News

Misleading headlines on attendance

If you’ve seen the headlines in the Yorkshire Evening Press today (04.10.13), please don’t be misled.  First, it’s important to know that nothing has changed since previous communications on the subject, despite this front page news story suggesting otherwise.

Here’s my response to a few of the misleading points:

• ‘You can take holidays in school time’ – This headline reads like parents / carers have got the green light to go on holiday in term-time – this is not true and has never (in my time in education) been true.  Parents / carers might have chosen to do so in the past (we can’t physically stop families at passport control!), but schools and local authorities have never happily authorised this.  Some schools in the area have not authorised holidays for many, many years.  Moortown Primary has been playing catch-up with these schools because our attendance figures have been lower than other schools – they’re better now, and that’s down to stronger policies and your cooperation.  Thank you.
• ‘Parents faced with fines for taking children on holiday in school term time have been thrown a lifeline…’ – I wonder who has thrown this ‘lifeline’.  Nothing new has happened to warrant this story: there is no backing down on policy, there is no relaxing of rules.  One of our parents this afternoon commented on the use of the term ‘lifeline’ to me: ‘it’s hardly a matter of life and death’.
• ‘The Department for Education…said that local authorities could interpret the rules as they saw fit’ – That’s certainly true, but the DfE rules are clear: headteachers should not authorise unnecessary term-time absence.  This is backed up by Ofsted, who routinely use attendance figures in their inspections of schools.  Moortown policy matches Leeds policy.  Leeds policy is not in any way in conflict with national policy.  Here’s an extract from School Attendance: statutory guidance and departmental advice (Department of Education, 2013):

Can a parent take their child on holiday during term time?  Head teachers should only authorise leave of absence in exceptional circumstances… Leave is unlikely, however, to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday as a norm.

Can a school fine a parent for taking their child on holiday during term time?  Yes. Parents have a legal duty to make sure that their child aged 5-16, if registered at a school, attends that school regularly. If taking an unauthorised term time holiday is grounds for issuing a penalty notice according to the local authority’s code, and if the leave of absence for holiday was not authorised by the school, either the school or the local authority may issue a penalty notice.

The Deputy Director of Learning, skills & universal services for Leeds City Council comments on the article:

The headlines are extremely misleading and encourage people to believe at first sight that not only is Leeds giving permission for heads to authorise parents to take their children out of school for holidays in term time, but also that the Local Authority are in direct conflict with the DfE. Neither of these are true. We are making plain to the YEP through formal channels our concerns about their reporting of this issue. Moreover the DfE are aware of the article and the misrepresentation.

The main body of the article is largely a reasonable discussion of the issues around the new legislation and clearly states that ‘the DfE has said today that the decision by Leeds City Council is not illegal and is in keeping with the legislation’.

To reiterate the Leeds stance: in line with new government legislation headteachers are no longer allowed to authorise any requests for holidays in term time. Only leave requested in exceptional circumstances can be authorised.

Thank you for your support and cooperation around improving our attendance in recent years, and for your continued cooperation to make sure your child’s attendance, and therefore his / her learning, continues to improve.

Taking it to the kids

Following the official launch of the Leeds United Foundation Taking it to the kids scheme, we look forward to welcoming the coaches to work with Year 1 and 2 in the Summer term, as part of their curriculum PE.  The scheme, open to schools across Leeds, provides access to football coaching, promotes healthy living and aims to strengthen links between the club and communities.

Annual survey feedback

In an earlier news item, we told you about your responses to the survey of parents / carers just before the summer holiday.  We happily told you of the very positive feedback (eg 100% agreed with the statement My child feels safe at school and 99% agreed that My child learns a lot in lessons) and we hope we’ve responded with actions on statements that had a slightly lower response (eg the workshops we’ve planned for this term will help you to support your child at home, and don’t forget that simple advice and tips in tweets and newsletters to read lots at home, to visit specific websites, to learn tables are so, so important).

