Cheadle Heath
Primary School
You can keep up to date with our latest news, reviews, newsletters, photos etc on our website at www.cheadleheathprimary.stockport.sch.uk or via twitter @CHPSchool
1st April 2015
Issue 16
HMI monitoring report
Building on the success of the LA review and positive
feedback received, I am delighted to share with you
headlines from the HMI report which was published
today. It is longer and more detailed than expected but
has a clear positive tone and shows the school in a good
light, recognising how far we have travelled. The report
serves as a great boost for our hard working, diligent staff
as it recognises the progress made. Headline quotes
include:
 Pupils were a credit to their school.
 The positive ethos in the classrooms reflects pupils’
considerate, good behaviour and keen attitudes to
learning.
 Staff and leaders are working very hard to implement
improvements and to provide a good quality education
for the pupils.
 Given the level of staff turnover, it is a tribute to
leaders and the team of staff that the school operates
smoothly.
 The quality of teaching is improving, not only as
teachers become more experienced and settled into
life at the school and meeting leaders’ expectations,
but also through the professional development they
receive.
 Actions to improve the key areas of teaching, pupils’
writing, and leadership and management, particularly
of subject leaders and the Governing Body, are
proving effective.
 [The Chair of Governors] is confident, experienced,
and keen to move the school forward
 During the visit, the subject leaders for writing and
mathematics showed a good grasp of subject-specific
detail in the scrutiny of writing displayed in classrooms
and corridors around the school and of problem
solving in pupils’ mathematics books respectively.
Our next steps forward:
As we were not given any additional actions, we will
continue to develop and build on the progress made
including building on teaching where, on occasions, it is
less than good. As HMI report, “Now is the time to
recognise what has been achieved so far, to embed the
stronger systems and better practice, and continue to
encourage, support and challenge all in the school’s
community in order to make the improvements
sustainable.” Well done #teamchps! The full monitoring
report can be found on our website here and on the
Ofsted website here.
April Fooled
Children in Year 6 looked horrified today when I told them
that a terrible error had come to light when submitting
annual holiday dates to the local authority, and as a result
they wouldn’t actually be finishing the term tomorrow. The
Easter Holidays would be reduced by a week and only
start next Friday! Well, Y6 fell for it - hook, line and sinker
– until the April Fool was revealed at 11.59am! Ohhh, the
howls of protest, the wailing and gnashing of teeth at the
thought of it … and that was just the staff! Fortunately (for
us all!) this was just my April Fool’s Day trick for 2015.
So, sorry Year 6, we will indeed be finishing tomorrow!
If you have any comments or queries you can contact the school office on 428 2476 or email me via [email protected]
Cheadle Heath
Primary School
You can keep up to date with our latest news, reviews, newsletters, photos etc on our website at www.cheadleheathprimary.stockport.sch.uk or via twitter @CHPSchool
Sporting success
Musical success
The 2015 Greater Manchester Winter School Games was
held last week and comprised of 34 competitions in 13
different sports across a number of iconic sporting
venues from across Greater Manchester. Our gymnastics
teams had qualified through the local borough
competitions to represent the borough and 16
th
enthusiastic gymnasts from Y2 – Y6 went along on 24
March to represent our school, and borough, in the key
step gymnastics competition with pride and
determination!
Many congratulations to Evie (Y6) and Ellie (Y5) who
have recently taken their music exams and both passed
with merit. Grades are a national examination and the
standard is extremely hard but due to lots of
determination, practise, hard work (and a heap of talent
thrown in too!) Evie passed Grade 2 violin and Ellie
passed her Grade 1 flute. Well done girls! Another
Cheadle Heath success!
The Key Step Gymnastics programme was produced to
provide a simple competition structure that combines
basic movement and agility skills in a fun, friendly and
progressive way. The children enjoyed the Opening
Ceremony at Sport City before being transported via the
team coach to National Cycling Centre where they
competed against nine other North West boroughs as
cyclists whizzed around the velodrome! The ten boroughs
in the final were us (Stockport), Manchester, Rochdale,
Oldham, Bolton, Bury, Wigan, Trafford, Salford and
Tameside. As you can see, to be selected to represent
your borough at this level was a fantastic achievement!
