Latest News from the Head

Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• December News

  Mon 18 Dec 2023 Mr Needham

  Dear parents, 

   

  We have had a busy end to the term! Thank you to all of the parents who have been able to make it to our Christmas performances. I am sure those who have attended will join me in saying that these have been fantastic! They have really showcased the children’s confidence and it has been lovely to see the teamwork and practise that has gone into making these events successful. We are looking forward to our final Year 4, 5 and 6 performance on Tuesday 19th December. 

   

  Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to Mrs Briggs (Year 4 Beech Class Teacher) at the end of this term. She will be starting a new teaching position at a school in Caterham. Mrs Briggs is well known to our families having been at Rushy for 6 years and taught children across multiple key stages. Mrs Briggs is popular amongst pupils and staff on account of her thoughtful nature and passion for teaching. She has successfully led Computing at Rushy and will be missed by all. We wish her the very best in her new role.  

   

  Instagram 

  You may have noticed our Instagram following slowly building over recent weeks. We now have over 20 posts and almost 200 followers! This page has been launched to share the best of what is happening in school each week. We are grateful to the Rushy Meadow PTA who have agreed to match money spent on a school camera to ensure we can capture events in high quality.  

   

  If you are happy for your child/ren to appear on the Instagram page, please ensure that the following 2 consents are approved on Arbor: 

  • Photograph use for Promoting & Marketing the Academy/Trust 

  • Photographs for Third parties promoting and marketing (as sometimes posts are re-shared by organisations we tag, e.g. Hindleap Warren where Year 6 attended residential) 

   

  Click here to follow us on Instagram 

    
  End of Term Arrangements 

  Thursday 21st December: Final Day of Term – early finish (see below) 
  Nursery Pick-up Time: 11.35am 
  Rec, Year 1 and 2 Pick-up Time: 1.30pm 
  Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 Pick-up Time: 1.35pm 

   

  Attendance and Punctuality 

  We would like to thank parents for your ongoing support with getting children to school each day and on time. We know how much goes on behind the scenes to ensure children are up and ready for school! 

  Our aim is for children to have 95% + attendance. The table below gives you a little more information on where your child’s attendance sits in relation to the whole school:  

    

  	Whole School Average	100%	95% +	90 – 94%	75 – 89%	50 – 75%	Below 50%
  Percentage of children	93.03%	25%	58%	19%	19%	3%	1%

    

  This term, 49% of pupils have never had a late mark and 81% of children have had 3 or fewer late marks.  

   

  We wish you all a relaxing Christmas holidays.  

   

  Kind regards, 

   
  Mr Needham 
  Headteacher 

   

  Thunks  

  As mentioned, during Monday assemblies, we share a Thunk of the Week. A ‘thunk’ is an unusual question that makes you think. It has no right or wrong answer. Below I have shared more of our thunks from the Autumn Term; you may like to discuss these at home too! 

  Would you rather be able to fly or turn invisible? 

  Do you give or receive more smiles in a day? 

  Can you look at something you can’t see? 

  Do you miss someone more when they're away from you or when you're away from them? 

  Are there ever times when it is braver to do nothing rather than do something? 

  Is being scared of nothing worse than being scared of everything? 

  If you could take a pill to make you always happy, would you? 

  What might Father Christmas think 'being good' is? 

  Is a pocket more of a bag or a hole?   

  My granny has had the same broom for 40 years. In that time, it has had 19 new heads and 12 new handles. Is it still the same broom? 

   

  School Updates 

   

  Our Summer parent survey identified a few areas that parents would like improved. Below I have shared updates on some of these areas: 

   

  Area for improvement	Action
  To always have a staff member on the Fellowes Road gate in the morning	We have added more staff to our ‘Gate Duty’ rota and always have a staff member scheduled to be on Fellowes Road gate. In situations where circumstances or illness leads to staff being pulled away from duties, we prioritise the inner gates (KS1 and KS2).
  More information about what activities children are doing	We have introduced our Instagram page to share pictures of exciting events taking place in school.  We have updated the Year Group pages on our website to include our theme planners and knowledge organisers. These share more about what children are learning in class.  In recent weeks, we have begun sending our blog posts as email messages. This has been designed to give parents direct access to what children are doing each week.
  Consistent communication when there has been a conflict involving children	Our Senior Leadership Team (Mr Needham, Mrs Schalkwyk and Miss Sims) aim to contact parents when there have been any serious behaviour incidents, including red cards. Phase Leaders (Miss Dowding, Mrs Nairn and Mrs Turner) will contact parents about any yellow card incidents. Teachers aim to update parents on any day-to-day conflicts or things that have affected children in class.  Where we have not had time to contact parents following a behaviour incident, we will aim to send an email sharing information about what has taken place and any follow-up consequences.
  Developing the playground space, including more equipment	Our Pupil Parliament have worked with Mr Needham on this during the Autumn Term. They have spoken to children in each class about what they like about the playgrounds and what they would like changed. This has led to new equipment being introduced.  In the KS2 playground, we have made clearer zones for different activities.
  Competitive sports activities against other schools	This term, children have had the opportunity to take part in competitive sports with other schools, including Borough Athletics. We know parents are keen for there to be a school sports team, e.g. girls and boys football teams. This was also raised by a parent governor at our recent Local Committee Governing Board meeting. We are continuing to explore the logistics of running these teams.