Posted on: July 7th 2017
As we approach the end of the school year it is wonderful that we finish on a really positive note with a lot to celebrate!
Firstly, it was wonderful to receive such an excellent ISI inspection report. I hope by now that you have all had the chance to read about the achievements and personal development of our wonderful pupils. We knew that we were very likely to be inspected before the end of the year and although no-one looks forward to inspection, we are confident in the service we provide for children. Seeing the opportunities that the teachers provide for children at Norfolk House, I was confident that we would be graded as excellent in both achievement and personal development. For the staff it has been a very affirming experience in terms of their teaching, our curriculum and the future direction of the school. I would like to thank and congratulate all the staff for their hard work and commitment and thank the children for being open, friendly and honest with the inspection team. In addition, thank you to all the parents for completing the ISI survey, this provided useful information for the inspection team to focus on during their three days.
We enjoyed Sports Day at our new venue of Aldenham School. We had some changes to the events and were able for the first time to run events concurrently to ensure the children remained as active as possible. We have had some great feedback from parents and staff about things that worked well and some suggestions for development. With Sport as a major ongoing focus, we are continually looking to improve the sporting events we hold and will certainly use the feedback to inform next year’s event. Thank you to our Head of Sport Emily Patten for her organisation and to Jo Charman for her supporting role in making the day a success. Also, thank you to all the staff for their commitment and enthusiasm on the day and the parents’ support and involvement.
The Form 5 & 6 children returned from Bushcraft last week and feedback from children, parents and staff indicate it was the best one yet. Children had a wonderful time connecting with nature and learning survival skills. Thank you to Rob Ashton, Gemma Osborne, Pauline Holt and Phil Smith for making the trip so memorable. You can read more about in Luke and Alex’s blog.
On Saturday last week, we held our annual summer fayre. The weather was great and the event was very well attended. Initial indications suggest FoNH raised significantly more funds at this year’s event than in previous years; so a huge thank you to the committee members of FoNH and parent reps who helped organise and set up the fayre. We had some great new games; particularly popular was the fantastic take on Play Your Cards Right, with Mr. Rifat making a very convincing Bruce Forsyth. The Form 6 Young Enterprise companies also did very well and have both made significant profits - well done Form 6!
Finally, we look ahead to the end of term next week with the Nursery Picnic and Races and Awards Day. It has been an incredibly busy year that has flown by and I can see that the children and teachers are ready for a well-deserved holiday. All the staff would like to thank all the parents for their ongoing support and wish all our families a safe and enjoyable summer break.
