21st March 2013
Dear Parents
Parent Governor’s
I am pleased to announce that Ms Rebecca Webb and Mrs Jayne Kirby, both parents with children in year 2, have been elected as parent governors at our school. My thanks go to them for volunteering to fill these vacancies in our governing body.
Watoto Choir
On Wednesday 27th March, the Watoto Choir will once again be visiting our school. On that day children are asked to wear red, black or yellow (the colour of the Uganda Flag).
The Choir have proved extremely popular and children from two other Congleton Primary schools will also be watching the concert and wearing red, black or yellow.
Easter Holiday
A reminder that next week the school closes for Easter on Thursday 28th March. We re-open on Monday 15th April, which will make dinner money for that week £8.40.
Yours sincerely
P G Tolley
Headteacher
Daven Primary School
New Street
Congleton
CW12 3AH
1st March 2013
WORLD BOOK DAY - THURSDAY 7TH MARCH
Next Thursday 7th March is World Book Day, as announced in the Reading Newsletter published before half term. The school have decided to have a Where’s Wally theme but with a twist – Where’s Tolley.
We would like the children to come to school dressed like Mr Tolley and hopefully we will take a photo of the whole school looking like him, with Mr Tolley somewhere in the mix!
We will then make copies of the photo so that you can have a go at trying to find him and your own child.
RED NOSE DAY – FRIDAY 15TH MARCH
Red nose day is Friday 15th March and we are asking children to come to school dressed in red and donate a £1.00 to Comic Relief.
MATHLETICS
We have introduced an online maths resource at school called Mathletics. All children have a username and password and enter the website through: www.mathletics.co.uk a link is also available on the school website: www.daven.cheshire.sch.uk Children can use the site to practice mathematical concepts by competing against children from all over the world. Some staff are also going to set maths homework based on the work the children have been doing at school.
I know that some parents do not wish to allow their children access to the internet, but this is a secure site and will be beneficial to your child. Children who do not have access to the internet at home will get the opportunity of using Mathletics on school computers.
31st January 2013
P.E. KIT
It has been brought to my attention that children are not wearing the appropriate clothing for P.E. Children are expected to wear shorts and tee shirt/sports top for P.E. especially when it is inside. Tights, leggings and tracksuit bottoms should only be worn outside and only when the weather determines it. P.E. Kit is expected to be in school at all times unless it gets dirty and needs to be taken home to wash.
Years 1 to 6 have P.E. every Wednesday.
YEAR 3/4 SWIMMING
Unfortunately due to work being undertaken on the Leisure Centre, swimming for
Year 3/4 has been cancelled for the next 2 weeks (Friday 1st and Friday 8th).
Could I also mention it is very important that children wear the correct swim wear. The Leisure Centre have stated boys must wear swimming trunks only, no swim shorts as these hinder the children while learning to swim. Girls must wear swimming costume and swimming cap. If your child cannot wear a swimming cap their hair must be tied securely in a pony tail. All jewellery must be removed (no responsibility if lost of the school) before going to the Leisure Centre.
PARENT AND PUPIL QUESTIONANAIRE
Every year we undertake a parental and pupil questionnaire to seek parent and pupil views about our school.
Attached is a questionnaire that I ask you to complete and return by Tuesday 6th February. Forms will be analysed and any necessary changes needed, will be implemented.
21st January 2013
BAD WEATHER
Can I take this opportunity of reminding you that if it is deemed necessary to close the school due to bad weather, a message will be placed on the homepage of the website by 7.45am. Announcements will also be made on Local Radio stations.
SCHOOL SECURITY
I am very concerned about the security of our children in the morning before school. At present when the weather is wet or snowing children come straight into school. Today there were large numbers of parents in school prior to registration. This then creates a security risk as not all staff including myself can safely say they know all parents. With this in mind I am asking parents not to enter the school building but leave their children at the school doors. The children are now quite capable of walking to their cloakrooms and organising themselves.
I trust I can count on your support over this matter.
KEY STAGE 2 CHILDREN - SLEDGES
Key Stage 2 children have asked if they can bring sledges tomorrow (Tuesday). I have agreed to their request but they must not be used before school, and only used when a staff member is present and in a safe pre selected area.
May I point out that if parents allow their child to bring a sledge, they are taking responsibility for their child’s safety.
Cheshire. CW12 3AH
Tel No: 01260 387356
11th December 2012
Dear Parents,
Just a reminder that our School Carol Service takes place at 6.45 pm on Wednesday, 19th December at St. Peter’s Church.
All children, year 1 to year 6 are expected to attend in school uniform. They need to be in church by 6.15pm. Everyone is welcome. There will be a retiring collection at the end of the service.
As Thursday 20th December is our party afternoon children may come in their own clothes for that day.
Thursday is the last day of term. We re-open on Monday, 7th January 2013.
May I take this opportunity of wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all the staff at Daven Primary School.
Yours sincerely,
P.G. Tolley
Headteacher.
