I would like
to start this report in reverse chronological order as in the last few days we
have received our fantastic SATs (Statutory Assessment Tests) for Key Stage 2 results
which confirms Upminster Junior School as the top Junior School locally (in
Cranham & Upminster). More detail of
these results will follow in due course but I would like to thank firstly the Year
6 teachers and Teaching Assistants (TAs) for their hard work throughout the
year and the school Senior Leadership Team for their drive and enthusiasm. I must not forget the whole school approach
to learning as this did not just happen overnight so congratulations to all
staff for their efforts over many years.
Lastly, well done all Year 6 Pupils for their willingness to take on the
new style SATs and achieve great results.
I wish them all every success in Year 7 at their new schools.
Turning the
clock back now to where we started in September 2015, two Newly Qualified
Teachers (NQTs) joined us for their first year in teaching, Miss Southgate in
Year 5 and Miss Zweistra in Year 4. They
have both done exceptionally well and hope they found it an enjoyable
experience and stay with us for many years.
The transition
from Year 2 in the Infant School to Year
3 in the Junior School was expertly handled by the year leaders, Mrs
Gunthorpe and Mrs Mordew who share the responsibility with adequate backing
from Miss Nelson and Mrs Clarke and outstanding support from their TAs. Educational trips out included visits to Colchester Castle and Colchester
Zoo.
Year
4 found themselves without their leader, Miss Latheron for a long period
of time due to her hospitalisation for a hip operation but Miss Zweistra and
Mrs Jones showed great calmness throughout and got on with the job. It was good to see Miss Latheron return for
the second half of the summer term and well on the way to complete recovery.
Educational trips out included Tower of London, Kentwell Hall and Belhus Woods.
Year
5 led by Mrs Zweistra, with Miss Southgate and Miss Begiri in support,
attended the residential trip to Bushey in Hertfordshire for the 1940’s experience.
They thoroughly enjoyed a unique
learning experience about life at home in London during World War II. These trips are successful due to the support
during the week by TAs and parents; therefore, I would like to take this opportunity
to pay tribute to Mrs Emes, Mrs Fitzgerald, Mrs Gulvin, Mr Lee, Mr Haley, Mr
Lawrence, Mrs Wilson and Mrs Sillett for making it a pleasant week for all the Pupils
in attendance. Year 5 should also be praised for being outstanding ambassadors
for Upminster Junior School. Other educational visits included Go Run for Fun at the
Olympic Park, Transport Museum, Science Museum, River Ingrebourne with Essex
Wildlife Trust, The Old Chapel opposite the Upminster Windmill, the National
Gallery, Leeds Castle and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Mrs Riches again led Year 6, ably assisted by Mr Waskett
and Mrs Pedder. Mr Waskett will be
leaving at the end of the summer term to further his career at another local
school in Hornchurch. He has been an
exceptional teacher at Upminster Junior School for the past six years and he will
be missed but we wish him well for the future.
Apart from the SATs the highlight of the year, as always, is the
residential visit to PGL in June for all Year 6 Pupils who wish to go. Again it was a successful venture where they
get to participate in all sorts of outdoor pursuits. Other educational visits throughout the year
included the British Museum, orienteering at James Oglethorpe School, the
National Gallery, a Mosque and Groovy Greeks in Southend.
Once again, all the trips for the year groups listed
above would not happen without support from our Teachers, TAs and parents and again
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of them for their dedication
to our pupils’ learning experience. We also
must not forget the work performed by our Midday
Supervisors whose day to day work with pupils epitomise our core values of self belief, trust,
compassion, creative and resilience.
At the end of the Autumn Term, Mrs Boyes our SENCo (Special Educational Needs &
Disabilities Co-ordinator) left to progress her career at another school. UJS welcomes Mrs Puirseil who will take over
the role at the
start of September.
Our Sports Co-ordinator, Mr Stanley, has done an outstanding job and introduced
a whole range of new sports to the school.
I believe the School is the top
performing Primary in Havering, if not the whole of London, as was proven by
our success in the London Youth games. Throughout
the
year the School has won many other competitions locally in Havering at all
sports. Mr Stanley’s pride and joy is the creation of our “QuadKids”.
