The joint Chairs of Governors, Michael Skinner and Emily Talbot, can be contacted via email on mskinner@edwalton.notts.sch.uk or etalbot@edwalton.notts.sch.uk via the school office on 0115 9144221 or by email to office@edwalton.notts.sch.uk

Typical activities of the Governing Body

• All governors attend two termly meetings: Finance and Full Governors

• Fortnightly chair and Headteacher catch ups

• Termly visits from safeguarding governor

• Termly H & S governor visit

• Regular drop in visits to look at the school environment

• Termly Flying High Partnership Hub Chair of Governor meetings

• Regular training updates (e.g. Safeguarding)

Governor Update Autumn 2024

A warm welcome back to all staff and families. Despite the summer holiday it appears that school has been a hive of activity with all the amazing building work inside. As Mr Graney has updated on, there are new rooms, including a sensory room, new reception area and school office, classroom refurbishments, a new library, and intervention, and staff planning/meeting rooms. Having the opportunity to look around on the first week back it was incredible to see how well the space has been reconfigured and how beneficial this will be to the children and staff in school. A huge thank you to all the staff and construction teams who have worked so hard to improve the environment for the children and staff. Also, a big thank you to EPSPA for the funding of the new welly sheds for school which look fantastic and will be greatly beneficial in enabling children to make full use of their outdoor learning experiences and Opal playtimes - come rain or shine!

As a Governing body we have also been busy supporting with recruitment of our permanent Head teacher, and we are delighted that Mr Graney has been appointed to this role. Having seen his dedication over the last two terms to driving improvements through school, both with regards to the school environment (including the woods and indoor spaces) and projects and developments within school such as Opal Play and a new approach to behaviour, we are very pleased that his commitment to the children, families and staff at Edwalton will continue. We are excited for the months and years ahead!

Throughout the Autumn term we will continue to support school through Chair of Governor fortnightly catch ups with Mr Graney, termly Finance and Full Governor meetings, safeguarding and health and safety visits and reviewing of all policies. We also enjoy informal visits to school to look around.

Please do not hesitate to contact us using the details above should you have any feedback, questions or queries.

We hope you all have a wonderful Autumn term.

Emily Talbot
Joint Chair of Governors on behalf of the Governing Body

On 16^th March 2022 I was invited to spend the morning at Edwalton Primary School participating in the annual ‘School Life’ Governors’ Monitoring Visit. It is the second School Life visit I have done and it was just as enjoyable as my first. The School Life visit is an opportunity to meet some of the children from each class and year group to ask them about their experience and thoughts of Edwalton Primary School. My visit was superb and a big thank you to Elijah, Mia, Sam, Ella, Imogen, Fred, Martina, Finlay, Finlay, Ivan, Evie, Sofia, Aaron, Charlie, Lilith, Malin, Mia and James for spending some time sharing views about the school and what makes Edwalton Primary so special.

When talking about what makes the school so special Aaron told me “Our school is an amazing ecosystem. We’ve got the woods, a massive field, a farm, two playgrounds…..it’s amazing.”    Using the woods for lessons was discussed with Ella when she made an animal den. Also, Martina and Finlay both talked about how great it was to have the farm and they both enjoy feeding the animals.

Naturally one of the other things that makes Edwalton Primary special was brought up by Sofia telling me, for her, what makes the school special is “How the teachers teach. The teachers are really nice.” And whilst talking about learning I was amazed by some of the things the children had got up to. Ivan told me “We made a chemical reaction inside a volcano which made it explode!” whilst Malin and James talked in detail about the biology investigation of the heart and eyes they did during their science lessons. For learning Sam likes WOW Word Wednesday as “….we learn new words, I didn’t know before.” Elijah explained how he made a book about sea creatures whilst Mia told me how she used her imagination and made a pretend I-Pad.

Sport and physical health was also a key element of our conversations with Lilith and Mia telling me that “We are in the football team and we went to a tournament yesterday and we won.” Whilst Charlie told me how he kept his fitness levels up and “…fitness is as important as our academic education.” Fitness was also talked about in the context of home learning during lockdown with Finlay telling me “We had home learning online fitness with Mrs Kang and when we came back we did fitness blasts in school to keep fit.”

Keeping safe is also very important and with Fred telling me how you need to “Think before you do something on the internet” and Imogen telling me when on a computer “If anything pops up on the screen you tell an adult to check it.” Evie also spoke more on online safety, stranger danger and the DARE project they are doing.

Outside of lessons I was also told about being a class ambassador, school council, lego club, football, rugby, debating club, Rights Respecting Reps, Young Voices, a trip to Trent Bridge and a whole lot more.

All of this showed me how united all of the children are in their views of Edwalton Primary School and how it is a great learning environment with a structured and imaginative approach to teaching. Thank you once again to all of the children that gave up their time to talk to me, I had a fantastic morning chatting.            

Michael Skinner – Joint Chair of Governors