School News.. Autumn 2021 update

Saundersfoot CP School and Signsmart.

Saundersfoot CP School has worked with local company signsmart to design and install a fantastic new image for the reception and foyer area.

Headteacher Mr. Nick Allen commented ‘ This design has been a few years in the making really. The large curved wall had been crying out for a feature and a number of staff both past and present expressed desire to include Monkstone point in some form of design. We then took the opportunity to include our recently developed vision, core values and new curriculum four purpose characters. As the wall is in the reception area the final design feature was to include ‘Welcome’ in all the languages spoken within Saundersfoot. I must thank those parents and carers for their help in ensuring the translation was accurate.

We are tremendously pleased with the feature and would like to thank Zung and Kasumi Tran from Signsmart for the artwork and support throughout the design process.

Autumn Term 2021.

Dear parents and carers,

Croeso’n ol, welcome. Thank you for the wonderful return to school, it was a delightful start to the school year seeing all the children make their way into school this week.

The Operational guidance for schools was updated on August 20^th.  This presents schools and educational settings with an issue, whilst the rest of society would appear to ease restrictions the guidance does not go this far for schools. The wording within the document includes:

• Encouraging staff to maintain physical distance from other staff,
• encouraging staff to maintain physical distancing from learners as much as possible,
• maintaining a distance between people while inside and reducing the amount of time they are in face-to-face contact lowers the risk of transmission.
• Movement around the school site should be kept to a minimum.

As a result of the guidance, the school has left many of the arrangements established during 2020/21 unchanged. We are confident in these arrangements and systems, the whole school community is familiar with them and they have been proven to be successful, long may this continue. These arrangements will be kept under regular review.

The only change impacting on you as parents will be the school dismissal – all children at 3:15pm.

In addition to the guidance Welsh Government has also created a Local COVID-19 infection control decision framework for schools and the Local Authority is placed at a  moderate risk level (Level 2).

Team Saundersfoot

Operational guidance for schools and settings to support limited attendance click here

We hope that you are all safe and well. We would like to thank you for keeping in touch with us during this challenging time and for your involvement in, and support of, your child’s learning.

At Saundersfoot CP School we are looking forward to the Summer term and the challenges it is sure to bring.  The following information will help us all to ensure, as much as possible, a safe and purposeful experience as we move into 2021.  By working together we will ensure that our children in Saundersfoot School will feel cared for, ready to learn and safe.

Schools, families and communities are now  truly in a   collaborative approach from both home and school, we do appreciate it is not easy and we are here to help in whatever way we can. The staff wish you all to know that we are committed in helping to maintain literacy, numeracy and social connections for all our pupils.

The school successfully transitioned over to on site teaching and learning during the Spring term, acting on the feedback given as part of the parental survey. Additional feedback is always appreciated as this will help ensure the school continually develops its systems and procedures, helping to keep everyone safe during this extremely pressured and challenging time.

The video below is a sample of our remote learning teaching and learning from Year 6 all the way down to the Nursery.

Parental feedback March 2021.

Saundersfoot School worked extremely hard to provide support, structure and education to our children throughout the pandemic. On day’s where my children needed the schools hub provision they always came out smiling and I can’t thank the staff enough for providing the children not only with an education but a safe enjoyable place as well. 

I felt that the school handled the lockdown fantastically, my daughter had online learning everyday which she engaged in and enjoyed. Thank you

They did everything they could in such hard times. A lot of respect and gratitude to Mr Allen and all staff at the school for their way they adapted so well.

I could not ask for better, the way Saundersfoot CP School managed the hole lockdown was amazing. Massive thank you!

The difference of support with the Google classrooms made a big difference to the children in feeling more like a part of the class. Mrs Evans made real effort to keep that lovely community sense going g in particular, I loved how they all had ‘story time’ together with Miss reading to them and then discussion afterwards as a group. 

We really are genuinely impressed with the schools handling of both lockdowns. The google classroom was excellent and Leon enjoyed interacting with both the teacher and pupils. The system worked very well for our family.

Parental feedback January 2021;

I must say the Live classrooms offer from Saundersfoot School has been brilliant. Children are engaged and working really hard. I realise how much hard work must be going into setting up this new way of working. Whilst nothing beats face to face teaching, what you have all developed has been a triumph as far as I can see. Well done all. Year 2 and  4 parent – Mrs Howells.

The Google meet classroom has been brilliant this week. We are so impressed with the standard of teaching that has been delivered and how you have managed this transition to home learning. We really appreciate how much hard work it has taken to deliver this support and are so grateful. Well done to all the staff at Saundersfoot school! Year 5 parent Mrs McAllister.

Thank you so much for the live lessons. They are brilliant! So impressed with how the school has adapted under these circumstances to help our children. Well done everyone for all your hard work,  Year 3 and 5 parent, Mrs Griffiths. 

It is important to be aware that school IS NOT the same as it was before the COVID-19 crisis. It is also important to realise that government guidance changes frequently, so all plans are subject to further changes outside of our control.

Sfoot Recovery Parental Leaflet
Sfoot Recovery letter 16062020

Estyn November 2019.

We are delighted to share with you the outcome of the recent Estyn inspection visit. Estyn have confirmed that the school has addressed all of the issues identified in the May 2018 inspection.

Key highlights from the report are:

• The standards of teaching and learning have improved significantly across the school. 
• Teachers provide exciting, relevant learning experiences that engage pupils successfully. 
• Teachers have high expectations that their pupils will work hard and try to do their best. 
• All staff have worked hard to develop a consistent approach to providing feedback to pupils 
• Collaborative working at all levels has improved since the core inspection. 
• Teachers and learning support assistants know that their work is valued and are committed to achieving the best outcomes for their pupils 
• The headteacher has managed the changes at the school thoughtfully. He has been consistent in his expectations that all teachers will take part in the school’s improvement journey. There is now a purposeful working culture at the school. 

The school is committed to building upon these firm foundations, ensuring that all pupils make the progress of which they are capable.

To access the full report click here.

Open Afternoon.

Thank you to parents and guardians who attended school for our open afternoon, sharing the learning journey we have gone on as a school. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon with children sharing and leading the learning for parents. The school is always looking for ways to improve, it has made significant progress during the past 14 months and is keen to maintain this development.  Your views are important to us as a school and we encourage all parents to provide feedback helping the school continue its journey.

Message from our Mr Allen and the Governors. 

Choosing the right school for your child is vitally important. Parents want a good education for their child but they also want them to be happy and to feel safe and secure. At Saundersfoot School we believe that we can offer all these things.

The dedication of all staff ensures that they support the development of resilient, creative and ambitious learners who will become positive members of the local and wider community. We also pride ourselves in having strong values within the school to drive good citizenship and help our pupils to be valuable members of our future society. 

Reading about the school is helpful, however, visiting the school is essential so you can experience the nurturing, inclusive ethos within each class and the school.