It's nearly that time...so, we've been making arrangements to celebrate the festive season. Christmas carols are on the horizon (at the Haughley Light Switch-on) as is Christmas Lunch and Jumper Day, and not forgetting our annual church Nativity; I've also heard murmurings that there might be a Santa-run to replace the infamous Golden Mile. Tis the season...
It's been a challenging term thus far; what gives me huge pleasure is that the school and its staff continue to do what is in their breadth and power, which is to offer a fantastic provision within the schooling environment. This, I feel, is best exemplified by the relentless care and support we offer our children and their families, the embedding of a curriculum, which is linked to the community and the church, the continued dedication of staff to develop their profession through training and team collaboration, and the support and understanding from those who 'Get What We Do' and celebrate what we offer!
We do have a sad goodbye on the horizon; at the end of the year, Mrs. Thompson will be hanging up her educational shoes of 19 years (at Crawford's). We'd like to thank her for her unwavering dedication and contribution to the school. Mrs. Thompson has seen generation after generation pass through the school and she has welcomed one change after another, but one thing that has always been a constant is the support and care she has offered each and every child. We wish her well and raise a glass of something mulled, this Christmas.
In my last newsletter, I shared developments in our new curriculum. I would like to add that we have made considerable progress since then and we have begun some invaluable work with some key collaborators and partners. Firstly, I'd like to comment on the fabulous leadership with Collective Worship and RE. Miss Perry has taken this by storm by already leading a wonderful Remembrance Service, beginning work with the Diocese, and our Foundation Governors (Reverend Brin Singleton and Pip Jackson) on aligning our vision and cogs (with important biblical figures), reviewing our RE curriculum provision, collective worship practices, and church-linked calendar events. Your support is very much appreciated and we hope to see you at either the next monthly (Monday) church assembly or at our next key event, Nativity.
Miss Mitchell continues to lead our curriculum design and I would like to reference, once more, the 'Framework for Independence' (see Golden Circle Curriculum, below), which places pivotal emphasis on how we use the Crawford's Cogs as our key values-based driver! This work will continue to be implemented and evaluated; we would really appreciate you using the Cogs and language for learning in order to further empower your child to work towards becoming a life-long learner!
We have just begun some extremely exciting work with the English Hub. As part of this, we have received £5000 in funding. We have already used some of this funding for whole school phonics training, innovative phonics and reading resources, and collaborative work with Myland Primary School (in Colchester) who are a specialised English Hub. This is an extremely exciting project and the purpose of this collaboration is to further enhance the teaching, learning, and assessment of early reading at Crawford's. The support we require from all parents and carers is to encourage 'Reading for Pleasure'. This simply involves providing opportunities for children to hear and share reading with an adult at home. Engagement is the key here, as opposed to challenging children to read independently. In EYFS and KS1, in particular, children will be sent home with books that are 95% decodable; this means that they can easily read the text, therein enabling them to begin to use their comprehension skills to unpick the text and understand the layers of meaning at a much deeper level. Discussing this with your child will, therefore, provide these opportunities. We also hope this takes away the stress and pressure of reading homework. A love of reading must come first!
Mr. Payne has been busy leading and developing our maths and science curriculum...
Fluency with maths is very much the focus for us, here at Crawford's. Number bonds and times tables are the fundamental skill so please encourage your child to use TTRockstars. Again, no specific homework is set because we want to encourage children to use TTRockstars for pleasure. All children know their accounts so please support us with encouraging the children to use it at home.
For the science curriculum, we have recently invested in the fantastic, Generation Genius resource. This brings school science standards to life through fun and educational videos, lesson plans, activities, quizzes, reading material, and key vocabulary. Watch this space as we look to launch it across the school.
As most of you are aware, we now have mixed classes across the whole school. Most people know (from personal experience) that if one is trying to learn something well—be it a set of facts, concepts, skills, or procedures—a single exposure is usually inadequate for good long-term retention. We are all familiar with the adage “practice makes perfect.” My preference would be "practice makes permanent", however, none-the-less, the adage remains, repeated practice is essential. Neuroscience now tells us much more than we ever knew before; spaced repetitive practice is one of the most efficient ways to learn. With this in mind, our curriculum design and mixed classes allow for such practices to become embedded. We feel that this is going to ensure we develop a curriculum that is profoundly deep, as opposed to being a mile wide but an inch deep.
And finally, I am delighted to announce that we have established a positive relationship with PPG (Paints, Coatings & Materials), in Stowmarket, who are going to support us as part of their incredible 'Colourful Communities Project'. Next year, PPG will be celebrating 5 years of support to schools and local communities. From donating paint to small construction and, of course, painting itself, they will be sending a team of volunteers over to Crawford's early next year. We will be looking for others to support us with this project so please watch this space for more information. Your help will be very much needed!
And so...'Tis the season...' I thank you for your support and as the adage affirms 'In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.'