On the day all our gymnasts performed beautifully and
we scooped podium places for all teams! Each team
represented STOCKPORT in their own age category so
podium placing for all was an incredible moment!

2 place overall to the Y1 / 2 team
Ella, Annabel, Heather, Alfie & Harry

1 place (yes, really!) to the Y3 / 4 team
James, Lucy, Megan, Kai & Paisley

3 place overall to the Y5 / 6 team
Abigail, Olivia, Callum, Hayden, Megan & Ellie

2
nd
It’s in the news!
Children spend six hours or more a day on screens
Heads' threat to parents over computer games
False allegations can blight teaching
Parents rarely spot child obesity
Y6 SATs arrangements 2015
National tests and teacher assessments for Y6 will be
undertaken to a national timetable week beginning
th
Monday 11 May 2015.
Tests, tests, tests…
Date
th
Monday 11
May
th
Tuesday 12
May
st
Wednesday
th
13 May
rd
Thursday 14
May
nd
place to Y5 / 6 individual competitor Olivia
Well done to all the competitors on wearing our kit and
smile with pride. Huge thanks go to our top coach
Mrs. Burgess (and her able assistant Mrs. Callaghan!)
who prepared the teams so well!
th
Levels 3-5 English reading test
Level 6 English reading test
Levels 3-5 English grammar, punctuation
and spelling test
Level 6 English grammar, punctuation and
spelling test
Levels 3-5 mental mathematics test
Levels 3-5 mathematics Paper 1
No level 6 tests timetabled for this day
Levels 3-5 mathematics Paper 2
Level 6 mathematics Paper 1
Level 6 mathematics Paper 2
It’s not GR8!
If your child has a mobile phone, please ensure you
monitor it closely if they have access to the internet and
social networking. We have had a number of phones
brought into school in UKS2 recently which contravenes
our school policy and have had reason to contact a
number of parents about inappropriate use. May I also
remind parents that the age restriction of Facebook and
Instagram is 13! None of our children are 13 yet many
have these accounts. They have therefore opened those
using false dates of birth. Please stop, think and talk to
your child about how they use technology including who
they’re contacting and what messages are sent. The
majority of parents have been very supportive and
appreciated our actions in resolving any issues but, it
serves as a timely reminder that our children are still
young and don’t often think through the implications
before they act.
It’s a girl!
Ms Mycroft welcomed a bouncing baby girl, Isla Rose,
th
into the world on Thursday 26 March weighing a healthy
8lb 11oz. Mummy, Daddy and baby happy, healthy and
very much in love!
If you have any comments or queries you can contact the school office on 428 2476 or email me via [email protected]
Cheadle Heath
Primary School
You can keep up to date with our latest news, reviews, newsletters, photos etc on our website at www.cheadleheathprimary.stockport.sch.uk or via twitter @CHPSchool
News from our English lead…
News from our Maths lead…
In English, our main focus this year has been focussing
on raising standards in writing and we have linked Alan
Peat’s exciting sentences’ to this throughout school to
ensure consistency and development.
We have had a really positive response from the children
since the introduction of ‘Big Maths’ and we have already
started to see progress being made through our weekly,
‘Big Maths Beat That’ challenges. Your child should now
be bringing home their previous weeks test papers to
allow them the opportunity to practise any missed
questions. Please support your child in doing so and take
time to celebrate their scores with them.
We have very recently embarked on an exciting new
project to inspire and showcase some of the fabulous
writers we have here at Cheadle Heath Primary School.
We have a school portfolio on a worldwide website called
Lend Me Your Literacy and within the school portfolio
each year group has their own area to showcase their
writing each week. The writing is then published and
shown, potentially to a worldwide audience and open to
comments. We have already found this to be a
motivational and inspirational tool, giving our children a
real purpose for writing, with a real audience to view it!
