I think it is really starting to feel like spring this week - we have had some lovely weather and the world is starting to look green again. Unfortunately, as is usual when the weather changes, we have had a few bugs in school with a few of the children having to be sent home because of upset stomachs. May I remind you that children need to be out of school for 48 hours after their last episode of sickness/diarrhoea before they return to school. This helps to stop the infection spreading to everyone else in school.

We have sent out our Ofsted report today and you will see that we still remain a good school. We were pleased with our report, especially as it was a more detailed inspection than the last one so it means that all elements of the school were inspected. Although it was only a year (almost to the day) since our last inspection we were expecting it and this is because we had to have a section 5 inspection this time.  A Section 5 inspection has to be carried out by the end of the academic year 5 years after your last Section 5 inspection and so we knew they had to come to us by July 2019. I am only clarifying this point because some parents thought that an official complaint may have triggered this inspection and that was not so.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my staff for all the hard work that they give to the school all of the time, without their dedication and diligence our good report would not have been possible. I would also like to thank all of you, the parents, for the support that you show to the school and this was reflected in the many positive comments that we received on ‘Parentview’. We will put together an action plan to address the targets Ofsted set for us and once it is ready we will publish it on our website so that everyone can have access to it.

With the warmer weather we have a lot more children cycling and scooting to school. This is great but may I remind everyone that children are not allowed on their bikes or scooters within the school grounds. This is because in the past, members of our school community have been injured when they have been collecting or dropping off their children by other children accidentally running into them. If the children only ride their bikes or scooters outside of the school grounds we can greatly reduce the risk of this happening again.

A lot of the children have been very excited today because the PTA have organised an Easter Egg Hunt for after school. I would like to thank the PTA for doing this because these events have a real positive impact on school life as well as raising lots of money for extra resources for your children. You will see from the letter they sent out yesterday that they have lots more activities planned for the summer term which will enhance school life further. Next Friday is the PTA AGM and we really need as many parents as possible to attend this to make sure it is quorate and that the PTA can operate for another year. Please make an effort to attend, without the PTA and the events they run, school life would not be as much fun and it would certainly have less resources.

As well as the PTA AGM next week there is lots going on in school next week. On Monday we have a Sharing assembly and if your child is taking part in this you will have received a letter. On Wednesday afternoon it is our Open Afternoon for Years 1-6 from 3.00pm – 4.30pm. This is an opportunity for parents to see the learning their children have covered over the last half term. Years 3, 4 and 5 are also putting on their show ‘Rock Bottom’ next week. I have seen glimpses of this and I am very excited about watching it because it looks excellent and I know the children are excited to perform to their families and friends. Also, remember that school closes at 2pm next Friday.

Have a fabulous weekend – I am sure that I will see most of you at some point next week.

With all the excitement that happened last week I forgot to mention an important event that took place. Some of the children from Years 5 and 6 took part in a primary indoor athletic tournament at Dame Alice Owen School and won it. I was really pleased and even the lead inspector commented on my competitive attitude. I would like to congratulate all of the children who took part and I would like to thank Mr Mills for organising and supporting the team.

We had a lovely start to the day today because it was the Year 2 Assembly. The children were presenting a selection of the work they have covered this year and they did it very well. It was lovely to see how proud they were of all they have achieved and they really seemed to have a love of learning which is what we want to achieve with the pupils in our school. I would like to thank all of the pupils for giving us such an enjoyable assembly and I would like to thank Mrs Beadle, Mrs Fordham and Miss Southwell for all their hard work in helping them put it together.

In recent times I have given up eating chocolate for Lent so it has been a particularly trying day in school today because of all the chocolate that has surrounded me. This is because of all the Easter eggs that you have sent in for the tombola at the Easter Egg hunt next week. I would like to thank you all for your generosity – without it the PTA would not be able to raise the money that it does. As I have mentioned in past blogs we have recently purchased an outdoor learning space with PTA money and over the Easter holidays work will finally start on our technology room which is also being financed by PTA funds. It should be ready to use by May half term and will be a fantastic addition to our school.

I had to look twice at the calendar when I realised that we break up for Easter in 2 weeks - I do not know where this term has gone. Before we break up we still have a lot of events to look forward to starting with the Easter Egg Hunt which is being held after school next Friday. This is something that the PTA introduced a couple of years ago and has proved very popular with the children so I hope to see many of you there.

That is all for now. I hope you all have great weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday morning.

It has been ‘Red Nose Day’ today and it has been a mad end to what has been quite a mad week. We have danced ourselves dizzy today in school and I am now well and truly ready to drop. The children all appeared to enjoy themselves even if the staff are flagging but the staff have had quite a busy week. As we know we had a Section 5 inspection which we were expecting after our last Ofsted and hopefully this means that we will not see Ofsted for quite a few years. The report should be out in about three weeks, hopefully before Easter. Until then I cannot talk about the inspection but I would like to thank everyone for their good wishes this week –it has been much appreciated.

