Welcome to the October Newsletter for The Heights Primary. It’s been a busy month for the team preparing for and hosting our Fun and Information Day which marked the start of our more formal consultation process with parents and wider members of the community. We were so grateful to see so many of you there to support the event. Particular thanks must go to all those who helped in the lead up and ran the activities and stalls on the day. We hope those of you that were able to attend found it informative and that your little ones had a good time. For those who were unable to attend, there will be more opportunities over the next few months which will give you the chance to meet members of the Trust, offer your feedback and ask any questions you may have. Further details are provided below.
In this month’s newsletter you will find a review of our Family Fun and Information Day; a few words from our local MP and Lead Councillor for Education as well as some inspiration from a founder of one of the first free schools in the Country. There are also further details of the consultation process we’ll be undertaking over the next few months, an update on the admissions process and another date for your diaries
We hope you enjoy reading and, as ever, if you have any comments, do get in touch as we would love to hear from you.
Warm regards and many thanks
The Heights Primary School team
Email: info@theheightsprimary.co.uk
Visit: www.theheightsprimary.co.uk
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Despite the weather’s best attempts we were overwhelmed by the level of interest and support we received on 20th Oct at St Andrews Hall.
At just before 2pm on 20th Oct we welcomed our first visitors to The Heights Family Fun and Information Day, marking the start of our consultation process. Over the course of the next two hours St Andrews Hall filled and stayed at capacity, full with parents, their children and members of the community keen to know more. It was a great opportunity for us to talk through our progress and plans for the future as well as hear your feedback. We’re glad to say it was very positive! We were also able to unveil details of our school uniform and prospectus, giving those attending something tangible to see whilst we continue to work towards securing our site.
We were delighted to have support from stall and activity holders who gave up their time to come along and entertain all the children.
Special thanks goes to:
St Andrews Church for allowing us to host the event in the Church Hall
Cakes by Shane Lowings at Baker Station, www.bakerstation.co.uk
Face painting by Cathy Brabben at ‘Face Painting 4 All’ www.facepainting4all.co.uk
Birds of Prey display by HawkWalk, Oxfordshire. www.hawkwalk.org
Peekaboo Books http://www.peekaboocaversham.co.uk/
Little Print Company Jewellery http://thelittleprintco.co.uk/index.php
The Club at Mapledurham http://www.theclubatmapledurham.com
Alison Ray, presenting Phoenix Cards (www.phoenix-trading.co.uk/web/alisonray)
Tombola run by Cllr Isobel Ballsdon
Audio Visual Equipment by Vicon Motion Systems Ltd
Story telling by Enchanted Players
Music time by MAD Academy.
Thanks also to our volunteers Jeni Carter, Abi Mason, Carys Strong, Laleh Momajjad-Jackson and of course the wider Heights Primary team.
Prospectus
The Heights Prospectus is now available. Take a look here.
We’re fortunate enough to have the full support and backing of both Reading Borough Council and the Department for Education. See what your local MP and Lead Councillor for Education at the council think about The Heights.
“I am delighted to support The Heights primary school and its wonderfully committed and talented founding group of parents. I wholeheartedly recommend families take up places so their children can gain an excellent education in this local school for the community. I know it will be a wonderful school and I look forward to the doors opening in September 2014!” Rob Wilson MP for East Reading
“We are pleased to welcome The Heights Primary to Reading. The school’s commitment to provide high quality, local education for their community will enrich the provision in the town and be an integral part of a great community of schools that focus all of their energy on the pupils in their care.” Councillor John Ennis, Lead Member for Education, Reading Borough Council
Dorothy Yuille, Co-Chair of All Saints Action Group, Reading, which founded All Saints Junior School with CfBT has provided some feedback on her experience as a parent and leader of a new Free School.All Saints was one of the first Free Schools in the country and have recently had their first Ofsted inspection achieving an Outstanding Rating.
“I have two children at All Saints Junior School, one of the first free schools in the country and in Reading, and they are having a fantastic time. I was part of the parent group which set it up, and it has opened my mind to the opportunities in education that are available for our children. I must admit to having a few sleepless nights, especially the night before sending my child to a school which literally didn’t really exist, apart from a small classroom at the back of a church hall………….however, it was so worth the risk, and it just shows that it’s not the building that makes the school, it’s the Headteacher, the other staff, the children and the parents. If you get that right, you can literally have a school anywhere. Take a risk, it’s really worth it!!”
Dorothy Yuille, Co-Chair of All Saints Action Group, Reading which founded All Saints Junior School with CfBT
Admissions process update
The latest news from Reading Borough Council (who will administer the admissions process for The Heights, alongside the other primary schools in Caversham) is that application packs for places in Reception in 2014 will be sent out during the week commencing 11th November. They will go to all parents of children attending a nursery school, nursery class or other early years setting in Reading. If your child attends nursery or pre-school outside Reading (Kidmore End for example), please contact the Reading Borough Council admissions team. Full details are available on the Council’s website. http://www.reading.gov.uk/residents/EducationandLearning/Schools/Admissions/admissions-primary-infant-schools-2012-2013/
The admissions process closes on 15th January 2014. We hope to be in a position to announce details of our new Headteacher and give an update on location by Christmas, to help parents make an informed decision before the deadline.
As there are no advantages to early submissions of applications, we would encourage parents to submit their applications after we have been able to provide more information on these matters as this will no doubt help to make your decision as informed as possible.
In line with the requirements of the Academies Act 2010 the Heights Primary School Academy Trust will be required to submit a formal consultation report to the Secretary of State for Education before the final form of Funding Agreement can be put in place.
Statute requires that, in accordance with Section 10 of the Act, The Trust must demonstrate that the local community agrees that a Free School is needed and that the Secretary of State should therefore sign the Funding Agreement required for its establishment. This is part of the legal process and in no way effects the Department for Education’s commitment to fund the school,which already has its formal approval. This process gives the government confidence that the information provided in the Evidence of Demand section in the initial bid for the school is accurate. It also demonstrates that the needs of the community or a particular group (faith group, special needs etc.) have been met.
The process only requires us to as the community if the school should open. However we plan to take the opportunity to invite further feedback on the decisions the Trust has made so far. In particular we intend to ask for your feedback on the schools Vision and Education Plan to ensure that we can be fully confident that we’re truly building the school that the community wants.
The Fun and Information day marked the start of our consultation programme in an informal environment. This winter we will be hosting a formal evening meeting, whereby we will present our latest thoughts on the school, giving the opportunity to feedback directly to the team. We will also be launching an online survey and plan to get out and about as much as possible. If you have any events you would like us to attend, please let us know.
A date for your Diary
On 8th December, the Warren and District Residents Association (WADRA) will be hosting a Christmas Fayre to continue their fund raising efforts for the Mapledurham Pavillion. We are delighted to have been offered the opportunity to show our support.We would like to invite you all to come along and have chat about the school’s progress. More details will be published in the November newsletter but please save the date.