Woodland School
Our pupils had another great session with Kael today thanks to the generosity of the PTFA. Children explored the site, made maps from found natural materials and investigated the skin of a fox. Once again, some children astonished us with their knowledge of the natural world while others showed how much they enjoyed this way of learning by drinking in all the new knowledge.
Huge thank yous go to Kael for facilitating the sessions, Chloe for being his hard working assistant right through the day, the PTFA for funding this experience for the children and everyone who has ever bought a cake or a raffle ticket or come along to a mini monster bash or a coffee morning - every penny the PTFA makes goes towards enriching the children's experience at school.

Chagford Eco Pantry
A reminder that the Pantry in our reception area is there for everyone to use. You don't need to be signposted from any authority or to be in receipt of benefits. If you're short of a tin of beans or fancy a biscuit with your tea just pop into the reception area and have a look at what is available this week. A lot of this is overstock from local cafes and businesses, and is food which would end up going to landfill if you don't divert it. I would like to see the whole range of the community dipping into the pantry to reduce waste and to share in the bounty. Do me a favour and take something next time you're passing so that everyone in the community knows that they can.

Here's a picture of our good friend, Lennie, helping herself to a tin of beans. Be more Lennie. By the way, that amazing-looking Christmas Pudding is still there - someone come and pop it in their cupboard for the big day.

Thank You Mrs Lloyd - Welcome Back Mrs Robertson

We are very sad today to be saying goodbye to Mrs Lloyd who has been teaching Year Two since the start of the school year in September. She has become a much-loved part of the school community and she will be missed as much by the staff as by her Year Two Pupils.
It's lovely, however, to welcome back Mrs Robertson after her maternity leave. She'll be teaching the Year Twos now and I know she is ready to give them engaged and enriched learning. I can't wait to see what they get up to.

COATS
We are deep into November now - it's December next week - and some children are still coming to school without coats. I know that Dartmoor children are a hardy bunch but I'm seeing a lot of damp, chilly children after play times. I know that a lot of them are probably saying, "Oh, we don't need coats", but, using the power invested in me as principal, I'm saying "Yes you do". Feel free to take my name in vain and if your child is refusing to wear their coat to school tell them, "I'm sorry but Mr Finch says you must!"

Attendance
Our attendance today was 94.9%. Thanks to every child and every family who are coming to school on time every single day. We would love to see an uptick and for us to be regularly getting back into the upper reaches of the 96 percents or even, I dream of it, the 97s. Of course, if your child is poorly and needs to be off school then that is your call but don't forget that walking inbto school generally has an extraordibnarily healing effect on poorly children. Also, remember that if they are feeling a bit rubbish in the morning but perk up a bit by elevenses, it's fine to bring them into school for the rest of the day. 

Please remember that I cannot 'allow' term time holidays. Those will always go down as an unauthorised absence. We are always grateful to be informed so that we aren't worrying where your child is or if they are safe but we cannot and do not authorise absence for reasons like visiting realtives or taking postponed holidays.

Please remember that we teach in sequences. A day's absence may seem neither here nor there but to the child it can be more than that. If we've been planning how to build our own catapults to explore forces and your child misses the day we actually build them then that's a big thing for them. If your child misses the nday we plan out our story and is then in school on the day we write them up but without a plan then that's a big thing too. We know that the vast majority of parents and carers are doing their utmost to get their child to school each day. Thank you for that - we know it's makikng a difference.

Theatre Alibi - the Parcel

Huge thanks to the PTFA who funded and organised our visit from Theatre Alibi today. The children came into the ahll to see a huge package addressed to 'Chagford Primary School' and over the next hour were astonished to see what was in the parcel and what came out of it.
This is what the blurb said...
"A giant mysterious parcel has just arrived and, as if that isn’t exciting enough, it soon becomes clear that two people live inside it! They travel around the world, deciding where to go by placing their finger on a map and posting themselves there. They have breathtaking stories to share of magnificent travels, friendships made and the many marvels of the postal service. But how did they come to live in this parcel? Why have they posted themselves here? And where are they off to next?
Come along and meet this intriguing pair, they’ll even show you around their astonishing little home. From the outside it may look like a regular package, but once opened it transforms into something quite wondrous, and full of surprises…"

Children were invited to write to the two characters who live in that mysterious box - I'm told that each and every letter gets a response. So, if your child would like to take up this opportunaity, please address letters to;

Kit and Tobin
c/o Mrs Edgell
Emmanuel Hall
Emmanuel Road
Exeter
EX4 1EJ

Children laughed and laughed and also thought a bit. What a wonderful opportunity to experience something right out of the ordinary. We are so grateful that the PTFA help us to offer our pupils such a range of rich experiences.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Parents' Evening - Wednesday 23rd November and Thursday 1st December
School Photos - Thursday 1st December
PTFA Coffee Morning - Saturday 19th November 10:00 - 12:00 a.m.
PTFA Christmas Fayre - Saturday 10th December 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Nativity Play - Wednesday 14th December 2:30 p.m.
Carol Concert - Thursday 15th December 5:00 p.m.
End of Term - Friday 16th December

Helpful Holidays Calendar Competition

The children have been absolutely agog to hear the winners of the Helpful Holidays Calendar COmpettition. This was going to be announced in assembly this afternoon but I'm rather glad we didn't - the children would probably have popped with excitement.  Anyway - the waiting is over - here are the winners...

​January – Satori Diffey, age 7, Chagford Church of England Primary School

February – Lottie Broughton, age 6, Chagford Church of England Primary School

March – Leo Davis, age 6, Chagford Church of England Primary School

April – Tabitha Stevens, age 7, Chagford Church of England Primary School

May – Evangeline Warner de Paula, age 7, Chagford Church of England Primary School

June – Sam Chambers, Chagford Church of England Primary School

July – Matilda Rowe, age 8, Chagford Church of England Primary School

August – Louis Lawrence, age 7, Chagford Church of England Primary School

September – Frida Lawrence, age 9, Chagford Church of England Primary School

October – Faye Thomas, age 9, Chagford Church of England Primary School

November – Charlie Goudge, age 10, Chagford Church of England Primary School

December – Benjamin Chambers, Chagford Church of England Primary School

Worms
There has been an outbreak of worms in Key Stage One. This is an irritating but entirely treatable condition. We encourage children to wash and sanitise their hands throughout the day but we would advise every parent to be vigilant.  This information comes from the NHS website.
ThreadwormsThreadworms (pinworms) are tiny worms in your poo. They're common in children and spread easily. You can treat them without seeing a GP.
Check if it's threadwormsYou can spot worms in your poo. They look like pieces of white thread.
You might also see them around your child's bottom. The worms usually come out at night while your child is sleeping
Other symptoms can include:

• extreme itching around the anus or vagina, particularly at night
• irritability and waking up during the night

Less common signs of worms include:

• weight loss
• wetting the bed
• irritated skin around the anus

You can buy medicine (mebendazole) for threadworms from pharmacies. This is usually a chewable tablet or liquid you swallow.
Treat everyone in your household, even if they do not have symptoms.
Tell the pharmacist if you need to treat a child under 2, or if you're pregnant or breastfeeding. Treatment might not be suitable and you may need to speak to a GP.

Attendance
Attendance is creeping back up again after quite a dip in the last few weeks. Today we had 96.4% attendacne which I regard as being 'not quite good enough'. As I've shared before, I would expect attendance in a primary school to be at or above 97% in the absence of serious factors.
There have been some bugs going around making children poorly and, of course, if a child is ill, especially if there has been dihorrea or vomiting involved, we really don't want them to be at school to pass it on to others. As parents, you are the ones who need to make the call and we respect your choices. I would just encourage you to help children come to school if you think the case is 'borderline', so often we see children perk up soon after they arrive at school and it has to be better for them to be at school learning with friends than frowsting on the sofa feeling sorry for themselves. And, of course, if they do take a turn ofr the worse and really do need to be at home, we can always call you. 

Another factor that has been knocking attendance in the last few weeks has been unauthorised absence. As a head teacher there is no statutory way that I can authorise termtime holidays or visits. This is not about the school, the trist or the county - it is law. We are grateful that you inform us about holidays that you choose to take in term time because that means that we know where your child is, and we do not have immediate safeguarding concerns, but it will still be marked down as an unauthorised absence and may add towards trigger points where it raises concerns.

When you are at your child's parents evening, do ask for your child's current attendacne percentage - you may be surprised how much a day here and a day there might add up to a significant amount of absence. Children with higher attendance do better at school.

