Walton-le-Dale Primary School Newsletter

Highlights from this term Year 6 performed A

Midsummer Nights Dream at the Charter Theatre in Preston.

The children donated

generously to two charities this term; The Poppy Appeal and
Caption describing picture or graphic.

Children in Need.

December 2012
Welcome to our Autumn Term Newsletter
Dear Parents, Children, Staff and Governors, It feels a little sad to be writing my last Walton-le-Dale Primary School Newsletter, however I also write it with a huge sense of pride. I would like to take this opportunity to say how much I have enjoyed my ten and a half years as head at this very special family school. There have been many challenges and many more successes. My second headship has been very different from my first and I could not have done it without the support and kindness of staff and parents who have shared my journey with me. We all really have achieved personal success through dedication, resilience, rigour, talent, enthusiasm and teamwork. There have been many achievements to be proud of in my time here such as a full school roll, healthy budget, Healthy Schools Award, Arts Mark Award, ICT Mark, Activ Mark, Advanced Skills Teachers, Leading Teachers in Maths, Literacy and Foundation Stage, Specialist Leaders in Education. I could go on and on with examples because we really do have a great school. I know you will feel the same sense of pride as I do with everyone involved in the learning and teaching at Waltonle-Dale. I know you will continue to flourish and blossom in the future and I look forward to hearing about how well you are doing. As I have said before, the success we have achieved is only possible because of extremely effective, skilled, capable and enthusiastic staff, wonderful children who rise to challenges and love learning and truly understand our do your best ethos and parents and governors who so readily contribute to the life of the school. I am extremely proud of everyone at Walton-le-Dale. It has been a privilege to work with everyone and I have some very special memories that I will keep forever. THANK YOU for all the wonderful opportunities you have given me over the years and for trusting your precious school and children in my care. Finally can I wish you all a great Christmas and prosperous New Year. Christine Entwistle Headteacher

Year 5 had a
successful residential visit to Whitehough Outdoor Education Centre.

Our Annual Harvest

Festival was held at St. Aidens Church and the children donated food for disadvantaged people in Preston.

Nursery and
Reception children have made a great start to their school life.

Feedback from Parents Evening November 2012 Thank you for attending our recent Parents Evenings. It was a great turnout. Your comments have been noted and where possible we will take action. We know what you are pleased with and what you would like to change or add and I hope you received some useful information about how your child is progressing and how you can support and help at home.

School Developments and Improvements

I am delighted to let you know that the governors have agreed to spend the remainder of our capital works grant from the government to complete the window and door refurbishment programme on the KS2 building. This requires a substantial amount of money and this particular grant is ring-fenced for just this type of work. The work should start sometime in the spring term.

Y5 Whitehough, October 2012

Staff Developments
Mrs McLeod, Mrs Yu and Mrs Wright all gave birth to healthy babies this term and will continue with their maternity leave into the spring term.

Letter from Walton-le-Dale High School. Christine, staff and students, Congratulations on the brilliant performance of the cast of A Midsummer Nights Dream at the Charrter Theatre. Our staff and students were so impressed by the quality of the performance and the way in which your students conducted themselves during the day. They were probably quite tired afterwards but a real credit to your school. Roger Hill and everyone at WLDHS

This term, we bid farewell to a teacher who has been at the school since qualifying. Andy Holding has been at Walton-le-Dale for seven and a half years, although I am delighted he has gained a teaching post to further his career in the profession, I know the school will very much miss his skills and talent as a teacher. The school has much to thank him for and I am sure he will keep in touch, but for now we wish him good luck for his future success.

Mrs Sheard will take over in 2H for the remainder of the academic year.

Library Opening Times KS1 Tuesday 3.10pm KS2 Thursday 3.15pm

The superheroes of The Reading Squad have quietly been going about their work helping children become more independent in their reading. They have made a fantastic contribution and their support is clearly making a difference to the children they have been working with. If you or another family member can spare an hour or more a week and would like to come and help make a difference to the reading ability of our children, please contact prichardson@wldps.com , ask at the schools office or call on 01772 335065. A big thank you to the current squad members!

Reading Awards Autumn Term 2012

Well done to the following children who all achieved a Reading Award this term. FD2W Harry Coleman, Joseph Salmon 3R Joseph Brown, Lauren Southworth, Ellis Vickers 5D Maria Roberts-Webber

100% Attendance Autumn Term 2012

Well done! 100 children achieved their 100% attendance certificate for the autumn term.

Whole Class Library Awards for the most use of the library during the Autumn Term were presented to 3R and 1A. Well done to the children in those classes

Office News
Uniform School uniform is as follows; Boys White polo shirt Red fleece or sweatshirt Grey trousers. Girls White polo shirt Red fleece or sweatshirt Grey skirt or trousers Dark coloured, flat sensible shoes

Dinner Money Please make sure that cheques for dinner money are made payable to LCC. Dinner money is collected on FRIDAY MORNING and is ready for banking by 10.30am Parents MUST send their child with a packed lunch if dinner arrears exceed 30 and must do so until the debt is cleared.

