September 1st Update (Main August web update still available below)

Commitment to improve...

It is not long until we welcome back the children of Tudor for the new academic year. School remains a hive of activity with the finishing touches to a number of upgrades to the school site. Children will be able to enjoy a redesigned playground as well as a truly fantastic literacy garden that has been built within our nature reserve. It really is amazing and it will ensure that all of the Tudorites will be able to benefit from high quality outside learning opportunities throughout the year. Whilst this has been the result of financial investment, the voluntary input of (notably!) Mr Denny and a number of the Tudor team has been the real drive towards a resource that very few schools will be able to match.

Within the school building we have new toilet facilities for the children as well as a brand new family meeting room. This is a(nother) super step for Tudor. We see ourselves at the heart of the local community and such a family resource is vital for our provision.

The staff team have also had a new upgrade for the PPA time (this is the 10% teachers have within their weekly timetable for Planning/ Preparation/ Assessment) and they now have a larger and more comfortable space to access for this important work. Our most important teaching resource, after all, is the team that work WITH your children each day. 

A safe start:

As previous correspondence has highlighted, we are fortunate to have an open site that allows easy access to each classroom. We also have a number of different access points. We have decided, though to implement directions of travel on some of the access points at the start of term.

The following guidance is for the start and the end of each day.

Use of the large blue ROAD gates will be used for INCOMING parents/ children.

The smaller gates (one next to the pre school and one at the top end of the staff car park) will be for OUTGOING parents/ children.

Please be assured that members of the staff team will also be on hand to help direct you (and to 'maybe' give reminders! Please recognise we are only trying to help!).

 

August 23rd Web Update:

First of all, I hope all members of our Tudor community are safe and well in what has has been a rather 'strange' summer. All of the team at Tudor are looking forward to seeing the children return to their school and we are determined to help the children reconnect fully with what is a vital part of their lives.

The staff have been busy preparing classrooms and they certainly look inviting- the children are sure to enjoy the wide range of activities and opportunities that we have in store. The school continues to benefit from further refurbishment and improvement and we have a number of great (and deserved!) surprises in store for the children on their return- we should all feel very proud of the high quality learning environment that Tudor has become. 

As highlighted on the newsletter back in early July, the school has planned extensively for the new academic year. We will continue to revise and improve our practices and we were pleased with how we were one of the few schools nationally that was able to offer consistent provision to EVERY child back in the Summer term. Feedback from parents informed us that you were in support of our decisions and we continue to pledge that we will work alongside you and in support of your child's wellbeing. 

A number of adaptations to ‘normal school life’ will obviously continue in this Autumn term. Whilst children will be able to work in full classes of 30 and be in their uniforms, children will mostly remain in rows and there will be some changes to the way our curriculum is delivered. Whilst many schools are looking for guidance regarding face coverings in communal corridors, we are able utilise a site that has separate access to each classroom. Furthermore, there will be no assemblies in the hall and there will be no use of the dining areas.

Children will have their own classroom resources to use and enhanced cleaning of surfaces and classroom equipment will remain.

I have attached the menu to this web update.  

An extended window for drop off and collection will be in place too as well as the increase in the number of entrances and exits.

All children are expected to return to school and they can be dropped off from 8.45-9.05 and collection will be possible from 3.05 to 3.15. This is a slightly shorter window than we offered in the Summer term but we are confident that that our open site and ease of access to all classrooms will mean that we do not need to implement more 'structured' expectations such as 2m lines for queues, etc.

Please recognise that we continue to request that children are only dropped off/ collected by a single person. This obviously sounds rather cold to write but our positive parent feedback tells us that families have appreciated our clear expectations. There will still be ongoing concern about the health situation and if we work together and stay alert, Tudor will remain a very safe place for your children to be.

We will look to expand the breakfast club to its previous capacity as soon as we can. You will be contacted if your child has a place for the start of term. We are currently only able to offer provision to key workers/  families with specific criteria. (UPDATE- those families who registered an interest in breakfast care should check your emails for more information about this.) 

EnergyKidz will be back at Tudor and parents are able to book via their website for after school care. They will also be adapting practices to ensure that children can continue to receive their high quality provision each day after school.

Attached to this web update will be a copy of the information that has already been sent to our new Nursery/ Reception families. I am sure you will all join me in welcoming our newest Tudorites to our school. What a time it is for all ages in education...  

As mentioned above, all children will be expected to return and close work alongside the attendance improvement team at county will continue. Government guidance highlights those children/ families with poor attendance prior to the pandemic will receive additional focus. Do ensure you are aware of the county attendance policy that the school adheres to- this is on our website. Due to our aspirational approach for your children, attendance will remain a key factor at Tudor- at the start of 2019/20 (for the first time ever!) Tudor was no longer a school with below average attendance and we obviously do not want to return to that position. Good attendance is a huge factor for achievement and wellbeing and we trust that all families work with the school in support of their children’s futures. We have a duty to aim HIGH for all our children...

I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that the start of this academic year is one of the most important periods of your children's education and we must all endeavour to work collectively in support of our common aims- to support the social and academic development of the children of Tudor.

I will continue to update this page so that you remain fully informed about Tudor and the start of the new academic year. Whilst it will be another challenging year, be assured  that you and your family will have a professional and committed school that continues to work with you. We look forward to seeing you all very soon...

Mr Rob Weightman/ Headteacher

UPDATE- We CONTINUE to invest heavily in the facilities at Tudor. Here are some photos of just one of our new 'Tudor Upgrades':