January has almost gone – where exactly? – and we have had a calm and productive start to the term. The only noticeable change is a slight rearrangement of the school day, with assembly much earlier, lunch slightly earlier for our older children, and a longer afternoon. So far, a busy lunch hall has been the only issue, but we’re working around that one. Assembly is 9.05 every day, the time at which the registers close.
Today and tomorrow, the school is undergoing an assessment for the Investors’ in People award. Our assessor, Gerry Mountrey, is working with staff at all levels to look at the school’s progress as an organisation. Should anyone else wish to contribute, please come and see me and I’ll introduce you.
Facebook
I’m not on Facebook – after all, I have no friends. However, I have been increasingly concerned about hearing issues arising in school because of comments made on Facebook. OR, incidents in school being discussed. Neither of these are appropriate. In fact, for school business to be discussed on Facebook is utterly unacceptable – staff know it is a disciplinary offence to discuss school issues on Facebook.
Children under 13 should not be using Facebook. If you have an issue that has something to do with an incident in school please see us. If I discover that a child has posted something offensive on Facebook, or that a school issue has been discussed, I will report it to Facebook’s safe usage agent, who may well close those accounts. I will treat this as a Child Protection issue.
Work Club
Please see on the back of this newsletter an advert for a new job club starting at the Children’s Centre. This group is in touch with a number of big employers in the area, and are trying to provide positive solutions as the new government initiative about getting parents back to work take effect.
Finally, advance warning number 1 – school closes on Friday 18th February for half term, and reopens for pupils on Tuesday 1st March.
Zak Willis