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This half-term is flying by and we will be at the end before we know it. The last fortnight in school has been very busy and I have a lot to share today!

Don't forget to follow Abbeys Primary parents and carers group on Facebook for the most up-to-date information.

Staffing update

I am pleased to say that unlike many schools, we are fully staffed for September and I am happy with the staffing structure planned for the 2023-24 academic year. The teacher recruitment crisis is a major issue and we are lucky to have such fabulous teachers.

Sadly, there will be one change to the staff team next year. Miss Harrison, is leaving us and moving on to gain more experience in another Primary School. Miss Harrison has been teaching at Abbeys for 7 years and she has taught almost every child here! Whilst we know it is important for teachers to move on and experience other settings, we will miss Miss Harrison's kind and caring ways and I know everyone will join me in wishing her the very best for the future and for her wedding this Summer too! Goodbye and Good luck Miss Harrison!

Your child will find out who their next class teacher is on Friday 30th June. On Monday 3rd July we are having our move up day and after school you will have the opportunity to meet the new teachers and see where you child will be based in September. Exciting times!

STRIKE ACTION

Following my email earlier in the week, I can confirm that some classes at Abbeys will be closed for Strike action on the 5th and 7th July. It is imperative, if you have other children in school, they still attend- please do not keep your children off of school unnecessarily.

The classes that are closed for both days are:

Fountains and Belmont

Whitby will be closed on Friday the 7th only.

It's not all fun and games!

We have been very busy in school over the last few weeks. We have carried out year 1 phonics tests, year 4 multiplication tests and year 2 statutory assessments. These are formal assessments and as part of this we had a Local Authority monitoring visit. A representative from the LA came along to see how we were administering our assessments. We had some excellent feedback about our approach and processes. This was pleasing.

In addition to this, our year 2 assessments have been formally moderated. Mrs Chambers, Miss Dean and Miss Tierney had to take lots of pupils' work to checked by lead moderators. This is to ensure our judgements about our pupils are correct. This also went really well and the teachers received fantastic feedback about the knowledge they have of their pupils.

On Wednesday this week year 2 pupils in Mrs Chambers' class took part in a SQA validation trial- testing out SATS papers for next year! Well done year 2!

Parent/ Carer survey

Thanks to all of those that completed the Parent/ Carer survey. The results showed an improvement in all areas since the survey that was completed at the beginning of the year.

I am particularly pleased that- 96% of children are happy in school. 97% of children feel safe in school. 95% of children are doing well at Abbeys and the best one 97% of families would recommend the school to others.

I am really happy that parents/ carers feel they can communicate their worries to school staff and that the vast majority feel that the school is improving and that we are focused on developing our wider curriculum opportunities - such as mental health and after school clubs - this has been a priority this year.

There are always areas to develop and whilst most areas of the survey were hugely positive we will focus on the frequency of parent/ carer meetings and having high quality dialogue around your child's learning, as this is an area that was highlighted on the feedback.

I would also like to thank everyone that gave specific feedback regarding staff that go above and beyond at Abbeys - I have shared this with them. It is good to know that hard work and effort doesn't go unnoticed. Lots of kind comments and words of encouragement from everyone has got me through my first year as Headteacher- so thank you!

That was the last survey this year! You'll be pleased to know!

A huge congratulations to Ronny, Jake, Alfie & Thomas who won the plate in the MK Gallacticos football tournament last weekend (10/06/23).

Team Tattenhoe Youth Pumas fought and played brilliantly to win!! Well done boys!

Congratulations and well done to Andrei!

He is now on level 5.

He has achieved his intermediate level at Ninja knights!

Congrats to Logan in Early years.

Logan did his kickboxing grading on Saturday and is now the proud owner of a yellow belt, after getting a B+!

Well done Logan- this is a huge achievement!

Jake and his pony Velvet are entered into the British Horse Society fundraiser in July. They will be aiming to ride at least 50 miles throughout July.

This will also be training for them both ahead of their first distance ride in August where they're going to be doing 5 miles around Stowe in Buckinghamshire.

If you would like to sponsor Jake please go to their JustGiving page by clicking here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jakeandvelvet?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=jakeandvelvet&utm_campaign=pfp-email&utm_term=ee2ce22506a2481286af6eb0d8a8253c.

Any money raised goes to the British Horse Society!

Well done Jake- I cannot wait to hear all about this!

On Monday we had the privilege to represent Milton Keynes Schools at the Flag raising event at the Civic Offices. This was to mark Armed Forces week.

Armed Forces week is a chance to show your support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to service families, veterans and cadets.

The children represented our school amazingly well and they had the chance to speak to some of the Veterans, who thanked us for attending.

Look out for our pictures in the Citizen.

Father's day Event

We had a fantastic turn out at our Father's day event last week. Children were asked to bring a role model along and they didn't disappoint. We had Dads, Mums, Stepdads, Grandads and brothers.

The ability for a group of people to bond over football never ceases to amaze me! And it all got a little competitive! I am sure many of these adults were aching the next day!

Thanks to all those that attended. I am happy to provide any photos, if you send me an email- jfellowes@abbeysprimary.org

Here are a few of my favourite photos!

The next few weeks are full of trips and visits. If you are not sure about anything please ask one of the teachers. Mrs Harrison is leading the trip to Woburn Safari park next week and I am organising the Big Camp. If your child is anxious please reassure them and let us know so we can prepare them the best we can.

SEN at ABBEYS

Mrs Louis White is our Inclusion leader. She is also the Deputy Headteacher.

Working closely with Parents/ Carers of SEN pupils is part of her role.

Should you need support please give her a call- 01908375230 and arrange a meeting.