They worked alongside Bussy Armstrong, developers and the council to give their feedback on the proposed designs for a new play park near Cow Green Lane. 

Children must not be sent to school wearing smart watches.

Devices with messaging, calling or location-sharing features pose safeguarding risks and interfere with the school's ability to maintain a secure environment for all pupils.

Our procedures are in place to keep children safe during the school day, and personal devices of this kind are not permitted.

This lottery has been set up specifically to raise money and make a difference for our children!

It's a fantastic way to bring Parents, Carers, Teachers and the wider community together, in partnership with our school, and at the same time give something back. We hope to raise funds that can support and enrich the education of our children - we aim to provide extra resources for the children.

Your support is greatly appreciated and we wish you good luck!

To purchase a ticket please click  Your School Lottery  this will take you to the School Lottery Page.

All messages to parents will be sent direct to your Arbor app: the Arbor logo will show on your notifications informing you there is a message waiting. This will include Head bumps, letters etc

Please make sure you are frequently logging onto Arbor and checking for any communications.

Please see information below from the Northern Child Network, NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB.

Meningitis awareness

Cases of invasive meningococcal disease have been confirmed in Kent which may be a cause for concern for some. It is always important to know the signs of symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia.

Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges).

It can affect anyone, but is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults. Meningitis can be very serious if not treated quickly. It can cause life-threatening sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves.

A number of vaccinations are available that offer some protection against meningitis.

All children will be participating in creating art installations for our Lumiere event, applying their learning in STEM and art. The installations will focus around the theme 'Our World' and will showcase children's learning across the curriculum from World War 2 and Space, to Shakespeare and Volcanoes!  Celebrating light, we look forward to welcoming the community to West Park Academy to share this dazzling light festival. 

Thank you to all the parents for taking the time to peruse the stalls and spend money.

To the amazing teachers and children for all their hard work in creating their festive year group stall.

The amount raised was a grand total of £1949.79.

You may have seen reports about “super-flu.” Please be reassured:

• There’s no such thing as “super-flu.” It’s not a medical term and doesn’t mean the virus is worse or harder to treat.

• Flu in children is common at this time of year. They tend to pass viruses around more easily, so higher rates in schools are expected.

• This doesn’t mean children are at high risk. Serious illness happens much more often in older adults (65+), not in healthy children.

• The flu virus has changed a bit this winter, which is normal. The main vaccine still works well, especially to prevent severe illness.

• Vaccination is the best way to protect vulnerable people.

• Simple steps help stop flu spreading:
  • Wash hands often
  • Cover coughs and sneezes
  • Stay home if unwell

This is not a dangerous new strain, and schools should continue business as usual with normal hygiene practices.

Parents will enter via the school hall, where we will be offering refreshments, childcare and an opportunity to look at some of the services we can signpost you to.

There will also be a Lost Property table as well as clean pre-loved uniform to have a look through and take whatever you wish, before you attend your allotted time slot in the classroom.

Below are some snippets of what parents have said.......

Change Hearts. Change Minds. Change Lives.

Welcome back to a new term and a new school year. It was lovely to see all the children returning to school and settling so well into their new classes.

To those parents and carers of children who have just started, I am delighted to be able to write my first letter to you as the Principal of West Park Academy. I want to take this opportunity of introducing myself to those of you who don’t already know me.

This will be my tenth year as Principal of West Park Academy. Teaching is a job I love; children never fail to enthuse and motivate me. I therefore feel extremely privileged to do the job I do, working alongside a dedicated staff team and with such fantastic children and families. As both a teacher and a parent of three children, I am very much aware of the responsibility that my staff and I have in creating a learning environment where your child can flourish.

We try to ensure that you are kept informed with what your child is learning each half-term and update the website under - parents - curriculum - with an overview of the learning for each year group. We will also be holding Parents’ Consultation Evening early in Autumn 2, just after half-term, so you can discuss your child’s progress with the class teacher.

As we come to the end of another school year, I would like to take this opportunity to once again express my thanks for your continued support.

This year seems to have flown - each one seems a little quicker than the last - but we have filled it with so much learning, new experiences and fun. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the pleasure of spending time and experiencing these with your children. 

