The last week before half term was very busy with our youngest children visiting Paignton Zoo and years 5 and 6 away for 2 days. Other classes enjoyed the outdoor learning classroom and year 4 went orienteering at Killerton.

I went along with the year 5/6 children and had a brilliant time. Although I appreciated the week off to recover afterwards. Both days were action packed but very different. On day one we went to Broadsands, had a short walk and then went crabbing at Stoke Gabriel. The children were so excited I was surprised none of them fell into the water. In total the children caught 273 crabs with their lines and I am pleased to say our catch was all safely returned to its natural habitat before we left.

Maypool Youth Hostel was great and had fabulous views looking down over the River Dart. We were quite disappointed to find that the Hostel was for sale and we were probably the last school to use it. Such a shame. In the evening the staff acted out a Murder Mystery Agather Christie style. It was such good fun- well the staff enjoyed it any way! Big thanks to Miss Dudley and Mrs Ainsworth who joined us in the evening just to contribute to the play and then had to travel back early in the morning to be in time for their classes.

The second day was spent at Greenway, the home of Agather Christie and the children impressed the national trust staff with their knowledge of the author already. The weather was great and we spent time down by the boathouse sketching and taking in the amazing views.

I'm sure the children had as good a time as I certainly did.

I spent Saturday walking the dog on the beach and beautiful coastline paths of Broadsands. We intend to take the year 5/6 children there next week as part of their learning this term and someone had to do the risk assessments! The weather was glorious you wouldn't think it was nearly the end of October. We also visited the River Shack bistro, in the beautiful village of Stoke Gabriel on the River Dart. The mill Pool here is famous for crabbing and that's what we intend to do with 52 children. I can't wait.

Thursday and Friday of last week I spent at the Devon Association of Primary Headteachers' Conference at Saunton Sands, North Devon. It is great to have an opportunity to get away occasionally with others and have time to think and refocus on my role as a school leader. I listened to inspirational speakers who raised my awareness of the changing world our children are growing up in and this reassured me that at Kentisbeare School we are delivering a curriculum that is exciting and relevant to our children. Although I know there is plenty of room for further development.

News is filtering through that school budgets may not be affected in the Spending Review however we await with interest to see what the results will be. The governors and myself are always thinking and planning many months and years ahead but such uncertainties make it difficult to make concrete plans for the future. After next week we might have more information regarding this.

In the meantime have a good week and let's hope the weather is as good as it has been this weekend.

Tracey Hailey

Apple Day

This week Kentisbeare children were out in the community again enjoying the sunshine and visiting local orchards in celebration of Harvest time. The school , inside and out, has been filled with the wonderful aroma of baking apples. We are so fortunate at Kentisbeare school to be able to take advantage of the thriving village life and beautiful countryside on our doorstep. I would like to say a big thank you to all the parent helpers and members of the community who continue to support the school and as a result enrich the children's learning.

Thank you

Wet play-times made the week feel very long and I was looking forward to a quiet weekend. The children are now well settled into the term and the staff are beginning to plan future events on our Autumn Calendar. Harvest Service is our first and just to remind you that this will be held at St. Mary's Church on Monday 11th October at 11 am. The year 6 children will be preparing a Harvest Cream Tea for grandparents and local celebrities. This year this will be held in the school hall and the children plan to take their guests for a tour around the school and grounds.

This week we celebrated the successes of our boys and girls football teams who came back victorious from a tournament at Blundell's School. This was run by Devon and Cornwall Police who will be vising the school soon to award certificates.

Next week we will be having a visit from Cullompton Firefighters who will be talking to all the children about fire safety.

A busy week ahead with lots of meetings in the evenings for me. It would be great to see some of you at the Kentisbeare School Association (KSA) meeting on Thursday. Remember if you have children at Kentisbeare School you are automatically a member of the KSA. The committee plan events to help raise money for school priorities. See you there.

Have a good week.

After the excitement of last week, this week felt very quiet in school but that might also have been because the year 3 children were on residential! The class spent 3 days at Pixies Holt and for most of them it was their first nights away from home. They participated in lots of activities which included; caving, archery and letter boxing on the moors. I don't suppose for one minute they slept much on the first night but I know they all looked ready for the weekend when they got out of the minibus on Friday and that includes the teachers.