REAL PE

We were privileged to have a day this week with the fantastic trainers from REAL PE.
REAL PE is a scheme that takes a really fresh look at physical education - focussing less on traditional sports and more on creativity, social and personal aspects, health and fitness and applying physical learning.  It's a really great addition to our teaching which seems to really work for a lot of children, especially some who have been feeling left out or turned off by a focus on football, netball, rugby and other games. On Thursday we hosted a trainer from the organisation who gavce every class a model lesson so that teachers could observe and adapt their teaching. Each class had a ball, learning new games, new activities and new ways to learn in PE. Thanks to Mr Frewin for organising this. 

Woodland School

Every pupil in Years one to six enjoyed a session in our woodland area with a brilliant outdoor activity facilitator on Friday. They learned how he makes fire with a bow drill, got to handle a tanned badger skin and think all about the wildlife we share our landscape with. They explored the area and made little shelters - which were tested with a watering can! HUGE HUGE thanks to the PTFA for making this possible and to Anna Goudge and Chloe Brooks-Warner without whom it would not have happened. Thanks to Kael who ran the sessions - they really were very much appreciated by the children and we'd love to do more of this going forward. Do enjoy this gallery of gorgeous photographs from the day - we are really blessed.

Thanks
As most of you will know, we have been struggling with staffing at Chagford Primary this week. Lots of people have been poorly and we have been working very hard to keep the school fully staffed and safe for all the children. Sadly, as a result, we had to cancel our attendance at the Castle Drogo Cross Country Competition. We just didn't have enough staff available to make sure it could happen safely. At the end of the day, the children's safety is our very top concern and if we can't be really sure we've done everything we can to mitigate risk we have to cancel. I'd like to say a big thank-you to everyone who helped to keep us going this week: the volunteers who came to help us cover lunch break; the supply teachers who did such a professional job; the colleagues who supported them; and, by no means least, the children who dealt with new adults in their classrooms with grace and flexibility - you made us proud.

Three Hares LSB
It was great to introduce two new governors to our Local Stakeholder Board at our half-termly meeting held yesterday.  These meetings follow a set agenda prescribed by the Trust which help keep us focused and ensure we don’t get side-tracked by discussions that may make the meeting overrun…  Last night, our meeting lasted about 1½ hours, and we often find that we are joined briefly by children or pets that require our attention, and usually earn a little “aaaah” from the rest of the group!

Leonie McGowan was formally appointed on Wednesday this week, which was perfect timing for her first meeting.  Lennie is our new SEND Lead Governor, replacing Dr Ben Morris who recently stood down.  Lennie has particular expertise in this area, as she has a child with autism, and therefore brings a wealth of knowledge and real-life experience with her.  We are very lucky to have her join us. 

The SEND Lead Governor role takes the lead on monitoring SEND provision (although the LSB retains collective responsibility) and:
 
• is the link between the LSB and the schools (Principals and/or Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo), reporting to the LSB on steps being taken to ensure compliance;
• ensures appropriate challenge to leaders so that SEND remains high on the schools’ agendas and that the schools have high aspirations for SEND pupils;
• understands how the schools identify who is a SEND pupil, including at points of transition;
• familiar with the individual school’s SEND policy;
• understands how specific money (e.g. Pupil Premium) is allocated;
• discusses with the Principals / SENCo the outcomes of the schools’ monitoring and evaluation of the provision and effectiveness made for pupils with SEND;
• understands how the schools approach teaching to SEND pupils and makes reasonable adjustments to ensure SEND pupils access a broad and balanced curriculum;
• knows what additional support is available to SEND learners.

We agreed as a Board that we will commence our school visits again this half term, and hope to meet some of you at the school gates, or at one of the upcoming events, be that the Remembrance Day Services or Christmas festivals – or anything in between!

Mel & Liz
[email protected]
[email protected]    

Remembrance Day
At school, we marked Remembrance Day three times this week. On Wednesday in our Collective Worship, the Vicar, Reverend Paul, spoke about what we choose to remember and how we choose to remember it. Mrs Armstrong took a Collective Worship and focused more on understanding the specifics of Remembrance Day- what it marks and what we need to remember. On Friday morning at 11:00, all the children from Years One to Six stood in perfect rank on the playground and observed the two minute silence. We heard the bells from St Michael the Archangel and then the sounding of The Last Post. Children's behaviour was perfectly respectful and they had interesting thoughts to share. 

