|
The final member of our current LSB to introduce is Reverend David Spence, who recently moved to North Tawton with his wife, Ellie, and their four children, two of whom attend North Tawton Primary School. David moved here from Witney, near Oxford and is looking forward to doing more work to link the school and the community, through his role in the church and as a governor.
David’s specific role is a Foundation Governor and he will work alongside Mel (the other Foundation Governor) to cultivate respect for the spiritual and moral beliefs of the Christian traditions, and champion & monitor the integration of Christian values across all aspects of school life. Whilst Chagford is the only Church of England school, the Three Hares principals are all keen to welcome David into their schools, where he will also bring a fresh pair of eyes to the overall ethos and vision of the schools. This week, James Warner, our Safeguarding Lead, has undertaken safeguarding visits to all three schools. Each visit took about two hours, and included a meeting with the Designated Safeguarding Lead (who is the principal in each of our schools), a sample check of the Single Central Record to ensure its compliance (the SCR is a statutory requirement for all schools, and stores records & details of all staff, volunteers etc, to ensure all appropriate vetting checks have been carried out, and all details are current); a walk around the school to observe safeguarding issues; a chat with some staff to check their understanding of safeguarding; and a talk to a panel of pupils to assess their perspective on safeguarding. James will report back to the LSB at our next meeting in January, although if any urgent issues had arisen, these would be highlighted and dealt with immediately. We would like to thank the principals for inviting us to their various school festive events. A number of us are able to attend different occasions, and are really looking forward to seeing the children and staff getting into the Christmas spirit! Do please say “Hi” to us, if you see us – we are always keen to meet you and it really helps us in our overall objective of gathering stakeholder voice! Mel & Liz [email protected] [email protected] Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, This week Year 4 braved the weather and went down to the river for their geography field trip. Miss Radbourne checked the water levels and the soil condition carefully in the morning and made some changes to the trip to make it safe. The class had a wonderful time and made a wonderful display which is outside my office.  A huge thanks to Mr Hunt and Miss Wallis our student teachers who have been a great asset in Y4. They are going back to university for the rest of term. We look forward to seeing them in the new year. Football and Human rights On Monday in assembly I spoke about the complex issues regarding the World Cup being held in Qatar. Respecting other cultures and traditions, while also being aware that human rights should be a global expectation is something many of us are thinking about and discussing in our homes and work places. The children were really mature and thoughtful and listened to different views about this. One of our younger children suggested I write to the king of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and tell him to make sure everyone in the country is treated well. If only it were that simple! And, if only I had that influence! Older children were aware of migrant worker deaths, that the country can be unsafe for many people living there as well as tourists and football fans visiting and questioned why FIFA chose Qatar as a host country. Whatever your opinion, I was impressed with how well the children engaged with thinking about this topical issue. I told the children it was important to me that we adults model to them fairness, equity and compassion, and following on from our work last week, will always follow up issues regarding bullying. Parents Meetings Thank you to all the parents who were able to make their appointments this week to discuss their children’s progress. It was lovely to have so many of you coming into our classrooms to meet in person. Our children thrive when we work together! We have a few parents who were not able to make the appointments, it is vital to rearrange these appointments so please look out for a dojo to rearrange. Class teachers can call you if that is easier for you. Merry Go Round An important message from our friends at Merry Go Round:   Upcoming Dates
Friday 2 December – Y3 Castle Drogo trip Friday 2 December – 3.30 – 5pm Christmas Market in the hall - see you all there! Wednesday 7th Dec –Christmas Jumpers and Christmas dinner (changed from Thursday 8th) Friday 9th December – 2pm Carol Service at school (not the church) – parents welcome Sunday 11th December – 6.30pm Carol service at the church – families welcome Tuesday 13th December 2pm – Christingle at church – parents welcome Nativity performances: Parents can attend Wednesday 14th December at 4pm or Thursday 15th Dec at 5pm – details about this to come via Dojo (we will have a dress rehearsal in school so all children can watch) Forward Notice – the school will be closed on 8 May 2023. The DfE has now confirmed that schools should close for the bank holiday on 8 May 2023 to mark King Charles III’s coronation. This date is scheduled to be the first day of KS2 SATs; the DfE says the Standards and Testing Agency will update schools on what this means for KS2 test week as soon as possible. As always, please look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about this week. With very best wishes, Tara Penny Principal Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, Anti