Headteacher Newsletter Issue 3
FORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER ISSUE 3: 6.10.22
Dear Parents
Congratulations
Well done George S for being selected to attend the Futsal Football tournament in France in a couple of weeks time. This is an excellent achievement and we are all very proud of you.
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Class 6 hosted, along with help from the Friends of Clavering, a very successful coffee morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support on Friday 30th September. Thank you to all who joined us for coffee and cake and to the Friends of Clavering members who served the teas and coffees. Also, a big thank you to everyone who kindly donated cakes and biscuits. We raised £430 which is an amazing achievement. Thank you all very much for your support.
Harvest
The whole school came together on Tuesday for a special harvest celebration assembly. Each class shared some work connected to harvest and we sang three songs. We reflected on how fortunate we are and also how grateful we are for the kind food donations for the Uttlesford Food Bank. Thank you so very much if you sent food donations in.
Reception class sang about the Dingle, Dangle Scarecrow
Class 1 shared their food alphabet.
Class 2 taught us all about the continents and where our food comes from.
Class 3 shared their lovely acrostic harvest poems.
Class 4 told us about their delicious harvest cooking.
Class 5 shared a whole class performance poem.
Class 6 shared their harvest prayers/reflections.
The singing was fantastic – thank you to Mrs Tokeley for helping with the singing sessions.
Year 6 Playleader training
In Year 6 this half term, we have been training to be good Playleaders. For homework, we created a game suitable for children to play at lunchtime. We played some of our games with Class 1 and then thought about how we could improve or modify our games. We will be taking turns at lunchtime to organise and play these games with the younger children. Also, in our PHSE lesson we have discussed having empathy with others and how we can help other children when they are upset or feeling lonely. We will soon all be graduating as Playleaders at a special assembly where we will be given a certificate and our own Playleader hat.
Sport Ambassador Training
Will, Emmie, Hadley, Lily and Sidney received training by Jackie Coleman through Teams, learning how to encourage younger children to be more active at playtimes. They will be using their training to help Year 6 Playleaders with games and activities for lunchtime next half term. Well done!
Quad Kids
of the KS2 classes went to Carver Barracks for the Quad Kids event. Each child got to participate in a long run, a 100m sprint, a long jump and a howler throw. We were very lucky as Carver were opening their new athletics track, we witnessed the cutting of the ribbon and were first to use the new track! We were extremely proud of the fantastic sportsmanship shown by all members of the Clavering team. Well done all!
WOP
Wider Ops – the children in KS2 have been receiving whole class brass lessons with Mr Malam. There have been some delightful musical sounds coming from the hall on Thursday mornings!!! The children have been playing trumpets, trombones and euphoniums. Happy music making!
Pupil Attendance:
As I am sure you are aware, high pupil attendance is key for a child’s academic development and their wider wellbeing. The Department for Education (DfE) have recently released a new document in relation to attendance – ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’. It includes parents/carers legal responsibility and how absences affect pupils’ school experience and attainment. I note these key points below:
- “The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.
- Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.
- This is essential for pupils to get the most out of their school experience, including their attainment, wellbeing, and wider life chances. The pupils with the highest attainment at the end of key stage 2 and key stage 4 have higher rates of attendance over the key stage compared to those with the lowest attainment. At key stage 2, pupils not meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths had an overall absence rate of 4.7%, compared to 3.5% among those meeting the expected standard.”
At Clavering, we set an individual pupil attendance target of 97%. We appreciate that illness is unavoidable. However, where we have concerns surrounding your child’s attendance, we will contact you to explore how we can work in partnership to support, liaising with the Essex Local Authority Attendance Officer as needed. Please note that only exceptional circumstances warrant a leave of absence and it is extremely unlikely that we would grant a leave of absence for the purposes of a family holiday. In relation to unauthorised holidays specifically, our Attendance Policy does include the use of Fixed Penalty Notices so parents/carers may be at risk of receiving a fine in this situation. Any requests for leave of absence must be applied for at least 10 days in advance in writing and we will take into account the specific facts and circumstances, and relevant background context, behind the request. Thank you for your support with this.
School Admissions – Primary and Secondary – Apply Now!!
