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Welcome to the 17th issue of Fountain Head House School's 'The Splash'!
Headteacher update
Dear Parents & Carers,
I hope you all enjoyed the half term break, we are very pleased to see the pupils back and fully recharged!
It has been lovely to see the pupils enjoying the Halloween activities we had planned for our first day back, and thank you to those of you who dressed up. What a fantastic effort!
You may have noticed that the school website is currently down due to some technical issues that we have been working through. Our new website will be up and running soon, but in the meantime if there is any information that you need that would normally have found online, please don't hesitate to contact us in the usual way.
I am delighted to share the introduction of two new education posts at FHHS - Kate Buck has joined our Senior Leadership team
as Assistant Headteacher and Nina Jarram, who has joined us as our new Creative Learning Teacher.
Lastly, please do check your emails regularly for letters from us, as we will be sending out information about our plans for Children in Need and Christmas Jumper days very soon (full list of diary dates for the rest of the year below).
With kind regards,
Thereza de Lucca
Headteacher
Change of job role
Kate Buck has joined the Senior Leadership Team. She has been appointed Assistant Headteacher – Curriculum Development and has been post since the beginning of the school year. Kate continues teaching her class with a shared timetable.
Kate brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with creative approaches to learning. Her passion for curriculum started with her first love, mathematics! Kate has worked as an SLE Cross Phase Hub lead for Mathematics for a local teaching school which meant leading a group of talented practitioners from a wide range of contexts, presenting on a local and national level and helping to shape the next generation of teachers in schools across Plymouth.
It is this that now drives the enthusiasm and passion that Kate has to create the best curriculum for the children at Fountain Head House School.
New to the FHHS team
Nina Jarram joined the school last term as our new Creative Learning Teacher.
Nina has many years of experience in leading creative learning including Music, Dance and Drama.
Nina’s vast experience as a Performing Arts and SEN teacher focuses on a rounded approach to Arts learning, which supports the child’s personal, social and emotional development.
Nina approaches learning with an inclusive focus towards addressing the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils alongside discovering and enabling each individual to have access to a bespoke path towards effective engagement and a positive attitude towards learning. Nina’s educational philosophy is that all young people should be given the opportunity to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.
Happy Halloween!
Our pupils enjoyed a series of Halloween-themed activities to welcome them back after the October half term break, including dance, drama and singing led by our new Creative Learning Teacher, Nina Jarram.
From dance routines to a choreographed cardboard cutlass sword fight, Nina said "It was such a joy having all pupils visit our creative learning space to learn the Thriller dance, do the 'Mash' and demonstrate our Zombie moves amongst a menagerie of synthetic hair, black eyeliner and squashy masks"!
Upcoming dates for your diary
Please see below some important dates for your diary:
- Fri 17th November - Children in Need (letter sent to parents)
- Weds 29th November - Coffee Morning - 9am
- Thurs 7th December - Christmas Jumper Day (letter to follow)
- Tues 19th December - School Community Day - Christmas (invites to follow)
- Weds 31st January - Afternoon Tea - 2pm
- Weds 28th February - Coffee Morning - 9am
- Thurs 28th March - School Community Day - Easter (invites to follow)
- Weds 24th April - Afternoon Tea - 2pm
- Weds 22nd May - Coffee Morning - 9am
- Weds 26th June - Coffee Morning - 9am
- Fri 12th July - Sports Day (invites to follow)
- Tues 23rd July - School Community Day - Achievement Day (invites to follow)
Chair update
We have had some lovely autumn days recently, with the trees a riot of colours at the moment. I hope that you were all able to enjoy the half term break last week and that you have some exciting plans for the upcoming calendar of autumn events in the next few weeks; Halloween, Bonfire Night,
Remembrance Sunday.
These all seem highly pertinent to me at the moment, as we discussed spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) in the curriculum at our last Curriculum, Quality and Standards meeting and all of these annual events give our pupils the opportunity to understand and appreciate the wide range of spiritual, moral, social and cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage and that of others, which is so essential for their preparation for life, and gives them the chance to use of a range of social skills in these different contexts, with different people in our community; staff, friends and family, and hopefully have some fun and laughter into the bargain!
Julie
Dr Julie Smith
Chair of the Board
Next Coffee Morning event
You are invited to our next Parent/Carer Coffee Morning event on Wednesday 29th November from 9am. These events are a great way to meet and chat to fellow parents and carers in a relaxed, informal way.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Successful ISI inspection report
We are delighted to be able to share with you the good news from our recent Independent School Inspectorate - Material Change Inspection. The inspectorate reported that we met all of their rigorous criteria and therefore achieved the highest possible outcome. This is a significant step as we wait for the Department of Education approval to extend our offer with a starting age of 4 years and to increase the number of pupils attending FHHS.
You can find the full report on our website. This result marks a milestone for the school and we are very pleased with the outcome.
Reminder about photography consents
You should all have received an email before half term, asking you to confirm photography and media permissions for your child/children. These permissions are really important for us to confirm, as we regularly post content to social media and the website, plus distribute news stories to the local press.
If you haven't already done so, please could you complete the form ASAP? Alternatively, if you are having trouble completing the form or need it resent please reply to this email so that we can arrange this for you.
Uniform Supplier
Just in case you would like to order some new uniform items, please see below the link to our suppliers, Encore who are based in Saltash.
Enjoy those autumnal walks!
Autumn has well and truly arrived, with beautiful browns, greens, coppers, golds and crispy leaves, it's a great time of year to go for a walk.
We all know that getting outdoors is good for our mental health, improving our mood and reducing stress. But it's even more important at this time of year as the clocks go back and the darker evenings draw in, in helping to fend off those winter blues.
We've put together a few ideas to try and encourage our young people to enjoy a walk this Autumn:
- Collecting leaves, conkers, acorns, shells and other treasures.
- Autumn art - create a nature display or a piece of art with your collected items
- Puddle splashing and mud squishing - if you can cope with the mess, there really is no better feeling! It's a great sensory activity too.
- Scavenger hunts and geocaching - The Woodland Trust has some great ideas and resources, and if you've not had a go at Geocaching, take a look here at how you can take part in the world's largest treasure hunt!
- Hot treats - tired legs, chilly hands and toes will be so grateful of a hot chocolate or perhaps some soup to enjoy en route. Plus there's something magical about sharing it together under the trees or stars.
Where else can you find information, help and support?
Parenting and family support - Family Lives: www.familylives.org.uk
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families: www.annafreud.org
Young Minds: www.youngminds.org.uk
SEND IASS Cornwall: www.cornwallsendiass.org.uk/
Plymouth PIAS: www.plymouthias.org.uk/
