Elected School Council takes on the Houses of Parliament

Fellow Governor Mrs Wilkinson and myself had the pleasure of joining a school trip with Mrs Lilley and representative children from all classes on a trip to the Houses of Parliament. Around this Mrs Lilley organised a visit to a number of London's Historic Landmarks.

It was truly a great and memorable day! All the children - Hope, Jack, Hattie, Beau, Fenella, Kaia, Harrison, Callum, Nancy, Willow & Dylan were superbly behaved throughout the long day and asked lots of brilliant questions in Parliament!

A big thanks to Mrs Lilley in organising this event.

Andrzej Gaudyn
30th September 2014

As we approach the 160th Anniversary of the School at Great Gaddesden….

Being a Governor with responsibility for Premises , Health & Safety, apart from the occasional major project, I am often bogged down in the not so joyful world of leaking pipework/ taps, dodgy roofing, dry rot, rising damp, rotting windows as well as mind numbing Health & safety and planning legislation. On the plus side it has always been rewarding to see the positive impact that little improvements to the school make to the environment that our children enjoy during their school day.

Managing a school where some buildings date to over 150 years and others were added and constructed in the 1960’s & 1980’s gives us a number of challenges in providing the best environment for the young minds entrusted to us to expand their knowledge to their maximum individual potential.

Our head, the teachers and all the staff have been doing a fantastic job  in focusing on raising the standard of education in the school and the results speak for themselves. (Herts CC, The Diocese of ST Albans and HM Inspector of schools all seem to agree too ! )

The school is becoming ever popular with school numbers increasing, however,  the schools Governing body, recognises that there are some unique features of this school which make it what it is such as smaller class sizes and a high staff to pupil ratio providing good quality targeted education.

One of the tasks ahead will be to look at how to make the most of the whole of the schools layout to make best use of the buildings fit for another 150 years !

Some of you may have noticed a new addition to the school house garden.  Inspired by approaching 160^th Anniversary (in 2 ½ years time) a former pupil of Great Gaddesden School has designed, hand forged and installed a Victorian arch over the entrance into the school house garden. The former pupil chose this as a project as part of her A level in Design & Technology.  I hope you will agree that this is a nice addition to the school’s environment.

 

 

Full Governing Body Meeting - September 15th 2014

On Monday evening, we held the first Full Governing Body Meeting of the academic year.

We meet as a full governing body once every half term, providing support to the school as a ‘Critical Friend’. Our activities are wide-ranging and might include approving school policies, reviewing pupil attainment data and planning capital investment.

The first meeting is focused on making sure that the Governing Body is ready for the year ahead. Agenda items included:

-          electing a Chair (Alison Wilkinson) and Vice-Chair (Catherine Wilkinson)

-          confirming the sub-committees for the coming year (Finance, Personnel & Premises; Curriculum & Standards)

-          approving the Governors’ programme of work for the academic year, including how the Governors can support the School Development Plan

-          approving the Minutes from the meeting held in July 2014, and reviewing matters arising from that meeting

-          approving our Instrument of Government and agreeing training priorities for the Governing Body

Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday November 10^th.

If you would like to know more about the work of the Governing Body, please do not hesitate to contact me awilkinson@greatgaddesden.herts.sch.uk

Wishing everyone at Great Gaddesden CoE (VA) School a happy and successful academic year.

 

Alison Wilkinson

Chair of Governors

Parish News September 2014

Great Gaddesden CoE (VA) School

The children and staff of the school are currently enjoying a well-earned summer holiday. The last academic year was incredibly busy with innovations in many areas of school life ranging from installing a new central heating boiler (following a leak in the boiler room) to celebrating Small Schools Week in style with an “off-curriculum week” of amazing activities. All of these issues (and many more!) come into the in-tray of a small school’s Headteacher. The breadth of issues that has to be dealt with is quite amazing. We are incredibly fortunate to have Miss Worsley as our headteacher and she has led the school with skill and compassion throughout the year.

The traditional Leavers’ Service at the end of term was a chance to pay tribute to our Year 6 Leavers – Amanda, Charlie, Shyla, Josh – “The four of you have been superb leaders and have set a terrific example to the rest of the school. Great Gaddesden will always be your school and we look forward to hearing about your future successes - stay in touch!”  They have all been wonderful pupils of our school and I am sure their experiences at Great Gaddesden will mean that they move on to be happy and successful secondary school pupils.

 It was also an opportunity to thank the staff for their hard work throughout the year. Academically, the relentless focus on raising standards has really borne fruit and our SATs results (for pupils in Years 2 and 6) demonstrate genuinely excellent progress in reading, writing and maths. This is testament to the hard work of both staff and pupils. We are very proud of their achievements.

 However, our school is about so much more than academic standards. This year has also seen the school provide the children and the staff with so many opportunities to grow in all areas of their lives. The class blogs and school website are a record of just how varied and rich the school experience at Great Gaddesden has become.

In September we welcome Mrs Jessop to the school as Senior Teacher and Inclusion Leader. We are really excited about the opportunities this appointment offers to drive further improvements in teaching and learning throughout the school.

We also welcome new families to our school in September and trust that the children and their families will be very happy as they start their ‘friendship’ with Great Gaddesden School.

Alison Wilkinson

Chair of Governors