Update 18.4.24
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back, we hope that you have managed to enjoy some rest, relaxation and family time over Easter. We have heard that, sadly, an above average number of children seem to have had chest infections and other ailments during the break. We hope that you were not affected and if you were, that everyone is feeling better and it did not ruin their holiday.
We had a really positive training day on Monday looking at the curriculum. It was a chance for us to review our provision and its impact, make improvements where necessary and update the curriculum information which will be available to you on our website in the near future.
This week, we have also had two days of selection process taking place for a new Headteacher to start in September. This has understandably felt really strange for all of us, but the candidates and the officers involved in the process were really impressed by our wonderful our pupils, friendly and committed staff team and the positive culture of our academy. Once the recruitment processes are complete and we are free to release the information, we will let you know the outcome. In the meantime, it is largely business as usual and we are looking forward to the busy and exciting term ahead.
Tomorrow, Year 1 are inviting parents and carers in to help with their gardening project. Then next week, we have ‘Bikeability’ taking place for Year 5 and ‘Pop Ins’ for Year 3 on Monday and Year 2 on Thursday. So we are looking forward to seeing many of you in the near future, if you are able to join us.
Also, a reminder that next Friday, we mark the Month of the Military Child by inviting pupils to ‘Purple Up’, in line with this by customising their uniform to include something purple on 26th April.
Kind regards
Paul Martin
Headteacher
Update 28.3.24
Dear Parents and Carers,
We break up at 3.20pm today for the Easter break and would like to say a huge well done to everyone for a very successful term. We have been really pleased with the learning that we have seen in books and classrooms. The new approach to handwriting has also made an incredibly positive impact. We would like to congratulate the children for their work to improve in this area. We know that many of them are very proud of the progress they have made. The recent assessment week outcomes were encouraging and evidenced successes in every area. The job is not done though and staff are already working hard to identify the learning, next steps and interventions that will be implemented in the summer term.
This term the website has been further developed and we believe that it is now a useful source of information for parents. There are however further improvements planned including updates to the curriculum information in April.
Our team has been enhanced by new staff in recent times after many years of stability. Change is always a mixture or uncertainty and great opportunity, but it has been an exciting and rewarding time. We are very proud of the new additions to our team, who are already having an impressive impact upon our work and provision.
We are also thrilled by the success of the ‘Pop Ins’ that we have started doing this year. All of them have been very well attended and it has been so lovely to welcome in families to share in the learning that pupils are doing. Thank you for going out of your way to make these such a success.
If you missed the dates for the summer term, these can be found on the website under ‘Latest News’ Update 11.3.24.
We are very much looking forward to the term ahead and children will return to school on Tuesday 16th April.
On behalf of everyone at All Saints, we would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Easter.
Kind regards
Paul Martin
Headteacher
Update 11.3.24
Dear Parents and Carers,
Not on Facebook? Not a problem!
Not everyone has, wants or in some cases are allowed to have a Facebook account. We have been aware that until now, these parents and carers have not been able to access all of the wonderful content that goes onto our Facebook page. We are thrilled to announce that this issue has now been resolved. The posts are now pulled through onto the homepage of our website without any need to visit Facebook. https://www.all-saints.lincs.sch.uk/
This is the latest improvement as part of a drive to make the website more useful and accessible for parents and carers.
How do I know what children are learning?
In addition to this, the website has other information about what children are learning which can be found on the Class Pages at https://www.all-saints.lincs.sch.uk/pupils/ or as part of the curriculum information https://www.all-saints.lincs.sch.uk/curriculum-overviews/
How do I find updates without scrolling through my emails?
We understand that reading emails on your phone is handy, but it is not always easy to remember all of the information, particularly key dates. These updates are all available on our website under Latest News. https://www.all-saints.lincs.sch.uk/news/latest-news/
Other key information for parents…
The website is also a one stop shop for accessing key policies and information about how to contact us if you have a concern, local childcare providers, term dates and much more.