Next week I'll post some more pictures but there will be many more on our website soon.

Tracey Hailey

Fabulous Strings Day

Always a busy week but Wednesday and Thursday produced the most photos. Unfortunately I didn't bring any home to share with you but I'll post some tomorrow.

On Wednesday the Tour of Britain came through Cullompton and the year 5 children went to support it. Together with staff and parents the children cycled to town and joined the crowds cheering and waving flags. Like last year this event was well supported by Devon schools and many promote cycling as part of their healthy schools agenda.

On Thursday we were thrilled to have Brian Wickland & Brother Mule an American Blue Grass Band visit the school. The day was organised by Sue Rivett our violin tutor who is a real asset to the school. The band spent the day running workshops with our children who play string instruments and entertained the whole school with their own music, encouraging them to join in with the singing. This was a fabulous and memorable experience for all of us. Thank you Sue and the band.

New Term New Year

Welcome back everyone. Had a great holiday and feel well rested although first week back felt very long and I'm pleased it's the weekend. I popped over to France at the end of August to Mr White and Miss Le Boyer's wedding which was lovely. Photos of the happy couple above

All the children had a good start to the term and our foundation children got through their first week with few tears and so did the teachers! The year 6 children were eager to meet their buddies and it is always lovely to see the growing relationship between our youngest and oldest children.

More news next week.

Tracey Hailey

The leavers' service brought this very busy term and year to a close. The service celebrated the year and the successes of our oldest children who will be moving on to Uffculme Senior school in the new academic year. We also said farewell to a few children moving to different schools in the county. The year six children made us laugh and smile as they talked about their memories of Kentisbeare and we sang joyfully songs that they had learnt over the years. They enthralled us with their musical piece 'Hoppipola'which they repeated to rapturous applause. The congregation fell silent at the end of the service after watching the photo and video montage put together by Mr White and there was not a dry eye in the church.



I am sure you will all join me in wishing Mr White and his bride to be, Celine all the best for their forthcoming wedding.



Thank you all for your ongoing support. Have a good Summer break and we look forward to seeing you all in September.



Tracey Hailey

Just a few of the many photographs taken at the Duckrace and Barbecue on Friday the 9th July. We aim to update pages on our website soon with photos of some of the events and trips that have happened this year.

The school had a church inspection on Wednesday and although we have to wait for the final report we can tell you it went very well. When received the report will be available on our website and you will all receive a hard copy in September.

We held several mini- concerts for parents this week to show what they had been doing in class music lessons and individual music tuition. They were well attended and very enjoyable. Well done to the tutors and of course your talented children.

The school year finishes on Wednesday 21st with our Leavers' Assembly at St. Mary's Church at 2pm. Always worth attending as we say farewell to our year 6 children and any other children who are moving on. A very emotional time for all.

Trace Hailey

Another week of beautiful Summer weather. The classrooms became unbearable some days and most classes moved outside to find some shade in the Glade and under the canopy of trees.

Sport featured highly again this week with girls football and handball at Uffculme and a team of year 5/6 children representing East Devon at the Devon Youth Games. What an achievement.

Sports Day was fantastic with great weather, a range of events and a record number of supportive spectators. The KSA provided refreshments throughout the morning and it was lovely to see how many families stayed to enjoy a picnic on the field with the children. I thank the staff who worked hard to make the day such a success.

Years 2 and 3 went off to Plymouth Aquarium on Wednesday. Both children and adults had a great day. School was very quiet on that day because the year 6 were also out at the Donkey Sanctuary participating in Lifeskills Workshops.

The week ended with the annual barbecue and duckrace which was another major success with equally great weather. There were lots of stalls some run by the children and plenty of food and drink. Although we did run out of alcohol but a local pub came to our rescue. Music was provided by a youth folk band and our country dancers entertained the crowds.The KSA worked very hard and Simon Cooper, who organised the corporate duck race, compered in his own inimitable style sadly for the final time. He will be retiring as a governor and we will all miss his enthusiasm and support. We will also be saying farewell to parent governor Salliann Martin and we again say a big thank you for all her support over the years.

