Summer Term 2015 Newsletter 3

Page | 1 Cheshire Academies Trust Limited trading as Mill View Primary School. Registered in England and Wales 08108086. Registered office Kelsall Primary School, Flat Lane, Kelsall, Cheshire CW6 0PU.

Cheshire Academies Trust Good Things Grow Here

Welcome to the third edition of our newsletter this term.

Year 6 Statutory Tests We were extremely proud of our Year 6 children last week as they completed their end of key stage 2 tests. Each child was given an outstanding work award in assembly on Friday to acknowledge their attitude and conduct during the testing week. As you may have read in the media this can be a stressful time for the children and I would like to thank all fourteen staff involved in administering the tests for ensuring that the children were given the best possible environment and support to complete the tests. Thank you also to Mrs Gray for providing a breakfast club for those children who wished to come. All the childrens papers have been collected from school and for the first time will be scanned to be marked electronically by external markers. The childrens results will be available in school early July.

Cheshire Academies Trust Update As we enter into our fifth month of working in partnership as Cheshire Academies Trust we are delighted to be able to share with you an update as to how the Trust is progressing and the work that is planned or has already taken place.

As Heads of School we meet regularly to plan cross-Trust initiatives and provide inter-school support. Such activities have included;

Each school agreed a shared school improvement priority To collaborate with MAT schools to forge personnel links, developing protocols and procedures to ensure efficient and effective working practices in all 3 schools (management of the academy status)

School Self Evaluation summaries and School Development Plans have been shared to ensure a unified approach to school evaluation and improvement

The Cheshire Academies Trust website is currently being designed and will be in operation at the end of May. The Trust Board have met twice to formulate cross-Trust policy and these policies are currently on the individual school websites

Cheshire Academies Trust staff have provided school to school support. This includes Mrs McCrimmon who has supported the appointment process for the Reception teacher at Boughton Heath Academy

The Heads of Schools have met to agree a format for assessing the curriculum without levels which will be in place in September for all 3 schools

A document outlining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned to the Ofsted framework has been written by myself to ensure accountability in all schools by local governors and the Trustees

The Heads of each school have met regularly to agree how we can work together to raise standards across our schools. At the last meeting the following actions were agreed

Each Head of School will undertake a review of lunchtime provision at another CAT school. The reviews will take place week beginning 01 June 2015. External training for Year 5 to become Junior Playground Leaders has also been planned for June 2015

Each Head of School will be supporting another CAT schools subject leader in observing the quality of teaching mathematics in the Autumn term 2015

The Principal at Kelsall School will be working with PE subject leaders to develop inter-CAT sports tournaments for every year group in 2015-2016

The Principal at Boughton Heath Academy will be working with an external provider to develop public speaking coaching for pupils at each CAT school with the opportunity for those who wish to sit public

Newsletter 3 Summer Term 2015


speaking exams to do so. We believe public speaking is an important life skill that all pupils should have access to. We look forward to being able to organise our own debating teams within our school and inter-CAT debates in 2015-2016

On 9 July the SENCo (Special Educational Needs) from each school will be meeting at Boughton Heath. The focus of the day will be to review our school policies and practices around SEND and to complete a CAT Special Educational Needs policy to ensure we are working to the highest possible standards across all three schools.

As three outstanding schools working closely together we have agreed that moderating across our CAT schools will be our priority of work within our individual cluster of schools. Our focus in the Autumn term will be Mathematics and Literacy. Time will be provided for subject leaders to work together. Heads of School will be responsible for the following subject areas across CAT: 1. Principal Kelsall Primary School Science 2. Principal Boughton Heath Academy English 3. Headteacher Mill View Primary School Mathematics

One staff meeting per term will be dedicated to cross individual year groups across our CAT schools working together to look at assessment without levels

Working closely with representatives from CAT, Kelsall and Mill View, the Vice Principal at Boughton Heath Academy, is going to lead our Trust application for the Investors in People Gold Plus Award. This will allow us to ensure Trust CPD systems are rigorous and provide robust external validation of our practices. We will be able to engage in collaborative partnerships which will specifically impact on our CPD plans and to engage with business representatives to get new perspective on staff development. Most importantly we believe this award will ensure professional development in our Trust improves the quality of teaching and therefore impacts on outcomes for our children

Finally, for us, our most exciting development is our plans for our first Trust INSET day on 01 September 2015. The main purpose of the day is to develop 11 by 11. 11 by 11 is our list of 11 activities or experiences every child who attends a CAT school will have participated in by the age of 11. Work on 11 by 11 started on Thursday 07 May when representatives from each schools Student Council met at Kelsall Primary School to share their ideas for the 11 activities. Later this term we will give parents/carers the opportunity to contribute their thoughts also. It is our plan to take approximately 60 possible activities/experiences to our INSET day and work together to reduce them down to 20. Representatives from each school will work together later in September to decide and share our final list of 11.

As you can see much has happened since we converted to Academy. Hopefully parents will notice the strong emphasis on improving the quality of teaching and learning for children through collaborative practices between schools and also the clear focus on linking staff together. This demonstrates, I believe, our fundamental focus on children and getting it right for them on a daily basis!

