Report 2010 - Page Two

The start of the New Year saw some of the heaviest snowfall that we had seen for many years. The cold spell lasted for a long time and caused severe disruption all over the county, including several days of enforced closure for the school. Whilst Churchstanton’s rural location is idyllic, during the winter, the roads can suddenly be transformed into unapproachable routes. To counteract the weather, the school successfully ran a walking bus from Churchinford, but the little legs in Reception still found the deep snow quite a challenge! I would like to thank David Bleloch for transferring the school’s information into the public domain via the school’s website. The telephone system has also proved very successful along with the introduction of homework online for those who were unable to get to school.

Mrs Adams left at the end of the spring half term to begin her maternity leave. We were greeted not many weeks later with the wonderful news that she was the proud mother to Ruby (who is already on our admissions list!)

After much debate, the school decided to start hot school lunches a couple of times during the week. Even though there was not really enough room to swing a cat in the kitchen, they proved highly popular and Mrs Bleloch became a very, very busy cook!

The music concert was again a fantastic event and something that Churchstanton School is very proud of! The talent on show was endless and a credit to all of the hard work and dedication that the staff put in every day. A special mention must be made to Ms Sarah Samson whose enthusiasm and passion for music has inspired so many children! I would also like to thank the Blackdown Music Festival Committee for their continued support in enriching the music curriculum at the school.

Churchstanton held a globally themed week which was a great success. All three classes were very busy learning about different regions of the world and produced excellent pieces of work. Class 1 were in a carnival mood all day experiencing the Caribbean, Class 2 held a Chinese tea party and taught others how to use chop sticks, whilst Class 3 studied Ghana and made toys from recycled materials.

The children had a fabulous experience during the Summer Term when a space dome visited the school. They were able to learn about the night sky, planets, space travel and much more! The school also hosted another Open Day and the children held a very successful French café. Many parents were served bread and cheese with a healthy glass of grape juice whilst listening to a selection of French café music in the background.

In May, two teams of four took part the Rotary Exmoor Youth Challenge. The children had to complete a 16 mile route across Exmoor using a map and compass, with no help from adults!

Report 2010 - Page Three

This was the first time Churchstanton had entered the competition and they both successfully completed the course. The boys’ team came 29th in the boys’ group and the girls were 23rd in their group. Overall there were in excess of 100 teams competing. The two teams raised over £690 through sponsorship for Children’s Hospice South West which was a tremendous achievement. Mr John Wyatt visited from the Children’s Hospice and gratefully received the cheque during his school assembly. The Rotary Club posted the following comment on its website which summed up their efforts!

“Congratulations to ALL teams who completed the challenge - it required courage, determination, and stamina.”

There were a greater variety of clubs this year including art, gym, computer, football, rounders and kempo. A number of children from the Kempo Club took part in their first grading and all achieved Yellow Belts (8th Kyu). Well done to them all and I would also like to post the following comments from a very proud parent:

“They (the children) were all fantastic and totally focused on the grading. They were all well behaved and a credit to the school and the hard work of Mr. Hodgson!”

It was another very successful year for sport. Churchstanton School retained its Activemark Award for our commitment to PE and sport, the football teams competed in the Blackdown Schools’ League and various year groups attended many festivals. The school also won the small schools’ Kwik Cricket League in the summer! The sports’ day was fantastic. The weather kept fine, lots of parents came to support the children and the refreshment team worked hard! A special thank you must go to the staff and students of The Castle School who planned a great variety of events for the children and ran each challenge extremely well. It was also great to see a few old Churchstanton pupils (if somewhat a little taller!) returning to the field.

The Year 6 versus staff rounders’ match ended with a much needed moral boosting win for the staff, so to appease any disappointed children they were then treated to toasted marsh mallows over a fire.

The children in Class 3 attended their residential trip to Kilve towards the end of November for four nights. The children thoroughly enjoyed their adventurous activities, most notably the river expedition which resulted in a Commando style assault along the nearby stream! The children also went on class trips to Plymouth, Minehead and a Science Fair at Taunton School.

Report 2010 - Page Four

The Nativity was lovely, Class 3 danced at the Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton to the sounds of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys and finally at the end of the Summer Term, Key Stage 2 performed a fantastic musical, Oink! Twenty-four excited children attended the country dancing festival at Wells Cathedral in June and were privileged to have the Mayor of Bath and Wells joining them in their last dance. They also danced in Vivary Park, Taunton on a very hot (and rare) afternoon. Many thanks to Mrs Griffiths and her team!

