July 2015

Dear Parents

It is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of another year at Lea Forest Academy - and what a fantastic year it has been!

It seems like a long time ago now that we received our really positive report from Ofsted recognising the significant progress the school had made on its journey to ‘Good’. We continue to strive to move the journey ever closer to the ultimate goal of ‘Outstanding’.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff for all their hard work and the parents for all their support.

Our children have all enjoyed a wide range of ‘Wow’ activities within the curriculum engaging them in their learning.

Some of the highlights have been –

Y6 residential to Condover where the children experienced a range of outdoor activities pushing them to their limits!

Y5 Harry Potter Museum – bringing the books to life

Y4 Re-enacting life as a Viking

Y3 Trip to Forge Mill where the children had first hand experience of archaeology

Y2 Beau Manor Hall with a ‘Pirate’ theme

Y1 Visit by ‘Creaturama’ making a range of dinosaur models – still proudly on display in our corridors

Reception & Nursery enjoyed a white Christmas at the Snowdome

Our children have taken part in a wide selection of after school sports clubs run by Central Coaching. This has enabled us to take part in many sporting competitions this year. They have done us proud at every single event!

We are sad to say goodbye to the following members of staff –

Mrs Newton who has been with us for two years on secondment and is now returning to Topcliffe Primary School.

Mrs Blaydes is leaving to further her Maths specialism.

Mrs Hooper who has a new role in another local school.

Miss Norton who has successfully completed her Level 2 apprenticeship and is moving to a new permanent role.

We will also be saying a temporary goodbye to Miss Hadfield who will be going on maternity leave.

Our congratulations go to Miss Kenny who will become Mrs Gonzales during the holiday!

On a final note I wish to express my personal thanks to Ian Lowe. Ian came to Lea Forest in September 2013 to support the school as Executive Head Teacher. His support has been invaluable. AET are now confident that the Academy can move forward without the support of an Executive Head Teacher. I know that Ian will be supporting other schools in Birmingham in the near future and we all wish him continued success.

Good luck and best wishes to all our Year 6 leavers who are moving on to secondary school. I will miss every one of you.

In the first newsletter of the new academic year we will introduce you to the new members of staff that you will be getting to know.

I wish every one of you a safe and restful holiday and look forward to seeing you all on Monday 7 September.

Mrs Hilary Thompson

Head Teacher

SPOTLIGHT FINES: £4130 in fines issued in this academic year

Dear Parents / Carers

As you are aware excellent attendance and time keeping is a key priority at Lea Forest Academy. We expect all of our pupils to be on time and in school every day.

The school's attendance levels are regularly monitored by the Education Welfare Service (EWS) and they assess individual pupils who's attendance is a cause for concern. The EWS then decide whether or not to prosecute parents/carers of those pupils with unacceptable levels of absence.

Currently there are five families that have had their cases heard at Birmingham Magistrate Court and fines totalling £4130 have been issued.

Fines issued by Birmingham Magistrates in these cases have ranged from £345 to £785 per pupil.

I will be writing to all parents in September to remind parents/carers of Lea Forest Academy's attendance processes. Please ensure that your child/children are in school every day and on time at 8.50am.

Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me on 0121 675 3985

Kind regards, Mr Wills, Senior Learning Mentor

BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Mr Comrie who has been promoted to Learning Mentor for September. We all wish Mr Comrie every success as he continues to support all the pupils at Lea Forest Academy.

During the summer holiday on Monday 3rd August Miss Rogers ,one of our Lunchtime Supervisors, is joining thousands of people across the UK in shaving her hair off (Brave the Shave)to raise money for the cancer charity Macmillan. We at Lea Forest Academy are extremely proud of Miss Rogers and if anyone would like to support her donations can be given to the office. We will all look forward to seeing the pictures in September.

Well done Miss Rogers!

Lea Forest Primary Academy and Glebe Farm Public Library work closely together to promote the 'Summer Reading Challenge' to our pupils. This national, free event encourages 'Reading for Pleasure' and helps pupils retain their literacy skills during the summer break.

This year’s challenge is called ‘Record Breakers’ and encourages children aged between 4 and 12 to challenge themselves to read up to 6 library books of their choice during the holidays collecting rewards along the way. You can sign up for it at your local public library from Saturday 11 July 2015 until Saturday 29 August 2015.

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO JOIN THE CHALLENGE AND MAKE LEA FOREST THE MOST REPRESENTED SCHOOL IN THE AREA! Recognition of achievement will also be given in school for those children that successfully complete the challenge on presentation of their certificate.

The local public libraries in this area are:

Glebe Farm Library Kents Moat Library

Glebe Farm Road 55-57 Pool Way

Birmingham B33 8NF

B33 9NA

Tele: 0121 464 4210 Tele: 0121 464-5755

Opening hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9am-1pm 2pm-5pm and Saturday 9am-2pm.

Kents Moat Library is also open Monday

On Thursday children will be meeting their new class teachers. Nursery children will be starting a little later than usual as a result and will be starting at 10:30 on Thursday the 9th of July and 11:30 on Friday. Children should be dropped off and collected via the normal entrance (Door 4 Hurstcroft Road)

Please see Mrs Jeacock or a member of the Nursery staff if you have any questions.