The weekend was just as busy starting with the Church Fete on the Saturday. Our country dancers opened the event and received great applause. It was lovely to meet up with old friends and pupils past and pesent. My dog, Thomas, enjoyed watching the dog show but was too shy to take part. I'm sure he could have been a strong contender in several categories!

No lie in this Sunday as myself and some colleagues took part in Race for Life at Westpoint. It was a very hot day but it was all for a good cause. We were walking in memory of Niki Bale parent and friend who lost her battle against cancer this year. She is sadly missed.

Next Wednesday we have a church inspection I'll let you know how it goes.

Tracey Hailey

As the end of term draws near there is so much going on I forgot again to enter my Blog last week. As I do this at home I have been unaware that the South West Grid for Learning have, for some reason that remains a mystery, filtered my Blog at school. I must get in touch with them as it means I can only write it at home and more importantly no one can read it in school.

Since my last news the year 4 children have visited their friends in Newham and had a great time by the sounds of it. The year 5 children went to Cullompton Community College for a Business Enterprise Day together with other schools in the Culm Valley. The year 6 have been very busy visiting Uffculme to meet their tutors for next year and experiencing life after Kentisbeare. The year 6 also had a barbecue and 'sleepover' in the school and went off for an equally tiring day at Woodlands the next day. I went along to the latter and although I spent most of my time drinking coffee and people watching it was great just to 'escape' from school for a while. This has been a very busy year and this is probably one of the few days I have had out that wasn't a meeting or training.

The Ofsted report went out this week and we are all very pleased with the outcome. There are obviously areas to work on but there were no surprises. The Lead Inspector was very complimentary with regard to our plans for curriculum development and praised our active participation with the wider community and cultural diversity. Our commitment to sport and the well-being of our children was also praised highly.

I am very proud to be part of Kentisbeare school and its community and part of a strong team which includes governors, staff, parents and of course the children.

Lots happening again next week.

Tracey Hailey

Since returning from the half term break it's been so busy I seem to have lost a week on my Blogg. So briefly straight after the holiday the year 6 children went off on residential to Boswinger in Cornwall, the Reception and year 1 children went off for a day in Teignmouth and school was a very quiet place without them all. Both children and staff had a great time and had lots of things to tell me on their return.

Also that week the year 4 children returned from an athletics competition with the winners trophy and the school athletics team came second overall at the Exeter Arena in the Culm Valley Schools Competition and that was without the usual year 6 competitors.

This week started with Mr White and Miss Dudley bringing in their winners trophies from the weekends Fairway Buoy Swim. This is an open water swim in Exmouth that has been going since the sixties. Having competed in this for 12 years Mr White was first home and Miss Dudley won the ladies competition. I am very proud of them both and the school celebrated their successes. They are also excellent role models for our children.

Having Only just returned from residential the year 6 were off again- Kayaking at Haven banks. Many thanks to all the parents who helped transporting the children back and forth. They also had a visit from Anne Browse from Uffculme School to talk to them about transition and answer any pressing questions they may have.

On the Thursday the school participated in National Green Day. The main part of the event was to asses the amount of packaging and waste that we generate as a school. As part of this we had a lunch box competition to see which class produced the least amount of non-recyleable waste.

The school had a visit form Ofsted on the Monday and Tuesday which went well. The report will be available to parents after the 27th of June.

The Friday Non Pupil/training Day was a well received good end to the week and I certainly went into the weekend feeling quite rested. Which reminds me - I wonder how the family Woodlands weekend went! I don't suppose the children or parents got much sleep.

Next week the year 4 s are off to London for two days to see their friends at Shaftesbury School in Newham.

Have a good week

Tracey Hailey

Hi

Hope you all enjoyed the weather and had a great week. I have spent lots of time outside and taking my dog Thomas for long walks. Friends from Hertfordshire came to visit and I also spent time catching up with family news.

