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