What a frantic week I have had in school. I have had many meetings this week and with all the parent consultations the week has just flown by –at least I have got a week off to recover. All the parent consultations appear to have gone well, and, as usual, I have had many positive comments from teachers and parents. As I stated last week I am involved with the Year 6 consultations during the autumn term and I always find it very interesting to listen to how the children think they are doing and what they could do to improve their learning. When you speak to them they are amazingly perceptive as to what they need to do - it is just that some of them find it difficult to put it into practice. However as they are children we would expect this which is why we are here to help guide them through the process.

I am glad that the half term is here and not for the reasons you may be thinking. We have had a lot of children absent this week due to illness. One of the reasons for this has been the change of weather but another reason is that it has been a long half term. Every time we go over six weeks the childrens’ health appears to deteriorate and we have a lot of absence. I hope that all the educators who want to extend the length of the school terms pay attention to this because I think it will just have a detrimental effect on their learning and will not allow them to make better progress. Hopefully all the children will have plenty of time to recover over the break and will come back feeling refreshed and eager to learn.  

When we return it will be the Christmas half term which I absolutely love. However, before we can think about Christmas festivities we have our annual bonfire event to look forward to on November 4^th. This is certainly a highlight in the school calendar and I know it is also a highlight for many of the children. As well as being a great event it is also a brilliant fundraiser for the school and the more people that attend the better it is for the school. As we help to run the event we do need a lot of support to make the event a success. Many of you have already volunteered to help but I know that the PTA could still do with some more volunteers so if you think that you could spare even an hour on the 4^th of November or even some time on the morning of November 5^th to help clear up after the event please let your class PTA rep know and they will put your name forward. The last thing the PTA purchased was new computers for the school and their next project is to transform one of the classrooms into a science and technology room which all the children can enjoy. Without the support of the PTA Little Heath would not be able to provide such a broad, quality, curriculum which OFSTED now recognise as being an essential requirement for all children.

That is all for now. After the half term I will not be in school for 3 days because I have to attend some training. Mrs Zegallo will be in charge while I am away and you will be able to contact her in my absence. I hope that you all have a great break – remember that you return to school on Monday, 30^th October and I will see you all again when I return on November 2^nd.

As I was at the ‘Primary Head’s Conference’ last week I feel as if it has been  a long time since I last wrote a blog. The conference was very enjoyable and very reassuring in that it was emphasising the importance of making education an enjoyable experience for children because if children feel alienated from the process they will not make progress with their learning. In the past it has all been about data and percentages but there does seem to have been a change in the focus – even from Ofsted – in that it is important that schools concentrate on teaching a broad and balanced curriculum so that the whole child can be developed. We have always held this belief in Little Heath and it is good to get the confirmation that we are correct.

I had a very enjoyable start to my day this morning with the Year 5 assembly. It was based around mystery stories. The children did an excellent job and all the parents I spoke to said how much they enjoyed it. I would like to thank Mr da Rocha, Miss Davis and Mrs Onley for all the support they gave the children in preparing their assembly.

It does seem impossible to believe but our Harvest Festival was 2 weeks ago. As usual our parents were very generous and we managed to raise an impressive £449.60. As I mentioned in my previous blog our selected charity this year is the NSPCC and I know they will be very happy with our contribution.

Next week it is our parent consultations. The teachers and I always enjoy these events because it gives us an opportunity to share your child’s progress with you and how we can all work together to ensure the best outcomes for your child. During the autumn consultations I am always present for the Year 6 consultations so I will not be available to meet any parents on Thursday night but you can always make an appointment to see me at a later date. May I also ask that you stick to your 10 minute slot (15 minutes for Year 6) and do not overrun. If there is anything you would like to discuss in more depth you can also make an appointment to see the teacher at another, mutually convenient time.

Have an enjoyable weekend and I look forward to seeing many of you next week.