over 20 years of experience, especially in education, I’ve used this phrase countless times. While it’s a bit of a running joke, it can be a quick way to resolve issues and lighten the mood, particularly when dealing with frustrated users.

I began my IT journey as a junior field service engineer fresh from college, traveling across the country to repair various devices, from computers to printers to projectors, and from schools to offices and even universities. I’ve seen it all. Remember those early days when schools had limited IT and a single projector and whiteboard in the Year 6 classroom, if you were lucky? Not to mention a few old, clunky computers in an “IT suite.” iPads and Chromebooks were the stuff of dreams (or nightmares, depending on which way you look at it!) and were still a few years off. Even Wi-Fi was new technology and not widely in use. The phrase “have you tried restarting it?” was a common refrain.

As my skills grew, so did my responsibilities. I later moved to a senior engineer overseeing a group of technicians and then to a manager overseeing technicians across the country.

At the end of 2019, I decided to take the leap and hop over to the other side of the fence and began my career working for White Woods. I had a little trepidation at first, as while I’d worked in support IT across many schools over the years, I was now going from being the IT support provider to being one of the customers. In a way, it gave me a unique perspective, having been in both positions: the one providing the IT support service to a school and the one receiving it. It has also helped me develop a good, close working relationship with IT suppliers and service providers, as metaphorically speaking, I’ve been in their shoes. I know how working in education IT is a unique and often challenging environment, very different from other sectors.

Today, as Trust IT Lead, it is an incredibly fulfilling position. I’m proud of the work I’ve done to help schools develop their IT systems and embrace technology. It’s always nice to see systems I’ve helped put in place being used to great effect, enhancing teaching and learning. The use of Google Workspace across the Trust for collaboration and communication, the use of technology and applications on iPads to deliver engaging lessons and support teaching and learning, and the Games Expo where pupils created games and showcased them to each school, are all wonderful to see. They give me a great sense of pride that I had a little hand in making them possible.

Now, new technologies like AI, which once upon a time were only seen in movies (remember Terminator and Skynet?), are emerging and starting to be used for teaching and learning. Who knows what other technologies are just around the corner being developed? I suspect the classic “have you tried restarting it?” will remain a staple of IT troubleshooting for years to come.

Andy Blatch

Trust IT Lead

Following the success of last year’s event, our second WWPAT Games Expo was held on 22nd May. This saw over 100 children from across White Woods Primary Academy Trust come together to innovate, create and promote sustainability through game creation. Last year was wonderful but this year was bigger and better!

The Expo took place at the National Videogame Museum (NVM) in Sheffield. It was a celebration of play designed to spark imaginations, ignite passions, and equip young minds with transferable skills that will benefit them far beyond the game screen.

Our children have worked so hard over the last 3 months to design their own games based around the theme of Sustainability. They used apps such as Scratch, Draw Your Game, and even ventured into hardware devices using Micro Bits to design and programme their games. The details and links to the wider curriculum that inspired these games provided children the opportunity to connect and engage with their learning in schools. 

The day involved 3 rounds of Speed Gaming, where children had the chance to play each game. They were then asked to reflect and deliberate with each other to decide on their favourite. After lunch children then had the opportunity to play the Museum’s games – it’s fair to say that they were in their element! From Mario Kart, Dance Mats, Pac-Man, Minecraft, Fifa, there was something for everyone – staff also looked to be enjoying themselves too!

Amongst the fun, a really exciting aspect of the Expo was the clear link between play and future careers. Stacey Jubb, Head of Learning at the National Gaming Museum speaks passionately about this ..

“We were proud to be able to host the WWPAT Games Expo 24 at the National Videogame Museum.  Not only does it give the pupils of Rotherham Primary schools an opportunity to showcase their work in a professional environment, but allows them to access our fully interactive museum, immersing themselves in an experience that will ignite a passion for creative careers.  It is an exciting time for the creative industries at the moment, these students are the future and we want to be able to support them to thrive.”   

”Our schools will be exceptional and provide children and adults with a breadth of exciting opportunities promoting curiosity and broadening the mind. We will build positive, challenging partnerships with each other and the wider community promoting aspiration and ambition.”