The Courier

Dear Parents

I do hope you all enjoyed your half term breaks. The children have returned fully refreshed and ready for their learning. Hopefully the two-week sojourn will have allowed them to recharge their batteries sufficiently to make the absolute most of the remainder of this term.

Of course, it is an important term as we head toward the winter and our usual Christmas festivities, including all of the normal plays, parties and concerts that this involves. Like us, you will have fingers firmly crossed that these can go ahead, and we are able to stay on top of COVID outbreaks in the meantime. Of course, we won't hesitate to make changes to arrangements if circumstances demand it.

Earlier today I shared with you the recently published ISI inspection report for our school. It covers all aspects of school life and is based on a rigorous framework that has been refined and adapted over many years that stands any comparison with OFSTED’s reporting of schools in the maintained sector.

As you can imagine, an enormous amount of hard work goes into preparing the school to be ‘inspection ready’ at any given time. It is a really important way for us to check that the education that we are providing is inspiring, progressive, relevant, and, of course, safe and accessible to all. This is truly a team effort. Every single member of staff here shares the same care and devotion to the education and wellbeing of the wonderful children entrusted to our care and I believe this sentiment shines through every word of the report.

The findings of the inspection are a cause for enormous pride both for me personally and for everyone here at the school. The educational quality section of the report is divided into sections on personal development and academic achievement, the two key benchmarks for any successful school. To be graded as excellent in both of these broad areas is a source of great satisfaction to us as professionals and I hope also of great reassurance to you as parents.

I do hope you can find the time to read the report in full.

Joe Thackway
Headmaster