Dear parents and carers
Welcome back! The children have been fantastic this week and we are now looking forward to a great half term ahead. Each year group will be beginning new topics and the focus will be on Geography, with as many links being made as possible in Science, Art and English to strengthen the learning that takes place.
I feel a real strength of our school has always been how we have nurtured pupils’ talents beyond the academic curriculum. We have always prioritised and provided opportunities for pupils to perform in music and drama, join clubs, take part in competitive sports and to be able to develop their talents in all areas of life. Our pastoral team, that includes Julia and Dawn, provide amazing pastoral support and work alongside pupils and their families when a little extra help is needed. We are now looking at how we can take this even further and have exciting plans to provide even more opportunities for pupils to develop their character and talents.
We are busy planning a range of activities such as volunteering on projects, taking part in campaigns, thinking about careers and caring for others. We then aim to recognise what the children have achieved both in school and at home or in the community by recording their efforts in a ‘Pupil Passport’ – in a similar way that badges are earned in cubs or scouts. These activities will all contribute to the development of our pupils’ character by reinforcing qualities such as empathy, resilience and kindness, whilst also developing their self-confidence and self-belief. A particular focus will be working alongside and enjoying the company of elderly members of the community and this is something that has already taken place this term.
We know the children will be excited by this work and we very much aim to include parents and the wider community in much of what we plan to do. As an example, in the Spring term we are looking forward to inviting parents in to take part in a careers day where children will be introduced to a wide variety of careers and jobs that they can aspire to. Even as I write this, children are taking part in a STEM ‘Spaghetti Challenge’ which has been kindly led by volunteers from local businesses such as TDK.
We look forward to sharing more details on this with you very soon and I would like to encourage anyone who could support any aspect of this to please get in touch – we would love to hear from you!
Kind regards
Mr Le Bredonchel