News

Latest news from around the school

A letter from the Lord Mayor...

Posted on 03 November 2016 by Mrs Weekes

Well done to Naran, one of our Year 6 pupils, who submitted a manifesto to become the next Leeds Children’s Mayor. Unfortunately, Naran did not make it to the final 12 but he has received a letter from the Lord Mayor of Leeds congratulating him on his efforts.

We would like to say well done to Naran for having a go.

Another well done for Moortown!

Posted on 03 November 2016 by Mr Roundtree

We have a new School Improvement Advisor (SIA). This is someone from the Local Authority who visits us from time to time and monitors, evaluates and provides any support we may seek. Here are some of the words and phrases that help to sum up his report:

  • ‘every inch of space available [is used] to create an effective and 21st century learning environment’
  • ‘professional approach’
  • ‘consistency is a key feature…displays, routines and learning behaviour’
  • ‘bright and imaginative displays captured the current theme’
  • ‘purposeful application of knowledge and skills’
  • ‘sound teacher and other adult relationships had secured the best in terms of learning behaviours from the pupils’

The School Improvement Advisor saw two classes in particular. In Year 5, he saw ‘skillful’, ‘impressive’ teaching with ‘a natural command’ and, from the children, ‘some high quality speaking and listening’. In Reception, he praises the ‘highly effective indoor and outdoor areas … imaginatively created’ and the children’s engagement and ‘purposeful learning’.

He was also impressed by the quality of support staff: ‘…skilfully held the children’s attention in an outdoor PE session’.

 

8 Rs for learning - our new SEAL theme

Posted on 02 November 2016 by Mrs Taylor

This half-term, we’re thinking about the ‘8 Rs for learning’. This theme is about promoting good learning behaviour for your child.

Each week, we’ll focus on different ‘Rs’. We use an animal to symbolise each ‘R’, which might help your child remember all eight – can your child remember which animal matches the correct ‘R’?

You can support your child at home – we’ve listed a few ideas to help you below. Ask us if you’ve any questions or comments.

Download top tips for promoting the 8Rs for good learning behaviour.

I take a safe risk.

Talk about the difference between a safe and unsafe risk. At school, we want your child to take a safe risk by having a go at answering, even if unsure; trying something new and attempting harder learning.

I take responsibility for my own learning.

Provide time and space at home so your child is able to organise themselves: their PE kit, reading book, homework, spellings and tables… Don’t organise everything for them!
Make a link between rights and responsibilities: your child has the right to a great education, but needs to be responsible for their own learning.

I respond to feedback.

Ask your child if they remember their ‘stars’ and ‘steps’ in English and Maths.

I can show I am ready to learn.

Make sure your child is at school for a prompt start of 08:50.
Make sure your child has had plenty of sleep so they are alert and ready to learn at all times.
Encourage your child to ask lots of questions – that shows they want to learn!

I am resourceful.

Encourage your child to be organised so they can play with a range of different toys.
Encourage your child to try new ways to solve a tricky problem.

I am resilient.

Encourage your child to keep going! Set a tricky challenge or puzzle for your child to do.
Encourage your child to think of different ways of doing things.
Don’t let your child win when they play a game – they need to experience losing, too!
Celebrate mistakes as opportunities to learn – be happy that your child found some learning hard and encourage them to ‘bounce back’ and learn from the experience.

I remember.

Make sure they have time to learn spellings, number bonds and times tables – a little practice daily is best.
Play memory games:

Kim’s game: show them objects for 30 seconds… can they remember all the objects?
Can they build up the sequence, ‘I went to the shop and I bought an apple’… ‘I went to the shop and I bought an apple and a bike.’… ‘I went to the shop and I bought an apple, a bike and a cucumber.’ etc … Take turns!

I reflect about my learning.

Talk with your child about what they’ve learnt, asking questions about:

how they learnt
why they learnt it
when they’ll use their learning
how they would teach this to someone else
what learning might link with what they’ve learnt today etc

Another letter from DfE

Posted on 31 October 2016 by Mrs Weekes

Yet another letter from the DfE congratulating us!

Over the past two years, we’ve received three letters congratulating us on results for disadvantaged pupils and for high achievement in the Year 1 phonics screening.

