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Posted on: February 26th 2021

Message from Caroline Lancey

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to our much shorter newsletter.  In reality it has only been 3 weeks since the last one and as I said last time you are probably more aware of what your child is doing and seeing more of the teachers than you would do normally. So, I haven’t asked the teachers to write a piece this time. 

At the moment I am holding on to this thought:

There was never a night or problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.

These have been very dark times but we are beginning to see the sun rise and our positive and optimistic hope for the future will help us to get things back on an even keel.

 

 

We are all thrilled (and all the other words) that the children are coming back we have missed them dreadfully.  A school without children is like the ocean without fish.  Just too awful to imagine.  I will be sending out at the beginning of next week what the return will look like.  You may want to check that shoes and school uniform fit, as your child may have grown over the last few months.  This will give you just over a week to get them sorted out ready to start. It many ways it feels like another start of the year.

This is Our Priorswood Promise to your children.

We are incredibly proud of you  

This last year has been exceptionally difficult. You have shown incredible resilience and adaptability. You have been selfless and put the needs of others before your own. You have made so many sacrifices and yet faced the challenges with strength and determination. There is much you’ve been told you’ve lost, including many weeks of your education, but there is much you have gained. You will emerge from this stronger. This may be the greatest challenge you have faced so far but it will not be the last. Next time you will find you have more resources and are better prepared (and even more so the time after that).  

We are here for you 

We know some of you will be worried about what the future holds. We want you to know we are here for you. We know you will need a chance to reconnect with your friends. We know you will need time and space to play and be active. We know you are desperate to get back to your sports/ music/art/acting and everything else that is so crucial to your development. We know that you are keen to get back to your academic studies in school as well. We know that evenings, weekends and holidays are as important as your time at school. We are committed to ensuring that your opportunities are balanced and wherever your passions lie you have the chance to pursue these.  We will be here to encourage you, support you, challenge and help you every step of the way.  

You are the future 

You are the future and that future is not written. There are challenges but there always have been and always will be: we know we will get through this together. We have complete faith in you. We want you to know that; more than anything. Do not let us or anyone else tell you what you can or can’t be. We don’t know. We cannot imagine what you will achieve. But we are so excited to see and be a part of it. 

We are looking forward to seeing you on Monday the 8th and whatever happens next, it will just be another step in your journey. 

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A message from Carly Ellis Posted on: 3/03/2023

A message from Carly Ellis

March already?  It always surprises me how quickly the school year passes!  We have spent much time since our inspection in November, reflecting on the comments made in the report and discussions that took place during the two days.   We have made lots of positive changes in children’s wider development and have an established School Council Team as well as a Well-being Team – both of which were in their infancy when Ofsted visited.  Mrs Fitzsimmons and Mrs Tanner are doing a great job at leading these teams.  We are also looking at our curriculum and how we can enhance this further.     In reflection to our recent Parent Survey, we have made many decisions which will improve our school further.  Thank you to all the parents who completed the survey and left comments.  The comments left, allow us to understand some of the outcomes more clearly, so thank you.  We will send a comment out on Dojo shortly with all the survey findings and our actions to improve.  However, seeing as I am writing in the newsletter, I would like to share the responses to the question, ‘Which of the following do you find the most useful methods of communication from school?’ 90% of parents said that they find Dojo the most useful method.  Only 5% of parents have said that the monthly newsletter is a useful method of communication.  We have had similar feedback for some time now and have persevered.  However, in future, you will receive the monthly newsletter with all the information you would normally receive except the class information which will continue to be uploaded to Dojo and then placed on the class pages on the website.    I am looking forward to all the Easter festivities which you will share with you are soon as they are confirmed.    Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
A message from Carly Ellis Posted on: 9/12/2022

A message from Carly Ellis

Wow, what a term! We have so much to celebrate! As you are aware we received some great news from Ofsted. We are thrilled and I am very grateful for the team here at Priorswood. Their dedication and hard work has given the children a good foundation which they will build on in years to come. I am looking forward to driving further improvements. The school is in the best place it has been in for some time. We have also received some more good news. The Trust held a public speaking event for all the schools in the Trust to take part in. Each school sent three children to speak about the impact children have on our environment. Our school was represented by Lesley, Izaak and Dinara in Year 6. The children did so well that they won!! Huge congratulations to the three of them and to our school! All the hard work and focus on our oracy this term has paid off! We have also been competing in lots of sporting tournaments around town. Thank you to all the children who are representing us at these events. You are all doing us proud. Please keep safe in the lead up to Christmas and remember to wash those hands. There are a lot of bugs around at the moment and they are hitting us with vengeance! This is the last newsletter before we break up so I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year. I’m looking forward to a healthier start to the Spring Term! #PriorsGoodCategories: 1 CategorySchool News
A message from Carly Ellis Posted on: 18/11/2022

A message from Carly Ellis

As you are very aware, we had a visit from Ofsted last week!  The Priorswood team were (are!) amazing and I would like to thank everyone for their support. The inspectors were approachable and fair in their comments.  I look forward to sharing the report with you all once it is published officially. At the end of October, we asked you to complete a Parent Survey.  I would like to share the highlights of this and respond to feedback.  100% of children are happy at school.  Out of the 87% of parents who completed the survey and have a child with SEND, 100% agreed that we give their children the support they need to succeed. 98% of parents feel that we have high expectations for their child.   We only had a few written responses.  We received a comment about house points so we will be putting together an information sheet to explain this further.  We will post it on Dojo on completion.  Please be assured that any decisions or changes we make in school are with the children’s best interests. Lin Collins (caretaker) is retiring at the end of this term.  We are very sad but we understand that this is an exciting next step for her!  For those of you that don’t know, Lin is a Priorswood legend!  She started here as a lunchtime supervisor in January 1995, worked in the nursery, as a cleaner and finally as the caretaker. Prior to this she had connections to the school as her children attended and she worked in the kitchen and supported in school  She has dedicated many of her own hours to ensure that the school looks its best and is compliant.  We will be celebrating her years of service to Priorswood near to the end of term but I wanted to give some of you notice as Lin will hold a special place in many hearts.  Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
A Message from Carly Ellis Posted on: 30/09/2022

A Message from Carly Ellis

I can’t believe we are at the end of September already!  It has been an incredibly busy start to the year.  We have had a few visits from Suzanne Flack (CEO) which have been extremely positive.  The children have all spoken with enthusiasm about all the learning that is taking place and the opportunities they are given.  Some of the classes have already been out of school for some experiences.  Thank you to all the parents who are volunteering your time to support us on these trips.  One of our focuses this year is to ensure that children can confidently articulate their learning and be more confident in sharing their knowledge with others.   Teachers and support staff are encouraging children to speak in complete sentences using a wide vocabulary bank.  This was evident in the visits from Suzanne.  Due to personal circumstances, Mrs Gibbs will no longer be leading Forest School.  Mr Ripley will be leading these sessions now until Mrs Cullen returns from her maternity leave.  The Forest School sessions will be for half a day every week rather than a whole day every two weeks.  Therefore, the day your child does Forest School will remain the same but they will have the session every week on that day.  Please can children come to school dressed appropriately.  They will then either have their session in the morning or in the afternoon.  Miss Bolt, who is currently in Owl Class will be the temporary LSA in Otter Class until we have recruited a new member to our team. Miss Fitzsimmons will be joining us on the 10th October as our new SENCO.  She will be arranging an opportunity for parents to meet her. On other staffing news, Mrs Cullen has had a little boy!  We are all looking forward to meeting the little man and seeing her soon.Categories: 1 CategorySchool News
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