As well as a short list of statements with which to agree or disagree, we invited you to write a few comments down; below is a summary of what the comments say and our responses to these.

General comments

Praise and compliments were the most common comment – thank you.  Here are a few:

• Moortown School continues to nurture and encourage my child in all aspects of his life.  We are all very happy with the school and all the fantastic staff.
• One of the great strengths is the sense of community in school, amongst the children, teachers and parents.
• I think one of the strengths of the school are all the different things that are done to keep the children engaged with their learning eg topics, theme days, creative homework.
• Reception staff have been amazing this year with my daughter and her reading.  With Mrs Burke’s encouragement and perseverance, she has finally got a better understanding.

It’s especially good to read positive feedback from those who have moved to Moortown Primary from another school:

• I am very happy with Moortown – it’s a fantastic school.  My son is very happy and has settled in well.
• My son has had a lot of help since he started at Moortown and he is doing well – teachers are so good.

Of course, we’re not perfect.  Four out of the 70 responses expressed some concern or dissatisfaction (this figure doesn’t include comments about after-school clubs):

Concern about changes such as new teachers, new structure to the day – Some of the changes have been planned, some unplanned; some have been welcome, some more challenging, but rest assured, we have maintained our focus: children’s happiness and learning is always our top priority.  This respondent asked us to be as sensitive as possible to change as their child moved to Year 3 – I think we have, and hope you agree.  Many parents have told me how delighted they are with Mr Wilks and how happy their child is.  Please, if you’ve any continuing concerns, do speak with Mrs Weekes or me.

Unmarked homework – Teachers always look forward to seeing how creative children can be. If you notice the work has not been marked, please don’t worry. Teachers dedicate a slot in their weekly timetable to review homework.  This might be to for TalkTime – time for a class debate or feedback on what has been discussed at home (and hopefully for children to practise using phrases such as ‘My first point is…’ and ‘Furthermore, …’).  Alternatively, it might be to look at the efforts and creativity of the Creative homework – the work might be viewed by the whole class using a visualiser which allows the work to be projected to the whole class and a discussion of ‘stars and steps’ will happen. Peer assessment is also effective – children are very able to share what’s good and what needs improving!  During peer assessment, teachers will talk to specific children, giving them direct feedback about their homework.  These sorts of verbal feedback strategies are often more effective than a written comment because it’s more instant and it makes sure the child understands (and their work is praised publicly!).  We’ve asked children in the School Council about this – they haven’t raised any problems with this practice, and have told us they like to look at each other’s work.

Speech therapy – One parent was unhappy that their child no longer received additional speech therapy.  I understand this will be concerning or frustrating.  Additional, externally-provided support such as this is overseen by Mrs Weekes, our Inclusion Manager (who’s often equally concerned or frustrated).  Mrs Weekes does a great job, recognised in our most recent Ofsted inspection for having significantly improved Special Educational Needs management.  Sadly, there is limited capacity to provide additional support for SEN issues, and decisions regarding who is entitled to support is ultimately made by someone else.  Please, do speak with Mrs Weekes about this matter if you have any questions as to how your son can be supported.

And finally… One parent / carer has listed seven complaints including:

• “The photoboard of staff never appeared.”  This was a suggestion in the 2012 survey, and we acted on this – a display of staff was put up in one of the few public spaces in school, just outside the main reception; I’m sorry you missed it – an updated one will be on show again soon.
• “It would be nice if school trips were more adventurous or further afield.”  I agree!  However, naturally this means that the cost of such trips increases to a point at which many parents can’t afford to contribute.  We always try for a balance and variety.  Last year, trips included a visit to a safari park, a museum in York and a chance to go behind the scenes at a restaurant.  Even local trips, such as one to a nearby museum, Leeds market and Roundhay Park, play an important part in children’s learning and appreciation of their topic work.
• “Texts from ParentMail regarding snow don’t come through till 9.40am – a bit tardy.” Again, I agree.  On these occasions, we always raise the problem with ParentMail – the cause is usually the high demand for the service on particular occasions, such as snowy days.  As a solution, please get our tweets by text rather than solely rely on ParentMail (send follow moortownprimary to 86444) – parents who use this free service nearly always tell us they receive messages about school closures first, well before the school day.
• …And you mention some other issues regarding dates, communications and milk payments which I’d be very keen to discuss with you – please do contact school so we can address or explore the very specific issues you raise.

