Dear Pupils and Parents: Well summer is upon us at last and we have said goodbye to our year 6

pupils. We wish them well in their new schools and hope they return to

visit in the future.

We have now received our exam results and we need to improve in maths

which is why we have put so much into training staff and buying a new

maths scheme which the pupils seem to be enjoying. Our reading and

writing progress is still good though. Results can be found on our web-

site.

We have also been successful in a bid for a £2,500 grant from the

Heathrow fund for new noticeboards in the hallway, and these look much

smarter. Thank you to our governors for the link to this fund.

We will also be adding a different testimonial to the

newsletter each month from September and on the website. Thank you

to the parents involved.

Transition classes went well on the whole today.

We look forward to seeing the students back in school on Tuesday 5th

September. Our staff have been sending out some information on holi-

day clubs and we have put some links to activities on our website.

2017

Highest Points Trip The 5 children that were the highest points earners over this last term had a fun

filled day out. It started at Jump in and this was obviously too much for some!

We then went on to enjoy lunch at Pizza Hut before going snow tubing. Everyone

had a great time including the staff.

Year 6 Residential trip On the 5th to the 7th of July, Jupiter class went to the PGL centre at Liddington for

their residential trip. They got to try a very wide range of activities, including giant

swing, rock climbing, raft building, canoeing, fencing, archery, zip wire and caving.

They all behaved well and had an excellent time!

NHS Commissioners in East Berkshire would like to raise awareness of an online video they have launched to help keep kids safe this summer.

Called ‘Keep your kids live and kicking this summer’, the video highlights the risks of leaving babies and infants unsupervised near water or open windows, particularly when parents and carers get distracted. Up to 60 children drown every year in the UK. However, most of these deaths

could be prevented.

Attendance:

Being at school consistently is one the best ways to help your child to

be successful. When students are absent, they miss out on vital work

which may make them fall behind.

Students should be at school no later then 9am, so that they’re in their

classroom and ready to learn.

The current whole school attendance is 92.7%, which is slightly down on

the autumn term figure of 93.02%.

Important Dates:

Friday 21 July 2017

School closed to pupils at 12pm

Tuesday 5 September 2017

Pupils back

KS1 and KS2 End Of Year Trips

The end of year KS1 Trip this year was to Odds Farm. The children

thoroughly enjoyed their activities throughout the day which included:

feeding the animal, pedal go-karting, watching the sheep race, the maze

and the indoor fun house full of different types of play areas and slides.

The behaviour at the trip was impeccable and the children were an

excellent representation of Littledown School.

For the whole day trip, KS2 went to Whipsnade Zoo to meet a whole va-

riety of animals. We saw some amazing animals and had a talk from the

keepers all about Lions and Cheetahs and got to handle real skulls and

furs from the zoo.

We especially enjoyed seeing the chimpanzees and the butterfly house.

September Classes:

Saturn Year 6—Mr Winter

Jupiter Year 6—Mr Davies

Mercury Year 5—Mr Abdus-Samad

Mars Year 4—Ms Heaffey

Pluto Year 3 —Mr Kapila

Comet Year 2—Miss Malone

Nurture— Mrs Hughes

Year 6 PGA Golf: The Year 6 class were invited to the PGA golf tournament at

Wentworth Golf course. They had an hour long golf lesson with

the Golf Roots project, and then got to watch some of the

World’s best golfers practising and warming up.

Year 6 Fishing: As an end of term treat, Jupiter class went to Watmore Farm

Fishery to spend the day learning to fish. All the boys caught

several fish, including some biggies!

Why is it Important to be in School on Time?

It’s important to be punctual as it teaches children how to be on time for work in the future.

Children will have time to catch up with friends before first lesson. It is important that children do not miss any work at the start of the

lesson. When they are late, it is harder for them to catch up and they do not feel they are part of the group.

Children should take an active part in all lesson activities from the start.

Arriving late will cause disruption to the teacher and other students.

Attendance and Attainment

Our school aims for each child to have a 100% attendance record. Children must come to school every day. Our school’s attendance tar-

get is 95% but we always aim for 100%. Our aim is for children to learn so that they can achieve their goals. Children need to get the best results they can to secure their dream

jobs. If a child is not in school, he or she is falling behind and it’s harder to

catch up. Your child may feel discouraged, confused or left out. If a child is genuinely ill, the school needs a medical note or a tele-

phone call by 9am so their absence is authorised. For frequent absences a medical evidence form will need to be completed.

Try to book medical appointments outside of school hours. Remember – if a child takes one day off every week, at the end of the

school year, it will give a total of nearly eight weeks off school.

Attendance Procedures

A child may be placed as an attendance concern as a form of support to improve attendance if the child is below 92% attendance.

Parents may be invited to a meeting at school to discuss ways of help-ing improve their child’s attendance.

Parents may receive a letter from school notifying them about their child’s attendance.

Parents may receive a phone call home regarding their child’s attend-ance and/or punctuality.

A child’s good attendance will contribute to great attainment.

Extended Leave

Families should take holidays in school holidays. All absences in term time due to going on holiday or any other reasons for extended leave

will be unauthorised. Extra time off during term time will affect your child’s attendance and attainment. Your child will miss: Valuable lessons

Social time

Possible educational visits and trips

If your child is taken out of school on extended leave in term time, you may be fined (£60 per parent per child).

Action for Littledown on Term-Time Absence Requests

Request for leave of

absence

Are there clear

exceptional circum-

No

Are there possible

exceptional circum-

stances? Consider

additional

Are there possible

exceptional circum-Yes

Yes Authorised

Refer to

governors

No

Is the application for

more than 10 ses-

sions?

No Refer to gover-

nors

Yes

Unauthorised

absence and

penalty notice