18 Jul 2008 - Broadgate Newsletter - Summer 2008

Dear Parents,

This terms seems to have flown by, yet in actual fact, it has been particularly long due to Easter falling very early in 2008. It must be that we all enjoy ourselves so much here! Future terms will be much more uniform in length however, because Education Leeds has decided that the Christmas term will be 75 school days long, and the Spring and Summer terms will each be 60 days long. This will result in the Easter holiday occurring during the first two weeks in April each year, regardless of when Good Friday and Easter Sunday fall. [Follow this link for information from Education Leeds about term dates for 2008/09, and click here to download a printer-friendly calendar.]

I hope you enjoy reading about some of the many event which have taken place at Broadgate recently.

Ofsted

Perhaps the main reason why this term has seemed to pass so quickly was the visit from Ofsted. Our minds were certainly very focussed on this immediately after Easter! I hope everyone received a copy of their very complementary report when it was issued. [Click here to read a summary, or here to download the full report.] Everyone here was absolutely delighted with the comments made by the Inspectors, and I feel I couldn't let the opportunity pass without repeating just a few of them in this newsletter. Please excuse us for indulging ourselves one last time!

The pupils are very happy and confident in school. They show a thoughtful respect for each other.
Their excellent behaviour and keen attitudes to work supports their learning effectively.
Relationships are outstanding. Perseonal development is excellent.
Pupils thoroughly enjoy their education and achieve well.
The school provides a happy and secure environment for learning.
The school's work with families and the community is outstanding.
"The lessons are really fun and there are lots of interesting things to do" - pupil comment.
Pupils who find learning difficult have effective, extra support. They make good, sometimes outstanding progress.
A good range of activities outside lessons enriches the curriculum still further.
Governors have a clear view about the school's strengths.
"I know my child is happy and secure" - parent comment.

Staffing News

Earlier this term I wrote to you to express our great sadness that Camille Wilkinson will no longer be working in our Nursery after today. Camille has dedicated 15 years of her life to the children of Broadgate School, and no words of mine can adequately express the great affection that everyone associated with this school feels towards her.

Following the closure of "Butterflies", we are really disappointed to lose the services of two of our loyal "Butterflies" staff. Karen Royle-Evatt and Hannah Speight have worked here for a number of years, and will be really missed by our children and their parents. We wish the both of them the very best of luck in their future careers.

This September sees the introduction of the new Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum into every school in England. [Click here for the Early Years Foundation Stage website, from the Department for Children, Schools and Families.] It represents a considerable change to the way we teach, as it is based around the "unique child" with every pupil taught a curriculum based on his/her particular needs. In our last newsletter I mentioned that Miss Samantha Thompson will be our new Foundation Stage Manager, supported by Miss Emma Baxter who will teach in the Reception class. Another member of staff has recently been appointed to work alongside these teachers in the Foundation Stage. Louise Bennett, already familiar to many of you through her previous role as a Nursery Assistant in "Butterflies", will join Heather O'Hara, our Nursery Nurse, and Gill Hodgkins, our Teaching Assistant, to form a formidable team.

Congratulations to Kath Feasby and Helen Wade. These two talented individuals have just been awarded certificates recognising their Higher Level Teaching Assistant qualifications.

We are delighted to welcome Joanne Ross to Broadgate. Joanne joins Helen Higgins and Vicky Garside in our Children's Centre, and will work as a Family Support Worker, supporting families from throughout Horsforth.

Building Work

This year has seen many more changes to the fabric of Broadgate School than at any other time in our 54 year history. Since Easter, the following projects have either been completed, or will be completed shortly:

A new traffic barrier and improvements to car parking.
A new fire alarm.
Planters outside the main entrance to divide the car park from the footpath.
Improvements to the Out of School Club building including a new roof and internal and external painting.
A new Magical Garden outside the Children's Centre.
Safety film attached to all windows.
A new door entry system.
Bookshelves on the bottom corridor.
Complete refurbishment of the dining room serving hatch.
Extensive re-painting around the school.

