I certainly did not get the start to the week that I was expecting – having to come into a flooded boiler room and a freezing cold school is not the best Monday morning. I know that having to make provision for your children at the last minute was not ideal but I would like to thank everyone for their co-operation in making this a very easy process for us – unfortunately we were not allowed to have the children on the premises because there was a chance that because of wet electrics, the boiler may blow up.

I do know that after we closed the school some parents felt that they were not been kept informed of developments so they could make plans for the next day but may I assure you that there was nothing we could really tell you during the day. We had men working on the pipes but the man we needed to come was the electrician and he did not arrive until after 6pm because there were other jobs he had to deal with first. We did not know that we could definitely open the school on Tuesday until 7.55pm on Monday evening. I know some parents would have liked to know earlier but this was impossible. I also have a duty to get the school open and if that meant that the men would have to work until midnight then that is what would have happened. Hopefully, we will not have to close the school again this year but could I ask you that if anything does happen in the future that you have a plan in place for the school not opening and then trust us to let you know as soon as possible what will be happening with the school – remembering at all times that the priority is to get the school open. 

As I explained in my newsletter this week we have had more work done in the boiler house and on our drainage system to stop this happening again but as the men working on the boiler told us, there was exceptional rain at the weekend which left us dealing with exceptional circumstances which are very hard to plan for although we do try.

Hopefully next week will be more straightforward and certainly more exciting for the children because they have their Christmas Fayre to look forward to on December 6^th. Preparations are now nearly complete and we are all looking forward to a wonderful event. I have the pleasant task of judging the bake-off competition with the mayor so I will probably come in on Monday weighing a few pounds more but looking very happy. The standard was excellent last year and I am sure it will be the same this year.

Before the Christmas Fayre there is an opportunity for parents to come into school on Wednesday, 3^rd December at 9.00am. This event will be in the school hall after drop off and it will give you an opportunity to have refreshments and chat with members of the parent council, the chair of governors and me. The parent council would like some suggestions of how they can best support the parents and the school and this will give you the opportunity to share your ideas with them in an informal and friendly setting. I hope to see as many of you there as possible.

I should imagine that most peoples’ weekends will be very busy with the preparations that are required for Christmas but I hope you all still have a pleasant weekend. Let us hope that there are no hitches with the weather so that we can have a normal Monday.