Sending Money into School

In the new year, we will have secure post boxes installed in the entrance to Foundation 1 and 2, both year 1 classes, the cloakroom in Year 2. We will also have a secure mail box in the KS1 hall for use by parents, whose children attend Breakfast and/or After School Club. Once these boxes have been installed, you should place any money in the relevant boxes, this way, the teacher is not responsible for passing the money to the office. A member of the office staff will check the boxes each day. ( We already have a secure box in the entrance to the KS2 building) We will let you know when the new system is up and running. The Secure boxes can also be used for posting any information which you wish to send to the office. Please make sure all money is in an envelope with your childs name on and stating what the money is for.

Walton-le-Dale Primary School Severn Drive Walton-le-Dale Preston PR5 4TD

Have you changed your details recently?

It is really important that you keep that the school office is informed of any changes to your contact details, especially your mobile phone number. Please note that our texting service will only recognize one mobile number for each family. Please ensure that the school office is aware of the number you would like any message sent to.

E-Mail: bursar@waltonledale.com

Our texting service is normally used to remind parents of events which have already been advertised by letter or the school website or in case of any emergency.

Web Site: www.wldps.com

Staff Successes
Well done to the following staff who have achieved recognition for their excellent work. Their teaching and leadership skills have been verified by external partners. They will now give advice and support to teachers from other schools by, for example, giving demonstration lessons. Miss Wells Leading Foundation Stage Teacher. Miss Adams Leading Maths Teacher Mrs Douglas Leading Literacy Teacher.

Curriculum Themes Spring Term 2013

NUSERY (FD1) Spring 1 Toytown Knowledge and Understanding of the World Once Upon a Time Communication, Language and Literacy Reach Week Inspirational People (1 week) Reach Week Inspirational People (1 week) Reach Week Inspirational People (1 Week) Reach Week Inspirational People (1 week) The Famous Five Famous People and Events Place and Time Bright Sparks Light, Electricity Science and Technology Out of the Box Business Enterprise Healthy Food Project Science and Technology From out of the Shadows Light and sound Science and Technology/Expressive Arts Spring 2 Over the Rainbow Creative Development

RECEPTION (FD2)

YEAR 1

Helping Hands Knowledge and Understanding of the World Fairies and Frogs Exploring stories through the arts Communication/Expressive Arts Happy families Changes to our way of life Place and Time May the Force be With You Forces of nature Science and Technology

YEAR 2

YEAR 3

YEAR 4

Location, Location, Location The shaping of localities Place and time

YEAR 5

YEAR 6

Reach Week Inspirational People (1 week) Reach Week Inspirational People (1 week)

Thats Life Life and Living things in the environment Science and Technology/Place and Time Music, Lights, Action! Sound and Light, Electricity, Forces Science and Technology Eco warriors Sustainabliity Place and Time/Science and Technology

Diary Dates 2013

SPRNG TERM 2013 07.01.13 28.01.13 11.02.13 15.02.13 25.02.13 01.03.13 18.03.13 19.03.13 28.03.13 SUMMER TERM 2013 16.04.13 06.05.13 13.05.13 22.05.13 23.05.13 24.05.13 24.05.13 10.06.13 02.07.13 04.07.13 08.07.13 23.07.13 24.07.13 School and Nursery re-open May Day closure KS2 Sats Week Nursery Sports Day FD2 and KS1 Sports Day 2.00pm KS2 Sports Day School and Nursery close for half term School re-opens WRIST Celebration of Friendship Annual reports to parents Parent/Child Learning Conference Week Final assembly for Year 6 parents 2.00pm Nursery closes for summer break School at 1.15pm for summer break School and Nursery re-opens Full Governors Meeting 6.00pm Assessment/Achievement Week School and Nursery closes for half term School and Nursery re-opens Reading Test Week Interim Reports to parents Parents Evening 4.00 6.00pm Parents evening 6.00 8.00pm School and Nursery close for Easter

CONCERNS ABOUT THE USE OF FACEBOOK

It has come to our attention that some children at Walton-e-Dale Primary School have Facebook profiles, even though the permitted minimum age to use the site is 13, according to the sites terms and conditions. Walton-le-Dale Primary School is committed to promoting the safe and responsible use of the Internet and as such we feel it is our responsibility to raise this particular issue as a concern. Websites such as Facebook offer amazing communication and social connections, however they are created with their audience in mind and this is specifically over 13 years old. Possible risks for children under 13 using the site may include: Facebook use age targeted advertising and therefore your child could be exposed to adverts of a sexual or other inappropriate nature, depending on the age they stated they were when they registered Children may accept friend requests from people they dont know in real life which could increase the risk of inappropriate contact or behaviour Language, games, groups and content posted or shared on Facebook is not moderated, and therefore can be offensive, illegal or unsuitable for children Photographs shared by users are not moderated and therefore children could be exposed to inappropriate images or even post their own Underage users might be less likely to keep their identities private and lying about their age can expose them to further risks regarding privacy settings and options Facebook could be exploited by bullies and for other inappropriate contact Facebook cannot and does not verify its members therefore it is important to remember that if your child can lie about who they are online, so can anyone else!

