Latest News

• **Star Writers**

  Tue 18 Dec 2018 Mrs Jo Seker
  What stunning writing I have displayed outside my office! The children are enjoying reading each others’ work on our star writer wall. It’s a great picture of progress across the school as well as a celebration of their talent as writers. Keep up the great work and I look forward to reading more as the display changes over the weeks.

  

• Charity Card Sale

  Fri 14 Dec 2018 Mr Pardoe
  Well done to the girls from Year 6 who carried out their charity card sale today. The girls have all worked really hard creating beautiful, handmade cards and have then organised and carried out the sale totally independently. They have made over £100 for The Brain Tumour Charity and the RSPCA. What fantastic news!

  

• A Stunning Carol Concert

  Thu 13 Dec 2018 Mr Pardoe
  Last night, Key Stage 2 impressed a huge congregation at St Mary's Church with their beautiful singing as part of our annual Carol Service. Each and every child sang their heart out and, as I'm sure anyone who attended will agree; they sounded sensational, helping every member of the audience to feel that extra bit Christmassy!
  
  Well done to each year group for singing their own songs so brilliantly and thank you to all of the class teachers who helped prepare and rehearse their performances alongside them.
  
  The school choir, led by Mrs Hicklin sang a magical arrangement of: 'Love Grows At Christmas Time' and the recorder group performed their 2 pieces fantastically with support from both Mrs Bond and Miss Higginbotham.
  
  Thanks also goes to Mrs Smith and Mr Hicklin for accompanying the children throughout the evening - their musical talents certainly don't go unappreciated and we are very luck to have them!
  
  Throughout the evening, several members of the school community gave readings and shared prayers; so thank you and well done to everyone involved. The PTA, school Governors, Senior (and Junior!) Leadership Teams, teaching staff and other children were all represented and this helped give a real strong sense of community to the night.
  
  Year 3 created a moving tableau scene towards the end of the service to help us remember the true meaning of Christmas: a time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus whilst cherishing the moments we are able to spend with friends and families.
  
  The children concluded the evening in memory of Mrs Clarke, with a truly heart-warming and spirited rendition of her favourite Christmas carol: 'The Cat And The Mouse Carol.' Any donations given to the collection will be going towards Mrs Clarke's Musical Memorial Garden, so thank you for any contributions you were able to make.
  
  Thanks again to everyone involved in what was a very special evening.

• A Little Bird Told Me....

  Tue 11 Dec 2018 Mrs Jo Seker

  ....that Reception's Christmas performance to parents was a huge success this morning! 

   

  Every child had a key role in telling the Christmas story from the viewpoint of a little Robin. Groovy sheep, twinkling stars, graceful angels, regal kings, faithful pages, plodding camels, swaying trees, rhythmic percussionists, trekking shepherds....not to mention Mary & Joseph with their donkey all sang and entertained us beautifully. Such confidence and enjoyment were clear to see on the faces of our youngest children. It was a joy to watch from beginning to end. 

   

  Well done to all the children and staff in Reception for sharing the magic of Christmas in today's performance. 

• Festive Fun at the Christmas Fayre

  Mon 10 Dec 2018 Mrs Jo Seker

  Friday evening at the Christmas Fayre was A-MA-ZING!! 

   

  The atmosphere was incredible as we were overwhelmed with the volume of visitors who all came out in support of this increasingly popular PTA event. The choir sang beautifully; Santa's grotto was magical; people were falling over themselves to win at the many tombolas; mulled wine, samosas, hot dogs and pulled pork baps were selling like hot cakes.....and the cake stall rivalled the Great British Bake off. Hand made gingerbread biscuits sold out in minutes at the Fair Trade stall; Buddy received a Christmas dinosaur from Santa and there were fun and games at every turn. Buddy baubles are still on sale in school, so if you missed out and would like to purchase one, please pop into the office- they are £2 each. 

   

  I am delighted to announce that St.George's house were the winners of the 'best dressed' house stall, with PTA judges also commenting on how engaged the children were. In fact, all four house stalls were a roaring success. It was a great idea and potentially the start of a new tradition.