Summer Term Dates for the Diary
16/4 Children Back
22/4 Y5 Bikeability week
22/4 Y3 Book Look Pop In
25/4 Y2 Book Look Pop In
26/4 ‘Purple Up’ – Military child awareness day
30/4 Y1 Book Look Pop In
2/5 Y5 Book Look Pop In
9/5 Reception Book Look Pop In
13/5 Y6 SATs Week
14/5 Y4 Book Look Pop In
20/5 Y5 Intensive Swimming week
23/5 Y6 Book Look Pop In
24/5 Break up
3/6 Children Back
10/6 Y4 Multiplication and Y1 Phonics Screening
25/6 Y5/6 Sports Day
26/6 Y3/4 Sports Day
27/6 KS1/Rec Sports Day
5/7 Reports Home
9 & 10/7 Y5/6 Performance
11/7 Whole School Art Exhibition 3 – 4pm
19/7 Y6 Parent Leaver’s Assembly 9 – 9.30am
19/7 Children break up 2.30pm
These dates are of course subject to change at this stage, but for parents and carers that like to be given as much notice as possible, we hope that they are helpful. Please remember that you can check back for this update on the ‘Latest News’ tab on our website.
Kind regards
Paul Martin
Headteacher
Update 23.2.24
Dear Parents and Carers,
It is hard to believe that we are already into the second half of the academic year, but good to be able to enjoy longer days and more brightness. The next part of the year is where our attention increasingly moves to assessments. We are focussed upon ensuring that all pupils are making good or better progress and achieving the success that they are capable of. This was the purpose of the information sent home before half-term and discussed at the parent meetings.
The staff have also been involved in Pupil Progress Meetings, where the provision for the small number pupils who are flagging as ‘off track’ within the assessment data is discussed. This is in terms of them securing the expected standard or ‘Greater Depth’. This is a really useful process, as it helps us to ensure that no child is ‘going under the radar’ in terms of receiving the most effective challenge and provision to meet their needs. Several year groups are also rapidly approaching national testing points. Year 6 pupils will take their national statutory tests from 13th to 16th May. Although these tests bring a level of pressure, the children are still really excited knowing that they will be getting their results returned in July. Results day is always a big occasion for them, so we encourage parents to support us to ensure that they will not be disappointed.
Year 1 pupils will be screened for phonics and Year 4 will be screened for multiplication in June. There is already great excitement seeing how their ongoing scores are increasing. A big group of Year 4’s were telling me this morning that they are already scoring 25/25. They looked so proud of themselves too.
As a reminder, Class Pages on the website are up to date if you want any more information about what your child is currently learning in school. These are frequently updated.
We are thrilled to share that our recent Quality Assurance report from the Director of Schools, once again gave us an outstanding judgement for the behaviour and attitude of pupils. This judgement is based upon the criteria set by Ofsted and reflects the behaviour observed in all classes and around the academy. It reflects the enthusiasm that pupils show for their learning, but also the expert way in which staff support and manage pupil needs. We always pride ourselves that when concerns about behaviour are raised, we do our best to ensure that it is dealt with quickly and effectively. If you ever have a concern, contact the office in writing, giving as much detail as possible. This enables us to ensure that information reaches the appropriate people, able to secure the best and quickest resolution within policy and available resources.
We are heavily involved in recruitment at the moment. We are already privileged to work with one of the best school staff teams, but we have been lucky to have attracted candidates with the potential to further strengthen and improve our team. This is an ongoing process, but we are thrilled that we have already made some excellent appointments and are excited about working with them in the near future. The clearance processes to work with children are understandably significant, but we will soon be in a position to give you more news about this.
World Book Day is fast approaching and in two weeks, on 8th March, we will be having a book themed day. Further information about this is coming home in a separate email.
Next week, we have two more Parent ‘Pop ins’ to look forward to. Year 5 on Monday and Year 4 on Friday. Year 2 and Reception are out of school on education visits too, so keep an eye out for these on Facebook.
Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you next week.
Kind regards
Paul Martin
Headteacher
Update 9.2.24
Dear Parents and Carers,
Book Fair
We would like to say a huge thank you for your amazing support of the Book Fair this week, which will close by 4pm today. I would also like to thank the staff that gave up their time to run it on a voluntary basis. We have been overwhelmed by the number of people that have visited the fair to purchase books. Once the figures are finalised and we have heard back from Scholastic, we will let you know the number of books that we are going to receive as a result of your support for this. Thanks again for making it such a success.
