Happy Friday everyone. Please take a moment to look over this week’s update…
Coats every day please
It’s fair to say that the weather recently has been very unpredictable; one minute the sun is shining, the next it is pouring with rain. With this in mind, please ensure your child brings a coat to school every day. We will always go outside for play and fresh air unless it is really wet so a waterproof coat is essential at the moment. Oh, and don’t forget to name it!
Parent teacher phone calls
Final reminder… Our parent/teacher phone calls are next week on the evening of either Tuesday 25th or Thursday 27th May. Please follow this link to book your appointment using the online system > http://www.parents-booking.co.uk/edensideprimary or phone the office and we’ll get your sorted.
Getting ready for August
As this term comes to an end, preparations for August are well underway including final arrangements for class compositions. There are a number of factors to be considered in finalising class and teacher allocation but as soon as we can, we will share details about your child’s new teacher and their new class. Fingers crossed August brings a fresh start for a new school year.
Uniform orders
Please note that the deadline for ordering uniforms for guaranteed delivery in August is Sunday 25th July. All the information you need about school uniform is here .
Supporting learning – a overview of what we do
Here at Edenside, we are very fortunate to have Mrs McLear, our incredibly talented ‘support for learning’ teacher, whose job it is to oversee the support for any child who needs any support with their learning. There are numerous reasons why a child might need support and it is not always academic; it may be emotional, behavioural or social. Whatever the reason, Mrs McLear is here to help, along with our amazing team of pupil support assistances. Almost every class in the school benefits from having a pupil support assistance in the classroom at some point during the day, providing invaluable help to individuals and small groups. Together with Mrs McLear and class teachers, they work hard to ensure every child gets the help they need to ‘be the best they can be’ and this term we’ve tried a new approach to this…
- In the mornings, Mrs McLear spends time with 3 classes for about 1 hour per class. She visits the same 3 classes every day for 3 weeks, providing daily input to the same small group of pupils, identified by class teachers as benefitting from some ‘booster learning’. At the end of the 3 weeks, Mrs McLear moves on to 3 new classes.
- In the afternoons, Mrs McLear provides ‘top-up’ learning to any pupil who needs it, in any class. This is a responsive session allowing for class teachers to look over pupil’s work from the morning and request some immediate input and discussion time.
- Our pupil support assistants, as well as providing support to small groups in classes, also provide 1:1 support to identified individuals who have an ‘individual education plan’ or IEP. These plans set out very specific supports and targets that will help a pupil make progress in a certain area of the curriculum, normally reading, writing or maths.
- To support non-academic needs, Mrs McLear also provides daily pastoral sessions, offering support for children with any worries, concerns or friendship fallouts. This is so important because we know that children can’t learn well if they are not feeling well (emotionally).
So, whilst class teachers work tirelessly to provide excellent and engaging learning, our support for learning team, overseen by Mrs McLear, work tirelessly to provide excellent support for small groups and individuals. And given the way we operate this support, a large number of children benefit from time with either Mrs McLear or a pupil support assistant. Together, every adult plays a part in helping every child ‘be the best they can be’. If you’d like to find out more about how we support your child, just get in touch.
Your voice matters survey
As our families, your insights and opinions are valued; you know your children better than we do and you know what they tell you when they get home. So, if you can spare 5 minutes, we’d really appreciate your answers to just 2 questions; What’s gone well this year? What would make next year better?
One parent, in response to the question ‘what’s gone well?’ said: “The links with teachers during lockdown were a huge help in making the transition back to school seamless. Well done! The iPads have definitely helped for home learning and are a brilliant tool for learning technology – the children are way ahead of me! Communication with parents is great. Extra PE is absolutely brilliant!!”
In terms of ‘what would make next year better?’ one parent said: “Sometimes it feels difficult to communicate directly with teachers about day to day issues which arise which are not significant in the grand scheme of things but may still be important to young learners…”
What would you say? Follow this link to the survey > https://forms.office.com/r/T0wL221eXj . Thank you in advance for helping us ‘be the best we can be’.
Staying vigilant – protecting all of us takes all of us
Ensuring the health and wellbeing of our children, our staff and you as families is our number one priority right now. Please help us by:
1) Following the ‘4 steps for being safe on the school run’;
- Adults must wear a face covering at drop off / pick up.
- Stick to one adult at drop off / pick up.
- Adults keep 2 metres apart.
- Avoid car sharing.
2) Being vigilant about COVID-19 symptoms; self-isolate if required and follow NHS ‘Test and Protect’ advice. Please phone the school to let us know if a member of your household tests positive.
3) Reporting a child’s positive test result immediately either by phoning the school (if during office hours) or using our new ‘positive test’ form.