What’s on w/e 16th September 2022. issue 547

Attendance so far…

School average: 97.7% 

We frequently report the attendance of individual year groups as it’s a really good way to see if school attendance is at a good percentage… with it as high as possible of course!  The DfE have a target of 96.5% but sadly, we finished the year, last July, being slightly below this.

Attending school regularly is vital to help children achieve and to give them the best possible start in life.  It’s also a legal requirement of parents once children are of school age and enrolled in mainstream education.  Ofsted has a strong view about attendance of course and, therefore, too many absences can lead into difficult discussions about how we can support children to achieve and do well – we could even be downgraded for our current Good status as a result.

Absences will only be authorised if they meet exceptional circumstances.  With only 190 statutory school days in the year, there are 175 days (weekends and school holidays) left to plan for family visits, non-urgent medical/dental appointments, holidays etc.  School holidays are published well in advance and parents are expected to plan and take family holidays at this time so as not to disrupt their child’s education.  We also try to arrange our Inset (training) days to provide time for travel… such as this term’s October 21st.

Punctuality is important too, and the earlier we get our children into the right habits, the better.  You may not realise that being just 5 minutes late every day equals 3 days of school lost a year.  Please bring your child for 8.45am when they door is open and the classroom has a learning activity ready for them.

Non-uniform day – we managed to raise £80 for Challenge Ministries Swaziland, where we sponsor a little boy called Izwilenkozi.
Our “Izwilenkozi Day” is an easy and fun way of gaining some financial support for a charity in Africa called Challenge Ministries Swaziland (CMS). After hearing about CMS several years ago, we decided to sponsor a young boy called Izwilencozi. A donation (even just £1) to have a non-uniform day a couple of times through the year really supports them. You can read more about the charity and their work here – http://challengeministriesswaziland.org/Sponsor-a-Child

Piano… a message from Sophie Kerslake.
We have space for children to have piano lessons at school on Fridays.  Please phone her directly on 07799 719865

Guitars… a message from Sarah Cox.
I teach children from Year 2 and onwards. Preferably they would have their own guitar, but this is not essential as I have some I can loan out for the short term.  Parents can email me to get in touch: sarahcoxtutoring@gmail.com