Head Teacher Update

The last half term was a long one, but it was great to get back into the swing of things and see the impact of the developments within our building.  The feedback from children about their new classrooms has been wonderful, the building feels more settled and purposeful; children and teachers can get on with minimal interruption.

Thanks to everyone who came along to our parents’ evenings.  Your feedback on the changes within the building was positive and I’m delighted to share the progress with you.  I hope you found the booking system useful and an easier way to generate an appointment with your child’s class teacher.  Please remember that you can arrange to meet either me or your child’s class teacher, at any time.  If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The work outside of the building continues.  We anticipate being given access to the corridor across to the hall early in December and that groundwork will be completed before the end of term.  The site should be cleared and handed back to us before we return in January.  For this reason, I have decided to postpone the official opening of the building until all the works are complete.  The event planned for 14^th December has now been cancelled, I will update you once I have confirmation of the date of completion.

As you can see from the calendar below, Christmas events are scheduled to go ahead. This includes parties, Christmas lunch and also the nativities.  I don’t anticipate any changes, but if there are I will update you at the earliest opportunity.

We always knew this period of work would be difficult to manage and that has proven to be correct. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel and I am confident that the quality of the finished work will have a huge impact on the quality of education delivered by the school.  Thank you to everyone for the patience you have shown and support you have provided while this process has been ongoing.  I look forward to the next phase of development for Witton le Wear Primary School.

Attendance and Punctuality

Our current school attendance is 96%, although this is good, we’d love it to be higher.  As the winter season approaches, it is inevitable that children will get colds and sniffles.  We ensure they wash and sanitize their hands regularly to minimize the spread of infection, so we encourage you to send children in to school unless they are physically unable to do so.  This helps to build their resilience and strengthen resolve.  Pupils with the best attendance make the most academic progress as they don’t miss out on any of the curriculum.

A huge thank you to everyone for ensuring children are in school and in their seats for the new 8.45am start to the school day.  Teachers have planned timetables to start at this time, so it is essential that we keep this tight.  Good punctuality is really important as we prepare the children for the next phase of their education and later life.

Dates for your diary