Dear Parent/Carer,

It is that time of year again when we say goodbye to our children and families for a little while whilst we evaluate the year and plan for the next stage of our academy’s development towards becoming a GOOD school.

I hope you can see the changes that are being made to put learning and education at the heart of our community and really impact positively on our children’s decisions in life.

I have appointed high-quality, high-energy new teachers to join our experienced team in delivering a dynamic and fast-paced curriculum, and a new comprehensive programme of creative arts, music and sports.

A trauma-informed approach to our Behaviour Policy and investment into our play-times is also currently underway, along with the development of a clear staffing structure to support our parents with their queries.

Dear Parent/Carer of Year 6 pupil,

As you may be aware, from Monday 9th May our Year 6 pupils will sit their end of Key Stage examinations – otherwise known as their SATs.

Our children have worked exceptionally hard for these tests and are ready and prepared to have a jolly good go at them. There may be butterflies in the tummies of our children but this just means that they care; and it is a great life skill to be able to overcome those feelings of nerves and anxiety and push through.

8:30am start for breakfast together 

Mrs Ali, Mr Ogilivie and Mrs Mumford invite your son, daughter or ward for breakfast everyday (Monday to Thursday) to calm the nerves and celebrate this very special time together.

Please ensure that your child is at school for this slightly earlier time if possible, but the start of the school day at 8:55am is also acceptable.

Please do not be late.

Lots of rest at bedtime and be on time for school

Please support your child to get a good night’s sleep before their tests and that they are not over stimulated with games, phones or devices until late into the night.

Not only do these tests support us in demonstrating progress to reach our goal of being an outstanding academy eventually, but the results are passed onto your child’s high school and may determine sets or groupings in Year 7.

It is so important for these tests to reflect the ability of your child so that their new high school teachers can support them as best as they can, especially after a significant loss to learning in recent years due to Covid.

No phones please and no smart watches

Mrs Ali and the team request that phones and smart watches are not brought to school at all from Monday please (or they are checked in at the office upon arrival), because if a phone or smart watch is accidentally left on their person it could lead to cheating accusation where all results would be void (not counted).

Keep in touch with us

As the week progresses, there may be something you want us to be aware of or request support in helping your child in for their SATs tests. We can help. Please keep in touch with us via the School Office on 652 5124.

Please do not allow your child to miss these SATs tests.

Timetable

It feels like a whole week of tests is ahead for our Year 6 children but there are actually only six tests to complete. Most of them are first thing in the morning and the whole process is over by midday on Thursday.

Please help us to reassure your children that this is very doable if we look after each other and ‘have a go’. Do not miss any of the tests as this will have a huge impact on the final results.

Date	SAT information	Start Time	Finish Time	Duration
Monday 9th May	English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling(Paper 1 Questions)	09:30	10:15	45 minutes
	English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling(Paper 2: Spelling)	11:00	11:15	15 minutes  *The test is not strictly timed
Tuesday 10th May	English Reading	09:30	10:30	60 minutes
Wednesday 11th May	Mathematics: Paper 1 Arithmetic	09:30	10:00	30 minutes
	Mathematics: Paper 2 Reasoning	11:00	11:40	40 minutes
Thursday 12th May	Mathematics: Paper 3 Reasoning	09:30	10:10	40 minutes

Access Arrangements

Some children will be receiving extra time (25%), transcription, touch-typing or regular prompting in line with their personal support plans and educational needs. Parents/carers will be notified by the class teacher if an access arrangement is in place for their child.

Good times ahead

If we have 100% attendance for all of these statutory tests, we have arranged a number of exciting events over the summer term to give our Year 6 pupils the send-off they deserve. This includes an overnight sleepover called ‘under the stars’, a leaver’s BBQ, campfire cooking, use of the MSE inflatables, film and popcorn and possibly a Year 6 production to end the year on a super high.

Please do help us to make this summer a great success for your child and feel part of the Portland pack, which means a few days of knuckling down and working hard on these tests.

Results will be sent home around the last week of the summer term.

Thank you for your continued help and support and for preparing your child to be the best that they can be.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs C Peace

Headteacher

Dear Parent / Carer,

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share with our pupils, parents and community that Mrs Allen will be leaving Co-op Academy Portland at the end of this term, her last day with us being Friday 8th April.

Mrs Allen has worked at the school for over 25 years and I know that many of you will have been taught by her.

She will be hugely missed at Portland and will leave a gaping hole in our school community with the warmth, love and support she offers her colleagues, our families and our pupils.

Please join me in wishing Mrs Allen all the luck in the world in her new adventures.

Thank you Mrs Allen for everything you have done for us!

