Term 5 2026 News Bulletin

DGAT

We are looking forward to joining the DGAT team on the 1^st June and benefitting from the support and structure that being part of a larger organisation will bring. Apart from staff wearing purple rather than blue lanyards there will be no obvious change to pupils, who will continue with their current programme of work and curriculum.  Behind the scenes some systems will change to make the most of the economies of scale and, in time, communication and payment platforms may alter but we will ensure any transitions are as smooth as possible.

Local Governing Board

The Governing Board of Blockley Educational Academy will be dissolved with the company.  From 1^st June we will have a new Local Governing Board under the DGAT Scheme of Delegation.  The Local Governing Board will consist of the following members, all of which served on the board of Blockley Educational Academy previously.

Headteacher ex-offico governor – Ann Barry

Staff governor – Stacey White

Chair, co-opted governor – James Graham

Co-opted governor – Chris Francis

Co-opted governor – Elaine Turriff

Foundation governor, ex-officio – Dana Delap

Foundation governor – Roger Morris

Parent governor – Lisa Alvis

Parent governor – Hannah Waller

Attendance

As we are sure that you are aware, due to recent press attention, there is a strong, positive, and direct correlation between school attendance and academic achievement, with higher attendance rates consistently linked to better grades across all educational levels. Missing school, regardless of the reason, consistently correlates with lower test scores, and a higher risk of failing to reach expected standards.

Our own school data strongly supports this statement.

Analysis of our top attenders (30 pupils in years 1-6 with attendance rates between 99-100%) shows that children who attend Blockley School consistently have an 87% likelihood of reaching the expected standard for English and maths at the end of the academic year.

Analysis of our lowest attenders (30 pupils in years 1-6 with attendance rates between 85-95%) shows a dramatic drop with pupils having just a 53% likelihood of reaching the expected standard for English and maths at the end of the academic year.

This identifies the stark realities of the consequences of missing school.

We thank you for your continued support in ensuring that your child attends school consistently.

Pupil Wellbeing Survey

the Gloucestershire Pupil Wellbeing Survey (PWS) is a biennial survey conducted since 2006. It gathers data from school children in years 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12.

Having received the data from this year’s survey we are delighted to share some particularly pleasing statistics with you.

60 pupils took part in the survey – this is the vast majority of pupils in years 4, 5 and 6.

Key Positive Takeaways

• 100% of our pupils reported that they learn a lot at Blockley School and spend their days learning useful skills.
• 100% of our pupils said that adults in school modelled kind and respectful behaviour.
• 100% of our pupils said that they had a trusted adult to go to if they were worried about something.
• 100% of our pupils felt proud of their achievements.
• 98.3% of our pupils reported that they had NOT been bullied in the last year.

We are understandably incredibly proud that our pupils feel so overwhelmingly positive about our school – we will work hard to ensure that this continues.

The top 3 topics that pupils wanted more knowledge and support in were:

1. Cooking skills
2. Support when someone close to you has died.
3. Feelings/Stress management

We have already begun conversations about where these areas fit into our curriculum and how we can meet these requests.

PC Davies in school to speak with Class 5

On Tuesday 28^th April, our School Beat officer, PC Leah Davis came to talk to Class 5; she is also be the School Beat officer for Campden and Cotswold secondary schools.

One aspect of her PHSE-based talk was online safety. The lesson given was designed to be emotionally engaging and impactful. It was interactive and used scenarios to educate and inform young people about the risks they may encounter whilst using the internet, and importantly to empower young people to know how to deal with a problem should it arise.

The government have launched a website to help keep all children safe online. Please take time to look at the content to support your children.

Help your child stay safe online – Kids Online Safety

Class 4 and 5 artwork

Swimming Gala – year 5 and 6

We were proud to take a group of willing swimmers to a inter school swimming gala in Cirencester on Wednesday 15^th April. Children took part in individual as well as team events.  All showed fantastic team spirit and swam very well in a field of strong competitive swimmers. 

Overall, we came third out of eight schools and we had a couple of top three finishes in the races.  We were especially pleased to receive comments on how supportive our children were of not just their team but all the teams around them.

Public Speaking Finals

Both our finalists gave fantastic speeches.  We hope more children will be inspired to audition next year and that our finalists continue to use their talent.

Cricket Day

Pupils in school enjoyed a day of cricket in their PE lessons.  We hope to give pupils the experience of trying others sports so that all pupils have an opportunity to find a sport they enjoy. Pupils will be given the opportunity to try rugby next year.

Fencing

Two staff have completed fencing training so will be able to demonstrate this skill to pupils and hopefully provide an opportunity for some to join in!

Dance Festival

Class 3 participated in the Spirit of the Games Dance Festival held at Blockley.  Once again, our children demonstrated excellent behaviour, showing politeness and encouragement towards other schools as well as performing their dance very well.  We are hopeful to continue this event next year in partnership with School Games.

Key Stage 1 Multisports event

Pupils in class 1 and 2 were given the opportunity to take part in a multi-skills event at Blockley.  Around 40 children attended the after school event, enjoying a positive afternoon working collaboratively in teams and developing new physical skills.

Walk to School Week

Thank you for supporting your child with Living Streets’ five day walking challenge – codename Mission Move!  The challenge is aimed to support mental health and wellbeing, road safety, physical health, sustainability, community and inclusivity.

Class 1 and 2 Moreton Trip

Class 1 and 2 have been studying the town of Moreton-in-Marsh in geography, and as such, they went to Moreton to carry out geographical fieldwork to locate and look at the features that they had been discussing in class.

SATs

Year 6 pupils have been able to demonstrate their ability during the recent KS2 SATs exams.  They were well prepared so it was a positive experience and they conducted themselves very well under the exam conditions.

Class 5 – local walk

At the end of the exams they were able to let off some physical energy with a local walk around the Blockley countryside, looking at local features and searching for fossils. 

Term 6

Term 6 starts on 2^nd June for pupils and it is a busy one with many events in the diary including:

Bikeability and Learn to Ride- week beginning 8^th June

Year 6 Gloucester Cathedral – 11^th June

Three Counties Show (whole school) – 12^th June

Sports Day – 19^th June (afternoon)

Key Stage 2 performance – 7^th July afternoon and 9^th July evening

Reports to parents- 10^th July