Many parents commented on how well the children performed on stage and the obvious enjoyment that they were experiencing. The play was very much suited to their interests and this made the characters even more animated! It has to be noted that the humour was also very much directed towards the adults in the audience and I don’t think I have ever heard so much laughter before.

As a result of a very intensive weekend in September I gained a coaching certificate for canoeing and kayaking. I was therefore ready to take the children out onto the River Tone and during the Summer Term Class 3 had lots of fun. Some pupils however insisted on spending as much time in the river as they should out of it! Forest School went from strength to strength and all of Key Stage 2 spent time in the school grounds constructing various items from wood, bound together with clove hitches and practicing their culinary skills over an open fire.

The school supported Children in Need and Sports Relief Day; 28 children cycled to school, many walked and some even arrived on a pony! Class 3 came top with 86% of the children finding a different way to travel instead of using a car. All three classes then had a variety of activities to undertake during the morning and by the end of the events there were many rosy faces!

I would like to thank the Friends for all their hard work and dedication in organising various events over the year. We had a 70s night at the village hall, the traditional Easter Egg Hunt in the forest and of course the Summer fete. It was a fantastic day, helped very much by the wonderful weather with a great variety of stalls, competitions and events culminating at the end with an incredible £2000 raised. Without this extra income the school would not be able to provide so many of the extra ‘bits’ that the children experience during their years at Churchstanton such as school trips and the residential. Some of this money is being used to introduce bar coding in the school library. I was very pleased to see that myself and Mr Hyland raised over £70 for our efforts in the stocks. However after my basic maths it then transpired that this meant about 150 children and adults had a throw and I am not sure whether this was due to popularity or not!!!

Report 2010 - Page Five

The SATs results at the end of the year were especially pleasing. The percentages of Level 5s at the end of Key Stage 2 were well beyond the national average and the value added measure of 101 was amazing, especially since Science is no longer included as part of the data. For the past two years we have now been in the top 21% of performing schools in the country and our maths results have placed us on average in the top 10% nationally.

The past year’s successes continue to be a sign of all the hard work put in by all the staff, parents and children at the school! Without such a fantastic team, Churchstanton School would not be the place it is! I would like to thank everybody who has helped maintain the schools distinctive character and caring ethos, time after time. Congratulations to all concerned.

And finally it is important to say a special thank you to all of the pupils; after all it is the children who make this school so special.

Mr Simon Mills
Headteacher

Report 2009 - Page Two

We held a very successful Open Day during the Spring Term to promote the school within the wider community and to potential pupils. Amongst our visitors were past pupils who had attended during the Second World War and a former Headteacher, Mr Squance. It was widely commented that the event helped spread the news of the outstanding curriculum and opportunities offered to our children.

The annual report to Governors by the school’s improvement partner was excellent. He now feels the school is virtually meeting the Ofsted category of outstanding. He commented that the school continues to make progress in improving standards and takes outstanding care of its pupils. The school’s capacity to improve is very good with a constant striving to improve standards and achievement. We also gained the financial management standard in schools which confirmed we were managing our budget proficiently.

We had a ‘Friendship Post’ erected in the school grounds which was designed by Class 2 last year and put together by local artists Jo Dove and Sara Fairfax. Its theme was “change” (seasons, friendship and life) and the tiles were made by the children using natural items from the forest for imprints and the resulting words came from their associations to the idea.

A new shelter was built in the school playground, paid for by the remaining money from the school’s travel grant. The children have certainly taken to this and are able to use it during the day to shield themselves from the wind, sun and rain. It is also hoped that parents will be able to rest after their long walk to school from the village! Raised flower beds were put at the front of the school and have provided the children with experiences of growing flowers and vegetables from seed.

The Friends have been very busy again this year and have provided many activities for the children, including subsidies for school trips and residentials. One of the highlights was the whole school trip to the Brewhouse Theatre last December to watch The Jungle Book. The children loved every minute of it; they were well behaved and totally engrossed in the plot, which they will surely remember for a long, long time. The Friends also bought new outdoor and wet play equipment for each of the classes and Class 3 can be seen every playtime riding the very popular trolley boards! Their antics are however not good for the heart rate of staff on duty! There have been several coffee mornings for an informal get together and a Parents’ Forum to facilitate constructive discussion.
 

