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Headteacher
Chris Coyle-Chislett

Email the Office
secretary@penpol.cornwall.sch.uk

Telephone Number
01736 753472

Follow us on Twitter
@PenpolSchool

Our Address
2 St George’s Road, Hayle,
Cornwall, TR27 4AH

“Penpol pupils are curious, creative and courageous learners. Our school community believes in authenticity as the foundations of deep-rooted learning. Through our rich and relevant curriculum, we nurture community-minded, forward-facing international citizens of the future.”

What a great start to Year 2

All of the children in Year 2 have had a very busy start to the Autumn Term. During the English lessons the children from Mrs Ruffell’s and Mrs Daniel’s Class have been looking at the story ‘A Lion in the Meadow’ by Margaret Mahy.

 

After hearing the story, the children enjoyed discussing the story setting, asking and answering questions and thinking of adjectives that they could use to describe their own animal character. The children from both classes thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this story and worked hard to plan and write an interesting story of their own. Well done!

I enjoyed thinking of adjectives to describe the lion. Abigail

 

I would have been scared of the lion. Zachary

 

I have made up scary stories. Thomas

 

Response to National Funding Formula Announcement – September 2017

28th September 2017

 

Dear Parent/Carer

The following letter has been composed by the 17 counties involved in the Worth Less? campaign for fairer funding for schools. It includes a fact sheet which reflects the impact the current funding crisis is set to have on local schools, including Penpol School.

 

Response to National Funding Formula Announcement – September 2017

Following the Secretary of State for Education’s announcement about school funding on 14 September 2017, Headteachers working across 17 counties – from Cornwall to Norfolk – believe that you have the right to know the facts that will affect your child’s education for years to come.

The attached information factsheet draws only from information provided by the Department of Education and the Independent Institute of Fiscal Studies. The implications of the newly announced funding formula are profound.

 

Is £1.3 billion enough?

It should be acknowledged that introducing a new national formula was complex and challenging. This Government is the first in a generation to try and grasp the nettle. Schools that have previously been at or below the “breadline” do receive some improvements to their funding position, but the universal view of Headteachers across the 17 counties is that this is not enough to make a real difference.

In July 2017, the Government announced that schools would benefit from £1.3 billion of additional funding. This does not, however, make up for the £3 billion overall reduction that was already announced and planned for 2015-20.   Over a five year period, there is a shortfall of approximately £1.7 billion. The Institute of Fiscal Studies states that during 2015-20 school budgets will have been cut in real terms by 4.6%.

This means that there is simply not enough money in the system. As a result, the Department for Education is unable to implement a new funding formula that meaningfully addresses the two principal aims of their new policy. These are, firstly, to fund all schools adequately and secondly, to ensure that schools with the same socio-economic / school based characteristics in one area of the country will be funded the same as another in a different part of the country.

 

So, how do the new arrangements work?

Instead, due to the £1.7 billion shortfall, the new funding formula is now dependent on a series of limits (capping) to either how much a school can gain or potentially lose from the formula. The caps are largely arbitrary and mean that any new per pupil funding is often based on the previously discredited formula.

Better funded schools gain funding protection which means that their relative positions are unaltered.  We have no real issue with this.  Schools such as ours know how challenging and difficult it is when budgets are reduced and squeezed to the limit. The problem is, however, that in order to fund these protections the Government is limiting what many other low funded schools will be able to gain under the new formula.  Crucially, these differences will not last for a year or two, they will last for years and years.

 

What does this mean for our schools?

The examples shown on the attached factsheet are truly shocking. Parents and Carers need to be clear that schools in very similar socio-economic areas will continue to have entirely different levels of funding. This often amounts to hundreds of thousands of pounds in the primary sector and even millions of pounds across the secondary sector each year.

Far from being resolved, your child’s education will still be at the behest of a post code funding lottery. Some schools with the same socio-economic characteristics will be able to afford teacher/pupil class sizes of 20, whilst others will have to make do with 35. Some children will have three Teaching Assistants in their class, whilst others from similar backgrounds in a different part of the country will have none.   At the end of the day though, all pupils will take exactly the same Key Stage 2 tests and go on to take the same maths and English GCSEs. Their futures are simply not being fairly catered for.

By the same token, “similar schools” with entirely different budgets will be made accountable via identical league tables and OFSTED inspections. How can this be fair or reasonable?

 

So what do we do now?

As stated previously, costs will continue to rise and again differently funded schools will have different abilities to soak them up. All school budgets will be under severe pressure, but some will be under much greater strain than others.

As Headteachers, we simply want to see every child’s school in England, funded adequately. It is not about all schools receiving identical amounts of money, but it is about the fair application of a formula right across the country

We recognise that there has been some improvement to our budgets and that as a country we must live within our means. We cannot, however, suggest the new formula is, in any way, satisfactory. The finances of very low funded schools are still insufficient to provide the service that your child deserves.