We feel it important to point out to parents the risks of underage use of such sites, so you can make an informed decision as to whether to allow your child to have a profile or not. These profiles will have been created away from school and sometimes by a child, their friends, siblings or even parents. We will take action (such as reporting under aged profiles) if a problem comes to our attention that involves the safety or wellbeing of any of our children. Should you decide to allow your child to have a Facebook profile we strongly advise you: Check their profile is set to private and that only friends can see information that is posted Monitor your childs use and talk to them about safe and appropriate online behaviour such as not sharing personal information and not posting offensive messages or photos Ask them to install the CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre) application from www.facebook.com/clickceop on their profile. This places a bookmark on their profile to CEOP and the Report Abuse button which has been known to deter offenders Have a look at the advice for parents/carers from Facebook www.facebook.com/help/?safety=parents Set up your own profile so you understand how the site works and ask them to have you as a friend on their profile so you know what they are posting online Make sure your child understands the following rules: Always keep your profile private Never accept friends you dont know in real life Never post anything which could reveal your identity Never post anything you wouldnt want your parents to see Never agree to meet somebody you only know online without telling a trusted adult Always tell someone if you feel threatened or someone upsets you

Wed recommend that all parents visit the CEOP Think U Know website for more information on keeping your child safe online www.thinkuknow.co.uk If you would like any further information please dont hesitate to contact Mrs Entwistle

Learning for life Post OFSTED Action Plan Summary for parents December 2012 Key improvement point from our most recent OFSTED Report (September 2012) Improve the quality of teaching and the use of assessment to support learning and to have a clear understanding of how to move pupils learning forward. Update on key actions taken to date

Lesson observations have consistently shown improvements. All teachers are using the revised marking system to highlight what children have achieved in their learning and how they can move forward. Professional development has been provided moving teaching from good to outstanding. Progress data across school is thoroughly analysed each half term in progress meetings; this ensures that pupils who are not making sufficient progress are picked up early and strategies put in place to aid progress. Year 6 teachers have had their writing assessments externally moderated and feedback shows that these are very accurate and that the quality of writing in extended writing books is consistently improving. Marking has improved across the school in quality and consistency. Pupils are encouraged to respond to the teachers written feedback during fix it time.

Opportunities for pupils to undertake maths investigations are improved Support staff have a clear understanding of how to move pupils learning on. Monitoring and evaluation of lessons remain sharply focused on the impact of teaching on the learning of all groups of pupils.

We know theres still more to do! Here are 1. 2. 3.

Revision to maths planning introduced which identifies next/previous steps learning relevant to each group of pupils. Staff training held to train staff in developing daily using and applying activities in maths and providing these for all pupils at appropriate levels. We have increased the scope and quantity of intervention programmes across the school to ensure necessary catch up learning is in place for pupils who need it. Much of our monitoring work has included focusing on how lessons are differentiated for different abilities and how we use support staff in the classroom. We are more closely tracking the progress of our most able pupils and the vast majority are making at least good progress. We are ensuring that all year groups provide plenty of learning opportunities for the most able to be stretched. There has been and will continue to be, a thorough programme of monitoring across the school both by external consultants and the schools own leadership team; outcomes of this monitoring are beginning to show higher levels of consistency in good teaching and learning across the curriculum. Development programmes are in place where any teaching remains requires improvement. some next steps we are working on:

We welcome your continued feedback and hope this summary is helpful. If you have any feedback, either positive of concerns you have, please contact us.

Accelerate progress for underachieving groups. Ensure that high expectations, matching learning to pupils needs and planning sufficient challenge are endemic strengths of all our teaching. Ensure leaders at all levels have a deep and accurate understanding of the achievement of pupils and groups of pupils, taking rapid action to address underachievement.

Christmas at Walton-le-Dale

Year 1 and 2 Nativity Hey Ewe Dress rehearsals over now the big performance for parents and friends. Year 1 and 2 have worked hard on their Christmas Celebration and as usual it was a huge success. Well done Mr Holding for being the director again!

KS2 Carol Service Rehearsals for the KS2 Carol Service which was held in St. Marys Church

Christmas at Walton-le-Dale

Foundation Stage Nativity Whoops a Daisy Angel The children worked very hard to learn words and songs for the Nativity and for many of them it was their very first Nativity. We hoped you enjoyed watching and listening.