The end of last week, (not so much the start of this) has underlined how lucky we are in this part of the North East.  There are signs of spring all around: warmer weather, leaf buds, frollicking frogs and spawn in the pond and a fox feeding cubs on the school grounds (after school).  The children have been actively using the school grounds and it was wonderful to welcome a league sporting fixture to the school, for the first time since the first lockdown, ending in an entertaining 3-1 win for Seaburn Dene.

At this time of the year, there are always children eager to help out around the school grounds, most notably Yr 1. Our work with Southwick-based community garden Just Let Your Soul Grow has clearly inspired all in the class, with a queue of children desparate to water and tend to the flowers in our quad. - even when it has been raining. I am an enthusiastic amateur gardener, who really needs more time to tend our plants. Time is always our enemy in school.

Being Safe

Tomorrow, we will an external audit of all our Health and Safety protocols in school. This wide-ranging examination covers all sorts of elements of our work and runs alongside our wider safeguarding in school. The safety and wellbeing of our children, from premises up,  is a priority for the school. Plans to further develop our school grounds continue and we have secured contractors to transform the Y1/EYFS quad into a whole school outdoor science zone. The Reece Foundation (science) contributed almost £9,000 towards this, with the remainder raised by yourselves, via the Friends of the School. We are planning a summer holidays start day, alongside a £100,000 window replacement scheme, undertaken by Sunderland City Council.

Uniform and PE kit

It’s really important that children have established routines and something that I feel is really important in establishing this is school uniform. We’ve always had a good level of adherence to school uniform but one area which seems to be slipping is PE kit – children should be wearing a blue or white t-shirt (with a school PE or plain blue/navy tracksuit top or hoodie in the cold weather) and dark navy/black jogging bottoms with trainers (for outdoor PE). This also creates mindset where we show the value of PE by wearing a proper PE kit.

In its wider sense, school uniform plays a key role in promoting pride, self-confidence and a sense of belonging. At SDPS we understand how expensive school uniform can be and so have kept this to an absolute minimum compared with other schools. We also launching a well-stocked pre-loved uniform store, with items available for a nominal 20p. It is therefore, very important, that correct uniform is worn and this includes correct footwear. Children should be wearing black school shoes, not boots and definitely not trainers unless it is a P.E. day and your child’s class comes to school in their P.E. kit. Please ensure that your child is correctly dressed in the morning and that their clothes and footwear are labelled including their coat. I understand, that at times, shoes become unwearable and that there can be a slight delay in the purchase of a new pair but this delay should not extend over a weekend.

Assessments

This week - across school - children are taking part in termly assessments in English and maths, so we can measure their progress both in-year and compared to their relative starting points in previous years. Assessments provide a snapshot  and sit alongside teacher assessments to offer a picture of children's learning and - as ever - we encourage our pupils to "always try to be that little bit better" and approach these situations with confidence and resilience. We can only ask them to do their best.