Newsletters

Earlier in the term, we held our Intake Evening for our new Reception starters. It was a pleasure to meet our newest families, and we are looking forward to welcoming the children properly in September.

Throughout the year, the children have worked incredibly hard, and this term we’ve seen many of the results of that hard work come to light.

• Our Year 1 children approached the Phonics Screening Check with great maturity and focus.

• Year 4 pupils impressed us all with their times tables check results – many achieved full marks!

• Year 6 SATs results have now arrived, and we are proud of how the children performed. They can feel incredibly proud of themselves – we certainly are. Results will be included in their end-of-year report.

This year, we’ve also been part of several quality assurance processes led by Milton Keynes Local Authority. These included monitoring of the phonics screening, moderation of Year 6 writing, and observing the administration of a SATs paper. While these can bring added pressure, they are valuable in ensuring our judgements are accurate and robust.

And of course, we had our Ofsted inspection. We will share the final report with you as soon as we receive it – this is now likely to be in September

In other exciting news, two of our staff – Mrs Watson and Miss Peers – have become members of the Enigma Maths Hub. This DfE-funded network supports schools to improve maths teaching and learning. We are already seeing the positive impact of this work in classrooms and look forward to building on this in the next academic year.

Trips, Events and Celebrations

This term has been packed with enriching experiences, including:

• Year 3 visit to MK Discovery Centre

• KS2 Football Tournament at Fairfield’s.

• KS2 Athletics Event.

• Dress for Dinner fundraiser

• Colour Run

• Sports Day

• Reception trip to Woburn Safari Park

The Colour Run was a real highlight – what a way to end the week! With glorious sunshine and rainbow-coloured powder clouds, children and adults ran the track with laughter and joy. A big thank you to Mr Paragreen for keeping spirits high with music and commentary on the mic. It was a fantastic community celebration.

Looking Ahead On Monday,

our Head Girl and Head Boy will step into the role of Headteacher for the day. They’ve planned a funfilled schedule and will also lead our final Sunflower Assembly. Please do offer a word of encouragement if you see them – they’ve been brilliant role models this year. Our prefects will also be helping to run the day’s activities.

As always, the end of the term brings some goodbyes. On Tuesday, our Year 6 pupils will enjoy a day of celebration – games, discos and zorbing – before their final Leavers’ Assembly at 2.30 pm on Wednesday. They leave us with many happy memories, and we wish them all the very best for secondary school.

Sadly, we will also be saying goodbye to Mrs Taylor, who has supported so many children and staff during her time here. She will be greatly missed, and we wish her the very best for the future. We hope she visits often!

September Changes

As we look ahead to the new academic year, we are pleased to share a new leadership structure that will strengthen our school:

• Executive Headteacher: Miss Morris

• Head of School: Mr Bolton

• Team Leader: (Reception/Year 1)Mrs Watson

• Team Leader: (Years 2-4) Miss Peers

• Team Leader: (Years 5 & 6)Mr Bunting

This structure is designed to encourage collaboration and provide additional points of contact for staff and parents.

We’re also pleased to be increasing our SEND support and capacity next year. Mrs Burnside will continue as SENDCo and will now be supported by Mrs Mildren. In this expanded role, Mrs Mildren will help coordinate interventions and specialist programmes, liaising closely between class teachers and Mrs Burnside. She will also attend meetings with parents and be copied into key communications, ensuring that nothing important is missed and that we can build a more complete team around each child. While Mrs Mildren will continue to provide pastoral support for pupils and families, she will be spending less time covering or supporting in classes to focus on developing this vital role. This arrangement will also ensure that there is always somebody on site for support with SEND.

We’re pleased to welcome some new staff members to Deanshanger in September. Mrs Grant will be joining our team as a Teaching Assistant, and we have also appointed a new caretaker, William Godwin, who will be taking over from Ryaan Connally-Boucher, after a successful work experience placement. Ryaan has made the decision to step back from the caretaker role but will thankfully remain with us as part of the cleaning team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ryaan for his hard work and dedication over the years. He has supported the school through some significant building work – at times it has felt never-ending, but he has always shown great resilience and professionalism. His contribution has been truly appreciated, and we’re so pleased he won’t be leaving us completely.

Summer Fair – Saturday 19th July

Don’t forget – our Summer Fair is tomorrow (Saturday 19th July)! It promises to be a fantastic day for the whole family, with stalls, face painting, raffles, games and even a dog show! The fair will run from 11.00 am to 4:00 pm and we’d love to see as many of you there as possible – even for just a short time. Fingers crossed for good weather and a brilliant community event!

Thank You!

It has been a hardworking and transformative year at Deanshanger. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the staff for their relentless dedication and commitment to school improvement. I could not be prouder of what they have achieved. A huge thank you also goes to all the parents who have supported us throughout the year – your encouragement, feedback and involvement mean so much.

Finally, a special thank you to our incredible PTA. Their tireless efforts to fundraise and support the school make such a difference to the opportunities we can offer our children. And to the children, thank you for your endless resilience, positivity and determination. You make our school such a special place. Wishing you all a relaxing and joyful summer break. We look forward to seeing you all back on Wednesday, 3rd September.

Warm regards,

Miss Morris