Headteacher Newsletter Issue 2
FORTNIGHTLY NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2: 27.9.24
Reception class have settled in well and have just completed their first week full time.
Bikeability
The children had a fantastic time at Bikeability over the last week. The children listened to the instructions carefully to enable them to learn to ride safely on the roads. All the children that took part passed the assessments and were rewarded with a badge and will soon receive their certificate’s. Well done Class 6!
JFAN Sports Coach visit
Last week Miss Esterhuizen came to teach Class 4 PE. She helped us to understand and complete the figure of 8 challenge. We all had to complete a figure of 8 around 2 cones. We were given the challenge of seeing how many we could complete in 1 minute. We really enjoyed this and all improved our scores throughout the lesson. Each child’s best score has been sent off to the Uttlesford schools competition.
KS2 Girls’ Football
On Wednesday, the girls in KS2 attended a football skills session at Chrishall Primary School. The event, run by the Uttlesford School Sports Partnership, was aimed to boost the interest and confidence of girls in football. Years 3 and 4 attended in the morning and years 5 and 6 in the afternoon. They took part in activities that focused on dribbling, shooting, passing and stamina, followed by small friendly matches.
MacMillan Coffee Morning
Thank you to all the people who kindly donated to our amazing Macmillan Coffee morning. The year 6’s did a fantastic job of welcoming parents, collecting children, serving cakes, washing up and making speeches. A HUGE thank you to the Friends of Clavering for helping to organise this event and serving cake, teas and coffees. A special thank you to the office staff for helping behind the scenes. So far, we have raised around £500. Once all donations are in, we will let you know the official total.
Meet the Teacher
Thank you to all the parents that attended our Meet the Teacher event last week. We hope you enjoyed meeting your child’s class teacher and found the event informative.
Parent Forum
I am pleased to announce that we will be re-instating our Parent Forum. Our first meeting will take place in November when we will discuss the rationale of the forum and plan our first focus.
Thank you to our new representatives for supporting this forum –
Reception Laura Hagger
Year 1 Amelia Berner
Year 2 Hollie Thomas
Year 3 Claire Briggs
Year 4 Maria Lawrence
Year 5 Laura Nash
Year 6 Nicole Bond
Pupil Attendance:
As highlighted in the previous newsletter, school attendance laws have now changed and a national approach has been rolled out. As a result, our Attendance Policy has been updated. Please refer to the attached ‘Helping Parents Understand Penalty Notice Fines For School Attendance’. As I am sure you appreciate, we have a legal duty to adhere to the new regulations. Whilst approving an absence is still at the discretion of a headteacher, there are very clear guidelines as to what can and cannot be authorised. Whilst we understand the reasoning behind taking children out for days and holidays, often linked to the higher costs involved within school holidays, this is not something that we can authorise or support. If you are requesting a leave of absence for your child then you will need to obtain a form from the school office. This is available electronically or as a paper copy. When submitting a leave of absence form, please be aware that decisions made are not in any way judgemental but are simply the school acting in line with the regulations now in place. Our attendance is also monitored by the DFE and the Local Authority on a daily basis. If 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. As part of the monitoring, we will notify parents if their child is nearing the threshold of 10 sessions of unauthorised absence within a 10 week period.
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 2025
From 12 September 2024 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 2024. 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 (Reception) places for September 2025
From 4 November 2024 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 2025. 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
2nd September INSET day – school closed to pupils
6th September Non uniform day for house point (Wales) and sports day (Saville) winners
19th September Meet the Teacher 7 – 7.30 repeated. 7.30 – 8pm Rec one session 6.15 – 7.
24th September Flu Vaccine
25th September Girls’ Football yr3/4 am and yr5/6 pm
26th September MacMillan Coffee Morning
3rd October Governor Focus morning
9th October Football yr6 boys am and girls pm
10th October Sport Ambassador training
16th October Cross Country KS2
18th October Year 6 parent sharing assembly
22nd October Parent Evening
23rd October Parent Evening
23rd October Yr5/6 Dodgeball pm
25th October INSET day – school closed to pupils
28th Oct – 1st Nov Half term
4th Nov – 8th Nov Friendship Week
7th November Friends of Clavering School Disco
8th November Open morning TBC
15th November Children in Need
2nd December Tray Day 3.20 – 4.20pm
2nd December Second-hand uniform sale 3.20-4.20
7th December Spirit of Christmas
11th December KS2 evening performance yrs 5 and 6 parents
12th December Reception Nativity am, KS1 performance pm, KS2 evening performance yrs 3 and 4 parents
13th November Parent Forum.
16th December Year 5 Parliament trip
18th December Christmas Shopping Morning
19th December Christmas Lunch
ACHIEVEMENTS
STAR OF THE WEEK
Week ending 13th September 2024
Reception Elliott – always working hard on his jobs and for fantastic cutting
Year One Matthew – for being kind and helpful in our classroom
Year Two Fabian – for fantastic effort in his writing and a consistently positive attitude
Year Three Eddie – trying super hard to settle into year 3. We are all so happy to have you as a member of our class
Year Four Barney – for writing a fantastic poem in English this weekend and super effort to make his handwriting neat.
Year Five Isabella – for clear thinking to solve our Maths word problems
Year Six Oscar – for showing kindness to others
STAR OF THE WEEK
Week ending 20th September 2024
Reception Maeve L – for speaking confidently in front of the whole class
Year One George – for his enthusiasm and progress in reading.
Year Two Elis – for beautiful manners and a great start to year 2 at Clavering
Year Three Lucas – for an excellent effort with his Science poster about the sun
Year Four Alfie – for fantastic singing in music and an improved effort with his reading
Year Five Alastair – for bringing great world knowledge to his classroom learning
Year Six Carrie – for fantastic diary writing in character
If you have any questions at any time then please feel free to make an appointment.
Have a good weekend.
Rosalind Allsop
Headteacher