Doddington Primary School Home Page
Welcome
We would
like to welcome you to the first Governor Newsletter to parents. This has been
written by members of the Governing Body at Doddington Primary School, who are
keen to keep you informed of what is happening in school and provide you with
updates on how the school is performing. It is proposed that we will issue a
newsletter three times a year and in this issue we are including some key
information on;-
As this is the first newsletter to be produced, we would welcome your feedback on areas that you would like to see included in further issues of this newsletter.
Q & A's
In future issues, we plan to have a Question and Answer Section devoted
to answering any matters you wish to raise with the Governing Body.
Please let us know any questions which you would like us to answer in the
next newsletter
Who's Who?
Governor Movements
Term 1 & 2 of 2005/2006 have seen some movements within the
Governing Body. Vice-Chair Toni Dean resigned in Term 1 and Governor's Clerk
Beverly Webb during Term 2. Both have many years experience at Doddington
and will be greatly missed. Les Roberts moves from Chairman to Vice-Chair
and Terry Limby moves to Chairman
How Do I Contact a Governor?
Parents are welcome to contact a Governor directly. Parent Governors are
often to be found at the school at the start and end of the school day and are
approachable! If you wish to write to a specific Governor, this can be done by
addressing the letter and handing the letter in at the school office for the
Governor concerned. Letters to the Governing Body should be addressed to the
Chairman and delivered in the same manner.
While we welcome letters and
value your comments, initial complaints and issues relating to the day to day
running of the school, should in the first instance, be referred to the
Headteacher.
The Role of Governors
At Doddington Primary School, the Governing Body is made up of Staff,
Parents, Members of the LEA and of the Community.
In simple terms, the
Governors have a general responsibility for the management of the school. The
Headteacher (who is also a Governor) makes the day
to day decisions about
the running of the school. Governors are responsible for setting the budget and
for overseeing the curriculum taught.
We also deal with formal complaints, marketing, personnel, buildings, charging, policy and some disciplinary matters. The governors do this on a voluntary basis.
Buildings Update
As you are aware, Doddington School was due to have two new classrooms
built during this year to replace the mobile classrooms at the rear of the
school. The plans were revised by Kent County Council to one new classroom,
before the complete project was suspended due to the falling roll of the
school.
The Headteacher and Governors have worked hard to get this decision
reversed. We have participated in a vigorous letter writing campaign targeting
Councillors, MP’s and Members of KCC Education Committee and Cabinet. We
have attended several meetings with various people and have had the mobiles
inspected. The Council’s current position is that with the falling number
of pupils at all primary schools in Swale,
They cannot justify
investment in the project. However, they have agreed to a compromise. They have
now proposed to remove the two mobiles and replace them with one new temporary
building unit, consisting of two classrooms, a cloakroom and a hallway. There
will also be a covered way from the classrooms to the main building and the new
classrooms will have running water!
The ground behind the school will be
excavated and so that the new unit will be at the same level as the current new
building. This proposal is subject to planning consent and has been agreed by
the Governing Body as a short term solution.
The Council has agreed that
the original plans for the permanent build will be reviewed, should the school
roll increase.
.It is hoped that the new construction will start in June or
July next year.
Increasing Pupil Numbers
The Governors want to see more children coming to Doddington Primary
School! We have set up a Marketing Committee in an effort to promote School
and have recently redesigned the school prospectus, brochure and created a
website to highlight what the school has to offer, including the small pupil to
staff ratio, our high standards of teaching, after-school clubs, environment
etc. Copies of our brochure have been sent to every registered
pre-school, nursery and all libraries in Swale.
We find ourselves in a
difficult position due to the fact that the school is "outside town"and
therefore does not have the usual catchment area of other primary schools in
Swale. We are discussing a number of other proposals to raise the profile of
the school and are currently looking at using Discovery as a minding service
for parents who wish to drop their children off in a safe environment from
08.00am on school days.The Marketing Committee, Chaired by Les Roberts,
also looks at suggestions from Parents to the Governing Body.
Parents, Staff and Governor Forum
New Regulations mean that the Governing Body no longer has to issue an
annual report to Parents or hold an annual meeting. However, we feel that it is
important that parents have a chance to meet with the staff and governors at
least once each year.
We have therefore decided that we will continue to
hold a meeting with parents, although on a semi-formal basis. In March, we plan
to organize an evening where parents can attend the school and ask the
Headteacher, staff and governors questions. Similar to the old style meetings,
all questions will need to be submitted prior to the meeting so we can provide
you will a satisfactory response. Following the formal part of the
evening, wine and cheese will then be offered, where parents can informally
talk to the Head, staff and governors.