Anybody and everybody can comment on the children's
writing and we'd love you to help keep our children
motivated. Simply create yourself a free account here
and click on our portfolio. All comments and submissions
are carefully monitored and moderated before they are
posted on the site to ensure cyber safety is adhered to at
all times.
In addition to Lend Me Your Literacy (LMYL), Key Stage
Two continue to use their own class blogs to promote and
share their writing on a regular basis. The blogs are a
great way for you to see the ongoing work of your
children in class and have an input. Unlike LMYL, where
just a few pieces of work are shared each week, the
blogs contain submissions from all the children in the
class. The blog is an extension of the children's English
book and is a way for them to share their writing. Its use
is not restricted to the classroom or to the tasks directed
by the teacher. Each child has their own unique login and
password and can submit writing on any subject at any
time. Similarly, you can view and comment on children's
work to praise and encourage and in fact we would love
to recruit some parent helpers from each of the KS2
classes who would be willing to commit a small amount of
time each week to commenting on the children's writing.
If this is something which might interest you please
contact your child's class teacher and they can organise
a school account and 'code name' for you. As you can
see, lots is happening and there are lots of opportunity for
you to look at and support your child’s learning online so
please have a peek and help motivate our children by
leaving a comment. They do go back to check!
Alongside developing writing we have also introduced a
new scheme called TELL phonics to give additional
support to those pupils who need it and we are
introducing a new reading assessment to ensure that
pupil’s progress is clearly tracked and monitored. Phew!
It’s very busy!
For any further information, advice or please contact our
English Lead, Louise Johnston
Homework Review
Thank you to those parents who completed the
homework review survey. The findings will be analysed
over half term and feedback given in the summer term.
We recently brought a new resource, Numicon, to
support our children’s learning in Maths and it has been
very well received, particularly by our younger children.
Numicon is a very colourful, multi-sensory maths
approach which helps to raise achievement in maths.
From a very early age children recognise numbers in the
environment such as on the bus, their house number,
their age and talk about ‘I’ve got two sweets / teddy
bears / footballs etc.’ but they don’t always know what the
numbers represent. Once a child knows the sequence of
numbers, they can begin to understand what the
numbers mean e.g.
"Two is one plus another one".
"One less than 5 is 4"
"That one more than 6 is 7"
Numicon is designed to give children a sound start to
their maths understanding by making numbers ‘real’ to
children. It allows them to visualise each number and
access numbers in a practical way to give children the
understanding of number ideas and number relationships
that is essential for success in maths.
Children's early experiences of maths have a huge
impact on their later achievement, so playing with
Numicon Shapes helps young children learn about
number ideas and how numbers fit together. We provide
opportunities for children to become familiar with
Numicon from Nursery and we are already noticing
improvements in children’s understanding of number and
use it to support counting skills, addition, pattern work
and many other areas of maths.
With problem-solving, reasoning and fluency being the
key aims of the Primary National Curriculum 2014 for
mathematics, Numicon facilitates these aims by:
 Developing fluency by using a visual, practical
base to develop conceptual understanding and
fluent recall.
 Helping children to reason mathematically
through the use of concrete objects and spoken
language to explain and justify.
 Supporting children as they strive to become
confident problem-solvers
We are going to give you the opportunity to buy a small
set of Numicon shapes next term at a reduced price to
support learning at home and we will be sending out
support sheets with more ideas and tips for using
Numicon at home.
For any further information, advice or please contact our
Maths Lead, Carrie Anne Knibbs
If you have any comments or queries you can contact the school office on 428 2476 or email me via [email protected]
Cheadle Heath
Primary School
You can keep up to date with our latest news, reviews, newsletters, photos etc on our website at www.cheadleheathprimary.stockport.sch.uk or via twitter @CHPSchool
Gentle reminder time
 Unfortunately it has come to our attention that some
adults are using foul and abusive language on school
grounds in front of our children. Can we ask that you
refrain from such language especially as we do not
want our children to copy or imitate this kind of
behaviour.
