Staffing

There have been a number of staffing changes this week. The most significant has been the retirement of Mrs Cooper after 23 years at manor. The children gave her a great send off at the end of lunchtime today with cards, flowers and a guard of honour to clap her from the playground where she has cared for the children of Manor for so long. She will be missed.

Of course this has left an opening for a breakfast Club and a lunchtime  supervisor position. If anyone fancies getting involved with our fabulous Manor team then follow the link to look at details of the role. Breakfast Club Supervisor- Manor Primary Academy job with Fierte Multi-Academy Trust | 192408 (wmjobs.co.uk) (the details for the lunchtime role don't seem to be appearing yet on the website but the details and forms are practically the same except the lunchtime role is 12-1pm)

Other changes in staffing have been three of our excellent students completing their placements. They have all added energy and enthusiasm to the team and are welcome back anytime. In fact Miss Archer is going to do a couple of extra visits over the next term!

Another change is that Mr Willis, the coach we have had on a Tuesday, has been promoted in his company so his role is being handed over to Miss Goodwin after Easter. Miss Goodwin has delivered after school clubs here before so we know she is a very good PE coach so there will be no drop in the high quality of our PE provision. Welcome to Miss Goodwin.

Parent Governor

We are delighted to announce that Mrs Fiona Simkins has been elected unopposed as our new parent governor. You will know Mrs Simkins as the current chair of our PTA so she is already involved in the life of the school and knows it well, especially as she was a pupil here herself! She certainly has the school in her heart and wants to see the best of it for the whole community as well as her own children. She has been an enthusiastic advocate for the school and has already shown how committed she is to the role. Welcome to the governors Fiona!

Owls Easter Performance

Thank you to Mrs Pearce and her daughter Charlotte for all the extra time and effort they put into supporting Mr Lloyd with Owls Easter performance. The results were fabulous with some incredible singing and choreography. Surely one of the best singing performances we have had in the church. They even sang in Hebrew and French for one of the songs! Well done to all of the Owls children... you were brilliant!

Easter Competitions

The hat and egg diorama competitions were amazing this morning too. Thank you to all who took part. Hopefully there was lots of fun had in the making of these fabulously imaginative creations. We certainly appreciated them. Thank you. All who entered deserved to be winners but we had to choose one from each year group and these were:

• Ducklings - Stanley
• Robins - Ethan
• Year 1 - Piper
• Year 2 - Alex
• Year 3 - Molly
• Year 4 - Zachary
• Year 5 - Evie
• Year 6 - Harry

Well done to all.

Road Safety

I am sorry to say that I had a couple of parents who came to me to report that they had witnessed several Year 6 children walking in the road after Study Club this week, talking through car windows while cars went past. We will spend some time discussing road safety with them in school, but we wanted parents to be aware, so they can follow this up at home too, and we can combine the message. It is the older children who are often at more risk from traffic as they are becoming independent, and they often believe they are invincible! Thank you for your support in this.

Cross Country

A special mention to Jovan and Dylan who ran in the Year 5 cross country this week. Twice round the whole of Rawlett playing fields is a long way, but they stuck at it and did themselves and their school proud. Well done boys!

A message from Mrs Hamblin (Fierté CEO)

Dear Parents and Carers,

Another busy term is nearly over, with much to celebrate. As ever, we appreciate your commitment and support to your child’s school life. Please see below a few updates:

Leadership and Management

There are some changes taking place over the next term in relation to leadership.

• Mrs. Michelle Kee is leaving her role as Headteacher at Violet Way Academy. We thank her for her considerable commitment and hard work. Mrs. Becky Harris will be picking up the baton as Headteacher following the Easter break.
• Mrs. Sonia Burke, Deputy Headteacher at Dosthill Primary, is moving to the new Free School Presumption (Garden Village Academy) after Easter as Headteacher. Mr. Richard Gould has been appointed as Head of School at Dosthill from July 2024.
• Mr. David Shakeshaft will be overseeing both Dosthill Primary Academy and Ankermoor Primary following the Easter Break as Executive Headteacher.
• Mrs. Kerry Davies, currently at Anker Valley Academy, has secured a post at Wilnecote Junior School as Assistant Headteacher of Inclusion.
• Mrs. Rebecca Bradshaw will undertake the role of Assistant Headteacher at Heathfield's Academy after Easter.

We appreciate that with ten schools there will be changes now and again. Our aim is to ensure that transitions are seamless and that leaders are supported to undertake their new roles as quickly as possible.

Garden Village Primary

Our new Free School Presumption, Garden Village Academy, continues to be built very rapidly. Significant engagement with the school community and other local schools has taken place, led by Tony Hand (Vice-CEO) as Project Lead. We expect the building to be handed over officially on July 22nd, 2024. There are already 21confirmed places in the Reception year group and much interest in the Nursery provision. Please look at the Trust website for more information on Garden Village Academy.

Trust Wide Parent Survey

We received a response from 554 parents regarding the Edurio Trust Parent Survey. Immense thanks to the many parents who took the time to complete the questions. The results will be shared with school leaders and the Trust Board for further consideration. We value your insights. Thank you.

Recent Inspections across the Trust

We are delighted to report that both Ankermoor Primary Academy, Anker Valley Primary Academy and Edgehill Junior Academy have all received ‘good ‘judgments in recent Ofsted inspections. The hard work and commitment of staff, parents and leaders has supported these positive outcomes.

The vast majority of our parents work with our schools in a respectful and supportive manner. This is crucial for us to maintain positive working relationships. Ultimately, this benefits our children. We continue to challenge any behaviour that is less than acceptable whether directly or indirectly e.g., through social media because ultimately this detracts from our job, which is to educate our children.

I hope you will enjoy some time with loved ones during Easter. We look forward to welcoming you back after the Easter break.

Kindest regards always,

Maria Hamblin (CEO)