Cherry Oak School
Working Together for Success
Cherry Oak School
Working Together for Success
Latest News
Check here for the latest updates and news
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Welcome Letter and Class Timetables
Mon 06 Sep 2021Dear Parents and Carers
A very warm welcome back to everyone, and a big welcome to all our new parents. We are very excited about the year ahead. It was great to see all the children, staff and classrooms looking so good today.
There are a few changes to make you aware of before the year begins.
Class Groups and Teachers:
Class Name
Key Stage
Curriculum Pathway
Class Leads
Acorns
Key Stage 1
Early Years
Louise Wood
Bluebells
Key Stage 1
Explorers
Marie Bastable
Clover
Key Stage 1
Explorers
Tamsyn Nickless
Daisies
Key Stage 2
Explorers
Pod Serge & Kathryn Tovey
Elm
Key Stage 2
Explorers
Jacqui Hanna-Jones & Mark Cottam
Fern
Key Stage 2
Explorers
Karina Johnson
Maple
Key Stage 2
Connectors
Emma Eaton & Emily Meyrick
Rowan
Key Stage 2
Connectors
Laura Stonehall
Sycamore
Key Stage 2
Connectors
James Callaghan
Willow
Key Stage 2
Connectors
Harriet Walker & Pod Serge
Timetables:
Link to class timetables:
Curriculum:
We are having a big focus on reading this year. Emma Eaton, Assistant Head, will be communicating separately about plans and ways you can support your children’s reading at home.
Transport:
We have had huge issues with home to school transport on the first day back. This is extremely disappointing as it has resulting in negative experience for our pupils. Please can I remind all parents and carers that Cherry Oak do not manage transport. We are as frustrated as you are with these issues and are doing everything we can to assist transport to rectify this for our pupils. This is a significant amount of work for our staff to make sure our pupils are not in this position again. However, as I have said above, Cherry Oak does not have responsibility for transport, they are a completely separate organisation.
If you are unhappy with transport please send your enquires to: National Express Assisted Transport, 51 Bordesley Green, Birmingham B9 4BZ, telephone: 0333 241 2745.
Kind regards
Yours faithfully
Ross Ashcroft
Head Teacher
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Cherry Oak School's New Libary Designs
Wed 21 Jul 2021We are pleased to be able to share with you the proposed designs for our new Library at Cherry Oak. Improving our pupils literacy skills are of the highest priority here at Cherry Oak. Alongside extensive training for staff with our new phonics scheme; Read Write Inc, we have also invested heavily in many new and exciting literacy resources.
The culmination of this continuing development will be our new Library. This dynamic, engaging and well resourced area will provide the perfect environment for our pupils at all levels of reading.
We hope that you and your children are as excited by these designs as we are.
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End Of Academic Year Letter 2020-2021
Wed 21 Jul 2021Dear Parents/Carers,
The school year draws to a close and the last day of the school year is upon us. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you. Firstly, for choosing Cherry Oak School and secondly for trusting us with your child’s education and finally for all the support that you have given every member of the school’s staffing team this year. I also want to thank every child for all the warmth, memories and the learning that we have shared over the last two terms.
My appointment started with great plans to continue with the developments towards the issues raised in the recent Ofsted inspection. However, as for the last 18 months, Coronavirus forced us into another lockdown. This has had a significant impact on our plans as a school. Staff were asked to adapt, with very little notice, to online and remote learning. As you will imagine, attempting to shift weeks of carefully co-ordinated lesson planning, content and skills progression into remote learning was difficult, but as always Cherry Oak staff rose to the challenge. This was shown in February’s parent survey on remote education, with 87.6% of respondents saying the quality of home learning packs were excellent or good, and 100% saying the quality of live zoom sessions were excellent or good. However, we know that some students have flourished whilst some have found periods of lockdown and restrictions very challenging. I would like to take this opportunity to thank parents for their support in these difficult circumstances, you have done an incredible job!
With all the difficulties COVID has brought, it has also been a busy and fun year with designing and implementing a new curriculum and the achievement of the Primary Quality Mark Award in March. We have also significantly increased the school’s budget, meaning increased staffing, resources and opportunities for your children next academic year. However, next year brings new challenges, likely Ofsted visit, fundraising for new purpose built library, embedding curriculum areas across the school, new streamed ability class groups and new staff and pupils starting with us. Together, with your support, and your children as our inspiration, we can achieve anything.
Year 6’s
As the Cherry Oak door closes today, another door is opening for 13 of our year 6 pupils as they embark on the next stage of their educational journey. I would like to take this opportunity to mention those Year 6’s pupils who are coming to the end of their time at Cherry Oak. The strange end to their time at school is very difficult to take in. The lack of opportunities COVID gave us to properly celebrate their time as members of our community has been difficult. They have missed out on leavers’ assemblies, parent evenings and the informal goodbyes that mark the summer term. I would like to wish them well on the next stage of their journey at ‘big’ school. Pupils who are, kind, inquisitive, independent, curious children who love to learn. We are so proud of each one of you. I know that our new students joining us in September 2021 will bring many talents to continue the increased success and positivity that the school has enjoyed over the last year.
Uniform
Full school uniform will be in place as normal from September 2021. The uniform will be unchanged in September. Details are available on the school website.
New Staff
We will be saying goodbye to a small number of staff and welcoming increasing numbers of new members of staff to Cherry Oak in the new academic year. I know that our new staff will be both positive and productive additions to our school community. Information about staff will be available on the school website.
Arrangements for the start of term
Thursday 2nd September - Staff training day - school closed to pupils
Friday 3rd September - Staff training day - school closed to pupils
Monday 6th – All year 1-6 pupils back at school (Reception pupils will have individual transitions)
Please keep a close eye on the school website and school app which will have all updates and guidance.
I would like to wish you all a good summer and look forward to seeing you and your families in the new term.
Yours faithfully
Ross Ashcroft
Head Teacher
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Important Information Regarding Friday the 16th July 2021
Thu 15 Jul 2021Dear Parents and Carers,
As we approach the end of the academic year, we are faced with increased COVID-19 infections which are now affecting the operational running of the school.
I now find myself in a position where I need to isolate due to having close contact. Unfortunately, our Assistant Head Emma is in a similar position and also needs to isolate. It is very frustrating for this to occur so close to the end of the year, and has put enormous pressure on everyone to make sure the school runs smoothly. We have been proactive, myself and Emma have already taken a full PCR test and are hopeful we will be back in school as soon as possible.
Thankfully, Claire Kings, our Strategic Pastoral Manager and Leadership Team member has deputised today, running the school to our usual high standard. Claire has the experience and knowledge to do this well, and has done so many times in the past.
However, even with this succession planning and crisis management in place, we still find ourselves in a position where we have significant issues with the running of the school tomorrow, Friday 16th July. Currently there will be no SLT from Cherry Oak in a position to lead the school and without a member of the leadership team on site the school would not be able to open.
However, we have been in discussions with leadership members from across the federation to arrange emergency leadership support in case myself and Emma’s results do not come back in time or come back positive. Clare Scattergood, Headteacher within the federation for Victoria College, has agreed to stand in tomorrow as acting headteacher to make sure we can continue to open. Ellee Vance, middle management will also be stepping up into a more senior role tomorrow to assist the running of the school.
Even with all these measures in place, we still have a lack of staff to run at full capacity. Classes where staff numbers are low due to isolating have been asked to keep their children at home on Friday – these parents/carers have been contacted via phone today. I am also asking other parents now for your continued support, if you are able to keep your child at home tomorrow please could you do so. I understand it is late notice, but we are in an impossible situation and are doing everything we can to avoid a school closure. If you do decide to keep your child off school this absence would of course be authorised.
The planned transition into new classes tomorrow will now be postponed until next week.
Cherry Oak has managed to control cases and work within restrictions for a long time, with limited bubble closures throughout this period. Hopefully you understand this is a very rare situation we find ourselves in which could not have been avoided. We have all hands-on deck to make sure we are open and ready to receive your children in our normal, caring and nurturing manner as soon as possible.
Thank you again for your continued support.
Kind regards
Yours sincerely
Ross Ashcroft - Head Teacher
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Be Empowered Workshops
Mon 24 May 2021The First Face to Face workshop since the start of the Covid19 Pandemic
Every Wednesday 10am – 2pm (for 6 weekly sessions)
Starting Wed 9th JuneAt The Oak Centre @ St Michaels Church, 17 Redstone Farm Road, Hall Green, Birmingham B28 9NU
We warmly invite you to a series of workshops that have been written by and are led by trainers who are parent/carers of a child with additional needs themselves.
These workshops are for parent/carers of children and young people of any age, with any additional need, following diagnosis. They are an attempt to support parent/carers through times of change and at whatever stage of the journey participants may find themselves.Click here to download the booking form
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Governors' Newsletter Summer 2, 2021
Thu 20 May 2021The Governors’ Newsletter
You spoke, we listened!
Thank you to all of you who took part in the Communication Survey put out by Lisa Wootton recently.
Lisa is the elected Parent Governor for Cherry Oak and is also our Stakeholder Governor. We have been working together to see how we can improve communication with our families and ensure that you feel more involved with your child’s or young person’s education. The results will be shared with Senior Leaders and where we can make improvements, we will do all we can to get things right for you.
One of the areas you said you would like more information on was about Governors. You felt that you didn’t know who we were and what we do. To respond to this request, I will ensure that you receive an update from me every half term.
I will include a list of the visits we have made to school, what we have been monitoring and give a more detailed description of one of the roles covered by one of our Governors to give you a better idea of the role that we play in the strategic direction of the Federation.
We do have a Governors’ Page on each of the School websites which gives an outline of how we have organised our Board, what each committee does and photographs and short biographies of all our members. I would suggest that you have a look at this if you wish to know more about us and you will find out how to contact us should you wish to. I have also added the general job description of a school governor and some of the specialist roles that our governors hold. I hope that this will give you a clearer idea of how governance is managed on your behalf.
Working together for success
What have we been doing this half term?
Most of our work this half term has been centred around the recruitment and appointment of the new Executive Head Teacher for September.
We held a number of extraordinary meetings to look at the best way forward for the Federation and set up a working group to oversee the recruitment and elected a panel of experienced governors to conduct the final interview and propose the most suitable candidate to the full board for their approval. We also engaged the services of an external Human Resources advisor as is required for a post of this level.
Almost all of the governors were involved over the three days of interview where we gave tasks and tests to establish the candidates’ qualifications, qualities and skills needed for the role. On the final day the candidates were required to present to the panel on their vision for the future of the Federation and were subjected to in depth questions from the Panel.
The successful candidate was unanimously agreed upon and the Full Board ratified the decision in a special meeting that evening, subject to all the necessary legal checks being completed successfully.
The general work of the Governors has had to continue alongside this time consuming, but essential exercise.
Safeguarding: Mrs Sadie Bolton has carried out Safeguarding Checks at both schools to ensure that we are compliant with the law and that your children and young people are safe and happy at school.
Buildings, Health and Safety: Safety walks have been undertaken to check both schools and to ensure the progress and provision of the maintenance plans in place.
Pupil Progress: Mrs Ann Ellis has met with the leaders in charge of data and progress to ensure that your children and young people are making the progress expected of them. Pupil Premium spending has also been regularly scrutinised and the use of any catch-up funding provided by government for Covid-19. It is our job to ensure this money is being used to enhance the educational experiences of our most vulnerable pupils. I can safely say that extremely careful records are kept and the money is being used to provide extra help where it will have the most impact.
Chair of Governor Visits: I visit both schools regularly, even through the Covid period. I meet with Julie Fardell and Ross Ashcroft to discuss any successes or concerns and to provide support where possible. I regularly visit classrooms and speak with staff during my visits and have kept a close eye on the welfare of students and staff during this difficult period.
During this period obviously no special events are able to take place but pre Covid you would always have seen me and other governors attending Parents’ Evenings, shows and other occasions. You can recognise us by our badges and Governor lanyards.
I hope this has been of some use to you and I am happy to receive suggestions via email of ideas for future newsletters.
If you speak, we can listen. Please see this as a move towards a more open-door policy to your Board but please remember…
If you have a concern about your child’s education you should always approach your school first and speak to the people who know you and your child’s needs. It is not the role of the Governing Board to be involved at a day to day level, we are here to ensure that when you do need support it is given according to our policies and upholds the mission and values of the Federation.
Thank you so much for pointing out that you wanted more information and keep taking part in our surveys. They really do help us to help you.
Clare Mills
Clare Mills
Chair of Governors
Contact me: Via email c.mills@victoria.bham.sch.uk
In writing or by telephone via the school offices at Cherry Oak or Victoria.
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Cherry Oak Book Drive
Thu 13 May 2021We are currently improving the school library and we are in need of a variety of picture books and story books.
If you have any books at home which you no longer use, we would be very grateful if you would kindly donate them to school to support the development.
Thank you to those parents, carers and other stakeholders who have already donated books to the school, we really appreciate your generosity.
Many thanks
Claire Kings -
Communication Survey
Tue 27 Apr 2021Our governing board are conducting a federation wide survey with parents and carers regarding home / school communication. The survey will take around 5 - 10 minutes to complete and will be completely anonymous. We really value your input and will use the results to make improvements to our communication so please complete honestly and accurately.
Please follow this link:
https://forms.gle/mj7chMn4drvc4veeA
Many thanks. -
World Poetry Day
Tue 23 Mar 2021It was World Poetry Day on the 21st March and we spent the week celebrating poetry in our Literacy lessons here at Cherry Oak.We have enjoyed listening to a variety of poems and some of us have even tried writing our own Acrostic Poems with our names. An acrostic poem is a poem that uses all the letters in a word or name as the first letter of each line of a poem. We have had so much fun doing this!
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Red Nose Day
Tue 23 Mar 2021Many thanks for your generous donations for Red Nose Day. We raised £45.50 for the charity. It was wonderful to see the pupils enjoying the day in their bright clothes and costumes.
