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Holidays

We’ve kicked off with our new Big Topic, ‘Holidays’ by delving into suitcases and guessing where we’ll be going.

Mr Owen and I each brought our suitcases packed for a particular holiday and, from the evidence we gathered, we guessed where each person was heading and thought about who we’d most like to go with and why.

Mr Owen’s suitcase

As Mr Owen had scarf, hat, gloves and four pairs of socks, we decided he was heading somewhere cold. He’d packed his walking boots, a waterproof coat and he didn’t pack his passport.

Not many people wanted to join him on his holiday!

Miss Rushbrooke’s suitcase

Miss Rushrooke’s also contained walking boots but these were accompanied by insect repellent and an insect hat. We thought she might be going walking in the jungle. She had sun cream and beach-wear, too, and had packed a snorkel, camera and… her passport.

Lots of Y5 wanted to join Miss Rushbrooke on her holiday. I wonder why?

We’ll be exploring a UK break and a holiday abroad through this topic and these cases give us clues as to where we’ll be going.

To help at home, discuss what they children know (and don’t know) about different countries. Can they find them on a map or tell you what continent they’re in. Do they know whether it’s hot or cold and why this is given their location (poles and equator). We’ll also be discussing currencies in maths and the different time zones across the world.

Annual survey results 1

Thanks to those of you who completed the Annual Survey in the summer term. The number of completed surveys fell to just 39 this year – we hope those of you who chose not to return the survey remain perfectly contented! Remember, if you ever have any questions, comments or concerns, please do speak with an adult in school.

Here, we present a summary of the main part of the summary: the 14 statements on page one:

My child is happy to come to school. 95% agreed and two respondents weren’t sure. We’re delighted that we continue to be a happy and healthy place to learn. Visitors almost always remark on what a happy school we are. Thank you to all staff for this – they are always positive and pleasant, and this helps to ensure our children are, too.

My child learns a lot in lessons. As above, 95% agreed and two weren’t sure. Another high result, which is great. Of course, we’d like this to be 100%. In this particular survey, one respondent was anonymous so we can’t respond directly to address this uncertainty, whilst the other has a child who we know was being challenged a lot – perhaps the child had recently said one particular lesson was easy and the parent / carer had been influenced by the remark. We encourage anyone who is unsure to make sure they speak to their child’s teacher if they have a concern – don’t leave it until the end of the school year when it might be too late! You should also try to attend the open sessions in school where you can watch the teaching and learning process. 

The school helps my child to do as well as (s)he can. 82% agreed; 15% were unsure; one person disagreed. We have two open mornings when parents / carers are invited into school to watch teaching and learning: 30 minutes in one class, 30 in another followed by 30 minutes to review what was seen and ask questions with Mr Roundtree and Mrs Weekes. Please, if you’re unsure, try to attend these – they’re on Tuesday 08 December and Wednesday 27 January, both from 9.00am to 10.30am. Parents who attended last year were impressed with the teaching and the behaviour management systems we have in place.

I know how well my child is doing at school. 82% agreed whilst 18% were unsure. Last year, we moved away from assessing with levels and this might be the main reason why there is a higher than usual number of you who are unsure. We hope the way we’ve decided to communicate your child’s attainment will be clearer this year. You’ll be told at parents’ evening (Monday 19 or Tuesday 20 October, and Monday 08 or Tuesday 09 February) and in the end of year reports, and can get updates whenever you want to by speaking with your child’s teacher. We encourage as many of you as possible to attend the ‘What is Mastery?’ workshop (Monday 16 November, 2.30pm), which will help to explain the government’s shift in emphasis away from rapid progress to more secure learning with greater depth.

Adults in school explain to me how to support my child at school. As above, 82% agreed; 15% were unsure; one person disagreed. This year, we’ve got more workshops and open sessions than ever before – if you’re unsure about how to support your child, do try to come to as many of these as possible. And if you can’t, then there’s more support and guidance on our website this year, too – check out the Calculations and Expectations pages to start off with. Of course, we can’t explain how to support your child if you don’t speak with us or check the website, so please tell us if there are other ways you’d like to support your child.

Teaching at this school is good. 92% agreed and three respondents weren’t sure. We’re pleased with this result. Like before (we can’t stress this enough!), if you’re unsure or have a concern, then try to attend the open mornings, or speak with Mr Roundtree or Mrs Weekes.

Teaching at this school helps my child to develop skills in communication, reading, writing and mathematics. 100% agreed. We’re delighted that you all agreed with this, arguably one of the most important statements.

I am happy with my child’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. 90% agreed; three of you weren’t sure and one person disagreed. We support spiritual, moral, social and cultural development to an extent that other schools have been inspired to use some of the same planning processes and ideas we use at Moortown Primary. Our last Ofsted inspection was a while ago, but spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was judged to be outstanding then – we’ve not neglected it since. Check out the SMSC page in the Learn More section to find out more about what we do. We do want to assure everyone we take this aspect of school life very seriously. Please speak with Mr Roundtree or Mrs Taylor, who oversees SMSC, with questions and comments.

Behaviour is good at Moortown Primary. 92% agreed and three weren’t sure. We’re proud of our Relationships and Behaviour Management Policy – it focuses on pupils’ choices (we label choices as good or bad; we never label pupils in the same way) and rewards positively and frequently; perhaps most of all, it’s consistent right across school. Visitors praise behaviour of our pupils all the time and our policy and processes, such as the warnings system, are often copied by other schools. In the past, as with this year, those who say they are uncertain often say this because they’re not around during the school day to observe the behaviour. (It’s also worth remembering that children quite often have a tendency to mention to their parents when someone has been given a warning – it’s more ‘news-worthy’ – rather than what is far more common: good choices!)