Parent Consultation Evenings and ‘Pop Ins’
It was great to see so many people at the Parents Evenings this week and to hear how proud you are of your child’s achievements and progress. Thank you for your support with this. As promised, there will be an opportunity to attend a ‘Book Look Pop In’ after Easter. This will be chance to come into school to sit with your child and look through their work and achievements so far this year. This will be the only chance to see the books prior to them being sent home in July. To give you the best chance of being able to attend, we are sending out the dates below well in advance. They will all take place between 2.40 and 3.10pm.
Book Look Pop Ins:
Rec 9/5/24
Y1 30/4/24
Y2 25/4/24
Y3 22/4/24
Y4 14/5/24
Y5 2/5/24
Y6 23/5/24
There are other ‘Pop Ins’ still to come before Easter and these were included in the Parent Update 12.1.24 which can be found at https://www.all-saints.lincs.sch.uk/news/latest-news/ Year groups will also contact you before all ‘Pop Ins’ as a reminder.
‘Waddington Ward’ Drawing Competition
We had a visitor from RAF Waddington in our assembly this morning. He was in school to present the prizes to the winners of the ‘Your Waddington Village’ drawing competition organised the RAF Waddington Project FOCUS team last term. The winning design has been printed and framed and will shortly be presented to the ‘Waddington Ward’ at Lincoln County Hospital. ‘Waddington Ward’ is a cancer ward which provides care for both outpatients and also end-of-life inpatients. Our picture will be put up in the ward with other pictures depicting various scenes of Waddington village and the RAF Station that have been donated by the Project FOCUS team.
End of Term
The children break up today, as another term ends with a huge number of successes, at a time when schools are having to deal with an unprecedented level of challenges including reduced funding and increasing costs and responsibilities. We, like other schools all over the country, are grappling with the recruitment and retention crisis which reflects the ever increasing level of responsibility and workload being placed upon the staff in schools. Reductions in emotional / behavioural support and social care, exponential increases in the number of pupils with additional needs to manage and spiralling expectations relating to the management of attendance and safeguarding, all contribute significantly to this. It is easy to see that the NHS is struggling because appointments, beds and ambulances are like gold dust, but the pressures upon schools are less easy to see. The fact that children are still getting such an amazing deal is an astounding achievement that does not always get the recognition that it should. So, I would like to pay tribute to the dedicated and committed staff, who give so much of themselves, doing everything that they can to give pupils at this school a great education, at a time when simply being able to prioritise the supervision and education of children seems long gone.
On a positive note, I would like to say how lovely it is that the Red Arrows have so often been flying at a time that coincides with the children going home from school. It is easy to take for granted how lucky we are to be able to frequently see this. Whether the timing is intentional or coincidental I don’t know, but we do appreciate how lucky we are to have had this.
Thank you for your support this term and we look forward to seeing you again on 19th February, when the children return.
Kind regards
Paul Martin
Headteacher
Update 2.2.24
Dear Parents and Carers,
February at last! After what seemed to be an endless January, it has been so lovely to see a bit of light and brightness again today. It has been an eventful and busy month, but we continue to be very proud of our pupils and staff and their achievements. This week, we had our Quality Assurance visit from the Director of Schools in the MAT and she was really pleased to see how well our planned improvements and initiatives are going. She was particularly pleased with the impact of the handwriting development. The children have loved the challenge of learning to write in cursive form, the fact that the approach is so different has motivated them because they can clearly see the impact of their efforts.
We will be publishing a list of our next round of Parent ‘Pop Ins’ for March/April in the near future. The theme for these will be an opportunity to come in at 2.40pm to enable your child’s to show you their learning since September. We realise that not everyone will be able to make this, so if you are not going to be able to take this opportunity, please let us know nearer the time and we will arrange for your child to take part in an alternative activity, so that they don’t feel left out.