Bullying Week This week has been our anti bullying week. Of course, every week is anti bullying week, but this is a week each year schools focus specifically on the topic. Throughout the year we have assemblies and PSHE sessions where we talk about what it means to be a good friend, we select books and poems to highlight kindness, teach internet safety lessons and address friendship issues as they arise. We talk about bullying specifically in lessons so that children are aware of what it is, and what to do when it happened to them, or they see it. We train older children to be peer mediators and play leaders so they can be role models to younger ones. We share stories about people from a wide range of countries, cultures and religions, and from different families and with different abilities so that our children hear positive messages about us all being unique and to promote inclusion. On Monday I held a workshop for parents to attend to find out more about what we are doing in school to tackle this issue and how we can work together to support our children. Only three parents attended, one parent gave apologies as something came up which prevented her from being able to attend. I was disappointed as this is such an important issue and many parents have raised this with me and other staff. In the meeting I explained how our school rules are encapsulated in the three words: Ready Respectful Safe We looked at the differences between being rude, being mean and bullying and discussed the culture of bullying in popular books, films and TV shows and how it can be portrayed as ‘character building.’ Th reality is that some people do come through bullying experiences stronger, but many do not. We also spoke about on line bullying, as this is where we experience many issues. Do you know what platforms your children are using? Do you have filters? In school we are able to monitor children and we have a filter. We also have a system which alerts me to any user who accesses something that should be filtered, and also alerts me to any rude or threatening language written. Tik Tok and Roblox are the platforms currently causing problems with some of our pupils at home. Also children sending and receiving unkind messages to and from each other on instant messenger, Snap chat and the chat functions in games like Roblox. I shared the advice from a friend who did not give her children a phone, ipad or computer. She made it clear to them that she owns them, and allows her children to use them with her rules. She regularly monitors and has at times taken away for short periods if her rules are broken. I cannot count the number of times I have spoken with a parent who is worried that their child is being bullied, however, I can easily count the amount of parents who have asked for help because they think their child is a bully. It is our job to work together with you to help our children learn how to behave. We name the behaviour as bullying, not the child as a bully so stigma and shame do not prevent children from learning and changing. Here are some great resources for parents: Advice for parents and carers (anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk) Bullying | Parents Guide to Support | YoungMinds Helping Children Deal with Bullying & Cyberbullying | NSPCC And this is an interesting article about the differences between being rude, mean and bullying: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/signe-whitson/bullying_b_2188819.html?guccounter=1 Children in Need
It’s been a fabulous end to the week with children celebrating their uniqueness dressed up in all sorts of clothing and wearing odd socks. It was lovely to see children chatting, going for walks, sharing books and writing with children in other classes during our Think, Pair, Share and Read for Children in Need afternoon. The facepainting was extremely popular and a huge thanks must go to our team of face painters. What a talented staff we have! Reminder! Please make sure you have signed up for a parent teacher meeting. We are happy to call you if that is more convenient Upcoming Dates Week beginning 21st November – parent teacher meetings – class teachers will organise slots, these can be in person or a phone call Friday 2 December Christmas Market –– after school in the hall and playground Monday 12th December 2pm Magic Martin treat from FONTS Wednesday 7th December –Christmas Jumper Day (raising funds for Save the children) and Christmas dinner (date changed to accommodate swimming) Friday 9th December – 2pm Carol Service at school – parents welcome Tuesday 13th December 2pm – Christingle at church – parents welcome Nativity performances: Parents can attend Wednesday 14th December at 4pm or Thursday 15th Dec at 5pm – details about this to come via Dojo (we will have a dress rehearsal in school so all children can watch) As always, please look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about this week. With very best wishes Tara Penny Principal Dear North Tawton Friends and Families, Remembrance I was so proud of our children this week as they learnt about Remembrance and Armistice in class and in assemblies with Rev Spence and with me. They have been so mature and respectful as well as curious and reflective. We have learnt about why we honour this day, and older children learnt about how today is marked in France in their French lesson with Madame Jordan. Today they all had quiet reflection at 11am, Nursery and Reception in their classes and Y1 – Y6 in the hall. I spoke to them about my grandad and how I feel on this day each year.  