School Newsletter

Headmaster's letter- May 2010

Dear Parents,

The summer term is always a mix of looking backwards and forwards; a time for review and target setting. Junior and Senior students have now sat their school examinations and will shortly start to get their results back; they will all be setting targets as to how to consolidate and improve on these results next year. The process for the staff is a similar one- we review our School Development Planning and start to think about what measures we want to implement next term.

One issue we will look at is our ‘Buildings and Grounds’ development plan. Last year’s target was mainly concerned with managing the movement of the Juniors onto the St. Paul’s Road site. It seems like we set these targets a long time ago and it is comforting to see how well it has been achieved. However, we are always looking to improve our site and have therefore decided to open up more of the site for teaching. We have had planning permission accepted to convert Harriet Sturdy’s flat into another teaching area. This is the area directly above the Years 6 and 3 classrooms which will allow us to have more classrooms, a Senior Library area and more toilets. This conversion will take place over summer. We are currently working at the best use of the space and once we have finalised plans at our next Advisory Board meeting, I will be able to let you know more details.

Coupled with these plans for improvement is SWPA’s Project Playground scheme which has started this half-term. My heartfelt thanks to those parents who came into school in the hot weather in order to begin repainting the playground design. More work will follow this term which will involve some playground redesign, furniture buying and revamping the back of the school. Any parent who wishes to help SWPA with this can contact them at mail@swpa.org.uk.

The aforementioned Advisory Board is another subject I’d like to bring to parents’ attention. The group meets twice a term and provides a forum for discussion of all matters Sancton Wood. It is comprised of the Directors (Harriet and Daniel Sturdy), myself, the Bursar, the Registrar, staff representatives (one per department) and parents (of both existing and former students.) As it is nearly the end of the year we are now looking to replace existing members who wish to stand down. If any parent would like to be part of the Advisory Board they should contact me for further details.

One issue we discussed at our last meeting was the provision of care for students before school. This will be reviewed at our next meeting but I would like to remind parents of the existing provision. The school is officially open from 8.30 am. At this time Junior parents should feel free to drop off their children at the school, they will be supervised in the yard. Infant parents should wait with their child until the bell is rung at 8.45. Senior classrooms are open for children from 8.30 in order for them to gather books in preparation for their first lesson at 8.45. We do offer a breakfast club and parents are welcome to pay to use this facility from 8 onwards.

Our After School provision is also under review. Several questionnaires returned in January referred to the rather narrow nature of the clubs on offer and I am hopeful that we will be able to offer some more clubs from September onwards. I am currently finalising the details of these clubs and I will have the new look timetable ready for my end of term newsletter.

I am delighted to inform parents that one of Sancton Wood’s educational partnership projects has been given an ‘outstanding’ rating by the ‘Knowledge Transfer Partnership’ Grading Panel. This was a partnership project with Anglia Ruskin University carried out between 2007-2009 which developed what is now called the "Learning Needs Profiler".
The project was part of a program to facilitate the transfer of research-based knowledge and to encourage business investment in training, research and development. We are very keen to encourage research and are regularly in partnership with Cambridge University in order to remain as innovative as possible. It was great to be recognised as such by Anglia Ruskin. Any parent who would like more details about this should feel free to contact me.

Finally, our last Open Morning of the year will be on Friday June 25th from 9-10 am. Any parent who would like to drop in and see us at work should feel free to do so.

Warm regards,

Richard Settle

Headmaster's Newsletter- March/April

Dear Parents,

I hope that you, and your children, have had an enjoyable Easter break. I am aware that some of you may find yourselves with an extended holiday if you have chosen to travel abroad. Mrs Fitzgerald, Mrs Russell and Mrs Rogerson are all ‘stranded’ by the current problems with our airways. Their classes will be covered until their return and it will of course be business as usual in school.
The trip to New York was a great success. I only found myself getting angry once in the five day trip. The reason? Exuberant skipping down the ‘sidewalk’ caused a collision between three of our pupils and some locals! The pupils were wonderfully well behaved and we enjoyed every minute of our packed schedule. There are some photos on the website (seniors/ gallery) and more will follow once the pupils return.
Last term was another busy one for SW. I was most impressed by the amount of activities taking place in school- something reflected in our packed school newsletter. I particularly enjoyed seeing the maths activities organised by Mrs Pearce-Slade in which our infants and juniors got to work with the seniors on some mathematical activities. The proximity of the three departments is a real strength and I am sure that all children feel the benefits of this. Indeed, I look forward to the first meeting of a whole school student council- we already have separate senior and infant/junior meetings, but this term we will join them for two larger ones. It will be good to see representatives from all three departments in the same meeting.
The main business of the student council has been SWPA’s ‘Project Playground’. I hope that you have seen your child’s questionnaire and that they have managed to fill them with ideas, can I ask that these are returned as soon as possible? I look forward to seeing the playground ‘improved’, I’m sure you’ll agree that although it is charming it could certainly use a face-lift. Many thanks to SWPA for helping with this.
We are delighted at the continued popularity of Sancton Wood School. Reviewing the class lists this week, I was very impressed to see how full our classes are for the new school year. The Nursery cannot possibly squeeze another child in and is vastly over-subscribed as are many of our other classes. Indeed, it was a shame that we have not been able to help parents of St Colette's to any great extent as we are already full in our infant department.
I am also proud that 14 out of 16 students from Year 6 are planning to move on to Year 7 next year. This is a huge vote of confidence in the school. The remaining two places could have been filled ten times over and we are pleased to report that two girls will be joining the group next year.
Parents of our Year 11 students will no doubt be having more than their fair share of worries as the exam season begins. You must contact us with any questions you may have about deadlines, syllabuses, exams etc. The early signs for Year 11 are very good- recent Maths and Science early entry results were excellent with a majority of the grades being either A or A*.
I will finish with a word about our Juniors. I am aware that parents of pupils in Years 4 and 5 have had concerns about the staffing changes which have taken place in these areas. I mentioned this in my January letter (still available on the web site) but would re-state that I understand that this was not an ideal situation. However, both Miss Haycox and Mrs Chalk had excellent reasons for leaving and the school had to support them in this. I was aware that we had perfect replacements but the issue was that in each case the teachers couldn’t start immediately. Mrs Greig was the ‘stop gap’ teacher in each case and I thank her for the excellent job she has done. With Mrs Bunke’s return, we now have our four permanent teachers in place and I am sure that we will have a more settled term.
Warm regards,

