Updates from Mr. Heeley - 11th May 2021

11th May 2021
AN UPDATE FROM MR. HEELEY
 
Good afternoon all!
 
- All of the children and staff are working extremely hard on catching up on the learning that was missed during the Covid-19 lockdowns. We have got a number of new catch-up initiatives in place across the school to help all of our children fill any gaps in their learning that they have missed.
 
This includes a £10,000 research fund that Mr. Sayers (Head of Research) has secured for Lemington Riverside to run a special reading/phonics catch up programme for all children across the school.
In Early Years we are having a huge focus on talk, speaking and language - we are taking part in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme and LIVELY Speech and Language Programme - both of which will massively benefit our youngest children. Across the school we are having a huge push on basic reading, mathematical and writing skills. We have invested heavily in reading books recently and all children have been reassessed with their reading ability to ensure they are reading books that they can access and that also challenge them.
 
- It seems an absolute age since we were allowed to get out and about on visits and trips. Behind the scenes we are working hard on planning a number of exciting day visits and also residential visits that will be shared with you once the Government restrictions ease. All of our visits will continue to follow the very latest guidance.
 
- Behind the scenes I am in talks with a number of groups/individuals about some large scale projects that will be amazing for our children, school and wider community - I can't share details yet - but we certainly have some very exciting months ahead of us!
 
- We are also busy planning events in-school for when parents/carers are allowed to join us once again. Again, these will be confirmed once Government restrictions ease further (hopefully not too much longer to wait).
 
- In June our children will be working with a well known Northern artist on an exciting project to really brighten up our downstairs hall - watch this space for further details!
 
- We continue to work hard to make the school environment as attractive as we can for our children and staff. Over the summer holidays, all of the internal doors, windows and wall panels will be replaced with modern alternatives (whilst keeping the character of our lovely building). We also have improvements to our playgrounds and brand new fire doors being installed on the exit from the Main Building to Rokeby Street.
 
Thanks so much for your support - it's not been easy for any of us over the last year, but I appreciate how much we've pulled together as a community as we continue to build a school that we can all be proud of!
 
Take care,
 
Mr. H