Welcome to
Telephone: 0114 248 2360
Email: enquiries@halfway-inf.sheffield.sch.uk
BREAKFAST CLUB IS AVAILABLE EVERYDAY - COME ALONG AND HAVE A HEALTHY BREAKFAST AND LOTS OF FUN! SESSIONS COST £3.20 EACH AND BEGIN AT 8.00AM IN THE SCHOOL HALL. NOTE, BREAKFAST CLUB IS AVAILABLE TO CHILDREN IN NURSERY.
LATEST NEWS
New Appointments
After a very busy day of interviewing last Friday, I am pleased to confirm the appointment of 2 new members of staff. Mrs Claire Ball will be joining us in September as our new Foundation Stage Co-ordinator, replacing Mrs Scrafton. Claire is currently Assistant Headteacher at HoltHouseInfant School and has a wealth of experience - teaching and leading Nursery and Reception. As we had such a strong field of candidates, we also decided to employ Miss Kate Scholey as well. Kate currently teaches at Thornhill Infant and JuniorSchool in Rotherham, and will be joining us in September as a new KS1 teacher. We send Claire and Kate our warmest congratulations, and can’t wait to work with them both in September.
We interviewed on Monday for a maternity cover post for Miss Prendergast, and will keep you informed of the outcome.
Would you like to be a Parent Governor?
There is currently a vacancy for a Parent Representative on the Governing Body of the school.
School governors have an important role to play in helping to maintain and develop our children’s education. There is a heavier workload on governors now than there used to be, but, equally, the importance of a governor’s role is more widely recognised.
The three main roles of the governing body are
q agreeing the Strategic Direction for the school
q acting as a Critical Friend
q ensuring Accountability
A Parent Governor will be expected to attend meetings of the Full Governing Body at least once a term. They will also be expected to join one of the committees of the Governing Body and undergo relevant training courses and visit school throughout the year.
The Representative elected will normally serve for a period of four years, unless their circumstances change.
Gina Berry, Chair of the Governing Body, would be grateful, therefore, to receive nominations for the vacancies on the form that can be downloaded here. The completed form should arrive in school no later than Friday 25th May. Please ensure that you have the permission of the parent you are nominating. Please return your nominations to the school office, in an envelope addressed to Gina.
If anyone would like more information about what is involved and the commitment required in becoming a School Governor please see our prospectus or contact Gina as Chair of Governors through the school office.
Thank You!
"Having now been appointed as substantive head of Halfway Nursery Infant School, I would like to express a massive thank you to everyone for their support over the past year. One of the main reasons for me pursuing the headship was knowing that we have such a wonderful school community that work together to achieve the best for all our children regardless of social background, race, heritage or ability – a community that embraces everyone! I would also like to pay tribute to our Governing Body and staff who have handled the recruitment process with great professionalism and commitment to our school, never faltering in the face of adversity! I am really excited about the next stage of development for our school and I can’t wait to continue working with you all (especially your children!) in making our school a centre for world class education. THANK YOU!"
Stephen Varnam
School Tea Towels
School tea towels, featuring the children’s own self portraits, are now on sale in classrooms and in Nursery.
Price £3 each.
Classes for September
Just to let parents know that, once all new appointments have been made, we will be confirming classes and teachers for September. Y2 children moving to the JuniorSchool already know who their teachers will be and what classes they will be in, so we are hoping to have the same information available for F2 and Y1 parents and carers by the end of this half term. Thank you for your patience in this matter.
Breakfast Club
Just to remind parents/carers that Breakfast Club is open to all children (including those in Nursery) from 8am every morning. The cost per session is £3.20, and includes breakfast and fun and games!
New Government Plans for Attendance
You may have heard that Michael Gove, Education Secretary, is planning on making some changes to attendance regulations in England. He has already made one change in that if your child’s attendance is below 85% this is now classed as ‘persistent absence’, and you could incur a penalty notice or court action if your child’s attendance does not improve. I will be writing personally to all parents whose child’s attendance is below 85% to offer my support in improving this. Mr Gove has also highlighted plans to disallow requests for ANY holidays to be taken during term time. He has proposed that, if parents do take children out of school for holidays during term time, they could face penalty notices. Please bear this in mind for the future, and please remember that these are central government controlled issues over which the school and I have no control.