Richard Settle

Headmaster's Newsletter- Feb

Dear Parents,
I can’t believe that half-term is only a week away! This time of year is a strange one and it is always a little disconcerting when plans for school leavers, options and summer activities suddenly loom into full view. It’ll be July before we know it!
Many thanks to all those parents who responded to the questionnaire. As I had hoped it gave invaluable insight into the school. I was encouraged by the extremely positive response and am pleased that so many of you agreed that your child was happy and learning well at school.
There were some concerns raised- several of which I have already been able to address. Several parents wanted feedback on the programmes of study their child would be following. This has been fairly straightforward to arrange. Junior parents have been contacted by teachers with an outline of the work their child will follow this term. Shortly, a long term plan for the whole year will appear on our website. The Infant department have already posted their long term plans, you will find them at www.sanctonwood.co.uk/infants/work. Finally, the Seniors’ long term subject plans have been gathered and will also appear on the website shortly.
Access to our whole school policies was another issue which came up. Once again, these have now been posted on the website and can be found under information/policies. They were unavailable for a short time while the website was being upgraded.
The website itself was a concern to some and I appreciate that it has not been our strongest form of communication in the past. However, the new website is very close to completion. There are a couple of issues with the picture gallery but parents will notice that, slowly but surely, it is filling up with information. All the key dates for this term are now on the department’s homepages, news is being regularly updated and all communications home will also be posted. We are also in the process of posting a more detailed copy of the lunch menu.
The questionnaire provided a useful way of parents informing the school of their thoughts. Please do not think that was your only chance. I very much welcome hearing any suggestions and ideas. One of the beauties of a small school is that we can take on board new ideas and implement suitable ones relatively easily.
Many thanks to parents for their generous donations to the Haiti Earthquake appeal. We were able to give the SOS Childrens Villages charity in excess of £1,100 pounds. One of our much loved former teachers, Mrs Pountain, works for the trust and came in to show children how their money would help. Our School Development Plan targets links with charities and it was great to see that we have such a strong commitment in this area. The Evening News was also interested in our story. We expect to be featuring soon.
Another ‘first’ for this term is the re-introduction of whole school assemblies. These were a regular occurrence under Mrs. Sturdy’s time as head teacher, but seem to have since disappeared. I think that it is important that we gather more regularly as a whole school and feel that half-termly assemblies- with a religious message from the vicar- are important. Therefore, Monday morning will see the whole school gather at St. Paul’s church for an assembly based around the theme of ‘Lent’.
Finally, can I remind parents that Feb 11th is the first of our Open Mornings. Parents are welcome to come to the school between 9 and 10 and see us at work. Also, my ‘Drop-in’ sessions-which have so far proved popular- are weekly between 3 and 4.

Warm regards,

Richard Settle

Headmaster's January Letter

January 2010

Dear Parents,

My first formal communication to parents as Associate Headmaster is also another first - a monthly Headmaster's letter. I aim to issue these at the end of each hectic month, keeping parents abreast of all the news from the school.

Firstly, I would like to wish you all happy New Year and thank you for all the kind words of support and encouragement I received last year. The warm response to my appointment was much appreciated.

Clearly, the main business of last term was managing the move of the Juniors to the St. Paul's Road site. The great success of this has meant that the school is now much more closely focused as a unit. It was great to see all departments working together on our School Development Plan for 2009-2010. The timetabling and space issues raised by the move have been dealt with smoothly by all departments and we are settling into our new 'formation' well.

Staffing has also been strengthened since September. In the Senior School three new science teachers have already joined us. In the Junior School we have been fortunate to have had Mrs Greig and Mrs Parkinson joining us and, once Mrs Bunke returns at half-term, our Junior Department will have excellent staffing throughout. We also look forward to the Music Department continuing to flourish under the guidance of Miss Atter.

Numbers in the school have continued to rise since September and it is nice to have waiting lists for certain classes. I am confident that we will have a full and indeed over-subscribed school in September. Parents of our new students have been impressed by our flexible, caring approach to education and our very high academic standards.

However, the school shouldn't become complacent and I am anxious that we must listen to all our parents. It is my desire for you to feel involved with the school and our process of self-evaluation. Therefore, from January, I will be offering a weekly 'drop in' session for parents. I am always available via e-mail or the phone but feel that sometimes parents feel that they need to talk face to face on certain issues- and quickly. Each week, on Wednesday between 3-4 pm, I will be in my office and available to any parent to drop in and chat.

Furthermore, you will find attached to this letter a questionnaire which I would be grateful if you could complete as honestly as possible. I will be looking to build your ideas into our ongoing School Self Evaluation Plan. Finally, the whole school will be open to parents as a working 'open morning' on Thursday 11th February and Wednesday 24th March. On these days parents will be able to call in and see the school 'at work' between the hours of 9.00- 10.00; I am immensely proud of the strong work ethic and good atmosphere which exists in the school and feel that parents should be able to share in this. No appointment is necessary for this, simply visit the school at any time during the allotted hours.

The school website is nearing completion and I will make this letter and the questionnaire available there.

Warm regards,

Richard Settle

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