Dear Parents/Carers

It’s been a wee while but we’re finally back!

It’s lovely to see Woodlands back to being the busy, bustling place it is at its best. The children have returned to school with such a positive attitude – it’s a pity we can’t connect them to the National Grid as we’d be able to power the whole of Merseyside with the energy produced by their smiles. They’ve been thrilled to be reunited with their friends & are happy to be part of a class again.

Our staff have been so impressed with how your children have just picked up from where they left off in March – it’s like they’ve never been away. Their behaviour has been impeccable (so far!) & they’ve been eager to get on with their learning too. Any slight changes to our usual routines have been taken in their stride.

I’d like to say thank you to all the members of staff who have transformed school from quite literally being a building site (on Monday) to looking like a school again. The electricians & builders have completed their work & the classrooms are back to their welcoming best. Mr Inskip, our site manager, has been wonderful throughout the whole of the summer ensuring that the works were completed on time so that we could open as planned.

The community room will be out of action for the foreseeable future due to some much-needed renovation.

A couple of reminders regarding pick-up & drop-off:

• Our new procedure is to have a ‘fluid drop-off’ in the morning between 08:40 & 08:55. Please don’t enter the school playgrounds before 08:40 - this simply results in families standing waiting for the doors to be opened – which is exactly what we’re trying to avoid. Likewise, at pick-up time please don’t come to school early – if pick-up is at 3 o’clock please be walking on to the playground at 3 o’clock, not 10 to 3.
• After pick-up, please leave the school site immediately. If you are waiting to pick up another child from a different phase, please keep your children with you – they should not be playing on the school field or the trim trails.

At this time of year, we’d normally be holding ‘parent information evenings’. Instead, we will be sending a summary of the information home, so there will not be a need to hold any meetings in school (those of you with children in multiple phases will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief).

Normally, Woodlands’ staff are happy to talk to you about your child at any time, but at the moment I would ask you to refrain from entering the school or classroom; the teachers need to ensure that their pupils are entering/leaving the classrooms safely. If you need to talk to your child’s teacher please make an appointment by contacting the school office either by phone or email [01704 87644 / admin@woodlandsschoolformby.co.uk]. Please don’t feel that you shouldn’t be contacting your child’s teacher, you should – we simply need to approach this in a different way.

Weather permitting, we’re hoping to get our junior children (Year 3 – Year 6) on to the field at lunchtimes next week. Please make sure they have a pair of trainers with them to get changed into.

From Monday (7 September) our nursery children begin to return to Woodlands & our new starters in our receptions classes (Red & Blue) begin part-time for a week. Woodlands Early Years’ staff are very excited about the start of their new academic year!

Take care

KD Williams

Headteacher

Last word

I’m reading a book on the history of glue.

I just can’t seem to put it down…