Report 2009 - Page Three

Five children represented Somerset during the Summer Term at the regional finals of the St John Ambulance first aid competition, held in Yeovil. They all had a very good day and benefited from the whole experience. There was also a great success when Rosie A. came first in the reserve competition. Congratulations! Mrs Joan Griffith took the country dancing group to Wells Cathedral last Saturday afternoon and performed with 77 other schools on the green. The children looked very smart in their new outfits, courtesy of the Friends and some skilful sewing!

It was another very successful year for sport. Firstly Churchstanton retained its Activemark Award for our commitment to PE and sport, the football teams competed again in the Blackdown Schools’ League and various year groups attended many festivals including cricket, orienteering, multiskills, swimming, problem solving and racquet sports. The Year 6 also had a trip to the Somerset County Ground to watch Australia against New Zealand during the women’s 20:20 World Cup. The year was rounded off extremely well with an exceptional Sports’ Day held on a rare sunny day in June and the Year 6 versus staff rounders’ match which luckily ended in a draw!

Churchstanton again managed to provide an extensive range of extra-curricular clubs over the year: football, netball, computer, art, gymnastics, cooking and rounders. Music also added enrichment to the school’s curriculum and resulted in an excellent music concert before the Easter Holidays. Many thanks must go to the Blackdown Beer and Music Festival Committee that continues to support this area in our school.

The children in Class 3 attended their residential trip to Treyarnon Bay at the start of the Autumn Term and stayed for four nights. We had a particularly memorable cycle ride along the Camel Trail to Padstow with some individuals forgetting about their brakes at crucial times during the journey! Class 2 enjoyed the pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, in Bath just after Christmas and the children also went on class trips to Weymouth and Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park. The Nativity was very popular, Class 3 danced at the Brewhouse Theatre and then at the end of the Summer Term, Key Stage Two performed a fantastic musical, The Rocky Monster Show. The school supported Children in Need, Shoe-box Appeal and Red Nose day in which the children raised a fabulous £187! Class 3 attended Somerset Arts’s week at Brimley Farm and had a great morning working with various artists and mediums. The Churchstanton paint collage from the event can now be seen in the school hall.

Report 2009 - Page Four

The SATs results at the end of the year were especially pleasing. The percentages of Level 5s at the end of Key Stage 2 were well beyond the national average and the value added measure of 100.7 was the best Churchstanton has ever achieved.

This past year’s successes are a sure sign of the hard work put in by all the staff and children at the school! Congratulations to all concerned.

Mr Simon Mills
Headteacher

Report 2008 - Page Two - Forest School & Sport

Churchstanton has been developing its very own Forest School through staff training and investment in equipment. For those of you unfamiliar with the term Forest School, it has developed from the Scandinavian education system and is about children and young people building self esteem and independence through exploring and experiencing the natural world. It is tailored to meet the needs of individuals within that group and is continuously developed as the children grow in confidence, skills and understanding. The ethos of Forest Schools allows learners the time and space to develop skills, interests and understanding through practical, hands-on experiences. It also allows staff to step back and observe the children in order to then encourage and inspire individuals to achieve through careful scaffolding and facilitating.

‘Personal development is outstanding.’ Ofsted 2008

It was another very successful year for sport. Firstly Churchstanton retained its Activemark Award through our continued dedication to bring PE and sport to the fore of the school’s focus, by encouraging our pupils to be active both in and out of lessons. The football teams competed again in the Blackdown Schools’ League and the under eleven team experienced great success. They finished runners up to Neroche and won the yearly football tournament held at Blagdon in the summer. The netball team also had a very successful season winning the Small Schools Tournament held at Courtfield School over the winter months. The children attended many festivals including cricket, orienteering, multiskills, swimming, problem solving and racquet sports. This was rounded off well with an exceptional Sports’ Day, run in part by children from The Castle School.

Report 2008 - Page Three - Clubs, Music, Trips & Performances

We have been very lucky with the range of extra-curricular clubs we have been able to hold over the year, and this reflects the dedication shown by the staff to provide more opportunities for the children. Music has also been a strong feature of the school with Mr Smith and Mrs Samson, specialist teachers, adding to the already rich and extensive curriculum featured in the school as a whole. The excellent music concert was held before the Easter Holidays and was a showcase for the work that goes on. A special mention must go to the Blackdown Beer and Music Festival Committee that continues to support this area in our school – Thank you!

