As another academic year draws rapidly to a close, it is
interesting to reflect on the work that we have done.
There have been some major projects that have taken place, all
having a positive impact on our drive to a more personalised
approach to learning.
The Autumn term heralded our Ofsted inspection. We were more
than ready for this, and we wanted it to be an opportunity to show
the many things that we are proud of. For us, the experience was
very positive; the team of inspectors was very friendly, they did
actually smile and seemed to relax here….. indeed, one inspector
sat himself down at lunchtime and played the piano in one of the
classrooms. The final outcome was 'outstanding' which was very
exciting for us. They spent a lot of time looking at how we care
for our pupils, and they were very interested in the model of
reviews which I have written about before.
We
undertook a 'bookmarks' project, whereby all the pupils were given
a beautiful bookmark. They recorded all the things that are
important to them, as well as the things that they like about
themselves. Then we focused on ways to support this child's
reading.
The Spring term was spent re-invigorating the Home School
Agreement,
into a meaningful and attractive
document. We invited parents to contribute their ideas, and
incorporated these into the draft version. We are very pleased with
the end result, and look forward to launching it to our parents in
September.
We have also thought about transition, and how we can make this
useful for the children and the teachers. We have decided to create
postcards, written and illustrated by the pupils, with information
for their new teacher. At the moment these are being done, and I
trust that they will be of use as teachers have a new cohort of
pupils.
And so where next? One challenge is to keep the Home School
Agreement 'live'. In order to do this, we will have a monthly
update in our newsletter. We are having some complex SEN children
coming into school, so I want to ensure that these pupils have one
page profiles, and special reviews so that we can really meet their
needs. We need to continue to embed the work that we have done so
far, and ensure that the children have an ongoing record of their
profile.