   

  The community feeling generated was one of warmth, generosity and collaboration. I can't thank the PTA, staff and children enough for all their hard work in creating such a successful evening, as well as all the families who turned out in support. The total funds raised is yet to be finalised but the atmosphere and sense of community was priceless. 

   

  Thank you again to each and every one of you who contributed. I feel like it was our best one ever!

   

  

• The Stable Boy

  Wed 05 Dec 2018 Mrs Jo Seker

  Oh what a treat we had today, as KS1 performed their Christmas play, "The Stable Boy." The talents and confidence displayed by the children as they acted, sang, danced and played were OUTSTANDING!

   

  The audience today were enthralled by the performance as each and every child played their part. I'm sure tomorrow's audience will be just as impressed. Huge thanks to the staff for all their hard work in supporting the children during the preparations and rehearsals- it certainly paid off! 

   

  Well done once again to our little stars.I am so proud of you all!

• Christmas Reminders

  Tue 04 Dec 2018 Mrs Jo Seker

  Christmas Events
  Here is a summary of festive events happening this month:
  
  ~KS1 Christmas Play: 5th & 6th December
  ~Mufti Day & Christmas Fayre: 7th December
  ~Reception Nativity: 11th December
  ~ Children's Christmas Lunch: 12th December
  ~Carol Service at St. Mary's Church: 7pm on 12th December
  ~Christmas Jumper Day: 14th December
  ~Sing-a-long-a-Santa on the playground: 3pm on 21st December.
  
  You may notice a slight break from tradition as we usually have "Carols on the Playground" on the final afternoon of term. On the request of the children, they have asked if we can have more child-friendly, fun songs as we already sing carols during the service at St. Mary's. It's so important that the children feel their voice is listened to and that they can influence decisions made- it is their school after all- plus, it's a really fun idea!
  
  So the band are currently rehearsing a lively selection of songs such as When Santa Got Stuck Up The Chimney and Frosty The Snowman as well as the ever popular Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. We hope you will join us in the festive fun. Wrap up warm and also enjoy a cup of mulled wine served by PTA before we break for some much welcomed, family time over Christmas.

   

   

  

• Parent Questionnaire Response

  Mon 03 Dec 2018 Mrs Jo Seker

  Thank you to everyone who responded to the Ofsted style parent questionnaire as well as the Open Afternoons survey. An email will be coming out shortly with a detailed response to the findings. In the meantime, please find below a table of your responses, comparing January 2018 to November 2018. We are delighted with the progress we have made in such a short space of time and will continue to strive for further improvements.

   

  	November 2018 206 responses			January 2018 110 responses			Difference: Jan 2018-Nov 2018
  Question:	Positive total	Negative total	Don’t Know	Positive total	Negative total	Don’t Know	Positive difference	Negative difference
  My child is happy at school	94.6	5.4	0	88	11	1	+6.6	-5.6
  My child feels safe at school	96.1	1.5	2.4	94	5	2	+2.1	-3.5
  My child makes good progress at school	85.9	4.9	9.2	69	27	5	+16.9	-22.1
  My child is well looked after at school	96.6	1.9	1.5	88	9	4	+8.6	-7.1
  My child is taught well at school	89.3	1.9	8.7	67	23	10	+22.3	-21.1
  My child receives appropriate homework for their age	76.1	20.9	2.9	47	48	5	+29.1	-27.1
  School make sure its pupils are well behaved	84	6.3	9.7	82	16	3	+2	-9.7
  School deals effectively with bullying	44.6	10.7	44.7	47	18	35	-2.4	-7.3
  School is well led and managed	64.4	20	15.6	51	42	5	+13.4	-22
  School responds well to any concerns I raise	70.9	13.1	16.0	56	33	11	+14.9	-19.9
  I receive valuable information from school about my child’s progress	66.4	26.9	6.8	50	47	2	+16.4	-20.1

   

  Question	November 2018 (206 responses)		January 2018 (110 responses)		Difference
  	Yes %	No %	Yes %	No %	Yes %	No %
  Would you recommend this school to another parent?	92.0	8.0	69	31	+23	-23