Dear Parents and Carers,

Kind regards

Mrs D Hudson

Headteacher

Please remember that school is closed to children on  Friday 10^th March. Staff will be working in school to further develop our curriculum.

A reminder that school is also closed on Monday 1^st May (Bank Holiday) Thursday 4^th May (Local Elections – Remote Learning Day) and Monday 8^th May (Coronation)

Sadly, over recent weeks I have had two separate residents of Gregory Road contact me with complaints about issues connected to the school community.  

Firstly, there is the on-going issue surrounding parking in the road. A resident came up to school to complaint that they struggle to get on or off their drives because of it being blocked by parked cars at the start and end of the day.  Clearly, as well as the inconvenience, this creates a safety issue for our children and we all fear the day that there is a serious incident.

Please remember

• Please avoid double parking along the length of Gregory Road and obstructing the driveways of our neighbours. (Marked out with the white I-------I)
• Do not park on the yellow’ Keep Clear Zig Zags’ or in the turning circle in Gregory Road.
• Please do not park or turn round in the school car park.
• Whenever possible park away from Gregory Road or even better, take the opportunity to walk to school.

Please share these messages with others who bring or collect your child – grandparents, childminders etc. Thank you.

Secondly, yesterday I had another resident contact me to complain about litter being dropped by children eating snacks on their way home from school and dog poo not being picked up on the school run. They wrote

I am sick of picking up litter from the children at the school, and now it is extended to dog poo. I have dogs of my own, however, I do pick up after them. Not that long ago a parent did pick up but then put it in my emptied bin. This afternoon a child dropped sweets outside our house: their father was on the phone and ignored the sweets.  I went out and picked up again just in case my dogs got hold of them.

Please be mindful of anything that you child or pet might be leaving on the pavement on your trips to and from school!  Thank you.

This week the governors have met to hear about some changes that we are making to the curriculum in the foundation subjects. They heard about the reasons for the changes that we are proposing and the benefits to the children’s learning. They also had an inspirational presentation from Mrs Masters, our Science Leader, about how she has trialled a new approach and impact that she is already seeing. Our INSET Day next week will see staff learning more about the new framework and we are looking forward sharing further information with you as we roll this out across the school.

One of our Co-opted Governors, Claire Hayes, will be stepping down later this month after being a governor since 2014. Claire has been a wonderful governor, serving on the Staff, Pupil and Curriculum Committee and bringing her professional knowledge in HR to a range of situations. Having previously been a parent governor, her commitment to the school, wisdom, challenge and support has been incredibly valuable in helping the governing body fulfil its duties. We shall really miss her but thank her for all that she has done and wish her well in the future.

Co-opted Governors are nominated from the community because of the knowledge and skills that they can bring to enhance the work of the governing body. We now have two Co-opted Governor vacancies and are particular interested to hear about anyone you know of who may be interested in supporting their local community school and has skills in HR or building management. Please speak to Mrs Hudson if you know of someone suitable.

The Spring Term has been a busy one so far for sporting events. Firstly, our recently formed KS2 Girls Football Team competed in a two-evening tournament at Summerhill School. The girls did fantastically well. Despite not winning the mini league, they demonstrated some great ability and teamwork, at what is only just the beginning of their journey.

A team of year 5 and 6 boys and girls competed in the School Games Sports Hall Athletics tournament, where the squad came away with a very respectable 3^rd place and bronze medals. Finally, a team of nine year 3 and 4 boys and girls competed this week in the cluster schools Dodgeball Competition......and were crowned joint winners with Netherton C of E Primary!

A massive well done to everyone who has taken part in all of our sporting activities at The Ridge. We really do have a lot of talent for sport.

We have lots more sporting events coming up over this half term starting with the School Games Netball Tournament on Tuesday, and the World's Biggest Girls Football Session on Wednesday 8^th March, taking place on our school field at lunch time. Results and updates to follow!

Mr Lamb

Our attendance review at half term showed positive news with a significant reduction in the number of children classed as ‘persistently absent, that is, having attendance less than 90%.  Where attendance remains a concern, we will be contacting parents of pupils to arrange attendance meetings to discuss the support we can give.

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 96.68%

Reception - 97.67%

Year 1 – 93.00%

Year 2 – 97.33%

Year 3 – 96.79%

Year 4 – 98.33%

Year 5 – 97.99%

Year 6 – 95.67%

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.

The Open the Book Team, who come into school to lead assemblies would like to inform you of a special ‘Celebrate Service’ at 4pm on Sunday 5th March at St. Michael’s Church, Maynard Avenue, Norton. It is an event specifically aimed at children, with biscuits and drinks for children and adults before the start.

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