Latest News | Bishops Waltham Infant School

And finally...

Tue 21 Jul 2026

What a fantastic last day of school we had today. the children loved breaking the rules and we raised £208.15. We will be spending this on our classroom play boxes when we come back in September. As we reach the end of another fantastic year at BWIS, it is hard to believe just how quickly the time has flown by. Looking back, we have so much to celebrate and be proud of as a school community.

This year has been filled with incredible learning, achievement, laughter and growth. Our children have worked hard, embraced challenges and continued to amaze us with their enthusiasm, kindness and resilience. We are immensely proud of every single one of them.

One of the real highlights of the year has been the strong partnership between home and school. Parental engagement with learning outcomes, parents' evenings and meetings has been exceptionally high, and we are so grateful for the support, encouragement and trust that families continue to place in us. Many parents have taken advantage of our open-door policy to talk with us about their children, and the positive feedback we regularly receive about this approach means a great deal. Working together in partnership is one of the things that makes BWIS such a special place.

We would like to wish our wonderful Year 2 children the happiest of summers as they prepare for their next adventure. Following their fantastic Leavers' Assembly, they enjoyed their own special Year 2 Assembly today, where they received their leavers' gifts and took a trip down memory lane looking at photographs from their years at BWIS. There was certainly plenty of laughter as they spotted themselves in their earlier pictures! The Leavers' Banner is now up and available for photo opportunities, and as our Year 2 children move on, we hope they continue to believe in themselves, be proud of who they are, and always try their very best. We know they have bright futures ahead of them.

The last few days have certainly been a rollercoaster of emotions as we have celebrated and said goodbye to several valued members of our BWIS family.

A week ago, we held a lovely retirement tea for Penny Campone. Staff past and present came together to celebrate Penny's remarkable contribution to our school and wish her every happiness for the next chapter of her life. There were thoughtful poems, speeches, music and, of course, plenty of treats. Penny has truly left her mark on BWIS, supporting countless families and teaching hundreds of children throughout her career. We are also incredibly grateful to Penny and Neil for their very generous donation towards the development of our courtyard area. Their kindness will leave a lasting legacy, and we will ensure it is put to excellent use for our children.

This week we held a leavers' assembly for Mrs Briscoe and Mrs Graham. Both originally joined BWIS as classroom helpers and became treasured members of our staff team.

Mrs Graham has been with us for an incredible 19 years and has been a much-loved Learning Support Assistant throughout that time. She has always gone above and beyond to help children succeed, whether that meant sitting under a table reading with a child who lacked confidence or delivering phonics sessions that can only be described as a masterclass. Her dedication, patience and warmth have touched the lives of so many children and families, and she will be greatly missed. We wish her every happiness in her next chapter and hope she enjoys many exciting travels with her husband and family.

We were also treated to Miss Martin's delicious cakes at lunchtime, which helped make the celebrations even sweeter!

Mrs Briscoe will be looking forward to spending more precious time with her new grandchild, although we are hopeful that we may still see her from time to time helping us with staff cover when needed.

We would also like to wish Miss Spiers all the very best as she moves on to take up a full-time role in another school. Although she has only been with us for a short period of time, she has made a positive contribution to school life and we thank her for all her hard work.

Finally, Miss Ely has now started her maternity leave. We send her our warmest wishes and look forward to hearing news of her exciting new arrival. We wish her all the happiness as she begins this special new chapter.

After a World Cup that seemed to go on forever, Spain were crowned the champions this week. Congratulations to Squirrel Class who had them in their draw! Well done all!

Looking ahead to September, the yellow date sheet will be sent out at the start of term.

Years 1 and 2 return to school on 2nd September.
On 1st September, staff will be completing their annual safeguarding training in preparation for the new academic year.
Year R teachers will be carrying out home visits before the children start school.
Year R children will begin part-time on Monday 7th September and move to full-time attendance on Monday 14th September.
Welcome to Year 1 meeting will be held at 9am Thursday 10th September
Welcome to Year 2 meeting will be held at 9am Friday 11th September
Clubs will be available to sign up to on the 7th September

As we come to the close of another successful year, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who makes BWIS the wonderful school it is. To our children, thank you for your energy, curiosity, kindness and determination. To our staff, thank you for your unwavering commitment, professionalism and care. To our parents and families, thank you for your support, trust and partnership. To our PTA thank you, thank you, thank you for your time, dedication and energy. To our governors and volunteers, thank you for the time, expertise and encouragement you generously give.

