News

£182.60 raised

Thank you for the donations, as part of identity day, during our latest themed week, Who do you think you are? and for entries to the Who do you think we are? competition.

A total of £182.60 was raised and this will be split between one of our school charities, St Gemma’s Hospice, and the Nepal earthquake appeal.

Return of Leeds Sky Ride

Join the cycling revolution in Leeds as Sky Ride returns for its third year bringing thousands of cyclists and spectators to a traffic free city centre.

The free family friendly mass-participation bike ride takes place on Sunday 14 June 10am – 3pm. Registration is now open at  and people are being encouraged to sign up fast as places are filling up.

Previous years have proved to be very successful attracting more than 8,500 people of all ages and abilities, with many more lining the streets to cheer along friends, relatives and loved ones.

For those not jumping on a bike there is plenty to get involved with thanks to the return of the “Tricks and Tunes” area featuring top DJs as well as pro BMX and mountain bikers performing jaw-dropping stunts not for the faint-hearted.

Riders can look forward to starting from the same point, on The Headrow, as cycling legends during last summer’s “Grandest of Grand Départs”. They will also pass iconic city landmarks from Leeds University to the town hall and First Direct Arena.

Riders can challenge family and friends in the Sprint Zone, experience the sensory tunnel and find out more about cycling opportunities in Leeds. Bike experts at Halfords are offering a free bike safety check to everyone who registers and will be on hand to help out with any last minute problems. Join the cycling revolution in Leeds as Sky Ride returns for its third year bringing thousands of cyclists and spectators to a traffic free city centre.

The event is one of 15 to be held nationally and is part of a continuing partnership between Leeds City Council, British Cycling, Sky and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority which aims to encourage more people to get cycling.

Well done, Mr Owen and Year 6

Today, we have a visit from someone who wanted to check that our assessments of Year 6 writing are accurate.  This is important because there is no formal SAT-style test which assesses writing – the Department for Education, Ofsted and the Local Authority rely on teachers’ assessments.  Whilst teachers assess according to criteria, this can be quite subjective – some teachers might be generous whilst others may be very cautious.  To be useful, the data from writing assessment needs to be as reliable as possible.

Over the course of the afternoon, the moderator looked at the writing and Mr Owen’s assessments of a sample of pupils.  Here is the feedback given to Mr Owen…

Thank you for your time and for letting me look through your children’s work. I was hugely impressed by the writing produced this year in your class. This is in no small part due to your hard work and diligent, effective approach to marking and feedback. The books were full of signs which told the children what to do next and what had worked well. Progress was evident throughout. Children seemed to really engage in the self-assessment/redrafting process and this again will have impacted positively on their writing. Congratulations on a very productive and successful year.

We briefly discussed the range of tasks and genres available to the children. Perhaps you could extend this a little and incorporate some further work on poetry which may help with their stylistic choices.

…And here is the feedback to me…

Thanks you for making me feel so welcome and the organisation and preparation which has gone into today. I was very impressed by the professionalism of your Year 6 teacher and the books speak for themselves in terms of his dedication to the teaching of writing at Moortown. Congratulations!

I would strongly recommend your Year 6 teacher offering his skills in the teaching of writing in a wider capacity.

Well done, Mr Owen.  Well done, Year 6.

The report also contains notes the writing of the various children.  A set of notes for one child are as follows:

Composition & Effect: Clear purpose and seeks to engage reader. Genre appropriate features maintained throughout. Vocabulary a little unaspirational and imprecise and use of stylistic features limited. Safe writing.

Text structure & Organisation: Clear organisation and sequencing of events, paragraphs linked (sometimes in a basic manner), chronological links used effectively.

Sentence Structure & Punctuation: Good variety of sentences used with some excellent complex sentences attempted (usually successfully) for effect. Subordinating connectives used appropriately. Verb tenses show occasional disagreement but this is rare. Punctuation nearly always accurate and a wider range evident, particularly towards the end of the collection.

Next steps: After a good discussion, we felt that the writer showed enough consistency of level 5 criteria to merit awarding a level 5. The writer lacked ‘flair’ and it was evident that he was not an avid reader. Wide reading would certainly bring this child on quickly as technically he is very competent.

The moderator’s notes and ‘next steps’ suggestions for all the children looked at were useful and interesting.  This one is especially important for all parents / carers as it shows the importance reading has for someone’s ability to write.

Attendance matters

Sadly, our attendance figures fell slightly last half-term.  96.8% is the whole-school average – it would be great to get this back above 97% by the end of the year.  For the five half-terms of the year so far, attendance figures are as follows:

• Reception: 96.1%
• Year One: 96.9%
• Year Two: 96.4%
• Year Three: 98.3%
• Year Four: 97.0%
• Year Five: 95.7%
• Year Six: 96.9%

Well done, Moortown...