Next week the year 6 are off on residential to Boswinger in Cornwall. Let's hope the weather is good for them.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Tracey Hailey

pictures above- Thomas my dog and the view from my window

Last week was busy for all of us. Children came over from Membury to spend a day with our year 6 class so that they could get to know each other before the residential to Boswinger in Cornwall.

The photographer came to take the end of year class and the various sports club photographs. The latter is usually quite manic to organise due to the shortage of kit by this part of the year and of course the number of clubs we have on offer. The Perseverance Award goes to Mrs Muglestone who just 'gets on with it'.

The year 6 cricket team attended the East Devon Kwik Cricket Tournament and came a respectable 4th.

Children who have been receiving keyboard and piano lessons this year invited the school and their parents to an afternoon assembly. It was great to see what they had accomplished so far and we were all very proud of them.

The year 5 children went to Crealy on Thursday followed by shelter building and cycling at Haldon Hill on the Friday (photo above). If that wasn't tiring enough they then had a 'sleepover' in the school. The year 6 children joined them for the Haldon Hill activities. The weather was glorious and a good time had by all.

The year 3 children had a Roman day which included a full blown re-enactment of a battle between the Romans and the Britons. They had a fantastic time and the rest of the school, staff and parents (Britons) enjoyed the opportunity to bombard them with plastic and sponge balls. Not very authentic I know but satisfying nevertheless.

I spent a lovely evening meeting the parents of the children who will be starting in September. Mrs Ainsworth led the meeting starting with a tour of the school and grounds. These evenings are an opportunity for parents to ask questions regarding the induction process and find out about the curriculum and what Kentisbeare School has to offer.

I know this is sad but one of my highlights of the week was the delivery of new chairs for the classrooms but they do look great!

Have a good half term break.

Tracey Hailey

Lots more sunshine this week giving more opportunities to take the learning outside. It's great when everyone can get outside and enjoy our beautiful environment. The Foundation stage and year 1 children have been busily growing things to eat in their Garden Centre area set up outside and throughout the week the classes have been working in the Glade.

The year 5 children went to visit Uffculme Senior School to experience ' Life after Primary School', returning very excited and eager to start despite having another full year left at KPS.

A year 5 team was entered in the East Devon Kwik Cricket Tournament this year. Twenty one teams took part and they finished a commendable fourth. The year 6 tournament is this coming Wednesday. Cricket club is run all year round at Kentisbeare and is always well attended. Many thanks go to the school staff and volunteers who run it. New photographs will be available on the website soon.

Personally most of my week was spent buried under paperwork and dealing with issues totally away from the world of children. Thursday lunch time I escaped from a meeting to arrive back in time to welcome the children who were visiting from London.

Miss Dudley's Years 4 children have been communicating with children from Shaftesbury School in Newham for some time and we were honoured by their visit on Thursday and Friday. The children and staff involved from both schools had a big 'sleepover', visited a local farm, enjoyed the grounds incuding cooking in the Glade and eating alfresco, joining the KS2 Assembly for singing and sharing their experiences. Some good friendships were made during their visit and children and staff look forward to our London visit after half term. Thank you to eveyone who helped make our visitors welcome and their stay such a success.

After school on Friday the 'Bike Doctors' set up outside the school to service and repair bikes in preparation for Saturday's Family Bike Ride and future events. This was very successful and monies raised from the Surgery will go to Kentisbeare Family Cycle Group. For more information about Cycling events see the website.

The sun is shining and the garden awaits.

Tracey Hailey

The last SATs paper was taken on Thursday so Friday was quite chilled. Most of the year 6 children attended breakfast club which was a good start to the day and helped to calm the nerves.

The Foundation stage and year 1 children went on a visit to Bicton and had a brilliant time and the weather was good too. Meanwhile I was supporting our partner school Membury, in the Axe Valley. They had a two day visit from Ofsted. It was quite a positive experience and the report will be available in about 2 weeks.

This Sunday I will be going to support our children who are competing in the Tiverton Imps Swimming Gala. Everyone is welcome to come along so hope to see you there.

Next week I am looking forward to seeing the children who are visiting us from London. Everyone is quite excited and making preparations to give them a big welcome and an enjoyable time with us.

