Newsletter 19- Friday 24th May 2019

Dear Parents/ Carers,

The final push of the academic year…

It has been a really busy half term and, what with some ‘shorter weeks’ in the recent past there has been a real focus to get things up to our Tudor standard. In addition to the ‘normal’ requirements of the curriculum for our 440+ children, we have had SAT assessments as well as moderation visits from county. In respect of the SAT assessments, I would like to make a special mention for the children of year 6 who all arrived early and ready each day for their tests that will mark a key point in their educational careers. They clearly gave it their all and it was great to see that they really wanted to do well- if they maintain this approach in their next schools I am sure that they will do well. They certainly were deserving of their trip to Chessington World of Adventures this week.  Here is a picture of some fairly tired adventurers at the end of their fun day:

It is fair to say that there are different views on testing of children and, whilst I have always known testing to be present throughout my 25+ years in schools, the impact of the results (as inspecting judgements) has certainly increased. It does please us that the academic performance of Tudor children has clearly improved but we remain determined that this is not at the expense of the happiness and wellbeing of the children that enjoy our school each day.

Please be assured of the positive atmosphere that permeates Tudor each day. As I show parents around (and yes- tours have already started for September 2020!), I am able to show how the children really do have a wonderful time learning when in school. I continue to pledge that I will show parents ‘Any class, any time, any day’ and I trust that is an indicator of how confident I am in being able to show the effectiveness of #TeamTudor!

Our new ‘Tudor After School Club’- a big step forward in regards to the provision we offer…

The school was really pleased to read the positive feedback in response to our plan to provide after school provision from September 2019. EnergyKidz look forward to providing an after school club from 3.15pm to 6pm each night and they are determined to make it a success. Costs have obviously been a factor and I have insisted that the school does not look to raise any additional funds through increased prices. You may have noticed that whilst £12.50 was the cost put forward by EnergyKidz, I have asked for this to be reduced by £2 each day (without any reduction in quality) to make sure that as many families as possible are able to utilise the offer. That links nicely to our next new item…

Budgets and Staffing- a national crisis?

Whilst some other schools are placing such issues as the lead news item on their parent correspondence, I remain content that Tudor Primary continues to ‘cope’ in these key areas. Funding in education is at its lowest level since 1953 and budgets continue to be cut- especially in regard to children with increased needs. Many schools are also requesting funds from parents each term to help them maintain their levels of provision in school. Alongside the governing board and Mrs Chaplin (as office manager) we continue to analyse where the money needs to be targeted. The budget has now been set for the 2019/20 and we continue to be able to offer EVERY class a high quality teacher AND teaching assistant- long may that continue as this impacts ALL our children. Tudor must always seek to improve and not simply maintain. Such as:

The Tudor Activity Centre!

The Tudor Activity Centre will be ready after half term. To help manage the first few weeks a rota for classes will be in operation and Mr Higgins and the sports team will also provide some induction training to help the children get the most from this new high level equipment. There will be a fence around the equipment and this is to ensure that the equipment is only accessible at certain times. Please DO NOT let your children climb through/ over the fences to the equipment before/ after school. We would all appreciate your support in this- Tudor remains a very settled and safe school before and after the school day- long may this continue!

PLEASE get your child to school on time…

As part of your parental responsibility, please do all you can to make sure your child is ready to start the day at the right time- doors open at 8.45am and registration is at 8.55am. Those 5 mornings of 10 minutes learning support each day can make a lot of difference in helping build confidence! Despite a small minority of parents who still insist on removing their children from school for term time holidays, the overall attendance picture at Tudor remains stronger that it has ever been. Little will have as bigger impact in your child’s success in life than a true commitment to your child’s education.

IMPORTANT DATES and ‘Fun Fundraising’…

The next school disco will be taking place on the evening of Friday 14^th June. On the same day, the school photographer will be in to take class photos. Smiles and smart uniform are essential for this day before the children can have a boogie in the evening.  

The Tudor Fete (or Summer Extravaganza!) is on Saturday 6^th July. As many of you will recall, this was a truly amazing event last year and you are sure to want to come again this year- keep your diaries clear to have fun and support the school…

Make sure you book your slot to receive your child’s end of year report at the summer term consultations. Booking is now open at  tudor.parentseveningsystem.co.uk

DO NOT put ‘www’ before the web address- this can cause the website to not load.

It really is a super time at Tudor at the moment and what with the academic and social success of the children, we have so many extras going on including tennis lessons/ skiing lessons and computing investigations. Keep an eye on our twitter feed (TudorPrimaryHemel) as this shares the fun stories and images from our time in school as well as other Tudor news. It highlights the range of things that goes on each day- and there is a lot!

Mr Rob Weightman/ Headteacher