Anti Bullying Week Next week we will be talking specifically about bullying and why it is not acceptable behaviour in our school. I hope parents can attend the workshop on Monday morning. I will share notes and resources in next week’s newsletter for those who are unable to attend. On Friday children can wear odd socks to celebrate what makes us all unique. Wrap Around Care I have excellent news! We are now in the process of finalising a contract for before and after school provision. The company is called Premier and of all the providers I have spoken with, this is the one in which I have full confidence will provide excellent provision with the high levels of quality, safety and safeguarding we would want for or children. In the morning, they will provide a carb and activity from 8am. After school, they will have a sports activity between 3.30 – 4.30 and then for those who stay on, there will be a snack and a second sport activity. They will have a craft option too, so all needs are catered for. They will run until 5.30 or 6pm if needed. As soon as we have the contract finalised, I will be able to send you more details and set up a meeting so parents can find out more, and sign up! I hope they will be able to start in January. In the meantime, staff are doing what they can to provide some after school activities, but as I am sure you will appreciate, this is well above and beyond a hectic school day. Wednesdays - Choir and Craft club Fridays - Journalism and Ocra Sports Sensory Light A big thank you to Stacey and all parents who voted for us to receive a sensory light! We are making a sensory space for children to use throughout the day. Dogs Please can I remind all dog owners to keep their dogs on leads when at the school gates. Many thanks. Upcoming Dates Monday 14th November Anti Bullying Week Parent Workshop 9 – 10 in the school hall Friday 18th November – Odd Socks Day! Week beginning 21st November – parent teacher meetings – class teachers will organise slots, these can be in person or a phone call Friday 2 December Christmas Market –– after school in the hall and playground Monday 12th December 2pm Magic Martin treat from FONTS Wednesday 7th December –Christmas Jumper Day (raising funds for Save the children) and Christmas dinner (date changed to accommodate swimming) Friday 9th December – 2pm Carol Service at the church – parents welcome Tuesday 13th December 2pm – Christingle at church – parents welcome Nativity performances: Parents can attend Wednesday 14th December at 4pm or Thursday 15th Dec at 5pm – details about this to come via Dojo (we will have a dress rehearsal in school so all children can watch) As always, please look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about this week. With very best wishes Tara Penny Principal  Three Hares LSB
It was great to introduce two new governors to our Local Stakeholder Board at our half-termly meeting held yesterday. These meetings follow a set agenda prescribed by the Trust which help keep us focused and ensure we don’t get side-tracked by discussions that may make the meeting overrun… Last night, our meeting lasted about 1½ hours, and we often find that we are joined briefly by children or pets that require our attention, and usually earn a little “aaaah” from the rest of the group! Leonie McGowan was formally appointed on Wednesday this week, which was perfect timing for her first meeting. Lennie is our new SEND Lead Governor, replacing Dr Ben Morris who recently stood down. Lennie has particular expertise in this area, as she has a child with autism, and therefore brings a wealth of knowledge and real-life experience with her. We are very lucky to have her join us. The SEND Lead Governor role takes the lead on monitoring SEND provision (although the LSB retains collective responsibility) and: • is the link between the LSB and the schools (Principals and/or Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo), reporting to the LSB on steps being taken to ensure compliance; • ensures appropriate challenge to leaders so that SEND remains high on the schools’ agendas and that the schools have high aspirations for SEND pupils; • understands how the schools identify who is a SEND pupil, including at points of transition; • familiar with the individual school’s SEND policy; • understands how specific money (e.g. Pupil Premium) is allocated; • discusses with the Principals / SENCo the outcomes of the schools’ monitoring and evaluation of the provision and effectiveness made for pupils with SEND; • understands how the schools approach teaching to SEND pupils and makes reasonable adjustments to ensure SEND pupils access a broad and balanced curriculum; • knows what additional support is available to SEND learners. We agreed as a Board that we will commence our school visits again this half term, and hope to meet some of you at the school gates, or at one of the upcoming events, be that the Remembrance Day Services or Christmas festivals – or anything in between! Mel & Liz [email protected] [email protected] This week, we would like to introduce Mike Davies. He is a solicitor and has been living in Okehampton for 18 months with his wife and two children, who both attend South Tawton Primary School. Mike has recently joined the Three Hares LSB, and will take on a Lead Role in Resources, which includes interrogating how pupil premium and sports premium money is spent, and its impact on the children. As a new governor, there is plenty of mandatory training to be undertaken first and actually, all governors annually revisit their training needs to identify any gaps that could be filled. For example, we have all recently ensured our Safeguarding Young People, The Prevent Duty, and Data Protection training is up to date, so we are fully able to engage safely and appropriately with the pupils and staff at all three schools in the Three Hares.
