What an incredibly busy week, full of trips, sport, raising awareness and talent! 

We kicked off the week on Monday with Year 2 learners visiting Woldies Lavender Farm near Malton. Despite the rain, a super day was had by all, and this was a brilliant way to consolidate their learning all about plants! 

The next 2 days were (or at least were scheduled to be) all about sport! On Tuesday morning, the weather held off for our KS2 sports day which was a huge success. Unfortunately, as we neared the end of the KS1 event in the afternoon, the heavens opened, and this had to be cancelled, along with the Nursery event. With only a couple of activities remaining for the KS1 event (and a packed calendar for the rest of the year), we have decided that it would be unfair to ask parents to come back out to support just 20 minutes of remaining activities. However, a new Nursery date will be confirmed shortly as none of this event was able to take place. Thankfully, on Wednesday, the sun shone brightly on the Reception Sports Day and the event was again a success. We would like to say a big thanks to our parents for continuing to support such events and we look forward to welcoming you to the next one.  

P Factor returned to the Penshurst stage this week, brimming with talent in a variety of fields. As educators, it is easy to get caught up in the delivery of a tight curriculum and to forget about the talent that our learners possess in other areas. Events such as these are a wonderful opportunity for children to demonstrate their individuality and to really shine! It is even more rewarding to see those children who maybe lack confidence take the bull by the horns and embrace the opportunity to show the world (or at least the Penshurst community) what they are made of. Thank you again to all of the parents and family members who came to support the event.  

The final big event this week was the annual Brake Walk, which is intended to raise awareness of the need to drive safely, particularly near children. As a road user, it is impossible to miss our sea of high-vis clad children, some of whom were even interviewed by Viking FM at the event! 

I would like to take this opportunity to raise the subject of parental permissions for such events. When we inform parents about these, we endeavour to give as much notice as possible so that you have time to give permission for your child to take part using the correct form. The need for advanced notice is twofold: it gives us the planning time to ensure we have adequate staffing and safeguarding measures in place for the safety of all concerned. It also prevents a backlog of last-minute administrative duties for our staff in the office. Although 3 separate notifications were sent to parents (and an extension to the deadline), we had around 120 learners without permission on the morning of the walk. Ordinarily, this would mean that those learners were unable to take part, but this did not sit well with me, as the majority of our children love this event. On this occasion, we worked hard to resource the processing of last-minute permissions so that our children did not miss out. Unfortunately, this is unsustainable for future events, and so I urge parents to please read carefully any communications from the school and ensure they act swiftly to avoid disappointment. After all, we are working towards a common goal of exciting experiences for your children. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.  

Finally, our Year 6 learners will embark on their ‘rite of passage’ that is the residential next week. I have everything crossed for a safe trip and good weather. I am sure they will have an awesome time. 

All that remains for this week is to wish you a wonderful weekend and see you next week! 

Mrs Preston

Head of School

Welcome back to the final half term of this year. 

As always, an array of learning has been taking place this week, from Reception learning all about how clouds are formed (and having a super time using this knowledge when spotting clouds) all the way to Year 6 getting busy experimenting with electrical circuits in Science. Outside, Gardening Club were met with an abundance of strawberries upon their return from the half term break this week. For more information on this week’s learning, please head over to X and browse our posts.  

Below is a message from Mrs Smith: 

‘The Great Big Green Week’ is happening next week. On Monday, the plant swap will take place. Tuesday is the day that uniform can be swapped. On Wednesday, you are invited to come and swap books, and Thursday will provide an opportunity to swap clothes. Finally, Friday hosts the Pick & Mix Swap. 

These events will be a fantastic opportunity for families to access pre-loved items. Although we have called it a swap (bring something and exchange for something else), please do not worry if you have nothing to contribute. Come along anyway as there maybe something that you would like to take.  

To support the event, on Tuesday, we have representatives from the REUniform charity along with Emma Hardy (Labour candidate) visiting the school. Please come along and support any event that you can. 

