News

New beginnings

As we start the new school year, our SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) theme focuses on New beginnings.

New beginnings allows children the opportunity to discuss and reflect on how they or others may feel in a new situation or setting.  This SEAL theme offers children the opportunity to see themselves as valued individuals within a community, and to contribute to shaping a welcoming, safe and fair learning community for all.

The key areas of learning throughout this theme are empathy, self-awareness, social skills and motivation.

Through discrete SEAL lessons, circle times and across the curriculum, children will explore feelings of happiness and excitement, sadness, anxiety and fearfulness, while learning (and putting into practice) shared models for calming down and problem-solving.

New beginnings supports the development of a learning community in each classroom where all members feel that they belong.  Class contracts, produced at the start of the year, allow children to contribute to how they feel they can achieve a safe and fair learning community.

Fruit tuckshop returns!

Our fruit tuckshop, to be run by the Year 5 class this year, returns next week on a new day – Tuesday.

The tuckshop is open to all Key Stage 2 children during playtime.  Reception and Key Stage 1 children receive free fruit at playtime. 

Each item costs 20p and the fruit can be a snack for playtime or used to top up their packed lunch box – all contributing to their 5 a day! 

As stated in our Food Policy, fruit is the only snack allowed at playtimes for Key Stage 2.

SEAL statement 07 September

This week we begin our new SEAL theme, New Beginnings, and the weekly statement is ‘I can make someone feel welcome.‘

Over this half term, as the children are experiencing new beginnings, each class will be looking at how they can all contribute to establishing a welcoming and safe environment for learning.

Community news

You may be interested in two items of news from our local community…

From a parent, Mrs Vickerman:

A new, weekend WI Group is setting up and looking for new members – would you be interested in joining?

At each meeting we will be offering a different creative workshop covering a wide range of crafts – from baking to needlecrafts to art… the list could be endless!  So, if you’re interested in gaining the opportunity to try your hand at new skills in a relaxed and friendly environment, whilst also looking for ways to contribute to our wider community, then this group is for you.

If you’d like to join in, we’re holding a Meet, Greet and Find Out More Meeting – Saturday 22nd September, St Johns Church Hall. This will be a drop in session open from 11.30am – 2.30pm.  Everyone is welcome to come and have tea, coffee and cake whilst trying your hand at a craft class on the day.

For further information contact:  Debbie – 0797 061 7937

And from Wm Dodgson & Son, a local business who have been long-term supporters of Moortown Primary:

Charity initiative: put any used football boots to good use!

New term…new footie boots?

The local funeral directors, Wm Dodgson & Son, are collecting used football boots to send to children and young adults in Ghana, West Africa.  Many children there don’t have football boots and play on rough ground in bare feet – Wm Dodgson & Son will act as a drop-off point for you if you want to donate used boots and clean socks.  These will then be taken back to Africa to give directly to children, who are aware of this and are excited at the prospect.

You can either drop them off directly at Wm Dodgson & Son, 384 Harrogate Road, or you can drop them off with uis at Moortown Primary and we’ll take them round the corner.

Hello and welcome back

It’s great to see you and your children again after our summer break.  Our staff enjoyed various breaks and all have worked really hard to prepare classes and teaching ready for the Autumn term.  We all hope you and your family also enjoyed the breaks, whether travelling to distant lands or simply enjoying time with family and friends (perhaps enjoying Eid celebrations).

Thank you…

…to all the children who so far have sent us a postcard (and to mums and dads who have encouraged this!).  We’ve received cards from sights in Yorkshire (Magna Centre, Leeds Town Hall, Castle Howard…), UK sights (the Lake District, Bath, Holkham Beach…) and more far-flung places (Egypt, USA, Portugal…).  It’s not too late to send us one or bring a postcard into the office for us.  Soon, we’ll put the postcards into a hat and choose some lucky winners – and all the cards will go on display, too.

New faces

Sadly, we said goodbye to a few people over the summer.  However, we’re happy to say hello to new faces – in fact, there’s one new person in every class, so hello to Abi, Jorja, Lennox, Luca, Brannoc and Mehak, from Y1 to Y6 respectively.  Of course, there will be thirty more new faces as our new Reception class start to arrive from Monday 17 September.  This takes our numbers on roll to 204 with the likelihood of at least one more pupil joining us shortly – our highest number at least since I started at Moortown Primary.