Behaviour is good in lessons. 82% agreed and the rest were unsure. Parents and carers often tell us they choose ‘unsure’ as they don’t get to see what it’s like in class, which is understandable. Do try to attend the open mornings (Tuesday 08 December and Wednesday 27 January, both from 9.00am to 10.30am). Last year, those attended commented on the excellent behaviour from all pupils.

The school deals with all types of bullying well. 85% agreed and the rest were unsure. Like the comments about behaviour, parents and carers often tell us they choose ‘unsure’ as they haven’t encountered a problem with bullying: ‘Unsure about bullying as it’s never been an issue with my child’ was one comment this year. We’re not complacent, however, and are conscious that bullying might arise amongst any group of children in any school, including ours. We use two useful phrases here: Bullying is when someone is hurt physically or emotionally ‘several times on purpose’ and pupils should ‘start telling other people’ if they fall victim to bullying, or witness it. Please help to support this – and remember to be vigilant at home to on-line bullying, too.

My child feels safe at school. 100% agreed. That’s a great result, and one that is consistently 100% over the years.

I am happy that my views will be listened to. 82% agreed and the rest weren’t sure. We do listen to your views, and will always try to act on them if they are reasonable and useful. We can’t act on requests for extra homework for specific children, or authorise term-time absences for specific families, or allow siblings to leave early because another child has an appointment – these are possibly the three most common areas for views to be expressed. We follow policies strictly and consistently and want the best for all our children and staff – this is the fairest way. If there’s a situation where you don’t feel your views have been listened to, speak to your child’s teacher in the first instance; failing that, speak with Mrs Weekes or Mr Roundtree; failing that, you might decide to submit to governors a formal complaint – you should follow this path, though. Thankfully for all concerned, most concerns can be sorted out easily and happily for all.

I am happy with the after-school clubs on offer. 82% agreed whilst 15% weren’t sure and one respondent disagreed (but didn’t offer reasons or suggestions). We’ve asked you for specific comments about after-school clubs in previous Annual Surveys. The conclusion then – as it is now – is that we can’t please all of the people all of the time – however much we’d like to! We’re pleased to have only one parent / carer indicate they were unhappy with the clubs. This parent, whilst anonymous, did indicate that their child was in Year 1. The range of clubs does vary each term and they does rely on a good level of uptake if they are to run. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for a club – or might even want to volunteer to lead one – contact Paula or Nicky in the office.

Of the 39 completed forms, only two parents / carers indicated that they disagreed, and they did so for a total of four statements:

• The school helps my child to do as well as (s)he can.
• Adults in school explain to me how to support my child at home.
• I am happy with my child’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• I am happy with the after-school clubs on offer.

We’d love to find out more about the reasons why these parents disagreed but there were no additional comments that expanded on the points. Regarding the first two points, I do encourage them – and as many of you as possible – to come along to the workshops (where teachers talk through ideas to support your child and ideas to do at home) and open sessions (where you can spend time watching English, Maths, topic reviews and homework reviews) – feedback from parents last year concluded these are great in supporting learning, and that adults in school were doing a great job in teaching the classes. Dates are in the diary (and were on the newsletter) so you can plan ahead, and we’ll send reminders out, too.

A note on the spellings from last week

The spellings were given before phonics groups had been set. Both year 1 and 2 were set the same spellings for this week so do not worry if your child found these spellings challenging. As phonics groups have now been set up, spellings will be based on sounds from the phonics group which your child is in.

Welcome!

Welcome to Reception Class!

Following our series of home-visits, we’d like to say thank you all for welcoming us into your homes. It was lovely to meet you all and get to know your child a little bit more.

We hope you’re as excited as we are about this new chapter in your child’s life and hope you’ve been provided with all the information you need. As always, please ask if you are not sure about anything.

The children will all begin this week, with the last children arriving on Thursday.

After your first day, school will begin at 8.50am and finish at 3.15pm. Please bring your child into the classroom and help them in the different learning areas to have a go at a learning challenge. Take this time to look at your child’s learning journey.

We try to get the children to be as independent as possible early on, so please let them hang their coat up and sort themselves out while you wait in the classroom.

At 3.15pm, please wait at the gate to the Reception outdoor area to collect your child.

See you soon!

18 September 2015

The homework this week is creative and is due in on Wednesday 23 September.

I can show what I know about holidays.

This is a chance to show what your child already knows about holidays before we begin our new topic.
Where do people go on holiday? Why do they go? What do they do there? Is a holiday always a good thing?

Encourage your child to be as creative as they can be!

For more information about homework and the types of homework, please read the first page of your child’s homework book. If you have any questions, please ask.

Enjoy your weekend!

Y1 dance moves…

Yesterday we had a fantastic dance lesson delivered by Mr Lynch. This was the most popular dance move!

18 September 2015

The homework this week is creative and is due in on Wednesday 23 September.

What is a holiday? 

I’ve asked children this week to creatively show what a holiday is. This could be an example of a holiday you have been on, want to go on or a more general reflection about holidays.

18 September 2015

Children in Year 1 and Year 2 split into groups to learn phonics. There are three groups: Red Group (taught by Mrs Weekes), Yellow Group (taught by Mrs Wells) and Green Group (taught by Mr Wilks). Each week, your child will have a set of spellings in their Learning Lists which matches the phonics group they are in.

Below, are the spellings for each group. If you have any questions, please ask.

18 September 2015

In Year 5, we do a Practice Makes Perfect homework each week. Last week, you were assigned Mathletics tasks. This week we’re practising using conjunctions in sentences.

To use conjunctions.

Write whole sentences in your book using one of the conjunctions in the list to add more information.

Additional spellings

Although we’re learning the spellings given in our red learning list books, here are some additional ones picked from mistakes in books this week.

• thing
• there
• for
• no-one
• found
• saw