Good morning, 

I hope you are all well and ready for the weekend.

Thank you all for your positive and supportive comments about the Ofsted report. We will all continue to make sure that all children get the provision they need. 

The pupils are are working hard in their new topics and it has been nice to see all the learning taking place on their WOW days. Miss Meredith and Mrs Beard joined this year, as have a number of new pupils and thank you for making them all feel very welcome and feel like they have been here for years. 

Dates for week beginning 25/09/23

Have a great weekend.

Mr Woodward

Good afternoon, 

I hope you are all well and enjoying the sunshine today.

The governors and I are extremely pleased to share the Ofsted report from the inspection just before the summer. We have been graded as GOOD in all areas. The report is brief and we will have a meeting for all parents in the next few weeks to give more detailed feedback. 

Many parents have seen the journey the school has been on since the last inspection and I would like to thank you the whole school community for their support and hard work. Staff, governors, parents, members of the community, pupils, parents, LA and the team at St James’ church have worked tirelessly to make the best possible provision for pupils in our school. Be assured that we will all continue to work just as hard to make sure that all pupils have the provision they need for their next steps. 

Ofsted report July 2023

Mr Woodward

Welcome back and I hope everyone has had a lovely summer.

The staff have all had a great summer and we are looking forward to welcoming everyone back tomorrow. 

School Building

We have had a lot of building work and decorating done over the summer. The hall has been decorated and we have a new floor. Bluebell, Sunflower and the SLT room have been decorated and are really positive learning environments. 

I know you will have heard on the news about school closures due to dangerous building materials. Please be assured that this doesn’t impact our school and we will be open on Wednesday 6th September. 

School day

There have been some changes to the  start and end of the school day.

• The gates will continue to open at 8:45am and the staff will line the pupils up at 8:55am and take the pupils in. 
• Pupils will be marked as late at 9am and they need to be taken to the office if they arrive after 9am. The office staff will sign them in and take them to the classes to minimise disruption to the learning of other pupils. 
• In response to parent views and to maximise learning time, the end of the school day will be 3:30pm for all pupils and the gates will be open at 3:25pm. If you have made arrangements to pick up at the old times, that is fine until you can make arrangements to pick up at 3:30pm. Please pick up younger pupils first.

We are really looking forward to having everyone back. Have a lovely evening and see you all tomorrow.

Mr Woodward

Dear Parents and Carers,

Over the last couple of months we have been transitioning the Before and After School Club billing onto the School Money system with the aim of streamlining our office administrative processes and reducing the amount of cash or cheques that the school office deals with.

This is about to go live and parents will be able see, via the Teachers2Parents App, any arrears for any outstanding payments due from their April bill together with a weekly breakdown of their billing for May, June and July.  Can we please ask parents to settle their outstanding Before and After School bill.  This can be paid in instalments over the Summer break if required, e.g. a payment in July covering April/May, a payment in August for June and a payment in September for July.

You will receive a welcome message via the School Money App inviting you to login to view and pay your outstanding bills.

If you have any queries in relation to this, or any difficulties accessing your bill, please contact the school office via office@st-james.derbyshire.sch.uk and your query will be dealt with.

There may be some teething problems and we do appreciate and thank you for your patience in relation to this.

Have a great summer.

Mr Woodward

Good afternoon,

This half term every year is always busy but I think it is fair to say that this half term and week has been particularly busy. 

As you are all aware, we have had an Ofsted inspection from Monday – Wednesday. It was a very thorough and fair process. The Ofsted team were very supportive and knowledgeable and the inspection was completed with us and not to us. Due to the summer break, it will be late in September when the report comes out due to the moderation process and legal time scales. The feedback so far was a fair reflection of the school. 

I am extremely proud of the whole school community from staff, pupils, parents, governors and church representatives who showcased what it means for pupils to attend our school. Thank you to every single parent who gave their time to fill in a survey or speak to the inspectors. One of the inspectors said, “your parents have a lot to say”. 

We have said good bye to some members of staff who are moving on to their next steps or well earned retirements.  Mrs Eccles, Mrs Taylor, Mrs Madigan, Mrs Brookes and Mrs McLennan. We can’t thank them enough for their contribution to our school and making such a difference to each and every pupil. 

Have a great summer break break.

Mr Woodward

Dear Parents, Pupils and Carers, 

I am very sad to announce that Mrs Madigan, who was covering Mrs Heys’ maternity leave will not be returning in September. Mrs Madigan has made such a positive impact on our school, she will be missed and we really appreciate all she has done for our pupils. Mrs Madigan will be working in safeguarding for Stockport council and we wish her all the very best. 

Mr Ford will be covering until Mrs Heys returns from maternity leave. He has taught the same split class last year, he is a fantastic teacher and all the children know him. 

Monday – Mrs Allan

Tuesday – Mrs Allan

Wednesday – Mr Ford

Thursday – Mr Ford

Friday – Mrs Allan

Have a great summer.

Mr Woodward

Good afternoon, 

Our school will be inspected by Ofsted on Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th July.  Please find a letter to parents and a parent guide to Ofsted inspections below. 

There is a link to Ofsted parent view survey below and in the letter. Please take the time to share your views of our school with the inspector. 

Ofsted parent view survey

Letter to parents

School inspections – a guide for parents

We have been expecting the inspection and this is a great opportunity to show Ofsted what is special about our school. 

Thank you for taking the time to fill out the survey.

Kind regards

Mr Woodward

Good afternoon, 

We have arrived at the end of our penultimate week before the summer break very quickly. 

On Tuesday, the Y6 pupils received their SATs results and we are all immensely proud of them of each and every pupil. All the pupils worked really hard, exceeded expectations and they should be very proud of themselves too. SATs are only a small part, the biggest part is being ready for high school and they all are. 

It will be a busy week next week, have a good rest this weekend and prepare.  

Have a lovely weekend.

Mr Woodward