This week saw the welcome arrival of the official OFSTED report in school. It is a very positive document and acknowledges the hard work of all staff, pupils and stakeholders over recent months and years. The school was judged to be GOOD in all areas and we are really delighted with this affirming outcome. However, we will not rest on our laurels when OUTSTANDING is lurking so closely! We will make every effort to become an outstanding school for all our pupils and our community. Please do read the report for yourself; I am sure you will agree it is a very fair document and one which celebrates the things Sharples does so well. We still have work to do in further challenging our most able pupils, and improving whole school attendance.
Being here is the first step in ensuring your child makes the progress he or she should without getting left behind and we want all our pupils to meet or exceed their targets. Improving whole school attendance is also absolutely vital to receiving a judgement of outstanding at our next inspection. Lessons are engaging with ‘exemplary classroom practice’, and most pupils want to be here. However, though the odd day off here or there may seem harmless, it does, in fact have a detrimental effect on your child’s progress and certainly on the overall attendance of the school. It may also prevent your child taking part in organised reward activities for high attenders. Every child should aim for 100% attendance, and definitely no less than 96%. Your help and support is always appreciated, not least by getting your child to attend every day.
We are currently preparing for our open events and looking forward to welcoming many new parents and children into the Sharples family. Have a read of our weekly newsletter to see all the exciting activities pupils are participating in. Please feel free to come and visit us any time if you can’t make it on 3rd or 4th October, and see what a normal school day at Sharples is really like; I am sure you will be impressed!
Rachel Quesnel
