Friday 31 January 2014


I am certainly glad it is Friday because I have had a very busy week filled with lots of meetings. I still find it hard to believe though that it is the end of the month and January 2014 is gone forever. I know you should not wish your life away but I do hope that the rest of the winter months go as quickly so we can at last have some blue skies and sunshine – I feel like we have had rain forever.

A good event that has taken place this week was our ‘Independent Learning’ evening, which we held last night. We had quite a good turnout although it would have been nice if more parents could have attended. Those that attended said they found it very useful and one of the requests was to put the PowerPoint presentation onto the website so that other parents can see what was discussed. Obviously some slides may be a little unclear without a verbal explanation but at least you will be able to understand the basics of what was covered. We were certainly glad to share the information with everyone as we are very serious about achieving this target as the next time Ofsted visit us we want to achieve an outstanding grade. We also know that children who become independent learners are the ones who go on to become the most successful learners.

A sad event that has been brought to my attention is the misuse of technology. We have had an increasing amount of complaints from parents about comments made about their children on sites such as ‘Instagram’ and Facebook (even though nobody is supposed to be on Facebook until the age of thirteen). We have even been told that one of the older children is videoing children walking home and then putting the pictures on ‘You Tube’. This is totally unacceptable but as it is not happening within school there is very little that we can do so I am asking you, as parent, to be extra vigilant about the sites your children are accessing and what they are actually posting on them. We do cover e-safety in school and we are going to take part in the ‘Safer Internet Day’ on February 11th but children do need monitoring and guidance at home as well as at school and I am afraid that is down to the parents.

On a more positive note we have our first ‘Family Maths’ event next week on Thursday, 6th February from 3.30pm – 5.00pm. The activities are aimed at Foundation and KS1 children but older children are welcome to attend with their families as well. Free refreshments will be available and I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Friday 24 January 2014


I am sorry but I am going to have to start my blog off this week with a couple of moans. I have had a few parents come to me complaining about the parking outside of the school. Yet again people are parking on the zig-zag yellow lines and in front of the school at the beginning and end of the school day. We have specifically asked on numerous occasions that people do not do this as it is dangerous for the children. It is also illegal to park on the zig-zag yellow lines from 8.00am until 5.00pm but there are people choosing to ignore this. If the police turn up (and we have reported the situation to them) you will be given a ticket but that would still be nothing compared to a child being seriously injured or killed. Therefore, I am going to ask one more time, please do not park in front of the school between 8.00am and 5.00pm so that I am never in the position of reporting a real tragedy in this blog. Could you also please pass this message onto any relatives or taxi companies that you may use to help you drop off, or pick up the children.

The second thing that has been brought to my attention is that parents are returning children to school too quickly after they have had a stomach bug. The school rule is that after being sick a child should be off 48 hours -  this is to ensure that there is one clear day between them being sick and returning to school ie – if a child is sick on a Monday they should not return to school until Wednesday at the earliest. Obviously if a child still feels unwell after the 48 hours, even if they have not been sick again, they should remain absent from school until they feel better. We cannot stop bugs and viruses spreading in a school environment but if parents do follow our guidelines we will be able to keep their spreading throughout the school community to a minimum.

On a happier note we have already had some responses to our independent learning evening and our maths events but we would like more people to come so if you have not done so please return your reply slips to school. The ‘Independent Learning Evening’ (which is one of our Ofsted targets) is on Thursday, 30th January at 7.00pm and our first maths event is on Thursday, 6th February and is from 3.15pm – 5.00pm. The more parents that attend the better these events are, so please try to come. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

 

Friday 17 January 2014


It may have been grey and dreary outside but there has been plenty of fun and sunshine within the school. There was no better example of this than the Year 3 class who were so excited about going swimming with the school for the first time that I am sure that if the coach driver had switched off his engine the coach would have bounced all the way to the pool – let us hope their enthusiasm remains. We also had a pleasant event in assembly when I was able to present Evie in Year 2  with her prize of a camera which she received for a photograph she took in the ‘Hertfordshire Picture my Walk’ photo competition. In March she will receive a framed picture of the photograph she took at the Hertfordshire County Council travel Awards and we will then also get a copy to display in the school. Congratulations to her!

You will also have seen from my newsletter that we have a couple of events for parents coming up. The first is an information evening on Thursday, 30th January about independent learning, which is one of the targets that Ofsted set for us to help us become an outstanding school. As we would very much like to achieve this we hope as many parents as possible can attend this event because we know it will be easier to do with parental support.

We also have a couple of family maths afternoons coming up. This have been organised as fun events that you can enjoy with your children so that you can see the type of activities we do in school in order to be better able to support their learning at home. Even if you can only come for half an hour do please come. The first of the maths events is on Thursday February 6th and the activities at that one are for Foundation and Key Stage 1 and the second one is on Thursday, 20th March and that is for Key Stage 2  -  however, siblings are welcome at both events.

Friday 10 January 2014


Welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a good time over the Christmas break and the rainy weather did not spoil your fun too much. Now we have been back at school for a few days it feels like we have never been away.  Unfortunately, on my return, my pre-Christmas virus has also returned so I have been sneezing and my voice has been a little croaky so I hope that disappears soon.

The children have settled very well back into school and this week they have been focusing on activities to help their independent learning as recommended in the Ofsted report. We all think that these techniques will enhance their learning and very soon we will be holding a parents’ curriculum evening based on independent learning. This is so you will all be aware of the techniques and procedures we are using in school to promote this so you can support your child at home. More details about this event will follow shortly.

Next week school life will fully return to normal when all the clubs start up again so if your child needs extra kit for their club make sure they bring it to school on the correct day. We actually have a new club starting up next week which is all about robotic engineering. Those children who are able to join will be informed before next Friday.

I hope you all have a good weekend and that the weather improves so we can all get out and about a little more.