Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Ofsted Success!

  Tue 16 Apr 2024

  We are delighted that OFSTED has recognised that we continue to be a good school and identified that our children are amazing with noteworthy behaviour, staff are knowledgeable, and governors are highly skilled. 

   

  We are incredibly proud of our wonderful school and the people that make it so. 

   

  You can read the Ofsted report here: 

  Ofsted February 2024

• Response to the Parent Survey 2023

  Fri 05 Jan 2024

  4 January 2024

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  Governor Response to the Annual Parent Survey 2023

  We hope that your child is continuing to enjoy school and is benefitting from everything we are trying to offer. As governors we work alongside the staff to ensure that Holme Community School strives to give its pupils the best possible education.

   

  At the end of the summer term, we conducted a parents’ survey, which we reviewed in our governor meetings in the autumn term to contribute to our school improvement plan for the year ahead. We would like to thank all those parents who responded to the survey.

   

  The results of the survey were overwhelmingly positive with 100% of parents saying they would recommend the school. 100% of parents agreed that the school is well led and managed, and that a good range of subjects are on offer. Almost all parents stated that children were happy, felt safe and that behaviour was good. Parents also highlighted the focus on well-being, the range of clubs, trips and activities, the broad curriculum and communication with parents as strengths of the school.

   

  There were a couple of areas where a few parents felt the school could make some improvements. We’ve reviewed these areas as follows:

   

  Areas for Development	What we are doing about it:
  Some parents wanted more information on what children are learning in school.	This year, in September we held online meetings for all parents’ outlining the curriculum for the year. These meetings were recorded and are available on the school website. Additionally, we’ve produced a new resource which shows the curriculum for each year group for the year, as well as key areas of learning and resources to support learning at home. These are available on the school website. Finally, the curriculum for each subject is available on the school website.
  Some parents wanted more advanced notice of trips for budgeting purposes.	On the curriculum for each year group (mentioned above) we’ve now outlined the trips for the whole year. For non-residential trips, we’ve capped the cost of trips at a maximum of £25, this should support parents with budgeting, but note we endeavour to deliver trips under this cost. We also are working to give a minimum of three-weeks notice for trips.
  Some parents wanted more direct communication with teachers.	Throughout the year we hold three parents’ evenings, provide three written reports and run monthly parent café ‘drop-ins’. Our teachers are on the playground briefly each morning. Should you wish to speak to your child’s class teacher, an appointment can be arranged through the school office and messages can also be passed on. During the day, we want teachers to focus on teaching without having to worry about responding to emails and dojo messages. Messages coming through the office can be prioritised and directed to the right person at the right time.

   

  Once again, thank you to everyone who completed the survey. It is great to know that the overwhelming majority of you are happy with virtually all aspects of school provision but rest assured: we do not rest on our laurels and will continue to work to make Holme School an exceptional place for your child.

   

  With best wishes,

   

   

  Susan Turner                                                       Pam Barker

  Chair of Governors                                              Vice Chair of Governors

                                                                                  Chair of Curriculum, Standards and Effectiveness Committee

• Online Safety Newsletter December

  Wed 03 Jan 2024

  The latest online safety newsletter, for December, can be found here: Online Safety Newsletters

• Online Safety Newsletter- September

  Tue 12 Sep 2023

  The online safety newsletter for September can now be found in the Safeguarding section of our website: 

  https://www.holmeschool.cumbria.sch.uk/safeguarding/ 

• Meet the Teacher Evenings

  Tue 12 Sep 2023

   

  Dear Parents/Carers,

  Re: Meet the Teacher Evenings

  At the beginning of the school year we know that parents can have lots of questions. Therefore, we’d like to invite you to our virtual meet the teacher evening for the relevant year group (as listed below). Through these meetings we will share information about the curriculum for the year as well as some practical information about timetable, homework and trips. It will also give you the chance to ask any questions.

   

  We will be recording the sessions and posting them on our website for those that can’t make it.

   

  The sessions will be as follows:

  Year 1	Thursday 21st September at 8pm: Join Zoom Meeting https://us05web.zoom.us/j/81610463259?pwd=QgdnuqOsau4paqFEeotQ5JaA0v9qHT.1   Meeting ID: 816 1046 3259 Passcode: See Letter to Parents
  Year 2	Monday 18th September at 7pm: Join Zoom Meeting https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83510465153?pwd=zBmAKAfBxXp2Orbz31NQeknNTURgwL.1   Meeting ID: 835 1046 5153 Passcode: See Letter to Parents
  Year 3 and 4	Wednesday 20th September at 8pm: Join Zoom Meeting https://us05web.zoom.us/j/84135958576?pwd=hi5dWG7FHjonDaOqtO9gKzpfQ3B3I7.1   Meeting ID: 841 3595 8576 Passcode: See Letter to Parents
  Year 5	Tuesday 19th September at 8pm: Join Zoom Meeting https://us05web.zoom.us/j/85728294546?pwd=MHyOPmwrVGMoj4Km0zyvuPYxCzGJqC.1   Meeting ID: 857 2829 4546 Passcode: See Letter to Parents
  Year 6	Monday 18th September at 8pm: Join Zoom Meeting https://us05web.zoom.us/j/84053129454?pwd=pe2RIXcIa9H5BaLkBubF8QMRZFkBun.1   Meeting ID: 840 5312 9454 Passcode: See Letter to Parents

   

  We will be arranging a face to face evening for parents with children in Early Years and will write separately about that.

