Newsletter: 24th March 2023
Posted on March 24, 2023 | By Mr Cole
Inspection
This week, Woolsery School had its long-awaited Ofsted Inspection. This was a two day inspection with two inspectors. As is the way with Ofsted’s methodology, we are not able to discuss the outcome fo the Inspection until the Report is published – this will be delayed due to the Easter Holidays and May bank holidays so we’re not anticipating the outcomes being public until the last week of next half term.
In the meantime, we can say that we were truly delighted with the way our children interacted with the team, speaking with confidence and from the heart about their experiences in the school, and also the overwhelmingly positive response from parents who showed incredibly strong support for all aspects of the school. We are very pleased with the outcome of the Inspection.
Year 5 London Residential
I am carrying out the pre-visit checks in London this weekend ahead of the trip in May. Over the weekend I will visit all of the locations we are visiting with the children and ensuring all arrangements are in place so the residential runs smoothly. This means I will be fully informed to hold parent meetings in each school the first week back after the Easter Holidays. I very much encourage all parents to come along if you’re able. If you can’t make the one in your child’s school, you can, of course, come along to one of the other two as the messages will be the same in each presentation. Children who are taking part in the trip are also very welcome to come along. The meetings will be on the following days, straight after the end of the school day:
- Tuesday 18th April: Parkham
- Wednesday 19th April: Buckland Brewer
- Friday 21st April: Woolsery
Bikeability
Bikeability will be taking place next week at Woolsery. This is just to complete the course for children who were affected by the snow in January and parents of these children will already know. Please make sure your children is prepared with the things they need. Thank you.
Enterprise Voice Supermarket Trip
The planned trip to Asda in Bideford to research healthy snacks for Tasty Tuck sales had to be postponed this week due to Woolsery’s inspection. We will now run it this coming Wednesday afternoon with the same children from Buckland Brewer and Woolsery, but the supermarket will now be Tesco at East-the-Water rather than Asda.
Pixies Holt Residential
I am sure Year 4 are really excited to be going to Dartmoor on Monday for their three-day residential to Pixies Holt Outdoor Centre at Dartmeet. Mr Davies and Mrs Barnes have been working really hard with the Centre to ensure the programme of activities will be exciting for everyone. I am also looking forward to dropping in on Tuesday afternoon/evening to see how everyone is getting along – it’s a great Centre which we’re lucky to have access to and I know the children will have a great time, whatever the weather.
Please remember to be at Woolsery School in good time on Monday morning so the coach can get away on time at 9am. Please bring children and their luggage to the school hall where Mr Davies and Mrs Barnes will register everyone, collect in any medication and prepare the group before they set off on their adventure! For parents coming in from Buckland or Parkham, the roads around the school can become very busy at drop off time so you may need to park a little way away and walk through the village, so please allow plenty of time for this.
Photos will be posted on the Partnership Blog – you can access this by clicking on the Residentials tab at the top of this page and selecting Pixies Holt 2023 – the children love receiving comments from you so they get a sense of sharing their residential with you, so thank you for taking a little time to drop them a line or two.
There are still some spaces for tables at the FOWS sale which is coming up shortly after the Easter Holidays – this is open to anyone, not just members of Woolsery School so please make contact with the team if you’d like to book a stall…
Today, the children were presented with the final Certificates of the term: Well done to everyone who received recognition for great work in aspects of their learning behaviours which are represented by our six Learning Animals:
Orleigh: to follow
Tythecott: Charlie (bee) – For being an outstanding bee, always willing to help others in our class when they’re stuck; Noah (cat) – For being a curious cat and asking great enquiry questions in History
Gorwood: Maisie (spider) – for making connections with her maths learning when learning about area and perimeter; Jayden (dolphin) – for diving into his learning particularly in maths and writing where I can see lots of progress in his work
Foxdown: Myles (owl) – for looking forwards and backwards in his learning journey. Myles used his Explore Time to revisit, practise and improve upon his knowledge of knights. He spent time creating his own non-fiction book about them; Ashley (spider) – for making links and connections. Ashley used his Explore Time and the wooden blocks to build two hospitals showing conditions both before and after Florence Nightingale’s changes. He then also made drawings of them!
Melbury: Raife (dolphin) – Raife has dived into our history topic and loves learning facts about the different queens we are studying; Benji (tortoise) – Benji has shown resilience in maths, challenging himself to try the trickier questions. Great work Benji
Goldworthy: Lewis (dolphin) for being fully engaged and focussed this week; Bronte (owl) – for understanding her learning journey and where her next steps are
Sunflowers: Joshua for his resilience to keep trying to master our nursery rhymes; Ethan for being kind and caring with his friends.
Cranford: Isla (dolphin) – for your amazing sentences in phonics this week; Ielizaveta (tortoise) – starting to speak some English and growing in confidence since moving from Ukraine
Burscott: Kaleb (dolphin) – for diving into all his learning with enthusiasm and a smile on his face this week! Seren (cat) – for asking questions to further her own understanding and deepen her knowledge.
Stroxworthy: Elsie (tortoise) – for being resilient like a tortoise and always trying her very best in maths; Hugo (spider) – for making links and connections like a spider across English and History, when discussing our study of Romans in Britain.
Alminstone: Isla-Mae and Bea (bees) – for contributing well in a group to produce a collaborative piece of art for the Woolsery history exhibition
Ashmansworthy: Sidney (tortoise) – for tackling some difficult work on angles with enthusiasm and determination; Millie (spider) – for making links across the different areas of maths and using those links to solve challenging problems
| Monday |
Pixies Holt Residential, Day 1 Orleigh Class (Rec & Y1) to Witten Park Vets (am) |
| Tuesday |
Pixies Holt Residential, Day 2 Buckland Brewer – Easter activities at the Parish Church (pm) |
| Wednesday |
Pixies Holt Residential, Day 3 Stroxworthy Class to Appledore School art studio (am) Enterprise Voice children visiting Bideford (pm) Mrs Morrison out all day – maths course |
| Thursday |
final Gorwood Class Swimming (pm) Buckland Brewer – class photos |
| Friday |
final Ashmansworthy Class Swimming (am) FOWS Easter Egg Hunt (Woolsery) PM End of Term: School Reopens on Monday 17th April |
Mr Cole’s planned schedule
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| Monday | Morning | Afternoon | |
| Tuesday | Morning | ||
| Wednesday | Morning | ||
| Thursday | All Day | ||
| Friday | Morning | Morning | Afternoon |
With best wishes,
Matt Cole, Headteacher