CONGLETON
19 October 2012
Thank you for supporting our fundraising to purchase a cow for our partner school in Kenya as part of our Harvest festival. We raised £160 and this will be forwarded to Kisuilsuli Primary school.
Half Term
We finish today for our half term holiday. School re-opens on Tuesday 30th October as the day before is a training day for staff.
P.G.Tolley
PROTECT-INSPECTION
Thank you for the help which you and your staff gave when I inspected your school on 13 September 2012, and for the information which you provided during the inspection. Please pass on my thanks to the school’s national leader in education, to the Chair of the Governing Body, the representative of the local authority and to the parents who came to school to talk to me, for giving their time at very short notice.
The school has seen changes since the inspection of 17 January 2012. Two teachers have left the school and one new teacher has been recruited. The governing body has a new Chair and vice-chair.
As a result of the inspection of January 2012, the school was asked to address the most important areas for improvement which are set out in the annex to this letter.
Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school is making good progress in addressing the issues for improvement and in raising the pupils' achievement.
The school acted with urgency to implement the recommendations following the notice to improve. As a consequence, two terms later, the pupils achieved significantly better results in the national end of Key Stage 2 tests than in previous years. Ninety percent of pupils reached the expected Level 4 in mathematics and in English, comfortably exceeding the government’s floor targets for standards. In addition, 90% of pupils made or exceeded the expected progress in mathematics stipulated by the government as an expectation for all pupils. Pupils exceeded the challenging targets set for them by the school. A large proportion of the cohort taking the tests was in receipt of free school meals. Of this group, 92% attained the benchmark Level 4 in mathematics. Throughout the school, records show pupils in all years making accelerated progress.
The monitoring inspection took place a few days into the new school year. The new term has begun well. Pupils’ behaviour was good. They were settling into their new classes well
There have been major improvements to teaching; not just in mathematics, but across other subjects. The morale of teachers is high. They have taken the opportunities presented to see good practice in other schools. They have reflected on their own practice and listened to what consultants have shared with them. As a result, lessons now routinely display good features of effective teaching and learning. These include improved planning, better pace to lessons, more varied activities for pupils and many opportunities for them to make an active contribution. Pupils are set targets to reach in their work and pupils are also more involved in assessing how well they have understood the learning intention for each lesson. Work is now based on more accurate assessment of pupils’ learning, although, inevitably so early after the summer holidays, teachers were still finding out more about their pupils’ aptitudes and abilities. Records of visits by an independent consultant since the inspection of January 2012 show clear advances in teaching quality, with all teaching judged as good later in the summer term. The teaching of mathematics has changed radically. The curriculum is no longer based on progress through a commercial scheme but on the National Curriculum programmes of study for mathematics, informed by assessments of the level of pupils’ understanding. In each class the range of pupils’ ability is very wide and from a third to half of pupils finds learning difficult to a greater or lesser extent. In order to meet the pupils’ learning needs better, more effective use of teaching assistants is being made to teach groups of pupils and to intervene when they are judged to be falling behind. The school is directing the extra funding available from the government, the pupil premium, to facilitate such interventions. This strategy appears to be working effectively.
The leadership and management of the school have improved at all levels. Traditional strengths in the quality of pastoral care and relationships have been maintained; the school has sustained the confidence of the parents and pupils continue to enjoy school as before. However, with the support of the local authority and the external support it has brokered, the leadership team and the governing body have restructured and both are robustly tackling issues to raise standards. The deputy headteacher has taken overall responsibility for the use of pupils’ progress information to analyse the performance of each class. The headteacher monitors teaching quality through observations more thoroughly and discusses pupils’ progress with each teacher in turn, so teachers more clearly know what is expected of them. Leadership responsibilities have been allocated to mathematics and for teaching and learning, in line with the school’s development priorities. The governing body is under new leadership that brings wider experience and relevant experience of management to bear. With the support of a national leader in governance, governors are forging a more
The support and challenge provided by the local authority has been instrumental in the school’s improvement. Its statutory statement of action met requirements and provided a robust series of interventions to support improvement. All aspects of the authority’s support plan have proved effective to date. In particular, the brokering of a leader in education from a neighbouring authority has helped senior management refocus on what is important. Staff have welcomed the opportunity to see and discuss practice that is already effective. The commitment to improvement can also be seen in the brokering of a national leader in governance with similarly promising early outcomes. Consultant support has been provided for mathematics and for teaching and learning; both consultants have made valued and important contributions to the school’s development. Overseeing all of this, the local authority’s officers have maintained a close scrutiny of improvement through regular meetings with the senior team and key governors. Overall, the local authority has provided support of very good quality to the school to raise standards and eradicate weaknesses.
I hope that you have found the visit helpful in promoting improvement in your school. This letter will be posted on the Ofsted website.
