Newsletters

Headteacher Message

Hello all,

I hope you and your families are well.  We have had an excellent week again here at Darell.  Your children have adapted to the new routines and we have settled into our new normal.  Our attendance remains at 97% which is excellent.  Thank you for continuing to trust us with your children.  Unsurprisingly a number of our children have developed colds and minor ailments since our return to school.  It is great to see you all applying common sense to the situation and making sensible judgement calls on attendance.  Please ring the office if you are unsure about your child's attendance.  We have had many sensible discussions already this term. 

The news cycle continues to be dominated by Coronovirus and it looks as  though the national picture is slowly changing as infections increase.  We can only hope that the current delays in testing are tackled quickly and efficiently.  It is very frustrating to hear about the delays that some of our families have had in obtaining tests.  Currently we have no children or families who have received a positive test.  Long may that continue. I also think it is important to maintain a sense of perspective.  I heard on the radio this morning that 98% of the current tests are coming back as negative.  There is also the context of our local picture.  I am updated on a daily basis.  In the last week, the daily lab confirmed cases of Coronavirus has been in single figures across the borough.  On the 15th and 16th of September there were no confirmed cases.  We will not become complacent and will continue to adapt and improve our provision to make it as safe as it possibly can be.  You will have received a letter from Richmond council encouraging you to wear a mask when entering the school site.  I would like to urge you also to do this. It is a small inconvenience that may have great benefits.

I am aware that last week's newsletter was dominated by Coronavirus and I want to ensure that this is not always the case.  Personally, I have had a brilliant week.  On Monday I attended Forest School with Year 1,  on Tuesday I went to play tennis with Year 5 at Pensford Tennis club and today I had the pleasure of spending an hour with our wonderful new Reception cohort.  The time flew by as I was treated to an assortment of mud cup cakes, played an impromptu game of Hockey, battled with a variety of dinosaurs, joined a bus trip to the seaside and was involved in the construction of an intricate new monument. It is great credit to the staff  in Reception who have created such an enabling environment.  There is a real sense of purpose and it was a joy to spend time in your children’s company.  

We continue to focus on making the school the best it can be and have been working behind the scenes on updating our values as a school.  In my short time (so far, I am now here for the duration!) at Darell I have felt the values that drive the school but have not seen them clearly stated.  We wanted to capture what drives all of us and can be seen in everything that we do.  Here they are;

These values will be prominent on our new website and we will be exploring them with our children in the upcoming weeks.  Next week I would also like to share the School Development Plan for this year.  I think it is important for you to see and support what we are working on this year.  It is extremely energising to be able to break away from writing, sharing and updating risk assessments and actually focus on driving this school forward.  We will be here well beyond this current crisis and will continue to further improve the school. Thank you for being with us on this journey.  Have a lovely weekend.  Focus on enjoying your family and friends and be safe.

Joe Porter

Attendance

Overall school attendance last week was 98.3% our target is 96.8%.

Well done to Newton and Weir Class for the highest attendance with 100% last week.

Best for Punctuality was the whole school with 0 lates!

lets do our best for next week!