Dear parents and carers,
As we reach the end of the first half-term of the year, it’s great to see how well the children have settled into school life. Particularly the children in Reception. Children know the routines of their classes and the learning now, which is really important in helping them feel safe and settled. Some are definitely a little tired, so it’s a good time to have a half-term break to recharge the batteries.
Thank you for the amazing Harvest donations at the beginning of the week. You were very generous and the Freedom Centre were very grateful when we delivered it all on Wednesday. We talked to the children about how Harvest is a time to celebrate and give thanks for our food, but also a time to share. It is brilliant to be able to share and support those in our own community who are having a difficult time.
We’ve had cause to celebrate this week as on Monday afternoon we had our final OPAL audit. OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) is a project which we have been involved with for the past two years to improve our lunchtime provision. This has meant increasing what we offer to cater for all types of play and enable children to engage their imagination more readily and explore. Over the past two years we have added the following and more to our lunchtime provision:
- Large loose parts (tyres, logs, pallets etc)
- Den building materials
- A digging pit
- Wellies to enable year-round access to the secret garden and field
- Music
- Fancy dress
- Ride-on toys
- Stick play
The children have much more to do and the staff have noticed a difference in how engaged the children are and how there are fewer instances of negative behaviour.
We were delighted to be awarded the highest award – A Platinum Award – after just two years. We look forward to continuing our OPAL journey. A big thank you must go to Miss Lethaby who has been the driving force behind this. Also to Mrs Howlett and Mrs Powley who have been on our OPAL team and the whole MTA team for putting it all into action.
On Tuesday morning we had our first full fire drill of the year. The children did brilliantly well in staying calm and evacuating safely. The whole school was fully evacuated and at the assembly point in under three minutes, which is excellent.
Thank you to those parents who attended the Reception reading workshop on Thursday. We hope you found it useful. As always, if you have any questions about your child’s learning, please do ask the class teams. No question is a silly question. Parents open evening on the 4th November will be a good opportunity for this.
Well done to Fox Class who have completed their final swimming session today. They’ve made lots of progress within the five sessions and we hope for some this will be the start of regular swimming lessons. Swimming is great fun but also a really important life skill, particularly when living in North Devon.
We hope you all have a fantastic half-term break. We look forward to seeing you again on Monday 2nd November.
Best wishes,
John Mortimer
Head of School
