Welcome to September 2005 update... yet another time for optimism, or is it?

New staff... welcome Mrs Moore and Miss Jarvis in the newly created Assistant Heads posts. Now come along parents, ask the question why have these new EXPENSIVE posts been created? This is a very important question and the answer presumably is that the NMSS school is about to swing into operation....not that the school, Head or Govs would tell you.

14 ordinary teaching staff (ie: not Management) and 39 LSAs including 4 New posts. Where does £100,000 plus of extra money come from to pay for these new posts? Has the school started to appoint the new HIGHER LEVEL LSAs? These are the ones who will take over when the teachers are out advising and initiating outside staff off the premises, your children WILL NOT BE TAUGHT BY TEACHERS. Remember, you heard it here first. Are LSAs doing this already, We suspect they are, which is one of the reasons the school is not encouraging parental participation. Be under no illusion, your child has an absolute right to be taught by a qualified teacher who is in the room at the time of delivery and we don't believe the school is doing this all the time and plans even less teacher teaching in the future. Education of poorer quality and on the cheap. Once again Special Needs kids miss out inspite of generating £8,000 a year, compared with mainstreams £2000 or less.

WHAT DO WE STILL WANT. PROPER PARENTAL PARTICIPATION

Offering a coffee morning for new parents, most of whom presumably work, so that's a non-starter- but if it did happen for one or two parents ,at least they wouldn't meet any of us bolshie 'more experienced, more grounded and practical parents' for information, support and friendship! NMSS schools are very strong on parental participation, as long as it's only on a one to one basis!

HEALTHY SCHOOL  - Pull the other one

, H a p p y P a r e n t s

So we're showing the new  logo on paperwork, which apparently doesn't mean that HF IS a healthy school, but that it has,(wait for it) has demonstrated the intent to become a healthy school at some point in the distant future. Meanwhile our children's health can go down the pan!!!! THIS HAS GOT TO BE A JOKE!! No ,no, no. Can I just remind you that at the moment the school is failing HEALTH STANDARDS in most areas.

(a) Drinking Water. The school is sadly lacking in drinking water outlets, although has demonstrated an intent.., and fluid consumption is not yet a school policy

(b) Ventilation - no school policy as yet. For a small cost every classroom could easily have a mechanical extractor fan fitted

(c) Lack of exercise. Pupils are not allowed to go on the grassy field other than for football matches. Where else can they run about safely?

(d) School dinners are still, by all accounts very poor, and with no menus. Is water offered at lunch time?

(e) Tuck shop. Still bulging with sweets and fizzy drinks inspite of Government intiative to ban them under a Healthy Schools Intiative!!!

(f) Hydrotherapy pools. No evidence forthcoming that the remaining open one is ever tested and that the paperwork exists

SCHOOL DINNERS HF is one of 6 schools getting their food from the ORGANIC Ashlyns Farm, North Weald, where the famous dinner lady, of Jamie Oliver programme is giving training to school cooks - Jeanette Orrey. More information, which the school is NOT giving us , is available on 01992 525146. Farm is open Sun-Mon 10-4 & Sat 10-5. For full details of what healthy schools SHOULD be

www.teachernet.gov.uk/healthy living

www.nutrition.org.uk

SWIMMING Policy has been very slow. A brand new school should have proper swimming facilities for all pupils. Two hydro pools for PMLDs but one is closed and neither pool had the required paperwork last time Health and Safety called to prove the water quality was being checked at all It's not surprising so many pupils get viruses. So the more able kids go off to Broxbourne Wave Machine pool (Lido) for 2 hours, which is a brave and innovative choice of outside pool, but not very cost and time efficient. To prevent discrimination for some pupils the school should really be looking at, (and maybe should have looked at earlier) converting the out of action upper school pool, by expanding and converting it to a state of the art proper swimming pool. Upkeep wouldn't cost as much as the Hydro pool because it wouldn't have to be heated to the same temperature. The pupils then would not loose a whole afternoon getting their swimming lesson in.

PARENT GOVERNORS. Well, like all schools, the parental participation on all governing bodies is being increased. The school needs 3 more parent govs. Please please please can someone with a bit of real interest and commitment to developing parental participation by the rest of us stand in these elections. The threatening atmoshere has gone and we can make a real contribution, and the rest of you please vote, if a vote happens, for someone who doesn't just have blind unreserved trust, we've got plenty of those already on the govs, but someone who will be a genuine critical friend and their own person , putting children first, and that includes their health.

Next time I'll develop the theme of NMSS schools which this school is about to become, even if the school aren't telling us.