 Under no circumstances must any adult approach a
child who they do not have parental care for whilst on
school grounds. If you have any concerns or witness
this happening please can you make a member of
staff aware.
 Just a reminder that we do not administer medicines
which have not been prescribed. Any medication that
has been prescribed by a doctor, and where the
prescription states that the medicine needs to be
taken four times a day, must be in its original
container with the pupils name on and the necessary
medical form completed. You can obtain this form
from the school office.
 We have had several complaints from parents about
the number of people who are smoking close to the
school gates. Please have consideration for the
children going out of the gates at the end of the day
who may not want to be surrounded by cigarette
smoke.
Attendance matters
With just one day left of this half-term, we still have 149
rd
pupils who have 100% attendance from half term on 23
February – and that’s despite chicken pox & a sickness
bug spreading like wildfire amongst our younger children!
For the whole year so far, there are 44 pupils with 100%
attendance so well done to the following children who
appear in alphabetical order of surname:
Nikita Harry James Matthew Dylan Ruby-Mae Vicky
Olivia Megan Joshua Dilan Ryder Jasmine Olivia Millie
Alex Joshua Daniel Adam Megan William Casey Leah
Ava Cobi-Lee Jake Connor Daisy Molly Jessica Annabel
Lilly-Pearl Isabella Imogen Abbie Lucian Giorgio Isabella
Max Noah Connie Abbie George
As for each class, here are the attendance rates year to
date (the figures in brackets are this half term to date):
Year
Group
% year
to date
% in the
Spring
term
Children
with
persistent
absence
Pearl
Reception
92.39%
95.51%
8 in
Reception
Sapphire
Reception
95.70%
96.26%
Year 1
95.72%
95.14%
95.29%
96.17%
95.57%
96.01%
95.70%
97.39%
95.60%
96.08%
2
97.29%
96.90%
2
95.99%
95.03%
4
95.71%
95.42%
2
Class
Jet
Ruby
Year 1
Year 2
4
in Year 1
 Scooters – it is great that more of our children are
coming to and from school by bike or scooter, rather
than car. However, can you please remind your
children not to ride their scooters in the playgrounds
before and after school.
Topaz
 Please ensure that all school items (uniform, PE kit,
lunch/drink stuff, footwear) are fully and clearly
labelled with your child’s name. Also we ask
parents to check periodically that their children haven’t
brought home the wrong one!
Opal
 We have accumulated lots of lost property again. If
your child has lost items of clothing please check the
tables outside after school tonight and tomorrow as
we will be sending lost property for recycling during
the Easter holidays.
Thank you to all parents who have tried so hard to ensure
your child is happy and healthy and at school as much as
they can be. We’re really happy with the fact there is 1
class with attendance rates above our target of 97%. For
the whole school, our spring term attendance is 95.52%.
This is ok but could be better.
 We promote a sense of pride in the school and ask for
your support in upholding our dress code. It is
strongly recommended that the following clothing
should be worn:







Black Trousers (Long or Short) or, for girls,
Pinafore Dress or Skirt
School sweater or cardigan,
White shirt or white polo shirt
(Summer) green and white gingham dress
White or Grey Socks with dark shoes
Trainers are NOT school uniform
Studs only and no jewellery, make up or nail
varnish
Amber
Amethyst
Aquamarine
Emerald
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Year 6
2
in Year 2
Individual attendance lower than 85% is regarded as
persistent absence and we always refer to the local
authority educational welfare officer but from September
2015, attendance lower than 90% will be regarded as
persistent absence. The welfare officer will arrange a
meeting with you to support and advise families where
attendance is too low. This is currently a massive 24
children in total! This must improve as it is affecting our
children’s education and progress.
I mentioned attendance in Head Lines Issue 14 and the
importance on being on time, all day, every day! It’s
simple … taking a term-time absence affects your
child’s attainment. There will be a prize for all children
with over 97% attendance at the end of the summer term.