‘One of the strengths of the good teaching and learning at the school is the good range of imaginative methods that are employed to motivate the pupils and stimulate them to want to learn.’ Ofsted 2008

The children in Class Three attended their residential trip to Kilve at the end of November and stayed for four nights. They had a hugely enjoyable time and had the opportunity to take part in many different activities, such as archery and abseiling! Class Two had a wonderful opportunity when they attended the pantomime, Aladdin, in Bath just after Christmas. Some of the cast had previously visited the school and worked with the children for one afternoon, giving them opportunities to act in costume and learn about the processes that go on behind stage. The children also went on class trips to the Allerford Museum and the World of Country Life, Devon.

The Nativity was again a ‘box-office’ hit and both performances in the school hall were bursting at the seams. Class Three also had a busy end to the school year! They firstly put on a show at the Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton, based on the life of artist L.S.Lowry and were one of only two primary schools taking part. Then at the end of the Summer Term, Key Stage Two performed a fantastic musical, Alice. This was based on the popular story by Lewis Carroll. The stage was awash with a vibrant display of colourful costumes, talented children and wonderful singing.

Report 2008 - Page Three - Friends, Charities & SATS

‘Care, guidance and support are outstanding and contribute very well to pupils' personal development.’ Ofsted 2008

The Friends had a great year with many fund-raising events for the school, with their primary aim to benefit the children. The Easter bonnet competition was very popular and produced a wide variety of hats! The newly acquired traversing wall in the large playground and ceiling lights in Class Two are the result of the hard work the Friends put in each year to provide items that will benefit both the children and the aesthetic qualities of Churchstanton School itself.

The school supported several charities including Jeans for Genes Day, The Royal British Legion, Children in Need and World Cancer Awareness Day. We also entered a scarecrow for the second Safari Trail held in and around Churchinford.

The SATs results this year were outstanding! Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 were again significantly above the national average and for Key Stage 2, they were the highest ever seen in the school.

Report 2008 - Page Four - Summary

‘By the time pupils leave the school, standards are above average in all key areas.’ Ofsted 2008

All in all, 2007 – 2008 was another successful year with many successes, upon which the school can continue to build. Our long term aim is to produce an outstanding school in all areas, with children at the heart of all we do.

The core purpose of Churchstanton Primary School is to educate our children to reach their full potential in a positive, happy environment, rooted in the local community and in our unique setting.

Report 2007 - Page Two - Health, Awards & Charities

The school held another highly successful Health Week. During this time we were visited by a Crew Manager from the Fire and Rescue Services and the Life Education Van. The children also had a great time with a qualified chef cooking fish fingers and Dr Murray coming into Class 1 with his doctor’s bag. Two very likeable teachers from The Forest School kindly donated their time and the children took part in various activities such as cooking, necklace making, wood instruments and forest games. The bread was very popular with all concerned, especially when hot and smeared with jam!

Churchstanton Primary School received two awards last year; the Active Mark and the National Healthy School Status. The National Healthy School Status was awarded for the quality of teaching and the emotional, physical and learning environment that the school provides. Over the past 18 months, Churchstanton Primary School worked towards National Healthy School Status, and by achieving the award it now shows that the pupils can be assured of a high standard of provision in personal, social and health education; healthy eating; physical activity; and emotional health and well-being. Churchstanton was one of 18 out of 46 schools in the Tone Partnership that achieved the Active Mark award. This was awarded because 90% or more of pupils across the school were doing 2 hours of PE and Sport, the school held a sports day and bettered the national average for the range of sports we offered and finally we had a high percentage of pupils participating in sports clubs.

The school became part of a national pilot scheme run by the School Food Trust. Initially six School Council members and three adult volunteers went along to Chard Guildhall to a cooking day and received some free gifts and many ideas. Using that as an impetus, the Lets Get Cooking Club was formed, and with the aid of some dedicated parents they since have hosted smoothie stalls and a very popular after school club! The school’s Eco-Club has also remained active and gained the bronze eco-schools award. The School Council has become far more pro-active in the school with an ever increasing say in school matters.

