As usual, it has been another busy and exciting week at Yattendon packed full of rich learning experiences. As a school we continually strive to ensure that we are giving our children the best possible holistic education. We therefore spend a lot of time and energy reflecting on how we can improve what we do. Consequently, we don’t often stand still and ‘smell the roses’ as we are focussed on aspiring to be better. However, this week the school has been contacted by three external bodies in recognition of the school’s work.
We are delighted to inform you that, for the third year running, we have been awarded the Sainsbury's School Games Kitemark - Gold Level – one of only a handful of primary schools in Surrey to achieve this prestigious award. During 2014-2015 we continued to work tirelessly to nurture the understanding that competitive sport needs to be made accessible and enjoyable for all children.  The School Games Kitemark, launched in June 2012, rewards schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community via club links. I would like to acknowledge and thank Miss Watkins and Mr Stewart who work tirelessly behind the scenes to foster such a great sporting ethos at Yattendon. For more information about the School Games Kitemark click here. To learn more about Physical Education and Sport at Yattendon, click on our Sports Premium page.

As a school we are firmly committed to supporting and promoting the physical and emotional health and well-being of our children. Furthermore, we ensure that the links between health, behaviour and achievement are continuously discussed. The school’s work is not aimed merely at our children’s health or school curriculum development but centres around the whole school environment and all aspects of Yattendon life. We were therefore delighted when we were contacted by ‘Surrey Healthy Schools’ who explained that Yattendon had been awarded Surrey Healthy Schools status – Bronze Award. My thanks go to Miss Pirt and Mrs Coulson for their work in this area. For more information about Surrey Healthy Schools click here. To learn more about Spiritual, Moral, Social and cultural provision at Yattendon, click here.

Finally, I received the following email on Monday: Congratulations! Yattendon School has earned a School Guide Certificate of Excellence! As the UK's leading school website, we know how hard it is to run a school with all the demands that the government and Ofsted place upon you. Your four ?star certificate is the result of your dedication to academic excellence and is a great way to show parents how much you have achieved in the last year. This was another nice surprise and an objective endorsement of the school’s work. For more information about schoolguide.co.uk and our certificate of excellence click here.

They often say that bad things come in threes; here at Yattendon we like to put a positive spin on things! Our value of the month for September is Happiness; given these three awards, I think we can pause for a while, ‘smell the roses’ and be happy about what we have accomplished as a school!

Have a great weekend.

Best wishes,
Dave Cole
Headteacher