To apply quickly and easily for primary and secondary school places go online to https://www.essex.gov.uk/admissions-to-essex-schools-for-the-next-school-year
Secondary school places for September 2023
From 12 September 2022 you can apply online for your child’s school place https://www.essex.gov.uk/apply-for-a-secondary-school-place
You must submit an application by the national closing date of 31 October 2022. Applications received after this date will be considered late and you may reduce your chance of being offered a place at your preferred school.
Primary and junior school places for September 2023
From 7 November 2022 you can apply online for your child’s school place https://www.essex.gov.uk/apply-for-a-primary-school-place
You must submit an application by the national closing date of 15 January 2023. Applications received after this date are considered late and will reduce your chance of being offered a place at your preferred schools.
Free School Meals Funding
You can register for Free Schools Meals Funding if you meet the criteria below.
If you have a child in Key Stage One and are receiving the free meal, which is part of the universal offer, you could be missing out on this additional funding for the school, which will support your child with their learning, if you meet the criteria below. You have to apply for this funding. If you think you meet the criteria below then please follow the guidance below and contact the school office.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals
Mobile Phones
This is a gentle reminder not to use mobile phones whilst on the school site.
This is part of our safe-guarding policy for all of our children.
Ooo000ooO
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
4.10.22 Sports Ambassador Training
5.10.22 KS2 Quad Kids
6.10.22 AGM at Fox 7pm
12.10.22 Yrs5 – 6 Football Herberts Farm
13.10.22 PCSO visit
18.10.22 School Improvement Evening
19.10.22 Cross Country KS2
20.10.22 Open Morning for new parents
21.10.22 INSET day – school closed to pupils
w/b 31.10.22 Friendship Week
w/b 31.10.22 Friends of Clavering Pumpkin Competition
2.11.22 Parent evening
3.11.22 Parent evening
w/b 7.11.22 Bikeability and 24th and 25th November
9.11.22 Bag2School
9.11.22 Yrs 3/4 Multi skills
10.11.22 Friends of Clavering Disco
11.11.22 Year 3 Parent Sharing Assembly
18.11.22 Children in Need
24.11.22 Skootfit Rec, yrs1 and 2
30.11.22 Sports Hall Athletics yrs 3/4 pm
2.12.22 Flu Immunisation
3.12.22 Spirit of Christmas Concert – School Choir event
8.12.22 The Snowman – KS1 at Saffron Hall
12.12.22 Tray Day
14.12.22 KS2 dress rehearsal am, KS1 dress rehearsal, KS2 evening performance
yrs 5 and 6 Parents
15.12.22 Reception Nativity am, KS1 performance pm, KS2 evening performance yrs
3 and 4 Parents
19.12.22 Friends of Clavering Christmas Shopping Morning
20.12.22 Church Service
20.12.22 Christmas lunch
20.12.22 End of term
5.1.23 New Spring term begins
ACHIEVEMENTS
STAR OF THE WEEK
Week ending 23rd September
Reception Fred – for excellent listening and super answers to questions
Year One Oscar – for super effort and perseverance when representing numbers in Maths
Year Two Bailey – for great descriptive writing
Year Three Dougray –for an improvement in the speed of his writing allowing him to produce a fabulous description of the chocolate room
Year Four Lenny – for showing excellent strength and stamina in our fitness lessons
Year Five Max S – for demonstrating wonderful organisational and team work skills during Science
Year Six Joshua L – for his excellent topic work in WW1 Warfare
Week ending 30th September
Reception Daisy – for being a kind friend helping others who had fallen over
Year One Marnie – for great effort sharing her ideas and answers in class
Year Two Elizabeth – for excellent continent work in Geography and helping others
Year Three Isabella L – for being such a helpful member of our class and an improved speed in her work
Year Four Maya – being an exceptional role model who always tries her best and supports her peers
Year Five Morgan – for always working really hard and giving 100%
Year Six Lily – good focus and a mature attitude towards year 6 responsibilities
WRITER OF THE WEEK – 23.9.22
R Bertie for excellent name writing
1 Henry for super sentence writing showing characters’ thoughts
2 Frankie for great creation of character
3 Phoenix for fabulous descriptive writing
4 Tilly for her beautifully presented science work
5 Rio for great writing using pathetic fallacy
6 Matilde for her excellent writing as ‘Joey’ from war horse.
If you have any questions at any time then please feel free to make an appointment.
Have a good weekend.
Rosalind Allsop
Headteacher