We’ve just received another letter, this time congratulating school on the high standard of achievement in the 2016 phonics screening check. Nick Gibb MP (Minister of State for School Standards) sends us congratulations, stating that we are in the top 8% of all primary schools in the country regarding achievement in phonics. He writes:

I would like to congratulate you, your staff and your pupils for your school’s very high standard of achievement in the 2016 phonics screening check.

We want to ensure that every child develops a firm grasp of phonics which is why I was delighted to see your results.  With at least 95% of pupils at Moortown Primary School reaching or exceeding the pass mark in the check, your school is in the top 8% of all primary schools in the country.

This year’s figures show 89% of pupils who achieve the expected standard in the check go on to achieve at least the expected standard in Key Stage One reading, which underlines the value of developing the ability to decode words effectively at an early age.

We are extremely proud of this high standard of phonics teaching, as we are of all our teaching and it shows that our staff, parents and children are committed to maintaining these high standards. Moortown Primary carries on being a happy, healthy and successful place to learn.

Save the Scholes swimming pool

Posted on 21 October 2016 by Mr Roundtree

Scholes (Elmet) Primary is one of our Sphere Federation partner schools. It’s also very unusual in that it has its own swimming pool. It’s a small, shallow one, but is great for introducing younger children to swimming. Sadly, the pool has been closed for essential maintenance and a massive fundraising campaign is underway. We need you now to vote for the school to benefit from a grant.

From today, voting opens for the Aviva Community Fund, and the campaign to Save Scholes Pool is one of the potential grant winners. If the school gets the most votes we could be granted between £5,000 and £10,000. Please vote here.

What is cyberbullying?

Posted on 18 October 2016 by Mrs Weekes

 Cyberbullying is becoming an increasing problem.  It is when someone bullies others using electronic means.  The behaviour is usually repeated. Like any form of bullying, cyberbullying can be horrible for the children involved and hard for them to talk about.

Cyberbullying can happen via text, email and on social networks and gaming platforms. It can consist of:

  • threats and intimidation
  • harassment and stalking
  • defamation
  • rejection and exclusion
  • identify theft, hacking into social media accounts and impersonation
  • publically posting or sending on personal information about another person
  • manipulation

The best way to keep your child safe online is to take an active interest right from the start. They need your love and protection online as much as they do in the real world. What your child is exposed to will depend on how they’re using the internet – social network users are more likely to experience cyberbullying, see sexual or violent images, or have contact with strangers.

Your child might be reluctant to tell you that they are worried about cyberbullying so it’s important to look out for the signs:

  • stopping using their electronic devices suddenly or unexpectedly
  • seeming nervous or jumpy when using their devices, or becoming obsessive about being constantly online
  • any changes in behaviour such as becoming sad, withdrawn, angry, or lashing out
  • reluctance to go to school or take part in usual social activities
  • unexplained physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach upsets
  • avoiding discussions about what they’re doing online or who they’re talking to

If you become aware that your child is being cyberbullied, there are a number of things you should aim to do straight away:

  • create opportunities to talk to your child in a relaxed environment, sometimes it can be less intense if you go for a walk or a drive rather than sitting face-to-face
  • stay calm and ask them how you can help
  • ask open questions and listen without judging
  • praise them for talking to you
  • don’t take away their devices unless this is what they want, it’s likely to make them angry and increase feelings of sadness and isolation

If your child is upset by something they’ve experienced online but seems to be handling the situation then advice you can give includes:

  • it may be tempting but don’t retaliate. This can have unpredictable consequences, can make arguments last longer and make it harder to see who’s in the wrong.
  • shut down arguments online before they take hold. Try not to involve lots of others in online arguments. This includes being careful what they post, what they share, and knowing when to leave a group chat or change the conversation.
  • ask people to take down hurtful or offensive content. Your child may be successful by simply being honest about how they feel, particularly if the perpetrator didn’t meant to cause them harm.

For more information please take a look at www.internetmatters.org where there is a great deal of information and advice.  If you have any concerns, please come and talk to us at school, we may be able to help.