Don't forget that on Tuesday 18th May we will be running an information evening on internet safety. I really hope you can come along to this as your child's safety is number one priority to us.

Brief this week because the sun is shining and I need to do some gardening!

Tracey Hailey

Having a long weekend is always great but I spent most of the working week asking what day it was.

The week started on a high when Mrs Thompson took a large squad of children to the Culm Valley Learning Community (CVLC) Cross Country Meet at Killerton. Our children enjoy running and many attend the meets at Uffculme and Stockland but this competition was the first at this venue. Returning as winners the new shiny trophy has pride of place in what has become our 'trophy room'. Well done all.

All lunch time and after-school clubs are now in full swing and well attended by the children. The activities available during the half term holidays have been sent out as a hard copy but if it hasn't got home yet you can access it on the website on the newsletter page.

Kentisbeare Children's Orchestra (KCO) is always looking for new potential so children who have enjoyed learning violin here's your chance. Leaflets for the KCO are available at school.

The holiday clubs are co-ordinated by the CVLC and sometimes events will be held in Kentisbeare itself but a wide range of activities are on offer across the valley. Thanks go to Lisa Battern our 'Extended Schools Co-ordinator.'

We are buzzing with ideas at the moment as we make plans for developing further our Outdoor Learning area. We are planning to replace the garage (where furniture goes to die!) with a purposeful Outdoor Classroom (posh shed) and a poly tunnel to enable us to continue growing produce throughout the year. This will complement our small allotment at the Wyndham Arms which we remain extremely grateful for. On Friday Mrs P, Mr Hardy and myself went to visit Bradley Barton School to see their fabulous grounds and Outdoor Classroom. Thank you to Margaret (who co-ordinates the work there) for giving us a tour, sharing her planning and totally inspiring us to do more. As part of these plans Mrs P has been busily applying for grants to help fund 'our dreams.'

With regard to grant applications we are always looking for extra funding to enrich our curriculum plans. Unfortunately applications take a long time to complete and everyone is so busy already. If there is someone in our community who thinks they may be able to help here we would be very appreciative. Just get in touch.

Still on the theme of supporting the school any parents who would like to offer their time to listen to children read or support art/craft/environmental activities are very welcome. If you can help please talk with the class teacher or contact the office. You don't necessarily have to currently have a child at the school and we would particularly welcome any 'senior citizens' from our community. However any volunteers will be expected to have a police check (CRB)but we can organise this for you.

Lots to think about and a great week. Test next week (SATs) so highlight of the week will probably be breakfast club and Friday 3.30pm!

Tracey Hailey

'You can smile now it's over!'

One of those weeks when I'm glad it's the weekend mainly because of lots of meetings some going on well into the evening. I did however spend an enjoyable evening with my small school head colleagues, celebrating the retirement of Mike Gent. Mike has spent many years co-ordinating our support group which formed some 12 years ago. We have worked collaboratively ever since planning enrichment opportunities for our children and professional development for all our staff. We are sad to lose him but wish him a long and happy retirement.

There are lots of trips planned this term for our children including the year 6 residential to Boswinger in Cornwall. The year 4 children and staff are very excited about a planned visit to a London school coming up after half term but first they are coming to us. The children and teachers are very busy preparing for their arrival and we very much hope they enjoy our wonderful countryside and rural experience.

On Saturday 3 teams took part in the Rotary Exmoor Youth Challenge and I am proud to say they all finished and received their medals. The weather was kind and the support tremendous. Many thanks to my KS2 staff and volunteers fortheir commitment and of course the children. Photographs will be available on the website soon. For more information visit the website www.exmoor-rotary.org.uk/youth_chall.htm

Recently I have had some growing concerns regarding children using the internet at home. Whilst the internet is a wonderful thing we do need to monitor what they are doing particularly if they are using chat rooms which are not moderated. At 7 pm on Tuesday 18th May we are hosting an Internet Safety Information evening entitled 'Where Are Your Kid's Tonight?' It is well worth attending and more information will be sent home nearer the day.

Have a good long weekend

Tracey Hailey