Dear parents and carers,
Lovely to see the mornings becoming brighter and the daylight lasting longer! We have had such a busy term here at Common Road since returning from the Christmas break. The staff and the children have worked very hard to achieve so much.
Industrial strike action – As you may have seen in the media the NEU National Education Union have arranged a number of days strike action for members. This is part of an ongoing negotiation between unions and the government over teacher pay and workload. As it stands currently school will be open on these days of industrial action however school may be affected in future if other unions also take industrial action. If this is the case I will always endevour to keep the school open for our children, however as a professional I respect and support colleagues from other schools locally and nationally as they take action.
Teacher workload is an ongoing and longstanding issue in the teaching profession and as a Headteacher I aim to ensure our school staff team are happy and healthy and support them in managing their workload allowing them to focus on being the best teachers they can be in the classroom, for our children.
I would like to thank you all for your continued support, encouragement and the appreciation you show our school staff for the fantastic job they all do. It is much appreciated.
Early Years outdoor area – I’m sure you will have seen on the school social media pages the fantastic job This Green Moon have done with our EYFS outdoor area. We are waiting for some more resources to be delivered and have our large water play area left to install. We will be inviting all parents and children alongside This Green Moon and the trustees of the Arch Bishop of Holgate charity who made the project possible to attend the official opening on Monday 20th February. Keep your eyes peeled for further information.
Reading cafés – Thank you to everyone who joined us last Friday for our first reading cafés. These were really well attended and the feedback from parents and children was excellent. We hope to host another reading café in the near future. Our reception reading café will take place this Friday 3rd February at 9.00am and our nursery reading café will be at 11am for morning pupils and 2.30pm for afternoon pupils, we hope you can join us.
Pupil progress meetings – This week you will have received a letter to attend a pupil progress meeting with your child’s class teacher. Please make sure you hand in your slip to book an appointment. These meetings are important and really help coordinate home/school support.
A few dates for your diary:
Wc 6th February – Children’s mental health week
6th February – Valentines dance – £1 per ticket – £2 a photo – tickets available from the CRC
7th February – Safer internet class assembly led by the Penguins and Miss Mitchell
8th February – 10-11.30am Valentines coffee morning for parents
9th February – Year 1 pupils visiting the local church as part of their RE learning
10th February – Philosophy for children day (details to follow from Miss Mitchell and Miss Perry our oracy champions)
School closes for the February half-term break on 10th February and re-opens Monday 20th February 2023.
I hope to see you all at the events we have planned over the next few weeks.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs D Edwards
Headteacher