BWIS is much more than a school; it is a community built on strong relationships, shared values and a commitment to helping every child flourish. Together, we have created a nurturing, ambitious and happy environment where children feel safe, valued and inspired to learn. Every success this year, whether large or small, has been achieved through the collective efforts of our entire school family.

We wish you all a happy, peaceful and well-deserved summer break. (Please remember that safeguarding does not stop during the holidays, and any safeguarding concerns will continue to be directed to our safeguarding inbox.)

We look forward to welcoming everyone back in September for another exciting year of learning, friendship and success.

Have a fantastic summer and take care. ☀️🌻

With warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

Standards at BWIS 2026

Mon 20 Jul 2026

This has been another outstanding year of learning at Bishops Waltham Infant School. I am immensely proud of our children and staff, whose commitment, resilience and enthusiasm have ensured that high standards and excellent outcomes have been maintained throughout the year. Despite facing challenges, including budget pressures, staffing changes through periods of increased absence, our team has remained focused on delivering exceptional learning opportunities. We strive to create a rich and engaging curriculum that enables children to develop knowledge, skills and confidence while fostering a genuine love of learning. Alongside academic success, we place great importance on celebrating the whole child, recognising individual strengths, nurturing personal interests and celebrating achievements in all their forms. Our amazing Leaver’s Performance, and our Learning Outcomes throughout the year, demonstrates just how brilliant our children are. Well done everyone!

Year R

Year R Good Level of Development

This year an amazing 85% of children achieved a ‘Good Level of Development’ (GLD). To achieve GLD children had to achieve the early learning goal in the three prime areas of learning (Personal and Social, Physical, Communication and Language) and in Mathematics and Literacy. Our attainment was considerably higher than the unvalidated Hampshire data, where the figure was 76.1% and the unvalidated National figure of 72.3%. Again, our Year R team moderated extensively and regularly attended Hampshire training sessions.

Year R GDS

National 2026

Hampshire 2026

BWIS

2023

BWIS

2024

BWIS 2025

BWIS 2026

72.3

76.1

86.7%

84%

85%

All figures shown are a percentage: These figures are taken from current Perspective Lite. Validated data will be released in November

Year 1 Results

Year 1 Phonics Results

We are also celebrating our Year 1 Phonics results where 88.1% of our Year 1 children passed (The pass mark being 31/40). Again, we were above unvalidated Hampshire and National figures. This was a fantastic achievement for us. Phonics is a very small part of reading, and as our excellent reading results show our children make amazing progress in reading in our school

Year 1 Phonics

National 2026

Hampshire

2026

BWIS 2023

BWIS 2024

BWIS 2025

BWIS 2026

81.8%

82.2%

91.7%

93%

92.4%

88.1%

All figures shown are a percentage: These figures are taken from current Perspective Lite. Validated data will be released in Novembe

End of Key Stage 1 Results

This is the third year that children no longer sit a test in subjects at the end of Key Stage 1. We continue to teacher assess against the criteria for our end of Key Stage phase, however we have no published data to compare this too since tests have stopped. Our children are still maintaining high results in their teacher assessments, and to give Year 2 parents a flavour of how well they are achieving, please see the comparison below to compare the last number of years and last SATS. last published data for Year 2.

Year 2

		National 2023	Hampshire 2023	BWIS 2023	BWIS 2024	BWIS 2025	BWIS 2026
Reading	Attaining Expected Standard (EXS)	68%	73%	90.7%	93%	88%	92%
	Working at Greater Depth	19%	24.1%	38.7%	44%	47%	47%
Writing	Attaining Expected Standard (EXS)	60%	64.7%	86.7	91%	85%	87%
	Working at Greater Depth	8%	10%	13.3	20%	37%	25%
Maths	Attaining Expected Standard (EXS)	70%	73.6%	85.3%	88%	87%	85%
	Working at Greater Depth	16%	18.9%	22.7%	32%	35%	29%

We have reflected over the year why our results are consistently higher than Hampshire and National figures, and why our children are so happy, kind and caring in our school - here are some of the reasons the staff and children have come up with:

Clear, strong leadership consistently driving our school forward, recognised by Hampshire in our annual LLP (Learning Leadership Partner) visit. This was also recognised by OFSTED Jan 2024.
Dedicated, Caring, Knowledgeable, highly skilled staff who work as a team-Teachers and Learning Support Assistants work harmoniously to teach all children. Learning is adapted, modified and extended according to our learner’s needs
An ‘Integrated Curriculum’, designed to enthuse and excite our learners, building on prior learning.
Clear ‘Learning Values’ that underpin our learning.
Excellent Continued Professional Development for all staff
Strong leadership within Year Teams and subject areas.
Rigorous assessment processes that impact our teaching-reviewing and modifying where needed.
Ensuring our learning is embedded and prior skills and knowledge are reviewed, revisited many times
Strong partnership between home and school regarding learning, for the majority of our children.
Embedded ethos ‘BADGER’ values that permeates our school
Governors that support and challenge the school.
Parents playing a very active part in their children’s learning, supporting learning outcomes and reading.
Our Year of Reading initiative
Our strong phonics teaching by ALL staff (Teachers and Learning Support Assistants), using ‘’Little Wandle’
Our children are taught to be confident, independent learners who take risks and enjoy solving problems.
Our planned first-hand experiences – using the local environment, school grounds, trips and outdoors wherever possible.
An extremely dedicated staff who want the very best for all children - supporting a child who needs more help, and extending children who are able learners.
All children feeling valued with celebration systems for achievement in all curriculum areas embedded
Ensuring there are no barriers to learning-pupil premium funding spent strategically to enable all learners to achieve their best.
‘Closing the gap’. Close monitoring and individualised learning ensure no child gets ‘left behind’; ‘Keeping up’ as opposed to ‘catching up’.
Focused targeting and support. Children understand how to make their learning better and what their ‘next steps’ need to be to succeed.
Our Sporting Curriculum-children love working as a team. Sportsmanship, resilience, behaviour are just some of the benefits of our children playing team games at a young age.
Clubs! Both lunchtime ones run by staff and our wide range of ‘After School’ clubs, enabling children to achieve in a non-academic activity, boosting self esteem.
Being part of our community- taking part in community events, learning how to be citizens of Bishops Waltham.
Happy learners! Our behaviour systems work. Unacceptable behaviour, including bullying, will not be tolerated and is dealt with swiftly and effectively. Children feel safe and secure and trust that we would not let harm come to them.
Children and staff wellbeing a priority across our school. Well-being groups embedded across school, Trickbox used in every class
Secure transition programs at this busy time of year-so children are ready for their next class or school.
A sense of Belonging threading all the way through our school, ensuring children feel safe and cared for.
A consistent, calm approach to behaviour, ensuring disruption for all learners is minimal.

Well Done to everybody for another successful year at BWIS

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

https://www.bwis.org.uk/standards/

Weekly Update-Friday 17th July

Fri 17 Jul 2026

As we head towards the end of another wonderful school year, it has been a week full of memorable moments, celebrations and plenty of smiles!

Our Year 2 Leavers' Assembly was simply amazing and truly magical. We were treated to a fantastic show that showcased all the wonderful skills and talents the children have developed throughout the year. They played musical instruments, sang beautifully, danced with enthusiasm and confidence, and acted brilliantly. The costumes looked fantastic and, most importantly, every single child participated and shone in their own special way.

Earlier in the week, the children wowed our Year R, Year 1 and Year 3 pupils during their dress rehearsal in the Glade. By the time of the final performance, the show was the best it had ever been and left us all feeling incredibly proud. We would like to say a huge thank you to the whole Year 2 team, led by Mrs Labram, for creating such a beautiful production. It is a performance that will certainly live long in our memories.

Year R also gave us a real treat during our Celebration Assembly with their wonderful Procession of the Animals. Year 1 and Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed watching the parade, and the home learning masks were absolutely amazing. We saw all sorts of wonderful creatures, and every child looked fantastic. Thank you, Year R, for such a delightful performance and for bringing so much creativity and joy to our assembly.

Our Rocksteady musicians also performed for parents and children this week, and they certainly rocked out! They sounded amazing, and it has been lovely to watch their confidence grow and grow throughout the year. Well done to all our talented performers.

Last night, we all had great fun at the Leavers' Disco. Every teacher stayed to have fun with the children. This is always one of our favourite events, as it gives everyone the opportunity to celebrate together and let their hair down. There was conga-ing, limbo-ing and plenty of impressive dance moves on display! A huge thank you to Crazy M and our PTA for organising and providing such a wonderful treat for our children.

We finish school next Wednesday with our "Break the Rules" Day. Please click the link below to find out which rules can be broken! All money raised will go towards replenishing our class play boxes, and the children will have the opportunity to vote for the games and equipment they would like to enjoy when we return after the holidays.

https://sway.cloud.microsoft/FrArhC37v3flWsKV?ref=Link

Thank you for your continued support as we enjoy these special final days of the school year. We are looking forward to making a few more happy memories together before the summer break.

With warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

Weekly Update-Friday 10th July

Mon 13 Jul 2026

What a week it has been!

