Headteacher’s Blog

I want to start this week’s blog by saying a huge thank you to those of you who have been in touch with us by letter, video or by email over the last week or so.  The current lock-down is really difficult for every single one of us, in our own unique way, and it is important that we do our best to keep everybody’s spirits up.

My spirits were lifted instantly last Monday, when I received an email from Willow’s Mummy (Jolly Jellyfish).  Willow has been getting really active whilst she has been off and making the most of her lock-down by doing something really worthwhile for charity.  At the same time as keeping her mental and physical health in good shape! Willow is running miles and miles for the Age Uk Derby & Derbyshire Charity – so far she has managed a fantastic 63 miles miles in total – and let’s remember that she is only 5 years old!!!! Willow has vowed not to stop running until lockdown is over, she has managed to raise over £1000 up to now – this is simply amazing! Both Miss Knowles and I are incredibly proud of her and I wrote a special letter to her last week, telling her just that. Willow has really shown great tenacity, perseverance and overwhelming compassion – well done on behalf of the whole school Willow!  Should any of her Coton friends wish to donate to this worthy course and show their support, please visit the link: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/derbyandderbyshire/about-us/news/articles/2020/5yr-old-willow-run:/

I hope that all of the children enjoyed receiving their special greeting cards in the post this past week – we really miss each and every one of them and it is so upsetting not to be able to do what we know and love.  School is simply not the same without them and we think about them all, every single day, believe me!  We look forward to the children’s safe return, whenever that time may be.

I had lots of conversations with parents again this week, as I continued to phone around or have a nose on Tapestry and Purple Mash to see how you were all getting on.  It was super, getting to know what you have all been doing.  Maggie (Dolphins) has been going on a lot of bike rides with her Daddy and also doing some maths with lots of objects from around the house.  Austin  (Dolphins) has been starting to learn his times tables and Megan (Seahorses) has been keeping up with her English and Maths work over the last few weeks also! I really enjoyed looking at Florence’s writing (Jellyfish) – some super letter formation and finger spaces!   Joseph (Jellyfish) has been doing Fancy Dress Friday and finally, I wish to give a ‘shout-out’ to Henry (Turtles), who has been trying really hard to complete his Purple Mash work with care and precision during this time and Mrs Weston remarked just how well he had been doing last Thursday.

On the subject of Purple Mash, last week I did a bit of a check to see just how many of the children were managing to log on and have a go at the activities that were being uploaded. Your teachers are taking the time to put activities on each week and, because of this, we want it to be useful to you all and beneficial for the children.  I think there was a little technical issue last Monday which was beyond our control but i understand that it is now fixed!  It is worth pointing out that I know many of you are doing a wide range of interesting things online and that Purple Mash is only one of the ample of things that you could be doing at home, to keep up with your learning during this time – White Rose, Joe Wicks, STEM activites, baking etc.  However, it was really interesting when Mrs Smith and I had a little nosy at Purple Mash.  Last week there were 87 of you who went on to have a go at some of the activities. Let’s see if we can up this next week.

In chatting to some parents over the last few weeks, it has become clear that all families are doing their level best at this time and working incredibly hard.  Juggling working from home and ‘home educating’ is not easy and many of our children love to be occupied all of the time.  When we initially set up Purple Mash – this was on two days notice of the school closure and we never expected that this lock-down situation would go on as long as it currently has.  With this, last week I mentioned that we were looking into more online subscriptions to aid our children at home. I can now inform you that the school has signed up to Pearson Active Learn and your child can use this from tomorrow.

Active Learn is an online subscription which will enable the children to access Bug Club and ePhonics from tomorrow morning. Bug Club is a reading resource featuring loads and loads on online reading books, akin to all the levels that we have in school.  It also features simple questions to aid the children’s understanding. Children should be aiming to read for a short period every day. And to echo what Mrs Smith said in her reading workshop during January, reading a book more than once is actually more helpful to a child’s development over a time than simply ‘ploughing’ through. ePhonics is a games resource so that our children can keep this aspect of their reading going also.  Last week, all teachers went onto Bug Club to set it up ready and when your child logs on tomorrow, you’ll see that teachers have set their reading level to what they are currently on in school.  It will automatically give each child, texts akin to their individual level.  To log in, the children are to use their Purple Mash password and voila – they should be able to get on.

We also spent time looking into whether we could access Power Maths.  Unfortunately, after much work at this end, Mrs Weston and I found out that this was simply not as straight forward as was advertised.  We have been told that Power Maths are going to be releasing some special lock-down resources to be used at home in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we have set up Oak Academy and also White Rose for the children to access online maths lessons akin to their year group. White Rose follows all the principles of Power Maths so this should mean some continuity.

Finally,  a number of parents have asked just how much their children should be doing each day.  We have always been very clear on this – there is a balancing act to strike.  We know that the children require the structure to their day that they would normally get in school. We also know that they need to be kept occupied.  Our school has always, and will always advocate a ‘balanced diet’ featuring a variety of activities.  In response to this, Mrs Smith, Mrs Weston and I have put a sample weekly timetable together for all children last week.  The suggested timetable will be issued on the ‘General Announcements’ tab tonight, ready for use tomorrow, and it features all the relevant hyperlinks to a range of sites and online resources – this way, there is no need for parents to spend the time ‘trawling’ through.  As I said, the timetable is a guide only. You must do right for your own child and their needs. As always, please contact; learningsupport@coton-in-the-elms.derbyshire.sch.uk, if you have a query or need support.

