Dear Parents/ Carers  

As we approach the last half-term for the summer of 2023, we are looking forward to some very exciting things coming up such as the residential outings for all year groups which was a great success last year, the end of term trips, sports day and Y6 transitions.  

Thanks to Mrs Osobu, we are also taking the whole school to the Science Museum in June, which should be an amazing experience for all our pupils and has never been done before. Please note that in order for your child/ren to access such an offsite activity we would need to ensure that they are safe, and that they can be trusted.  

From a premises' perspective, the works to the new classrooms should be completed by mid-June. Exciting news is that the Astroturf will be replaced after the summer term. Our people numbers will increase to 101 pupils for next year and as things stand, all available spaces have been filled.  

Thank you to all those parents/ carers and pupils who have completed our online surveys. Overall, we had some really positive feedback, which is always great to see. Please be assured that we will address some of the questions or recommendations raised by yourselves. As a reminder we have ongoing parent meetings at the end of each month, and we would love to see more of our parents/ carers involved, even if it is only for a friendly chat.  

I would like to inform you that we have appointed a new Assistant Headteacher (AHT) Mr J Scales, who will be joining Larwood at the start of the new academic year. Mr Scales has worked at Larwood as a class teacher before becoming the Outreach/ In reach lead. Most recently he worked at Brandles as AHT. A great warm welcome to you Mr. Scales.  

I wish you all a great half-term filled with sunshine and fun!! 

Mr. Van  

Dear Parents/ Carers

As we approach the last day of Christmas, it is with enormous pride and a big thank you to parents/carers, pupils and staff for making this Autumn term very special.

We have achieved much since our return in September, including Ofsted, changes to lunchtimes, new interventions, return to off site visits and our enhanced ‘hoody’ reward system.

A personal highlight for me at the end of term was the Christmas production. A lot of effort, time and dedication went into preparing our youngsters for a production that superseded expectations, and I would like to thank staff and pupils alike for their hard work. Like with all great performances, they need a great audience, therefore I would like to extend my gratitude to the great number of parents/ carers that took the time out of their busy schedules to support our youngsters.

Sadly, we are saying our farewells to two long term members of our Larwood team. Mrs Trott, after more than 10 years of service, will leave us at the end this term and will be taking up a new senior position at a different school in Stevenage. Mr Dennis, who after more than 20 years, will be retiring at the end of term. I wish them both well and want to thank them for their dedicated service and commitment to Larwood school. They will be greatly missed.

I had some feedback from Ofsted, and we are expecting our results to be published early in the new year. I will keep you posted on progress and inform you once we know when it will be published.

I hope you all have a fantastic and enjoyable festive break and a very happy new year. We shall see you back on the 4th of January 2023

Mr. Van 

Dear Parents/ Carers  

One more week to go until half-term!  

I must say that it has been a stunning start to the new academic year and pupils and staff are relishing the joyful moments end experiences at school. I can report that there has been a drastic reduction in incidents across the school and new pupils are conforming to the Larwood ways, which enables them to get going with their learning.  

There has been a rise in covid cases that have affected both staff and pupils. I am happy to report that we managed to keep the school open through difficult times and endeavour do so moving forward. I also want to extend a great big thank you for staff that have covered staff absence to allow us to keep going. Could I please ask that you test your child if they are sent home with covid like symptoms. If you do not have access to a test, we could send some home with you. If it is not covid related, we ask that you keep your child at home until they are symptom free.  

We have reverted to keeping most activities, skill sessions and Friday rewards class based. Lunch times are split into three groups, but pupils are still accessing the dining room. I hope that this will be a temporary measure, but we need to ensure the safety of your child and staff.   

We are making some exciting changes to the reward system with regard to blue, yellow and black shirts. Mrs Longcroft will be leading on this project moving forward and will share the changes with you after half-term in a newsletter.  

As we move into the festive season, there will be a lot on offer at Larwood i.e., Halloween, Guy Fawkes, Christmas and more. We will keep you updated at regular intervals.  

I wish you all a pleasant October break and look forward to a host of exciting opportunities when we return.

