1. No 7 8 January 2010 Dear Parents/ Carers True Grit! Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely holiday and enjoyed all the presents that Father Christmas delivered. The weather has certainly been cold and we are ensuring that the children are not out for lengthy periods in these really cold days. We are doing our utmost to remain open during this really cold snap and you can help us! Could you try and keep the roads around school clear of ice so that it is safe for both children and adults to walk on and also for staff to get in to school in their cars? Thank you for your help in this matter. There has been some confusion about whether we have been open or closed due to the comprehensive school also being Whitley Abbey. I have voiced my concerns to the Local Authority and they have assured me that when closures are reported the senior school will be correctly named as Whitley Abbey Business and Enterprise College thus avoiding any confusion. Please note we currently do not text message to parents so if you receive a text message from Whitley Abbey it is the senior school. There is a severe weather forecast for Sunday which may affect us on Monday please stay tuned to the local radio or go online to www.coventry.gov.uk where the latest information should be. We will stay open as long as it is safe to do so and staff are able to get to work safely. Please ensure that the children come into school when we are open as absence will disrupt their learning.www.coventry.gov.uk IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:- January Monday 11 th LUNCH CLUBS RESUME Monday 11 th Year 1 One Body, One Life starts Tuesday 12 th at 3.45pmPTA Annual General Meeting Monday 18 th AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS RESUME Class Assemblies Thursday 28 th JanuaryY5/6W Thursday 4 th FebruaryY1 Thursday 4 th MarchY3/4B Thursday 11 th MarchY3/4R Thursday 18 th MarchY5/6E Parents Consultations This will take place on Wednesday 10th February. Test results will be shared with you and targets for the next half term will also be shared with you at this meeting. The children will discuss these with their class teachers during school time. Further details will be sent nearer the time. Ofsted You should receive a copy of the Ofsted Report with this Newsletter which is the result of the inspection that took place just prior to our holiday. We will also put a link onto the school website so that you can access if online. Attached is a short letter from the Chair of our Governing Body written on behalf of all our Governors. I would like to thank all our Governors for their continued support of our school. They are all volunteers and they take on a lot of work.

2. Yours sincerely Mrs N A Starritt Head Teacher Primary Admissions The closing date for Primary places is 15th January 2010. Please make sure you get your application in, to ensure your first choice of school, citywide there is a shortage of places and unless you apply by the deadline, you may not get the school you would like. You can apply online at www.coventry.gov.uk/admisssions.www.coventry.gov.uk/admisssions Clubs All lunchtime clubs restart on Monday11th January. As a safety precaution and so that staff can travel home in relative daylight after school clubs will not resume until Monday18th January If the weather is particularly poor we may have to cancel after school clubs at short notice in order for staff to travel home safely. We will telephone you should this need to happen. Please also keep checking the board for updates outside the office. If you are unable to collect your child before the usual time the club finishes we will ensure that they are kept here with me until you can collect them. Thank you for your cooperation in this. Teacher Day The next scheduled teacher day is on Friday 12th February. This immediately precedes half term so the children will return to school on Monday 22nd February. If you need child care for this day please let Louise or Danielle know and a place can be booked for them at Abbey Oaks. Alternatively Mrs. McGrath in the office can book a place for you. Easter Celebrations We will be visiting Church to celebrate this important Christian festival and we would love parents/carers to join us for this service. The date will be sent out in the next newsletter. The annual Easter Bonnet Parade and egg decorating competition will take place during the last week of term. More details to follow. Inclusion Quality Mark I am delighted to let you know that we had our re –assessment for the Inclusion Quality Mark and we passed with flying colours. The assessor wrote Whitley Abbey is a happy and totally inclusive primary school which has made good progress since the initial IQM assessment, addressing all suggested areas for development. Staff and Governors work hard to ensure that parents and carers are genuine partners in their children’s learning. They maintain a determined emphasis on raising academic standards for all children without in any way compromising the wider curriculum, and in spite of the hard work of classroom teaching, they still find energy and commitment to provide a rich variety of other experiences outside school hours. This school works as a caring family does, nurturing all who enter it, so that staff develop professionally, parents feel cherished as partners in their child’s education, and children thrive both personally and academically. I am of the opinion that the school fully meets the standard required by the Inclusion Quality Mark. There are only minor areas requiring development and the school is aware of these. We are all thrilled to receive this report and to know that the hard work that staff, children and parents do is recognised by an external body.