The school has again supported several charities including Jeans for Genes day, The Royal British Legion, Red Nose day, NCH and Barnardos. Each class also entered a scarecrow for the safari trail held in and around Churchinford. 

Report 2007 - Page Three - SATS, Clubs, Trips, Performances & Sport

The SATs results this year were again good and showed continued improvement! Standards at the end of Key Stage 1 were significantly above the national average and the value added measure of 100.3 from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 put us in the top 35% of schools nationally.

Just to illustrate that the children receive an all round education at Churchstanton it is important to be reminded of the extra curricular activities they carry out. There have been a variety of after school clubs run by volunteers over the year and they have all been very well attended. In addition to these the school residential stay at Treyarnon Bay in September was excellent, with lovely views of the coast from the youth hostel and some great weather! Class Three thought it was absolutely fantastic! The classes have also been on day trips to Babbacombe and the River Parret to support their topic work in the school.

The school had its fair share of performances including the Christmas Nativity, the Easter music concert, the Summer play extravaganza, which this year was Zoom and the end of year garden party. One of the other highlights of the year was Class 3’s production of Michael Jackson’s Thriller at the Brewhouse Theatre. Many people commented on just how good it was!

Sport has been a major part of Churchstanton life with numerous opportunities for all children to get involved. There was a multi-skills club after school for Class 1, the Blackdowns Football League, the highly competitive girls’ football tournament at Castle School, the small schools’ netball league, Kwik Cricket, many various sport festivals which all culminated in the excellent sports day in June.

Simon Mills
Head Teacher

Report 2007 - Page Four - Governors, Good-bye Joan & Global Awareness

It has been a busy year for the governors too, but we still have many things we want to help the school achieve. We have recruited two community governors and have two new parent governors. We have spent time with the children, working with the School Council and Eco Club. We have introduced a "Governors Award" which is presented to one of the pupils at the end of each term. The award is available to pupils of all abilities and recipients will have consistently exhibited care and respect for others, worked hard and be recognised as a positive role model, showing that school can be a rewarding and enjoyable place to be.

We gave a good send off for Joan as she heads for retirement. She will have inspired countless numbers of children over the last 35 years (and is still going!). We had the pleasure of sifting through many excellent applications for our resulting teaching vacancy and are very pleased that Karina has joined the team and is making an impact in class One and around the school.

To assist with the delivery of global awareness we are opening channels with schools in other countries (France, South Africa and India). If parents have links with other countries, we would like to hear from you. Over the coming months, the school will be involved with a pilot project to raise children's awareness of environment issues and the need to take action on climate change. Please watch out for and support any efforts your children make to 'save the planet'. In particular, if you have any feedback on the project (both encouragement and suggestions for improvement) we are committed to a dialogue with the project team and they would love to hear from parents too. We are keen for the school to make full use of our glorious surroundings and will fully support the teachers who will be undertaking Forest School training, the fruits of which will be included on the curriculum next year.

Report 2007 - Page Five - Federation, Thanks & OFSTED

We have been working with the governors and staff of Blagdon Hill School with the purpose of providing new opportunities for the children of both schools that might not have been possible without working together. We are at a decision point with respect to the future of this collaboration and we will keep you fully informed. Please accept my assurances that we will always tell you about things that affect the school - through some form of written communication or via a public meeting. If you hear a rumour or some information about something that sounds important and you haven't heard from us then what you are hearing may have some threads of truth but the supposed impact may not. Our governance is open but please respect that, on some items that come our way, we can often decide that there is no current, or sometimes just unknown, impact on the school and communication to parents on such subjects may not be necessary.

I would like to thank everybody who has worked or helped out at the school over the last year. Staff, parents, Friends, governors and other members of the community have all shown their support and that they obviously care a great deal about the school and the education of your children. Without this sense of community, things would be very difficult indeed. In particular, all members of staff deserve recognition for their hard work and enthusiasm. It's not easy working at a small school, particularly because there are so few people to take on the many roles and responsibilities that the school is required to fulfil. Please take the time to thank them personally and encourage the children to do so too!

It is because of this hard work that governors received an encouraging report from our School Improvement Partner (a resource provided by the Local Authority to help build the school's capacity to improve the achievement of its pupils). We feel an OFSTED inspection is inevitable later this academic year and have confidence the staff and pupils will "do us proud".

David Bleloch
Chair of Governors