Dear Parents and Carers, 
This week
The week began with an assembly focused on OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning). These are held regularly and give me the opportunity to gather the children’s opinions on what is working well and what needs improving. The children also remind each other of the agreed rules we have and how to risk assess during play. We discussed the importance of wearing wellies on the playground, as the wet weather has made it very muddy. We do have school wellies that children can borrow, but it would be extremely helpful if they could bring in a named pair to keep at school and hang on the welly racks in the playground.
Our parent readers are continuing, giving children an extra opportunity to read at school with a friendly face. Reading is the most important academic skill children learn at school and underpins much of their future success. Please make sure your child is reading regularly at home. Try to choose a time you can stick to each day and aim for 10 to 15 minutes.
Staffing
On Wednesday, myself, the Chair of Governors Kiri Snell, and our SENCo Kate Ashley interviewed for our SEN TA roles. We were blessed with an extremely strong field of candidates to choose from. At the time of writing, I am still finalising staffing decisions and will update you next week with the appointments made.
We are still recruiting for two playworker roles. If you live locally, enjoy spending time with children and would like to help us run this vital service, please consider applying or share the details with someone who might be interested.
https://mynewterm.com/jobs/149090/EDV-2025-BCPS-20298
https://mynewterm.com/jobs/149090/EDV-2025-BCPS-16023
There will be some cover staff working in school next week. They will be covering classes while teachers attend courses, and there will also be a temporary addition to our nursery staff for a couple of weeks. The new nursery worker is EYFS qualified and will support the Nursery until the new members of our team mentioned above have joined. This will give me more flexibility to use permanent staff to support Nursery children in the mornings.
Next week
On Wednesday, Devon’s Mental Health Support Team is in school. This is a new service supporting children and young people in Devon who are experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties. They will deliver an assembly to all children on the importance of being proactive about maintaining good mental health. There will also be a drop-in session for parents in the hall from 15:15 to 16:00. If you have any concerns about your child’s mental health, or would simply like to learn more about the service, please do drop by and speak to the team.
On Friday next week, each class will take part in a circus skills workshop. We are committed to providing children with new experiences and helping them recognise their many talents. Each class will have a session in the hall where they will be taught a range of circus skills. I would like to say a big thank you to Emily for organising the event and for always looking for ways to enrich our curriculum. As the hall will be in use on Friday, celebration assembly will take place on Thursday afternoon instead.
Have a lovely weekend,
George Myers
Head of School
