Headteacher's Letters
Friday 15th June 2018
Dear Families, Parents and Carers
Summer Fete
On Saturday 23rd June it’s our Summer Fair from 11am to 2pm. Please come along and have fun with us and hope for decent weather so you can throw wet sponges at Rob and myself!
S Factor Semi-Finals
We all had such a great time last night at S factor. I was so proud of so many parents, students and staff who supported such a wonderful event. There was, as ever, such a great range of acts and to such a high quality.
It was a pleasure to see and hope that all who were there enjoyed it as much as I did.
Most of all congratulations to all of our brave, skilled and confident young people who have worked so hard to make the evening so special –well done!
Dress up and dance for Macmillan
On Friday we had dress up and dance for Macmillan Cancer Research and had lots of fun while raising money for them. Again, thanks to all the students and staff who worked to make it such a success.
Mission statement and expectations from the governors
We will let you know in the next week or so if your child is moving to a new class. You will have an opportunity to meet the class teacher on Friday 13th July from 1:15pm. If you can’t make this just arrange another time with us.
Charity Night
Thank you for all your support. It was a fantastic night and we raised over £1000.
School building developments
We have been working hard to make our old building more ‘fit for purpose’ and suit the needs of our learners.
I hope you can come and see the developments in the new library as it is looking good already just as a ‘shell’. We will continue to set it up ready for September.
Attendance
Thank you to all the parents who have really made an effort to ensure their child has good attendance.
I am so thrilled as our attendance has gone up as a school to 89%. We are nearly up to our target of 90%.
EYFS and 6th Form students
Please be aware that we close early for the summer break for students in Yellow, Blossom classes and all 6th Form students in Homebase. School will finish for those students on Friday 20th July. For the remainder of students it will be school as usual. This is essential to ensure all our essential training is carried out yearly for all staff.
Meeting with Warren (CEO of Nexus) & Myself
Vic Harrop has organised an informal question and answer session at 10am on Wednesday 20th June where all parents are welcome to chat to us to raise any issues.
Mission statement and expectations from the governors
The governors have created some ideas for a new mission statement. They would really like feedback about what is important to the students and their families/carers.
There is a separate evaluation sheet for parents and staff to comment on and change our new;
1. The mission statement/s
2. Expectations
It would be really helpful if you could respond to this by the end of next week.
These can be anonymous or you can contact me or Shaz Biggin to talk through any ideas.
David Burdett
Headteacher
Dear Families, Parents and Carers
Summer Fete
On Saturday 23rd June it’s our Summer Fair from 11am to 2pm. Please come along and have fun with us and hope for decent weather so you can throw wet sponges at Rob and myself!
S Factor Semi-Finals
We all had such a great time last night at S factor. I was so proud of so many parents, students and staff who supported such a wonderful event. There was, as ever, such a great range of acts and to such a high quality.
It was a pleasure to see and hope that all who were there enjoyed it as much as I did.
Most of all congratulations to all of our brave, skilled and confident young people who have worked so hard to make the evening so special –well done!
Dress up and dance for Macmillan
On Friday we had dress up and dance for Macmillan Cancer Research and had lots of fun while raising money for them. Again, thanks to all the students and staff who worked to make it such a success.
Mission statement and expectations from the governors
We will let you know in the next week or so if your child is moving to a new class. You will have an opportunity to meet the class teacher on Friday 13th July from 1:15pm. If you can’t make this just arrange another time with us.
Charity Night
Thank you for all your support. It was a fantastic night and we raised over £1000.
School building developments
We have been working hard to make our old building more ‘fit for purpose’ and suit the needs of our learners.
I hope you can come and see the developments in the new library as it is looking good already just as a ‘shell’. We will continue to set it up ready for September.
Attendance
Thank you to all the parents who have really made an effort to ensure their child has good attendance.
I am so thrilled as our attendance has gone up as a school to 89%. We are nearly up to our target of 90%.
EYFS and 6th Form students
Please be aware that we close early for the summer break for students in Yellow, Blossom classes and all 6th Form students in Homebase. School will finish for those students on Friday 20th July. For the remainder of students it will be school as usual. This is essential to ensure all our essential training is carried out yearly for all staff.
Meeting with Warren (CEO of Nexus) & Myself
Vic Harrop has organised an informal question and answer session at 10am on Wednesday 20th June where all parents are welcome to chat to us to raise any issues.
Mission statement and expectations from the governors
The governors have created some ideas for a new mission statement. They would really like feedback about what is important to the students and their families/carers.
There is a separate evaluation sheet for parents and staff to comment on and change our new;
1. The mission statement/s
2. Expectations
It would be really helpful if you could respond to this by the end of next week.
These can be anonymous or you can contact me or Shaz Biggin to talk through any ideas.