Last week, your teachers were busy doing some online training for Dyslexia Awareness and also Mental Health.  The staff were due to do their Mental Health First Aid qualification on an INSET morning this past Monday, but with social distancing, this could no longer happen.  As a substitute for the time being, all staff have undertaken an online module to help them support our children’s mental health for when school returns.  They also completed a module on how to support children recovering from a period of trauma or an unprecedented situation.  As I said last week, we continue to make provisions for supporting the children when they return.

Also this week, I started writing to our new families due to start the EYFS in September.  We have started to think about how we may provide effective transition into our school for the children, in the event that the current restrictions continue. If you are new to our school or you have younger siblings who are due to start, you should be receiving a letter this week.  Keep your eyes out for this.

Finally, we now have Internet in The Nest!  This is fantastic for our school as it means that more children can use the facility in the future, and access the resources that are available in all of our other classrooms.

In finishing, I wish to say a huge thank you to all those parents who are defined as ‘Key Workers’ at this time.  Only last week, a close family member of mine passed away from Covid-19 and I know first hand, just how difficult this situation is!  My Grandmother was really well cared for in hospital and I wish to thank you all for the contribution that you are making to this great effort.  Whatever essential service you provide – thank you so much from all connected with our school.

P.E.A.C.E be with you!

This week, I have spoken with lots of parents on the phone, about how we can further support you all at this current time.  As the weeks go by, this situation becomes much harder to facilitate, much more stressful and frustrating and above all, much more worrying. Many of us in the teaching profession expected a period away from school for sure, and some speculated that we’d simply have an ‘extended Easter break.’  However, we didn’t quite expect how this situation would play out. With another 3 weeks of lock-down in place, and possibly more after that, over the last week I have been getting further provisions in place to ensure that we are here for you.

Our school vision is very much about working with families and providing the bespoke support where possible.  Compassion is one word which springs to mind here! Rest assured, myself and all the staff will continue to be there to get you and the children through this uncertain time. We care about their education and we also care about their well-being.

Firstly, Purple Mash activities will continue to be put in the ‘to do’ folder for the children every Monday – this will restart from tomorrow. Miss Knowles will continue to use Tapestry to set activities – LET US KNOW IF YOU CAN’T GET ON!  When speaking to most parents, they are succesfully able to get on to these from home and children have been completing the tasks and games set by each teacher.  In response to a couple of queries;  we are currently investigating if there is a way of taking things out of the Purple Mash ‘to do’ file each week when we put new activities in.  Secondly, some games on Purple Mash will allow the children to start again and have another go automatically if they don’t get the answers correct.  This is something beyond our control.

TT Rockstars is still in operation and it has been great to hear that some Key Stage 2 children have been going on. IF YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR PASSWORD TO HAND – PLEASE EMAIL THE LEARNING SUPPORT EMAIL ADDRESS – we can get it sent to you!  I also know that some parents are going onto this with younger siblings in Year 2 – well done to Laura (Dolphins) for making a start at learning your tables.  Mrs Smith always practices times tables when you normally come into the classroom each morning, so it is great for you to get some additional practice.  It will mean that you are well-placed for Key Stage 2 next year!  Unfortunately, our TT Rockstars subscription is limited to KS2 but you are able to purchase this yourself at home should you wish.

On the subject of when children return, a number of parents have expressed worries that their child may be ‘behind’ or will have ‘fallen back’ in their learning.  Some have said that they worry they’ll be unable to get the child back into the school building also.  Please don’t worry.  As a school we have already got a number of contingency plans in place for when this happens – I am also drafting a COVID-19 Response Action Plan too.  We will ensure that the necessary resources and support is in place for when your child steps foot back into the school grounds.

We understand that for some children, completing Purple Mash takes no time at all.  Whilst we are not expecting the children to be working full days, and the Department for Education has been quite clear that schools are not to provide ‘lessons’ each day, I have just purchased a new online learning subscription for the children to have more access to resources at home – it lasts for the next 90 days.  It should feature Power Maths activities, reading ebooks, ephonics and much more. I am going to be sharing this with teachers this week and then hopefully rolling this out to all parents and children thereafter – PLEASE KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR WEB ALERTS – I will put a ‘general announcement’ on the website with all the details.  Your child will be given a password and username and then have access to pre-selected tasks chosen by their class teacher.

Mrs Butler and I have been working hard behind the scenes to get some extra support for children on our SEND register.  We understand how difficult it must be when you are trying to support them at home and you don’t have direct access to external professionals for advice.  Rest assured – our school is here, either via learningsupport@coton-in-the-elms.derbyshire.sch.uk or by telephoning school.  We have a few children for which we are in the process of applying for additional funding, as they meet the eligibility criteria, and we have some who this week  have been booked in to see the Educational Psychologist for an informal assessment of their needs. Please, if we have issued paperwork for you to fill in, do your level-best to post it back to us, filled in, as soon as possible. Alternatively, scan the paperwork and email it to the school office email address – don’t forget to mark it as ‘Confidential.’  The sooner we receive the paperwork, the sooner we can get the applications in and then the additional support in place.

I wonder how many of you are having a go at the varied activities that Mrs Cresswell is posting on our school Facebook site?  Over the last few weeks, a long list of links and activities have been uploaded, from stories with David Walliams, art & crafts, STEM Science activities, as well as games and useful resources for looking after your child’s mental health.

On the subject of mental health, another reason for phoning many of you over the last 4 weeks, is to check in with how you are feeling. Being stuck indoors is tricky and juggling working from home, alongside childcare, is harder still. Did you know – the school is able to access a range of counselling services through our Early Help Service.  Should you need support with mental health, parenting tips, or advice surrounding complex home issues – we can point you in the direction of our service. It is a non-judgmental approach and fully supportive to whatever needs a family has. A number of families have already subscribed to this service and they are finding it really helpful.  Please let me know if we can help with this.