SATS 2004/2005
On the face of last year's SATS results, Doddington School saw great
improvement in KS1 results, which in some levels exceeded the national average.
At the same time, KS2 results showed lower results than the previous year.
While the Governing Body welcomes improvements on the results, realistically,
SATS do not reflect the performance of the school, although they are a useful
tool. The SAT's results for a school are based on the number of pupils taking
the test. In a large school, Yr6 may have sixty pupils and each pupil will be
worth 1.6% of the test. In smaller schools like Doddington, we may only have
six Yr6 pupils taking the test and they will therefore be worth 16.6% of the
test results. This system does not take into consideration the individual
child's ability and one or two pupils in a small school, make the difference
between poor and excellent results.
It is therefore essential that children
are monitored throughout the school year and our teaching staff continue to
individually assess the children, identifying and providing additional support
where needed.
PTFA
The Governing Body would like to thank the PTFA for their continuing
support towards the school this year. As well as providing refreshments for
school events, The PTFA has organized several successful fundraising events
such as Wine and Wisdom and the Christmas Bazaar. Staff and pupils recently
enjoyed
a well deserved "Day off" and were treated to a trip to the theatre
which was fully funded by the PTFA.
The PTFA also continue to support
the school by providing valuable equipment and are currently taking on a major
refurbishment of the swimming pool and surrounding area, which will be of
benefit to the school and members of the public who use this facility.
Every penny raised by the hard work of the PTFA goes towards the children and I
am sure that parents will continue with their generous support and become
involved in future fundraising events.
School Website
You may have noticed from the headed paper used on school newsletters that the school now has its own website. The website provides information about the school and is constantly updated with items such as PTFA events, diary dates etc. Any letters sent home for parents also appears on the website. The address is :-
www.doddington-kent.org.uk/school
Special thanks are given to Alistair Clinton for the work he has put into this site and for the web pages he has provided the school with.
School Open Day – Margaret Darvill
As a snapshot of "A day in the life of Doddington Primary School", the
recent open day was quite a success. Fourteen members of the Community took up
the invitation to visit and the pupils and staff were seen at their everyday
best.
Those of us with children already at school were showed how they work
in their classrooms and also availed ourselves of the opportunity to visit
other classes and see what might be in store!
It was very encouraging to
see how the children were working in groups in Bramley and provided a positive
insight for any parent who had reservations into how this composite class of
wide age range worked in practice.
Both Beacon and Voyager were in "Whole
Class" lessons and it was interesting to see the different approaches to
different subjects. So, "Merci" to Voyager Class for letting us watch (they
were studying French) and thanks to Beacon Class for their demonstrations. The
politeness of the lads in Beacon who provided chairs for us was gratefully
remarked on.
Thanks to the PTFA for providing the coffee & mums for the
informal chats. Thanks also to the students and teachers who allowed and
welcomed the small disruptions to their afternoon. Maybe next year, we could
display the grounds to better effect, highlighting the pool, pond and nature
trail and work on the front of the school to make it more inviting.
Governors were represented by Mrs Harris, Mrs Anning, Mrs Darvill and Mrs
Tuckey.
School Open Day – Another View
We would like to share the following review of the School Open Day, written by Mary Chastney, which appeared in the Doddington Newsletter.
Joan Boucher and I were so pleased that we accepted the school's
invitation (in the November newsletter) to come to our open afternoon to see
the school in action.
We were able to wander where we pleased and Joan was
quick to point out to me how different the school layout was from years
ago.
Watching the youngest children in Bramley and Pippins learning Design
Technology was a real eye opener and a far cry from our own crayon and
plasticine days! The project was to make a model of "incy wincy spider" and it
was interesting to see how the skills of writing and drawing were introduced
beside the practical work of cutting out and assembling. All the children were
interested and attentive and keen to show us their work. Beacon were doing a
similar project at a more advanced level, to make a working model of a
monster.
Although we didn't get to see Voyager, the upper junior class (we
enjoyed a cup of tea and a biscuit instead) we understand they were learning
French.
It was a shame that more people from the village did not take up
this invitation, it really is worth seeing the school, pupils and staff in
"enthusiastic action" and if there is a next time, we recommend it as a
worthwhile experience.
School Improvement Plan
All schools are required to produce a plan each year. The Headteacher,
Staff and Governors discuss areas for development and targets and priorities
are agreed.
The plan is monitored throughout the year and contributions are
given by our School Improvement Partner (SIP), provided by the Local Education
Authority.