Staff

Most of you will know that Mr Owen is on extended leave – he’ll return to take over the teaching of Y5 just before the October holiday.  This will allow Mrs Weekes to return to Y1 to class share with Mrs Maver.  We said goodbye to Mrs Jack at the end of last term (she has joined a local school as Y5 teacher), but welcomed back Mrs Taylor from maternity leave (she will continue in her role of Health Leader and cover teacher).

In the Spring and Summer terms, I was working in another Leeds school for one day each week as a ‘Local Leader in Education’ – someone who supports other headteachers.  This term, I’ll continue to work in this role, supporting an existing school and supporting a new Leeds headteacher, but I don’t expect to be out of school quite so much.  I’ll also be continuing to work with some Year 6 children on Thursday afternoons teaching Tough Stuff Maths and (new this year) Tough Stuff Reading (we’ve just started to read ‘Animal Farm’).

Uniform

There are aspects of our Uniform Policy which we can’t absolutely enforce, but the governors and I hope we have your cooperation – sticking to this policy helps to make sure all our children are smart and feel part of the school community by not looking ‘different’; it also helps to make sure our children focus on being happy and healthy learners without distractions.

Once again: it’s great to see you all again.

It's the summer

Yes, believe it or not, the summer holidays begin on Friday, despite somewhat autumnal (ok: downright dismal) weather.

During the holidays, research shows that many children’s key skills can regress – this makes rapid progress in the autumn back at school hard. It’s important to make sure your child spends time reading, and try to include daily opportunities to do some writing and number work – things like sending a postcard to someone (look out for our postcard competition – more details soon) and working out some ticket prices and journey times.

As many teachers at Moortown Primary noted in children’s annual reports, your child may need a bit more than this if they need to keep up-to-speed with times tables and spellings – spend just five minutes on each every day to really help your child.

Of course, holidays should be as happy and as healthy as possible, whatever the weather.  A useful starting point to planning a few days out or activities in Leeds is Breeze.

Another interesting and familiar idea crossed my mind recently as I read a Sunday paper: the writer and child psychologist Sue Palmer comments: “Every child will make a den given a chance; their evolutionary roots are still very strong.  Sitting down watching someone else do it on television is no substitute.” You can buy some exciting kit to support this (I like the Ultimate Dangerous Den Kit, but less so the price), but there’s something even more exciting (and cheaper) by getting creative with cardboard boxes and blankets!

Whatever you and your child get up to, enjoy the break, and see you on Tuesday 04 September (or sometime in the week beginning 17 September if your child is starting in Reception).

SATs success for a third successive year

Wow – another great success story summed up by the release of results for May’s end of Key Stage 2 SATs for our current Year 6.

The results haven’t been published yet, but I’m delighted to say for a third year, well over 90% of children at Moortown Primary School attained Level 4 or more and made at least expected progress.

This year, 30 pupils in the class sat the tests – one much-loved class member was unable to access the tests due to specific educational needs.  Of the thirty who took the tests:

• 100% attained level 4 or more in reading (level 4 is the expected level for most children at the end of Key Stage 2)
• 100% reached level 4 or more in writing (this year, the writing tests were internally marked by Ms Hazell, but double, then triple-checked by others to make sure all marks given were fair – most schools in England marked the writing test internally)
• 97% reached level 4 or more in maths

We continue to not just meet but exceed nationally expected levels.  Again, relating to the 30 who took the tests:

With great topics like Chocolate, Snowbound and Meet the Greeks; with themed weeks around business and enterprise, community and staying safe; with enriching one-off events such as art afternoons, Jubilee celebrations and trips out and about (Robinwood residential no exception!), the class have had a hugely enjoyable time in Key Stage 2.  It’s great to know that children enjoy and achieve at Moortown Primary.

Well done to all the Year 6 pupils, and a big thank you from me to all their talented teachers and teaching assistants, too.

Phonics tests

You’ll be aware that all children in Y1 classes in England have recently been tested on 40 words prescribed by the goverment. The screening checks are intended to test a child’s knowledge of letter sounds with a challenging combination of both real and made-up words (eg proom, groiks).

Any child who did not read at least 32 words correctly must be re-tested again next year. In the meantime, they will recieve additional phonics support in Year 2 – this will include daily phonics sessions and frequent reading (don’t forget how powerful it is to read at home, too!).

