Each year, the pupils at Forest never cease to amaze us with all they achieve; both in-school and out-of-school activities. A strength of the school, which has been increasingly apparent since the era of homeschooling, is undoubtedly the variety of opportunities we endeavor to offer to the children; sporting, music and drama, social and academic. With a ‘can do’ attitude and mindset encouraged from the littlest Foresters in Nursery, our pupils are given the tools and opportunities to strive to become the best they can be and consequently thrive in all areas of life.
Class assessments and Parents’ Evenings are an integral part of the summer term, as they encourage and allow teaching staff the opportunity to reflect on the year they have had with their class and appreciate how far the children have come. With the class averages of all the summer term English and maths assessments in Years 1-6 being classed as ‘significantly above average’, this has encouraged me, with my Director of Studies hat on, to reflect on all the outstanding teaching which goes on throughout the school. Firstly, as a non-selective, one-form entry school, it is important to note that we (naturally) have a huge range of academic ability in each cohort. To have emerged from summer term with such astounding results is a true testament to the high quality of teaching your child continues to receive from such a dedicated teaching team.
Looking forward, we are excited to be rolling out our new Monster Phonics scheme from September. Earlier this year when we trialled the scheme; the children loved the fun and engaging feel of the lessons and we are excited to embed this scheme into school life, with daily classroom lessons, parent workshops and a launch morning in autumn term. This, alongside the changes to the art and computing curriculum, we look forward to sharing with you very soon.
Beverley Budd
Director of Studies