Targets 2005/2006
The following is a broad summary of this year's School Improvement Plan:-
We will update you on how we are progressing with the plan in future issues.
Governor Visits
Each term, a Governor will focus on a specific aspect of school and
conduct a visit.
Governor's Terry Limby visited the school in Term 1 and
Sara Jones visited in Term 2. Both submitted the following reports to the
Governing Body
Beacon Class – Terry Limby
The object of my visit was to see how the class was progressing with the Kirklees Writing Project, which was introduced in the School this term and identified as an aid to raise standards in writing in the School Improvement Plan 2005/2006.
Mrs Bush had explained to me that this was the second "Big Writing Day"
for the class. The first had been two weeks earlier, when the class had been
asked to write a letter. The letters had been assessed and each pupil had been
given individual targets to work towards. Big Writing Day is in addition to the
school's regular Literacy classes.
I entered the classroom and was
introduced to the children before being invited to walk around, look at the
system the children were using and read the stories which they were working on.
The children hardly noticed my presence as they were all engrossed in their
projects. Each child had been given a chart/booklet to assist them with
writing, which gave guidance on sentence openers, punctuation, ambitious
vocabulary and connectives. I also noticed that each pupil had an individual
piece of card with their targets for the day. Targets varied from "To use
connections other than "and" to "Stop, check sentence, structure and
punctuation". The narrative of their stories was based on "The Lost
Letter".
In the background, soft music was played to simulate the children
and they were asked to write, take a short break, and review the written piece
for punctuation etc, before continuing their stories. Mrs Bush quietly spoke to
each pupil, encouraging their progress and giving guidance on their work. All
too soon, it was time for the children to end the project and attend a music
lesson. It was noticeable that several of the children wanted to continue
writing and had to be encouraged to stop!
My immediate and lasting
impression of the project was that it is well organised, with planned and
structured guidance for the children. The teaching environment was adapted for
the exercise and the lesson was delivered and
received with enthusiasm,
engrossing the children and bringing out authors in them all. I was
particularly impressed with the variation in the pupil's imaginations which
showed in the work they produced. I would certainly like to return at a later
date and see the results of the project. I would like to thank Mrs Bush and the
pupils of Beacon Class for their hospitality and an enjoyable experience.
Target Visit – Sara Jones
I visited the school and initially discussed with Mrs Harris the Target
Tracker Programme and how the progress of the children at Doddington is
monitored.
I appreciate a lot of emphasis is placed on performing well in
League Tables but as we are only too aware with only a very small number of
children often these figures are meaningless. It would surely be more useful if
we focused instead on "value added". We should then be able to highlight any
children that are under performing and take appropriate action. It also
highlights how teachers are performing and provides an additional tool in
monitoring their effectiveness etc.
I am confident that Doddington has in
place effective measures for recording these details and presume that this
information is used by the teachers to ensure that each child fulfils their
potential.
I personally think that as a Governing Body it would be useful
to see some reports, termly would be nice but probably impractical, on how year
groups/children are performing against targets sets in order to monitor the
performance of the school. I then visited each of the classrooms briefly.
At the time of my visit the children were being taught French. All were
sitting on the floor and appeared very attentive and some individuals showed a
real aptitude for the subject. I feel that I am not qualified to comment
of the standard of the teaching but all the children certainly appeared to be
enjoying the lesson and were very well behaved.
At the end of the session
the children said goodbye to the teacher and at the first request settled back
into their proper rows and awaited the arrival of Miss Keeler in silence.
I could not fault their behaviour at all.
The children then went out
for some fresh air before continuing with their lessons. I took the
opportunity to talk with Miss Keeler. She said that the two reception
year children had settled in very well – they were certainly joining in
with the games in the playground –still playing "IT"!! and had made good
progress since starting.
I then joined Beacon for a Science lesson. No mean feat with
roughly 15 boys and 4 girls in the class as well as combining water, a
thermometer and stop watches – all providing endless fascination and the
opportunity to fiddle!! Again the children behaved well and mostly
enthusiastically and although several of them could not resist the urge to play
when instructed to put items back to the centre of the table Mrs Kay quietly
reminded them not to and in the end got her wish.
Something that
always concerns me as an observer in classes is how a few of the children seem
to be paying no attention what so ever to what is being taught –at least
a benefit of our small classes is that the teacher is able to keep an eye on
all the children and hopefully ensure that this does not continue for too
long.
Finally I visited Voyager and caught up with the French teacher
again. Again the children listened to seemed to enjoy the challenge of
remembering what they had learnt and were well behaved.
I would certainly
like to congratulate all the teachers on the excellent behaviour of the
children