It would be really helpful at this time, if you could support your fellow parents get through this terrible situation. Thank you to those parents who have already done this – positivity at this time really helps.  It also transcends to the children. There are a number of ways how you can support your fellow parents;

1. Encourage your fellow parents to go onto the school website under the ‘general announcements’ tab – by scrolling back quite a way, all the communication surrounding Covid-19 is there from the week we broke up (should your child have been in isolation) as well as lots of online links for learning
2. If your fellow parents are concerned that they haven’t heard about the information coming out of the school – check that they have signed up to receive email alerts using the star button on the home page.  Whenever information is put on the website, an alert is sent out to an email address of their choice.  At this time, it is more important than ever to make the most of all communication avenues.
3. Advise them to ring school or email us if they are unsure of anything – we really want to support

Alongside our support in response to Covid-19, a number of things have been happening in the school building this week.  Firstly, the playground has been dug up and re filled-in!  We have had an underground link put in between the main building and The Nest.  It now means that staff and children can access the same internet service provider and our school server in both buildings.  Secondly, we had contractors in school – measuring up to place new carpet and blinds in our new classroom.  Mrs Harris and Mrs Billings have completed the sealing of the hall floor – it is now nice and shiny, ready for when we return.

Before I leave you, on behalf of everybody connected with our school,  I  would like to say a very ‘Happy Birthday’ to our Caretaker and Cleaner-in-Charge, Mrs Harris.  On Saturday, she celebrated a special landmark birthday and we really hope that she enjoyed her day – despite the current lock-down situation. There is a special collection from all the staff on its way to her, if it hasn’t already arrived.

Finally, please remember to book onto our Key Worker Service if you are eligible and you need the help with childcare at this time.  Our school has 27 Key Worker Children and I wish to thank all of their parents for the contribution they are all making to the Covid 19 effort.

 

Have a good week – P.E.A.C.E be with you!

For this week’s blog, I felt it important to bring to your attention the simple things in life that can bring us the most pleasure of all.  Being stuck indoors is really tricky for everyone and we all deal with this in a slightly different way.  At this moment in time it is important to keep calm, take a day at a time and live in the moment.  Making the most of those ‘small pleasures’ like spending time with the family and making memories.

Click here to continue reading… “Small Pleasures!”

What a week it has been!  In all of my 16 years in education, never have I been faced with the situation that presented itself last week.  I hope you are all managing to keep safe and to follow the strict guidelines on social distancing. We must all do our bit to look out for each other and take the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of this nasty virus. However, we must also do our bit to look after our own mental health  Staying in is quite tough for some!  Put quite simply; now is the time to pull together.

I want to start by thanking the many NHS staff and front line workers who are doing their bit to keep the country moving. We have quite a few parents who work in the NHS and many more who work in the key services sector.  Every day, they unselfishly put themselves in harms way – so to look after others or to make this country work!  On behalf of all in our school, thank you so much!  Please spare a thought for all of the wonderful things that they do!

Thank you also to our own staff, for their dedication and hard work over recent days. Following on from our closure, a week last Friday,  much work has been going on behind the scenes: working out how many children would need our key worker service, working out which staff were medically cleared to support the effort, looking at health and safety practices and how we mitigate for the risk of infection spread, talking to other local schools about their own provision and coming up with a contingency plan to maintain a service in the local area – should staffing levels drop.  Finally, trying to put together some helpful things for the children to do at home -mitigating for the lost learning time. It has been a massive task and I thank all staff for their efforts. Easily, one of my hardest weeks as a Headteacher!  To train as a teacher with a passion for educating young people is one thing but to be asked to change one’s primary role at such short notice is going to take some getting used to. And of course, the fallout from their period will carry huge implications for the profession as a whole moving forward. Our primary role in the interim period will be quite simple – keeping our children and families safe, keeping our children happy, and supporting those families who are essential to the national effort.

Last week I made several phone calls, tying in with some of you and checking to see if you were doing okay.  Just because school isn’t open does not mean to say that we stop thinking about you all – we’ve really missed not seeing you!  I heard some wonderful stories about what some of you had been getting up to.  It was great to hear that some of you had been getting out into the garden or working down the allotment.  Education is about providing a rounded experience – getting out into the garden plays an important role in keeping you fit but also it makes a difference to your mood too.  I will be calling some more of you this week, I look forward to hearing how you are getting on.

I had a little look on Tapestry last week too. Our EYFS families use Tapestry to record how well the children are developing in a range of EYFS areas at home – we use it in school also. What fantastic work you have all been doing! It really cheered me up watching all of your videos and looking at pictures of your work. Thank you so much parents – a massive effort which is much appreciated.  I was so impressed with the home-baking that was being done too – it was a real Jolly Jellyfish Bake-off! Mrs Cresswell and I particularly enjoyed the video that you posted for us Eloise! I hope you saved a cake or three for Miss Knowles, Mrs Cresswell and me!  Scarlett set up her own assault course in the garden – a really good way to keep yourself fit and healthy, Scarlett!  There has been some superb spelling work going on as well – Bryony got all of her spellings correct this week – well done!  Joseph has been a very busy beaver and both James and Millie have been working hard too. What excellent writing Millie – and James – you really looked the part in the kitchen! It was a real pleasure to see some wonderful reading too – Mrs Smith will be very pleased to hear this!  Mikey and Molly were each sharing a book with an adult and having a really good go at using their sound buttons!  Finally, I loved the dressing up – Max and Millie!  Max – you well and truly looked The Greatest Showman of all!

