Dear Parents and Carers,
We have had such a busy few weeks at Mousehold and we can’t quite believe we are in the middle of June already. The Reception children had their first school trip to Gressenhall this week. The children had a fantastic time meeting all the fairy tale characters and helping to find the magic items that the Witch had stolen. This was very exciting and quite a trip to organise with so many young children. Well done and thank you to staff. Today’s EYFS sports day was also a special moment for all involved and we managed it with such warm weather. We appreciate the time families have given in coming to support your children. We have the EYFS Open Evening next Thursday evening. It is always exciting when new children join as start their educational journey at Mousehold.
The Friends of Mousehold School
Summer Fayre – FRIDAY 30th JUNE
Our school summer fayre is on Friday 30th June after school. All are welcome. The Friends of Mousehold Infant and Nursery School are working hard preparing for the event. Lots of money is raised for your children and it is always a lovely atmosphere. 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. Here is a picture of the equipment we are looking to purchase with the help of the friends. Work on this should start in the first week of the holidays.
Annual Parent Survey
Many thanks again for completing the parent/carer survey. The link to find this is:
https://www.mouseholdinfants.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Parent-survey-May-23.pdf
Some responses to how we can improve our school:
Ideally, smaller class sizes and greater adult to child ratio, however I understand this isn’t easy to implement.
We have to work within the budget we have as a school, and that is determined by the number of children in school. The bulk of our budget at Mousehold goes on staffing and we prioritise extra support in every class with extra Teaching Assistant support. Our adult to child ratio is higher than many other schools. We too would love smaller class sizes, but we have to work with the money we have.
With the additional funding the school gets for children with additional need they should include group therapy for , e.g, theraplay, sensory integration therapy etc.
We fund what we can to support children and termly we apply for additional funding to support individual children. Currently we fund The Benjamin Foundation to come in weekly to support children who might need some 1:1 time for various reasons. We also fund Amanda Derer to do ‘Time to talk’ sessions with children who need this type of support. We also work closely with Children’s Services and we have had play therapists visit the school to work with children. Our Nurture Space is a sensory space that all children benefit from. We would of course always welcome more funding and are always on the look-out for more funding streams.
Safeguarding
Please continue to talk to a member of staff on the playground before or after school if you are worried about something. If you feel you would like a more private conversation, then an appointment can always be made and we will arrange it for as soon as we can with the right person who can help you.
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
Wednesday 21st June – Dress Down Day in exchange for a Raffle Prize (eg chocolates, toiletries, wine).
Thursday 22nd June – Open Evenings for parents of new Reception and new Nursery Children – 4:30 or 6pm. Only need to attend one session and no need to book.
Friday 30th June – Summer Fayre – after School. Please contact the Friends of Mousehold School if you can offer any help here.
Monday 3rd July – Ukulele lesson – 09:15am, for parents (Yr 1) to attend.
Tuesday 4th July – Day Trip to Pensthorpe for Barn Owl, Raven, Robin, Skylark and Swift.
Friday 7th July – Open Classrooms – 3pm.
Week commencing Monday 10th July – Transition Week.
Tuesday 11th July – Capoeira Performance – 09:15am, for parents (Yr 1) to attend.
Monday 17th July – Samba Performance – 09:15am, for parents (Yr 2) to attend.
Friday 21st July – Last day of Summer Term.
Thank you for your continued support
Yours faithfully
Mr Ian Tolson
Head of School