We started the week in our Monday morning assembly, looking at some of the highlights from the England football team's recent match. The children did a fantastic job comparing the players' attitudes and performances with our own BADGER Values – Belonging, Aspiration, Determination, Goodness, Excellence and Respect. They were brilliant at identifying examples of these values on the pitch and were equally proud to share how they demonstrate them every day in school. It was wonderful to see their enthusiasm and understanding of what makes our school community so special.

On Wednesday, we welcomed families into school for our Open Afternoon. It was lovely to see so many smiling faces as children proudly shared their learning and Records of Achievement with parents and carers. Opportunities like these are so important in celebrating the progress, effort and achievements of our pupils. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the afternoon such a positive occasion.

We were also delighted to welcome Laura Gailis, one of the Bishops Waltham librarians, who visited to tell the children all about this year's Summer Reading Challenge. Information has been sent home to all families, and we hope lots of children will take part over the summer. We look forward to hearing about their reading adventures and seeing who returns in September with a well-earned medal!

Our Year 2 children enjoyed their final swimming session this week. With the warm weather, I think they were all quite happy to jump into the pool and cool down! Throughout the recent spell of hot weather, the children have been excellent at following our heat guidance, staying hydrated and making good use of the shady areas around school. We are very proud of how sensible and resilient they have been.

On the subject of the weather, with temperatures continuing to rise and shade becoming more limited outside as the day progresses, we have made the decision to move the Year 2 Leavers' Performance to the morning of Thursday 16th July. The performance will now begin at 9.30am. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank our Year 2 families for their understanding. As always, the wellbeing and comfort of the children are at the heart of every decision we make.

Break the Rules Day is Back!

Break the Rules (our last day funday) is back for 2026. Next week we will be putting out some rules that can be broken. Each rule broken is a donation to our school funds, which we put towards replenishing the classroom wet play boxes. Look ourt for the rule page coming out next week!!

Finally, there is only one thing left to say...

Come on, England!

I have put up the banner I made on the roundabout on behalf of both our schools, so do feel free to stop by and take a photograph next to it. I'm sure many of us will be cheering England on together on Saturday evening.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. It has been another wonderful week filled with learning, achievement, community spirit and plenty of reasons to be proud of our fantastic children.

Have a lovely weekend. 🌟⚽

Warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Weekly Update-Friday 3rd July

Sat 04 Jul 2026

We had a week of getting back to normal this week, with classroom temperatures much cooler than they have been recently. To help children stay comfortable, we will continue with PE-style, loose-fitting clothing in school colours until the end of term. Our fans finally arrived and, while they do not cool large classrooms significantly, they do provide a welcome breeze for the children.

Although temperatures are forecast to rise again over the next few weeks, they are not expected to reach the levels seen during the recent red weather warning. The DfE released further guidance for schools and parents on Friday. Parents may find the following information helpful:

Hot weather and your child's school – what you need to know:
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/07/hot-weather-and-your-childs-school-what-you-need-to-know/

This week we also enjoyed our Transition Morning, when children had the opportunity to meet their new teachers and classmates for September. Our Year 2 children spent part of the morning experiencing life in Year 3, while many of our Year R families joined us for a school lunch together. It was a wonderful morning and it was lovely to see so many smiling faces returning excitedly to tell their current teachers all about their experiences. The staff also thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the children who will be joining their classes next year.

September Classes

Rabbits: Miss Turner and Miss Martin
Owls: Miss Daniels-King
Squirrels: Miss Whitehead
Robins: Mrs Withers
Foxes: Mrs Labram and Mrs Wombell
Hedgehogs: Miss Martin and Mrs Moth

Looking ahead, we are delighted to be welcoming families to our Open Afternoon on Wednesday 8th July from 2.00pm–5.00pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate your child's learning, look through their work and, if you wish, take a peek at their new classroom for September. Children will also be receiving their 'Record of Achievement' that afternoon. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

Our Year 2 children have another exciting week ahead as they continue their transition activities with BWJS and enjoy attending the Year 6 production. They will also be taking part in their final swimming session on Thursday.

A quick reminder that children may bring a separate sealed, non-fizzy drink for lunchtime, such as juice, in addition to their water bottle. This applies to all children, including those who have a school meal, and is not limited to packed lunch pupils.

Site Safety Reminders

As always, keeping our children safe is our highest priority. We'd be grateful for your support with the following site rules:

No scooting or cycling on the school site.
No hot drinks on the school site.
Children should not play on any playground equipment before school due to insurance requirements and supervision arrangements.

Thank you, as always, for helping us to keep everyone safe and for your continued support. We are looking forward to a busy, positive and enjoyable final few weeks of the school year. 😊

With warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher