With building works going on in church we gathered in the village hall this year for our end of year service. The community turned out again to help us celebrate . There were blessings and thank yous for the huge numbers of helpers we have at school and a few goodbyes too as we say a fond farewell to our wonderful Willow class teacher, Miss Riddall, who is moving across pioneer to teach at East Hoathly. Also to several of our governors who have given so much for so long, in particular to Mrs Simm and Mrs Rowberry. It was then over to the children. To those moving on to secondary schools. The children’s words and singing said it all as they looked back at happy times and looked forwards to their next steps. There was hardly a dry eye in the house as the leavers video was played and children burst into song as it finished singing their production finale. We will miss you year six, you’ve been GREAT!
On the penultimate day of the school year we gathered in the school hall for St.Marys Got Talent…..the talent show where we so many varied and wonderful acts.
The air of mystery as each act stepped through the lights
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Thank you to all those who came along and helped make the event so special for the children. After all the performances there was a surprise entry……the staff ?singing a song from this year’s Wind in the Willows play to the delight of the children.
This year our wonderful parent volunteer Mr Wood has been helping members of Lilac to assemble and test a Go Kart. Next year we hope to take part in an inter school challenge.
From their singing (several beautiful solos) to the acting (including some great ad libbing), from the independently used set, to the pure joy and pride on every face; we all enjoyed every minute of this spectacular production.
The children were cast to perfection with all their personalities coming through. Thank you to all the amazing ‘behind the scenes’ team – Miss Banks, Mrs T., Mrs Tufo, Mrs Carpenter and Mrs Thomas for all your hours of hard work.
The annual leavers service at Worth Abbey was, as always, a beautiful service, bringing year six children from church schools across the diocese together to celebrate and look back on their primary school years.
Of course, it almost goes without saying that whilst we were the smallest school there we took a full part, singing our hearts out and doing the readings too- what an honour!
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As is traditional at St Mary’s, each year we invite our new reception children to join us on The Croft for a Teddy Bear afternoon, along with their Year 5 buddies and our current reception class. Despite the hot weather, lots of fun was had by all.
The chanting could be heard all over Hartfield as 97 very excited children gathered on The Croft for this year’s Sports Day. Organised, as ever, by the amazing Mr. D our sports days are second to none.
Once the races were over and the house cup presented, it was over to the wonderful PTFA for this year’s summer social. With the weather on our side the bar and ice cream stalls were in great demand, and people were even volunteering to go in the stocks!
Another great night’s sleep and the children couldn’t wait to get going with activities this morning. We discovered that drizzle doesn’t really matter when you’re wet anyway!
Raft building this morning was ‘the best thing ever’ despite no rafts floating or carrying any more than 2 of us at a time! After drying off (the children were trying to dry themselves as well as their clothes in the drying room!) we set off for our afternoon adventures.
Many of us were unsure about pot holing initially but that didn’t last – we all turned into moles and enjoyed the activity far more than we expected to, proving yet again, that having an open mind is a great asset.
We can hardly believe its the last night already. Thank you to all those teachers who’ve come down to support us this week; Mrs Sanders, Mrs Norris and Mr Patry, it wouldn’t have been the same with out you. The children have made us laugh until we cried every day – we are SO proud of all of them. NO doubt they will love telling you all about it tomorrow.
At last night’s camp fire we learnt some new songs, and were amazed by the fern curtains that pulled back to reveal some entertaining acts from the children. We slept incredibly well , with everyone (including the adults(!) asleep almost as soon as lights were out, and have enjoyed another fun packed day today.
After forest school we were able to show how expert we were at lighting fires and building dens before the children taught us how to play “crazy tag” – endless fun (if a little crazy!).
We’ve just been swimming outside and are now trying to warm up in the showers before tonight’s dinner is served. Later we are off for a hike before we settle in for a ‘onesie and movie’s night.
After a successful party, playing outside and in and enjoying some rather delicious chocolate cake, we all had hot chocolate before settling for the night. We were all down for breakfast nice and early and consumed our body weight in toast and cereal before setting forth for our activities.
Room inspections were amazing – you would be so impressed that clothes were hung up, windows opened and pyjamas folded on made beds. We were even greeted with entertaining songs and dances!
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Today was all about hitting targets as the children were entrusted with bows and arrows and rifles! Fortunately we are all still in one piece and we have some rather proud children who have conquered fears and mastered skills they never thought possible. Its forest school this afternoon and we’re delighted to welcome Mrs Sanders to our team.
Well – we’ve arrived and we’re having a great time! We’ve climbed trees to reach zip wires (‘Woah – it was SOOOO cool!’) , negotiated ‘The cube’ and walked on water (think hamsters in a wheel!).
After a morning of adventures, well supported by instructors, John 1, John 2, John 4 and Harry Styles (jury is out as to if its the real one but we think it probably is), we tucked into a hearty lunch before settling into our rooms for the week. We have started to unpack (room inspections will be interesting tomorrow!)
The children are now off orienteering – working in teams as they find their way around the site. We are all looking forward to Miss Banks’ birthday party later and having an amazing time. Further updates tomorrow assuming wifi allows!
The sun came out from behind the clouds with perfect timing for our Mayfair. With every child in the school taking part in a maypole dance we were delighted to see so many friends and family joining us for the celebrations.
The children were, as always, magnificent and we were proud of them all. The year sixes did a grand job choreographing this year’s Hartfield hopper to welcome everyone.
Head boy and girl for this week, Lottie and Will were proud to announce this year’s may king and queen, Noah and Beau from Maple class, who both enjoyed taking pride of place in the beautifully decorated gazebo.
Thank you to all those who helped this event to happen; staff, ptfa, parents and children all pulled together once again. What a wonderful community we have.
It was a beautiful sunny day and Maple class spent a full day out of the classroom at the Briar’s Field centre. They had a go at pond dipping, bug hunting in the meadow and woods, they made a natural rainbow and all had a walk to Pooh Bridge and time for a quick game of Pooh sticks before walking back to school.
The children dipped and identified their own findings. They learned how to use a magnifier to look closely at the details of the minibeasts, such as the fly larvae which had three spikes as a tail.
The children collected flowers, leaves and grasses in the colour of the rainbow as they explored the meadows and the woods, they then arranged them in the colours of the rainbow. They had a go at using found resources to create a Bug Hotel and enjoyed talking about which bugs might live there.
Despite the hot sunshine, the class managed to make it up the steep meadow and look at the view over to the Ashdown Forest. They then followed the footpath back down the hill into the village and back to school before the end of the day. A huge thank you to all of our parent and governor volunteers for supporting the children all day. It was fantastic to see them all so engaged and enthusiastic about their learning.
Year 6 finished their SAT’s this morning, so what a perfect day to celebrate by having an adventure to the woods in the gorgeous May sunshine. Year 5 have been practicing their ‘Bikeability’ skills all week, so it was the perfect opportunity to try out their new skills and cycle along the Forest Way to forest school this week.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_color=”#f7f7f4″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px|” transparent_background=”off” padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_row make_fullwidth=”on” custom_width_px=”680px” use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|” padding_mobile=”on” make_equal=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on” background_color_2=”#efefe9″ parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off”][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01475-e1526575149236.jpg” admin_label=”Big Photo on left of post” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” animation=”off” sticky=”on”]
[/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ column_padding_mobile=”on” background_color=”#efefe9″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off”][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01474.jpg” admin_label=”Big Photo on Right of Post” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” animation=”off” sticky=”on”]
[/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|” admin_label=”Descriptive Text under photos” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#818178″ text_font_size=”24″ text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” text_line_height=”1.4em” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”20%|10%||10%” custom_margin_tablet=”|10%||10%” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]Lilac Class were brilliant at cycling all the way to the woods and back to school. There was only one flat tyre on the way, but the farmer came to the rescue with a pump and so the ride home was uneventful, apart from the wind in their cycle helmets and the smell of spring flowers!
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Subtext – e.g.: Quote Author” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ text_font=”PT Sans|on|||” text_text_color=”#888888″ text_font_size=”12″ text_letter_spacing=”2px” text_line_height=”1.2em” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”20px||20%|” custom_margin_tablet=”20px|||” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]New high vis vests got their first outing!
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_color=”#f7f7f4″ custom_padding=”0px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” transparent_background=”off” padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_row use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”680px” use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”4″ custom_padding=”20px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” padding_mobile=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_method_3=”off” parallax_method_4=”off” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off”][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01471.jpg” force_fullwidth=”on” disabled_on=”on|on|” admin_label=”Offset smaller photo in the middle of post” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ custom_margin=”-180px|||” custom_margin_tablet=”0px|||” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” animation=”left” sticky=”off”]
[/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text block next to offset photo” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”20″ text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” text_line_height=”1.4em” max_width=”620px” custom_margin=”60px||0px|” custom_margin_tablet=”40px||0px|” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]Lilac Class all had a go at completing our leaf and flower printed banner for next weeks May Festival. They used picked flora and hammers and mallets to smash the dye out of the plants onto fabric to create this beautiful piece of graphic art.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_color=”#ffffff” custom_padding=”0px||0px|” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px|” transparent_background=”off” padding_mobile=”on”][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.2.2″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.2.2″][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.2.2″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01468-e1526575211633.jpg” _builder_version=”3.2.2″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.2.2″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01467.jpg” _builder_version=”3.2.2″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.2.2″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01464.jpg” _builder_version=”3.2.2″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.2.2″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01460-e1526575233172.jpg” _builder_version=”3.2.2″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.2.2″][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.2.2″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01469-e1526575187373.jpg” _builder_version=”3.2.2″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.2.2″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01462.jpg” _builder_version=”3.2.2″][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_color=”#f7f7f4″ custom_padding=”0px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0px|||” transparent_background=”off” padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_row use_custom_width=”on” custom_width_px=”880px” use_custom_gutter=”on” custom_padding=”20px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”30px|||” padding_mobile=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” parallax_method_3=”off” parallax_method_4=”off” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Large left Text Block under slider” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”20″ text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” text_line_height=”1.4em” max_width=”320px” custom_margin=”60px||0px|” custom_margin_tablet=”40px||0px|” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”][/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Large left Text Block under slider” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”20″ text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” text_line_height=”1.4em” max_width=”320px” custom_margin=”60px||0px|” custom_margin_tablet=”40px||0px|” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”][/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Large left Text Block under slider” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”20″ text_font_size_last_edited=”on|tablet” text_line_height=”1.4em” max_width=”320px” custom_margin=”60px||0px|” custom_margin_tablet=”40px||0px|” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|tablet” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]
The children had time to use the swing, which Mrs Taylor seemed to enjoy as much as the children! The class continued their whittling skills and then had a go with their bows and arrows. As always there was time to have a go at mixing the earth to make clay and have a balance on the slack line. A huge thank you as always to our adult volunteers, who make this all possible by supporting the children learning new skills and having a go and getting fully involved as always.
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[/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https://pioneerfederation.co.uk/stmarys/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DSC01466.jpg” align=”center” admin_label=”Small centred portrait photo on right” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” animation=”fade_in” sticky=”on”]
[/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|” admin_label=”Text under small photo” _builder_version=”3.2.2″ text_font=”PT Serif||||” text_text_color=”#363636″ text_font_size=”24″ text_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” text_line_height=”1.4em” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”20px|||” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]The children created a beautiful den and started to thatch it with Hazel leaves.
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We learned how to create leaf prints in the woods. We identified lots of different leaves and flowers and then used hammers and mallets to print them onto fabric, by hitting the water and plant dyes out of them with hammers! Everyone had a go and the results were beautiful.
What more could get you into the spirit of the Easter holidays than a parade of beautifully designed bonnets and hats, made by the children themselves. Well done everybody for such a lovely colourful display. We hope you get an opportunity to wear them over the Easter weekend.
Here are some pictures from the service and Parade. We wish you all a very Happy Easter!
What an amazing day we have had today for British Values day. Every child and adult in the school joined in the fun by dressing up in red white and blue. Our British Values team: Clover, Lily, Lauren and Tia, organised the whole day and what a day it was!
We spent the morning finding out about British Values in a rotation of activities; the Rule of Law, Democracy, Mutual Respect, Tolerance and Appreciation of Diversity and Individual Liberty. We then settled down for a Great British Lunch of bangers and mash, followed by a syrup sponge pudding.
The fun continued through the afternoon as we played traditional British games including rounders for KS2 and British Bulldog in KS1. We made flags, learnt the national anthem and at the end of the day came together for an assembly led by the British Values team.
That was not all though, after school it was time for the ‘Great British Bake Sale’ with donations for cancer research. Thank you everybody – its been BRILLIANT!
Lilac class took us back in time to 1939 for their class assembly this week. We loved learning about what life was like for children being evacuated to the countryside.
We made ‘log dogs’ and took them on a walk to the woods with us today. We tied string to logs and drew faces on them. All the children thought of names for their dogs and some made up stories inspired by ‘We are going on a bear hunt’ when they saw big puddles and lots of mud!
We had a brilliant time taking our log dogs for a walk. They loved swimming in puddles and splashing about in the stream. Some children worked out that their log dogs floated. “Look mine is gliding in the water!”
Due to the size of the puddles and levels of excitement we talked about having wet feet and how that felt. The children thought that it was a bit squidgy and cold, but carried on regardless!
We spotted a Heron on the water meadows and talked about how they like wet areas. We noticed how full the river Medway was due to the rain and some children were interested to know that their house was named after the river Medway- “ That’s my river!”
We explored clay this afternoon and extended our learning from this morning. We had been practising drawing and creating in a sand tray, developing our fine motor control through sensory exploration and used our drawings and marks to make up stories with each other. We talked about how the clay felt and extended our vocabulary with adjectives such as squidgy, squishy, cold, slippery and slimy. We talked about how the water had made the soil wet and transformed it into clay and worked out that the bucket was half full of water and so the children wanted to pour it out to get to the clay below.
The children challenged themselves with the hammock and swing, trying to work out how high to swing and push and how to wait and negotiate turn taking.
We were quite exhausted by our adventure, and the children discussed how their legs and bodies felt after the walk. “I just need to sit down for a little rest with my dog. “
Another great afternoon Maple class, I hope you all enjoy further adventures with your log dogs at home!
We had such an exciting day today…First of all Artist Kay Carpenter came into Maple class to help us to learn more about painting. We looked at images of dinosaurs and planned our colours and designs. We practiced colour mixing and then worked together as a group to create these amazing dinosaurs!
So then as we had the paints out, the children wanted to paint the volcanoes they had made earlier in the week…there was lots of talk about how the paint ‘disappeared’ into the clay as it was absorbed by the dry clay. The children spent a long time trying to explain how their volcanoes might errupt and were very specific about the reds and oranges they wanted to use inside their craters.
There was a real buzz around the school today for ‘Bring An Adult To School’ day. The children were thrilled to have special adults in their lives, join them for our Friday Celebration Assembly. As part of the Book Week Celebrations they then went to work in their houses to do various Book Week activities with their adults.
Today all the children dressed up as book characters for World Book Day. The staff all joined in the fun, dressed as characters from Harry Potter. Enjoy the photos.
Clearing the School grounds for our Happy Customers!
This was the sight that greeted us this morning ! It was all hands on deck as the Teachers started to get the paths cleared safely, ready for the excited childrens’ snowy day at School!
I am delighted to share with you that St Mary the Virgin is now rated as ‘Outstanding’ following our recent SIAMS inspection. The attached report celebrates our ‘strong and unmistakable Christian distinctiveness’ which ‘impacts daily on all members of the school community’ and is a wonderful recognition of many years of hard work in close partnership with St Mary’s Church and the Diocese.
Governors would like to thank all members of the school team, past and present, for their invaluable contribution to the spiritual life and growth of the pupils at St Mary’s. We are also very grateful to Rev Julie, Katrina and everyone else at St Mary’s Church who continually support, encourage and enrich our school life. We would also like to thank Mr Procter and Mrs Taylor who have continued to lead the School with ‘passion and distinctive Christian vision.’
Finally Governors would also like to thank all the pupils who make our school such a special place to learn and grow, and particularly to our LSF champions who have been instrumental in leading worship and celebrating Christian values across the School.
Please enjoy reading the report and we hope you share our sense of pride and achievement in the very special school we are a part of. This report is validation that St Mary’s is continuing to thrive following our last Ofsted rating of ‘Good’ in 2016. It is exciting and rewarding to see St Mary’s is now recognised as an Outstanding Church School.
Thank you to everyone who is a part of our school community for the strength of your support, your love and your faith in our children and school.
St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School
Dear School Community,
As you are aware, the Pioneer Federation (Chiddingly Primary School and East Hoathly Church of England Primary School) have been working closely in partnership with St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School since September 2017, in order to strengthen the infrastructure of the schools and continue to enhance school improvement.
The initial rewards of this partnership are clear, with children and staff already benefiting from wider expertise and resources as well as improved teaching and learning opportunities.
We plan to build on this success by establishing a formal federation across the three schools. This will enable us to invest strategically in a forward thinking federation that has the ability to provide the highest of standards across all levels of school life.
The Governing Bodies of all the schools have decided to initiate a consultation to seek the views of everyone that has an interest in our schools. We would like to invite you to share your views on our proposed federation.
This consultation will be open for six weeks from 5 February 2018 until the 23 March 2018.
We believe that federation is the key to future sustainability, not only maintaining our schools, but helping us grow them and improve them for our children today and in years to come.
Aim
Our key aim is to ensure that our children will have access to successful, well-run schools that provide them with an excellent, well-rounded education, working in partnership with parents/carers and the wider community. We want to encourage our children to have aspirations that lead to great achievements as they learn and grow in a caring, safe and friendly community of schools.
Our schools currently have a strong ethos of care, good behaviour, creativity and hard work. The strong ethos and deep sense of community that exists within each of our schools are all things that we wish to maintain, encourage and develop further – building on the success of our existing partnership.
We would like to formalise the closer working relationship that has been forged between the schools by establishing a federation. We look forward to entering into a consultation period where we can tell you more about our proposals and find out your views.
What is a Federation?
A federation is where two or more schools work very closely together under one governing body. Each school remains legally separate and parents/carers and pupils should see little change. Federation is not a merger or a conversion to an academy; it represents a stable, long term commitment to working in partnership to the benefit of children in the schools.
Federation means that schools:
continue to be registered separately with Ofsted, retain their existing judgments and continue to be maintained by the local authority.
continue to have their own separate budget.
have a single governing body that would set the strategic direction across the schools and ensure educational and financial sustainability and accountability.
Admissions
The current admissions processes would be retained
The admissions authority for Chiddingly Primary School and East Hoathly Church of England Primary School would continue to be East Sussex Local Authority
The admissions authority for St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School would be the Federation’s Governing Body
Our Proposal
The proposal is to federate Pioneer Federation (Chiddingly Primary School and East Hoathly Church of England Primary School) and St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School starting on 1st September 2018.
In 2017 an opportunity for St. Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School and the Pioneer Federation to work together was presented to the Governing Bodies. We agreed to form a collaborative partnership with the aim of sharing skills to improve outcomes for pupils.
By working collaboratively the schools have been able to develop consistent educational approaches and share skills, expertise and resources across the school communities.
Should the federation go ahead, it will be led by an executive head teacher and head of school to oversee the continued improvement, with a robust senior leadership structure in place at each school.
What does a Federation Offer?
We are passionate about ensuring the very best education for the children in our communities. We are aware of the vulnerability of rural schools which operate as a single entity and recognise this proposed model as being mutually supportive and one which provides long term stability. It brings an opportunity to achieve economies of scale to secure financial stability and sustainability of our schools into the future. Federation has been fully discussed with governors, the Local Authority and the Diocese and we feel it is the best way to achieve our goals and secure a supportive future for the schools.
The benefits and opportunities of federating
There are greatly improved opportunities for children and staff at all schools to interact, learn from each other and share best practice.
For children:
Children will have greater access to specialist expertise from each school’s current staff and a wider range of resources to broaden their curriculum.
Children within the federation will continue to receive the highest quality teaching and learning, enriched by collaborative working and enhanced resources across the schools.
Stability and continuity with increased opportunity to meet and work with other children in a wider community.
For parents/carers and communities:
It strengthens the ability of our schools to develop and improve while maximising our ability to cope with changes in educational policy, enabling us to continue to provide excellent education in our villages.
It extends the opportunities available to children and their families by creating a long term, stable school structure.
For staff:
Leadership will be secured for the future and staff development opportunities will enable our schools to retain valued staff.
Shared staff meetings and combined staff training have the effect of widening the circle of peers that our staff can call upon for fresh and creative ideas and support.
Shared ideas and resources help staff avoid needless duplication of effort and materials and will allow for more time to be devoted to teaching and learning.
Increased joint working enables us to develop our subject leads across the schools as well as giving us an opportunity to jointly develop and plan our school curriculum to the benefit of all our pupils.
For governors:
A single governing body will be formed to replace the existing governing bodies. This new single group of governors will be able to benefit from shared experience and good practice.
The membership of the governing body will be skills based.
The governing body
The role of the federated governing body will be to:
Ensure that the character of each school is maintained whilst moving forward as one.
Define a shared vision and strategic direction for the schools that places the children at its heart.
Ensure due diligence and financial probity; honest and effective financial management.
Hold the executive head teacher to account for the educational performance of the schools.
Staffing
A new single governing body would be formed as required by the School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012, to take overall responsibility for all schools within the federation.
The existing senior leadership team would continue, currently led by Mr. James Procter as Executive Headteacher for the Federation. Alongside the Executive Headteacher, the leadership team in the schools will consist of a Head of School (with Headteacher qualification), an Assistant Headteacher and/or Senior Teachers.
Staff will continue with their current terms and conditions of employment.
New Staff employed by the governing body would be transferred to be employed by the new Federation governing body.
The Governing Body
The proposed new federated governing body would comprise 12 members. This would comprise:
2 Parent governors (elected by the parents of all schools)
1 Head teacher
1 Staff governor (elected by the staff of all schools)
1 Local Authority governor
1 Co-opted governor
6 Foundation governors
Federation consultation process
The governors of all the schools have set up a consultation process to seek the views of parents, staff, community, the local authority, the Chichester Diocesan Board of Education and other key stakeholders. The consultation process will last six weeks, starting on Monday 5 February 2018 and ending on Friday 23 March 2018.
Governors welcome your views and comments and invite you to any of the following meetings, regardless of which is your child’s school:
Day
Date
Time
Location
Wednesday
21 Feb 2018
9 am
Chiddingly
Wednesday
21 Feb 2018
6 pm
East Hoathly
Thursday
22 Feb 2018
9 am
St Mary the Virgin
Thursday
22 Feb 2018
6 pm
St Mary the Virgin
If you are unable to attend one of these meetings, and would like to discuss this proposal, informal group sessions will be arranged, depending on demand. Please contact your school to make an appointment in the usual manner.
How do I submit my views?
Comments and views must be received by Friday 23 March 2018 at 3.30pm.
Written responses should be addressed to the Clerk to the Governing Body of your school.
A box for written responses will be provided in each school.
Alternatively, you may use the appropriate email address:
Following the consultation period the 2 Governing Bodies will consider the views and comments before meeting to make a final decision on this proposal.
The governing body from each school will make its own decision at extraordinary meetings held at the same time.
We look forward to hearing from you and will, of course, keep you fully informed regarding our final decision by Tuesday 27 March 2018
On Thursday everyone gathered together in their houses to Pause and think about how they could develop the garden at the front of the school in to an area of quiet
Our house bannersMarion’s garden
reflection. The garden was initially developed a couple of years ago in memory of governor Marion Jackson who was an enthusiastic gardener. The garden has been used to plant herbs and vegetables and Wildlife Explorers have also used it to spot and encourage wildlife. 2018 is the Diocese’s year of prayer and so we decided that the garden would be a wonderful place in which children could quietly reflect. Working in their houses the children produced banners in their house colours and thought about difference areas that their houses could pray for. The brightly coloured banners boldly declare the children’s faith and hopes for the future to anyone approaching the school. The garden is at the front of the school and accessible to anyone in the village who would like to enjoy a quiet area.
Memory flower bed
The children also developed an area where they could remember anyone close to them by
Prayer jars
placing coloured stones in the flower bed. Finally everyone decorated some glass jars and wrote very special prayers which were carefully placed inside. The jars have solar candles which light up in the evening to remind everyone to keep three faith even in the darkest times.
Our Willow Prayer DenDear God, I wish everyone happiness.
At the back of the school the children planted a Twigloo during the autumn term. The children identified this as a fantastic private space for them to use as a prayer den. The children wrote some prayers on the back of cds and dvds and have hung these in the den.
Monday 22nd January 2018
Mr Jackson opens our prayer Garden in memory of his wife Marion.
This morning Tim Jackson came with Rev Julie to officially open our Prayer Garden. Tim spoke about his wife Marion and how much she had loved helping and supporting the school, from the time when their grown-up daughters came to Hartfield, right up to a few years ago. Rev Julie than said a prayer blessing the garden and everyone in St Mary’s school and church community. Mr Jackson placed the first coloured stone in memory of Marion and then some children also placed coloured stones in memory of people they loved. Thank you to Rev Julie and Mr Jackson for coming to open our special garden.
Some rolled huge logs across the woods to make seats for their houses.
The sun shone again, although it was a really chilly day. We spotted an animal burrow on the way to the woods and some of the class had an
Some children experimented with clay as mortar when building a home on the roots of the giant oak tree.
interesting time discussing what might live there.
The class are learning about houses and homes as their topic this term, so they gathered any natural materials they could find along the way, to use to build houses in the woods.
Once in the woods houses of all sizes were built.
Some children worked to improve a den which had been constructed before, carefully balancing different length sticks.There was a carefully constructed, tiny house with it’s own leaf topped table, complete with hazel nut bowls.Some children made a home for bugs out of an old stump, piling up twigs for them to crawl in and under.Some looked for existing homes under the log circle.
Thursday 4th January 2018
Due to the recent wet weather and high winds Lilac class had their Forest School session in the school grounds this week. We learned about fire safety how to start a fire with flint and steels. The children experimented with using cotton wool, Vaseline, silver birch bark, char cloth and King Alfred’s cake. They showed great ‘Growth Mindset’ approaches to this and persevered with the task (it was extremely windy, so they had to work together to use their bodies to provide shelter), creating lots of small fires, so are ready to put this into practice next time we go to the woods!
Using the hazel they had cut last time, the children perfected their whittling skills, using the new amphitheatre in the playground, to continue to develop their arrows. They worked sensibly, safely and with increasing independence.
There was also time for a bit of balancing on the trim trail, along with puddle jumping and we finished with a class game of pare, scissors stone! Well done to all of the children for showing such engagement, persistence, patience and sense of fun! Another great Thursday afternoon!
Thursday 14th December 2017
It was really cold, so we spent a long time wrapping up warm before we left.
We sang our ‘Christmas Candle’ song from this year’s Nativity play….what a lovely spot in the winter sunshine for a last minute rehearsal.
We found some fungus called ‘King Alfred’s Cake’ on a fallen log and collected it. We looked at the pattern inside of the fungus, which is like the rings of a tree. It is brilliant for holding an ember, so we saved it to help us light fires another time at Forest School.We learned to use a bow saw to cut rounds of hazel.
We then used a bit and brace drill to drill holes and make our rounds of hazel into necklaces and pendants. We are going to decorate them later.
At the end of our session, we all shared what we had enjoyed; listening carefully to each other’s ideas. And we talked about what we would like to do next time we are in the woods. The children mainly wanted to learn to use more tools and to continue to climb and balance on the slack line. They also want to have a go at playing recorders! A great end to the year in the woods, well done Willow class!
Thursday 7th December 2017 It poured with rain on the way to the woods and we had so much fun in water and jumping off styles into puddles and cheering everyone on as they splashed! The rain came down so hard at one point that we couldn’t hear each other talking!
We saw the water flowing down the hill and then off into the river and talked about the water cycle and precipitation!
Once we got to the woods we looked at some different trees and learned a bit about ivy, silver birch and oak trees.
The children made some dens together and want to do some more of this next time.
The children found their own rope and tied it onto some logs to try to move logs to make themselves a playground. The children used other long pieces of wood to try to lever some of the large logs to move them. They tied their own knots and made themselves a see saw!
The children used loppers to cut up bamboo and then thread it onto strings to make some necklaces, it was harder work than it looked, but they were great at learning how to persevere and use tools safely. They also discovered they could make the bamboo into whistles by blowing through the holes!
Some of the children had a go at using the saw horse to cut up wood.
And of course there was time for some balancing and climbing on the slack line! Well done Cherry class for braving the December weather and being so enthusiastic and creative with your ideas and sense of fun!
Thursday 30th November 2017
It started snowing before we left, which meant momentary excitement and a good reason to dress up warm with hats, gloves and two pairs of socks. Maple Class were BRILLIANT at getting themselves ready for our wintry adventure.
We cut and collected some willow and ivy along the Forest Way, to take to school to make wreaths with at the Christmas Fair on Saturday.
We found some Oak apples on some Oak leaves on our adventure, along with some badger tracks, snail shells, crab apples and muddy tracks.
We learned how to stay safe around a fire by sitting carefully on logs. Then we had a go at using flint and steels to make sparks to start the fire….it was really tricky, but we did it and had a toasty fire to warm ourselves and eat our snacks around.Warming our hands!
What a fantastic time, well done Maple Class for such an enjoyable adventure on such a cold day!
Thursday 23rd November 2017
Lilac class were lucky to have sharp sunshine for their Forest School session. They thought about verbs throughout the session and spent the afternoon learning how to use tools safely. They used bow saws. Folding saws, penknives and peelers to whittle, saw, cut and peel various thicknesses of wood. Some children used their tool skills to create elder necklaces, some whittled arrows and Mr Wood made a bow!
Thursday 16th November 2017
This week Willow class had their Forest School session in the school grounds. We learned how to use saws safely to cut elder sticks. The insides are all soft, so we used another stick to poke out the pith in the middle and then put charcoal (made by Cherry class) into the holes to make elder pens.
Selecting the right diameter charcoal to fit the pencil
The children learned to use gloves on their bracing hands, to protect them and supported each other when holding their elder steady whist cutting it to the length of a pen.
Once the charcoal was in the elder pen, the children had a go at writing with them and some decided to try to make clay pencils…
Willow also had a go at adorning our trees in the playground with clay faces…they showed such individual and creative ideas to create characterful sculptures……come and have a look at them……as they may not last long!
Thursday 9th November 2017
Walking to the woods with Cherry class…We had another lovely adventure today, and despite a bit of drizzle earlier in the day, it turned out to be another dry, Autumn day…Clambering over styles…Using soft, furry hazel leaves to clean our hands…Taking on the challenge of the slack line…Mastering the slack line…We cut willow from the woods and packed it into tins to make charcoal, by burning it without air, for our drawing at school the next day….We watched the white smoke coming out of the hole in the top of the tin…Digging together, we found red coloured roots…And we found worms!Moving wood to create dens together!And of course we found time to play and sculpt with clay again!
Thursday 2nd November 2017 – Maple Class
Another gloriously sunny Autumn day and the class set off for the woods once again. We played 1,2,3,change tree on the village croft, where we had to run to reach another tree by the end of a countdown, practising out counting and taking away.We walked together along the narrow pathway and spotted lots of sheep and a tractor.The class met a troll at the bridge and threw lots of leaves at him after he shouted” Who’s that trip, trapping over my bridge”….it turned out it to be Mr Wood!
We read the story of ‘A Bear’s Winter House’ and had a go at building our own houses. The children used clay and sticks with their constructions. They also found some moss, which the bear had used in the story to sleep on and to plug up drafty gaps in his house.Lots of fun was had playing on the slack line. Initially the children said that they couldn’t climb up on to the rope, but very quickly their resilience and independence shone through and they were climbing and wobbling along the line with laughter, confidence and enjoyment.
Thursday 19th October 2017 – Lilac Class
Lilac were amazing! What a great bunch of children to take to the woods!
We walked wonderfully well and arrived in plenty of time to find some fly agaric mushrooms and others growing on the fallen, rotting tree stumps in the woods.
We put up a slack line and balance rope, and the children worked out their own rules of how to use it and support each other. They helped each other to clinb up onto the rope and had a lot of fun, balancing and bouncing!
There was some amazing clay work, sculpture, mortar making, mixing,
digging and creating, which led to the idea of maybe making your own kiln in the woods….we are going to try to start this next time we go!
Some great tree climbing and den building was observed and the children wanted to extend this next time, so we will learn to use some tools to help cut more wood for our projects and maybe have a go at weaving and whittling also.
Finally Mrs Banks would be proud, that the children have taken their learning outside the classroom and created a Borrowers House in the wood. Complete with a leaf thatched roof and with some homemade clay built steps! Beautiful!
Well done to lovely Lilac, you were so full of enthusiasm and engagement. Again, as alway, another thank you to the volunteers- not only helping make it all happen and getting involved with all the activities, but it looked like they were all enjoying it as much as the children!
Thursday 12th October 2017 – Willow Class
Willow had a wonderful time in the woods, they learned to identify some trees along the Forest Way- the hawthorn, the Wellingtonia, the oak and the Hazel.
They loved exploring the woodland and found some Fly agaric mushrooms.
Using clay some children managed to make their own mortar, to fix joists onto an oak tree root to be a roof for a fairy house, some built a den together that they could sit in, which had their own seating logs and even a charcoaled log as a fireplace!
There was lots of clay sculpture on the trees and the children really showed their imaginations and creative ideas, which was wonderful to witness.
Thursday 5th October 2017 – Cherry Class
We collected Autumn leaves. Then we melted beeswax and dipped the leaves into the melted wax to preserve them.It was lots of fun investigating underneath logs, we used trowels to dig and found lots of mini beasts, including worms, woodlice and beetles.We rolled the logs with our feet to look for minibeastsWe mixed clay with sticks and with our hands1 Some children made pictures on trees, some painted on paper, and some loved the sensory exploration of how the clay felt!Using our clay on the treeEating a snack in the woods. We learned about how to sit in a circle and use the space safely.
Thursday 28th September 2017 – Maple Class
Getting ready to leave, Maple Class were brilliant at getting themselves ready for their first Forest School adventure!
We played woodland whispers on the Town Croft under the large tree.
A quick game of ‘Sparrowhawk’ in the meadow….pretending to be small mice, rabbits and hedgehogs and trying to escape from the predator by freezing as still as we could.
We counted cows in the distant field from the gate.The puddles were fun and so were the tracks we spotted on the railway line.We mixed some clay and painted the old oak tree with it!We climbed stileWe sat under the shelter in the woods and then had a little explore.We had our afternoon snack in the woods and learned how to wash our hands when we are out in the wild!
Academic Year 2016-2017
What a brilliant afternoon in the sunshine and Autumn shade of the trees. Maple class were amazing adventurers and spent all afternoon chatting to each other about what they were doing, what they could see, where they had been on adventures before and what they wanted to do in the future. Thank you to all of them, their parents for the support with their kit and collection and to our brilliant volunteers who helped make it all possible! Can’t wait until next time!
Tuesday 4th July 2017
A pig face made from the mud badgers dug out of their sett
Busy, busy, busy in the woods today…the clay courtesy of the badgers was brilliant and it was sculpted into a wolf today, which led to a team of intrepid explorers… the children used bow saws to cut rounds and then drilled holes to create pendants, and other creative pieces of handicraft to be decorated next week…. the small people at playschool learned some bird calls whilst playing listening games and followed tracks to go on a badger adventure… it’s all good in the wood x
Wooden pendants
Tuesday 27th June 2017
Today we dug our own soil and mixed our own clay… the children were brilliant, lots of creativity, storytelling, characterisation, science. We’re doing more with it next week and making our own paint!
Green Man crafted from mud, leaves and twigs
A small selection of the beautiful masks made by Cherry class todayGreen Men decorating the oak tree
20th June 2017
Well today was one of the hottest! How hot is hot?
It is mid summer after all. We were lucky to have the opportunity to spend the morning under the cover of dappled hazel and oak leaves…to celebrate the solstice we prepared our own elderflower lemonade. The children chopped lemons and tore up mint and elderflowers before taking turns mixing it with water and sugar… meanwhile others lit the fire with wood they had independently collected, amazing to see such perseverance with flint and steels, so another none-match fire by the year ones- skills!
Whilst we were watching the bubbling pot some of the children initiated some sawing, such great enthusiasm for learning to use tools… some of them used them to make butterflies on sticks, some played tapping music with them and some just were in the zone sawing…
We checked out the badgers set and talked about the soil which is clay rich, so we’re definitely going to dig some up next week and have a go at modelling and creating with it…
We took our time ambling back along the shaded railway line and came up with some ideas of an adventure for next week, maybe to explore the woods further or go an investigate the river….
Thanks to all for a lovely midsummers day, can’t wait till the next time
13th June 2017
FlutterbiesPhonics Hoopla LogsMaking marks with charcoal
Phonics in the woods, making hazel frisbees to throw at our phonics hoopla logs, then making symmetrical flutterbies, to flutter through woods and meadows and back to school for lunch
Tuesday 6th June
No adventures in the woods today, garden shade and basketball hoop down, and just heard of a tree down on the forest way, so a safe morning inside to be had by all… lets hope the blue skies return soon
23rd May 2017
Butterfly at Sawpit WoodsBlue Skies!Making Charcoal
What a fun morning, spotting butterflies, looking for worms under logs, six independent fire lighting six year olds, making and eating popcorn in newspaper cones, measuring sticks, making ‘ilex’ holly wands with peelers, checking out the badgers den, balancing on a slack line, running as fast as we can, admiring buttercups, making giant spheres of sticky weed, enjoying the warmth of the sun, making our own rhythms with sticks and our feet and making it back to school in time for lunch.
18th May 2017, Outdoor Classroom Day
So much rain today!
A rainy, squidgy end to the day, but what a fantastic, magically brilliant time was had by all. ” Beat school trip ever”- William….. a massive thank you to all involved in the day and all those behind the sciences who have helped make it happen… you know who you are! …to be repeated soon hopefully , and to the kids today… you smashed it! Welcome rain and blue skies to all
2nd May 2017
A brilliant first day in the woods with a fantastic bunch of children… we spotted badger tracks, listened out for the woodpecker, marvelled at holes in trees, found some wild marshmallows and glittery tree stumps , tapped some sticks, cut and peeled our own tapping sticks, sang some songs, whispered about the woods, climbed some trees, gates and stiles, drew with some charcoal, lifted some logs, made a home for some rabbits, drunk some peppermint tea, swerved some bluebells, blew some whistles, played games with foxes, rabbits and sparrowhawks and ambled it back to school in time for lunch. Skies of blue to you all
At our last meeting in December we set up an Eco-Committee because we want St Mary the Virgin School to be an Eco-School. This means we have to conserve, be sustainable and care for our school and church environment. We have our wildlife club, forest school activities and a gardening club – so we are already on the way there! We all wrote down ideas for a St Mary the Virgin Eco-Code and then put them together to make our code
“ GO GREEN”.
Growing and Gardening
Recycling all we can
Environment care
Energy saving – with water and electricity
Nature – understanding wildlife and making our grounds nature friendly
Our 10th of January meeting of 2018 had an activity to observe all the living colours in our school grounds. We could collect small samples and stick them onto cards. Mrs Rowberry challenged us by giving each of our groups a colour from the rainbow and asking us to find samples of just that colour. At the end we found that we could put all our sample cards together and we saw that all the colours of our environment made a rainbow! It was really amazing.
On the 17th of January we cared for our environment by planting trees. We had a Hazel and a Blackthorn. These are good natural trees because we get nuts from one, and wild damsons called sloes from the other. These are good food for wildlife in winter.
Another group set up our Eco-Board so we can display our news and activities.
December 2017
On the 6th of December our Wildlife Explorers club had a litter pick around school. We organised into five teams of 3 people. Each team was led by a young leader. We had tabards to show that we were litter pick volunteers and recyclable composting sacks to collect rubbish. Our routes took us all around the playground, front of school, car park and up the path to St Mary the Virgin Church. The worst bit was around the bins in the car park ; where shredded paper had blown everywhere. We collected a lot of it but couldn’t get it all.
Last year the Explorers collected 12 kilos of litter. This year we collected less – just 5 Kilos, this was a big improvement but we think it would be great if we couldn’t find any litter at all!
Wildlife Explorers Young Leaders team.
November 2017
Wednesday 29th November 2017
Club members were asked to do some wild writing as part of their RSPB Challenge award.
One question they were asked was “Why do you like the Wildlife Explorers Club?”
Here are some of their responses.
Francesca: I enjoyed making badges and planting flowers in the old pirate ship. The scavenger hunt was fun and it was great making bird houses too….. in fact I enjoy everything.
Eleanor: I enjoyed making the bird houses especially.
Tia: I enjoyed receiving my Blue Peter green badge. On the nature scavenger hunt we found: spider webs ( which means spiders), animal footprints,flowers and fruits.
Daisy: I liked making badges because they tell people I am a member of the Wildlife Club.
Elouise: I loved making a better bug hotel because its for creatures that are small and when it’s raining they can have a shelter.
Seren: I had to find some leaves from the playground and find different colours. I stapled them to card to make a collage. It was good fun.
Brooke: I got all the plants ready for people to plant. I helped them use spades and forks to dig holes to put them in.
William: I like going out to the Briars Lodge Field Centre because we can see lots of wildlife there.
Edward: I like looking at wildlife.
Scarlett: Like the other leaders I enjoy being trained up to help other club members.
Photo by Eleanor
Wednesday 15th November – Today Wildlife Explorers were Nature Detectives! We searched at the front of the school. Along the wayside and hedgerows to find: insects, fruits, leaves and fungi. We saw pigeons and blckbirds flying over us and found hazel nuts chewed by squirrels. It was good fun and we all got a prize.
By Seren
Wednesday 8th November – This week we planted up the old pirate ship in the community garden. (Mrs Rowberry says it is a great way to reuse things). Our wildlife explorers group planted all sorts of flowers including ivy to spread down the sides, heather and pansies for colour. The leaders this week were Brooke, who took photos and myself who wrote the notes.
Scarlett Blemings
October 2017
The Wildlife Explorers group searched through the school grounds this week. They were looking for the very best fallen coloured Autumn leaves.
With help from the Young Leaders they made displays of their favourite colours to show how our environment is getting ready for winter.”
Wednesday 11th of October was the United Nations ‘International Day of the Girl’. On this day girls are encouraged to become leaders in their communities. At St Marys four girls from Lilac Class: Brooke,Eleanor,Seren and Scarlett ran the Wildlife Explorers club instead of Mr and Mrs Rowberry. Well done our girls! ”
Below is a certificate they got for being leaders.
Wildlife Explorers making badges The Explorers Club have been hard at work making badges. The badges are spreading the message – Help Nature and come along to our Wildlife Club!”
September 2017
Wildlife explorers started the new Club term with the school bug hotel make over. It is now slimmer and tidier. All woodlice, beetles, earwigs, spiders and ladybirds have some great new compartments to shelter in! The children organised the refurbishment with some great design ideas. Well done Wildlife Explorers!
As we come to the end of the term it has been an opportunity to reflect upon all that has happened at SMV recently. Your children never cease to amaze us and despite all the coughs and colds they have smiled through, continued to do their best as they have shown they learn with Love Strength and Faith in all that they do.
It’s often the little things that make a difference to us and standing on the playground this morning, watching children joyously playing, singing and laughing we noticed how they support each other in the smallest but most meaningful ways; inviting each other to join in games, helping each other up after they slip over and picking up each other’s coats and gloves that have got left behind- you should be very proud of the young people they are becoming.
What a pleasure to follow Miss Banks and the school choir up to the village Christmas lunch last week, where they were able to interact and entertain us all with their beautiful pure voices. Thank you to those of you who made it up to the Christmas service this morning. It was a beautiful service that reminded us all of the true meaning of Christmas as the reception children made a tableau at the front depicting the nativity scene, while some of the older children led us in prayer, Bible readings, songs and even an instrumental solo, combining to tell the Christmas story.
Friday 1st December 2017
It was a magical sight this week watching 91 faces full of the awe and wonder of the natural world as a few snowflakes fell from the sky. Children’s joy is a wonderful thing to be around and reminds us what a privilege it is to work with them. As we move into the advent season, we are reflecting on our Christian value this term; generosity. Our own ‘star of generosity’ has appeared in the hall full of generous ideas to try out over advent. We will turn over a star every day in our collective worship and look forward to giving and receiving small acts of generosity!
Arriving on the gate today your children looked amazing in their pyjamas and Christmas outfits. They were also delighted to see their teachers dressed in Christmas hats, pyjamas and jumpers- its put us
all in the mood for Christmas, and with the fair tomorrow it
couldn’t be better timing! Thank you for your own generosity, supporting with your time, your donations and your good spirit – we look forward to seeing many of you at the Christmas fair tomorrow from 12 -2pm as the school is transformed by our amazing PTFA volunteers – thank you all of you.
Monday 12th- Friday 17th November – Anti Bullying Week & Children in Need
‘It has been a good week, we read out prayers in assembly and collected £70.26 for Children in Need. Thank you everyone!’ Louie and Lauren
It was children leading the learning all the way this week. From anti-
Lilac class designed their own badges incorporating the slogan ‘All different, all equal.’
bullying week badge making to running for Children in Need today, our children continue to shine. Thank you to the Class Champions for all their organisation and support.
Visitors to the school continue to be impressed by all that is happening and showing prospective parents around today was a real pleasure, as we saw the joy and hard work happening in every classroom.
We welcomed Jono back to Collective Worship this week and we enjoyed hearing children singing in tune with his guitar, as he brought joy to the children, as they listened to Bible stories and through our theme of Generosity.
On Wednesday everyone enjoyed wearing odd socks to celebrate the difference.
St Mary’s Families were also invited to be a part of Anti-Bullying
Week with an E-Safety Workshop. If you would like to see a copy of the presentation please click on the link below.
Learning through Love Strength and Faith, following the example of JesusOur vision, seen in all that we do, was on full display again last week when we spent a morning working in our houses learning about love strength and faith. Each classroom had a different activity going on
Will and Olly told us: “In the love activity we decorated hearts that had the names of all those we love on. In the strength classroom we had to try not to make each other laugh! In faith – we heard a story of a captain of a pirate ship and how he saved the day- we did some clever newspaper folding to change a captain’s hat into a life jacket! Finally, we read bible stories that inspire us with love strength and faith, and put our thoughts and ideas onto our Love Strength and Faith tree.”
Thank you to those parents who came along to the afternoon’s assembly to see what we have been up to. Mrs F Taylor
Christingle Service, St Mary’s Church Hartfield – Sunday 10th Dec 9.30am
Friday 8th December 2017
On Friday Rev Julie came in to school to help the children make their Christingles for the service on Sunday.
Each piece of the Christingle holds special symbolism to help children understand the importance of Jesus and the Gospel, and its relevance at Christmas time.
The orange represents the world
The red ribbon (or tape) symbolises the love and blood of Christ
The sweets and dried fruit represent all of God’s creations
The lit candle represents Jesus’s light in the world, bringing hope to people living in darkness
The special Christingle service is a beautiful part of the Christmas festivities. We do hope you can join us at St Mary’s Church on Sunday morning at 9.30am
Maple Class had a lovely time at St Mary’s Church on Thursday morning. We heard the story of Jesus’ birth and joined in with telling it with actions and words, singing songs and talking about the parts of the story and characters which we knew.
We all had party hats and blowers like a traditional celebration of a birthday, as we learned that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. We also got to practise singing one of our songs for the Nativity in the church to an audience for the first time….a bit more practise is needed still! We then had cakes for our snack time and blew our party blowers to carry on the celebration!
Thank you so much to Katrina, Revered Julie and the toddler group of St Mary’s for inviting us. What a great way to finish our topic about festivals and Celebrations!
Friday 24th November, 2017
A part of our Learning Journey about Festivals and Celebrations, the children have been celebrating with their Teddies. They have read them stories, used the I pad to take photographs of them. Then the children wrote about their Teddies for a fact file. We talked about dressing up and having food at different celebrations, so the children created instructions of how to make sandwiches and then made some for a Teddy Bears picnic. “ This honey is delicious!”- Daisy. “I like having a party with my Teddy”-Noah.
Wednesday 4th October 2017
We have been thinking about how we are all different and how we are all special, this term as we are all making new friends in Maple class. We read the story bugs in a blanket and then used carders to comb wool and then felt our own bugs. We used our counting skills to count how many legs and eyes they had, and discussed the similarities and differences in colours. Don’t they look great!
We used mirrors to look at ourselves, to then use paint and collage to create self-portraits. This is our class!We have been writing our own labels and names for independently drawn pictures, using our understanding of letters and phonics.
A photographer came from the local paper…We spotted the sun was out, so chose our brilliant garden would be the perfect space to stand for our picture.We will be in print on October 6th, along with many other local Reception Classes.
Many of us have used construction toys which we are proudly putting on the display table, with our own name labels.Cardboard boxes and 3d wooden construction shapes have been a great inspiration for imaginative, collaborative play in our covered outside area.We love the new ribbons on sticks, which we got through collecting active kids vouchers last year. They are helping us to write our letters, by drawing large letters in the sky and we are also using them for expression and movement and dance!
Today John Waller, Underwoodsman from Bore Place arrived at St Mary’s to help us plant our willow structures. The children had decided on a igloo, which Mr Waller told us was actually called a ‘Twigloo’ and a fence, which is apparently called a fedge (fence/hedge).
It was a very frosty morning and the first job was to mark out the circle for the Twigloo. Mr Waller helped us doing this by hammering a peg in to the ground with a piece of rope attached. We used the end of the rope to mark out the circle for our Twigloo.
Thank you Mr Waller for helping us plant our Willow structures and for teaching us how to dig and plant. we are very proud of everything that we acheived.
Lilac class have the task of breaking the turf to mark out the circle for the Twigloo.Mr Waller tied together all the joints, which will eventually fuse together as the Willow grows.Mr Waller used these big shears to cut the Willow. The Willow stakes will eventually take root during the spring.Mr Waller brought lots of Willow sticks for us to plant.It was such a cold day. The ground was not too frozen thankfully, but it did snow on and off throughout the day!Everyone did a fantastic job digging and planting and the finished structure looks amazing! We cannot wait until spring when the Willow all starts to grow new shoots.Mr Waller explained that we needed to turn over the grass where we planted the Willow so that we would kill the grass. If we did not kill the grass the grass would use all the moisture in the ground in the spring and the willow would not take root.
Monday 30th October 2017
Today the boat was officially launched by this week’s Head Boy. At 3.15, with lots of St Mary’s families there to celebrate the occasion, the ribbon was cut and the boat declared officially open! Once the boat was open the next task was to reveal it’s name. The PTFA had held a competition to suggest a name for the boat and the winner was The Jolly Mary. We hope that the good Jolly Mary bring much happiness and fun to the children of St Mary’s for many years to come. A huge thank you to the PTFA for all their support of this boat. They celebrated the occasion with a marvellous selection of delicious cakes which they sold in support of the school.
Friday 14th October 2017
The playground is buzzing with excitement as today the children have had their first opportunity to play on the newly completed pirate ship. We would like to name the ship and are looking for suggestions from the children for a name that we hope can be painted onto the ship. Buckets are in school to collect name suggestions at 20p a go. The name of the ship will be announced at the Grand
opening on Monday 30th October after school when we will be thanking the PTFA for their wonderful efforts in raising the money for the ship. Please come along to the playground at 3.15 to cheer the head boy or girl for the week as they cut the ribbon.
October 2017
We have been doing so much work in our playground recently. Have a read about all our activities in the blog below.
A huge thank you to the family who came and helped us to move the boat on Thursday afternoon. There will be another ‘groundforce’ afternoon on Thursday 12th October – any help from parents would be greatly appreciated.
Our amazing new pirate ship is under construction in the playground! We look forward to sharing photos of the finished product in our next newsletter. Thank you so much to our wonderful PTFA for raising the funds for the ship.
Our order from Sainsbury’s Active Kids arrived today so we thought we would share photos of Maple Class constructing their outdoor sink and enjoying the ribbons that all the vouchers allowed us to choose. Thanks to everyone who collected and donated the vouchers; as you can see, it really is worthwhile!
Really proud of the girls today…..played really well and they all enjoyed it and showed such s great team spirit! Hartfield girls team came joint 5th in a group of 8 schools.
Lilac boys headed over to Crowborough this afternoon to take part in an inter school football match at Beacon Academy. Team St Mary’s worked hard in several matches and kept persevering despite some disheartening scores. Whatever challenges were thrown at them they kept digging deep and gave the tournament their all. Well done boys for a great effort today!
October 2017
With their customary determination, enthusiasm and wonderful sportsmanship our children once again did us all proud at the recent Primary Cross-country event last Wednesday held at Beacon Academy. Their team spirit extended to every competitor in the race as they cheered each runner to the finishing line. We are delighted that Tia and Lauren in Year 6 qualified for the next round of the area championships taking place on Wednesday 18th October. Well done girls, go for it!
At Gardening Club this week we looked at the work of the Artist Andy Goldsworthy and talked about transient environmental Art. We worked together to create a sculpture with leaves inspired by his work, then went on to work in small groups to create our own art work. Have a look at all the photos of our transient art.
The children in Willow class have produced the most wonderful array of Roman artefacts for our Roman Exhibition. We have sampled delicious Roman Food that they have baked using authentic Roman methods, they have built ampitheatres and chariots, made shields, weapons, mosaics, a giant Roman coin, a
Roman temple and sculptures of Roman Gods. The children are taking it in turns to tell us all about their projects and some have already given some fascinating talks and shown us some brilliant presentations. We are looking forward to sharing their
wonderful creations with you after half term when we will invite parents to come in for Willow’s Roman presentation. Mrs Woods
We were so proud of the children as they dug deep, strode determinedly and gritted their teeth around the course. We were particularly impressed with their sportsmanship, cheering on every runner and showing true strength of character to reach the finish line. Well done to one and all. Ziggy and Seren from year 5 have written us this report, ‘On Friday 22nd September our school went to the Croft to do our cross-country run. We ran in class order so firstly Years 1 & 2 did their race which was one lap around the Croft followed by Year 3 & 4 who ran from the Forest Way to the Croft. After a rest of ten minutes Year 5 & 6 ran their race but added an extra lap around the Croft.
It was a lovely day, the event was fun and everyone was excited. Some of the children said “it was good exercise”, “it was fun but a challenge”, “it was fun because it was the last one for Year 6”.’
This afternoon our Y6 class and Ms Battle enjoyed the annual Leaver’s Service at Worth Abbey. It was wonderful to give thanks for the many beautiful experiences Lilac class has enjoyed during their time at St Mary’s. We all look forward to bidding them a very fond farewell at our own End Of Year Service next week.
Today we enjoyed a beautiful and dry afternoon of sports on The Croft. Mr D organised a whole day of activities which tested everyone’s physical skills, team work and resilience, while ensuring everyone had lots of fun! In the afternoon families joined us to watch and join in the fun.
This year a large number of visitors joined in the Adults Races. We saw some fierce determination, beautiful teamwork and a few pulled muscles!
The Staff Race
The afternoon finished up with Y6’s annual Race For The Train Race where Y6 pupils pull on funny clothes, eventually getting to their suitcase which they pull along behind then while they race over the line.
After Sports Day was over our amazing PTFA organised a BBQ, Bottle Tombola, Tug Of War and lots more fun. Thank you to all the St Mary’s families who stayed
Y6 in their ‘Run for the Train’ Race outfits
on to enjoy all the fun and support the school.
A huge thank you to Mr D for organising such a fantastic day. Thank you also to all the support and teaching team who did so much to prepare the children and make sure they had a wonderful day. Thank you everyone.
Scroll down for lots more photos…
Miss Maltby gamely agreed to take a turn in the stocks to help raise money for the PTFAY6 in their tradition Race For The Train race.YR SprintCherry SprintWillow SprintY5 SprintsYR Skills RaceThe whole school dressed in their house coloursWillow Class Race
1st finisher in the Long Distance Race2nd finisher in the Long Distance RaceThe Whole School makes a great start for the Long Distance RaceTesting our skills in the Skills RaceMum’s RaceRunning in the Mum’s RaceAnother Mum’s RaceHouse Relay RaceSprinting in the House Relay RaceA Very Smooth Baton Exchange in the Relay Race
It was wonderful to see so many parents at the school this afternoon. The children’s faces lit up when they saw you all and they were justifiably proud to welcome you into their classrooms. There was such an array of learning and a real buzz about the place from puppet shows to pirate masks, cake testing to producing bar charts! The teachers have such creative ways of helping the children to learn – always a pleasure to see!
Teamwork on the Sensory TrailGrowing in courage on the trapezeLearning to fenceTesting the limits of the raft!Great teamwork helped us build an awesome raft
At the end of May Lilac class Y5 and Y6, set off for an incredible adventure at PGL Hailsham. See our blog and photos below…
19th May 2017
We started our morning today with Aeroball and Tunneling. Tunneling was a very muddy affair, which just increased to level of fun and enjoyment. The children loved the basketball and trampolining and built up a healthy appetite for lunch.
After lunch we did the Sensory Trail. The children were blindfolded and lead around a sensory garden holding on to a rope. We then went to the Trapeze area – the children and Miss Maltby were very brave as the swing bar at the top of the pole looked very high from ground level
Tonight is our last evening here, so we will say farewell to PGL with a disco and dancing.
Another jam-packed, exciting day! After a very hearty breakfast, we started our morning session with the Giant Swing and Raft Building. Looking out-of-this-world, the kids gazed at the swing with stars in their eyes, and enjoyed the highs, and lows, of the colossal imitation of simple playground apparatus. With the raft building it was very evident that the kids were more interested in pushing each other in than keeping each other dry by building a sturdy, and adequately buoyant raft. Yet the smiles on faces and the laughter in the air more than made up for being a little bit damp.
After an energy-boosting lunch the kids learnt how to defend themselves in 19th century Britain with a spot of fencing. Their engarde, parrying and riposte was the envy of the instructor himself, a man who was thoroughly impressed by the kids etiquette, perhaps the most important of the many skills of fencing. Courage and perseverance were also on show in the afternoon as the kids braved the abseiling wall. While not everyone rapelled down the wall, all experience the dizzying heights atop.
And it’s not over yet: tonight’s activity is the Campfire – a great way to celebrate Leila’s birthday.
Since Christmas our Class Champions have been working on Golden Rules. These Golden Rules will be displayed around the school to encourage pupils to consider and reflect upon their behaviour.
The Golden Rules will be launched at the beginning of March, but until then can you guess what the Golden Rules may be based on these symbols designed by the Class Champions?
Today children at St Mary’s took part in the national sign2sing week. This was a chance for the children to learn some sign language and perform in front of an audience of family and friends. The sign2sing week was designed to raise money for SignHealth who improve the health and wellbeing of deaf people, giving them equal access and opportunities.
Well done children for signing and singing so beautifully! Thank you to all the St Mary’s families for so generously donating to SignHealth.
Wildlife Explorers have been very busy with all their activities, including taking part in the RSPB big garden birdwatch, looking at plants closely with magnifiers, peering at bugs, recycling and re-using materials, working in the churchyard making a trail and making homes for wildlife in the school community garden
We have been delighted that two of our year 6 pupils Maisie and Kirsten, following
their success with RSPB awards and the Blue Peter Green Badge, have now been helping lead the other pupils and reached the dizzy heights of achieving their Young Leaders award!
We also have 5 pupils, Ellie, Yasmin, Seren, Brooke and Scarlett who have been attending for over 2 years showing their commitment and enthusiasm for wildlife. They too have managed to get Bronze, Silver and Gold RSPB awards! As a result they have written to Blue Peter with the details of the work they have been involved in and we hope they may be successful in obtaining the highly sought after Blue Peter Green Badge……so watch this space!
Our new recruits too have been very enthusiastic and have already reached the RSPB Bronze award and want to move on to the Silver challenge.
Congratulations to all these pupils for their inspiring commitment to wildlife.
Thank you for your interest in applying for place at St Mary’s. You will find all the information you need, including how to contact us, on this page.
We are currently registering interest in Reception places, but have a small number of vacancies in older year groups. Older children can join us at any time throughout the school year. Please contact the school office to check availability and for more information.
To register your interest in a Reception place for a child due to start school in September 2017 (who will have reached the age of 5 by August 31st 2017) please contact our school office. You can do this by email at office@st-maryhartfield.e-sussex.sch.uk or by phone on 01892 770221.
We welcome applications from families in East Sussex, Kent and Surrey.
Our School Open Afternoon will be on Saturday 15th October, 2016. All prospective families, including children, are warmly invited to explore St Mary’s. You will be given a tour of the school by some of our current pupils and teachers, the support team, the headteacher and governors will be there to answer any questions and share information about the school.
Applications can then be made on-line, or via the post. The closing date for applications is 15th January 2017.
You can apply for up to 3 schools, putting then in order of preference. It is in families best interests to list 3 schools. There is more information on how to apply further down this page.
If you apply online your local authority will send you an email in the evening of 18 April 2017. If you cannot be offered your first preference school they will also send you a letter by first class post.
If you applied on a paper form your local authority will send you a letter by first class post on 18 April 2017
(This may differ by Local Authority, so please check. The dates for offering places are the same for all counties)
You must accept or decline the place by 2 May 2017.
For a paper application form contact Surrey County Council on 0300 200 1015.
ADMISSIONS CRITERIA
St Mary the Virgin CE School in Hartfield is a Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School situated in a rural area. As an Aided School, the admission of pupils is made by the governors in accordance with arrangements agreed with the Local Authority and the Diocese of Chichester.
The school serves a dual role: it seeks to provide a place of Christian nurture for Church families while at the same time serving the local community. The planned admission numbers for each year group is 20. If more than that number applies for any year group, the admission of pupils will be subject to the following priorities in order set out:
‘Looked after’ children and children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or subject to residence orders or special guardianship orders) immediately following being looked after
A sibling who is attending the school, at the time of admission
Parents regularly worshipping at St Mary the Virgin, Hartfield or Holy Trinity, Coleman’s Hatch and living in the civil parish
Living in the civil parish
Living with Christian parents who regularly worship at a Christian church and live outside the civil parish
Other children
When deciding between applicants of equal entitlement, the governors will give priority to the applicants living closest to the school, measured using surfaced passable routes by the County Council’s geographical formation system (GIS) from the child’s home to the nearest gate used by children at the school. It must also be a public right of way.
which led to the idea of maybe making your own kiln in the woods….we are going to try to start this next time we go!
