Dear Parents and Carers,

Kind regards

Mrs D Hudson

Headteacher

Sponsorship Money

Thank you for collecting Amble Ramble Sponsorship. Money can be put into the secure posting box and if possible, we would like it sent in by Friday 26^th May.

Recently we have had a number of children complaining that they don’t like the food that has been ordered for them. This is obviously distressing for them and it is difficult to offer any alternative when we don’t cook on site. We understand how quickly children can change their food preferences but would ask that you discuss the menu with them each week when ordering. Hopefully this will help to ensure that everyone has something to eat that they like and reduce the amount of food waste that we are seeing. Thank you for your support.

….. to Miss Danielle Crowson, who is joining staff after half term as permanent member of the teaching team. Miss Crowson is an experienced teacher, with a particular passion for teaching in Upper Key Stage 2. She has visited school this week in preparation for starting her new role and we are excited that she will be working with us.  Please say ‘hello’ when you see her around.

…. to Teresa Roberts, who is one of the unseen heroes at The Ridge. Theresa is one of our site team who does such an amazing job, keeping the school clean. She and her partner are jetting off to Las Vegas to be married next week. We hope that that have an amazing time and a day to remember.

Next week pupils from Years 5 and 6 are off to the Pioneer Centre on residential. We have an exciting few days planned with high ropes, camp fire, raft building and the climbing wall on the agenda (and no doubt the odd midnight feast thrown in for good measure!) We hope that they have a wonderful time and express out thanks to Mrs Hadley, Miss Beddoes, Miss Wesson and Miss Howarth who have given up their time to accompany them. Have a wonderful time, everyone!

Congratulations to Lilly-May from Year 2, Elijah from Reception and Emily from Year 1 - winners of the Dudley Catering Colouring Competition and now proud owners of Amazon Gift Vouchers!

We monitor attendance regularly and throughout the year have already written to and met with some parents to discuss pupils who are persistently absent (i.e. have 10% absence or more.)

With Mrs Povey in post as our new Attendance Officer, where attendance falls below 90%, we are going to be contacting parents on a weekly basis to keep them informed of their child’s attendance levels. Where monitoring shows that there continues to be concern, it will now be Mrs Povey who will make contact by phone to gain further information to understand the reasons for the absences and talk about what we can do to support good attendance.

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 94.11%

Reception - 94.33%

Year 1 – 79.67%

Year 2 – 95.33%

Year 3 – 93.93%

Year 4 – 99.33%

Year 5 – 97.33%

Year 6 – 98.97%

Well done Year 4!

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Mrs Hudson is the Designated Safeguarding Lead and any concerns should be shared with her or the Deputy Safeguarding Leads – Mrs Hadley and Miss Beddoes.  Where child protection concerns are raised, the school has a statutory duty to refer these concerns to children’s social care.

Hanni and the Magic Window - ChildNet 

Helping young children in difficult situations to seek support has always been hard. Their minds are often not developed enough to understand bad situations. They are also unable to comprehend what they need to do to get out of them. More often than not their limited vocabulary will also reduce their ability to talk to adults effectively. ChildNet has released a downloadable story over on their site, aimed at children aged three and up. Their objective is to make them aware of how to seek help. By following the link below you can also find simplified resources around the story, as well as the story itself. 

https://www.childnet.com/resources/hanni-and-the-magic-window/

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