Safeguarding

Keeping children safe is always our number one priority. The INSET days at the start of the year are a key part of this with refresher training for all staff on different aspects of safeguarding forming the bulk of our time. Each year the government updates 'Keeping Children Safe in Education', a document that lays out our duties and priorities in this regard. This is then used to inform the Staffordshire model safeguarding policy each year which is then adapted by leaders across Fierté to match our contexts. The policy is then added to our website and is available by clicking here - Safeguarding Policy

At Manor any safeguarding concerns are reported by staff to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), Mr Simon Robson, or in their absence, to the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL), Mrs Rebecca Armstrong.

Volunteers

Our fabulous team of dedicated volunteers make a huge difference to life at Manor. We have volunteers who have trained to take reading groups for half an hour three days a week; PTA volunteers who do everything from selling coffee at events to coordinating the landscaping of a 'peace garden' and running fund raising events; volunteers who have planted up pots around the school and decorated The Nest (our outdoor classroom) for autumn; volunteers who help on visits or come and hear readers... the list is endless. The reward for these volunteers is our heartfelt thanks, but mainly the pride that they get to feel in the beautiful community they are contributing to and the wonderful environment they are creating for our children.

If you would like to be a part of this Manor volunteer force, at the heart of the Manor family, and you have a little time to spare, then do pop in to the school office, and we can give you a short form to complete. 

Nut Free School

Start-of-year reminder that we are a 'nut free school'. We do have children and staff with a number of allergies in school, and anaphylactic reactions to these, particularly nuts, can be a killer, so this is vitally important to keep them safe. Staff have also had their annual training on allergens on INSET Day. 

Please can we remind you:

• No nuts in lunch boxes. This includes chocolate spread which may or may not contain nuts. We can't tell which it is so please avoid altogether.
• No nuts as snacks at playtimes. This includes in cereal or chocolate bars.
•  If we ask for boxes for junk modelling etc. please don't send boxes that may have contained nuts e.g. Crunchy Nut Cornflake boxes.
• No home-made baking to be sent in. PTA may occasionally sell their own baking that is labelled with allergens in line with Natasha's Law, but this is sold to adults only.

School staff will do their best to manage this complex issue and may occasionally tend to err on the side of caution in trying to keep the children and staff safe so please bear with us. We will endeavour to communicate any concerns about the contents of lunch boxes etc. as sensitively as possible. Thank you for your support in this.

Lunchtime Supervisor Vacancy

Mr Hounslow is moving on to another job at the end of the month so we have an opening for a new lunchtime supervisor that we are advertising. If you, or someone you know, would like to join our Manor staff team then click on the link below to find more details:

LTS advert

Closing date for applications is Friday 19th September.

After School Clubs

After school sports club letters have gone out for our exciting new 'zorbing' club starting next Tuesday 9th. This is open to Year 1 upwards and is first come first served. Don't worry if you don't get a place this half term. If the club is full you will automatically be put onto a waiting list that gives you priority the next half term.

Owls multi-sports club will also start next week on Wednesday 10th with Mrs Sheridan, so make sure to get your names down for that Owls.

The following week, on Monday 15th, we have Leicester Tigers tag rugby after-school club starting for Penguins. We are the current reigning champions of tag rugby in Tamworth, having won the tournament last year, so this is the chance to hone those skills (and have some fun!) Penguins. Look out for letters coming out shortly.

School Games Platinum Award Winners!

For the past 5 or 6 years Manor has achieved the Gold School Games Award for the level of sport, both competitive and inclusive, that we have offered the children. Due to that consistent high standard we have become one of a small handful of Tamworth schools to achieve the Platinum Award. This is no mean feat for a small school. It takes lots of voluntary staff time and commitment to allow us to enter so many after school competitions including rugby and swimming where we won competitive trophies against big schools last year, and Sport4All events where those who don't often get chosen for competitive sport get a chance to have fun at games such as boccia or sitting volleyball. We are proud that every child is offered the chance to represent the school in an event should they wish at several points in their Manor journey.

Summer Reading Challenge

One week left to complete the library service's Summer Reading Challenge by Monday 15th September! You will remember that all children received their first three of the 6 books they need to complete the challenge before we broke up for the summer. If you haven't returned those books and read the next three then make sure you do so the children get their medals. We have high hopes that Manor will be one of the best schools at completing the challenge in Tamworth but there is always some stiff reading competition from other schools! 

Community Library

Our amazing PTA have secured some funding from the parish council to pay for a 'community library' at the front of school! This will be a small shed/cupboard near the noticeboard where books can be donated and swapped. We will have a child's section and an adult section. Look out for it and make use of it when it appears. It will be open to the local community while the school gates are open too. Now, I must finish my book, so I'm ready to swap it for a new one!

School Improvement Update

Following our successful Ofsted last school year where we were Good in all areas, we are continuing to focus on the areas for improvement we identified to consolidate that judgement and move the school on to the next level. The three broad areas identified were Early Years, Special Educational Needs and Behaviour. We had already added Writing as an area we wanted to improve. Improvement Plans have been developed with short, medium and long term goals in each of these areas. A brief overview of our work towards these goals is below:

Early Years – A change over of staff and refurbishment of the environment has created a superb base to build from. Mrs Armstrong is re-introducing 'Drawing Club' as a model for improving writing. She has a clear long term plan that is coherently designed and sequenced to build on what children know and can do.

SEND - Our SEND Coordinator, Mr Forman, is working hard with the Trust Inclusion Officer, Mrs McGill on ensuring that screening for SEND is up-to-date, consistent across school, and ongoing, whilst making sure that the quality of provision for SEND children in the classrooms is of the highest quality. There are also training programmes planned in across the year to support staff in adapting lessons for SEND children.

Behaviour - Over the past year staff have worked on aligning the behaviour practice across school so children have a consistent message of high expectations from lining up, to moving around school, coming into classrooms, getting equipment out etc. Each of these steps is discussed by staff and approaches agreed and compiled in a staff handbook by Mr Lloyd. The start of a new school year is always a key period for setting those general expectations and staff are working hard to build those new routines that will support behaviour through the year.

Writing - Over the past year we have introduced a new writing scheme across the school called Literacy Tree. This has had a positive impact on the work we are seeing in books and it has allowed children more frequent opportunities to write at length and to show their abilities. It also introduces grammar in the context of a high quality text rather than as a stand alone allowing children to use and apply their grammar in their writing. The government published a new 'Writing Framework' in July and Mrs Armstrong presented this to staff at Inset day. This will also be incorporated into our writing plans going forward.

These are our 4 priority areas but there many more aspects of school that we are constantly working on to improve. No matter how good we are, we will always be looking for areas to further improve.