I have had another week where I have had to be out of school a lot so I find it hard to believe that it is Friday again – where does the time go? I would like to thank all the parents who came to our information evening about the new curriculum and assessment processes on Wednesday night. There was a good turnout of parents and many of those who attended came to tell me how informative they found it. I know as a parent it can be worrying to see all the changes being brought in by government and the impact it will have on your child’s education. I do hope that the evening  reassured parents that no matter what legislation dictates we will always do our best to ensure that all the children in Little Heath develop a passion for learning so they can fulfil their potential. For those of you unable to attend we will be putting the PowerPoint presentation that was used onto our website.

Next week looks quite a normal week for me so I will be in school most of the time (except for Wednesday morning). As far as events goes it is quite a quiet week in school although the KS2 girls do have a football match on Wednesday against Brookmans Park so let us hope they do well. So far this season they are unbeaten which is a record no premier league team can boast. 

So far we have managed to avoid all the large quantities of snow that a lot of the country has had. I am quite happy about that but I know some people are disappointed as they would love to go sledging. All I hope is that if it does snow it comes at the weekend and is the cleared up by Monday so we can have a normal day – snow is not a good thing when you are a head teacher.

I have had a very busy week as I have had lots of meetings to attend but I am aware that it has meant that I have been out of school a lot so that is why I have not been on the school gate very much.

It has been quite interesting actually as a lot of the meetings that I have been attending have been about the impact of the new curriculum and assessment which is what our parents’ meeting is about next week. We could have explained about the changes in a letter but we felt it was better to do it in person so that we could answer any questions you may have but it is apparent from all the discussions I have attended that it is still very early days and that no-one is sure what impact the new curriculum or the changes to assessment system will have on children’s learning so we cannot guarantee that we will have all of the answers.

Unfortunately I have had a few parents come and see me recently about feeling uncomfortable on the school grounds. May I remind you that if there an incident that has occurred in school and you need to find out what has happened that you contact the class teacher in the first incident and if you are still not happy, you can contact me.  Approaching parents in the playground to discuss an issue directly can make some parents feel very uncomfortable and harassed and nobody should feel that way when they are picking up their children from school.

This morning we had the Year 3 assembly. I always enjoy watching class assemblies and the Year 3 assembly this morning certainly did not disappoint. It was about time travel and the Stone Age and all those that saw it agreed that it was highly informative as well as being most enjoyable to watch. I would like to say well done to all the children In Year 3 for all their efforts and I would like to thank Miss Kenwell and Mrs Fordham for all their hard work in putting it together.

I hope you all have a pleasant weekend and it does not get too cold to stop us being able to get out and about.

I could hardly believe it when I looked at the calendar and I saw that we are half way through January –where does the time go. I should be pleased because they do say that time flies when you are having fun so I must be doing something right. Our younger children certainly appeared to be having fun when they took part in their circus workshops this week. They tried out many circus skills that challenged them mentally as well as physically and it is certainly something we would consider having at the school again – we may even include the older children next time because I am sure they would enjoy it as well.

As you probably know from the news a new primary curriculum was introduced in September 2014. As well as changing the curriculum the government has also changed how children’s progress is assessed so we thought it would be a good idea to hold a parent’s information evening to explain the changes to the curriculum and the assessment process. I hope as many as possible can attend because it will give you a better understanding of the education your child is receiving at school.

That is all for now. I hope the weather is kind to us so we can all have a pleasant weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday.

Welcome back everyone. I hope you all had a great holiday and got everything you wanted for Christmas. I know that holidays can seem a dim and distant memory once you get back to work and we can feel like we have never had a break but I think that it is quite nice, after all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, to get back into the normal routine of work. All the children have settled very well back into school and there has been a nice buzz around the place. It would have been nice not to have the all the rain on our first week back but you cannot have everything.

 I have been a little disappointed that I have had to pull up a few children about their uniform. I know people may argue that it is easy to forget things when there has been a break but we have not changed the uniform and everyone should know what is expected. Could you please assist us by checking your child before they leave for school to ensure that they have no jewellery or nail polish on, that they are wearing the correct shoes and if they are in KS2 that they are wearing a tie. Can you also ensure that they bring in their full PE kit every Monday morning and keep it in school for the week. It is better to have dirty PE kit than no PE kit at all.

Next week is quite an exciting one in school. All the school clubs start again (they have not changed from before Christmas with the exception of Robotics) and we have a circus skills workshop coming to the school for the foundation and KS1 children. A separate letter has gone out about this but I know the children are going to have a wonderful time. There is no charge for this because we are using our Sports Premium money to fund this and it is only been offered to the younger children because KS2 went to Stanborough Lakes in September.

I hope you have a lovely weekend and I will see you all again on Monday.