Yours sincerely,

Mrs C Peace

Headteacher

“Fairtrade should be everywhere at the Academy. We really want to talk about it, share it, enjoy it, live it.”

DEBBIE RANDLES | CO-OPERATIVE COORDINATOR

Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy New Year

Welcome back everybody following the long Christmas holidays.

Once again we are faced with new updates, guidance and restrictions due to the new Omicron Covid variant, but we are much more prepared for this and we hope to continue our incredible progress from where we left off last year.

You will be pleased to know that not very much will change for our children inside school as we are not going back to bubbles or staggered starts and ends to the school day, and our children can continue to enjoy each other’s company and have visitors into the school as planned (although perhaps with a little more distance between them).

The main difference to our children is that they will see their grown-ups wearing masks in the corridors, although, if any of our staff have to isolate, we may join classes together in order to keep all children in school. This may mean that our children work together on their tables and chairs in the hall – which will become their really big classroom!

Our priority is to keep everyone safe but also to maintain every pupil staying in school as far as possible.

Symptoms of Covid in School

We know that it is cough and cold season and that our children will sometimes present with these symptoms. We are very used to this and will encourage using tissues, and sanitising hands regularly as normal, however at this risky time we may ask that an LFD is completed at home and a negative test obtained before your child returns to school as normal. We just need to keep as many of us free from Covid as possible.

If anybody in your household is positive with Covid and your child is presenting with cough or cold symptoms in school then we will ask for a PCR test to be taken before returning to school. This is because it becomes a little more likely that your child has picked it up too.

Covid Positive 

If you are positive but your child is not then they can continue to come to school. The rule is that daily LFD tests are taken to ensure that the virus has not been passed on.

If your child tests positive then they will need to isolate for 10 days. Early release from isolation is possible if a negative LFD test is obtained on Day 6 and Day 7 (please see guidance below).

If your child has to isolate, and they are well enough, then they will attend their lessons from home – virtually. More information will follow from your class teacher if your child has to isolate but please do not worry as we will support you through this. Work packs are also available.

Lunches will continue to be provided of course for our Free School Meal children. If this is a very pressing issue and you are in immediate need of food support for your family do not hesitate in contacting Mrs T.

New Staff

We are very excited to welcome new staff into the team this term to help support us in our efforts in closing any educational gaps that have come about due to Covid lockdowns.

We welcome Mrs Stewart to her tutoring role supporting Reception and Year 1 children (our children know Mrs Stewart already!)

We welcome Miss Allen to her Academic Mentor role working with Year 2 (and yes you do recognise her surname…).

And finally, we welcome Mr Ogilvie to our Key Stage 2 team who will be working alongside Mrs Shaw in her KS2 tutoring role supporting children to meet their full potential

All are fully qualified teachers and have been chosen especially for their warmth, kindness and skills in nurturing primary children. We hope you give them a brilliant Portland welcome!

PE Kits

We once again ask if our children can come in on their PE days in the school uniform kits please. This entails blue jogging bottoms, pumps/trainers and a white polo shirt and school jumper. Your child’s class teacher will remind you of the PE days via dojo.

Enrichments

Please keep an eye out for the spring term enrichment slips which will go out to our families next week. These after school activities will begin the week commencing Monday 10th January.

Applications for Reception (F2)

Do you have a child born between 1st September 2017 and 31st August 2018?

There are only days left to apply for a Wirral primary school place. The closing date is 15th January 2022. At Co-op Academy Portland our Reception places are filling up fast.

Visit the link below to apply or give Mrs McKay a call in the school office on 0151 652 5124.

https://www.wirral.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/school-admissions/apply-primary-or-secondary-school-place

If your child is in a school nursery then they must still apply for a place as Reception places are not automatic. If you miss this date (late application) then your child may not get into a preferred school. If anyone needs help with this process, please do not hesitate to ask at our school office.

Building Work

As you may be aware Co-op Academies Trust has invested over half a million pounds into our academy buildings and premises but there is still lots to do.

We are very excited to share our plans for a new waiting room at the front of our school. This will replace our small porch and will provide a private community room as well as a spacious and bright area to welcome visitors to our academy.

Sadly, we do have to live through the building work which does precede this wonderful addition to our school. Work has already begun and we apologise in advance for any disruption or changes in the future to our entrances and exits to the school. We will ensure that you have plenty of notice of any changes that may affect you.

Thank you

I think you will agree that Co-op Academy Portland has the best team and have worked tirelessly to ensure that our Co-op families are all doing as well as possible in these tricky times.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we help support you and your family in any way.

Thank you for your continued support – stay safe. Don’t forget your masks when coming onto the school grounds.

Your sincerely,

Mrs Peace

Headteacher