If you have any comments or queries you can contact the school office on 428 2476 or email me via [email protected]
Cheadle Heath
Primary School
You can keep up to date with our latest news, reviews, newsletters, photos etc on our website at www.cheadleheathprimary.stockport.sch.uk or via twitter @CHPSchool
Community Event Congrats
The recent colouring competition has been won by
Jennifer, Aquamarine, Y5, with runners up Ben C and
Chloe, Y5. Jennifer wins a £15 Toys R Us voucher,
runners up both win £10 Toys R Us vouchers so pop
along to the Cheadle Heath Community Centre on Essex
th
Avenue, known locally as the Pavilion, on Saturday 4
April between 1 – 3pm and see the centre be officially
renamed in honour of Rose Walker. The prize giving is
expected at around 2pm. Thank you to all the children
who took part, the committee really enjoyed seeing their
art and all entries will be displayed on the day of the
event.
Vacancy
We have a vacancy for a midday assistant. We need
someone who would like to help supervise children in
the dining room and playground on a rota system. The
shift begins at 12.00 for one hour and 15 minutes. You
would be joining a team of midday assistants whose
role is very important and valued by the school and
ensures the well-being of our children at lunchtimes.
Induction training will be given and the job is subject to
safeguarding checks. If you are interested and would
like further details, please contact Ms Stronach, our
school administrator or me via the school office.
Nursery entry point change
From after the holidays Nursery 1 and 2 will come into
the building via the same door that KS1 and Reception
enter through. This is to save parents walking round the
building and crossing the outdoor area. Parents are
asked to bring their children into the building to help with
their coats etc. and change library books and then leave
via the same door and encourage the children to walk
independently through the gate into Nursery. Any
questions please ask Mrs Chow, Mrs Staples or Mrs
Carding! Thank you!
Happy Holidays!
This is the last Head Lines of the term. The school closes
nd
at 2pm tomorrow, Thursday 2 April and reopens on
th
Monday 20 April. Have a great holiday!
Christine Meekley & the staff at #teamCHPS
Term dates 2014 – 15
School starts on the morning of:
nd
Tuesday 2 September 2014
th
Tuesday 4 November 2014
th
Monday 5 January 2015
rd
Monday 23 February 2015
th
Monday 20 April 2015
th
Monday 8 June 2015
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
School finishes at the end of the day on:
rd
Thursday 23 October 2014
th
Friday 19 December 2014 at 2pm
th
Friday 13 February 2015
th
Thursday 2 April 2015 at 2pm
nd
Friday 22 May 2015
th
Friday 24 July 2015 at 2pm
School will be closed on the following INSET days which have been placed at the start/end of existing holidays for your convenience –
th
1 Friday 24 October 2014
rd
2 Monday 3 November 2014
th
3 Tuesday 13 January 2015
th
4 Monday 27 July 2015
th
5 Tuesday 28 July 2015
th
th
Y6 SATs take place 11 – 15 May 2015. It is essential that pupils are in school for these.
Term dates 2015 – 16
Autumn 1
Autumn 2
Spring 1
Spring 2
Summer 1
Summer 2
School starts on the morning of:
rd
Thursday 3 September 2015
rd
Tuesday 3 November 2015
th
Monday 4 January 2016
rd
Tuesday 23 February 2016
th
Monday 18 April 2016
th
Monday 13 June 2016
School finishes at the end of the day on:
rd
Friday 23 October 2015
th
Friday 18 December 2014 at 2pm
th
Friday 12 February 2016
st
Friday 1 April 2016 at 2pm
th
Friday 27 May 2016
th
Thursday 28 July 2016 at 2pm
School will be closed on the following INSET days which have been placed at the start/end of existing holidays for your convenience –
st
1 Tuesday 1 September 2015
nd
2 Wednesday 2 September 2015
nd
3 Monday 2 November 2015
nd
4 Monday 22 February 2016
th
5 Thursday 5 May 2016
Y6 SATs TBC
If you have any comments or queries you can contact the school office on 428 2476 or email me via [email protected]