Here’s a message from Roundhay School, which has organised lots of sporting events and physical activities for its neighbouring primary schools over the year:

Over the past year, we have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Moortown Primary as part of Roundhay School’s PE & Sport Partnership. Moortown has played a prominent part in nearly all inter-primary competitions, fixtures and tournaments over the 2014-15 academic year. Regularly performing well during such events as Indoor Football, Basketball and High5 Netball, Moortown has also been committed to attending termly ‘Come & Try’ sessions. These sessions have been a highlight so far, with staff selecting a variety pupils who they believe will receive the most out of each event.

Working closely alongside dedicated staff, they go over and beyond their ambition to offer their pupils a range of sporting opportunities for all pupils to experience. The enthusiasm Mr O. Catherall and Mrs C. Taylor have shown throughout the year has clearly been passed onto their pupils. Pupils have similarly been a credit to their school, exhibiting exemplary behaviour and enjoyment for playing sport on both a competitive and recreational level. This positive behaviour has been reflected throughout each age group that has taken part so far this year.

To all staff, pupils, parents and guardians at Moortown Primary, well done for this year and we look forward to working together in the near future.

 

Well done, Reception

Well done to Reception who had the most journeys to school on foot during Walk to School Week.  Hope you enjoyed the martial arts session today as your reward.  Thanks to John, from White Rose Martial Arts, for providing the session.

SEAL Changes and manners

As we enter our final half term, the next SEAL theme looks at Changes, starting from next week.

This week, we begin with a focus on manners and  I cover my mouth (when I cough, sneeze or yawn) is our weekly statement.

The ‘Vampire method’ can help to prevent germs spreading. By coughing or sneezing into our elbow, germs are not spread into the air or on our hands which may contaminate other things.

Here is how it’s done.

Don’t forget to ‘use your sleeve to cough and sneeze’.

Walk Leeds walking festival

Following our Walk to School week, Walk Leeds is a week-long walking festival from the 31 May to 07 June.

The Walks Diary lists all the walks taking place.

696 journeys on foot

As we come to the end of Walk to School Week, there have been 696 journeys to school on foot and the class competition was very close.

• Reception  118
• Year 1 107
• Year 2 80
• Year 3 111
• Year 4 107
• Year 5 100
• Year 6 73

So, winning by just seven journeys, Reception will receive the martial arts session with John from White Rose Martial Arts, who runs one of our after-school clubs, after the half term break.

Here are some comments made by children about their journeys to school on foot:

• ‘The walk made me feel happy and energetic.’
• ‘We enjoyed meeting friends on the way and looking at different types of houses.’
• ‘We felt safe because there were safe places to cross and a lolly pop lady too.’
• ‘I felt fresh, awake and ready to learn.’
• ‘We enjoyed talking about the day ahead.’
• ‘There was no cost involved and we picked up litter on the way.’
• ‘We made a difference by leaving the car at home.’
• ‘We had fun by learning spellings and times tables.’
• ‘It was quicker and we didn’t get stuck in any traffic.’
• ‘We had great talking time, time to plan the day and after-school activities.’

We’re sure you’ll agree these are all great benefits of walking to school.  Have a look at our walk to school video for some more facts to persuade you to use a sustainable method of travelling to school, in turn reducing congestion at the school gates.

Well done to our Where’s Wally? competition winners, too.

Let’s hope these numbers increase over the summer months along with journeys by bike and scooter.

Well done, Mrs Weekes

Following months of hard work, I am delighted to inform you that Mrs Weekes has successfully completed her National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL). The NPQSL is overseen by the National College for Teaching and Leadership is a significant milestone in the professional development of school leaders. This is a significant achievement and I’m sure you would like to join me in offering congratulations to Mrs Weekes.

Here are some extracts from the feedback Mrs Weekes has received:

You have a key strength in the seeking of information, using not only numerical data but your knowledge of the school and individual pupils to inform your decisions. Your analytical thinking led to the creation of a complex plan involving the upskilling of teachers and teaching assistants, workshops for parents, material on the school website and working with local nurseries. All of this was underpinned by a strong learning focus, using theory and pedagogy to enhance the experience of all learners.

You are a highly effective teacher and leader of teachers and other professionals supporting their work. Your success in structuring support for pupil premium children has been nationally recognised in praise for the school and you have secured practice which is ensuring sustainable continuous improvement. As a teacher you model excellence in the way you embrace and meet challenges in the classroom and your competence has rightly played a key part in ensuring that you have had wide impact on the way in which other professionals work with children and engage with their families.

You have significant personal drive and display total professional integrity in the way you consider educational research to develop your self-awareness as a leader and by the way in which challenge yourself and others to improve. Your robust and secure evaluation of the work of the school including through forensic analysis of data informs intelligent prioritisation and planning.