Welcome
We
are pleased to welcome Mrs Ali Eaton as a part-time Teaching Assistant in Class
3 this term.
Important Key Dates
for Applications to Primary and Secondary Schools
Primary Applications
On-line
and paper applications for children born between 1 September 2012 and 31 August
2013 are now being accepted. Link to the Starting
School form: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/sites/default/files/folders/documents/childreneducationandfamilies/educationandlearning/schools/admissionpolicies/CAFP17.pdf
The
national closing date for on-time
applications for primary schools is 15 January 2017.
Offer letters will be
sent out by the LA using second class post and e-mails sent to those who
applied on line on 17 April 2017.
Secondary Applications
On-line and paper applications for
children born between 1 September 2005 and 31 August 2006 who will be
transferring from Year 6 in primary school to Year 7 in secondary school are
now being accepted. Link to the Moving
On form:
The national closing date for on-time applications is 31 October 2016.
Offer letters will
be sent out by the LA using second class post and e-mails to those who applied
on-line on 1 March 2017.
Message from the Governing Body:
Codes of Conduct
Our
updated Codes of Conduct are now available on the website. Every school is
required to have Codes of Conduct to ensure governors, parents, staff and
volunteers agree to behave in a professional manner at all times. The codes
explain our expectations to ensure smooth working relationships for everyone.
If you do have any queries regarding the codes please contact us.
Academy status
As
many of you know Icknield Community College are pursing multi-academy trust
status and they are waiting for feedback on their application. As a Governing
Body we are committed to ensuring that we continue to monitor the situation
regarding academy status and whether Stadhampton Primary should go down that
route. This year the Governing Body will start to investigate and evaluate our
options in more detail so that we can share these with you as parents. We are
planning to hold a Parent Forum in November, date to be confirmed, so that we
can start consultation with you as parents. Other critical stakeholder groups including
teaching staff and the community will also be consulted. If you have any
questions please contact me directly.
Vacancy for Parent
Governor
Sadly Leanne Kenny, Parent Governor and
Jenny Diment, Community Governor have stepped down from the Governing Body,
both due to promotions at work which is great news for them however sad news
for us. A huge thank you to both Leanne and Jenny for donating their time and
expertise whilst serving as Governors, it really does make a difference.
This means we have Governor vacancies and
would be keen on hearing from parents who want to take a more active role in
the strategic direction of the school. Parent Governors are critical to the
effective running of the school; there is an expectation to attend approx 6 meetings
a year with some work to be completed outside of these meetings. Governors are
volunteers and focus on the school’s strategy and future as opposed to day to
day running of the school. Governors do not get involved in the day to day
management of teaching or teaching staff, deciding on the curriculum or any of
the teaching or day to day management aspects of running a school; in many ways
they are viewed as critical friends to challenge, support and steer the
direction of the school. You do not need to be an expert at education, in fact
skills such as analytical, evaluative, the ability to undertake research are
important; legal, policy or business experience would be beneficial.
If
you would like to know more about the role of a Governor have a look at this
weblink that explains the responsibilities, (http://www.nga.org.uk/Be-a-Governor.aspx)
and (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook),
alternatively contact the Chair, Sara Wright for an informal discussion. The
role is particularly important this year as we review our approach to academy
status.
If
you wish to nominate yourself as a School Parent Governor, please obtain a form
from Mrs Hopkins and return to school by 7th
October.
Many
thanks
Sara
Wright, Chair of Governors
Volunteers in
School
We are enormously appreciative of the many
parents, carers and members of the wider community who volunteer to help in
school. Recent statutory guidance from the Department for Education (DfE)
regarding Safeguarding of pupils in all schools (“Keeping Children Safe in
Education”, DfE 5th September 2016), has resulted in new protocols
being drawn up with regards to volunteers in school. These documents have now
been finalised and approved by the Governing Body and are now available as a
‘volunteer pack’ from the school office. We are aware that a number of regular
parent volunteers have been waiting for these documents and we thank you for
your patience. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the school
office, or myself, or make it known to your child’s teacher who will then
initiate the process. Volunteering can be on a regular basis (eg hearing readers)
or on an occasional basis (eg accompanying off-site visits or Forest School
sessions).
The documents in the pack do take some time
to read and digest but they must be read and signed by yourself, the class
teacher and the Headteacher prior to
any volunteering. Thank you for your understanding.
MEERKAT Champion of
the Week
We
are delighted to share the names of our "MEERKAT Champion of the
Week" award in each class for last week as follows;
Reception
–William Webber
Class
1 – Jack Smith
Class
2 – Mya Khan
Class
3 – Ruby Clark
Well
done to you all!