   

  Best Wishes,

  Craig Dewar-Willox

• Online Safety

  Tue 09 May 2023

  We've created a new area of the website to support parents with helping to protect children online. 

   

  https://www.holmeschool.cumbria.sch.uk/safeguarding/ 

   

  This part of the site includes a guide for parents on parental controls and a monthly newsletter which includes details of the latest challenges and risks that children face online. 

   

  As ever, should you have any questions or concerns then please arrange to speak to Mr Dewar or Mrs Burton. 

• Pupil Mental Health Day

  Fri 21 Apr 2023 L Burton

  On Thursday 27th April, The Yogi Group will come into school to work with children in Years Reception to Year 6 to give them specific skills to help improve mental wellness, including anxiety-relieving techniques, breathing techniques, yoga poses and mindful movement.

   

  The children will be in their year groups for half-hour sessions throughout the day.

   

  They will need to change into their PE kit for the session.

   

  They will cover the following:

   

  Key Stage 1

   

  - Guided meditation

   

  - Breathing techniques

   

  - Fun and inspiring yoga stories

   

  - Resilience and mindfulness activities

   

  - Positive affirmation circles

   

  - Healthy habits

   

   

  Key Stage 2

   

  - Introduction to yoga and mindfulness and how to use this in school life

   

  - Breathing techniques and guided meditation

   

  - Positive affirmations

   

  - Resilience activities

   

  - Yoga poses ideal for stress relief

   

  - Exam stress and techniques to deal with these emotions

   

  - Healthy habits.

   

  If you have any questions about these sessions, please arrange to come and speak to me.

   

  With kind regards

   

   

  Louise Burton

  Pupil Support Manager

• Volunteer with us!

  Thu 03 Mar 2022

  Make a difference...volunteer!

   

  We are looking for extra pairs of hands to help our children rise-up out of the pandemic and catch-up on lost learning time. As things settle down, we are keen to recruit a team of volunteers who can help us in a number of ways:
  • Listening to children read
  • Helping children with their times-tables
  • Helping children with basic maths
  • Supporting the teacher deliver exciting lessons
  • Providing admin support like photocopying, filling and laminating
  • Help keep on top of our garden/outdoor areas.

   

  Volunteering is fun. You get to work with brilliant, enthusiastic children and a dedicated staff team.
  Volunteering with us is easy. You’ll receive some basic training to help you get started and can volunteer as much or as little as you want.
  Volunteering is a great way to learn new skills, enhance your CV and meet new people all whilst making a difference to our children.
  All our volunteers must complete a DBS check.
  If you’d like to volunteer or find out more, please arrange to speak to Mr Dewar-Willox by contacting the school office.

• Astro-Turf Grand Opening

  Fri 16 Jul 2021

  On Monday 12th July, champion ultra-runner Sabrina Verjee opened a brand new astro-turf at Holme Community School. 

   

  The new £16,000 facility has been partly funded by children in Year 5&6 who have written to members of the local community to ask for donations to help provide a new, state of the art facility to promote sport. 

   

  Alex Hampshire, 11, wrote to local athlete Sabrina Verjee to ask if she would open the court. 

   

  Sabrina said, "It's great to get involved with such a fantastic project and to thank Alex for his letter. I wasn't the fastest runner at school but learnt to be determined and develop a love of sport. Hopefully this new facility will do the same." 

   

  Dan Smith, Subject Leader for PE said, "This is a brilliant new facility in which we can help develop the sports stars of the future. After a difficult year the children recognise the importance of sport for the wellbeing and wanted to help make this project a reality by writing and asking for donations. They've done a brilliant job." 

  

• A New Sports Court

  Mon 29 Mar 2021

  We want to create a new sports court, with excellent drainage which provides a great facility for sports coaching all year round.

   

  Our current sports court floods with the slightest bit of rain, making it unusable for PE lessons and at breaktimes. Post-covid, we want to ensure that our children have access to amazing outdoor spaces which allow us to deliver first class PE teaching and provide more opportunities for sports and fitness. 

  We are raising funds to improve the drainage on the school sports court, and to resurface it with a specialist tufted grand play surface - making it the perfect place to develop a range of sports all year round. We want our children to grow up with a love of sports, and to develop their skills on first class facilities and with first class equipment. 

  We have already raised £8000 and are working with grant funders to try to identify further funding to help us reach our £15,217.50 total. 

   

  You can contribute to this worthy cause here: 

  https://www.rocketfund.org/holmesportscourt?tk=7f50990687af377cbf1d2046ed8de872a6bfbb8b