Outcomes and parent meetings

Dear Parents,

Well done to Year 2 children who presented a very colourful and positive pantomime experience earlier today. Thank you to Mr Read and the Year 2 team for all of the hard work and effort that went into the production. The audience response tells me that it was extremely well received. This half term has seen a number of different very successful and varied outcomes. Thank you to all parents who have supported the outcomes through the home learning or by attending. An Anglo Saxon stew in the slow cooker is going to take some beating though. No pressure!

Thank you to all the parents who joined us to discuss our school improvement journey this week. We had a very open forum which gave us the opportunity to explore some of the questions, concerns and suggestions that parents have about our school. We will continue to provide opportunities like these to share new information and engage with our parents and carers. 

I enjoyed meeting children with the highest number of Dojo points earlier today for a celebratory hot chocolate.  This week we revisited our behaviour policy to ensure that we are applying it consistently and effectively across the school.  There are a number of small changes we are making as a result. Dojo points are now linked to our Keys for Success and our Headteacher Merits are linked to high quality work that children will share with me in order to receive a merit. Our sanctions will remain the same but children will be spoken to privately rather than through the behaviour chart in the classroom.

We have also taken time to look at our communication processes.  Messages to parents will be communicated to parents via the newsletter or text messages. We will not be using Dojo for a number of reasons. I appreciate that communication, particular having dates in advance, is not yet as smooth as it needs to be. We are working on this. 

Unfortunately we are having to cancel some trips. If your class is affected you will be notified by text. I appreciate how disappointing this is. We do rely on voluntary contributions, although of course we also recognise that they are voluntary. If we cannot cover the cost of the trip we are not able to proceed. Unfortunately the school budget cannot support school trips.

We are re-visiting the Stanmore Curriculum in the summer term. I firmly believe that school trips are an essential part of a rich curriculum. We are taking this problem seriously and looking at ways to resolve it. What we can do is plan more low cost trips using the local environment wherever possible. Perhaps this would help us to prioritise one further afield trip a year. Let me have any ideas or solutions that you have heard of from friends or family in other schools.

In previous newsletters I mentioned our Ready to Learn room being up and ready after half term.  I believe this will be a great resource to support our children.  We will be giving parents and carers an opportunity to find out more about this facility during next half term.

This half term has sped by and reflecting on the last six weeks, I am thoroughly enjoying being part of the Stanmore Community. I am extremely grateful to all the children staff, governors and parents for the commitment and support to being the BEST that we can be. We are continuing to take positive steps forward.

Thank you.