Ferncumbe Friday

Friday 17th July 2020

goodbye lowsonford class!

A photo of Year 6 enjoying their residential trip to Marle Hall last September, a visit which was the focus of many special memories during their Leavers’ Service!

Year 6 pupils did a fantastic job of leading their own Leavers’ Service on Wednesday; a little different this year in that it took place outside on the playground! However, despite the rain, we all enjoyed listening to some special memories of the children’s time at Ferncumbe and watched (with a few tears!) as Miss Morris presented the children with an array of leaving gifts. It was so lovely seeing all of the class back together again

We wish all Year 6 continued success as they begin the next important stage of their education, and thank them for all they have given Ferncumbe over the years. We will miss every single one of them very much.

important update

You will have been emailed a letter this week from Ms Morris, regarding the full re-opening of Ferncumbe in September. Please do get in touch with the school office if you didn’t receive it.

The September 2020 Risk Assessment is now available on the school website by following this link https://www.ferncumbefamily.co.uk/20202021-risk-assessment

For any help or support with staying safe online over the Summer holidays, please search for and join this Facebook group. It is run by ICTDS Warwick and is a really useful resources for parents to use!

Miss Forbes

message from chair of governors

What an incredibly challenging finish to this academic year the pupils, the staff and you parents have had. We started the year so well, having recently received a Good marking from our Ofsted Inspection and being awarded an Excellent marking in our SIAMS Inspection in November. The focus on continuing pupil improvement through the Learning Improvement Plan (LIP) and a determination to ensure our enhanced curriculum was maintained in tightening budget constraints were Governing Body and Leadership priorities. Yet, from the middle of March, all of these normal day-to-day challenges were overtaken by the Covid pandemic.

The Governing Body continued to work during March-June, albeit in a much smaller form, with the Chair, Deputy Chair and Immediate past Chair temporarily acting as the Governing Body; also with me having weekly meetings with the Head. The full Governing Body came back together virtually for the first time since lockdown, for the last meeting of the year, last week.

It is difficult to decide where the praise and acknowledgement should start for how the Ferncumbe community have responded to Covid. I am therefore going to cheat and be equally and simultaneously praising of Parents, Pupils, Staff and school Leaders for the roles played in working towards the best possible outcomes for pupils and the safety of all. In regular discussions with Ms Morris, she has been clear in her belief that on the whole, pupils will not have suffered irretrievable harm to their educational progress because of the efforts and dedication of parents and because of the support of the staff. Ms Morris will be looking to subtly test this assumption in the early weeks of the Autumn term so we can take early action where there is any shortfall for any one or more pupils. So, a big thank you to you all.

I do recognise the critically important routine that school offers and also pupil socialising has suffered and I am grateful to the Head in organising a limited return for every pupil for at least one day before the year end. Any hopes we had to be able to expand the year groups we could have back in June and July were unfortunately affected under advice from the Government.

The Head and her team are working on the Risk Assessment for the full return to school in September and I know this will be a well developed plan, but will require quite a lot of hard work by staff in choreographing pupil movements, play time and arrival/departure times. I hope you will feel able to continue to give Ms Morris your support in how we are able to manage this return safely and with the confidence of you all.

Finally, the most significant item on the Governing Body agenda at the last meeting was to review the Parental consultation on Academising with Arden Forest MAT. We received no objections from Parents and so the Governors approved that we should now proceed to the Due Diligence stage where Ferncumbe and Arden learn as much as we can about each other, in significant detail before a draft agreement is prepared for approval by the Governors, Regional Schools Commissioner, Local Authority, Diocese, and Staff amongst others. I am hopeful that much of this work will be done during the Autumn term; the current assumption is that if agreement is reached and approval given, Ferncumbe’s conversion would happen for the beginning of the summer term. This timing also happens to suit the finance cycle. I will continue to keep all Parents updated as we make progress on this work.

So my final word is to wish all of you a good and healthy summer holiday and hope that it will feel sufficiently different from the last months of lockdown.

Best wishes.

David Lane

Chair of Governors

Free bikeability courses

Help to protect against serious vaccine-preventable diseases

During Covid-19 local GPs have reported a drop in the uptake of pregnancy, infant and pre-school booster vaccinations in Warwickshire.

Attending routine vaccination appointments is important, as it helps to stop an outbreak of serious vaccine-preventable diseases such as Measles, Meningitis and whooping cough.

If you are pregnant or have young children, it’s important that you continue to attend your scheduled vaccination appointments on time. If you cancelled these appointments during lockdown, please rebook now.

Your GP surgery will have all the necessary precautions in place to keep you and your child safe from COVID-19. If you have any questions about the steps they have put in place, why not talk to the receptionist to help ease your concerns.

Attending your routine vaccination appointments not only protects you and your children from very serious illnesses, but also protects more vulnerable people who would be at very great risk if they were to contract these diseases.

If you’re unsure about the schedule and when vaccinations are due, check your child’s Red Book or visit: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/nhs-vaccinations-and-when-to-have-them/

For more information call your GP or text:

· Warwickshire health visitors on CHAT Health: 07520 615293 anytime (responses Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm).

· Warwickshire school nursing on 03300 245 204 or text Parentline on 07520 619 376.

wARWICKSHIRE SCHOOL HEALTH UPDATE

King’s High Open Evening

September 18th from 4:30pm to 7:30pm

Following on from our recent virtual Open Morning we are delighted to invite pupils of all ages and their families to join us for our Open Evening, scheduled for 18th September. Join us and discover the wealth of opportunities that are available for our 21st century girls here at our new state-of-the-art school on the Myton Road Campus. Parents and their families will be able to enjoy many subject demonstrations, activities and performances presented by staff and pupils throughout the course of the evening, hosted by our year 7 and 8 girls who will be delighted to show you around their school. The evening starts from 4:30pm and runs until 7:30pm. To register interest, please follow this link… https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=9EPCA0QPBUalZ76rIxkEQ480gI4C0N1Lt-h6kfYnSidUNTJNSzNFRzNTNDlGWUExV1RCTzlWQU9QOS4u

You will be automatically added to our list of attendees and will receive further details nearer time.

After the most extraordinary of summer terms, we are so looking forward to seeing our Ferncumbe children back together again in school very soon.

I know that all staff join me in wishing everyone a happy and safe summer, and look forward to welcoming all pupils back to school on Wednesday 2nd September.

Very best wishes,

Tracey Webb, Deputy Headteacher

Newsletter Issue 15