Facebook has been awash with comments this week also.  It made me smile to hear that Sophia (Super Seahorses) had been doing a morning workout with Joe Wicks but she expressed disappointment not to have received her full entitlement to one hour of PE as she normally does in school.  In fact – as a guide, the children do two full hours of physical activity in school over a week but I guess a weekly workout will give you more than enough physical activity Sophia!  I also smiled when I heard that Olivia’s mum (Super Seahorses) had been learning lots herself this past week – notably antonyms and synonyms!  Felicity (Terrific Turtles) has been busy planting daffodils in the garden too.  On top of this, I’ve heard about letter writing to care homes, bug hunts, diary writing each day, TT Rockstars, painting, lego and of course, life skills with Dad! Once again, to all parents and home adults, thank you for keeping us in the loop with what you are getting up to and a big thank too, for enabling your child to continue their learning at home. We simply don’t know when we’ll be back so it’s good to keep those skills sharp! As the saying goes – if you don’t use it, then you lose it!

On the subject of home-learning or home-schooling, I am really pleased that many of you have been using the learning support email link to get in contact with us.  As I said before, the school’s primary role through the current period is about keeping every member of our school population safe and providing childcare for families of key workers in the first instance.  We have made a pledge to set some weekly Purple Mash activities for the children in each class, ready for the start of each new week, however we know that these may need to be supplemented with your own activities around the house. And judging by the last week or so – you’ve all been getting really inventive.  A number of you have been asking questions in relation to the Purple Mash activities which we have been setting.  All parents and carers – please don’t hesitate to email us if you have a query or you want to communicate with us about any of the activities.  We have set up a rota of staff members to check the email inbox remotely from home, each day, and respond where necessary.  In addition to Purple Mash – Mrs Cresswell posted lots of fun home-learning opportunities on Facebook last week too.  Don’t forget about Oti Mabuse’s online dance class or David Walliams and his audio story of the day and never underestimate the power of lego!

As you know, Maths has been a key area of learning for us this year.  I am sure that some of the children are missing their Power Maths sessions – I know Mrs Weston will be!  Mrs Weston has kindly found some White Rose Maths problem solving activities and these were posted onto the Facebook site last week.  Feel free to have a dive into some of them and keep your maths brain active!

Well, that’s what you’ve been getting up to at home but what have we been getting up to in school or in the comfort of our own homes, I hear you ask!  Well last week, we moved our key worker services over to The Nest and we also merged these with Rosliston Primary School for the foreseeable period.  I am proud that our school can lead the way in our local community by hosting the provision between the two schools.  For any key worker families who may need to go into work, you can book your childcare each week by clicking on the Survey Monkey link on the general announcements tab, this is on our website.  As I mentioned in my letter to all key worker families – you must do your level best to keep your children at home where possible, so to minimise the chance of infection spreading and to ensure that our staff are protected also.  However, some families have no choice and childcare is a must – particularly those families which have two key workers.  Don’t forget to present some identification of your job role when your child attends their first session – we have to complete a register for the Department of Education each day.

I’ve been busy making some plans for September this week.  March is always the time when Headteachers turn their attention to the new school year!  This week, I have been looking at our pupil numbers.  I am thrilled to see that our numbers are forecast to rise even further next year – hopefully a true reflection of everything that we do and all that we offer.  We had 39 applications to join Reception this year, and we usually have 20 spaces in total.  I am hoping to persuade Derbyshire County Council to allow us to take 23 pupils in EYFS come September because we are so well subscribed and we do have lots of physical space. As our pupil numbers are on the rise, this means that we can make even better provision for the children and smaller class sizes in some parts of the school.  Watch this space!

Also this week, I did some liaison for the building work which is due to take place in school over the summer holidays – all being well! I am of course, referring to the renovation of the former Computer Suite and the room adjacent to it.  The carpet has been chosen, as has the new furniture.  Judging by the plans that I saw last week, it is going to look absolutely fabulous – it remains one of the only areas of our school which has not been renovated in the last 4 years.  It will be really good to have another bigger classroom  and even better for the fact that it is going to be placed in the heart of the school – our current plan is for this room to house Key Stage 1 children.

I have also been looking at making some changes to our school website.  We have had so many positive comments about the current website but as with all good things, they can become even better and sometimes they need a refresh.  I am hoping that we’ll have a new website in place for September.  We will, of course, work hard to keep many of the good features that you all enjoy – most notably the STOP Button, a weekly blog and email alerts.

Finally, your teachers have been beavering away this week too.  Yes, even though they have not been in school every day!  Firstly, they have all completed up to date assessments of each child for reading, writing and maths – ready for us to build on when school returns.  Mrs Weston has updated the maths policy to reflect how we structure lessons across the whole school, Miss Knowles has been busy evaluating the impact of our Sports Provision of the last financial year.  You’ll be able to read her Sports Premium Statement on the website in the coming days.  Miss Bains has been looking at a Science Policy as well as updating our RE policy.  All of these subject policies will be uploaded to the school website once they have been ratified by our governing body.  Mrs Butler is continuing her 12 week isolation period by accessing lots of additional support for some of the children on our SEND register.  Mrs Smith has been working hard to evaluate phonics across the school – as I say, she’ll be most impressed to hear that you have been reading at home over the last week.

