Combe Martin has been a wonderful place to be a Head Teacher. Challenging but very rewarding to see you develop as learners.
I'm sad to be leaving but it's a bit like your journey through school! Starting with reception where you learn what to say and what not to say. What to do and what not to do. A Head Teacher comes to school and has to learn about the children, staff and everyone.
As you move through the years you get more self assured and knowledgeable. You learn more about yourself and others. Finally, you move on to the next school. You are older and wiser but that doesn't make the move easier.
During my time at Combe Martin I have worked with some wonderful teachers. You are lucky to have such talented educators in your school. From Early Years to the heights of Y6 they are among the best I have worked with in my career. Look after them, listen carefully and learn from them.
We have other staff leaving, who I'd like to thank for being fantastic! Mr Huggins has worked here for a number of years and is looking to get a full time teaching position to continue in his journey. Lauren is leaving Tiddlers. Our Nursery gives children a fantastic start and she will be missed. Yvonne is also retiring. Not many people will know Yvonne as she has cleaned after many have left. We wish her a happy retirement.
As I am leaving I'd like to remind you of a few messages. As you grow and develop remember, most of all, to look after yourselves and your family. Be a Super Learner not just in school. Think. Grow. Love and be kind. Be happy with your choices. School is a place to learn how to learn.
Whatever advice you get from people up high, think about how you can make it your own. Do not 'want' to be like someone else... take your challenges and turn them into strengths you can be proud of! And always remember that if you can't do something you can't do it yet! Please 'don't stop until you are proud of yourself'.
I wish you all happiness and success with your choices. Make them the best ones.
Mr Railston.
Meet the Teacher!
The times for the Google Meets for your child's new class will be on MONDAY
New class 1 20th July 2020 9 - 9.20
New class 4 20th July 2020 9.30 - 9.50
New class 2 20th July 2020 9.55 - 10.15
New class 5 20th July 2020 10.20 - 10.40
New class 3 20th July 2020 10.45 - 11.05
The teacher will send out the join code.
Dear Parents / Carers,
As you know Mrs Holmes will be Executive Head teacher over Woolacombe and Combe Martin Schools next academic year. She will split her time between the two schools. I’m very pleased to say that Mr Hookes was successful in applying for the role of Assistant Head Teacher. He will be working in Class 4 for three days and have a leadership role - out of class for two days - supporting Mrs Holmes when she is at Woolacombe. He is very much looking forward to being the main point of contact for parents, supporting Mrs Holmes with the day to day running of the school in her absence. Mrs Holmes will still have responsibility for the school, as she is the Head Teacher, although she will delegate certain roles to Mr Hookes. They will communicate this with you so that you know exactly how to interact. At present Mrs Holmes will be the SENDCO and with Mrs Parsons and Mrs Lawson ensure the children with additional needs are well looked after at school.
Your children's reports have been available for most of the week. Obviously the teachers have found them difficult to write this year and it is clear on the report that the levels of attainment will be taken from our last assessment which was at Easter. Over the coming year the school has a strategy for addressing attainment gaps and helping the children come back into school safely and get into the learning routine quickly, while being sensitive to their individual needs.
News of your child’s new teacher will be attached to the report when you collect it. This year is particularly challenging for school as we are returning from the lockdown period and also changing the structure of the school. While we are hoping to keep Reception and Y1 children together in Class 1 we are already near to the 30 child limit for this class. If we receive any more children moving into the area we will have to allocate these children into Class 2. For children moving to the Juniors we are having three classes which have been allocated by the teachers on a model which will work the best educationally. The combination of children, in our professional judgement, will give all children the best learning opportunity.
We have been working on our September opening Risk Assessment. We will post the RA on the school website as soon as it is approved by the Board of Directors.
Please take some time to send us your report comments.
Report Comments
Please take a minute to fill out your responses to the annual reports.
Sadly, we are unaware of any local childcare for critical keyworkers over the summer period. We are also struggling to provide after school care for children due to staffing shortages. If you need childcare but cannot find any the Local Authority have advised...
Parents will be able to find what childcare will be available on the Pinpoint Site, this will soon start to include holiday provision. If at that time they cannot find childcare they can complete the Unable to Find Childcare Form and the Early years team will then arrange for one of our team to contact them. Updated information on those settings that will be open in the Summer holidays will also be posted on the Devon County Council website, when available.
We are really sorry that we cannot provide this and will be looking to get something in place as soon as we can recruit.
To note. Our Breakfast Club will be operating as normal.
School Money - Online Payments
As previously informed by the Office, there will be changes over the Autumn term on how we book our school dinners, Afterschool Care, Breakfast clubs, and Trips & Events. The MAT is introducing all schools to a new Online System called School Money. The Admin team have had an introduction, and we feel this will be a simpler package for all to use, with the added bonus of being able to text and email you all directly from the system. All debits and credits from Scopay will be transferred over to the new system, so parents who have monies in their prepayment accounts will be available to use on the new system.
I have re-attached the letter as a pdf document, as I believe a few of you were unable to open the previous attachment. If you are still experiencing problems, please dojo or email me b.read@alumnismat.org directly, and I will endevour to get this to you.
I would also like to remind parents who are eligible for Free School Meals that the Edenred Voucher System will continue over the 6 weeks holiday period. Please remember to check your emails on a weekly basis so you can redeem you codes. Again, if you experience any problems, please let me know via dojo or email.
Finally, I would like to confirm that all the residential visits that were cancelled prior to Covid-19, the monies have been transferred back into your pre-payment accounts. If you would prefer to have this paid back directly into your bank accounts, I have attached a link for you to fill in. Unfortunately, the timescale on this is very short and will need to be completed over the weekend for processing on Monday. https://forms.gle/w9WjUqcidvcADeDm6
If you have any queries, in regards to any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thankyou
Brenda Read
Senior Administrator
If you have any other queries relating to free school meal entitlement you can email the team at freeschoolmeals@devon.gov.uk.
Combe Martin School is part of the Alumnis Multi-Academy Trust, a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company number 11409631
