Foundation Governors Report for Duxford Church of England Primary School 

April 2023
The first and most important thing to do in this report is to give thanks to Frances as she finishes her term as Foundation Governor.  Frances wrote her first governors report in 2008, a term as governor is four years, so Frances most definitely deserves a rest! Frances’ dedication to the role has been invaluable to the Governors, both in her experience but more so in her enthusiasm for the school and supporting it in every way possible.  I know that Frances has enjoyed going into the school for visits and seeing the achievements of the children and staff alike.  We all will miss her tremendously and it is with some trepidation that I continue this role as I have some very large shoes to fill.
This past year has seen a number of developments and has required many more logistical moves than would normally be expected in school, this has largely been down to the building of the key stage 1 area of the school. If you take a drive past the school, you can see the new building progressing well and it is on track to be ready for use in September 2023.  This is hugely exciting and the children have adapted well to having the build so close to their learning space.  The hoarding on the school field side is adorned with the children’s own health and safety posters and it is great to see that they are interested and taking into consideration the aspects of a new build.  There are many memories and learning moments that I am sure will live with the children throughout their lives. 
Sadly, a drawback of the building work, is that the school hall is sectioned off and has a limit on the number of people who can be in it due to safety exits, therefore the whole school have not been able to gather together for assemblies, however in true post-covid adaptability, the church assembly team of Rev Lydia Smith, Jenny Duke, Jen Gatland and Mandy Jeffery have been delivering recorded assemblies each week, as well as a group of children in year 6 preparing collective worship to be shared with the school.  The children, parents and staff were consulted on selecting a bible verse for the school; 1 Thessalonians 5:11 ‘Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing’.  This verse reflects exactly the nurturing and supportive ethos which is evidenced throughout the school.
Although the interruption of Covid is not quite as it was there are still many factors to take into consideration.  There are still staff and pupil absences for illness, however a bigger factor is the impact the isolation of lockdown had on the young people, even those who were of pre-school age in 2020.  Social interactions with peers and certainly the skills of being in large groups are having to be learned or re-learned in addition to catching up the loss of curriculum time for those who were of school age.  The knock on effect of this will continue for several years yet but Suzanne Blackburne-Maze and her staff have the well-being of the children as paramount.  The Nurture group has its own room as a place where children who need extra support for whatever reason can go to take time out as needed, despite all the logistical moves of offices for building work in the last few months, the importance of retaining this space was never in any doubt.  The success of such a place was demonstrated when one pupil felt it was time for them to move on so that another pupil could benefit from time in the group; even at the pupil level the needs of others are considered.  The Forest school, which uses a small, wooded area on the school site, is another opportunity offered for some children who need to experience learning in an alternative way and continues to thrive in all weathers!  The Governors are very aware of well-being of the staff and are re-assured that they are a supportive team and do look out for one another through what are still exceptionally difficult times for teachers and support staff.
As always, the children are given a voice for things they would like to participate in and this year has seen the Eco-group continue to consider how the school can ensure that the environment is protected in the future.  New activity clubs have also been initiated by the children; the chess club and Rubiks cube club have been hugely popular.  The children have welcomed children from Ukraine and supported them in adapting to a not only a new school but a new country and helped them with their English, it is a real testament to the ethos of the school that the children do this without intervention.
Lydia has been supporting the school in developing its spiritual life and in addition to the successful church day the whole school (in two trips!) have visited St Peter’s for a Harvest service, Christingle and more recently Easter services.  The theme of Church Day this year was Psalm 104, God the Creator and Provider of a wonderful world.  This took the form of a writing workshop to write their own Psalms, a singing workshop, creating illuminated letters and experiments involving water.  The children were enthusiastic in their participation and a few were overheard saying they would like to do more, which is always lovely to hear!  Year 4 and Year 6 children prepared Christingles and were so sensible holding them whilst we sang Away in a manger in candlelight!  Before the Easter services, key stage 2 visited St John’s Church for reflective stations at which they thought about happy things to be thankful for, who they could help, what big questions they have and their wishes for the future, as ever, the children were brilliant and had ideas way beyond those expected of ones so young.
In addition to spiritual enrichment, the school have had a history week and science week with visitors coming in to talk about their work or research.  These sessions are so important for the children to see how their classroom learning fits into the wider world and looking at the pictures and hearing them talk about it, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves!  The children continue to experience different ways to learn, using the outdoor space for creating art, exploring geography and history and the annual Bikeability to keep safe whilst they are out and about beyond school.  Looking back at the Airwaves over the past year, there are many happy faces, learning and creating, who could ask for more?
As is mentioned every year, there are too many amazing things happening at the school to document in one report but this year there has been an overwhelming feeling of development and positivity for the future, which considering the last few years is very welcome indeed.
It is only right to close this report by thanking Suzanne and her excellent team of teachers and support staff for the work they are doing to ensure that the children keep performing academically to the best of their ability whilst doing everything they can to enable them to have a happy experience of school and preparing them to be upstanding individuals in society.
 
 
Carolyn Meadows