The Cathedral Catholic Primary School Balmoral Road, Lancaster, LA1 3BT Tel: 01524 64686 www.cathedral.lancs.sch.uk Headteacher: Miss K J Hannah BA (Hons)
11 May 2017 Dear Parents, On behalf of the Governing Body, I am writing to advise you of the proposed changes to the end of the school day. The proposed changes are for children to start school at 8.45am (with door opening 5 – 10 minutes before to allow you to settle your child should you wish) and finish at 3.15pm. These hours are still within the statutory teaching hours and would enable the children to enjoy a longer lunch time as well as offering additional teaching time. At the moment, the children in Key Stage Two only have 45 minutes for their lunch break which means that they do not always have time for structured / free play. We value lunch time as an opportunity for children to eat, let off steam, learn to play co-operatively, develop social skills and enable them to become fully rounded individuals. By extending the lunch time to one hour, we feel that children will have a greater chance to do this. Children in Key Stage One will benefit from an official break in the afternoon. Although we meet the minimum statutory time for teaching, the demands of the curriculum and our desire to create a curriculum that is engaging and meaningful for the children at The Cathedral School means that often we have to compromise on what we offer. Indeed, as OFSTED found during their most recent inspection; “Opportunities for pupils to engage in more creative subjects and activities are limited� With this in mind, we are looking to increase teaching time by 15 minutes per day which will allow us to broaden the range of learning opportunities offered to the children over the course of a week. These changes have been agreed by the Governing Body with a consultation process beginning Monday 27th March 2017 and finishing Monday 1 st May 2017. The children and staff will also be consulted during this period of time with all respondents being considered during the first half of the summer term. It is anticipated that should the majority of stakeholders agree with these proposals that we will change the end of the school day for the beginning of the next academic year, September 2017. It is important to the school that we receive as many responses as possible to make a clear and informed decision regarding the changes to the day so please return the attached form to the school no later than Monday 1st May. There will also be an online questionnaire should you wish to use it and the opportunity to speak with the Senior Leadership Team during Parents Evenings on 10 th / 11th April. I will write to you again before the May half term holiday to inform you of the outcome of the consultation. Yours Sincerely Fr S Pearson Chair of Governors