Before I leave you I just want to give you a ‘heads-up’ about what I am hoping to do next week.  Children, I am hoping to get all technical and produce a vlog for you all – for those of you who miss seeing my face, you’ll be able to hear what I am getting up to in school.  I certainly hope that I manage to keep your spirits up, whilst you are stuck indoors.

Please do have a wonderful week.  Look after yourself, follow Boris Johnson’s rules and shout up if you need anything.  It is now time for all of us to come together and do our bit!

Much love to you all.

We’ve had a very busy few weeks in school, with World Book Day, Parents’ Evening, our recent Y3/4 residential to Whitemoor Lakes and the visit of Alex Hamilton and the Midlands Today Weather Team to name but a few headline events.  This is certainly  no different to normal for this time of year, and certainly no different to many schools up and down the country, but the recent media attention surrounding the Coronavirus outbreak has certainly added to the in-tray in recent days and this has dominated my time and energy behind the scenes this week!

I issued a letter to all parents about 10 days ago, reaffirming what we are doing in school to control the further spread of nasty bugs and germs.  Mrs Weston added to this list of measures last week when she did an assembly on the art of hand washing! This term, our average school attendance has plummeted to 93% overall – it stood at 97% at the start of January!  We have certainly had our fair share of Chickenpox cases through school this term, as well as the usual seasonal cold doing the rounds.   However, in relation to Coronavirus, it is very much a case of keeping calm and carrying on, following the most up to date advice from the NHS and staying vigilant.  I will be issuing a statement to all parents this week so please keep an eye out in your child’s bag.  Myself and the leadership team have been working on contingency plans should a school closure be enforced upon us by the government or should we know of any confirmed cases affecting our staff or pupils and should we therefore have to take decisive measures to keep people safe. There are no known cases of Coronavirus at present so put simply, and to use a football analogy, let’s play to the whistle!  The ball is still very much in play!

There really is no apology to make for taking decisive action if it means keeping our children and staff safe, but for now, we are so glad that we can do what we do best – focusing on your child’s learning and doing our very best to improve the school even further.

On Tuesday and Thursday last week I met with each teacher individually to look at how much progress our children were making in their classes.  I have these discussions with the teachers each term and they always give me a good overview into those areas of the curriculum where more support is needed for children or where more resources are required for the school as a whole.  I also make connections to the children’s work that I have seen and also what I know about the classroom environment and opportunities.  I was thrilled to hear that some children, who were not previously on track, have now made accelerated progress in one or more areas of the curriculum. This was really encouraging and it is important that a reflection takes place on just how this has come about for these individuals. Our staff have worked incredibly hard to prepare extra work to take home and I know some of these children have made the most of this opportunity.  Thank you to their parents too – for supporting us and reaffirming the messages that we communicate to your child in school.

Last week I spent some time amending our school website page on the curriculum.  If you have not yet seen it, please have a look as it will give you information about what the children will be taught in each year group and how we measure the impact of their learning. There is lots of pupil voice already collected for many of the wider-school events which take place. For example, the Super Seahorses have given us some really useful feedback on their learning of the Djembe Drum with Derbyshire Music Partnership.  Just as many parents gave us some testimonial evidence on the impact of our Ocean Rescue Week last November.  Over the next few months, more information will be added to this page.  If ever you were in any doubt about why we do what we do, click on our Curriculum Intent document.

I had a lovely knock at the door on Monday afternoon last week – Maggie (Year 2) had been sent to me with some super writing.  I was not only impressed with the handwriting – she had remembered to use her finger spaces and also her sounds for the spelling of some tricky words – she had also added some excellent noun phrases into her writing so it was interesting to read.  I am so proud of you Maggie –  your progress is really clear to see when we do the ‘magic test’ by looking at the work from September and then looking at the work being produced now!

On Wednesday evening, the teachers and I did a ‘Book Look’  and checked the standard of writing across the whole school. Again, we formally check this at regular intervals throughout the year.  For a select group of children, your teachers brought to our meeting, a sample of writing work from a range of curriculum subjects – Science, RE, Topic etc. One of the things I have asked your teacher’s to nag you about is your handwriting and presentation – generally this is strong across the school but there are a few of you who sometimes become a little lax when writing outside of your English lessons. And some of you are really fantastic writers in terms of content but you just forget to do the usual fantastic things like using our cursive handwriting style or writing proper nouns with capital letters!   The standard of writing and presentation should be the same in all subjects – please don’t forget to DUMTUM too!  I want to give  ‘shout-outs’ to Reece (Year 2), Olivia (Year 3) and Norma (Year 6).  These children apply the same level of commitment to all writing activities across the curriculum!  I have asked your teachers to keep up the good work when planning what you all do in lessons – they are providing you with lots of opportunities to write, teaching you the skills in English and then letting you apply these in your topic work and science work.  I will be keeping an eye of this next term also – being a competent and functional writer is good for your life outside of the Coton Bubble when you leave us in Year 6.  It is also useful for when you apply for a job in the future.

Speaking of functional skills, Mrs Smith had a nosy into the Key Stage 1 phonic lessons last week, to see how the little ones were getting on. It is obvious that you all enjoy your phonics lessons and you all seem to be benefiting from the consistent approach to teaching which is being applied in school.  And the small groups sizes. One thing that Mrs Smith did mention was, some of you need to remember to use the pure sounds! Mrs Smith mentioned this to all parents at her Phonics workshop in November – it is really important that we all remember to do this. Mrs Smith is going to be talking to the staff members who hear you read about pure sounds next week – pure sounds really help when you are blending. Mrs Smith is also going to be making sure that you are paying attention to the school’s cursive script when writing sounds and words on the board!  Make sure you pay attention as your phonics adult may try and trick you by not doing it right! Finally, I issued a letter to a few parents on Thursday evening last week, about some Rise and Shine Phonics sessions that are starting for selected children this week. If your child has been selected, that is because they require some extra support to get to the national standard and we want to give them the best possible chance!

