Dear Parents and Carers of Glade Hill,

What a fantastic Autumn term we are having so far! There has been so much great learning, and the children have impressed us all.

Our first half term always focuses on making sure all children have quickly settled into their new classes and are engaging in the great learning that has been taking place. I hope the parents and carers who were able to join us for the ‘Meet and Greet’ and ‘Stay and Learn’ sessions enjoyed meeting their children’s class staff and seeing the learning in action. I know I have been so impressed with all the children’s GOLDEN behaviour and their SPARKLY learning so far! Parents’ evenings were also well attended. If you were unable to attend on this occasion, please contact the office to arrange a phone call from the teacher.

Thank you to all the parents and carers who attended our SEND Parent and Carer group this week. Mrs Rowe, our Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead, attended this session to share about wellbeing support in school and ELSA sessions (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant). These will be on the second Tuesday of the month going forwards so please save the date. The next session is Tuesday 10th November at 9am. Thank you to our volunteer parents for organising these sessions. Upcoming sessions will include a focus on speech and language support, a focus on behaviour regulation and hopefully visiting professionals. 

We have also celebrated Harvest this last half-term, once again collected lots of food for the Bulwell and Bestwood Food Bank. Thank you so much for your generosity and for supplying the requested items, unopened and in-date. We also had an amazing day celebrating Goose Fair day, with lots of fun activities, learning about the history of the Fair and of course our very own Glade Hill Goose!
 
As part of our Collective Worship sessions in Assemblies and through in-class work, we have also been celebrating Black History Month. This year the focus was on “Honouring Our Communities,” which invites us to recognise the individuals whose everyday contributions shape, support and sustain Black life across the United Kingdom. As part of this we have had visitors during October, including from The Pythian Football Club, to develop awareness of this important area and honour people in our communities. Celebrating our diversity is a very important part of our values and ethos at Glade Hill and we are proud of our work in this area. Thank you to Miss Ross for your hard work promoting this across school.

Just a reminder that our three Priority Areas for School Improvement this year are: 

•    Improving the attendance for all children 
•    Ensure all children develop strong foundations in their learning in their first years of school. 
•    Further develop our Inclusion Strategy, through enhancing provision and practice for children with SEND.

One way that you can support us with these goals, is by making sure that you read with your child three times a week. Regular practice is essential for progress in reading, and reading is essential for improving achievement in writing and other subjects. We have a fantastic individual reading reward scheme for all children whereby ‘every read counts’ and children can earn prizes such as teddies, notebooks, pencils and books. We also reward the classes in each phase with the highest reading percentage each week through our Class Trophies. 

Another important way that you can support us with these goals, is making sure that your children are in school as much as possible. Research shows that children with over 95% attendance achieve better grades, achieve their best and are happier and more settled in school. We have lots of incentives to celebrate excellent attendance, including class trophies and attendance badges/ medals, and of course our weekly 100% attendance wheel!

However, I need to make you aware that we also must inform you when your child’s attendance drops below this 95% level, even if you have informed us of a valid reason why they could not be in school e.g. serious illness. This will take the form of emails, texts and letters from our Attendance Improvement Officer Mrs Raynor, myself or Mrs Want, who is our Attendance Champion. If you do receive one of these letters and would like to discuss additional support for your child regarding attending school regularly, please contact Mrs Raynor via the school office.

Finally, many of you will be aware that our fantastic new building ‘The Nook’ is now open. This brand new 16-place specialist provision has been designed and built by NCC as a specialist learning environment to support children with autism and other complex learning needs, who already attend the school, and to provide 8 additional places allocated by the LA for children with Education Health & Care Plans. The purpose-built single storey unit includes two classrooms (Lilies and Daisies), sensory rooms, a movement room and additional support areas as well as a purpose-built outdoor play area. The internal and external layout has been carefully designed to support the needs of the children, ensuring that spaces are calm, easy to navigate and conducive to learning. Please see photos below. We are very proud of this provision and the benefit this will have for local children and families.

Thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to seeing you after the half-term break. 

Kindest regards, 

Mrs Anna Stapleton - Headteacher