Hardwick
Primary
School
NEWSLETTER
Issue 16: Friday 9th January 2015
Dear Parents/Carers
February
Friday 13th
School Closes
Tuesday 24th
School Reopens
Parent Consultation Meetings 3.30 – 7.00pm
Thursday 26th
Parent Consultation Meetings 3.30- 5.30pm
PTA Film Club 3.30pm – 5.00pm
March
Wednesday 18th
Meeting of the Full Governing Body at
6.00pm
Friday 27th
School Closes
April
Monday 13th
School reopens
Welcome back and a happy and healthy new
year to everyone.
We welcome Miss Alice Rocher who will be
working in Year 6. I am sure that she will
enjoy her time with us. We have made a
calm start to the new term. I would just
like to remind all parents that it is
important that all children have the correct
school uniform and PE kit in school. This
includes black shoes for outdoor use
and plimsolls for wearing indoors. Trainers
should only be worn for outdoor PE.
There are lots of children who do not have a
pair of plimsolls to wear indoors. If we need
to evacuate the building the children will not
have time to find their outdoor shoes. They
will need to assemble on the playground in
their bare feet so please ensure that your
child has a pair of plimsolls in school.
Swimming
The children in Years 1 and 2 will be taking
part in swimming this term on Wednesday
afternoon. We do ask for a small donation
to cover the cost of the coach. All the
swimming lessons are provided free of
charge.
If your child is unable to go swimming then
they will need to be collected as we are
unable to supervise them in school.
National School Sports Partnership
Established in 2004, North Oxfordshire
School Sport Partnership is a non-profit
making organization that works in
partnership with 52 schools from across
North Oxfordshire, including Hardwick. The
partnership has close ties and works jointly
with Cherwell District Council Sports
Development, National Governing Bodies of
Sport, Oxfordshire Sports Partnership and
numerous community sports clubs and leisure
providers across the Cherwell district.
North Oxfordshire School Sport
Partnership’s overriding aim is to engage
more 5-19 year olds in high quality PE, school
and community sport, thereby promoting
excellence and lifelong participation in
health promoting activity.
Annually, the partnership organises and
delivers over 250 School Games
competitions and sports festivals, supports
teachers with the development and delivery
of high quality PE and school sport, deploys
teams of highly motivated coaches to
support both curricular and extra-curricular
initiatives, train and mentor young leaders
as coaches, officials and team managers, and
forges effective pathways for young people
from schools into community sport.
Want to know more…
For information, reports and pictures from
North Oxfordshire School Sport
Partnership Events, or to find out more
about what we do, please visit our website
www.northoxfordshiressp.co.uk.
Breakfast and After School Club
Many of you are aware that the Children
Centre runs both Breakfast Club and the
After School Club. Breakfast Club opens at
8.00am and the children are given a meal
before they start school at 8.45am. The
cost is £1 and sessions can be booked via
The Cabin.
After School Club runs from 3.15pm until
6.00pm and the cost depends on the time
that the children attend. There are special
rates for parents with more than one child.
Again sessions can be booked via the Centre
telephone number 01295 271841. Last term
spaces were in high demand and parents
were turned away so please make sure that
you book in advance.
Attendance
Attendance continues to improve with an
overall figure of 96.1%. This is in line with
the Government’s target. Five of our six
classes had attendance above 96% so well
done to Foundation Stage, Years 2, 3, 4 and
6.
We do not expect you to send your child to
school if they are genuinely ill. However it
is important that you inform the school
office should your child be absent.
We do not authorise absence from school
for holidays, birthdays or shopping trips.
Parent Questionnaire
Thank you to all the parents who completed
the parent questionnaire. I attach a report
from Sue English, Vice Chair of Governors,
with the findings. Although we still have
some
issues
around
homework,
an
overwhelming number of parents (98%)
agree that their child is happy in school and
feels safe, which is excellent.
The
Procedure
Closure
for
Emergency
If we should experience exceptionally bad
weather this winter we may need to close
the school.
This will only happen in
exceptional circumstances. The decision to
close will be made by 7.30am based on the
condition of the school site and the number
of staff who are able to travel to work. An
announcement will be made on the local radio
and we will also try and post information on
the school website. If the school is open
then the children are expected to attend as
normal.
Parents will recall that we sometimes have
difficulty accessing the school site as the
road outside the gates is untreated.
Despite the governors writing to our local
MP the highways agency will not grit the
road. In the event of bad weather if any
parents are available and would like to help
clear the school site and the adjacent road,
your help would be much appreciated.
Congratulations
On Monday we received a letter from David
Laws MP, informing us that we have won a
Pupil Premium Award. The reason we have
been selected is that we are “one of the
most improved schools in the country in
terms of attainment and progress for the
most disadvantaged pupils since 2011.”
I attach a copy of the letter for your
information. Thank you to all the staff who
work so hard to ensure that your children
have a good start in life.
Have a lovely weekend.
Yours sincerely
J M Hawkin
Head teacher