Away from our desks, Liz and I have recently enjoyed attending harvest festivals at Chagford and North Tawton. It’s been an absolute joy to see the churches full of youthful energy blasting out Cauliflowers Fluffy, alongside more traditional Harvest hymns. We have also attended a few meetings led by the Trust, most notably the Chairs Forum, which is a useful opportunity for us to speak with the other LSB Chairs within the Trust, and find out what everyone else is up to, to identify any risks or challenges we are facing, and to raise anything we feel needs to be brought to the Trust’s attention. As always, if you would like to contact us, please email: [email protected] or [email protected] Dear North Tawton Friends and Families,
Welcome back! I hope you all had a great half term week and a good start back to the second part of the Autumn term. This is always a busy term so please do read these newsletters, emails and class Dojos so you are aware of events. Lovely correspondence This week I have received two lovely cards from local residents to say thank you for the harvest donations. Thank you once again to FONTS for organising this. I also received this email from a member of the North Tawton community on Tuesday morning: I just wanted to send you a quick email to say how fantastic all the children were last night who were out doing Trick or Treat. We live just down from the school and had lots of visitors and all the children were so polite and said thank you. Netball Well done to our netball teams for their excellent attitudes and sporting prowess today. We hosted a netball tournament here for a group of schools and two if our teams competed. I am delighted that both teams played very well, and one of our teams came first! Well done! Thank you to Mrs Ahmad and to Coach Edwards for organising this with OCRA. Wrap Around Care I am pleased to report that we are closer to offering a breakfast club and after school club on site. I have had further meetings with providers over the last term and am now in the process of securing an agreement with one. We met this week to discuss logistics. As you will appreciate, we need to make sure anyone who has responsibility for our pupils has all the correct policies and safeguarding in place and there are legal processes to complete before we will be ready to get going. Watch this space! Fireworks In assembly today, reception class recited the Gunpowder Plot rhyme Remember, remember, the 5th of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason Why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot. I reminded children about firework safety – only adults should light them, wear gloves if you hold a sparkler and do not touch a firework after it has gone out as it might still be hot. A good friend of mine was badly burnt by a firework so I know how dangerous they can be. That said, I hope you enjoy the displays and have a great weekend! Upcoming Dates Monday 14th November Anti Bullying Week Parent Workshop 9 – 10 in the school hall Friday 18th November – Odd Socks Day! Week beginning 21st November – parent teacher meetings – class teachers will organise slots, these can be in person or a phone call Friday 2 December Christmas Market –– after school in the hall and playground Monday 12th December 2pm Magic Martin treat from FONTS Wednesday 7th December –Christmas Jumper Day (raising funds for Save the children) and Christmas dinner (date changed to accommodate swimming) Friday 9th December – 2pm Carol Service at the church – parents welcome Tuesday 13th December 2pm – Christingle at church – parents welcome Nativity performances: Wednesday 14th December at 2pm and 4pm and Thursday 15th Dec at 5pm – details about this to come As always, please look at the class blogs to see what the pupils have been learning about this week. With very best wishes for the weekend. Enjoy the fireworks and keep yourselves and your pets safe! Tara Penny Principal |
Categories |
RSS Feed