It has also been Science Week this week. I know the children have all loved the workshops and I am sure you will be able to find out more about them on the class blogs. The children have also enjoyed making birds and there have been some exotic and wonderful creations made. I am glad that the children have had a good time because just as reading underpins all learning science encourages children to develop the skills to solve problems which is a key life skill for success.

I am sorry but I am going to have to have a little moan. We do have clear signage on all our playground equipment that children should not play on it outside of school hours. However, when I went into the infant playground at the end of the school day I found children on the climbing frame. I even had to remove one child from the climbing frame because they were too small to get down themselves. Can you please ensure that your child does not use the apparatus at the end of the school day – it is for their own safety.

Next week should be a more straightforward week but we still have plenty to look forward to. Friday is going to be another Mufti Day for the PTA. In exchange for not wearing their uniform the PTA would like all the children to bring in an Easter egg for a tombola at the Easter Egg Hunt which will be held on Friday, 29^th March. Year 2 are also holding their class assembly on that day which I know all their parents are looking forward to seeing.

Have a great weekend – I know that I am certainly going to enjoy it.

We have had a ‘back to normal’ day today after everyone dressed up for World Book Day. All the children looked really great and I think that is down to a big effort from the parents organising the costumes so I would like to thank you all for that. The children really love days like yesterday and ‘World book Day’ does help to highlight the importance of reading which is a key factor to accessing all other learning. It is important that the children realise that you can never read too much.

The excitement continues into next week as it is Science Week in school. We have booked some workshops to carry out some class investigations with your children. To make these a success we do need some extra helpers and I do know that some classes are still a little short of help so if you could check your child’s class blog to see when their workshop is taking place and if you are free you could volunteer to support them – I know would appreciate your help. The whole school is also taking part in a ‘Brilliant Bird’ challenge in which the children have got to try and create an imaginative bird that can fly using a limited amount of resources – I am looking forward to seeing the results.

It is also ‘Red Nose Day’ next Friday. We have already started selling noses in school which are proving very popular with the children –they are very excited to open the box to see which nose they have got. On the day itself the children can come in non- uniform if they make a donation of £1 towards the Red Nose fund. We are also going to hold a ‘Danceathon’ in school where one class is always going to be dancing throughout the school day and then at the end of the day the whole school is going to go into the hall to dance together. Some of the older children will also come outside at the end of the day with buckets to collect any small change that you may have to put towards the Red Nose charity. This campaign does support a lot of good causes which is why I do think it is important that the school supports it.

I hope you all have a good weekend – if the weeks continue to go as quickly as this one it will be the Easter holiday before we know it. After the couple of lovely days that we had two weeks ago the weather has got colder again and it is expected to get even colder over the weekend but we can comfort ourselves with the fact that spring is on its way. I look forward to seeing you all again next week.

I hope that you all had a pleasant half- term. I went on a trip to Iceland called ‘The Northern Lights Tour’ and although I did have a very pleasant trip I did not get to see the ‘Northern Lights’. It gives me the excuse to return to the country although I will have to save for a while as Iceland is a really expensive place.

It was Pyjama Day in school and I felt like I had entered a parallel universe – it felt like it was a Saturday morning and we had all have spent the night in school. The children have been very excited in school in their pyjamas and the School Council are very pleased at having raised money for new playground equipment. The total raised is £208 and the school are matching that amount which means the School Council will have £416 to spend on playground equipment. We will let you know after their next meeting what equipment they have decided to buy for the school.

Although it has been an exciting day some children may have been worried about going home because the annual school reports went out today. I have to say that after reading them all none of the children really have much to worry about. We do ask that when you share the report with your child you focus on the comments and targets and do not discuss the grades with them.

It is another busy week in school next week. On Monday morning some pupils from Chancellors School are going to do some workshops with the pupils from Year 2 – 6 on celebrating differences which will help reinforce the work we did with the children last term. On Wednesday the children in Year 2 are having a ‘Great Fire of London’ day which I know they will really enjoy and then on Thursday it is ‘World Book Day’. All the children can come to school dressed as their favourite book character and then each class will be basing their day’s learning around a book selected by the teacher. The children always enjoy this day and it does help to reinforce the importance of books and the enjoyment that reading can bring into your life.

We are also going to be selling red noses to the children in preparation for ‘Red Nose Day’ which supports Comic Relief. This time the noses have been priced at £1.25 which is not as easy as collecting pounds so if your child wants to purchase one could you please try and bring in the correct money as we will not have enough change. There are also lots of different designs so you may find that your child wants to purchase more than one! Unfortunately, you cannot tell from the box which nose is on the inside so there is a chance that they could purchase the same nose twice. Remember that all the money goes to the charity.

That is all for now. We had a few really lovely days this week which made us feel like we were in the middle of spring but it is going to be more winter-like this weekend. I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday.