Headteacher’s Welcome

Welcome to our Sandringham Federation website. Sandringham Federation of Primary Academies is comprised of Sandringham and West Newton and Flitcham Primary Academies, both schools located at the heart of the stunning Royal Sandringham Estate, in West Norfolk.

When I first visited our schools,  I was struck by the special family atmosphere, which sees the schools as the heart of the local community. Although this website and the links to the indivudal schools, will give you a flavour of our wonderful schools, a visit is often the best way to see what we are really about. Please ring either school office for details.

A little about our History …

There have been schools on the Sandringham Estate since the 1850s, these are very established schools, initially providing education for the children of the agricultural workers on the Estate. Originally these were Church of England schools run by Norfolk County Council, then in 2014 Flitcham Primary  became an Academy under the newly created Trust run by the Diocese of Norwich – DNEAT – (Diocese of Norwich Educational Academies Trust). This was followed in 2018 by Sandringham and West Newton joining the Trust as well. After which a federation was formed – the Sandringham Federation we have today.

Both of our schools are Church of England  schools and this is reflected in the membership of the Governing body, and our Christian ethos. Our Governing Body is also federated across the schools and staff also work together across the federation, for example in subject leadership. I am the Executive Headteacher and along with my Executive Deputy Head – Mrs Catherine King, we worked across both sites throughout the week. Our SENDCo  – Mrs Chrissie Reddey – also covers both school on a weekly basis. Staff regularly work together in weekly staff meetings.

We also celebrate our Federation links with the children in our Learning Together days, which happen half termly and have an academic focus. Children are able to experience a larger cohort and swap schools for the day, with one school becoming an infant school for the day (years N-2) and the other school a junior school for the day (years 3-6). These days are very popular with the children too, where there are opportunities to earn in different ways and make new friends across the Federation.

The children are encouraged to respect and care for each other, and to consider and respond to the needs of others in our society. Our schools are organised in mixed aged classes, though the children share many parts of the day together for example at lunchtime and playtimes and through sporting events, where they compete in their house teams. Adults, children and governors are passionate about learning in its richest sense, and during the school year we use cross-curricular themes, ensuring the inclusion of creative arts to enrich learning experiences.

The partnership between our children, families ,school and the local Church is very important. Working together, we can offer your child the best opportunities to develop as a learner. We aim to provide an atmosphere that combines excellence and enjoyment in learning with creativity, so that children will engage actively in all that they do. It is in this way that we hope to establish the foundations for inquiring minds to continue developing when they leave our school.

Parents are always welcome in school and we are blessed with support from families with everything from listening to reading, gardening and cycle safety. If you feel you have a talent to offer please come in and discuss.

Our school is obviously committed to Safeguarding and Safer Recruitment. All staff and volunteers have to undertake appropriate safeguarding training using Norfolk County Council material and are DBS checked.

We would love to show you round our wonderful village schools, please call 01485 540506/ 01485 600383  to arrange a visit.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Jane Gardener
Executive Headteacher