To all parents and carers,

What a fantastic week of learning the children had last week at Waterside. They were delightful and attendance and attitudes to learning were faultless. Well done to everyone. I am pleased to see progress already in the learning of the children in all year groups. This is going to be an amazing school year.

This year attendance is so important, and we expect every child to have attendance above 97%. We will be offering half term prizes to the best class and this half term ‘The Hive Cinema’ has offered us free films as part of our attendance initiatives. Following the local authority procedures, fines will be issued for holidays, poor attendance or lates on more than 10 occasions. Please ensure if your child is ill that you report it to school daily. You can phone at any time even if the office is closed and click option 1. We have to safeguard children so if you don’t phone – we will phone you or even pop on a home visit if attendance has been poor.

This week I will be out of school from Wednesday. I will be conducting an Ofsted visit in another school, but I am delighted to say that the funds from that work will go directly to your children. We are going to use the Ofsted funds this term to purchase a forest school hut to allow extended learning and life skills outdoor. I hope you enjoy seeing the area at the front of school develop.

To allow parents to have as much notice as possible we have planned events for the year. Over the page is a list of key dates – add it onto your fridge so you don’t miss any important weeks for your children and to suit with work commitments.

Should you have any questions please do come and ask.

Mrs Knowles and the Waterside Team.