19th October 2016
Dear parents and carers The end of this half term is now approaching; autumn is well and truly upon us as the nights close in and the clock will ‘fall’ back on Sunday 30th October. Another action-packed half term is almost complete so a time to reflect, refresh and send out a ‘mini’ newsletter. Wonderful news and affirmation of our success! We have attempted to explain to parents how ‘academic success’ is now being calculated by the Government. The new ‘league’ tables comparing schools reflects this with the main indicator being progress. This does seem fairer - you need to look at the ability of all the children who come in Year 7 and then look at what they have managed to achieve by the end of Year 11. The government is calculating this by looking at ‘traditional academic’ subjects as these are indeed a passport for success. The tables were published last week on summer 2016 results. I received a telephone call from the Local Authority to congratulate the Simon Balle community – our value added (Progress 8) was the second highest in Hertfordshire out of 75 schools! Indeed, our result of +0.63 puts us in the top 10% of all schools in England. So a huge well done to students, staff and parents! To all Y11 parents and students Please make a note of the 6th Form Open Evening which will take place on THURSDAY 17th NOVEMBER from 6pm to 7.45pm with talks at 6.30pm and 7.30pm. This is a good opportunity to find out about specific subjects, get advice and ask questions about life in the 6th form. We look forward to welcoming you all to this event. Governors My previous message asking if anyone was interested in joining our Governing Body brought forth 7 names. Currently, possible candidates are meeting governors and learning about the commitment involved. Thank you –we are very much looking forward to working with these parents as they have the appropriate skill-sets. Future parent forum focused on health/mental health For some while now I have become more aware that many of our parents are health professionals, working in a wide range of fields. As a school we are constantly working with and needing help from such people both in terms of individuals and strategy. Wellbeing and health are key drivers here at Simon Balle as part of our ethos and vision. This year we are using the ‘Healthy Schools’ Framework to enhance our practice and we are teaching ‘Health and Social Care’ to sixth form students. Therefore, we have much to learn from you. We recently held a very successful ‘careers’ forum whereby interested parents attended and through discussion and debate they contributed their ideas which are enhancing our practice. I would very much like to do something similar with health professionals. The proposed date for this forum is Monday 5th December at 7pm. If you are interested, can attend, or cannot on this occasion but would like to express an interest, please email me on saundersa@simonballe.herts.sch.uk