My colleagues and I were excited to welcome the children back into school yesterday.

Site Changes

Building on the 'buzz' at the end of last year, a dedicated group of staff joined me in clearing, sorting, painting, drilling...the list goes on. What started with plans to clear and prepare the central part of the building for our new library quickly turned into an overhaul of the majority of our communal spaces.

Key Changes

• The 'heart space' has been cleared and painted ready for the delivery of our new library furniture (which will be paid for by funds raised by the Friends of Blackbrook School)
• Three group/intervention rooms have been tidied, re-painted and fitted with large digital displays
• The space outside of Class Four and Five has been re-painted and cleared
• The Quad has been reorganised and split into two halves, providing additional spaces for group work
• The sensory room has been reimagined into an immersive forest space
• Class Six has been repainted and reorganised
• Even the staff room and my office got the beauty treatment!

Take a look at the pictures in the gallery and see what you think!

I'd like to thank my colleagues once again for demonstrating their unwavering commitment to our school and pupils. I'd also like to thank the Pow family and Pow Property Services for the kind donation of paint and paintbrushes! Watch this space, there are more exciting plans ahead...

The First Day of Term

Kelly, our Pastoral Lead, and I walked the corridors of the school throughout the morning, popping into classes to see how things were going. We were pleased to see lots of smiling faces and children engaged in activities with their new teachers. 

Our new reception cohort joined us for the morning, and the few with tears of nervousness soon turned to smiles and laughter as the day got underway. 

We came together as a whole school in the afternoon to welcome everyone back for the new term, where we discussed some of the changes, reminded ourselves of our school values, and reflected about how we can support the new children joining us.  

All in all, a brilliant start to the new term. I am excited about the year ahead.

School Uniform

The children all looked very smart on their return to school yesterday. You will remember that I shared with you our revised uniform policy in the Summer Term. I'd like to thank you for your support with promoting adherence to the policy. We are incredibly proud of our school, and its reputation, and we want to strive to ensure this is reflected in how we present ourselves. 

From time-to-time, a deviation from the policy will be required, for example if an item becomes lost or broken. This won't be a problem, please do just let us know by completing this form (Parents/Online Forms). This is so we can make a note on your child's profile so all staff are aware. Please do remember to name all items so we can get them back to your child.

Our uniform expectations can be found here (Parents/ School Uniform), and I invite you to speak to a member of staff if you would like to discuss anything. I'd like to take this opportunity to remind parents that the red hooded jumper is only permitted to be worn on PE days. From Monday 16th September, we will begin sending gentle reminders to parents to make you aware if your child's uniform is not in line with policy. Again, do speak with us if we can help in any way.

Living Out our School Values

On one of the INSET days, we worked together as a staff to review our school values and consider what this means and 'looks like' for the children throughout our school. What does kindness look like for a four-year-old and for an eleven-year-old? We used these discussions to map out a progression through the school. These have been used as a discussion point with classes at the start of term. You could discuss these with your child. Take a look at the progression at the bottom of the School Values page.

Can You Help?

We are looking to source some artificial grass, or similar, to complete our immersive forest space. Please let us know if you have any contacts i.e. anyone with some offcuts that could be donated.

Do you shop in ASDA? If you use the rewards app, you can opt for ASDA to donate a percentage of your shop to our school charity (Friends of Blackbrook School, at no cost to yourself). For more information, click here. This is for a limited time. Thanks if you can help!

Blackbrook Bluestone

Mrs Rendall and I look forward to reading the children's writing about the 'Blackbrook Bluestone'. We hope you enjoyed this optional opportunity to write creatively with your child over the summer holidays. 

Closing Remarks

Once again, welcome back! As a staff team, we look forward to continuing our work in partnership with you to offer your children the best possible education. You can find me on the main gate each morning. Do speak with me if you want to have a chat. Have a lovely weekend.

Best wishes,

Mr Seviour