Headteacher blog 29/4/22
We are all working hard at school: in part, preparing for SATs in Y2 and Y6 coming up next month. It’s a balance: we want to do well and reach our potential, but we also don’t want to narrow the curriculum nor place undue stress or anxiety on our children and staff. I think we generally get the balance right as we continue with the full curriculum offer all year but also get plenty of SATs practice, especially in Y6.
Attendance has been relatively low this week: lots of illness amongst children and staff. Attendance is obviously much higher than in January, but nevertheless a few percentage points less than we would expect. I have felt a bit unusual myself too and I wonder if nearly two years of social distancing has left us a little more susceptible to infections now?
On Monday morning we had a big Health and Safety Audit with two of our governors. The wide-ranging assessment was generally very positive, and the areas for improvement can be actioned quickly. I am very grateful for the support and challenge that we get from our governing body, and we should always remember that these are volunteers giving their own time to our school.
On Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending a conference of headteachers and senior leaders from the Pudsey Family of Schools. This was the first time that we have got together in person for nearly two years and it was good to see colleagues for a useful morning. Next week, teachers from the three Farsley primary schools are getting together again to look at writing and moderate each other’s assessments. We will also have valuable discussions of the next steps that some of our borderline children need to make to reach higher levels of attainment in their writing. We are fortunate to have three lovely schools in our village serving our children and families well and the sharing of expertise is helpful.
Finally, I would like to wish all our Muslim families and colleagues ‘Happy Eid’ for next week. I am delighted that the (almost) end of Ramadan is being marked by a PTA event on both yards tonight after school and I am sure that it will be a great success.
Eid Mubarak!