Collecting Children from After School Clubs
Could parents/carers please remember to let class teachers or Mr Varnam know if someone different is collecting their children from an after school club. We have had quite a few ‘unknown’ faces coming to collect children recently. Thank you for helping in this matter.
Nursery Needs You!
Nursery is asking for any donations of bedding plants that could be used to spruce up its outdoor area. Any donations should be sent to Sarah Russon in Nursery. Thanks for your support in this matter.
Ofsted
Ofsted has carried out an interim assessment on the school, looking at, amongst other issues, pupil attainment and progress, and views submitted by parents to the Ofsted Parent View website. As a result, Ofsted has judged that the school’s performance has been sustained and is deferring its next full inspection to summer 2013.
After School Clubs
After School Clubs taking place during this half term are listed below.
Club | Day | Led by |
Gymnastics Club (Y2) | Thursday (3-4pm) | Jane Paige (outside provider) |
Tai Chi Club
(F2, Y1 and Y2) | Mondays (3-4pm) | Snapdragon (outside provider) |
Gardening Club (F2, Y1 and Y2) | Thursdays (3-4pm) | Chris Gregg |
Cooking Club (F2, Y1 and Y2) | Thursdays (3-4pm) | Adele Walker and Gillian Line |
Cheerleading Club (F2, Y1 and Y2) | Wednesdays (3-4pm) | Jess McVeigh (outside provider) |
Team Games (F2, Y1 and Y2) | Fridays (3-4pm) | Tony Daws (outside provider) |
Key dates for this half term
| DATE | EVENT |
| Wednesday 30th May | Mrs Scrafton’s Class Assembly |
| Thursday 31st May at 9.15am | Well Done Assembly |
| Friday 1st June | Curriculum Day (SCHOOL CLOSED) |
Key dates for next half term
Monday 11th June | Curriculum Day (SCHOOL CLOSED) |
Tuesday 12th June | School Re-opens |
Wednesday 13th June | Individual Photographs (Tempest Photography) |
Friday 15th June at 9.15 a.m. | Birthday Assembly (June Birthdays) |
Thursday 21st June at 4.30pm | Governor’s Standards Committee Meeting |
Saturday 23rd June 1-4pm | SUMMER FAYRE |
W/B 25th Junen | Olympics Weeke |
Thursday 28th June at 4.30pm | Full Governor’s Meeting |
Friday 29th June at 1.15pm | Sport’s Day |
W/B 2nd July | Y2 Transition Weeks begin |
Wednesday 4th July at 9.15am | Miss Walker’s Class Assembly |
Thursday 5th July | F2 and Y1 Transition Day – spend the day in your new class! |
Friday 6th July at 9.15 a.m. | Birthday Assembly (July Birthdays) |
Monday 9th July | Annual Reports Sent Home |
Wednesday 11th July 5-8pm | Parents’ Open Evening |
Tuesday 17th July at 9.15am Tuesday 17 July at 2.00pm | Leaver’s Assembly for Parents Leaver’s Assembly for Grandparents |
Wednesday 18th July at 9.15am | Birthday Assembly (August birthdays) |
Thursday 19th July at 9.15am | Well Done Assembly |
Friday 20th July | Curriculum Day (SCHOOL CLOSED) Summer holidays begin!!! |
Curriculum Days 2012-13 Academic Year
Curriculum Days during the 2012/13 academic year will be:
Monday 3rd September 2012
Monday 5th November 2012
Friday 24th May 2013
Monday 22nd July 2013
Tuesday 23rd July 2013
School will be closed on all the above dates.
Class Summer Newsletters
The latest Summer term class newsletters are now available to download:
Class 1 (Miss Prendergast) (Apr/May)
Class 2 (Mrs Parker) (Apr/May)
Class 3 (Mrs Richardson/Mrs Perry) (Apr/May)
Class 4 (Miss Walker) (Apr/May)
Class 5 Newsletter Summer Term 2012 (April/May)
2011/12 School Prospectus available to download (PDF version)
2011/12 School Prospectus (WORD version)
Newsletters by email
If you are not already receiving school newsletters by email, and would like to do so, just tell the school office or email the request to enquiries@halfway-inf.sheffield.sch.uk.