FAQs
Admissions
What is the school's Published Admissions Number?
From September 2019, the School will be admitting up to 30 children in its Reception class each year. This is due to a demand on places for families living very close to the school. From September 2022, all classes can have up to 30 children.
What are your oversubscription criteria?
Our oversubscription criteria and admission arrangements are set out in our latest Admissions Policy.
Buildings and facilities
What are the catering arrangements?
It is school policy for every child to have a hot dinner for lunch. Our school has been designed with a full catering kitchen and we provide a range of quality hot meals. Edwards and Ward cook all meals on site using only fresh ingredients providing fresh, nutritious and healthy lunches to the pupils at school. The kitchen caters for a range of needs and special diets including allergies. There are vegetarian options each day and fresh fruit served. The Government funds Free School Lunches for every child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Some families may also be eligible for Free School Meals after this through completing a Free School Meals/Pupil Premium application.
How about outdoor space? Will competitive sports be available to the children?
There is sufficient space at the site to provide children with an outstanding education, both inside and outside the classroom. We have a very spacious and modern hall which is used for PE lessons, lunchtimes and assemblies. Our playground is also a good size and has a number of extras such as a traversing wall, playground markings and play equipment. For children in Reception and Year 1, there is an excellent and well-resourced additional outside area for creative play which is used throughout the school day. There are also many opportunities for the children to explore and learn in the local environment as part of our bespoke curriculum.
The children are offered a wide range of competitive sports and we work closely with other schools and clubs to share facilities.
Staffing
Are teachers at The Wells Free School fully qualified?
Yes, all our class teachers are fully qualified.
School organisation and after school clubs
How may the school terms differ from local authority schools?
We have carefully designed our school year to ensure that our terms and holidays are of as even length as possible – either of six or seven weeks. We traditionally have a two week break in October/November. The school year usually finishes later in July than most local schools. We hope this stability will help to boost the children’s momentum throughout the year and reduce any risk of learning loss.
What are the timings of the school day?
After consulting with parents and the community, we decided our school day will run earlier than other schools, starting at 8.00 am and ending at 2.30 pm (32.5 hours per typical week). This is for a number of reasons, including easing traffic congestion, and helping parents who need to get to work early, or have multiple drop-offs.
Is there an extended school day?
Yes, we endeavour to offer a diverse range of clubs on a daily basis to allow children to explore their interests and to discover new skills and pursuits. The provision and timing of these clubs will depend on the level of demand and the facilities. There are also a number of clubs run by external agencies to boost the provision. An after-school care club operates each week day from 2.30-6.00 pm (Mon-Thur) and 2.30-5.00 pm (Fri) (term-time only) for which there is an extra cost.
Free School policy
What is a Free School?
Free Schools are all-ability, state-funded schools set up in response to what local people say they want and need, in order to improve education for children in their community. The Free Schools programme allows voluntary groups of teachers, charities, parents and education experts to open schools to address real demand within an area.
What does 'free' mean, and is the school accountable and to whom?
A Free School has certain freedoms in terms of school organisation, timetabling, staffing and curriculum. However, we will have regular Ofsted inspections to hold us to account and we are judged against the same criteria as Local Authority schools. The children will sit KS2 SATs at the end of Year 6, and we are subject to similar financial and data regulations. Ultimately the Free School is accountable to the Secretary of State for Education through our Department of Education Funding Agreement.