What a fabulous end to the half term we had with the Y3 and Y4 production. Absolutely incredible. I was so proud of the children and how strong their musical knowledge, singing and performing arts has improved rapidly. The children are an inspiration.

On Friday the 12th April we uploaded onto the school website the parent questionnaire initial response. If anyone did not send them in – please do so – we can add an updated list this Friday for any late forms. Every opinion counts. Overall, the feedback was sensational. I think this down to the strong relationships and partnerships we thrive for.

95% think homework is suitable however 5% of parents would like more homework – therefore we are going to offer personal missions from September to further enrich homework that will be optional. Therefore, you as parents will be able to say if you wish for your child to do additional to the spellings, timetables and reading. This should be a positive change.

1.6% of parents would like the school to give more notice of events. Therefore, as well as the newsletter outlining the current two weeks we will send out a termly list of events and upload onto the website the first Friday of each term. Any changes will be sent out also with warning. Thank you for raising this, we want to support parents as best as we can. Each idea makes our school better.

Any other ideas parents have we would be grateful to know about. Come along to our next parent forum meeting on Monday 21st May – anytime between 9 -10.30am and 2.30 – 3.30.

Over the Easter holidays we have had some work completed in school. We have had a new bin store – due to getting a bigger school, the Key Stage 1 area has had a new outdoor play space and we have had a tarmacked area put in place for our new minibuses.

I am delighted to inform parents that following the latest full governors I raised the costs of the late collection charges and the impact of £5.00 per 15 minutes. This service is required s school budgets do not cover the overtime costs of staff for children collected late. It is in fact a safeguarding concern, if this is frequent and without significant reason. Should you require after school facilities – City Kids to offer a service – across the road from school and receive Ofsted visits separately. The governors have agreed to reduce the late payment charge from £5.00 to £2.50 per child per 15 minutes. This will be reviewed biannually to ensure it is meeting the school cost needs whilst also not overcharging parents. The revised policy will be online. 

I am most excited for the summer term. We have our extension beginning and will tell you more in coming weeks.

We also have a drop in session every Friday 3.30 – 4pm. You can get even more updates on how well your child is progressing. 

Mrs Knowles and the Waterside Team.