After-school clubs

We didn’t specifically ask for feedback about after-school clubs, but – after praise and compliments – this was by far the most common comment amongst the surveys.  Again, the vast majority of comments were positive or simply suggestions for future clubs – thank you.

A few years ago, we offered almost no after-school clubs at all.  In recent years, they have become, for most pupils, a popular and positive way to join in even more with school life.  Sadly, we really can’t please all of the people all of the time with this – here are some of the challenges we face:

• We have to balance putting forward a varied menu of activities, but if we offer too many, there’s a risk that the take-up rate for each club won’t be high enough (the more clubs we offer, the lower the take-up rate and participation is spread across more clubs).
• We have to balance cost.  There used to be funds available to subsidise clubs but not now, and the charges for the clubs barely cover the costs – indeed, we often rely on the goodwill of staff or volunteers.  Look out for some sports clubs coming up which will be free (we plan to use specific PE funding from the Department for Education to pay for some clubs over the next few terms).  Also, we offer a free club each term to those pupils who are entitled to free school meals – so make sure you register for this, even if your child continues to have a packed lunch.)
• We have to meet the needs and preferences of children and parents, so whilst one respondent commented that ‘it would have been nice to have different options in the summer term’, another complained that there was ‘no continuation eg classes for a whole year’.  We’re considering a compromise of these two preferences, where we offer the same sort of club (like a sports club) on the same day of the week for the year, although we’ve yet to make a final decision on whether this will be possible.

Particular thanks to the couple of parents who offered help with a club or who recommended a particular company who lead children’s activities elsewhere.  All the suggestions and the other comments have been passed to Mrs O’Malley who creates the menu of activities.

Thoughts on your child’s learning

Of the many comments, all but one were extremely enthusiastic and positive.  Typical comments refer to great progress and enthusiastic learning.  Comments include:

• My daughter started at Moortown Primary last September and has come a long way since then.  She has improved in every lesson and is much more confident.
• I’m particularly pleased with the support given to help my daughter persevere when the task at first seems too difficult.
• Warm and hard-working Y5 teachers bring out the best in their students.
• The topics have really engaged my child, who’s also really enthusiastic about Hobby Half Days!
• My child particularly enjoyed the Science Day and the lessons about ‘not sharing personal information with strangers’

I’ve spoken at length with the parent who expressed some concern, and teachers in school are aware of the issues raised.  Thank you for talking to us in person about this, and please do let keep communicating with us this year about any continuing problems (or successes!).

Thoughts on the teaching of your child

All the comments were positive.

• Mr Owen is a very easy person to approach and is always willing to help and explain.
• Very good communications with both children’s class teachers; very interesting, creative homework; changing books regularly to maintain interest is good.
• There has been good feedback from the teacher.
• Always approachable – great TA as well as the teachers.
• Mrs Burke has been excellent this year.
• Obviously lots of hard work and imagination put into teaching in Reception.
• My son thinks Mr Wilks is a brilliant teacher; the learning has been quite practical and hands-on eg building a go-kart.
• We have valued the advice given to us by the teacher.

One parent commented that (s)he would prefer less open-ended homework.  In response to this, we are going to monitor the type of homework given, and the subject, to make sure we have a balance across the year – thank you for this prompt.

Overall, although agreement with the statements ‘I know how well my child is doing at school’ and ‘Adults in school explain to me how to support my child at home’ was a little lower than with other statements (87% and 91% respectively), it’s reassuring to read so many comments about how helpful and approachable staff are – don’t be afraid to ask for help or to find out more about your child’s learning.

