Newsletter: 5th April 2019
Posted on April 5, 2019 | By Mr Cole
The WoolFactor is coming…
Medical Appointments
We have been asked by the Education Welfare Officer to ensure that all Medical/Dental appointments are backed up with documentation. With this in mind, if you have to take your child out of school during the school day, please either bring in an appointment letter (for hospital appointments) or official appointment card which we can then photocopy for our records. Thanks.
Open Events
Thank you for supporting our Open Events toward the end of this term – whether it was coming along to the Stroxworthy Does Drop In cafe last week, Burscott’s Presentation Afternoon this week, or Ashmansworthy VE Day Party, we very much appreciate your support and giving the children the opportunity to share their learning. There are photos of all these events on the Blog, so please take a look if you haven’t already.
Easter Hamper
This morning, Square 9 was chosen from the Easter Hamper Draw. Congratulations to Mrs Brenda Pennington who won the hamper… we hope at least some of it found its way home via Mr Pennington to you!
Lunch Menu
The new lunch menu will be home in book bags later today – it will also be on the website very soon. Please look out for it in book bags so you can choose your child’s lunch requirements for the summer term.
School Funding
As we start the new financial year, it’s worth me stating once again how badly our school is currently funded. We finished the last financial year tens of thousands of pounds in the red, and projections for the present year don’t look much better. This is because of a combination of factors, including the Government not funding the increase in National Insurance rates and the implementation of the Living Wage for our support staff, together with the historical underfunding of shire counties such as Devon. The Schoolcuts.org.uk site details in very broad terms the state of funding in all schools and this is their record for Woolsery. This doesn’t take into account different cost pressures (such as NI and Living Wage increases), only the amount per pupil our funding has fallen by over the last four years.
Because funding is so very tight at the moment, we will continue to send out Arrears Letters to families who owe money on their school accounts. Please note that we’re simply not able to hold this debt for a long period of time and have no choice but to pass details on to the local authority if debts aren’t settled within three notification letters. This includes dinner money arrears and preschool session fees.
Happy Easter!
Whatever you’re doing over the Easter Break, I hope you have some fabulous family time. This has been a challenging term in many ways and it’s hard to believe that when we’re next together it’ll be the Summer Term! There are lots of exciting learning opportunities wihtin our WILD Curriculum planned for the coming weeks, and plans will be sent out during the first week of term so you know what the mini Projects and real-life Outcome is for your child’s learning up until July.
Thank you for your ongoing support – it is very much appreciated. Please remember that because Easter is so late, school reopens on Tuesday 23rd April, following the Easter Monday bank holiday.
Matt Cole
Headteacher