The target sheets are coming home today ahead of the Parent Consultations next week and we are looking forward to seeing you. Please remember that there is a ten minute slot for each child, so please support the teachers to be able to keep to time by being at the classroom in time for your appointment.
We have been informed that UKHSA have declared measles as a national incident. ‘Measles is a highly infectious disease that can sometimes lead to serious problems such as pneumonia, meningitis, and on rare occasions, long-term disability or death.’ So we have attached an information leaflet that may be of interest to you. (This guide has been translated into other languages, please contact the office for more information.)
There will be a Book Fair open to parents and children after school from 3.20pm in the Learning Hub, near to the hall, Tuesday to Friday next week. This year, books can only be purchased online. There is a QR code that you can scan (displayed on the cases) which takes you directly to the Scholastic page. This will enable the payment to be made before you take the books. The sale of books will generate money for the school to buy new books for the pupils to read, so please support this if you can.
We were thrilled that 8 of our classes made it into the top 100 classes out of 687 across the Multi Academy Trust Sumdog Competition. Particular congratulations to Mrs Wood’s class, who came 19th overall. An amazing achievement!
In a recent Update, I asked for pupils to bring in certificates, medals or trophies that they win, so that they can be presented in our ‘High Flyers Assembly’ on a Friday. It has been lovely to be doing this again and really shows the broad range of activities that they are accessing. It is wonderful to be able to celebrate and acknowledge their talents and interests.
I try to send an Update out every week or two, but realise that it is easy to miss one, or may be hard to find it later. You may be interested to know that if you visit our website there is a link on the homepage to ‘Latest News’. The Updates are archived here for your information and reference.
The children break up for a week next Friday at 3.20pm and return on 19th February.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Kind regards
Paul Martin
Headteacher
Update 19.1.24
Dear Parents and Carers,
Thankfully the cold weather this week has not been too disruptive and we have had another good week. Key Stage 2 enjoyed a visit from the local MP and spent a full hour questioning him. Their questions were really good. Most were about what made him want to be a politician, his degree, biggest challenges, most impressive project, interests etc. Some were more challenging however, such as banning breeds of dogs, decisions about attacking countries or ships, climate change, flooding and homelessness.
On a more basic level, we have also had a drainage company in this week, to investigate the source of some unpleasant smells in the building. They have been more obvious since the recent heavy rainfalls. Unfortunately, even with cameras down the drains, the source of the problem is not obvious. Keeping heat in means keeping smells in, so we are going to need some even more technical investigations to take place.
How do I find out what my child is learning in school?
Most parents know that a frequent answer to the question “What did you do in school today?” is ‘Nothing’ or ‘Can’t remember’, but then again most adults can’t really face recounting in detail everything that happened during their day. So how does a parent know what their child is learning about in school? In reality, it is far easier to get a child talking about their learning if you ask the right question. So, “What have you learnt about the Fire of London?” is much more likely to get your child talking, but you need to know what they are doing to be able to ask a question like this.
A quick way to find out is @allsaintslead Facebook page, also available by clicking the link on the website homepage if you are not on Facebook. The pictures may stimulate a conversation too.
In addition to this, https://www.all-saints.lincs.sch.uk/pupils/ takes you to the Class Pages that have information about the learning that the children are doing. Alternatively, https://www.all-saints.lincs.sch.uk/curriculum-overviews/ will give you more specific information. These pages are updated most terms, so it is always worth checking back.
Getting your child talking about what they have learnt is a good thing to do. This is because it enables them to recall the information that they have learnt and this makes it far more likely the information will be committed to long term memory and remembered in future. Remembering what you have learnt enables links to be made in future which accelerated progress for your child.
We hope that you find the information available useful and interesting.
Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you next week.
Kind regards
Paul Martin
Headteacher
Update 12.1.24
Dear Parents and Carers,
We have had another productive week and things are feeling back on-track after the break and really positive.
Drumba
Yesterday, we organised a series of Drumba sessions for the pupils. These were great fun and really high impact, both in terms of enjoyment and physically. The pupils changed for PE, the hall was filled with drums and they were put through their paces in a wonderful combination of moving and rhythm. It was great to see and hear their laughter. We will be sharing some photos on Facebook later, but we really enjoyed having the instructors with us for the day. Please do like and share our Facebook posts if you can, it helps them to stay active and reach more people.
