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Posted on: July 16th 2021

A message from Carly Ellis

A message from Carly Ellis

I cannot believe how quickly this half term has blown by.  It feels like I have never been away!  I hope that the next academic year has less challenges than we faced this year.  I would like to extend a thank you to Mrs Lancey and the whole Priorswood school community for the support you all gave during such a testing year.  I would like to thank Mrs Lancey for driving my vision for the school forward in my absence and for continuing to build on the progress in the previous year, despite all the obstacles along the way. 

 

The visits we have had from the CEO, Deputy CEO and Paul Jones (an external reviewer) and many others who have visited throughout this term have all commented very positively about the school.  They have been impressed with how well the children settle to their learning and the experiences and activities that the children are being given.  Some of the experiences have made it into the local newspaper!  They also commented positively on the quality of the learning seen in class and in the children’s books.  A recent visitor (who had come to visit the kitchen) praised the school saying that she felt really welcomed and wanted to come back!  She said that the school is really calm and recognised how lucky we are to have all the outside space. 

 

Although we have still had many restrictions in place we have managed to get a few trips in.  Stag class did a Dawn to Dusk day at Magdalen Farm, there has been a trip to French Weir and Otter Class did a trip to the County Museum to find out more about the Anglo Saxons.  The Year 6's took part in a Sports Festival run by SASP at Wellsprings Leisure Centre and are looking forward to their trip to Crealy next week too!

 

We have been lucky to be involved in a project called Priorswood Pollinators.  Children mapped the school grounds looking for areas that encouraged pollinating species.  They also identified areas that were poor and have now planted these areas with a range of plants including herbs, lavender and apple trees.  Part of the project involved our Year 6's working with a filmmaker to film the project.

 

We have a few changes in staff next year which were mentioned in more detail in the class structure letter that went home.  We are looking forward to welcoming Miss Ashleigh Thompson and Miss Katy Collard to the team.  I’m really looking forward to next year and I hope that you all have a wonderful summer holiday!  See you in September! Good Luck Year 6!

 

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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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