I am delighted to be able to tell you about some of the benefits that we have already experienced since joining Moorlands Learning Trust on 1 September, particularly in relation to school improvement.
In the summer term, the primary school Headteachers, along with the Trust CEO, Helen Williams, appointed strategic leaders for English, maths, SEND and Early Years. Last half term, these strategic leaders visited all Trust primary schools to carry out audits in their areas of expertise. Audit reports validated key areas of strength in all schools. Some of the many strengths that have been validated in our school include our teaching of phonics and reading; the provision of high-quality texts across the whole school; the opportunities that our children are given for meaningful writing across the curriculum; clear, progressive sequences of learning in maths; high-quality resources in maths which are used confidently by children to scaffold their learning; our inclusive, engaging and well resourced EYFS environment and our whole-school culture where respectful, nurturing relationships are clearly evident.
This half-term we are moving forward with actions that have been identified to improve our practices even further. Leaders from all schools are already working collegiately to share best practice from school-to-school and to work on joint projects where similar next steps have been identified.
Our overall attendance for the last academic year was 96.46%. It is our aim that every child in school achieves attendance of at least 97% so I would urge families to check our school term dates carefully before booking any holidays. Children should only be absent from school if they are too ill to attend or for other truly exceptional circumstances and holidays in term-time are not classed as exceptional. We encourage families to send children into school if they have a mild cold or other mild symptoms of illness. Children will always be monitored by staff and parents will be contacted if we feel that a child is too ill to stay at school. If you are not sure about whether your child is too ill to attend school, please refer to the NHS website Is My Child Too Ill for School? where you will find advice on a range of common childhood illnesses. We should take this opportunity to remind parents that children
with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days (48 hours).
If you have anything that you need to ask me about or let me know about, please email the school office, come to see me or give me a call and I will get back to you.
Mrs Marie Wilson