More work is planned for early in the new school year, including transforming the bungalow into an office suite, taking our total spending during a twelve month period to well over £80,000 (and that doesn't take into account the money spent on the Children's Centre!).

Sport at Broadgate

The summer term is always a very busy time here with regard to the number of sporting activities which take place. Over the last few weeks out children have completed in athletics, rugby and cricket tournaments, plus the inevitable sports days and out of school clubs. Additionally, pupils in Y6 have enjoyed a day of activities at Yeadon Tarn and a residential trip to Peat Rigg Outdoor Activities Centre near Pickering.

Our KS1 Sports Day was won by Red House this year, and Blue House won the KS2 (Water!) Sports.

[Be sure to visit the Gallery page of this website, for photos from these and other exciting events!]

Horsforth Children's Centre

What a fantastic term this has been in our Children's Centre! Helen and her staff have made great progress in involving the whole community, and a large number of popular and successful activities are now firmly established. These include Baby Massage, Baby Breastfeeding Cafe, Parents and Toddler groups, Baby Sign Language and "Jo Jingles" Music and Movement for children. In addition, there will be two Sports Camps held here during the summer holiday and many more regular activities will be arranged during the early part of the new school year.

I feel sure that you will be aware already that the Children's Centre is open for 51 weeks of the year, and therefore the counselling service will continue throughout the summer, and support is available to individual families at all times. A new leaflet has been printed giving full details of all the services provided by the Children's Centre. Please call in to collect one at any time.

And Finally

The cost of our school dinners will rise in September to £1.70 per day (£8.50 per week) for children up to Y4, and £1.75 per day (£8.75 per week) for children in Y5 and 6. These charges are still less than those in neighbouring Local Authorities, and I believe represent excellent value for money. In fact the number of children purchasing school meals each day at Broadgate has risen slightly, and looks set to rise even further in September, despite the price rise!

A special thank you to Joanne Sidebottom, whose daughters Abby and Lauren and in Y1 and Reception. Immediately after I informed you that we intended purchasing some pairs of binoculars with part of the proceeds of our sponsored event, Joanne very kindly offered to buy us 12 pairs. These were delivered last week, and several children have already spent time in our nature garden bird watching. Indeed, one of our Y6 children, Oliver Leech, "The Birdman of Broadgate", has been giving me lessons too.

Very well done Bridie Gill from Y2J and Anastasia Yalie from Y6A who have won the Governors prizes for Art and Design. The winners of the prizes for Attendance, and Outstanding Contribution will be announced at our end of term assembly.

Have you heard about Mrs Devlin's Circuit Training Club? A large group of children and their parents meet in the hall every Monday for 45 minutes of "gentle" fitness training. Why not come along to the sessions when they start again in the new school year!

Please accept our apologies for the late arrival of Y6 SATs results this year. Unfortunately, a computer problem at the Department for Children, Schools and Families has caused "meltdown" in the system. At the time of writing this newsletter (Wednesday afternoon), we still haven't received complete results for science, and we are challenging three of the English results too. [Follow this link for an article from BBC News on SATS; what they are, how they are marked, and what went wrong.]

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our fund raising efforts this year. Our BBQ was a huge success, raising £935.97, a record for this event. A proportion of this money was used to subsidise our recent cinema trip, and the remainder will be put towards our new whiteboard and projector for the school hall. The sponsored event also raised much needed funds, and new picnic benches will be purchased with the £1,065 that parents and friends so generously gave.

Don't forget to look out for the 2008/09 Broadgate Calendar when it is issued during mid-September. Lots of exciting events already planned for next year!

When school closes at 3.05pm today, our Y6 children will all depart for pastures new. I know it may seem that I say this every year, but I genuinely think that in 2007/08 we have had one of the best groups of children that I can ever remember having at Broadgate. Good luck to you all!

We re-open at 8.50pm on Tuesday 2 September. Have a very enjoyable and safe summer holiday.

Yours sincerely,

Alan Tootill