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Newsletter 14
Thursday 23rd May 2024
Dear Parents/ Carers,
I am sure you would agree that this half term has flown by! The work that the children are producing is super and I was really impressed with the feedback from the teaching teams as we evaluated school performance in the recent pupil progress meetings. During these, teachers and school leaders analyse the data for each year group and we look at what has been working and what we need to do next. There is strong evidence that we provide a comprehensive suite of interventions that are impactful. Examples include the impactful morning learning clubs that both extend the learning day and focus on the key areas that the children are finding difficult. I am not aware of any other school that has such a fantastic provision of free tuition opportunities and we should all be proud of what is offered. In year 6 this year, there have been over 30 children each morning working with the year 6 team ahead of their move to secondary school. Some schools offer ‘booster classes’ during the school day but I believe such approaches narrow the curriculum and limit the potential creativity. As Ms Smith has told me, Tudor used to have an approach of having to offer ‘double maths’ and ‘double english’ lessons throughout year 6 to catch up on learning- that does not sound like the most fulfilling experience in what should be a super final year together…
Speaking of year 6, the children completed their SAT assessments last week. Whilst we await the outcomes, I am sure you will join me in saying a big well done for their efforts. The year 6 children are a wonderful, happy bunch when in school and they continue to display true Tudor values. On Friday of this week, we will be taking over the complete Laser Quest venue in Hemel Hempstead for the day and I’m sure they’ll achieve awesome scores there too! They have also been enjoying their skiing course and they continue to flourish in so many ways in our care.
In respect of different approaches, Tudor will be changing the way that we offer swimming lessons from next year. Like a number of other local primary schools, we will be using ‘Pools for Schools’ and having our own Tudor swimming pool for a period. The feedback of this approach to swimming tuition has been tremendous with children achieving far more success (and happiness!) when accessing a pool in their own grounds.
We will not experience related inefficiencies with coach costs and time out of the classroom either. There is likely to even be swimming clubs offered after school too- how awesome will that be! If you want to know what it looks like- follow this link to the website: https://www.eliteswimming.co.uk/
Attendance- understanding our joint DUTY OF CARE for your children. Please be HONEST!
It is disappointing that a minority of parents fail to engage appropriately with school and do not inform us when their children are going to be absent from school. Children only have one chance at an education and, as research shows, good attendance at school is vital for wellbeing. Please follow school policy and inform us if your child is unable to attend school. On occasions where an absence needs to be recorded, please be honest with any reasons. Such honesty must surely be a basic expectation for all! Thanks to the VAST majority of parents who work WITH us.
Do use the Arbor app to check your child’s attendance. We aim for 97% and any child under 90% is regarded as a persistent absentee. 90% is the equivalent of missing half a day EVERY week!
Inclusion at Tudor Primary- a message from Miss Reading- our Assistant Head for Inclusion:
Bounce Forward are facilitating a 'Navigating Transitions' four-week, online course for parents/carers in Dacorum. This course will explore how to support children to face transitions with mental resilience and you will receive downloadable activities to use at home. To book a place, follow the link: https://bounceforward.com/our-courses/navigating-transitions-dacorum/. We are currently in the final support plan 'window' of this academic year - if your child has an individual support plan, your child's class teacher will arrange a time to meet with you to review the current plan and set new targets. Please do ensure you attend this meeting; plans and targets are more effective when they are created in partnership with parents and pupils. If the date or time you have been given is not convenient, please do talk to your child's class teacher so you can rearrange.
The Friends of Tudor Summer Picnic- Saturday 22nd June- From 1pm, on the school field. We hope that as many of the school community can join us as possible. If you are able to help with this event and/ or support with your school’s fundraising group in the future the FOT would LOVE to hear from you. They make a HUGE difference at Tudor but they NEED your help to ensure events for the school can take place! Contact via FOT@tudor.herts.sch.uk
Mason’s story…
All at Tudor thank you in advance for taking some time to read the related social media links to learn more about Mason, one of our valued Tudorites. His life journey has been challenging and his family appreciate any support of yours in helping share his story far and wide. The links are: TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@masondonorkidneyappeal?_t=8lvviyJ4lUG&_r=1
Facebook and Instagram- Masonskidneyappeal
Everyone at Tudor knows Mason to be a stoic, happy young man who gives his all every day with us. Schools are truly special places and our biggest strength will always be how we work together in support of our community.
Parents and Parking- Talking of the wider community, we have received some emails from local residents who have shared some concern about parking/ driving behaviours of Tudor parents. If you have to use the car, please do consider parking further away from school and walking the final part of the journey. It will be helpful to EVERYONE!
Diary Dates-
Class assemblies
1P- Thurs 20th June
1O- Thurs 27th June
FOT Summer picnic- Sat 22nd June
Y6 Leavers’ assembly- Thurs 18th July(eve)
Sports Day- Mon 15th July
Final parent consultations- Tues 9th/ Thurs 11th July
I trust that the news (and new ideas) shared in this newsletter evidences how we are a school that wants to keep evolving and improving. The interest in the school is bigger than ever and it is very hard to find a space at Tudor unless you live VERY locally now. This was not the case in the past and I am proud that we can position ourselves at the centre of our community. As shared in recent newsletters, there are some changes in the teaching team next year. During the autumn term, Miss Houston will be making a move to New Zealand and Miss Manzie is moving back to be near her family in Manchester. Those distances have meant that they cannot commit to a longer commute- I did ask them to consider that though 😉. We are excited about the team for next year and sourcing passionate and committed teachers for the future is vital. Only this week Ms Smith presented at the University of Hertfordshire on how we support and develop the teachers of tomorrow at Tudor. As the feedback in bold highlights, it’s not just the children who deserve an awesome deal at Tudor!
Enjoy the half-term holiday next week…