Assessing
At the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage each year, schools must report how each child has achieved across 17 different areas. Whilst the government plans to introduce a statutory assessment on a screen, at the moment this assessment is based on teachers’ (and other adults’) observations of what a child can do, and anything the child might do on paper and in books.
Because it’s teachers assessing, there’s obviously room for different judgements and interpretations. That’s why Mrs Burke and her team attend lots of meetings across the year to share assessments with other schools – we call this ‘moderation’.
Every four years, Leeds City Council also carries out some moderation, and it was Moortown’s turn this year. The meeting went well – teacher assessments were agreed. Here are the conclusions of the report:
The provision in the setting was well thought out and provided a variety of challenges for a range of abilities. The wood work station was a particular strength and gave the moderator some solid evidence around moving and handling [one of the 17 strands] and shape, space and measure [another strand].
Floor books were used to encourage children to contribute their ideas in the construction area.
Practitioners that participated in moderation had a sound knowledge of all the children discussed and could identify the next steps in their learning.
The profile of [a child with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities] included some effective examples showcasing the learning journey of that child and how provision is planned for his specific needs.
From a floor book based around ‘the world’, it was clear that practitioners plan a wide range of experiences to move learning forward such as hatching chicks and potion making.
There are two ‘next steps’, neither of which relates to the quality of our provision: to gather greater evidence for children in a particular strand, and to continue to involve parents / carers:
It was agreed it would be useful to capture more responses and comments from children to add in to the maths floor book together with more of their mathematical graphics. This would provide useful additional evidence for both strands of maths throughout the year. The moderator suggested keeping a note, for example, on a class list of which children had contributed so that the book provides evidence for all learners over time.
The reception teacher is considering other ways to involve parents and gather additional evidence from home.
Well done to Mrs Burke and all her team – and to our wonderful 2017-18 Reception children.
PE
Today, in PE, we enjoyed some fun in the sun. With our Sport’s Day fast approaching, the children had a go at some of the events. 
Sports day 2018
This year’s sports day will take place, during our Being Healthy themed week, on Tuesday 03 July 2018, at Roundhegians Rugby Club.
Key Stage 2 events will take place at 9.30am and Reception and Key Stage 1 at 1.30pm. Children will be walking to the field, escorted by adults. We will require additional adult helpers so please let the office know if you can help with this.
If weather conditions mean we have to change the date, the reserve date is Tuesday 17 July.
The format of this year’s event will be competitive races and field events with children having the opportunity to compete for medals. However, all children will be rewarded for taking part.
Our teams will be: green, blue, white and red. If possible, please could your child wear a t-shirt to wear to match their team colour. Pupils may wear PE kit for the whole day.
As we are off site, please could you provide your child with a carrier bag to sit on. If you are coming to spectate, you are welcome to bring rugs or chairs to sit on.
Please could you ensure your child has their water bottle and a cap/hat at school; it would also be useful if you could apply sun cream before your child comes to school.
Normal lunch time and end of school collection arrangements will still apply on this day.
In the event of bad weather, updates will be sent via Twitter and posted on the website.
Your support is valued to make the event memorable and we hope you are able to come and cheer your child on at sports day.
Reception’s got visitors…
Meet the newest members of Reception! This week, we’ve been getting to know our new class pets. The children have enjoyed observing, holding and investigating these intriguing creatures – stick insects!
Talk to your child about stick insects and other minibeasts.
Phonics
Thanks for attending our phonics mornings last week. We hope you found it useful.
Here is a list of the ‘tricky words’ your child should be able to read and begin to use in their writing.
the, I, to, no, go, into, he, she, me, we, be, my, you, are, all, said, was, they, her, have, like, so,do,some, come, were, there, little, one, when, out, what.
We hope you saw how confident and capable the children have become. Please help them to continue their writing journey by encouraging them to write at home and praise their efforts.
Train like a ninja
Change4Life and Star Wars have joined forces to help get more children active with an exciting new Train Like A Jedi programme. The video, featuring double Olympic gold taekwondo champion, Jade Jones, will demonstrate a series of 12 moves that will help children master the ways of the Jedi.
This resource is a great way for children to get active and to contribute to the recommended daily 60 minutes of physical activity (30 minutes during the school day). We can’t wait to try out this video as one of our daily brain breaks.
Why not have a go at home to try and master some of the Jedi moves?
Tennis for free
A community sports charity is offering free tennis coaching every Saturday at Cross Flats Park. These are fun sessions for all abilities.
Cycling events
Recently, some of our Key Stage 2 children enjoyed taking part in the Brownlee triathlon at John Smeaton Leisure Centre. It is always one of the most popular events on our competition calendar.
This weekend, it is the real thing and the World Triathlon Series returns to Leeds. Starting locally at Roundhay Park, this is a perfect chance to see the athletes as they head to the city centre.
There is also a Let’s Ride pop up ride at the Brownlee Centre on Sunday.
Whether you want to ride for fun or fitness, the free monthly pop-up events gives you the chance to ride a traffic-free cycle circuit as many times as you want, at a pace that suits you.
The event is open to all ages and abilities and the circuit is easy to ride, with volunteers on hand throughout, ensuring peace of mind and safety for all cyclists.
We went on a bear hunt!
We had a great time at Nell Bank yesterday. We retold the story, searched for mini beasts and went pond dipping. We ended the day getting very wet at the water park!
Walk to school prize draw
Well done to all pupils who have encouraged their families to walk to school this week or if you had to come by car, you have parked further away to park and stride. We hope you have enjoyed the benefits of this active travel.
Once our Living Streets travel tracker data is available after the half term, we will have the prize draw for all children who have walked/used park and stride this week.
Hope you get some chance this half term to continue to enjoy lots of physical activity – maybe a local walk, a parkrun, a bike ride or a swim.