Start of Spring Term 2023

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! 

 
We are delighted to see the children back at school this week and have enjoyed hearing tales of their Christmas holiday adventures. I would like to extend a warm welcome to pupils who have joined Rushy this term and in particular to our January nursery starters, who are just beginning their learning journey with us.  

 

The start of the year is typically a time for making resolutions. For those of you who have set yourself a goal for 2023, you will be pleased to hear that statistically people are more successful at achieving targets set as New Years’ resolutions than set at another time in the year.  

 

This year, I am keen to ensure that our children at Rushy maximise all that school has to offer. For me, this starts with ensuring every child has access to as much schooling as possible by establishing good habits for attendance and punctuality.    

 

With this in mind, I would like to remind parents of the following: 

 

Attendance 

All pupils are expected to attend school each day. Consistent, daily attendance supports children’s academic, social and emotional development.  

 

If your child is unwell, please contact the school office by leaving a voicemail on the morning of the absence. Please state the child’s name, class and reason for absence. If your child is going to be absent for more than one school day, please ring again on the second morning of absence.  

 

Punctuality  

All pupils are expected to arrive at their classroom between 8.35 and 8.45am. Any pupil arriving after this time receives a late mark.  

 

We contact parents to share concerns when lateness has led a pupil to lose a significant amount of learning time or where pupils are persistently late. Our aim is to work with parents to ensure children arrive to school on time each day.  

 

Medical and changes to pick-up 

We must be notified of any medical appointments at least 24 hours in advance. Please note that unless evidence of medical appointments is provided to the school office, these will be marked as ‘unauthorised’. In exceptional circumstances, permission for emergency medical appointments may be granted.  

 

Please phone the office by 2.45pm if you are running late for pick-up or would like to inform us that a different adult will be collecting your child. This allows time for messages to be passed onto class teachers.  

 

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In December, we were delighted to celebrate 62 pupils who finished the year with a 100% attendance record. We hope to have many pupils celebrating a similar achievement at the end of March. 

 

I look forward to seeing our children shine during the Spring Term. 

 

Yours,

 

Mr Needham