Attendance Register 2023.2024

Welcome to the Winhills Primary Academy website.

Winhills is part of a family of 15 schools in the Diamond Learning Partnership Trust; 6 in the St Neots hub, 6 in the Fenland hub, 1 in Peterborough and 2 in Royston.

The Local Governing Body (LGB) meets every term to discuss Winhills specific matters. In addition to this we have termly Standards meeting where alongside our sister schools, we analyse our strengths and also the areas we need to improve on. We strive to offer the highest standards of education, care and guidance to the young people entrusted to our care.
 

We scrutinise data and results regularly and have access to the attainment and achievement of our pupils both within the taught curriculum and throughout their lives within the school; from Little Gems to when they leave us at the end of KS2.

We support our skilled and experienced staff; we care and challenge where under achievement exists.

The LGB members will be working very closely with the Head of School and support Academy events to celebrate their many achievements.

I will be meeting with the Head of School on a regular basis and am frequently in school; this gives me a useful insight into the life of the Academy. I also meet frequently with the Executive Headteacher, Mrs Connell and am able to maintain a Trust wide perspective.

Below you will find information about those on the Winhills LGB. 

If you have any matters that you need to refer to the Local Governing Body, please write to me, Jim Malin, Chair of Winhills Primary Academy Local Governing Body, at the school address.

Jim Malin

Chair of Winhills LGB

Jim Malin- Chair of the LGB

 I was brought up and went to school in St.Neots. I did an engineering apprenticeship at Bosch Rexroth limited (across the road from Winhills School) where I have been employed as an engineer for 38 years now. The company specialises in the design and manufacture of hydraulic systems which are used in a huge range of applications such as JCB construction machines, the London Eye, Tower Bridge, heavy industry, offshore and many more. The huge variety of different applications is so interesting, it is the main reason I have stayed with the company all of my working life.

I undertake as much outreach work with schools and colleges as possible as well as supporting engineering events for schools. We have engaged with several local schools including all the year groups at Winhills where we have spoken to the children about energy and forces and provided activity sessions at the school and visits to our factory. We also speak to the children about careers in engineering and job opportunities in industry.

I also lead a project with year 12 engineering students at the JCB Academy in Staffordshire. Our company has been an industrial partner of the Academy since it opened in 2010 and the project is based on the hydraulic system of the London Eye.

I really enjoy working with young people; it is very hard work but also very rewarding (and challenging at times). Seeing them develop from school children into well educated, well rounded, well behaved young people who are ‘ready for work’ is inspiring (and exactly what our country’s industry requires).

Roxanne d'Arcy - Headteacher

My first encounter to teaching was working in a college as learning support assistant with young adults with severe learning disabilities. This was during my gap year and I felt that being an educationist was my career path. Many happy years were had working as a classroom teacher in Yorkshire then developing my love for literature by becoming a lead writing teacher for the Local Authority, then Advanced Skills Teacher. I was then fortunate to be successful and offered the post of deputy headteacher at my old primary school! From this I went on to take up my first headship. During this time, I grew the school and lead it through successful Ofsted inspections and even built a school farm!  A few years later, I moved onto my second headship in Oldham and third in Salford. My family and I moved ‘south’ and settled close to St Neots. I have three children who keep me very busy and as a family we love to travel, go on walks and visit family in Yorkshire and Ireland.

Having worked in schools for nearly 17 years I feel I have developed a good understanding of what is needed to take a school forward and place great importance on strong relationships with children, staff, parent, carers, and governors to grow an outstanding community.

Duncan Nelson- Deputy Head Teacher

I started teaching in September 2004 after completing by BEd Hons degree in Primary Education.  I taught at Alconbury CofE Primary until joining The Round House in 2012.  I completed one year at The Round House before they joined the DLPT.  In both schools, I was based in Year 3 or Year 4 - for most of the time I was teaching within a mixed year group class.  Before joining Great Staughton in 2014, I taught for one term in Year 1.  Once at Great Staughton, I taught Year 5 and Year 6 from the Spring Term.  In September 2014 through to July 2016 I taught Year 2 and Year 3 in a mixed year class.  Then I moved to UKS2 until the present day.  Most of my teaching experience has been within mixed year group classes.  I became Assistant Head at Great Staughton, during my eight years at this school I helped lead the school through several Ofsted's and worked on developing teaching and learning (while leading maths as a core subject).  In the last few years, I have been an SLE for the Trust as well as supported other schools within the county and the DLPT.

In September 2023, I moved to Winhills as Deputy Head.  This move will provide me an opportunity to develop my leadership skills within a different demographic area as well as lead a larger school.  I truly believe that all decisions made within school should have the children at the centre and we (as teachers) should provide the best education and opportunities for our young learners.

I am also the proud owner of Clark (our school dog), he keeps me very busy when not teaching - through walks as well as being incredibly sociable with everyone that he meets.  I also enjoy trips to the theatre and cinema as well as keeping fit - although I'm not the biggest fan of 5am or after 8pm 'keep fit' sessions at home!

Helena McShane- School representative

Helena has worked at Winhills for 14 years. She currently works as our Deputy Nursery Manager as well as one of the safeguarding leads. Helena loves working outside with the children and taking them on adventures to our Spinney to see the frogs. 

With her role as safeguarding lead, Helena enjoys working with professionals and learning new skills to support our families as well as the children. Helena enjoys being able to help and support our families and being a voice for the children to ensure that they get the most support possible. 

At home Helena enjoys cooking and baking and always brings something in for the staff. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Franco Nacca- Community Governor

I have been a member of the DLPT for over seven years and work across four schools in our St Neots hub teaching PE to children from all year groups. This is one of the many aspects of my role which I thoroughly enjoy as I get to teach and meet so many of the children in the community.

Sports has always been an integral part of my life. After my football career ended through injury, I dedicated myself to coaching and teaching sports to young adults and have been involved in the delivery of PE in primary school education ever since.

I am blessed to have an amazing family with three beautiful daughters who keep me extremely busy. Away from work, I enjoy watching most sports on TV but I especially love playing golf with my eldest daughter as well as going on family walks and nature watching.

Evelyn Fujar - Winhills Parent LGB Member

St Neots has been home to my family and me for the past ten years. I have three wonderful children of different ages, which makes life exciting and keeps me involved in every aspect of education.

Over the years, I have been active in the preschools and schools my children attended, serving on the committees and the PTA.

During my school years, I also actively volunteered in a national charitable organisation called Polish Humanitarian Action, which aims to alleviate human suffering and promote humanitarian values. As part of this work, I organised social campaigns, facilitating college educational workshops addressing, e.g., tolerance, racism, diversity and inclusion.

Over the past eight years, I have worked as a Business Simulations Manager and Executive Development Consultant at Cranfield University where, amongst other things,  I design, and deliver business simulations to executives and master students. I love working at a University with a strong heritage in engineering, which continues to have an incredible international presence in Management and STEM research. Working at the University enabled me to undertake outreach work with colleges across three counties: Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes. The Schools Business Challenge I organised for many years brought management skills to 16-18-year-olds helping them connect studies with the industry. I enjoy working with students of all ages, from primary to master level.

Since I hold a Master's in Business Administration, I strive to use my personal and professional skills to contribute to the community. I passionately believe that every child should have equal opportunities in receiving education and that a well-delivered education can give children the best start in life and enable the communities around them to thrive.