Anxiety in young people

Posted on 17 October 2016 by Mr Roundtree

As we approach the break, Halloween seems to have come early, with the ‘clowns’ craze around the country. Many children find Halloween a terrifying time in any case, particularly young people on the autism spectrum. You might find these resources useful in helping children manage their anxiety:

Anxious Child (Mental Health Foundation)
Anxiety and Phobias (Young Minds)
Worries and Anxieties (Royal College of Psychiatrists)

The underwear rule

Posted on 16 October 2016 by Mr Roundtree

The NSPCC has launched the second phase of the Underwear Rule campaign, designed to encourage and empower parents of 5-11 year olds to talk to their children about keeping safe from sexual abuse.  The Underwear Rule is an easy way to teach children that their body belongs to them and to talk to a trusted adult if they ever feel scared or upset.

The aim of the campaign is to reach even more parents to increase their confidence and knowledge in how to broach this tricky subject in an age appropriate way using the Underwear Rule.

NSPCC research shows that the proportion of parents who had spoken to their children about keeping safe from sexual abuse rose significantly from 46%, before the first phase of the campaign last summer, to 64% afterwards. They now want to build on that progress and reach even more parents, giving them the tools to have simple conversations with their children about keeping safe from abuse.

Ensuring that parents and carers teach their children the Underwear Rule, and that keeping safe from abuse – like the Green Cross Code – becomes an integral part of parents’ conversations about safety with their children, is vital in the fight against child abuse.

Results from the 2016 annual survey

Posted on 09 October 2016 by Mr Roundtree

Thank you to all the parents / carers who responded to this year’s annual survey.

This year, we used an online survey which is used in our other Sphere Federation schools. This has meant looking at the results and communicating them to you is much easier (although it might have contributed to the slight drop in respondents to). We’ve removed some statistical information about the mean, the variance etc, and we’ve removed children’s names, but nothing else. Read all the results and comments here. This contains our responses, too; we’ve not responded to every single comment – just a selection.

The results are overwhelmingly positive – perhaps more so than ever before. 100 % of respondents agreed with the following statements:

  • My child is happy at Moortown Primary School.
  • My child feels safe at Moortown Primary School.
  • My child is taught well at Moortown Primary School.
  • Moortown Primary makes sure its pupils are well behaved.
  • Moortown Primary is well led and managed.
  • I would recommend Moortown Primary School to another parent.

All but one respondent agreed with the following three statements. This might be the same person, or different people. Either way, we encourage you to get in touch if unsure.

  • My child makes good progress at Moortown Primary School.
  • My child is well looked after at Moortown Primary School.
  • Moortown Primary responds well to any concerns I raise.

It was around homework, bullying and learning updates that we got more varied responses.

  • For homework, some people want more and some want less – we’re pleased that 87% agreed that homework was pitched about right.
  • Regarding bullying, responses often indicate people are unsure of how we tackle it – the comments this year (as in previous years) explain that this is because their child hasn’t encountered it.
  • Finally, around receiving updates about their child’s learning, 11% (just four respondents) were unsure whether this was valuable or not. This might have something to do with the move away from levels that were so familiar to both parents and teachers, and it might have something to do with a move towards teaching for greater depth. Whatever the reason, we remind the four respondents, and all parents / carers. that teachers will be happy to see you pop in for some informal, quick chats, and for you to arrange a longer meeting if you’d like one.

Moortown Primary continues to be a happy and healthy place to learn. Parents and carers are an important part of our close and supportive community. Thank you, again, if you responded to the survey.

Staying safe in sport (and other clubs)

Posted on 01 October 2016 by Mr Roundtree

It’s important that you check that any sports club or activity that your child attends has your child’s safety as its priority. Even if the club seems professional, there are four key questions that you should ask to make sure that they have all the necessary safeguarding measures in place:

1. Can I see your safeguarding policy?
A good organisation or club should have up-to-date safeguarding procedures in place and be happy to show you copies.

2. Who is your Welfare Officer?
The club should have a designated Welfare Officer who is responsible for dealing with any safeguarding concerns that may arise.

3. Do you follow safer recruitment procedures?
Every organisation providing sporting activities to young people must ensure they have the correct recruitment processes in place which includes interviews, references and have undertaken the appropriate police checks for their volunteers and staff.

4. How do you promote the welfare of children and young people?
The club should be able to demonstrate how they actively promote safeguarding. This includes listening and  responding to the views of children and young people.

 

Don’t be afraid to question. A good and professional organisation will already have procedures in place and will welcome the chance to demonstrate that they are providing a safe environment for your child. Download this leaflet for further guidance on safeguarding in sports.

From Leeds Safeguarding Children’s Board website.