Headmaster's Message
Dear Parents and Friends of the School
This week I managed to get away for a couple of days to the annual IAPS conference in South Wales. It’s always a useful time spent with other headteachers in similar positions around the country, hearing in equal measure of shared woes and successes.
There was an interesting focus this year on the role of digital technologies and AI in education, which is ultimately going to grow and grow over the coming years. We were asked to place ourselves in a continuum of where we thought we were with AI learning and I was reasonably happy to say we were perhaps slightly ahead of middle of the road. It absolutely has a place and will develop and grow over the years but we take a balanced approach, putting it alongside all of the traditional skills that we teach the children that form the bedrock of a broad education. You have already noticed this year more work appearing from your children on Seesaw, and this is a new drive, led by Mr Adkins, that we are all embracing. With new iPads on the way this year, and a refit of the computer suite hardware as well, we continue to look for ways new technology can enhance learning in a primary age-appropriate way.
One week, I might try writing my weekly newsletter with an AI bot, and see if anyone notices. Would it really be any quicker than doing it myself?
Well done to our Year 6 children last weekend, who completed their 11 plus exams, big tick, and I think unanimously reported feeling confident in their performance and well prepared in general. They have a slightly nervous wait for results in mid-October and many will also be completing their applications to Princethorpe College. A reminder for anyone who needs it that the closing date for registration is Friday 27 September.
Managing the children’s pathway through this potentially stressful period is something we take really seriously at school and I would like to say special thank you to Mrs Webb and Mrs Dewes who do such a great job keeping the children grounded and allowing them to express their thoughts and feelings. Like many aspects of School life, it’s a challenge for the children but one we want them to take on in the safety of their caring and nurturing Crescent environment with safety nets all around, should they need them.
The learner profile word of the month is resilience and which is a good one to get us started in the year but not something we take for granted. On that theme, you might notice next week we have our first learning mentor meetings of the term where the children meet up with their staff member and think through personal challenges for the year ahead. The learner profile is a great starting point for thinking about these and you can view the latest version here, which I hope you will agree makes for good reading. The voice of the children was crucial to putting this together and I think it resonates clearly from the statements below.
Have a really good weekend, everyone.
