Headteacher Message

Hello all,

There is a lot to cover today, and it is difficult to know where to start. Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to all of you and your children for the recent improvements we have seen in whole school attendance.  While we still have progress to make, we are now heading in the right direction.  Here are our stats;

I am extremely competitive, and I really don’t like seeing us below the national and the local authority.  However, our attendance is improving as our whole school attendance for the autumn term was at 91.5%.  In fact, this week we had 95.8% attendance across the school, with Reception having 100% attendance for the second week in a row.  Now, if we can get our youngest in then we can get them all in!  We are heading in the right direction, but this needs to be a focus for all of us.  Our children need to be in school. This is why:

Impact on Results: Research shows that missing just 10 days of school a year can halve a child’s chance of achieving top grades in their future exams.

Lost Time: An attendance rate of 90% sounds high, but it actually means your child is missing one day of school every fortnight. Over their school career, this adds up to one full year of lost learning.

Building Blocks: At primary age, every lesson is a building block. Missing a single Tuesday of phonics or a Thursday of maths creates a "gap" that makes the next week’s lesson harder to understand.

We fully understand that children do get ill and life can cause challenges, and, as ever, we are here to support you.  I have been reliably informed that we are one of the most welcoming and supportive schools in London, and we will work with you to overcome any barriers to attendance.  Therefore, if you are struggling with your child's attendance, please, please, come and speak to us. Our key word this year is ambition and I want our attendance to be above the local average. There is no reason why not. I will keep you and the children informed of our progress. 

Ok. Moving on. As you see, when you enter the office, there is a big sign saying 'Make a Difference.’ I truly believe this is a good way to live your life. Making a difference does not have to be a big grand gesture. It can be a smile, holding the door open for someone or stacking the dishwasher! We are going to be awarding a ‘make a difference’ award to members of our school who help our community.

The first award is to Virag, who selflessly helped us out this week. Our netball team were due to play in a tournament at Barn Elms yesterday, and we only had the lovely Joss available to take and support them; we put a message out and Brandon's mum volunteered to help. Bear in mind, Brandon is too young to be in the netball team. She came to support the children of the school, not her own. For this, she was awarded the inaugural ‘Make a Difference’ school award. Thank you Virag, the certificates coming your way.  Well, I have gone on a bit today, so I will end by wishing you all a very lovely weekend with your families. 100% attendance next week please.

Joe Porter