I’ve been keeping an eye out for how active the children are being over lunchtimes recently.  Mrs Thorne and the sports coaches are out there to make sure that the children are having a good lunch and that they are keeping themselves active.  Both sports coaches now have a clipboard and so if they wish to join in with the activity of the day -tell them to get their  name on the board and  join in!  It looked great on Tuesday lunchtime last week, there were so many activities and games in play. Miss Knowles, as our Sports and PE Co-ordinator is monitoring our sporting provision closely at the minute, she has been really busy setting up activity boxes for the children. Our Sports Link Governor, Mrs Mailer, has also been busy keeping her eye out for what is going on.

Thank you so much to James (Jolly Jellyfish) for being the first member of our school to submit an entry for the art competition we are running, in conjunction with the London based company, Barrow Hepburn and Gale.  Last week you may have seen the new Chancellor,Rishi Sunak,with his big red briefcase of important documents as he delivered the country’s budget.  I really hope many of you get your artwork in ASAP – the deadline for submission is Friday 20th March.  Don’t forget, in addition to the company offering some cash prizes, they are also busy making an official red box for our school to keep!  We will, very soon, be able to wear the same shoes as Boris Johnson or the Queen and have one of those heavy boxes in school!

School Parliament didn’t meet last week but we will do so again this week.  I have been making sure that our Ministers for Environment have all been carrying out their jobs seriously – please remember to put any used paper and card in your class recycling bin (no pieces of paper with pupil names should be in there) and also put your apple cores and fruit peel in the green mini composting pots.  Kayden, Alice and Jeffrey, ably assisted by the ever-dependable Thomas will empty class bins into the outside wheelie’s ready for Thursday’s council collection.

Last week’s theme in school was compassion and there were loads of really good examples of this mentioned in Friday’s Reward Assembly. Please remember – this week I am looking for EXCELLENCE.  Another one of our school words! It can be quite easy to forget all the little things that we do to ensure higher standards when we are busy.  There really is no excuse however.  How we look, how we walk, how we interact with others, how we think and how we concentrate and focus really impacts on the level of success we have.  And this is everybody of course.  It starts as soon as the bell goes and we come into the classroom – ready to work straight away with no wasted time.  It continues when we are in lessons – teachers have their lollipop sticks at the ready, there is no chance of ‘switching off’ or ‘zoning out’.  You know that the teacher leading worship each day is always ready 5 minutes before you all come into the hall, so they can spot who is smart and who is walking in calmly.  Our Ministers for Collective Worship are always on time to ensure that our ‘gathering’ is effective and you are all singing and joining in. Manners at lunchtime please, and good table etiquette – Mrs Bonsor is watching- and let’s not forget to be kind to all in our school. Excellence isn’t artificial – it’s a ‘being’. It’s intrinsic!

The Jolly Jellyfish have a mini WOW Day on Tuesday this week, when they take a visit on the farm!  The termly theme for Jellyfish is all about life on the farm  and the staff have planned a fantastic day for the children.  I really hope the weather manages to stay dry for the children on Tuesday!  What an adventure they’ll have – I’m sure! For reference, if you want to see what learning is being covered in their termly theme (or any other year group themes) don’t forget to look at the website – under the ‘Information’ tab and by clicking on the ‘Curriculum’ page.  All of this term’s planned themes are there for you to see.

Mrs Weston is coming into your Power Maths lessons this week – its been a few months since we all started our new approach to maths in school and a few months also, since your parents came in to see how we teach it. Power Maths is much more than a Maths Scheme of Work you know!   It requires a real shift in attitudes and a change to how we teach the subject.  I am hoping that Mrs Weston will tell me that you are all much better at explaining your reasoning and also showing it with the physical apparatus that we provide.  I also hope that you are getting better at answering your teachers’ probing questions and better at using mathematical vocabulary.

On Tuesday evening, your teachers are joining up with teachers at Walton Primary School and working on their subject leader areas of responsibility.  Miss Knowles will be teaming up with the PE Co-ordinator from Walton, Mrs Butler teaming up with the Music leader, Miss Bains with the Science, Mrs Smith with the Walton Primary’s Co-ordinator for Computing and Mrs Weston working on PSHE with her opposite number.  I will be working with our Safeguarding Link Governor on Wednesday, in addition to Miss Knowles also,on our Sports Premium Impact Statement.  Also on Wednesday – don’t forget we have a Mother’s Day Lunch taking place.

Mother’s Day Lunch is always a wonderful event for all in our school, last year we had 83 ‘special’ female visitors into school to sit with their child and Mrs Farmer and the kitchen did a super job as always.  I always enjoy seeing the look on the children’s faces when they see their grown-up and they line up for their roast dinner!  Don’t forget that the Friends of Coton body are running the Mother’s Day Gift Shop on Friday too. They’ll be selling gifts for the children to buy for that special female figure in their life.

Before I leave you, I have a few messages:

Firstly, our Facebook page – please remember to share the daily posts which are uploaded and ‘like’ the information and photos displayed on there.  We are trying desperately to profile the good work which goes on in school, across the full range of subjects.  ‘Liking’ posts or ‘sharing’ them really helps the name of our school go far and wide and it ‘puts us on the map.’ I have already started planning for the next school year and much of what we do each year depends upon just how well received we are. Miss Knowles has also asked all EYFS parents if they can ‘like’ our Tapestry alerts too – it is great to know that you are receiving the good news we share on Tapestry about your child’s learning and progress.

