Dear Parents and Carers,
We would like to thank everyone who supported the Summer Fayre in any way at all.
It was lovely to see everyone joining in and having fun after not being able to hold this type of event for so long. Thank you to the Friends for organising it and to everyone who supported it. We hope you all had a great time! All proceeds raised will go towards purchasing new outdoor play equipment as our current equipment has unfortunately got to the point where it needs to be replaced.
Strike Action
The NEU are planning the following teacher strike days:
Wednesday 5th July and Friday 7th July 2023
The strikes are happening because of a national dispute between the unions and the Government over teachers’ pay and not because of any issues with the school. Having spoken with all teachers and looking at the capacity available at Mousehold Infant and Nursery School, I am writing to inform you that Mousehold Infant & Nursery School will not be open to any pupils on Wednesday 5th July and Friday 7th July 2023 and we are asking that you do not send your child into school on these days.
We have not taken this decision lightly. We remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our pupils, and feel that we would be unable to provide this with the limited teaching staff we have available. I would like to reassure you that all our teachers care very much about all children in their class. I understand that this could cause issues for some parents and carers, but we appreciate your understanding and support, just as we support the teachers right to strike while maintaining our commitment to doing the very best for our children.
New Classes
We will be informing children who are in our current Reception and Year 1 classes about their new class and new teacher on their school report, which we will be sending home with them on Tuesday 11th July.
A reminder if the finalised class names (just a couple of name changes from last week’s newsletter) and structure will be:
| Nursery | Kingfisher | Miss Wood |
| Reception | Chaffinch | Mrs Jenkins |
| Reception | Goldfinch | Mrs Jennings and Miss Balachandre |
| Reception | Greenfinch | Mrs Graham and Ms Brown |
| Year 1 | Swift | Mrs Allen and Mrs Breakenridge |
| Year 1 | Skylark | Mrs Greenwood |
| Year 1 | Sparrow | Mrs Ahmed |
| Year 2 | Robin | Mrs Coathup and Mr Smith |
| Year2 | Raven | Miss Barkshire |
| Year 2 | Barn Owl | Mrs Parke |
Miss Noakes
Miss Noakes will be leaving us at the end of the term. Thank you for everything you have done for the children at Mousehold. We know she will be excellent in what ever she chooses to do, but we will miss her. We wish you the very best Miss Noakes!
New Staff
We would like to welcome Mrs Ahmed into Year 1 for next year. Some of you may know that Mrs Ahmed has been working in Chaffinch class this year as part of her teacher training. She has had a very successful year we are very pleased she will be joining us.
Miss Barkshire will also be joining us in September as a newly qualified teacher and comes with wealth of experience from working in various roles in Infant school settings. We welcome her to Mousehold and look forward to working with her.
We are also pleased that Mrs Breakenridge will be teaching in Swift with Mrs Allen. Some of you will know her from George White Junior and we are very excited to have her join our team.
Safeguarding – in case you missed this last week – support for Domestic Abuse victims.
We are highlighting a service for Norfolk that launched this year:
Domestic abuse, the variety of forms it can take and the devastating impacts it has on survivors are not always physical. Research shows that incidents of domestic abuse increased during the recent COVID lockdowns. Children are considered to have been victims by witnessing incidents.
If you would like to talk to a safeguarding lead or another member of staff if something is worrying you please ask and we will find the right person to talk to you immediately.
Please see our website for all of our policies and more information about safeguarding
Please see our website for all of our policies and more information about safeguarding
| Designated Safeguarding Leads Mr Tolson, Mr Smith, Miss Balachandre, Mrs Greenwood and Miss Wood. These members of staff monitor and manage all safeguarding practices and ensure staff are supported and have the training they need. Please ask to see one of these adults if you are worried about the safety of a child at school. |
| If you have a safeguarding concern about a child out of school hours then the number to ring is: CADS – Children’s Advice and Duty Service – 0344 800 8020. |
Diary Dates
Monday 3rd July – Ukulele lesson – for Yr1 parents to attend:
09:00 Swift, 09:30 Skylark and 10:00 Robin (Yr1 only)
Tuesday 4th July – Day Trip to Pensthorpe for Barn Owl, Raven, Robin, Skylark and Swift.
Wednesday 5th July – School Closed – Teachers’ strike
Friday 7th July – School Closed – Teachers’ strike
Week commencing Monday 10th July – Transition Week for year 2 pupils
Tuesday 11th July – Capoeira Performance for Yr1 parents to attend:
09:30 Swift, 10:15 Robin (Yr 1 only) and 11:00 Skylark.
Monday 17th July – Samba Performance – 09:15am, for parents to attend (Yr 2 only).
Friday 21st July – Last day of Summer Term.
Thank you for your continued support
Yours faithfully
Mr Ian Tolson
Head of School