[“QuadKids Schools is the preferred athletics format for the
School Games, including level 1 inter (whole school), level 2 intra school
events, Schools Games qualifying rounds and level
3 County / School Games finals. This easy to run athletics format encourages
participation for all ages and abilities and has been widely used throughout the UK for many years”.]
Special
congratulations to Mr Stanley for achieving a “1st Class” Honours
Degree this year. He will complete his
teacher training during the next two terms at Upminster Junior School.
Our Choir and Orchestra continues to go
from strength to strength under the stewardship of Mrs Foan and Mrs Riches with
support from many peripatetic music teachers.
The summer term culminated in yet another magnificent performance by the
whole school at St Luke’s in Cranham and this time even the staff managed to
play a star role by singing with the choir!
The School Council which consists of one pupil from each class elected by their peers, has also had a successful year. They conduct themselves in a democratic fashion and when they have an idea, they consult with their individual classes before bringing it back to committee for decision. One of their favourite projects this year was to “adopt” a school pet and they are well on the way to achieving that. When the School Governors had decided on their final two candidates for the position of Headteacher following Mr Woodford’s decision to move on, they played a major role interviewing each candidate over a half hour session Both candidates admitted afterwards that the session had been the hardest part of the interview process.
In
April this year, the School Council had an opportunity to visit the Mayor of
Havering, Councillor Brian Eagling, at the Town Hall in Romford and enjoyed
asking him many questions about the work of Havering Council. They also got the chance to wear the mayoral robes
and hold the Mace which again they thoroughly enjoyed. Mr Ansell, our Deputy Headteacher, deserves
our thanks for encouraging and guiding the School Council to achieve their
success.
The school Eco Council worked on an
air-pollution project with Sustrans. They attached eight
perspex tubes to various locations near St Mary’s Lane in front of the school.
Sadly, four tubes went missing. The remaining four tubes were sent for
analysis. Results show that the nearer the tubes were to the road, the more
polluted the air was. In two tubes, the Nitrous Oxide level exceeded the safe
levels set by Europe. Thanks as well to
the Digital Leaders who are trusted pupils responsible for
supporting, promoting and developing, alongside the computing co-ordinator,
Miss Nelson and Mr Welch our ICT System Administrator, the technology that is
used within our school. We are massively
grateful to all of them.
A
huge contribution during 2015/16 has again been made by the Parents’
Council which can be considered a “scrutiny” committee when it
comes to new ideas but they also come forward with new suggestions and
information to improve the school.
My appreciation for the efforts of the School’s Governing Body must not go
without mention. We meet officially at
least three times each term but that is not all. Each Governor has responsibility for a year
group plus a curriculum subject and is expected to liaise with their classes
and their subject lead and report back at the full Governors’ meeting each
term. Governors also assist by attending
educational visits with their year group or class. To meet their statutory obligations,
Governors are also expected to attend training sessions regularly to keep
abreast of changes in education law from time to time. All Governors are doing the job voluntarily
without any remuneration.
On the 19 April 2016, the school was reviewed by an external
independent team. This was applied in the form of a one day Ofsted inspection and was a very
thorough process. It was extremely useful in assessing the position of the
school and was also conducted fairly.
The outcomes of the review were:
Ofsted Category Grade - Overall effectiveness Good
·
The effectiveness of
leadership and management - Good
·
The quality of
teaching, learning and assessment - Good
·
Personal development,
welfare and behaviour - Good
·
Outcomes of pupils and
learners - Good
A few of the judgements require “actions” to ensure that
the school is secure. Personal
development, welfare and behaviour was said to be very effective and on the
cusp of Outstanding.
Our Business Manager (Mr
Brown), the Office Team (Mrs Clarke,
Mrs Cooper and Mrs Rowe) and Site Team
(Mr Fitzgerald and Mr Rowden) are very much in the “front line” and deal with pupils
and parents from day to day in all sorts of circumstances. Their dedication and loyalty to Upminster Junior
School can often be taken for granted but without them, it would a massive
impact on the smooth running of the school.
In June 2016, Mr Woodford and his wife had baby Charlotte. They had already given great thought to when
the baby was born and made their decision to move back to the New Forest area
to be closer to their families. We wish
the family our best wishes for the future and Mr Woodford every success at his
new school.
Jeff Stafford
Chair of Governors
Upminster Junior
School
12th
July 2016