Secondly, our wraparound provision – you should have received a letter last week about the good news.  From after Easter, Breakfast Club will be running from 7:30 am until 8:50 and After School Clubs from Clubs Complete will be running from 3:15 pm until 6:00 pm.  Clubs Complete have had their Ofsted Registration granted and this means that they can offer extended hours for those parents who work longer hours.  Sessions can be booked in advance or by 3 pm on the day and the childcare vouchers are now able to be used.  From Easter, all wraparound provision will take place inside The Nest – not in the main school building. If you are interested in booking for this provision, please get a flyer from the reception, or look at the details on the letter that was issued last week.  There are a range of activities for the children to choose from and I know many of you were positive about taking up the service once longer hours could be provided.

Thank you to all members of our Friends of Coton School team for organising and supporting our school disco this past week.  We raised a fantastic total of £438 for school and this will really help to enhance what we offer the children in school.  For instance, in May this year, each class will be having some mindfulness yoga sessions with a special instructor – you know how passionate we are about developing the whole child and championing sound mental health in school. These sessions have been paid for using the money that is raised at our FTPA events.  Thank you all!

Finally, a thank you to all parents.  A few weeks ago, I stated the importance of all parents and carers saying at the top of the slope when the bell goes after our Morning Mile.  It has made a much calmer start to the morning with the children lining up themselves and we can get the children into the building much quicker – no wasting of learning time!  It is also safer for the children.

Have a good week everyone! Remember, the ball is still in play – you know the rules of the game – let’s keep going!

This Week’s Blog Box Question is: Who is the Music Leader in our school?

There is always a saying that one keeps coming back to in life; “If you need something doing, ask a busy person!” A busy person always finds the time to get a job done.  A busy person will always deliver!  Maybe it is something about the make-up of a ‘busy person’ that means they are tenacious and driven. Maybe it is just the fact that busy people have to organise their time more effectively.    The art of being busy certainly rings true at this time of year – especially as we are about to embark upon a bit of March madness!

 

Click here to continue reading… “The Art of Being Busy”

I hope you all had a wonderful half-term break and you are refreshed for the weeks ahead.  The spring term is always a busy one but I am thrilled with just how much we have achieved since Christmas, in the way of School Improvement.

Click here to continue reading… “Improving Together!”

It has been a couple of weeks since my last blog post and so much has been achieved in school since. Speak to any member of our wonderful staff team and they will tell you just how hard we work to give our children absolutely everything we can – often going beyond the call of duty.  As I always say to the children in collective worship – how much you get out depends upon how much you opt in – take the opportunities which are are offered to you and never look back!  Seizing the opportunity is the theme for this week’s blog.

Some opportunities don’t come around too often – I think we can all lament some of the key things that we turned down in our childhood or maybe in adulthood. Maybe some of us can reflect on some of the things that we never had the opportunity to take part in also. You only have to look to what’s happening in politics to illustrate this! Whatever side of the Brexit debate you were on, the United Kingdom left the European Union on 31st January (only a few weeks ago) and however reticent one may or may not be about leaving the ‘bloc,’ we now have to see this for what it is!

I was thrilled that so many home-adults and child representatives came into school a few weeks ago, to see how we are now teaching maths (Learning Lens Week). A central plank of our school vision is about supporting families and working closely with them in the best interests of every child. We completely understand that getting time away from work for some parents is tricky and this is why we extended the invitation to close family friends of your child and extended family members – we wanted to make sure that the opportunity was accessible to all. We also gave plenty of notice of this date.  A fantastic 83 children had a representative, out of a total 124 children.  Thank you so much for joining us – the feedback has been most helpful in shaping where we go next with Maths in school and also in measuring the impact of our work. Power Maths is unbelievably different but we are hoping it will lead to a turnaround in attitudes towards maths across the school.

Our Morning Mile is another example of an opportunity that seems to be bearing fruit for the children who partake in it.  Only a few weeks in, I have set our Parliament Ministers for Education on the case – trying to capture what they think of it and also what impact it is having on them in school.  Norma (Turtles) magnificently remarked that she hasn’t been late in coming to school since the Morning Mile was introduced – she has wanted to get here on time every day this term in order to take part!  Miss Bains has remarked privately, that her children seem more focused earlier in the morning and more ready to learn!  Mrs Weston has remarked that it is nice to chat with the children about non-school things before the bell and to develop even closer relationships with the children – she can then get down to work much more urgently when her class enter the building!  I will be really keen to hear if any children are feeling mentally better as a result of the Mile.  Mental well-being is just as important as physical and I am hoping that some of you can tell me how the exercise is helping you feel better.

Regarding physical and mental well-being, I am going to be keenly awaiting how many of you sign up for lunchtime sport with Miss Knowles, with Rosie or with Nathan and Mitchell. You may not know but myself and our Sports Premium Governor, Mrs Mailer, have to monitor this on a regular basis – to check that the provision is having an impact.  I had a really useful meeting with Mrs Thorne and our sports coaches last week, to map out how we can structure lunchtimes more efficiently and how we can maximise time for physical activity.  Miss Knowles is going to be putting some activity boxes together this week and it will mean that, moving forward, a timetable of independent activities will be on offer at lunch also.  I suspect Miss Knowles may want to train some of the children as mini-sports leaders also, to help with the organising of these activities from time to time. Again, exercise really does play a big part in how you are feeling and it gives you something to do, ensuring you are ready for work once the bell rings at 1 pm.

