Reaching high for the best for your child

I am delighted to say that the wait is over and the final report has been published from Fairlands’ recent Ofsted inspection.

As you will read from the report, the inspectors have judged that Fairlands continues to be a GOOD school!

We want to say an enormous, heartfelt thank you to the whole school community for this wonderful outcome. To have achieved this after the challenges of going through 18 months of pandemic is nothing short of amazing and shows how resilient and committed you have been in sustaining high standards for the children all the way through. Everyone has played a part and I am sure you feel as proud as we do to be part of the Fairlands team!

Our Value for the month of October is thinking about respecting each other's rights. 

We will be celebrating Black History Month as part of this value... and this year, we will be learning in particular about the achieivements of Black men & women in Computing, Science and Technology.

Keep an eye on our blog posts to see what we are learning about in class!

Typically, since the pupils returned to school we’ve seen some wonderful weather, which hopefully everyone has managed to enjoy…. although Tuesday’s rain was a reminder that autumn is truly on its way.

You will have probably noticed we’ve had some special visitors in school this week. Our last Ofsted inspection took place in October 2012, so we have been expecting an inspection for some time. Our inspection was led by Katherine Douglas, Her Majesty's Inspector (HMI). Katherine and her team spent Tuesday and Wednesday in school speaking with and observing staff and pupils across the whole school and reviewing your parent/carer feedback. The governors met with Katherine over Zoom and were able to provide her with examples and evidence of the strong governance, quality of education, behaviour and curriculum we have here at Fairlands.

As a governing body, we want to thank all the staff, pupils and parents/carers who have supported the inspection over the last few days and making it such a positive process. We won’t get the official report for a few weeks, so watch this space! In the meantime, take a look at the Parent View results here!

In other news, we will be holding a parent governor election later in September. I wanted to give everyone a chance to get back into school/work life before reaching out.

Finally, I couldn’t write a blog without mentioning COVID-19, given the current outbreak within the school. I wish everyone currently impacted by COVID-19 a speedy recovery and a safe return to school.

Kind regards,

Claire Peacock, Chair of Governors

In our weekly Values assemblies, we will be thinking about the value of Responsibility. 

We will be thinking about taking responsibility for our own success... and how we are 'the authors of our own stories'!

We will be working hard to be the best we can be!

We hope that you have all had a wonderful holiday and we are looking forward to seeing and welcoming all of our new and existing pupils!

School starts at normal time on Thursday 2nd September - please arrive via the normal entrances you have been using in the summer term. 

Many of us will be enjoying some of the spectacular sights this country has to offer this summer when we enjoy a 'staycation'. Please remember that if you are heading to the coast, it is recommended you visit a Lifeguarded beach and always swim between the red & yellow beach flags. 

Did you know that many of the beaches supported by the RNLI offer free wristbands for children to help keep them safe around our beautiful coastline? These free 'snap wristbands' are available at lifeboat stations, lifeguard huts, Coastguard stations and RNLI shops all along the coast. You write your mobile number on the wristband and if a child becomes separated from the adults they are with, lifeguards on the beaches can simply call the number on the wristband and reunite them. This small assurance goes a long way for ensuring your child's safety on the beach. 

For more beach safety advice please visit https://rnli.org/safety/beach-safety

Our Year 6 children have been learning that the sea is not the only body of water that poses a potential danger. They have been learning how to stay safe in water and how to spot possible hazards which could cause accidents. We are lucky to have Fairlands Lakes in Stevenage and it is a popular place that many of us will visit over the summer holidays (weather permitting of course!). There are some great resources available online to help children understand the importance of water safety and tips to keep us all safe. Websites we recommend you talk through with your children are: 

https://www.rospa.com/leisure-safety/water/advice/water-safety-code 

https://www.sta.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Water-Safety-Advice-Booklet.pdf 

We hope you enjoy a safe and fun time around water this summer!