Pupils and families are very warmly welcomed to join the service of Remembrance at the church on Sunday morning. People will gather from 10:30 before the service which will take place outside at the War Memorial. The service is intended to be fully inclusive for children and to those of many faiths and none. There will be readings and a few words. It will be all over by 11:30 at the latest. Please do go along if you are able to. 

It has been a strange week weatherwise with torrential rain which made driving in the lanes really quite scary at times and then, on other days, glorious autumn sunshine.
Similarly, for us at school, it has been a week with joys and challenges. We have had a number of staff off sick throughout the week. One colleague caught Covid while away on half term and has been at home isolating since so as to be sure not to pass it onto us. Other staff have had various coughs and colds. I expect the same has been true for parents and carers, so please accept our warmest sympathies - I hope you are able to keep the house warm and to take the rest you need to get better.
The joys of the week have been considerable however. Joining in with the 'Celebrating the Earth' event at the church on Tuesday was very special, and lots of children have been involved in sporting fixtures including tag rugby and netball. The school has been calm, kind and purposeful.
Huge well done and thanks to our Year Ones, Twos and Threes who have been very flexible and accommodating around staff absence. Year Two in particular have shown the best of themselves as they have split up to join Year One and Year Three for their learning. Here's hoping that next year everyone is back in school to teach and that we can get back to normal.

Chagford Eco Pantry

The Chagford Eco Pantry is up and running and ready for business in the recpetion area at the front of our school. It is stocked with a mix of fresh, dry and canned foods and other useful things like cleaning products, nappies and sanitary products. There's some treats in there too. Do come along and have a look.

This project is entirely dependent on two sets of people. Those who donate and those who take the donations - we need both! You do not need to be signposted to the eco-pantry - it's there for everyone. You do not need to be in need or receiving benefits - it's for everyone.
If you see something you fancy in the pantry, it's yours to take. If you have been too busy to grab something for tea please take what you can use. If you like fresh veg and know that the produce in Lidl doesn't last so long, feel free to check out what is in the pantry.
Times are hard for many of us and they are going to get harder through the winter - the eco-pantry can help ease the pressure for every family - come along and help yourself! Similarly, if you have surplus, do please share!

The logo for the eco-pantry was designed by our pupil Max Horncastle. We were very pleased to see this story celebrated in the Parish Magazine!

Town Twinning Project
Friends in Moretonhampstead have been in touch to let me know about their twinning project and to invite us all to get involved. Moretonhampstead has been twinned with Betton in Brittany for over forty years and has an active link. They are really keen to invite younger people and families to get involved in the Twinning Adventure. Twinning, they say, offers a unique cultural, affordable and educational experience. They write;
"We had a very successful visit from our Betton Twinners in August, including a visit to Chagford Show. It was particularly heartwarming to notice how many young people joined in with the activities we provided and mixed well with the young people from Betton.
On Friday 11th November 2022 we are hosting a Bring and Share Supper, combined with a small AGM, which will be held in the Moretonhampstead Community Centre at 7p.m. We will be providing information and encouraging new participants to join us in our planned 2023 visit to Betton."
Families from the Chagford Primary Community are very warmly welcomed to this event.

Local Stakeholder Board Update

This week, we would like to introduce Mike Davies.  He is a solicitor and has been living in Okehampton for 18 months with his wife and two children, who both attend South Tawton Primary School.  Mike has recently joined the Three Hares LSB, and will take on a Lead Role in Resources, which includes interrogating how pupil premium and sports premium money is spent, and its impact on the children.  As a new governor, there is plenty of mandatory training to be undertaken first and actually, all governors annually revisit their training needs to identify any gaps that could be filled.  For example, we have all recently ensured our Safeguarding Young People, The Prevent Duty, and Data Protection training is up to date, so we are fully able to engage safely and appropriately with the pupils and staff at all three schools in the Three Hares. 
 
Away from our desks, Liz and I have recently enjoyed attending harvest festivals at Chagford and North Tawton.  It’s been an absolute joy to see the churches full of youthful energy blasting out Cauliflowers Fluffy, alongside more traditional Harvest hymns. 
 
We have also attended a few meetings led by the Trust, most notably the Chairs Forum, which is a useful opportunity for us to speak with the other LSB Chairs within the Trust, and find out what everyone else is up to, to identify any risks or challenges we are facing, and to raise anything we feel needs to be brought to the Trust’s attention.
 
As always, if you would like to contact us, please email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Mel Holyoak & Liz Davidson