Dear Families,

 

Well, what a busy couple of weeks it has been! Sorry that this letter is reaching you as we start another week, last week was so busy, time ran away with us all. We have had another jam-packed couple of weeks. You will all now have received the parent overviews for curriculum content for this half term, as always if there is anything you would like to discuss further please get in touch and we will be happy to support and provide further details.

We have had a great week with a focus on our Big RE with specific importance being placed on Buddhism, knowing and understanding the faith and what is celebrated. Young people have been respectful and immersed themselves in the culture to gain all important knowledge and understanding of the faith, beliefs and traditions. We have captured some wonderful learning across the week which is amazing to see.

As we approach the end of this academic year there will be lots of information to share with you. Many families have asked when they will know their child’s class teacher / form tutor for next year. I can reassure you we are working on this currently and you will receive this information along with your child’s end of year report. We were due to have reports out on Friday 7^th July, with this now being a strike day, the date will alter to Monday 10^th July. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this change.

Sponsor Forms and Tombola Donations

On Thursday 20^th July, we will be hosting our Pride Festival and Summer Fayre. Thank you to those who have already returned your sponsorship forms and monies for our obstacle confetti run! The support from families has been amazing. If you have not yet returned yours, don’t panic, all sponsor forms and monies should be returned by Friday 14^th July so there is still plenty of time! As we have stated before, please do not worry if you are not able to participate, we do understand the cost of living crisis is impacting on families.

We are still looking for donations for a tombola stand for the event, if you have any donations you are willing to donate to school we would be most grateful, any donations of toiletries, sweets, chocolates or general items would be very welcome and well received to support the fayre and running of the tombola. If these can be sent into school anytime from now until the 14^th July we would really appreciate your support.

Important Information and Staffing Changes

As the end of the year approaches we do have some staff leaving us for career progression and pastures new. As with any environment, there are always changes and the need to ensure our young people are prepared and understand that change can be safe and is not always predictable. With this in mind I feel it imperative you know the changes ahead and how we plan to move forward as a school.

Laura Ward, our current Assistant Headteacher will be leaving us at the end of the academic year to support young people within a role as Deputy Headteacher at a mainstream primary school. Laura has been part of the Bader family from the start, and I know this decision has been a tricky one for her to make. We wish Laura all the very best of luck as she begins her new adventure. We have appointed Matthew Gelsthorpe who is a Key Stage Leader currently within a local primary school and Simon Fisher who is already working within school to take the posts of Assistant Headteacher. We welcome Matthew in September and will be working to ensure there is a handover between Laura, Matthew and Simon to ensure we have a smooth start in September.

Emma Parker, our Upper School Maths teacher will be leaving us at the end of the school year to take a consultancy role within our Trust – Nexus. I know that this decision has been a tough one for Emma but she will still be working with us as a school and I know she is very happy to be able to touch the lives of more young people within their journey with Maths! Emma has been an important staff member in our journey so far at Bader. I am sure you will all join me in wishing her the very best of luck. We are really pleased to have secured a Maths teacher – Helen White who will join the Bader family in September to continue on the leadership and teaching of Maths across school. Helen has a wealth of experience within the teaching of Maths and supporting young people with SEND.

Sharon Liddle, our Office Manager will be leaving Bader at the end of this academic year to take a new post within a mainstream primary school. We wish Sharon the very best of luck in the new chapter of her journey and I am confident you will join us in wishing Sharon the best of luck. We currently have an advert out to recruit to this position and will update you when we have further information.

We will continue to keep you posted of any known staffing changes ahead of the new school year. As always if any families have any questions and wish to discuss this further, please contact the school office in the first instance and we will ensure your queries are answered.

NEU Strike Action – Wednesday 5^th July & Friday 7^th July

You will be aware from a previous letter that further NEU strike action has been announced for Wednesday 5^th July and Friday 7^th July 2023. We will be operating a partial closure on these dates. We will be operating an in-school offer for young people who are not able to access home learning on these two days and need to be in school, however this is likely not to be a full curriculum offer due to staffing but we can provide child care should this be needed.

As always, the intelligence we can’t gather is how many staff in other schools are going on strike, which in turn impacts on our whole workforce as – where an employee has a child of school age – they may not know until the morning of the 5^th and 7^th July whether their child’s school is open or not, which may impact on their ability to attend work. Unfortunately, we cannot therefore fully rule out having to fully close at short notice, but hope you understand we are doing all we can to give families as much support and notice as possible to minimise any disruption.

We would like to confirm which pupils are attending on Wednesday 5^th July and Friday 7^th July, when strike action will be taken and therefore ask that you complete a Microsoft forms to support us in planning, thank you to those who have done so already. The link can be obtained from the school office. Please note, there is an option to request a packed lunch if your child is in receipt of free school meals.

Whilst we respect a trade union’s right to strike, we also apologise for the inconvenience and uncertainty this causes for families during this time. We thank you as always for your continued support.

PTA / Friends of Bader Meeting

As you know we have been working with a group of parents to support the running of events across school and to strengthen parental voice within the school community. As we are fast approaching the Summer Fayre and Pride Festival we would like to welcome any parents into school who feel they are able to offer their support and help on Thursday 29^th June at 9:15am. We understand this is short notice and if you would like to attend but are unable to please let the school office know. Similarly, if you are able to attend please could you confirm your attendance with the school office. We look forward to seeing you there. It is hard to believe there are only a few weeks left of this academic year!

Parent Sessions

Please see below information regarding upcoming events from Your Place.

Dates for your diaries

Please see below activities which are already planned for the coming half term and into the final half term. There will be more dates added as we move through the summer term. We will provide more information closer to the time where needed.

• Monday 3^rd July Eco Power Stadium Tour for Football Skills Lunchtime Club

• **New Dates Added - Wednesday 5^th July & Friday 7^th July NEU Strike Days – Partial Closure to school**

• ** Change of Date – Monday 10^th July – End of Year Reports Home to Families**

• Week Commencing 10^th July – Parent Consultations

• Thursday 13^th July – Active Day

• Thursday 13^th July – Primary age Trust Olympics

• Week commencing 17^th July – Pride and Diversity Week

• Thursday 20^th July – Pride Festival and Summer Fayre 1:30pm (parents welcome)

• Wednesday 26^th July - Whole School Cinema Trip & Pizza Party

• Thursday 27^th July – School closes for Summer at 3pm

• Monday 4^th September – School closed to pupils INSET day

• Tuesday 5^th September – School reopens for Autumn Term for pupils

Finally…

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Please do not hesitate to contact us if there is anything you wish to discuss further.

Kind regards,

Viki Drew
Headteacher