Mr Brian Padgett
Her Majesty's InspectorPROTECT-INSPECTION
Annex
The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took place in January 2012
Raise attainment and improve progress in mathematics in Key Stages 1 and 2 by: - implementing effective strategies so that pupils can apply their mathematical knowledge and skills in challenging ways in order to improve their ability to solve problems - providing good opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their mathematical skills in meaningful contexts across the curriculum - embedding a broad and balanced mathematics curriculum which meets the learning needs of all pupils - further developing teachers’ knowledge and expertise in teaching mathematics so that its quality significantly improves - increasing the pace at which leaders pursue further improvements in the provision of mathematics in order to improve the quality of provision and pupils’ outcomes.
- implementing effective strategies so that pupils can apply their mathematical knowledge and skills in challenging ways in order to improve their ability to solve problems
- providing good opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their mathematical skills in meaningful contexts across the curriculum
- embedding a broad and balanced mathematics curriculum which meets the learning needs of all pupils
- further developing teachers’ knowledge and expertise in teaching mathematics so that its quality significantly improves
- increasing the pace at which leaders pursue further improvements in the provision of mathematics in order to improve the quality of provision and pupils’ outcomes.
18th September 2012
PARENTS EVENING – WEDNESDAY 26th SEPTEMBER
Parents Evening will take place on Wednesday 26th September. This is meant to be an opportunity to meet your child’s new class teacher. If you would like an appointment could you please complete the form below and return it to school no later than Friday 21st September. A slip confirming your allotted time will be forwarded under separate cover.
HARVEST
Our Harvest Festival will take place on the morning of Thursday 18th October.
Details to follow.
P.G. Tolley.
Child’s name ……………………………………….. Class ……………..
Parents/Guardians attending …………………………………………………….
I would prefer an appointment:
Between 3.30p.m. and 5.00p.m. ………..
Between 6.00p.m. and 8.00p.m. ………..
19th September 2012
SCHOOL CLUBS - KEY STAGE
Our School Clubs begin next week and if you wish your child to participate could you please complete the slip below and return it to school by Friday 21 September.
If any of the clubs are over subscribed, it may be necessary to split those taking part on a termly basis. A new club is being offered which is a multi skills P.E. Club for years 2, 3 and 4, which will be run by Active Soccer who take P.E. on a Wednesday. There will be a cost of £2.00 per pupil, per session payable direct to the course tutor on Wednesday evening.
Monday: 3.30 – 4.15 Yr 3/4 Football
3.30 – 4.15 Yr 4/5 & 6 Girls Football
3.30 – 4.15 Yr 5/6 Gardening (parents & Grandparents welcome)
Tuesday: 3.30 – 4.30 Yr 6 Newspaper
3.30 – 4.30 Yr 3/4 Puppet Workshop
Wednesday: Lunchtime Yr 3/4/5 & 6 Choir
3.30 – 4.30 Yr 2/3 & 4 Multi Skills, Active Soccer (£2.00 per session)
Thursday: Lunchtime Yr 5/6 High 5
Lunchtime Yr 5/6 Football
3.30 – 4.15 Yr 5/6 Tag Rugby
3.30 – 4.00 Yr 3/4/5 & 6 Tap Dancing
Mr P G Tolley
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
SCHOOL CLUBS - KEY STAGE 2
CHILD’S NAME: ………………………………………………………… CLASS: ……
My child would like to take part in the following club/s:
DAY: TIME: CLUB:
…….. ………. ………………………………………………
6th September 2012
Welcome back to a new academic year and we are looking forward to all that it has to offer.
We would like to welcome Mrs. Baskeyfield who will be sharing Year 1 with Mrs. Hunt.
We would also like to welcome Mr. Dale as caretaker as, unfortunately, Mr. Farley has been offered another post. We wish him well in his new career and appreciate all he has done for the school in the short time he has been with us.
We would like to welcome all the new children and parents who have started school this term.
Attached to this letter is a holiday list which currently goes up to September 2012.
May I point out to Year 6 parents that SAT’s week is the week commencing Monday, 13th May. It is important that all year 6 children are in school that week.
I have congratulated all the children on their appearance. All children are in school uniform. May I ask that all items are clearly marked with your child’s name. Would you also ensure that your child has a P.E. kit which will be kept in school. This also needs naming.
May I remind parents that school for key stage 2 children starts at 8.55a.m. and all children should be on the playground by that time. Key stage 1 starts t 9.00am, again children need to be on the playground by that time. The school day ends at 3.20pm and it is important that parents are at school to collect their children t this time.
We do offer a breakfast club each morning where children can be dropped off from 7.30am. Costs are shown below:-
7.30 with breakfast and escorted into school £ 3.50
8. – 8.45am with breakfast £ 1.50
Drop off without breakfast £ 1.00
Family discounts are given. Please contact Mrs. Williamson in the office if you wish your child to attend any sessions and to complete a booking form.
MILK MONEY
A reminder to all Year 1 and 2 parents milk money is payable on Monday morning for the full week 20p per day £1.00 for the week. May I ask that the money be in a named envelope and handed to the class teacher.
UNIFORM
If anyone has any spare clean uniform, especially for the smaller children, please bring items into the office. The smaller children may have accidents from time to time and need to put clean dry clothes on. Thank you for your assistant.