Your influence as parents/carers is utterly vital. Please discuss these issues with your local MPs and local representatives. There are also many active local parent groups who you can engage with. We will continue to lobby vigorously too and provide further updates shortly.

In his budget in March 2018, the Chancellor must do better to support your child’s education. MPs and education ministers must continue to bang the drum until every child’s education is fully and fairly funded.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

Aidan Doyle

Headteacher

On behalf of 17 counties


Fact Sheet

 

Click here for full view

Year 3 Visit to The Royal Cornwall Museum and Truro Cathedral

Class 7 and 8 were lucky enough to Visit The Royal Cornwall Museum to take part in three Egyptian workshops, all of which proved to be informative and most enjoyable. This workshop has given the children a greater insight into the life of the Ancient Egyptians and has enabled them to use the Museum to discover more about their way of life. The children were able to experience first hand the awe of looking at a real Mummy as well as observing the amazing Egyptian artefacts on display in the museum.

The workshops were about The Weighing of the Heart Ceremony, part of The Journey into The Afterlife where children dressed up and performed some drama. Children became Gods and Godesses and weighed out the heart of the Isat-Naf-Takht (the museum’s resident Mummy) and decided whether he was fit for the afterlife.

Another workshop was discovering hidden clues in the sand in order to learn about Ancient Egyptian Artefacts. The children were able to touch and hold real artefacts which were up to five thousand years old! We also were treated to a tour of the gallery dedicated to much of the Ancient Worlds, particularly, the Egyptians, observing closely through careful sketching certain artefacts as well as The Mummified body of Isat-Naf-Takht,  an Ancient craftsman and priest.


Each class visited Truro Cathedral with an excellent informative workshop which enlightened the children all about some aspects of the Christian faithand some of the everyday occurrences of life in the Cathedral. All children were able to dress up aiding the understanding of the role of certain figures within the Christian community. Isabella said  “It was a great day day. I especially liked dressing up as the Bishop, it felt really special.”  A brilliant day for all!

 

Super Self Portraits

The reception classes have been busy this week painting their own self portraits. To fit in with our topic of ourselves, the children spent time looking at their own reflections and made decisions on which colours where needed for their master pieces.

I like painting because I paint at home with Mummy. We paint pictures. Derora

The children experimented mixing the colours together and learnt about the primary colours and different colour combinations.

I liked painting all of it. I painted my eyebrows black. Chloe

The children were encouraged to pay attention to detail by observing their different eye colours, including pupils, the shape of their lips and noses and were encouraged to study all the different shades they have in their hair.

I liked painting my eyes because I like the blue colour. Ayveeahnah

The paintings have turned out beautifully and the children really enjoyed painting their own self portraits.

 

Penpol Students Star At Hayle Tennis Finals Day

Sunday the 24th September brought around the much anticipated annual finals day at Hayle Tennis Club. Over the last year the school has rekindled its relationship with the tennis club by securing a whole school membership which allows teachers the use of the courts with their class. During the summer term of the last academic year the school also held a tennis themed non-uniform day and cake sale in order to raise funds for the club as a way of saying thank you for the coaching some classes have received and our school membership. I’m pleased to say we raised nearly £334 to support one of the most local clubs, with the PFA match funding the cake sale with some added extra bumping the total up to £534!

In the seven final matches Penpol school was well represented wth fifteen students ranging from the red ball competition for aged 8 and under to Under 14 singles and doubles. A huge success for the children and a reward for the hard work they put in on the court every week. It was also very pleasing to see friends and class mates going head to head but even more pleasing to see the level of sportsmanship as they congratulated each other and were happy for their own successes.

 

What’s been going on this year in Year 6?

This week the Year 6 children have begun listening to the story of ‘Clockwork’ for their Literacy topic, a creepy tale set 100 years ago in a town in Germany. They have also continued focusing on reproducing artworks inspired by Paul Bursnall in Art and begun investigating just how a go-kart works and how it is made. In Maths, the children have been working on rounding numbers as well as recapping using the 4 main written operations (multiplying, dividing, adding and subtracting).

 

Mr Pollard and Mr Wise were also the proud recipients of a class mascot each, courtesy of the work undertaken in the Junior MacSuite with Mr Woolcock. They will take pride of place on their respective teacher’s tables, one by Aidan for Class 14 and Trystan for Class 13.

It’s great to see it in the classroom. – Trystan – Class 13

 

I made a cat for Mr Wise as apparently he likes them and I thought it’d look nice on his desk – Aidan – Class 12

 

3D Class Mascot Challenge

Last week our 3D design work started in earnest in the Junior Mac Suite.  To get the children learning all about the Tinkercad 3D design program they were set a challenge: to design the best class mascot to sit on their teacher’s desk.

Everyone in Year 4, 5 and 6 had the chance to build whatever they thought their teacher would like the most with the winning design being secretly chosen from each class.  The winning model was then 3D printed overnight and the children were delighted to see the finished model the following morning.