We have been notified by parents that some children who arrive at school on their own are playing and cycling in the middle of Winthorpe Road before the school gates open. If your child travels to school alone, may we advise that you chat to them about the importance of road safety awareness. Unfortunately, we do not have the staff to supervise the roads at the start of the day. Many thanks for supporting us in keeping your children safe. 

Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope it is enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing you all next week.  

Mrs Preston

Head of School

We have come to the end of another busy week, and this week’s big event was our Year 6 SATs papers. The staff are so proud of how hard the cohort have worked this year, and particularly this week as they took on the challenge. This spans over 4 days, involving 6 papers, and perhaps it’s just my age, but the questions do seem to get more challenging each year. Nevertheless, our resilient learners have rocked up and given in their all. It has been wonderful to see so many enjoying the SATs breakfasts this week too, and it’s always lovely to see staff from other year groups mingling with them. Marlowe and Sherlock even made an appearance. In fact, being such a dedicated supporter of Penshurst learners, Marlowe asked his mummy if he could stay for the full morning on Wednesday in case anyone needed a cuddle. Now, we patiently await the results! 

Other year groups have, as always, been engaging in wonderful things, which you can see over on X.  

Our EYFS learners have enjoyed listening to music and expressing how it makes them feel. Year 3 have been exploring the work of artist Kehinde Wiley, and creating their own masterpieces inspired by him. Year 4 have been experimenting with materials to create structures, whilst our clubs have been super busy too with tie dye in Art Club and bearing the fruits of their labour in gardening club! 

Another important event this week was the Year 6 Boys Football V Willerby Carr Lane, in which I am delighted to say we won one match 2-1 and drew 1-1 in the other after a penalty from Cobie.  

Other information: 

As the weather gets warmer, please do not send suncream with your child. Please ensure this is applied before they come to school.  

A reminder that school closes on Friday 24 May for half term, reopening Monday 3 June. 

Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing you for the final week of this half term – where is the time going?

Mrs Preston

Head of School 

Well that’s not how we expected our week to begin!

We knew that our Ofsted inspection was well overdue (by about a year and a half) and that they could visit any day now. And yet.... when the phone rings and the lead inspector is on the other end of the line, it is a complete shock and totally unexpected!

It has been a packed couple of days with 3 inspectors travelling frantically across both sites for numerous meetings, chats with our learners, lesson drop-ins and conversations with our parents. For the latter, I thank you for your support and overwhelmingly positive comments.

Working in education is not just about imparting knowledge and skills. There is so much more to it than that. Staff at Penshurst come to work because they are passionate about providing the best possible care and education for your child. Although an inspection is stressful, it is a great opportunity to demonstrate what a school does so well, which is exactly what we did this week. I am incredibly proud of the Penshurst community (staff, learners, parents and governors) for pulling together and supporting one-another practically and emotionally over the last few days.

One of my highlights was speaking to a learner in Reception who asked me ‘When are the people coming to talk to me?’ I was so tempted to take him to the final feedback meeting with me!

Unfortunately, we must now wait for the report to be written and agreed before we can share any information about the outcome. But for now, I would once again, on behalf of myself and my colleagues, like to thank you for your continued support.

Other news:

This week, our budding Year 5/6 girl's footballers played a home game against Westfield. Although we were defeated, we ‘put up a fight’ and both sides played fantastically.

We have had reported cases of headlice in Years 1 and 4. Please check your child if you suspect they may be affected and treat if necessary. Thank you.

Once again, we have had reports of children scooting and biking on the site and someone almost being knocked over. Try as we might, we cannot man every part of the site and must enlist your support. Please ensure your child is walking with their transport when they are on the site.

Should this continue, we will refer to CCTV footage and ban repeat offenders from bringing scooters, bikes or balance bikes on site, where necessary.

Thank you.

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend! See you on Tuesday!