Mr Van  

Dear Parents/ Carers

As we approach the end of term, I would like to look back on all the fantastic events we had on offer for our young learners this summer term. Larwood’s got talent was outstanding with a host of acts from a variety of pupils across all ages. Sport days were very well represented, and I would like to express a massive thank you to all parents/ carers that took the time off to observe or, in some cases, join in the events.   

Our popular end of term trips were very much enjoyed by all, and I have to add that all pupils were able to access either the discovery, adventure or onsite activity. Our new offer of residential/ extended days to all pupils across all year groups was a great success and I want to thank all staff that were involved for their efforts to make these events special for our pupils. We will offer the same again next year. 

As we look forward to next year, I want to remind you that we have a staff inset day on Wednesday the 31^st of August 22 and pupils are back on the following day. I very much look forward to having our youngsters back rested, refreshed, and ready to continue their Larwood journey. I would also like to wish our year 6 school leavers well as they start the next phase of their education. You will be missed! But remember to come and visit to share your success.

It is with great regret that we have to say farewell to our longest standing member and chair of Trustees, Mrs. Sandra Barr. She has been part of Larwood school for 40 years and have been a pillar of strength for staff at all levels and more importantly our pupils. I can confidently say that Mrs. Barr has always argued that if we decided to change anything we do, it had to be in the best interests of our youngsters. Her compassion, understanding and vision for the school has always been apparent, and she ensured we have the best staff appointed to deliver the best quality education. Mrs. Barr has been accredited with a long list of awards including an ‘Outstanding Governor Award’ and has also served as Mayor of Stevenage to name a few. I personally thank you for your guidance and on behalf of the staff at Larwood thank you for your commitment, dedication, and support, we wish you well with your future endeavours, and you will be greatly missed!

I wish you all a fantastic summer break and hope you create good moments to enjoy.

Mr. Van
Headteacher

Dear Parents/ Carers  

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all our staff, pupils and their families back from your Easter holidays and hope it was restful, and you enjoyed the lovely weather.

We had a very successful end of the term and pupils thoroughly enjoyed the end of term reward day. A big thank you to Mrs Osobo, for arranging the fun activities and all staff that made the day very special for our youngsters. Unfortunately, we could not go off site due to restrictions we were forced to impose but as promised it will be taking place early in this term. 

As always, the Summer term is packed full of exciting events such as residential trips, not only for our year six pupils but for several year groups, transition events for our year six pupils, sports day/s, outdoor activities, Larwood’s Got Talent, year 6 performance, end of term rewards, and plenty more.  

Our assembly schedule, to name a few, include:

• International dance day
• The Queens Platinum Jubilee 
• Good work assembly and more.....

I need to make you aware that we will be hosting parents' meetings this half-term, where class teams will share with you, your children’s progress, success and good work. You will have the option of meeting the teachers in person, by phone or virtually, more information will follow via email and class dojo.  

It is with great sadness that we say our farewells to our CEO, Mr Sean Trimble who will be retiring at the end of April. Mr Trimble has been a pillar of strength for Larwood school and our Trust and will be greatly missed. His commitment to doing his best for our pupils, parents, community, trustees and staff and the impact he has had on people’s lives are immeasurable. His drive, enthusiasm, and commitment to create opportunities influenced a great number of people. We wish you and your family well in your future endeavours, and you will be greatly missed  

BRING ON THE SUNSHINE! 

Mr Van  

Dear Parents/ Carers 

We had a good start to 2022 and as we head towards warmer weather, we start looking forward to planning more activities outdoors and hopefully looking at revising some of the restrictions that have been in place. Just to make you aware that no changes will be considered for the rest of this half-term and at the start of the next half-term.  

We celebrated Martin LK and Chinese New Year in January and in February we are looking forward to Valentines/ friendship and kindness and World thinking day assemblies. We are also very much looking forward to the February half-term that starts on Monday the 14th of February, pupils will be expected to return to school on Monday, 21st of February. 

It is with sadness that we are saying our farewells to two longstanding members of staff. Mrs Cox in our kitchen and Mrs Otero in Space Hub. I wish them well with their future endeavours. You will be missed. We are also welcoming to the Larwood team Ms. Courtney who has just joined our administration team.  

I wish you all a relaxed, safe and enjoyable half-term break   

Kind Regards  

Mr Van 
Headteacher