It looked even better in real life than it did on the computer, I hope Mr Pollard likes it! – Trystan

 

Below are photos of all the winning designs from the competition, click on them to view them full-size!

Class 9 (Y4) – Jake

  

 

Class 10 (Y4) – Martin

 

Class 11 (Y5) – Ethan

  

 

Class 12 (Y5) – Maggie

 

 

Class 13 (Y6) – Trystan

  

 

Class 14 (Y6) – Aidan

 

 

Celebrating European Day of Languages at Penpol

Today marks the European Day of Languages, a day to celebrate the 6000+ languages spoken around the world.  To mark the occasion at Penpol we’ve arranged a special non-uniform day where the children came to school dressed in the colours of their favourite flag.

Even more excitingly, Mr Emery and Mr Woolcock have arranged an entire day of language-learning challenges in the Junior Mac Suite for the entire school to participate in.

Throughout the day each class has had a twenty minute session using a fantastic website called Linguascope, where the children can take on their challenge in any one of nine different languages.  While most children chose French, Spanish or Italian we did have lots who were really brave and decided to take on languages including Chinese, Russian and Arabic.

The challenge itself was a multiple choice quiz where the time for each question decreases as the rounds go by.  A score of 30 or more is considered exceptional, yet Penpol pupils were often reaching the high thirties with several children achieving a nearly impossible 38 points!

With perseverance, accuracy and linguistic knowledge a mighty 38 or 39 points is achievable.  It’s incredibly difficult, but today we’ve seen it happen several times! – Mr Emery

The highest score in each year group will win a special prize, with more details to be given to the children in their next assembly.

Reception: To be announced later this week!

Year 1: To be announced later this week!

Year 2: To be announced later this week!

Year 3: Freddie (38 points)

Year 4: Jake (39 points)

Year 5: Emma (40 points)

Year 6: Aidan (38 points)

I’m really happy that I’ve won, Morgan did really well too but I just managed to beat him in the end by one point!! – Connor, Year 2

 

 

 

 

New year, new faces for Year 5

Year 5 has not only welcomed new children this September but also a new teacher with Mr Peck joining Mr Stanlake and starting work in Class 12.


The children have begun to settle in and have slipped effortlessly back into the routine of school life impressing their teachers with their hard work and enthusiasm, whilst also setting a wonderful example for the younger members of Penpol School, many of whom are only starting out on their journey at school.

The children in both Classes 11 and 12 have begun work in English and Maths whilst also starting to look at the ‘Power of the Industrial Revolution’ in topic and ‘The Force of Forces’ in Science. Year 5 has also welcomed the addition of Mr Emery who specialises in modern foreign languages and music, both of which the children are excited to continue with. The children are also very fortunate to received specialist ICT teaching with Mr Woolcock where they are set to undertake some exceptionally exciting tasks over the coming year.

After a tiring end to an exciting first week the children look set to take this coming year by storm with lots of exciting visitors and trips thrown in for good measure!

Languages lift off at Penpol

Language lessons at Penpol primary school are already underway as we begin the new academic year.  All classes have already enjoyed their first French lesson this year, with both Mr Emery and Michelle.  Every student has already demonstrated lots of enthusiasm and eagerness to take part, which are key ingredients to having fun and gaining confidence in learning a language.

Reception students have already mastered the action “tire”(pull) and the different animals in French.  Classes 1 + 2 very much enjoyed dressing up and acting out the classic French children’s story, “le navet enorme”(the giant turnip).  Classes 3, 4, 5 + 6 are already enjoying being able to greet each other in French, with lots of students even making it part of their daily routine to greet Mr Emery in French outside the classroom.

 

Years 2 all the way to 5 have already taken part in singing “Alouette” ( the classic French song about a skylark), showing excellent knowledge of the body parts in French, with actions.

I loved learning about the giant turnip – Hunter – Class 2

Year 6 have the unique opportunity of putting all of the French they have used over the years to the ultimate test: corresponding with their very own French pen pal from a French primary school.  The small school, situated just outside of Paris, have already expressed their excitement about this exchange and are eager to learn more about our Year 6 students.  Watch this space for more news, as Penpol students learn more about French culture and way of life.

With language club now up and running every Thursday, students at Penpol also have the opportunity of learning another language, whether it is extra French practice, or learning numbers 1-10 in Mandarin.

Finally, Penpol school will be celebrating European Day of Languages on Tuesday 26th September, with all students competing in a whole school languages competition.  The competition will be run by Mr Emery, with the aid of Penpol’s ICT teacher, Mr Woolcock.  The aim will be for students to show-off their foreign language skills, ranging from French to Mandarin.  The winners for each Year group will be rewarded with a prize in an assembly to conclude the action-packed day.

Watch this space for more news from languages over the next few weeks!