This year alone, we saw the nurture garden built, Luna, our school dog, joined us and hosted a visit from our MP Lola McAvoy and sent some children to parliament. This is just a small window on all the events, activities and experiences that have filled our year. In this summer term alone, we hosted our annual colour run, attended athletics events, football competitions and School Games Days. Children have challenged themselves inside and out of the classroom and they have achieved in so many ways.

There will be inflatable games (no bouncy castles), Tombola, Hot Dogs, Stocks, Ice lollies, Games, Raffle and many more stalls to enjoy.

As the Spring term draws to a close, I would like to thank you for all your support in what has been a very busy term with so much learning, visits, and visitors. Through it we have been so proud of all the successes of our children. Whether it is in the classroom through their hard work and effort or when they have represented the school in sport, dancing, singing, engineering, mathematicians or as entrepreneurs; everywhere they have gone they have shown such a positive attitude.

A special thank you goes to our Year 6’s who took part in the Make £5 grow enterprise project where they learnt how to run a business- from planning to budgeting to understanding profit and loss. They put these skills into action by running a Spring Fayre in which they showcased their wonderful interpersonal skills- talking and engaging with all visitors in such a mature and confident way. They also thought of others and have donated part of their earnings to the Myanmar earthquake appeal.

A tremendous £1196.12 profit was made on the original investment of £300. Not bad and all in a day’s work for our Year 6 entrepreneurs.     

The children have been working hard to organise and run stalls as part of their Make £5 Grow enterprise project, and it would be wonderful to see you there to support them!

The children have already reached out to local businesses for donations of raffle prizes or Easter Eggs,  but we'd also be grateful for any contributions from you.

Friends of West Park Academy would also like to 'Eat a Treat, Donate a Treat' and raise money for school.

What a busy time we've had this half term.

While Year 1 and 2 children have enjoyed learning the basic skills of Hockey and developing their core strength, balance and agility through Gymnastics, Y3 and Y4 pupils have loved learning about the basic rules of tennis and putting them into practise. 

Pickleball was a new one for our Y5 children who loved learning this new sport and showed great sportsmanship cheering each other on in the final tournament this week.

Onto our Y6 children who not only have been gaining confidence in their weekly Swimming sessions but have shown a remarkable level of skill during their hockey sessions. Alongside this, the class teachers were blown away by Class 11's final Gymnastics performance where the children used apparatus and floor work to showcase their final piece.

Maths Skills

Want to know how best to support your child develop their Maths skills?

Come along to our Parent and Carer sessions in the school hall and find out.

The sessions are:

Nursery and Reception: Tuesday 25th March at 9:00am

Year 1 and Year 2: Wednesday 21st May at 9:00am

Year 3 and Year 4: Tuesday 24th June at 9:00am

📅 This Thursday (13th February 2025)
⏰ 9:00 – 10:00 AM
📍 West Park Academy - shed

Are you a parent or carer looking for support? Join us this Thursday for an informal drop-in session! Our friendly team will be on hand to offer help and advice on a range of topics, including:

✨ Behaviour Support Advice
✨ Signposting to Services
✨ ASD & ADHD Support
✨ Form Filling Assistance
✨ Mental Health Support

PLUS: Our Mental Health Team will be available to offer advice on child mental health services and support available in Darlington.

This session is open to ALL! Feel free to stop by for a chat, advice, or even just to grab a coffee and connect with others in the community.

I am appealing to all who drop off near the school premises to park and drive with care. Today a car mounted the pavement had they done this a few seconds earlier they would have knocked over a child who was on his bike.  When we have such volumes of children, pedestrians and cars it is only a matter of time before there is an accident. 

This year we're exploring the theme 'Know Yourself, Grow Yourself'

Dear All,

As the first term draws to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributes to our very special West Park family.

As always, this term has been particularly busy with visits, visitors and lots of wonderful experiences for staff, children and parents alike. The children have had opportunities to learn about others, learn from others and contribute positively to their own community. 

Examples of these have been our student leaders, who make positive differences each day. We have: Reader Leaders who use their lunchtimes to hear younger children read, Eco Ambassadors who make recommendations as to how we can improve our sustainability, School Councillors who look at how we make our school a better place, Play Leaders who support children at lunchtimes with activities and new for this year Pupil Ambassadors who are look at developing a project to improve our school. I would like to thank each and every one of them for all their hard work. In addition, we have also had children performing in the arts and sporting competitions both within school and outside of it; seeing their excitement and joy at trying new things is an absolute pleasure.