On Wednesday and Thursday last week, two seperate meetings were held about the forthcoming residential trips that we have set up for children in Year 3 or 4 AND children in Year 6. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Year 3 parent who reminded us that we had yet held a meeting – it was a complete oversight on our part, we are usually more organised with these things! The helpful nudge prompted us to put this week’s meeting in place. This year, Seahorses have had the chance to go to Whitemoor Lakes and our Year 6 children have had the opportunity to attend Beau Manor in Leicestershire.  Our staff are giving up time with their own families in order to provide the Coton children with the best possible opportunity themselves. I can quite easily ‘drone on’ about why we offer these opportunties until the cows come home – not every school is so abundantly clear about their rationale behind what they offer.  Indeed, not every school provides this type of opportunity either.  I will never tire of reaffirming why we planned these residentials, and how they match with our curriculum intent.  We want the children to receive a ‘character education’ as much as one which is focused on academia: Independence, resilience, the courage to try new things, the ability to overcome tricky situations, a chance to take up a new skill that they wouldn’t normally, the ability to work in a team and with people who they wouldn’t normally and for each of them to have greater confidence and belief in themselves.  As regards the meetings, we completely understand that some parents were not able to make it out of work to attend and for this reason, we have put the necessary information and paperwork issued to one side.  We will send it home with your child so you don’t miss out.  If you have any questions or you wish to pass on any information pertaining to your own child, please don’t hesitate to speak with us in confidence.

A number of Key Stage 2 children received word about another opportunity this week – those who found out that they had been invited to ‘call-backs’ for this year’s Key Stage 2 production, The Wizard of Oz.  If your child did not receive a call-back slip, please support them not to worry. I was so unbelievably proud of each and every one of them a few weeks back – the performances were very strong! Whilst I won’t mention names, there were a number of children who displayed a real enthusiasm for the production in auditions this year, who in previous years have not necessarily. I must reiterate what I said to the children in school – if your child hasn’t received a slip it does not mean that your child is missing out on getting a part. Every child is issued with a part in our production as you know! And there are many, many parts!!!!  Some parts have already been cast from the initial set of auditions and there was no need to invite some children back.  Equally, let us remember one of the reasons for holding the process in the first place –  the art of auditions and competition is a true part of real-life; coping with disappointments and the yearning to achieve even better in the future. This can be healthy and it drives us to greater heights as we ‘grow.’ We will announce which part your child has as soon as we are able and then the work begins!

Mrs Mott was really pleased to have yet another child who came up and asked about starting musical instrument tuition this week. We have always had a number of peripatetic music teachers in our school, over many years.  However, in recent years, the uptake for music tuition has not been as we’d hoped!  In fact, despite demonstrations in assembly and regular contact with the children – many of our children have not took up the chance to learn.  Thank you to Jeffrey (Seahorses) who has hopefully started a new trend!  I started learning to play the piano when I was 7 and as a result, I developed so many skills as I was growing up!  If your child wishes to learn an instrument, please ask them to speak to the school office and we can get the relevant information to your child.

This week I am going to be keeping a close eye on your manners around school!  Mrs Farmer tells me that you are all using really good manners when you collect a dinner from the hatch at lunchtime however, I wish you to pay close attention to general etiquette in the hall whilst sitting down actually eating.  Mrs Cresswell was in the school hall over the lunch period last week and she was looking for children who were using their knife and fork correctly and for children who were closing their mouths when they were chewing.  Sitting correctly whilst at the table is also an important skill.  Every lunchtime you should be eating as if you are expecting the Queen to arrive!!!! I’m going to keeping an eye out and looking at those children who I can reward this week!  Let’s keep our standards high – I know you can do it!

Speaking of the Queen, did you see the cryptic message sent out this week?  We are currently in discussions with a London based company about enhancing our education on the role of parliament in school. We have some very exciting plans and I look forward to sharing these with you in the coming weeks! I have also been in touch with the local MP, Heather Wheeler. Don’t forget to read the blog, see the Facebook site, look for email alerts, check your school bag for letters and check for text messages – you really don’t want to miss out on what we have planned!

On Tuesday this week, there is another opportunity for parents and carers to join me for Cuppa and Cake.  This takes place in the school hall at 9 am and I will be updating you all on our improvement priorities in school.  I was really encouraged with the turnout a few weeks ago for the afternoon leg of this event – I know some of my ‘regular attendees’ are only available to attend the morning leg – hence another date in the diary! On Wednesday, our Safeguarding Link Governors are in school once again – to carry out one of our regular health and safety walks.  Years 3 and 4 have a William Allitt Modern Foreign Languages teacher in school for the second time on Wednesday afternoon  – teaching the children the 2nd part of their German lesson.  On Thursday we have our Golden Dove Awards from 2:45 pm in the school hall – letters will be issued to the children on Monday as your teachers were carefully choosing the winners last week!  Finally, why not take up the opportunity to join us in church this Friday!  Miss Bains and the Seahorses are leading our Valentines Day assembly from 2:30 pm.  We look forward to welcoming you!

Before I leave you this week, a massive well done to the Seahorses for being the best attended class!  They have earned an extra 5 minutes of playtime this week so well done to them!  A big well done to the children who were rewarded with a special mention for Perseverance last week also.  Don’t forget that your teachers have written a copy of your certificate for the display in reception – all of our visitors can see who achieved an award last week.

Have a fabulous week everybody! PEACE be with you!

This week’s Blog Box Question: Where is our Golden Dove Ceremony taking place this week?