Open
Morning – Tuesday 4th October 2016
In
conjunction with Little Bears, the school will be open to visitors from 9.00 to
11.45am for current families and the local community, as well as for the
families now making their decisions about their choice of primary school for
September 2017. Please do come along and see the school at work between these
times if you are able, whether you are a prospective parent or an existing one!
Harvest
Service and Gifts – Friday 30th September 2016
A reminder that
our annual Harvest Festival will take place in the Hall at 9.05am on Friday 30th
September and families are most welcome to join us. Once again we will be
supporting Stepping Stones, an organisation for homeless people in Oxford, with
our Harvest Gifts. We hope that each
child will be able to bring a small contribution into school before our service.
All Harvest gifts bought into school will be taken to the village church and
put on display for the Harvest Service there on Sunday 2nd October,
before being taken on to Stepping Stones. Stepping Stones prefer to receive
non-perishable items such as packets of pasta, tins of beans, bars of
chocolate, packets of biscuits, tins of tomatoes, tins of spaghetti, etc rather
than fresh produce. Thank you.
Food
Standards Agency Visit
Congratulations to Mrs Sheridan and to Mrs Fulker, our school
catering staff, for scoring the maximum hygiene rating of 5 stars during the
visit by South Oxfordshire District Council Food Standards Agency on 21st
September.
Great
British Menu on 30th September
There will be a slight change to the usual school meals menu
on 30th September when we are having a ‘Great British Menu’ for that
day only. The choices will be British Battered Fish Fillet or Veggie Sausages,
both served with chips, baked beans and peas; dessert will be either oaty
flapjack or fruit wedges.
PTA News
Official
Notice of the PTA's Annual General Meeting (AGM) - Monday 10th October, 8pm in
the School Hall .
The
PTA plays a vital part in the school community and all parents, as members of
the PTA, are invited to support the AGM. This is your chance to hear and see
how the funds you have helped to raise last year have been used for the benefit
of the children at our school.
The AGM is also an opportunity for you to
elect the PTA Committee (Chair, Treasurer, Secretary), to represent the
association throughout the forthcoming academic year. If you are interested in
taking on one of these roles or joining the committee, please speak to Georgina
Wiggins.
We have a small committee and really need
people to come along and help plan events and to take on any of the roles
outlined. I am stepping down from being Chair after 3 years but I am very much
still part of the committee, there is huge support for anyone who takes on a
role.
Please speak to any committee member for
information, there is at least one committee member in each class.
Friday Cake
Club
Congratulations
to Oliver Bourne, the lucky winner of last week's cake, kindly donated by Mrs
Hackett. A reminder to Mrs Gravett that she is
on the rota for Friday 30th September.
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DIARY DATES:
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Friday 30th September
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Harvest
Assembly
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Tuesday 4th October
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Open
Morning – now confirmed date – see posters around the school
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Tuesday 11th October
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School
Photography Company in school taking individual photographs as well as
sibling and family photographs
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Thursday 20th October
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Half
term begins at 3.15 pm
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Friday 21st October
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Inset
day for teaching staff
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Monday 31st October
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Pupils
and staff return to school
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(Advance
notice for parents):
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Monday 14th November
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Parents
Evening 3.45-7pm
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Wednesday 16th November
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Parents
Evening 3.45-5.30pm
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Tuesday 6th December
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KS2
Christmas Matinee Performance
KS2
Christmas Evening Performance
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Wednesday 7th December
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KS1/FS
Christmas Matinee Performance
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Tuesday 13th December
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Nativity
& Carols afternoon in the Church
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Wednesday 14th December
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Whole
School Christmas Lunch
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Friday 16th December
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End
of Term Assembly
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LITTLE
BEARS NEWS:
The
Little Bears are enjoying our topic ‘All about Me’. We will be continuing to look
at our faces to make our self portraits. We will also be looking at hair colour
and eye colour.
We are also going to be talking
about our favourite things and look forward to making collage pictures of our
favourite things using cut outs from magazines.
Community News:
Advance Notice of a Christmas Sports Club:
Michael Hopkins, who is well-known to the school as
a PE teacher will be leading a Christmas Sports Course on Monday 19th
and Tuesday 20th December at Stadhampton Primary School. The course
runs from 9-3pm each day and is open to all pupils (not necessarily just
Stadhampton School) aged 4-11. The cost is £10 for the day and bookings can be
made directly by e-mailing m.hopkins07@hotmail.com or via
Mrs Hopkins in the school office.
NCT
Nearly New Sale – see attached flyer
Oxford
and Cambridge Singing School – see attached flyer
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