Romiley Primary School

Dear Parents and Carers, Whilst this is my last official newsletter, I have no doubt that there will be a few more messages next week. As well as our normal newsletter this week, I have attached some information that you may find useful over the summer. This includes details of R-Time activities and free transport to activities throughout August, free sessions at Stockport Sports Village, the Read to the Beat Summer Reading Challenge, and information for families about support vouchers. The last couple of weeks have reminded me just what a special place Romiley Primary School is. Our Sports Days were truly remarkable and showcased the incredible support within our community. Our Year 6 production was exceptional – there is no other primary school in Stockport that performs its Year 6 production in a theatre like the Forum. Our children managed the lighting, microphones, sound, sets and music to create a truly special evening. Our sports teams once again did us proud, and our PTA put on another fantastic community event. Not only did we raise a significant amount of money for the children of Romiley, but we also had a wonderful time together. A huge thank you to everyone involved. As I come to the end of the penultimate week of the school year, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible support you have given the school during my time here. The last five years have been among the proudest of my life. I feel truly blessed to have worked alongside such dedicated staff, supportive parents, and committed governors. Together, we have helped shape the lives of some remarkable children, and I am immensely proud to have served the Romiley community. I have every confidence that our children will go on to make a positive difference in the world, and that is something we can all be proud of. Once again, thank you for everything. It has been a privilege and an honour to serve as Headteacher of Romiley Primary School. I will always be grateful for the support and kindness shown to me by this wonderful community. Romiley will always hold a special place in my heart. Have a wonderful weekend, and I'm sure I'll see many of you next week.

Good afternoon, I hope this week hasn’t been too uncomfortable for you all. Thank you for your continued support in helping us navigate this heatwave. It has become increasingly common, social media misinformation can sometimes create unnecessary alarm within communities. One example I heard this week was that a primary school in Woodley had fully closed. It didn’t take long for that news to spread. However, it’s worth noting that Woodley is also an area in South Berkshire, which was under a red weather warning—not the area just down the road! Here at school, we carefully risk assessed the site and closely monitored classroom temperatures throughout the week. On only a couple of occasions did temperatures exceed 30°C. While it was certainly uncomfortable at times, our planning and precautions ensured that everyone remained safe, and we were even able to continue with enjoyable activities and join in with the excitement of the World Cup, with a few more shade breaks and plenty of water! However, as this was set to be the hottest day and temperatures within the building rose further, we made the decision to offer an optional early pick-up at 1:30pm. We felt this was the safest approach, allowing families to decide whether their child remained in school or was collected early, whilst also helping to reduce the overall temperature in the classrooms. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation with this. I would also like to extend my thanks to one of our former parents, who kindly visited this week to take infrared images of the site. These will be incredibly useful as we continue to develop our climate action plan and make informed sustainability decisions. Please look out for a message from school later today. As always, we will be sharing information about your child’s next teacher on a Friday afternoon. We find that parents are best placed to share this news with their children, as you are immediately available to talk things through and provide reassurance if needed. We are all looking forward to transition day next Thursday. We are also delighted to be welcoming two new teachers in September: Mrs Evans and Mrs Richardson. Mrs Richardson is already familiar to many pupils, and we are very pleased that she has successfully completed her teacher training and secured a teaching post with us. Mrs Evans was also an exceptional candidate during the interview process, and we are confident that she will make a very positive impact on the children in her class. I hope you manage to stay cool over the weekend. See you on Monday!

Dear Parents and Carers, There are a couple of extra attachments this week. As usual, I’ve included the Picture News resource. This week it is about Toy Story 5 and the discussions around how childhoods have changed with the introduction of screens. We have also included an exciting competition: your child can design a ‘We love Romiley’ badge. The winning design will be made up into a real pin badge! The attachment is a PDF, but if you require us to print you a paper copy, please do let us know. All the details are in the attachment. I do hope you have a fantastic weekend. See you next week. Mr Bassett

Dear Parents and Carers, Happy half term! Many of you will know that having two weeks at Whit is a tradition unique to Greater Manchester. Only a handful of boroughs have two weeks, and only for primary school children, which means cheaper holidays for the second week (while you have children in primary, of course!). A huge thank you to the PTA for organising the fantastic inflatable course on Wednesday. The children (and some staff) had a wonderful time! I was incredibly proud this week when we had a senior school improvement advisor visit our school. He commented on the engaging lessons and the excellent teaching strategies he observed. He also noted the strong inclusive practice, which validates our mantra of being beneficial to all and vital to some. We know we’re not perfect (I don’t believe perfect schools exist!), but I was thrilled to hear that our continuous journey of school improvement is having such a positive impact on all, not just some—validated by an expert. A large aspect of this drive for universally inclusive classrooms was Mrs Frost, who we said farewell to yesterday. We would like to thank her again for her incredible contribution to the school and wish her the very best in whatever she does next. If you’re celebrating Eid al-Adha next week, then happy Eid! I have included next week’s Picture News resource as well which asks the question, ‘’Why do people celebrating different things in different ways?’ I’ve also included this week’s Picture News resource around the FA Cup final, which asks the questions, ‘Do we learn more from winning or losing?’. Thank you for your continued support. Enjoy your break, and I will see you when we return on 8th June.

