Dear parents and carers,
Time certainly flies by when you’re having fun! We have come to the end of another half term and it’s time for a break – a chance to look back on a lovely few weeks and to look forward to lots more fun coming down the before the end of summer term.
Looking back, stand out memories of this term for me will be the amazing May Day organised by the KSPA, the joy of children learning to take pride in their work – some for the first time – the event of our We Are Ivy Week, the Community Cafe in the church, the brilliant calm and gentle attitude of our Year Sixes taking their STAs and the brilliant calm and gentle behaviour of the other classes who made sure that their friends could do their best. I will remember all the singing and dancing, the fun and stories that come back from Forest School – and much much more.
Looking ahead to next term, I’m looking forward to our great Camp Out in Willowland, our production of The Jungle Book, lots of fun playing on the field when the weather is good. Something else that I am really looking forward to is getting to know our new headteacher, Miss Toms, she has already been on site here to help us with our recruitment of our new teacher for next year. Most of the children have met her and she has spent a little time alongside staff – most of the parents met her on the gate this morning in fact. Miss Toms will be with us for a day a week after half term, she will be learning how the school operates, getting to know children and families and generally becoming not just a member of our Kenton family but its leader. She’ll be supported by Annabelle Thomas, the Director of Primary Education, whose office is upstairs in our admin block and who is likely to be here on site most days.
Lorraine Bestwick
Some news, after working with Kenn and Kenton Schools for many years, Lorraine Bestwick is moving on to pastures new. This is happy news for Lorraine as she is looking forward to taking on new challenges and exploring a new chapter in her life, but it is sad news for us at Kenton as she has been an absolute rock for the school in general and most particularly for our pupils with special educational needs and for their families. She will be very much missed.
The plan is for Mrs Toms to take on the role of SENDCO alongside the role of headteacher. This isn’t an uncommon set up in small schools like ours and it does come with some advantages. Mrs Bestwick was only able to be here on site once a week, Miss Toms will be here every day which means she’ll be able to check up on provision for children with Special Educational Needs very much more frequently and also have a lot more flexibility in times when she can meet with parents and specialists.
I know that when the time comes at the end of term – still nine weeks away – you will all want to join with me in thanking Lorraine for all her work over the years and to wish her all the best for her future endeavors. Up till then we have a good long time for Miss Toms to have a thorough handover from Mrs Bestwick so we can make sure that the baton is not dropped.
New Teacher Appointment
We are delighted to announce that we have appointed a very experienced teacher to join the team from September, Mr James Kelly. Mr Kelly will be teaching Oak Class. We will allow Mr Kelly to introduce himself to you very soon.
Police Visit
Willow Class and Nursery had a visit from the police as part of their topic on ‘People Who Help Us’. Everyone seemed to have a brillaint time and I’m told there was lots of great talking and thinking. The photos certainly suggest that the children enjoyed their day!
Family Questionnaire
Earlier this week I shared a link to a questionnaire for parents and families asking for their views about our school. I would love as many people as possible to fill this out. If you have a child at the school you have the right to have your voice reflected in the survey. You may have views which are strongly positive, strongly the other way or you may be right in the middle. There may be parts of what we are doing and how we do them that matter a great deal to you and other parts you barely think about. It’s important that all of that is reflected in our results so please do take five minutes to fill it out.
I have included the link to the questionnaire in the email I sent out to share this newsletter. If you didn’t receive the email but would like the link, just drop me a message.
Dawlish College Tours
Our colleagues at Dawlish College have asked me to share details of their school tours for Year Five pupils who are considering their applications for Upper School.
