The last day.....

We have had a wonderful last day with your amazing children - a lovely end to what has been a brilliant week!! In fact it has been a great first term and you should be very proud of your child's achievements we certainly are!! I would like to thank everyone for our lovely cards and presents we have received over the last couple of days - they are all very much appreciated. We do hope you all have a very Merry Christmas - we can't wait to hear all about it in the new year!!! However, I was very sad to check my email at the end of the day and find the comment below;

'It's all well and good asking how many times a week do we as parents read with our children, but how many times a week do the teachers? An inspection of our child's orange book is hardly a testament to massive teaching involvement!

I have chosen to remain anonymous so as not to subject my child to any prejudicial treatment(subconscious or otherwise) as a result of my rant.'

The Blog is not a forum for sniping and moaning, particularly when it's anonymous. I have published our email addresses on a number of occasions for you to contact us directly if you have any concerns or issues. This allows us to handle individual cases, quickly,efficiently and above all professionally. The accusation that we would be prejudice against your child, following a 'rant' is both unfair, untrue and most of all insulting. The communication you have with us in Reception regarding your child's learning etc, is one of the best in the school and we always strive to solve any issues in the appropriate manner. I would urge the author of the comment above to contact either myself or Miss Skidmore directly so that we can resolve this matter in the New Year.

With regards to reading - we hear each child read once a week - this I believe is a quality teaching session where we spend at least 10 to 15 mins reading their book and complete some word and sentence work - this is on top of their daily phonics session and whole class shared reading and of course LOTS of incidental well planned opportunities to read whilst they access the areas of provision. You as a parent play a VITAL role in your child's reading development and this should NOT be underestimated. You provide very important practice sessions for your child and it is proven year after year that children who read often at home make better progress than children who don't!

We did explain a couple of weeks ago that reading with your child on the run up to Christmas maybe a little difficult as we have been doing LOTS of additional things, such as practicing for the concert, school trips etc - which I'm sure you will understand takes up a fair amount of time. If you want us to put the effort into such things for you and the children to enjoy a well rounded experience at school, then you have to bear with us from time to time.

So here once again are our email addresses:

fosterrl04@leedslearning.net
skidmoh01@leedslearning.net

Please contact us directly with any personal issues regarding your child, but please also continue to comment on the blog - we love hearing what your children say and do at home and after all this is what the blog is for - home - school communication!!

Thank you
Mrs Foster