We always value your involvment and support. The test results are sent home on Monday 09 July, along with your child’s annual report. Mrs Maver or Mrs Weekes will be happy to discuss in more detail how your child did in these tests. If they’re not available, I can also help.

Most schools I’ve spoken to have similar results and conclusons:

• around 70% of children scored over 32/40
• able readers have often not done so well as they’re reading would suggest – we found this was often because they automatically corrected some of the made-up words so they could make sense (you might have done the same whilst reading this article – did you spot the five errors?)

Looking at Leeds 2012 photography competition

Every picture tells a story… The Looking at Leeds 2012 photography competition is looking for photographs of Leeds that capture its people and places, its cultures and communities, and they want young people in Leeds to help bring the story to life.  The competition is open to everyone across Leeds, with a special category for young people in Year 11 and under.

The city has a lots happening this summer: Breeze, concerts, festivals, sports, museums, Olympic celebrations… There is something taking place nearly every day, but can you or your child capture what it means to be in Leeds in 2012?

Closing on 31 July 2012, the competition is open to everyone and there are some fantastic prizes on offer:

• first prize for the Year 11 and under category is a family ticket for Leeds Rhinos
• runners up prizes include a family ticket for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, a season pass for Lotherton Hall and two tickets for the Carriageworks

Entries can be made by emailing your image to imagesofleeds@leeds.gov.uk using ‘Leeds 2012’ as the subject header. Images must have been taken during 2012 and should include the following information:

• the entrant’s name, age and contact details
• the month, place or event at which the image was taken

For more information visit www.leeds.gov.uk/leeds2012.  If you’d like to find out more information about the competition, please email imagesofleeds@leeds.gov.uk.

Learning about levels

Learning about levels

Every term, teachers assess your child’s attainment inReading, Writing and Maths to ensure all children make good progress. Teachers do this through continual assessment: they observe who’s able to do things, who’s having a problem, when marking etc. Teacher assessments at the end of the year are even more important – we analyse the data in a lot of detail.

In Reception and Y1 teachers base their final assessment entirely on the children’s day to day activities and abilities. Reception children are not given a level. Instead, they are assessed against criteria and typically reach 6 points in each strand, such as reading or numbers for counting and labels. A point is given when adults observe a child securely showing a particular skill or activity. Reception data is reported toLeeds and the Department for Education.

In Y3 to Y5, teachers use some tests to help. The tests don’t replace the teachers’ assessment; they inform it. Teachers are aware that a test represents just a snapshot, whilst their continual assessment shows what a child can really attain. For example, if a child performed quite poorly in a test but well throughout the year, teachers would quite possibly ignore a test result. The assessments aren’t reported externally.

Reaching the end of a key stage (Key Stage One ends in Y2 and Key Stage Two ends in Y6) is most significant for the Department of Education (hey measure progress using Y2 and Y6 data) so slightly different procedures are followed.

In Y2, teachers must submit assessments to the local authority and the Department for Education. Miss Hewson makes the assessment based partly on some tests, partly on continual assessment (just like in Year 3 – 5, except her assessments must be reported). Recently, we had a visitor from Leeds Children’s Services to evaluate whether our end of KS1 teacher assessments are accurate and fair.  This moderation process went extremely well – we received some great feedback.

In Y6, teacher assessment and test data are also used, but treated separately.  The attitudes and behaviour of children in Y6 have once again been excellent this year.  We’re hoping we can match the successes in recent years in the Key Stage Two SAT results (we’re still waiting for the results).  However, the school’s performance won’t appear quite as good this year.  This is because there is a pupil in the class who has very specific special educational needs and therefore could not access the tests, so we can’t achieve 100% of children at Level 4 or more.

Soon, you’ll be receiving the end-of-year annual report about your child’s attainment, progress and attitude in school.  On the report (except the Reception report), teachers use ticks to indicate how your child is doing.  If you’d like to know their actual level, we’re happy to tell you – just ask me or your child’s teacher near the end of the year. Parents / carers of children in Y2 and Y6 receive a letter with the teacher assessment level on it; parents / carers of Y6 children will also be told the results of the SAT tests.

The table on the right shows general, national expectations for the end of each year.  Letters are used to indicate a higher or lower level eg 2A is a higher level of attainment than 2C, but a lower level of attainment that 3C.