David Burdett
Headteacher
| Headteachers Letter 15.6.18.pdf |
Wednesday 18th April 2018
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
School building developments – we have been working hard to make our old building more ‘fit for purpose’ and suit the needs of our learners. I hope you can see that we are improving the building. The work on the roof is almost finished. Part of this is creating a new library space which will be completed in the next month and will be ready to use by September. We also have had a further grant which Nexus have secured to replace our old heating system and boiler. Our application for new front doors and fire doors has been turned down and we will reapply. If not we will need to make the doors easier to access in future.
Hydrotherapy pool – I am aware there has been some issues with our students getting access to the pool.
We have spent thousands of pounds replacing what was an inadequate system for measuring and dosing the pool with chemicals. We have trained Chris Hodgkinson our upper school deputy and Paul Green our site manager in the management of the pool and its systems. Even with the time and investment in it the pool is still not working 100% and we are very frustrated by this. If you have any issues you are welcome to email me or come into school to talk it through with me.
Attendance – thank you to all the parents who have really made an effort to ensure their child has good attendance. I am meeting with educational welfare officer on Wed 25th April. If you have any questions or issues I am happy to discuss them with her.
Meeting with Warren (CEO of Nexus) & Myself – Vic Harrop has organised an informal question and answer session at 10am on Wednesday 20th June where all parents are welcome to chat to us to raise any issues.
EYFS and 6th Form students – please be aware that we close early for the summer break for students in Yellow, Blossom classes and all 6th Form students in Homebase. School will finish for those students on Friday 20th July. For the remainder of students it will be school as usual. This is essential to ensure all our essential training is carried out yearly for all staff.
Mission statement and expectations from the governors
The governors have created some ideas for a new mission statement. They would really like feedback about what is important to the students and their families/carers.
In the mission statement (1.) they wanted one key sentence/idea
1.Governors draft mission statements - ideas “Create opportunities for each every individual to enjoy and achieve”
also;
“Working together to create opportunities so that each learner can enjoy and achieve”
“Be the best they can be”
“Working/driving toward a better future”
In the ‘expectations (2.) they would like about 5 key statements
2.Governors expectations of all at school – how we will do this?
We put the needs of our learners first
We show care & respect for one another
We are open, clear & honest when we communicate with others
We model good behaviour & best practice
We actively learn from others and to continually improve
We have a personalised curriculum to enable school learners to be best they can be
We have skilled/expert & experienced specialist staff to deal effectively with individual needs of the learner.
Some teams in school have also come up with an idea to use HILLTOP to share our values
Honest clear communication
ICE Drivers
Learners needs come first
Listening and working with others
Teaching skills for life
Opening doors to the future
Personalised curriculum
There is a separate evaluation sheet for parents and staff to comment on and change;
1. The mission statement/s
2. Expectations
It would be really helpful if you could respond to this by the end of April. These can be anonymous or you can contact me or Shaz Biggin to talk through any ideas.
David Burdett
Headteacher
Headteacher
| Headteachers Letter 16.4.18.pdf |
9th March 2018
Dear Families, Parents and Carers
As I am sure you are aware we have been trying to increase the attendance at school over the last year.
In honesty this has not been successful as we have lower attendance so far this year than last year.
Just to be clear we have very few unauthorized absences and I do feel families and carers work well
with us to try to improve our attendance.
I do need to follow the national guidelines and have adapted the ‘Nexus’ policy on attendance.
This has a number of implications for us all at school
• I would ask you to ring the school office before 9am to let us know if your child is not able to attend
• If your child has a medical appointment please could you send in the appointment card or letter before so we can record the absence due to a medical appointment.
• If you do have an appointment could you try to get it in the morning or afternoon so your child can come
to school before or afterward.
• We can no longer authorize absences in term time for holidays unless there is an exceptional reason.
• If you feel you need a day off for a religious festival or family occasion then just get in contact with us beforehand.
• Pupils who have more than 10% not at school are counted at ‘persistent absentees’ and we have to have a plan as a school to address this. At the moment this is 30 students and some of you I will be writing to in the near future to discuss a plan to tackle this.
• I am asking the office and class teachers to monitor attendance more closely and we will have half termly action plans to try to improve attendance.
• We usually send out attendance certificates at the end of every term.
• We are planning to have certificates for improved attendance for all our pupils.
• We are considering a reward scheme for pupils with high and improved attendance – if you have any ideas for you and your child as an incentive this would be very useful to all of us.
• If we are unable to contact you or you don’t provide us with proof of an appointment we will have no choice but to record the absence as unauthorized.
If you have any suggestions around helping to improve our school attendance please contact me or someone at school.
Yours sincerely
David Burdett
Headteacher
Dear Families, Parents and Carers
As I am sure you are aware we have been trying to increase the attendance at school over the last year.
In honesty this has not been successful as we have lower attendance so far this year than last year.
Just to be clear we have very few unauthorized absences and I do feel families and carers work well
with us to try to improve our attendance.
I do need to follow the national guidelines and have adapted the ‘Nexus’ policy on attendance.
