Newsletter 11

Wednesday 9th February 2022

Dear Parents/ Carers,

Can you believe that we have already reached the half way point of the academic year? School continues to be a hive of activity and the children are responding well to the opportunities in school. There have been lots of ‘extras’ recently including sports festivals, forest school provision and our work alongside Herts police. Have you heard about our performance in the National NSPCC TimeTable RockStars challenge? 60000 different classes entered and Tudor did extremely well. In fact, the 8 classes that entered ALL achieved a place in the top 12% of the country. Our highest place class (6Z) came in the top 0.6%- WOW! It is great to hear about such results and it demonstrates the level of performance that our young Tudorites can achieve. Aspiration to succeed is key to our success and we should continue to aim HIGH! Blake in year 1 certainly knows how to impress his teachers- he was so excited to share his writing last week…

Ensuring EVERY child gets what they NEED

Schools must be committed to ensuring ALL children are able to achieve well. Whilst some schools focus on catch up (or booster) programs in certain years (such as before end of key stage tests), Tudor is proud how all year groups are supported by a range of interventions. In reception, we quickly understood how the children had limited access to nursery learning so we have invested in additional adult capacity to support high quality interaction and play. In years 1 and 2 we are delivering extra learning interventions before school and tutoring opportunities (as well as increased adult capacity in class!) are having impact in years 3 and 4. What with the extra morning learning provision in years 5 and 6 we believe the children get a great deal. Feedback tells us that children adore the thematic (and creative) curriculum we give them so we have a duty to keep each day stimulating and engaging. Even though it can get ‘results’ I doubt our children would get excited by double maths and double English every day and we have to get the balance right. If your children can benefit from such interventions, please support your children to be involved. Talking of memorable experiences in school, year 3 have loved working with Herts police as part of their ‘Crime and Punishment’ theme. Well done to them all for helping solve a crime in school- Mr Denny was apprehended and the children enjoyed seeing him dealt with appropriately. Thanks to Herts Police for their support- year 4 will be enjoying similar partnership work after half term.

Making EVERY DAY COUNT!

We continue to work with county attendance officers to try and maintain the improved picture regarding engagement of all families at school. For the last 5 years, the school’s attendance has increased year on year and this has been super to see. A significant minority of our children remain persistent absentees and we must overcome this issue. We do recognise that there are some difficult conversations to be had at times but we must seek to put the children first. If there are other factors to consider, please do ensure that the school fully informed- an example of this is making sure that health professionals are involved if a child is experiencing a high number of separate absences. Also, if your child should be at school but you cannot get them here, ask how we can help. We TRULY want your children to be where they should be- in school. They only have one chance at an education and, as we all know, children who attend well are more likely to achieve well.    

Inclusion at Tudor Primary- a message from Miss Reading- our Leader for Inclusion:

 This week is 'Herts Feeling Good Week'. 'Feeling Good Week' is a Hertfordshire-wide event that encourages schools to promote children and young people’s emotional wellbeing by raising awareness of mental health and showing where support can be accessed within the community. To celebrate 'Feeling Good Week', this week children at Tudor will be considering what makes them unique and special - it would be wonderful if you could encourage your child to also share this with you! Finally, I have recently updated Tudor's information report, this provides information about how we support children at Tudor, who have a special educational need. The information report can be found at:  

www.tudor.herts.sch.uk/page/?title=Special+Education+Needs+and+Disabilities&pid=114 

If you cannot find the information you are looking for, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Safeguarding update-  Families First is the term used in Hertfordshire for services that work together to support families who need extra help. These are also known as early help services. 

We all experience difficulties at some point. Families First can help families find early help and information to prevent issues from getting worse.  Tudor School works closely with family support workers who can support parents with anything from a phone call through to a more co-ordinated approach, which might include a Families First assessment.  After completing an assessment, we can arrange a Team Around the Family meeting, where any professionals who may be able to help will. 

If you would like more information, please look on the Family Support section of our school website (next to Parent view) where you will find parent support networks, as well as parent workshops and training.   Alternatively, ask to speak to Maxine Smith of Katie Reading.  Quite simply, there is always help out there for families who may be in need. 

Energy-Kidz- fun and engaging after school care:

It is great to see that the after school capacity for Energy-Kidz has been increased again. If you need high quality after school provision (until 6pm!) for your child, then do be confident to use the talents of the Energy-Kidz team. The children always look engaged and there is lots of fun to be had! https://www.energy-kidz.co.uk/breakfast-and-after-school-clubs/hemel-hempstead-tudor-primary-school/

Reading- Continuing to invest in this vital skill

We are really proud of our school library. As well as being a key learning area in school, it is open to families after school from Monday to Thursday. Importantly, the quality of books is high and Mrs Wash and Mrs Durham ensure that it is a super place for the children (and adults) to visit. We really are lucky to have such an awesome resource at the heart of our school. Come and see what you can find… and learn! Remember- books can take you ANYWHERE!

 

Let us all be excited about what the second half of the school can bring. We look forward to school trips, skiing lessons, more forest school, sport and activity in the sun as well as lots of amazing work from the children. It will not be long until FRIDAY FREEWHEELING makes a return too- and we know how much the children enjoy that! EVERYTHING we do at Tudor can only work with the full partnership of parents and I do hope you recognise how committed we are for your children. As the mid-year reports highlight, there are targets for the rest of the year and let’s all give our all in helping these children of Tudor SUCCEED! To finish, here are some of the ‘Wanted Portraits’ in relation to the Tudor crime- can you work out who the original suspects were?

Mr Weightman                 #TeamTudor