Autumn 2 Newsletter

December 19, 2019

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Please find our Autumn 2 2019 Trust Newsletter below.

CEO Message

Autumn 2 2019

It has been another very busy half term at White Woods.

There has been lost of activity across the Trust since October and it has been a privilege to have worked with so many brilliant leaders and teachers.

Much of our focus this half term has been on curriculum and considering the implications of the new Ofsted framework. It has been wonderful to see the work across all schools, particularly the expertise emerging around the teaching of phonics and early reading. The English Hub established at Whiston Worry Goose is having a positive impact across a number of schools and delivered some bespoke training for the Trust in November. I and a number other leaders had really thought-provoking school visits to XP East , Doncaster and Humberstone Primary. Leicester exploring their curriculum design and we have established a curriculum enquiry group who are focusing on specific subject disciplines.

Other work has included developing greater clarity and focus for our Local Governing Bodies, reviewing HR policies, Safeguarding audits and further developing the capacity of the Central team so we can establish clearer systems and processes across the Trust.

Personally, it has been very odd spending my first Christmas not based in a school! I have missed hearing the ‘nativity’ rehearsals and being immersed in the joy and excitement that this time of year brings.

I would like to take this opportunity to thanks all Staff, Parents/carers, Governors and Directors for their hard work and support this term. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Kilnhurst Flood

It has been a challenging half term for the staff at Kilnhurst. The school was badly affected by the October floods and we have had to rehouse the whole school across two sites, Swinton Fitzwilliam and Swinton Brookfield.

The work has started to rectify the damage caused but it will be several months before we can reoccupy the school building, we are currently aiming for June 2020.

Staff, parents, children and the wider community have shown incredible support, for which we are hugely grateful.

New appointments

We are delighted that our new IT lead, Andy Blatch has now taken up post. Andy has had a busy few weeks, joining us as the news about RGFL broke. He is already visited all of the trust schools and had an impact on the Central Team ICT infrastructure.

We will also be welcoming Nikki Oloughlin, English Trust Lead to the team after Christmas.

Football Success!

We have had a successful footballing half term across the Trust! Well done to the team from Brinsworth Manor, the Y3/4 Boys football team worked hard to finish second in the Rotherham finals and will be going through to South Yorkshire finals! What a credit to Brinsworth Manor Junior School.

Swinton Fitzwilliam Homeless Shoebox appeal

Just look at the huge pile of donations for the Rotherham Homeless Shoebox Appeal – and this is only KS2 pile!

The school did an incredible job ensuring that Rotherham’s homeless aren’t forgotten this Christmas.

Well done to all involved!

Happy Retirement!

One of Anston Park Infants TAs is retiring tomorrow after nearly 27 years working at the school. Anne Steeple and she has been truly amazing and will be a huge loss to the school. She started originally as a dinner lady and then supported a child on a 1:1 basis. She then became a TA and has been a very active member of staff. She has set up extracurricular activities such as baking club and story club and has supported thousands of children over the years. She also made sure every year that every child in school had a costume for our Christmas production. She is adored by all the children and staff and will be sorely missed by us all.  

Thank you on behalf of all at White Woods Anne, your contribution to the school and the local community is awe-inspiring.

Enterprise Challenge at Woodsetts!

In Year 5 pupils welcomed ‘ Primary School Enterprise Challenge’ into Woodsetts.

The class were randomly split into groups and turned into ‘Events Companies’ being set the challenge of making the ‘Match Day Experience’ lots more fun for the fans and their families at Barnsley FC.   They were each given a budget of £5000 to spend on whatever they wanted and at the end of the day had to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, with the winning team going on to the finals day to compete against 30 other schools. To add even more excitement to the day, the school who eventually win the challenge then get to turn their plans into reality during the last home game of the season. Game on!

Over the course of the day they had to focus on what their perfect pitch would be including the following;

Introduction & Logo – Everyone has to say hello, tell the judges who you are, what your role is and what you’re presenting – your event ideas for the fan & their families

Perfect Fan & Mascot – Someone has to present your Perfect Customer to the judges, tell them who they are and what they like.

·Event Plan – Present your Event Plan to the judges and tell them all about your ideas.

Promotion – Explain to the judges how you will promote your event.

Budget – How much did spend & what did you spend your budget on?

Close the pitch

We were fortunate to be joined by Laura Bartup, one of the Barnsley FC strikers, who talked to the school about her aspirations as a child, her journey into football and ran a Q&A session with year 6. This was certainly a day that the entire class won’t forget, especially the winners of the day – Wonderful Woodsetts World. Good luck at the finals day.

A King is born!

What a lovely end to the term at Wentworth! The children performed a wonderful rendition of a King is born in church on Tuesday, they all looked amazing and sang their hearts out1

Well done to all involved!

Oh no, it isn’t…!

Well done to all of the children involved in Wickersley Northfield’s 2019 Pantomine! The performances were wonderful and well received by an appreciative audience. Thank you to all staff who supported and parents and carers who came to watch.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Contact us;

White Woods Primary Academy Trust

The Pod

Canklow Woods Primary School

Wood Lane

Canklow

 S60 2XJ

Email; WWPATadmin@rgfl.org

Telephone; 01709 267019

Website; https://whitewoodsprimaryacademytrust.co.uk/

Follow us on Twitter; @WhiteWoodsPAT1

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