My thanks go to all the governors and staff for their continued hard work towards our pursuit of excellence for the children in our care. The work load of a teacher can sometimes be an all-consuming thing, but the teachers at Mill View Primary School care passionately and without question, want the best for your children.

Sports Day and National Sports Week (week commencing Monday 22 June) Mrs Burt-Williams and Miss Pemberton are busy planning exciting sporting events for National Sports Week and we will keep you informed of these events in our newsletters. To coincide with National Sports Week our Sports Day will take place on Tuesday 23 June and the PTA Summer Fun Run on Friday 26 June 4pm.


Staffing News Mrs McCrimmon, Deputy Headteacher, will be starting her maternity leave in early July. During her absence in July Mrs Wallace and Mrs Hetherington will be teaching the Reception class. It will be very strange without Mrs McCrimmon as she has been at Mill View for 13 years but I am sure she will be kept very busy during her time at home. If you wish to contribute towards her leaving gift please do so via the school office. Miss Pemberton, Year 3 classteacher, will be taking a years sabbatical from teaching at the end of this academic year. She is planning to travel during this time and is hoping to broaden her experience teaching in Australia. I am sure you would like to join me in wishing her all the very best. Mr Jones, Site Maintenance Officer, is retiring in August. Mr Jones has worked at our school for a number of years and we will miss him greatly!

Parental Consultation - School Visits and Residential Visits Please look out for a consultation paper in your childs reading bag at the start of next half term. We are very aware of the increasing costs of school trips and wish to consult with parents about continuing to plan school visits and residential visits as part of the schools curriculum. A few years ago parents unanimously told us that they wished to continue the residential visits in Year 2 to Year 6 but we would like to gain current views. Our school curriculum is enriched with trips and residential visits; however, participation is on the basis of parental choice and a willingness to meet the costings. As an academy our school policy towards charging for school activities remains the same as a local authority maintained school we may ask for voluntary contributions towards the cost of any activity which takes place during school hours; school equipment; and school funds generally. We do not exclude a child from taking part if a parent refuses or cannot make a contribution. In the case of residential visits we do not currently ask for contributions towards extra staff required for the visit as this is based on the goodwill of staff. There is nothing in legislation preventing us in asking for voluntary contributions for these activities, however, if insufficient voluntary contributions are received to cover the cost of the visit, or activities, then we may unfortunately have to cancel the trip/residential visit. This has never been the case at Mill View and we are grateful for parental contributions. As a school we are also fortunate that the PTA provide additional funding towards some activities to benefit every child.

E-Safety and Technology Policy It is a primary aim of our school that every member of the school community feels safe. The school e-Safety policy is therefore designed to support the way in which all members of the school community can use ICT and technology safely both at home and in school. It aims to promote an environment where everyone feels safe and secure including children and teachers. The primary aim of the e-Safety policy is to educate children and parents on how to use ICT safely and appropriately. In addition to the Internet, it also includes electronic communications such as mobile phones and wireless technology. It highlights the need to educate children and young people about the benefits and risks of using new technology and provides safeguards and awareness for users to enable them to control their online experiences. The schools e-safety policy operates in conjunction with other policies including those for Pupil Behaviour and anti-bullying. Parents are reminded also that use of social media to air grievances publically about the school or specific members of school should not be done in any circumstance. The school has a complaints procedure which can be seen at any time on the school website.


Sporting Achievement Many congratulations to Anna in Year 6 who was second at the British Orienteering Middle Distance Championships (held at Naphill and Park Wood, High Wycombe). If you wish to share your childs sporting achievements please email [email protected]

And finally sharing our learning this half term.

Year 4 Reception


Year 5 Year 6

Year 2 Year 1


Year 3 Diary Dates

Thursday 21 May Tempest to take Year 6 photographs for leavers books Thursday 21 May PTA Film Night Friday 22 May School closes for Whit break Monday 01 June to Friday 13 June Writing fortnight Tuesday 02 June Reception visit to Stockley Farm, Northwich Thursday 04 June - Year 5 to visit the Imperial War Museum Monday 08 June to Tuesday 09 June Year 3 residential to the Tattenhall Centre Friday 11 June Year 5 taster morning at Upton High School Monday 15 June ECO council to visit Marks and Spencer at Collegium Thursday 18 June Year 5 Science Road Show at St Oswalds CE Primary School Tuesday 23 June Sports Day and Family Picnic (please note change of date from newsletter 1) Wednesday 24 June School Choir performing at the Cheshire Show Thursday 25 June Upton High School Open Evening Friday 26 June PTA Summer Fun Run 4pm Tuesday 30 June Year 1 visit to Park Hall Farm, Oswestry Friday 10 July Year 6 visit to Chester University Wednesday 15 July & Thursday 16 July Key Stage 2 Musical Olivia at Queens Park High School Friday 17 July Year 6 Leavers Service 10am Friday 17 July 3pm School closes for pupils

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Summer Term 2015 Newsletter 3