Head Teacher's Blog

Half Term reading

Sun 21 Oct 2018 Mrs Roberts

Looking for a good holiday reading book? These are fantastic books for Year 5 and 6. ...or share them with Years 3 and 4 over the holidays.

Harvest Service

Sun 21 Oct 2018 Mrs Roberts

Our harvest service was a wonderful opportunity for our children to lead in worship. Year 6 children led the service while our school council and other children wrote prayers, poems and songs.

Rev Des blessed our new alter cloth which has been designed by everyone in school with pictures and words about our school. These all reflect our core values. The collaboration of children and teachers demonstrates how we all work together towards our Christian vision for the school.

Thank you to everyone who donated tins, packets and boxes of food for our local 'Food Bank'. This is such a worthy cause and everyone's generosity will go a long way to helping local people in times of difficulty.

Our Basketball Wow Day

Thu 18 Oct 2018 Mrs Roberts

What a fantastic day we have had today..Through our BASKETBALL WOW DAY Paul Sturgess has inspired our children to 'stand tall'.

Paul has played for the world famous Harlem Globetrotters and at 7 feet 8 inches is the tallest professional basketball player in the world. Paul has recently been on television and in national newspapers as he is Britain’s tallest man. Since becoming Britain’s tallest man Paul has begun a career in the movies.

Paul really captured the imagination of the pupils and definitely brought a WOW to the day. Lots of our children wanted to continue to play basketball after he had left.

Paul showed such passion about sport and clearly wanted to inspire the children to realise their potential, be proud of who they are and to be given the school a day they will never forget.

Our WOW DAY began with a themed assembly including:

having a growth mindset,
making the most of your talents
healthy living
anti-bullying
sport for all

I was speechless and I'm not often lost for words but the assembly was amazing. It was full of music, speeches, videos and inspirational messages. There was Geography, PE, emotional well being, nutrition and science all wrapped into one.

The coaching included dribbling, ball handling, passing and shooting. It was fun, high tempo, with music that got the whole school active.

Healthy body, healthy mind

Fri 12 Oct 2018 Mrs Roberts

We take mental well being extremely seriously at our school both for the children and adults alike. I thought I would share a little about what we do in school to ensure that everyone feels valued.

We have a supportive, nurturing and caring ethos. Our approach is respectful and kind, where each individual and their contributions are truly valued.

At our school we know that everyone experiences life challenges that can make us vulnerable and at times, anyone may need additional emotional support. We take the view that positive mental health is everybody’s business and that we all have a role to play.

At our school we:

Help children to understand their emotions and feelings better.
Help children feel comfortable sharing any concerns or worries.
Help children socially to form and maintain strong relationships.
Promote self-esteem and ensure children know that they count.
Encourage children to be confident and ‘dare to be different’.
Help children to develop emotional resilience and to manage setbacks through a growth mind-set.

We promote a mentally healthy environment through:

Promoting our core Christian values and encouraging a sense of belonging.
Promoting ‘pupil voice’ and opportunities to participate in decision-making through our strong school council.
Celebrating academic and non-academic achievements both in school and in hobbies outside of school during our Friday achievement assembly.
Providing opportunities to develop a sense of worth through taking responsibility for themselves and others.
Providing opportunities for reflection and spirituality.
Access to appropriate support that meets their needs

Teaching about Mental Health

The skills, knowledge and understanding needed by our students to keep themselves mentally healthy and safe are included as part of our developmental PSHE curriculum.

The specific content of lessons will be determined by the specific needs of the cohort we’re teaching but we also use the PSHE Association Guidance to ensure that we teach mental health and emotional wellbeing issues in a safe and sensitive manner.

Targeted support

We offer support through targeted approaches for individual pupils or groups of pupils which may include:
Circle time approaches or ‘circle of friends’ activities where can openly talk about making mistakes.
Promotion of quiet reflection area in our sensory garden and prayer spaces in each classroom.
Promotion of ‘run a mile’ in the morning.
Forest Friday activities so that children have the opportunity to learn outside the classroom and enjoy the awe and wonder in the world around them.
A buddy system where everyone has an older friend to look out for them.
Knowing our children well so that when they leave us for secondary school they do so knowing they have been loved and nurtured.
Targeted use of PSHCE resources.
Managing feelings resources e.g. ‘worry boxes’ and ‘worry eaters’
Managing emotions resources such as ‘the incredible 5 point scale' and '3 houses'.
Primary Group Work/Mental health and wellbeing groups.
ELSA support groups.
Therapeutic activities including art, lego and relaxation and mindfulness techniques.
Ordinary magic in our day to day routines.

All of our teachers have been trained in mental health awareness and we encourage an ethos of support, laughter and good work life balance. We always operate an open door policy so if you or anyone else you know is suffering in silence please come and talk to us. There are many charities and organisations that we can signpost you to in order to support you through difficulties.