Your children’s views about school

Whilst we take your views seriously, we believe our children have valid and useful opinions and we often respond to them via suggestion boxes in the classrooms, where suggestions then go to the School Council for consideration.  This year, we encouraged you to sit with your child and chat about four prompts: views about learning, about teaching, about feeling safe in school, and about the school in general.  We very much enjoyed reading the comments, and I’m happy to say they were all positive.  I hope you welcomed the prompt to have a discussion with your child about school: research suggests that talking and learning and reflecting about learning can have a positive effect on children’s progress, too!  Here are a few final comments, this time from children:

• It’s not a dark and gloomy school.  It’s bright and colourful and makes you want to stay.
• I like the same routines that we do in learning, as I know what to do and how to do it.
• I feel really safe.  I have never ever been bullied.  I have never experienced anything negative.
• The teacher is funny and makes learning fun, but can be understanding too.
• I feel safe because I know the other people in school and I know bullying is not allowed.
• It’s a good school and a fun place.

Finally, as always, if you have any questions or comments – please do speak with your child’s class teacher or me.

Get set for a new park run

A new free weekly 2km run at Roundhay Park has been set up after a £1500 grant was provided by local councillors.  The Roundhay Junior Park Run will take place every Sunday morning and is open to children aged between four and fourteen.  Parkrun is a worldwide organisation which sets up and manages free weekly timed runs in parkland surroundings.  Fancy a go yourself…?  There is also a weekly 5km run every Saturday at 9am.

Feel the benefits of being active in Leeds

Leeds Let’s Get Active is a programme of free activities from October to December 2013. Free gym and swim sessions will be available across all Leeds City Council leisure centres from 30 September 2013. Other activities such as walking and running as well as family-based activities are also available at locations in the city. You can now register online  to find out more information on what is available, where and when on the Leeds Let’s Get Active activity programme.

With free swim and gym at Scott Hall leisure centre and health walks at Meanwood there is plenty on offer in the local area.

A WEEE bit of good news...

First: forgive the pun which I couldn’t resist, having grown up in Scotland.

In the last academic year, 2012-13, a total of 5.5 tonnes of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) was collected across the 30 schools that host a WEEE bank which is an average of 184.3kg per school.  The total for our school was 195kg – it’s great to be above the average, despite being a small school.

Without WEEE banks, it’s likely that the items would have been disposed of in landfill and all the various metals, plastic etc from which they are made would have been lost and not recycled. So it’s excellent news for the environment and a great achievement by schools. Thank you all for your support with this.

In this period after the summer holidays it’s likely that you and your friends and families will have extra bits of WEEE to dispose of as games consoles, phones, computers etc are upgraded, and broken toys and electrical items discarded. £500, £300 and £200 cash rewards are available again (but just for this term) for schools that collect the most WEEE.

The WEEE banks will be emptied just before the end of term.

Some more data… In 2012-13, the highest performing school collected 567 kg and the lowest performing school collected 39kg. The average was 184.3kg. At Moortown Primary, the following amounts were collected in 2012-13:

• Autumn Term 2012: 40kg
• Spring Term 2013: 95kg
• Summer Term 2013: 60kg
• Total: 195kg

Code Club starts at Moortown

It was the taster session for the new computer programming after school club today. Led by the very talented and inspiring Linda Broughton, the club uses Scratch to introduce children to computer programming. Over the next few weeks, the children will be creating their own games and animations which they can then upload to the Internet and finish at home or just enjoy playing them! The club takes place in The Space which was previously the ICT suite. This new area allows each child to have their own laptop so they can take their games in the direction that they want to whilst still allowing them to chat to friends and share what they are doing. This club is about inspiring a love of computing in children and celebrating their creativity – but most of all, it’s about having fun!

Industrial action

You will be aware that the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of School and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) have voted to hold a regional strike on Tuesday 01 October 2013. This action is being taken as part of a campaign against proposals to make changes to public sector pay, working conditions and pensions provisions going forward.

