Dear
Parents/Carers,
And
so the first half of the summer term draws to a close today, yet we can still
count the number of sunny days on one hand! This has been a busy week with much
achieved, and next half term we begin our forward planning and transition work
to ensure a smooth start to September..
Deputy Head Teacher
Having borrowed Mrs Turner from another Leeds school for the Summer
term, I am delighted to announce that she was successful in securing the post
of Deputy Head teacher at Cookridge on Tuesday. Mrs Turner was selected from a
very strong field and proved her incredible value in many different challenges
across a gruelling two day interview process. Staff, governors and children
worked side by side to make the selection and ensure we secured the best person
for our school. Since joining us just 6 weeks ago, Mrs T has established very
strong relationships with staff and children right across school and shares our
excitement and enthusiasm for the ongoing development of our school.
Congratulations Mrs Turner – we are thrilled for you: welcome aboard!
In addition, we also appointed an Assistant Head teacher to join us in
September. Mr Kerr will be teaching in Y56 next year and brings great passion
to his role as class teacher, school leader and as a person with the capacity
to ignite staff and pupils alike with his infectious enthusiasm. Mr Kerr
completes our team for September and the teaching teams for 2013-14, therefore,
are:
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Foundation Stage
Reception
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Key Stage 1
Years 1 & 2
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Lower Key Stage 2
Years 3 & 4
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Upper Key Stage 2
Years 5 & 6
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Miss Helene Hobson
(Team Leader)
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Miss Sam Golia
(Team Leader)
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Miss Claire Fowler
(Team Leader)
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Mr Andy Maldonado
(Team Leader)
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Mrs Debbie Fletcher
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Mrs McHugh/Mrs Cairns
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Miss Laura Glendinning
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Mr Scot Gamble
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Miss Streams
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Miss Alex Carroll
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Mr Ben Kerr
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Mrs Lorraine Turner
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Shortly after half term we will be notifying you of your child’s class
teacher for the year ahead.
Let me extend my personal thanks to Governors Mr Horsley and Mr
Bannister for dedicating two days of their time to the interview process. These
are exciting times and we very much look forward to the next phase of our journey.
Parent Survey
Thanks to parents who took the time to offer feedback to Governors
during the parent consultation evenings at the start of this half term. I am
tonight sending home a summary of the outcomes which, this time, make comparison between the very first
parental survey I asked parents to complete back in the early days of my Head
ship, almost two years ago now! Making a comparison between those responses and
our most recent has been fascinating feedback for me, and will help the staff
team prioritise our next steps for school development.
At a glance, it is very obvious that most progress has been made against
the ‘Wellbeing’ and ‘Progress and Achievement’ strands. I am particularly
thrilled that a couple of areas of 100% satisfaction have emerged with this
survey – and notably in two areas that, for me, are “non-negotiables” and areas
that I have put every effort into getting right: pupil progress and pupil
safety. I am also delighted that 96% of parents are happy with the way
behaviour in school is being managed – that’s over 20% more happy parents in
2013 compared with 2011. It is brilliant that you recognise the work of the
staff team in these and other fundamentally important areas in our school, and
this is great feedback to share with staff, governors and parents.
It is fantastic that parental
support of the behaviour policy in school is so very, very strong. Since 2011,
many parents have been contacted with regard to a behavioural incident that
their child might have been involved in. I can honestly say I have had 100%
support from every parent I have contacted. This is much appreciated,
absolutely necessary and evidence of our very strong partnership work which IS
making a difference.
Clearly, the area we must next prioritise is parental partnerships.
Working more closely with parents is probably the single most powerful next
step we can take, and conversations have already begun in school as to how we
do this. Clearly, your voice is really vital to getting this right, so if you
have ideas or suggestions for how we can and should work more closely together
– please get in touch. The next coffee morning on Wednesday 12th
June and will be another opportunity to come a share your ideas – put the date
in your diary and come along.
Clearly, the biggest area of contention remains homework!! This is a
difficult one to get right as some parents want more homework and some parents want less – BUT we cannot get it
right until we understand what the problem is, and for how many! We will be in
touch soon after half term with some ideas for a way forward in this area – I’m
determined to see more parents and children happy with the demands of homework
12 months from now... I want some more 100%’s!
Thanks for the feedback – it’s great to receive and is key to the
planning of school priorities, which begins in earnest for the year ahead after
the holidays....
Sports News
Y5/6
Rugby- The team ventured to John Charles Sport Stadium on Tuesday to take part
in the Leeds City Finals and came 5th. This is a remarkable achievement and all
credit must go to the children. Along with super individual performances, the
team showed great character and commitment throughout the tournament. A special
mention must go to Liam Jones and Mackenzie Turner who ended up as joint
leading try scorers for us with 5 tries each. The day was made complete by the
arrival of Joel Moon and Mitch Achurch from the Leeds Rhinos. For all the
pictures, please see the school sports blog: http://cookridgeschoolsport.blogspot.co.uk/
Attendance
A
reminder that all parents must phone
school to notify of an absence on the first day. Last week, following 10
days of unsuccessful attempts to get news of one of our children’s absence from
school, police were asked to attend the house. This is not in an attempt to
intimidate parents, but out of genuine worry and concern for a child who does
not show up for school with no message from parents. We have to be sure that
children are safe, and will take whatever steps are necessary to do so. Please
do not put school staff in this position – let us know if your child is going
to be absent for whatever reason.
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National Minimum
‘Good’ Expectation
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Target
2012-13
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Attendance this week
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Year to date
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95%
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96%
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95.5%
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95.2%
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Class attendance
figures for this week are:-
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Rec
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Class 1
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Class 2
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Class 3
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Class 4
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Class 5
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Class 6
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Class 7
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Class 8
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Class 9
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A 95.8%
B 98.3%
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96.4%
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91.6%
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95.9%
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91.8%
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97.9%
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98.0%
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92.5%
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97.6%
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95.4%
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Have
a wonderful half term holiday: see you all on the 3rd of June!
June?! Surely the sun will shine....
Sam
Bailey