High Flyers
A further area of the website has been updated this week. It is now possible to click the ‘High Flyers’ link on the homepage of the website to view all of the High Flyer photos from this academic year.
If your child gets certificates or awards for things that they achieve out of school (horse riding rosette, judo belt, athletics medal, swimming certificate etc) please feel free to send them in on a Thursday and we will present them in front of the school on a Friday morning. It would be great to be able to share and celebrate their successes.
No Parking on Site
As previously communicated, we have been reviewing pedestrian and car movement at the start and end of the day. To ensure the safety of children and pedestrians, there is a need to change the permissions relating to vehicles entering the school grounds. In future, only vehicles belonging to people that are officially working in school will be allowed on site. There will be new signage in the area to reflect this change.
First Aid
You may have seen on Facebook that Year 4 were given the opportunity to learn some first aid this week. They took part in a workshop that we had organised to learn basic first aid principles for dealing with everyday medical issues. This was a really valuable experience and life learning with the potential to be life saving,
Further Trips, Visits and Experiences this term:
29/1/24 Y1 Fire of London Experience
30/1/24 Y5 Visitor from the synagogue
28/2/24 Reception visit Rand Farm
29/2/24 Y2 visit Newark Air Museum
12 & 13 March Y3/4 Production 4.45pm
22/3/24 Golden Mile Day 2
25/3/24 Cerebral Palsy Awareness day
Spring Term Parent ‘Pop Ins’ Coming Soon… (all currently planned to start at 2.40pm)
5/2/24 Y3
8/2/24 KS1
26/2/24 Y5
1/3/24 Y4
14/3/24 Reception
21/3/24 Y1
27/3/24 Y3
Please put these dates in your diary and we hope that you will be able to join us. We are looking forward to having the opportunity to share the achievements of our pupils with you again very soon.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Kind regards
Paul Martin
Headteacher
Update 5.1.24
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back and Happy New Year.
The children have once again come back very well and even though it has been a short week, it has been a very productive and purposeful one.
Next Tuesday, we have our sixth and final Open Morning for parents of children due to start school in September. The deadline for applications is 15th January and we have attached information relating to this. If you know anyone with a child that will turn five between 1st Sept 24 and 31st Aug 25, please let them know about this. To book an Open Morning tour on Tuesday 9th January at 9.30am, please contact the office.
We are very excited about our plans for the learning this term. We will also be continuing with the ‘Pop Ins’ that were such a successful and well supported initiative last term. Next week, we will be sending out some dates for the term, but here are a few key dates for parents:
- Parent Consultation Meetings 6th and 7th February
- Pupils break up on 9th February at 3.20pm and return on 19th February.
- SEND review meetings take place wk beginning 19th February where applicable.
- The spring term Parental Questionnaire will be out at the end of February.
- The children will also break up at 3.20pm on Thursday 28th March for Easter.
At the start and end of the day, please keep to the pathways and pedestrian routes. We include the roadway within the designated pedestrian route at this time to maximise flow and reduce congestion, but this remains under review. We can only continue to permit roadways to be used if we can be sure that there is no walking between parked cars. This is to set a good example and ensure the safety of pupils if a car were moved, but also protect staff cars legitimately parked on site. Thank you in anticipation of your support with this.
As we are still in the season of coughs, colds and infections, but also an era where schools are now duty bound to evidence that they are rigorously addressing attendance, it is useful to know about the NHS guidance which can be found at https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
This is a relatively short, but very busy term and we are looking forward to having the opportunities to share the incredible work and achievements that we are seeing from your children with you. We have built an amazing and talented staff team and the learning that we are seeing taking place at our academy is nothing short of excellent. In the meantime, we have been updating the Class Pages on our website to give you more information about what your child is learning about in school. Please take a look at https://www.all-saints.lincs.sch.uk/pupils/
We hope that you had a wonderful, fun and relaxing holiday period and send our best wishes for a good weekend.
See you soon.
Kind regards
Paul Martin
Headteacher