September Reflections

The first month of the new school year has flown by!  

It has been a pleasure spending time getting to know the children and thank you to the many parents who continue to catch me to say hello, and introduce yourselves.  

 

This week began with a special assembly to celebrate the hard work of Mrs Butler. This month she celebrated her 30th year working at Rushy! Many, if not all, of you will recognise Mrs Butler as the first person you see in the office. It was lovely to speak with the children about what an incredible achievement this is. We reflected on the number of pupils, parents and staff that Mrs Butler has had a positive impact on. We calculated that if we gathered everyone from Rushy together who Mrs Butler had done a kindness for over the years, we could fill a stadium! She definitely exemplifies the types of quality we would love our children to grow up with: kindness, warmth, consideration, compassion, attentiveness.  

 

Thank you to those parents who were able to attend the Head’s coffee morning for KS2 parents this week. I look forward to welcoming KS1 parents from 8.45-9.30am on Wednesday next week (5th).  

 

I wanted to share some of the things that I have either spoken to parents about in person or received emails around, and what has been done as a result: 

 

• Rubbish gathering near pathways/cobwebs by doorframes etc – our premises team surveys the outside of the building each morning before school to check that external areas are clean and inviting for children when they arrive. 

• Litter bins overflowing outside classrooms – we have increased the frequency with which these are being emptied and are in the process of replacing the open bins with close-lidded, child friendly ones.  

• Parents smoking/vaping outside school gates – thank you to parents for being mindful of our request not to smoke/vape outside school at drop-off/pick-up times. Something I appreciate is that parents do not have a pleasant space near school to socialise and catch-up with each other. I have noted a longer term goal to see if we can address this. 

 

Journeying safely to School 

The majority of the communications I have received this month concern the safety of children on Rushy Meadow Lane and Fellowes Road. 

 

A number of parents and local residents have raised concerns that congestion to these roads and cars parked outside of designated spaces are preventing children from safely arriving to or leaving school. I recognise that parents may be finding it difficult to find adequate parking outside school or are in a rush to get to/from work and other commitments, so need to find parking as close as possible to the school. We would like to find ways to improve this situation.  

 

We may as well be honest, drop-offs and pick-ups are stressful.

 

At one end of the day, we are trying to get children in who ten minutes earlier may have refused to put their uniform on or threw their breakfast on the floor. And at the other end, we are rushing to keep up with their calendar of clubs and activities (that are no doubt busier than our own social lives!).  

It is clear that we need solutions that will promote safe (and calm!) travel. 

 

This week I have met with members of our Parent Teacher Association (PTA), local residents and The Wrythe Safer Neighbourhoods Team to see where and how we can improve. 

 

My promise to you is that I will investigate a number of possible solutions and work with parents to trial ways we can be safer. In return, I ask that as a community we work together to promote calm and safe travel. 

 

Year 6 Secondary Transfer 

I remind Year 6 parents that the deadline for submitting application forms for entrance to Year 7 in September 2023 is coming up soon, 31st October 2022. Please flag to myself or Miss Dowding, if you need support completing your online form.  
 

Our school week ended with fire and lockdown drills. The fire drill ensures we all know how to safely and quickly leave the school building in the event of a fire. Meanwhile, the lockdown drill ensures we all know how to keep ourselves safe in the building if we are unable to leave school site. This could be due to a risk outside the building, such as an escaped animal. I was incredibly impressed by the children’s sensible and mature approaches to these drills.  

 

In a few weeks, we will have our parent consultation meetings. We look forward to discussing how children have settled into their new year groups. 

 

Yours,  
 
Mr Needham