Starting in the summer break 2021, West Kirby School & College delivered a Summer School Programme, initiated initially by the Government.  The aim of the programme is to deliver a short summer school, offering a blend of academic education and enrichment activities.

The Summer School Programme 2021 provided the opportunity for our new Year 7 pupils to:

• build friendships with their classmates
• forge relationships with some of their new teachers
• get to know their way around their new surroundings. 

Also, after a difficult year, it gave us the opportunity to support pupil wellbeing and ensure a smoother transition into Year 7 for both our existing pupils at WKS and those who were joining us from other Primary settings.

What was involved in our summer school?

Summer school was split into two separate weeks, with one week for each of Year 7 classes.  Each week was run by key teaching and non-teaching pastoral and support staff, who were able to meet the needs of each individual pupil.

The focus of summer school was on supporting social interactions and providing experiences that had not been accessible due to COVID 19 restrictions.  Each activity provided links to core curriculum subjects in a fun way.  Maths, English and Science were covered each day in activities such as shopping (money) and cooking (weights and measures / reactions of ingredients when put together).

One group of pupils was able to experience the joys and frustrations of mini golf, helping to build resilience and tolerance; a barbecue provided the opportunity to think about managing risk and consider personal safety; a trip to visit the animals at Tam O’Shanter’s Farm focused on respect; and a wet and muddy visit to Manley Mere provided a great team building exercise.

Within school, the pupils had the opportunity to take part in a number of craft activities raising their self-esteem by designing and creating items to take home including Tie-dyed T-Shirts, Hama bead designs and mugs.

West Kirby School and College have submitted a claim for £11,383 from the Department For Education’s Summer Schools Programme funding scheme.