We have undertaken a risk assessment based on the number of staff that will be participating in the strike on this day. A decision has been made to close the school. I am sure you will appreciate the health, safety and wellbeing of our pupils is paramount. I am sorry if this causes any inconvenience.

Annual survey results

Thanks to all of you who returned a survey before the summer holiday.  We received 70 responses (most from parents of children in younger classes).  Look out for a second news-post with some responses to respondents’ comments, but, in the meantime, here’s a summary of how many agreed with the statements:

• My child is happy to come to school – 96%
• My child learns a lot in lessons – 99%
• The school helps my child to do as well as he/ she can – 93%
• I know how well my child is doing at school – 87%
• Adults in school explain to me how to support my child at home – 91%
• Teaching at this school is good – 97%
• Teaching at this school helps my child to develop skills in communication, reading, writing and mathematics – 100%
• I am happy with my child’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development – 97%
• Behaviour is good at Moortown Primary School – 96%
• Behaviour is good in lessons – 93%
• The school deals with all types of bullying very well – 90%
• My child feels safe at school – 100%
• I am happy that my views will be listened to – 97%
• I am happy with the after-school clubs on offer – 83%

Obviously, we’re delighted that 100% of parents said they are happy with the teaching of key skills and that their child feels safe at school.  One or two statements have a lower number of those who agreed; here is a response to those points.

Communicating how well your child is doing is important to us. At the moment, there are two parents’ evenings and a final report at the end of the year (perhaps it’s low because parents responded to the survey before they received the reports).  In addition, teachers frequently remind you in newsletters that you can drop in to see them.  Whilst the figure who agreed is lower than others, it’s reassuring to read that no one actually disagreed (others stated they were unsure).  Last year, we introduced a third parents’ evening for Reception parents and we have already amended the report format in light of the survey (and your separate feedback regarding the reports); next year’s report will tell you exactly what level your child is working at in reading, writing, maths and science.  Please let us know how you would like us to keep you informed more.

Supporting your child at home is also quite low – in response to this, we have organised more learning workshops.  This term, there are three coming up, and there will also be an open morning where some of you (numbers will be limited for space reasons) will be able to spend time watching literacy and maths being taught.

• YR, Y1 learning workshop: Monday 07 October, 2.30am – 3.15pm
• Literacy workshop: Monday 14 October, 2.30am – 3.15pm
• Maths workshop: Monday 04 November, 2.30am – 3.15pm
• Open morning: Tuesday 05 November, 9.00am – 10.30am

(Apologies – there are no evening workshops planned so far.  This is because we’ve found that day-time workshops are actually more popular.  If you can’t attend during the day, please let me know.)

Numbers who agreed with the statements about bullying and behaviour appear low, but respondents were simply unsure because they’ve never experienced a problem (nobody disagreed).

Regarding after-school clubs, we always try to provide a wide selection. This term, we’ve offered computer, sports, fitness, dance, cookery and French clubs.  If we offered more, the take-up rate for each one would drop, and we’d struggle for space.  This term, nine clubs are on offer, but only five so far look set to go ahead – take-up of others is too low.  We’ll keep trying hard to match interests.

If you have any further feedback on the points set out here, don’t wait until next summer’s survey – contact me or your child’s teacher!

Industrial action

As you will be aware the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Association of School and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) have voted to hold a regional strike on Tuesday 01 October.  This action is being taken as part of a campaign against proposals to make changes to public sector pay, working conditions and pensions provisions going forwards.

The staff at Moortown Primary who are members of the affected unions will meet on Monday regarding whether they will be participating in this strike action.

I’m sorry I can’t confirm for definite if the school will close or remain open on this day, but I can say that it seems likely that we will at least partially close.  There is a possibility that part of school (eg Key Stage 2) will remain open.

I’ll will inform you of definite plans on Tuesday.