End of term picnic
We had a lovely time at Sandringham Park, celebrating the end of a great year.
Summer Reading Challenge 2018
This year’s summer reading challenge is ‘Mischief Makers’, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the much loved comic, Beano. To complete the challenge, you need to read 6 books over the summer holidays. It’s free to join and you’ll receive stickers and prizes along the way. Visit the local library to sign up for the challenge!
Leavers' Service
Thank you to Reverend Stroma and St James’ Church for hosting our year 6 leavers’ service last week. It was a special afternoon where the children reflected on their primary school years together. We are incredibly proud of our year 6 pupils.
Congratulations Mr Mills!
Congratulations to Mr Mills, who has been ranked 13th in the world, after competing in the Duathlon Championships in Denmark at the weekend. We are all very proud of his achievements. Well done Mr Mills!
Sports Day 2018
Thank you to everybody who came and supported the children at our Sports Day. It was a very hot afternoon, but all the children tried their best and showed great resilience, determination and team-work.
Fab feedback
At St James’ CE Primary, we’re always keen to welcome professionals beyond our own school to provide an additional ‘pair of eyes’, to provide an external view on how we’re improving. This is obviously even more important following the Ofsted judgement of ‘requires improvement’ (March 2017).
One of the people who has visited throughout the year is our School Improvement Advisor (SIA). At the end of June, he visited again and we’ve received his report – it makes for really encouraging reading. Here are some extracts:
It is the view of the SIA that the school has made significant strides from the March 2017 Ofsted RI [‘requires improvement’] outcome…St James’ C of E Primary is now a good school. The Executive Headteacher communicates a clear vision for the school. He quickly and effectively [improved the quality of teaching] and the result is a more harmonious, effective and dynamic workforce. The appointment of an effective Head of School has been instrumental in improving relationships within the school, with parents and the school’s profile in the wider community.
The federation has benefited each of the three schools involved – allowing the sharing of good practices, CPD [continuing professional development], leadership development and moderation.
Since inspection in 2017, the SIA has noted dramatic improvements in the quality of teaching… Subsequently, productivity, higher levels of presentation and standards in pupil’s books have improved significantly.
As the learning walk evidenced, teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. The simple yet effective approach of teachers counting down from 3 to gain pupil’s attention is consistent across the school; subsequently, there is very little learning time lost. On this visit, even on a hot sunny day near to the end of a busy school year, pupils responded well to teacher instruction and were keen to engage in the learning activities set. Good teacher modelling of learning allied to systems of drafting and editing and peer-to-peer review and feedback all contribute to improvements in teaching and learning over time. Further to this, as evidenced at an earlier visit, pupils are able to verbalise how their school has improved over time. They are confident to talk about their learning and on how the feedback from teachers enables them to improve their work and understanding further.
Thank you to everyone who have supported and encouraged us this year as we continue to improve.
Health Week Launch
Our health week has got off to a fantastic start. Today, we had a football themed play presented by the Tutti Frutti company, followed by a skip-a-thon and a tennis session.
Summer support
The long holidays can be a tricky time for families. The extended services team (EPOSS) have organised two drop-ins for parents / carers – an opportunity to come in and chat with the team about any difficulties, ask advice or look at problem solving together, to try and help the holidays be an enjoyable time for all the family. Or, just a chance to have some adult
conversation and a cuppa!
There’s no need to make an appointment. Just drop in at any time during the session.
- Friday 10 August, 10.00am – 12 noon, Wetherby Children’s Centre
- Friday 17 August, 10.00am – 12pm noon, Boston Spa Children’s Centre
Mosque Visit
Summer Fair
We are looking forward to our PTA summer fair tomorrow. There will be a tombola, bouncy castle, penalty shoot out, toy stall, refreshments and much more. We hope to see lots of you there!