Tuesday 25th July 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been such an amazing year, that we both wanted to write to you all to thank you for all your help and support for the school and nursery this year. It has been Sarah’s first year here as Head Teacher and what a great year it has been. It has flown by, but has also been quite a year of change for all the staff and children. One key event this year was Ofsted visiting us in May; they were last here in November 2017 so quite a long break since our last inspection. So much has changed in the last six years, both in the make-up and content of the curriculum we teach, but also in the way Inspectors undertake their inspections. They now spend far more time with subject leaders and the children themselves; furthermore, we have less than a days-notice that they are coming so having everything in place is key. We had been working all year on strengthening the curriculum, making sure it builds logically up through the age groups showing progression and has clear measurable outcomes, as well as making sure the curriculum subject leads were able to confidently explain its build up and outcomes and how they monitor progress across the whole school. We are both so proud of how calm everyone was on the inspection day, which felt pretty much like a normal school day. The inspectors were impressed with what they saw and continue to rate the school as good. In their report they referenced our experienced and knowledgeable staff; the caring and calm learning environment; our supportive parents and community, and how confidently the children spoke to them about their learning. The teaching team have been amazing, coping with the level of change this year, and are so committed to helping your children achieve their full potential. We have plans to further strengthen the curriculum, as well as extending our wrap around care. Next year, we will be opening our nursery full-time and we will be increasing our government funded hours to 30 hours. These changed were made based on feedback we had through our questionnaires sent to parents. There have been so many examples this year of what we think makes Tibberton special; whether that be the extended list of local inter school competitions we entered; the development and extension of lunchtime and after school activity clubs; the carol singing in the village at Christmas and the school concert which showed off the singing, drumming and piano playing skills our children demonstrated at our Spring Concert. We also celebrated the King’s Coronation with a royal themed lunch for the children supported by our wonderful Women’s Institute. Furthermore, we were overwhelmed with the large number of families who attended our Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Grandparent’s Day celebrations which the children thoroughly enjoyed too. These are to name just a few of the many events we held at the school. Our amazing PTFA, who have excelled themselves this year again, starting with the amazing fireworks evening, the quiz night, the summer fayre and supporting other events with refreshments. In August still to come is the first ‘PTFA beer festival’ after the village show. The money that the PTFA raises through these events enables us to do things we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do, for example, this year they purchased audio devices to support reading at the school and nursery. We are also both really appreciative of our experienced and committed team of Governors, all of whom give their time and expertise to help the school be the best it can be. And finally, thank you to all of you for the support you give us. We hope you have a lovely summer break with your children and we look forward to seeing you all back in September for the new school year. Warmest Regards, Sarah Wilson, Head Teacher Neil Kinlay, Chair of Governors