Dear Parents and Carers, I hope you all enjoyed the Bank Holiday. Today is Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday! This was the theme of this week's assembly resource which we have attached. This week, we have been busy interviewing; getting the right people to work here is incredibly important to us. Firstly, we have interviewed for Mrs Frost’s replacement. We have also been interviewing for a class teacher position, as the wonderful Mrs Murdoch will be retiring at the end of the year after 18 years at Romiley. Mrs Murdoch is a fantastic teacher who has had such a significant impact on the lives of our youngest children. She has led the nursery with the utmost care and nurture, preparing children for Reception and beyond. So many children and parents will be sad to see her retire, but will also be tremendously grateful for her amazing work. Next week is SATs week for our Year 6 pupils. These are statutory assessments that every Year 6 child across the country will be taking. Although we operate within an exam‑based education system, we know these tests do not define our children. They are so much more than their reading, maths or grammar scores. We have dancers, gymnasts and artists (I think every child is an artist). We have children who show kindness, those who light up the room with their character and smile, and those who model integrity, morality and justice. In short, what makes our children culture‑shapers who influence the world around them is not their SATs scores, but who they are. We are incredibly proud of our Year 6 pupils. I hope you all have a great weekend — do something fun! Mr Bassett

Dear Parents and Carers, Please find attached this week's newsletter. I hope you have a fantastic weekend and enjoy the Bank Holiday! Let's hope the weather's good... See you on Tuesday, Mr Bassett

Good afternoon and happy Friday! I’d like to start by thanking Mr Moss for organising our fantastic cricket sessions yesterday. The children were so positive about it, and we were astonished to see some with incredible natural ability. We have attached an updated Summer Term diary of events. Please take note that Sports Day has changed slightly for Years 4, 5 and 6. Yesterday was St George’s Day. For the last five years, every St George’s Day I have written something about our Patron Saint and how he represents diversity, inclusion, integrity and bravery — the characteristics I see and want to nurture in our community. St George is venerated in countries and regions all over the world; he was from Cappadocia, Greece, and had a Roman father and a Palestinian mother. Unfortunately, our flag — the flag of St George — has been misused and weaponised by a minority. Today, I want to use the flag as a means to celebrate and be proud of the diversity, inclusivity, integrity and bravery in our country and community. Happy St George’s Day for yesterday! Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday.

Dear Parents and Carers, Welcome back! I hope you’ve had a restful Easter break. The Summer Term is full of school events including SATs, the Phonics Screening Check, the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check, Sports Day, Year 6 events, school trips, and much more. We’re also making plans for next year, ensuring a smooth transition while supporting the children to finish this year as well as they can. Mrs Clerc and I have been carrying out our termly pupil progress meetings with teachers this week, and we are delighted by the progress the children have made. With your continued support, I know this will continue throughout the term. Life is made up of seasons, and it is so important that we start and end each season as well as we can. That feels particularly poignant for me at the moment as, during this term, I will be handing things over to our fabulous Mrs Clerc, who I am delighted will be steering the ship next year. I would like to thank the PTA and every parent who has contributed to the wonderful new outdoor space where we can sit, reflect, and remember Ayyan, who made such an impact on so many people. I remember talking to his parents about the brief for the space, and they said it needed to be something useful to both people and nature. It certainly meets those aims and will continue to do so for years to come. Thank you. I do hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you next week. Mr Bassett

Dear Parents and Carers, Well, that’s another term complete! We are now officially two thirds of the way through the year. Thank you to everyone who attended parents’ evening this week. At Romiley, we are incredibly fortunate to have such strong home–school partnerships, and this support makes a real difference to the children. In this week’s newsletter, you’ll read that Mrs. Frost will be leaving us at Whit. We are very sad to see her go, but we wish her the very best of luck for the future. I hope you all enjoy a well‑earned rest over the break. I look forward to welcoming you back on 13th April. Kind regards, Mr Bassett

Dear Parents and Carers, Firstly, if you are celebrating Eid this weekend, Eid Saeed! We have had so much to celebrate again this week. Our Year 6 children performed exceptionally well and beat Stockport Grammar School in the Metro Cup competition. Our incredible choir also performed at the Town Hall and were widely regarded as the best choir there. In addition, we held our second SEND Review Evening. Thank you for all the feedback you have shared following the SEND reviews. We were delighted that so many parents appreciated having dedicated time after school and valued the work of our staff. As this was our first time running SEND reviews in this format, we will be sending out a questionnaire soon to gather further feedback to help us continue improving. I often say to people that, regardless of the weather, it is simply weather — but the sunshine really does lift everyone’s spirits! I hope it continues to shine over the weekend. See you next week (our final week of term!). Mr Bassett