Headteacher Message
Hello all,
I am very sorry that I was not here to welcome your children back to school on Wednesday. I am in today and was feeling a bit sorry for myself before going out into the Key Stage 1 playground at 8.45am. That is when the magic began! It was my first chance to see our children and the new Year 1 greeted me with such warmth that I will be glowing for the rest of the day. They even humoured me when trotting out my favourite ‘ What are Reception children doing on this side of the school?’ line.
Transitioning back into school can be tricky for all of us, and we will continue to work hard with any of our community who are finding it difficult. Please let us know if your child is finding it challenging, and we will work in partnership with you to ensure they are happy. I am pleased to report that the school is exceptionally calm today and the staff team have done a great job in welcoming back each and every child.
School staff were eased in with two days of training. I have to say that it was the best INSET we have organised so far and quite simply I think this was because we had outside experts coming in to train us. I am really pleased to report that we are good students and one trainer said we were the best group she had ever worked with. It is our job to model being good learners and I recognise that I am learning every day. There is no end destination, just an understanding that you can always strive to be better at what you do whilst recognising that you will make mistakes along the way.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our new families. Next week we will be continuing to welcome our new Nursery and Reception families to our community. Thank you for choosing us. As a school we are driven by our values and a firm belief that happy children learn.
The lovely thing about being a one form entry school is that every member of staff will get to know your child and support them on their journey through the school. A big reminder to all. Partnerships only work with good communication, and we pride ourselves on being available. Please just pop into the office or make a call, and we will get back to you ASAP.
On the last day of term we received our final OFSTED report. I have my reservations about this system of school judgement, but I have to say that it was a very fair process. We told them what we thought we were doing well and what we needed to improve on, and they tested this out and reported on what we were doing well and needed to improve. I was very pleased to get an outstanding judgement for personal development. I think this reflects a whole school approach and our desire to build character in our children. Most importantly it reflects well on them. Superstars each and every one. I would also like to say a big thank you to all of you. The OFSTED parental survey was extremely positive and commented on by the inspecting team. We are not perfect, and we will continue to strive to be even better but what I can guarantee you is that we will continue to make decisions with the needs of your children at the forefront of our thinking.
Here is the link to the report if you have not seen it already.
https://www.darell.richmond.sch.uk/ofsted
To all the parents and carers new to the newsletter, thank you if you are still reading. I don’t usually ramble on as much as this but being bed bound for two days and emerging today has been energising. We are all going to need this positive energy in the upcoming months so have a lovely weekend with your families and see you on Monday. Please take precautions in the sun and enjoy.
Joe Porter
Kew The Transition
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