- Philippians 4:13
April 2023 Blog
Welcome to our April blog, which is shorter than usual as we had two weeks holiday over Easter. I hope all our parents had a good break: the children certainly seem to have and returned to school full of energy.
April saw the launch of a very important new programme at St Margaret’s: OPAL. This a play programme designed to support school improvement through better play and playtimes. These, you may be surprised to read, make up nearly a quarter of all the time our Primary children spend at school and we shall be working with an OPAL team over the next two years. We’ll encourage reasonable risk taking and different play types, and ensure that the playground is no longer dominated by 10 boys playing football, hogging all the space! Already the pupils are collecting loose parts, plastic barrels chopped in half, small ladders and hose and drain pipes to make a slide. So, groups are learning to work together creatively and loving it. OPAL research shows that play contributes to children’s physical and emotional health, well-being and their approach to learning and enjoyment of school. It’s very exciting and popular already!
The children’s wonderful initiative of car washing is in full swing to raise money, so that all of Year 6 can go on the Residential Trip by the sea before they leave. The wash takes place at the school every Thursday before and after school as well as at lunch-time. Cost: £7.50 and all our Year 6 are expert washers! To date together with the Tea & Cakes in a Warm Space they organised last term, the children have raised a remarkable £450.
Lastly, we’ve had the result of our OFSTED report, which I’m happy to say was GOOD in all areas. Well done all the staff!