This has a number of implications for us all at school
• I would ask you to ring the school office before 9am to let us know if your child is not able to attend
• If your child has a medical appointment please could you send in the appointment card or letter before so we can record the absence due to a medical appointment.
• If you do have an appointment could you try to get it in the morning or afternoon so your child can come
to school before or afterward.
• We can no longer authorize absences in term time for holidays unless there is an exceptional reason.
• If you feel you need a day off for a religious festival or family occasion then just get in contact with us beforehand.
• Pupils who have more than 10% not at school are counted at ‘persistent absentees’ and we have to have a plan as a school to address this. At the moment this is 30 students and some of you I will be writing to in the near future to discuss a plan to tackle this.
• I am asking the office and class teachers to monitor attendance more closely and we will have half termly action plans to try to improve attendance.
• We usually send out attendance certificates at the end of every term.
• We are planning to have certificates for improved attendance for all our pupils.
• We are considering a reward scheme for pupils with high and improved attendance – if you have any ideas for you and your child as an incentive this would be very useful to all of us.
• If we are unable to contact you or you don’t provide us with proof of an appointment we will have no choice but to record the absence as unauthorized.
If you have any suggestions around helping to improve our school attendance please contact me or someone at school.
Yours sincerely
David Burdett
Headteacher
| Attendance.pdf |
Wednesday 24th January 2018
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
Happy New Year – I have just realised I have not written out to anyone this year – sorry!
So welcome back to school to all our students. It has been good to see how well all have been doing and
we are pleased with the progress we can see everyone has made last term.
Meeting with Warren (CEO of Nexus), Shaz Biggin (chair of governors) & Myself – Vic Harrop has organised an informal question and answer session at 10am on Thursday 25th January where all parents are welcome to chat to us to raise any issues.
Our Futures Night – just a reminder about Our Futures Night. We would encourage you to get involved and attend this very useful meeting with informal presentations from a number of providers. It will be held in the school hall on Tuesday 1st February 5pm-8pm and it will be a drop in and informal chat.
Library Area – Nexus have secured funding for a new school roof which we are thrilled about.
We are now in the middle of the new roof project. As part of the work they are putting a roof on our outdoor quad area and turning it into a library. We have been ‘making do’ with a small space for 3 years now.
Plans are being made to create an exciting and positive space to reading and learning in the new library – so watch this space!
Weather warning – Just to be aware there is the risk of snow or ice at this time of year.
If the school needs to close for pupils’ safety we will let you all know by text by 7am. Just make sure we have your correct mobile phone number. We will let you know through Rother FM, BBC Radio Sheffield and on our Website or Facebook page. We will close the school if it is not safe to have your child in school.
Please, just be sensible and don’t send your child to school if it is dangerous near home.
Dear Families, Parents & Carers
Happy New Year – I have just realised I have not written out to anyone this year – sorry!
So welcome back to school to all our students. It has been good to see how well all have been doing and
we are pleased with the progress we can see everyone has made last term.
Meeting with Warren (CEO of Nexus), Shaz Biggin (chair of governors) & Myself – Vic Harrop has organised an informal question and answer session at 10am on Thursday 25th January where all parents are welcome to chat to us to raise any issues.
Our Futures Night – just a reminder about Our Futures Night. We would encourage you to get involved and attend this very useful meeting with informal presentations from a number of providers. It will be held in the school hall on Tuesday 1st February 5pm-8pm and it will be a drop in and informal chat.
Library Area – Nexus have secured funding for a new school roof which we are thrilled about.
We are now in the middle of the new roof project. As part of the work they are putting a roof on our outdoor quad area and turning it into a library. We have been ‘making do’ with a small space for 3 years now.
Plans are being made to create an exciting and positive space to reading and learning in the new library – so watch this space!
Weather warning – Just to be aware there is the risk of snow or ice at this time of year.
If the school needs to close for pupils’ safety we will let you all know by text by 7am. Just make sure we have your correct mobile phone number. We will let you know through Rother FM, BBC Radio Sheffield and on our Website or Facebook page. We will close the school if it is not safe to have your child in school.
Please, just be sensible and don’t send your child to school if it is dangerous near home.
Dates for your diary
February 2018
Tuesday 1st February between 5pm and 8 my Futures night
Tuesday 6th Feb Upper School parent and carer meetings.
Wed 7th Feb ‘Open day’ where anyone is welcome to look round school at 10am or 1:30.
Wed 7th Feb Lower school disco 3:30- 5pm. Thursday 8th Feb Lower school parents and carers meetings.
Fri 9th February Valentines Coffee Morning at 10am
Fri 9th Feb Friendship Day followed by an Assembly.
Holiday from Fri 9th Feb & return Mon 19th Feb.
Tues 20th Feb Upper School Disco.
Wednesday 21st February informal Chinwag with parents at 10am.
David Burdett
Headteacher
| Headteachers Letter 24.1.18.pdf |
Archive
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
| ||||