Mrs Preston

Head of School

Another week jam-packed with learning has taken place this week at Penshurst. Amongst it all, below is a small selection to whet your appetite. 

Year 1 and 2 have had a great time learning about body parts in French and Spanish respectively and singing songs to help this knowledge stick.  

Year 3 learned all about botany in their Science lessons as they explored the parts of a plant this week.   

Year 4 have been getting creative and experimental with oil pastels in Art.  

Year 5 have continued to love Reading Plus online and are excited about the improvements in their fluency. 

Year 6 are excited to have started a new and exciting book – Wonder (I can highly recommend) – this week, and have been discussing the author’s choice of language. 

In addition to all of this, the Gardening Club have been busy bees weeding and planting vegetables. We are hoping for a bumper crop this year! 

To get a better insight into some of the exciting learning, please head over to X (formerly Twitter) to see more! 

We have noticed that some learners in the dining hall are taking a couple of bites of their main meal and then moving straight onto their pudding, or not eating very much of their packed lunch as they are keen to get outside. Obviously, if we see them, we ensure they have eaten adequately, but we cannot monitor every child. If you suspect that your child could possibly be one of the learners who is keen to play rather than eat, please could you remind them of the need to re-fuel for their afternoons. Thank you for your support. 

Reminder 

A reminder that on Wednesday 24 April, we will be holding our PFA bingo night. Please come along for a fun evening, aimed at raising funds for the Year 2 trip to Woldies Lavender Farm. Thank you for all of your support. 

Have a great weekend. See you next week! 

Message from Mr Groak, Headteacher, Hessle Academy 

I would like to thank all parents/carers of pupils in Year 6 for their support during the past week following the decision that pupils would not be permitted to wear their hoodies in class. This decision was taken in good faith in order to ensure that all children were fully focused on the next few weeks of their education and I am pleased that pupils have shown great maturity in accepting this decision, even though it has disappointed them.  

I have held several conversations with pupils including a meeting with four pupils chosen to represent their year group and I was impressed by their maturity and the way in which they put their views across. We managed to ‘disagree agreeably’. I committed to reviewing this decision, in consultation with staff and pupils following the SATs. 

I accept the criticism that this decision could have been communicated more clearly both to pupils and parents/carers and will fully take that on board and apologise for any upset that it caused in your household.  

Thanks again for your support and dialogue. 

Mrs Preston

Head of School

This week has been another busy one with exciting activities and learning taking place at Penshurst, much of which, you can follow on X (formerly Twitter). 

• This week has been an incredibly sporty one with 2 days of football events taking place at Hymers on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Year 5/6 boys were up first and after an exhausting and competitive day, were defeated on penalties. Next, the Year 5/6 girls took to the field and were triumphant in winning their play-off section! Both teams were a credit to the school and a credit to our families.  

• As I drove to work this morning, I noticed our excited Year 5 pupils heading in the opposite direction on their Harry Potter trip. I wish them a wonderful visit and can’t wait to hear all about it when they return to school after Easter. 

• Sadly, the typical British weather stopped play for our Holi colour festival on Wednesday. Some year groups are choosing to ‘play it by ear’ and see what the weather is doing each day. Rest assured, a child sporting an array of bright colours will be heading home to you in the near future.  

In other news: 

• We have again noticed that energy drinks/Prime drinks have been creeping into packed lunch boxes. Please do not send your child with one of these as they are laced with caffeine, stimulants and sugars which, as confirmed by the NHS website, are not healthy or suitable for children. Please continue to provide water for the classroom and a juice drink or water for lunch. We will replace any energy drinks with water and return them to the pupil at the end of the day. Thank you for your cooperation. 

• Please note, we have a reported case of Headlice in Year 6.  

I hope you all have a lovely Easter break, filled with chocolate and quality down-time, and I look forward to welcoming you back on the 8th April. 

Mrs Preston

Head of School