Thursday, 22 January 2015

Meeting with Building Contractors

22nd January 2015
Paul Cotter, Jodie Terry, Kezia Pearce, Gloria Double and Harry Williams from Fox met with representatives from EC Harris, Soilfix, Galliford Try and RBKC. 

Soilfix is the contractor that has been appointed to remove the bank and make good the site in readiness for construction. They are an award winning contractor that specialises in remediation of contaminated soils and groundwater on brownfield sites. They have proposed the scheduling of a presentation to Fox parents to demonstrate their capability in this area and the methodology they use for ensuring the safety of children at the school.
http://www.soilfix.co.uk

Galliford Try is the contractor that has been selected to carry out the construction of the new building and renovations of the existing building. They have played a major role in delivering some of the UK's most high profile and innovative schemes including for the London Olympic and Paralympic games. They have extensive experience in the construction of schools. 
http://www.gallifordtry.co.uk

Following this initial meeting about timing and phasing of work we will have a workshop in the next couple of weeks for the school, contractor and governors to discuss the phasing of construction  in order to minimise the disruption to teaching an learning. It is anticipated that a final plan for this phasing will be available in the next two months.

The planning application was submitted on the 21st January. An initial clearance of light vegetation (for example, ivy) on the bank will commence over the half term.

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Mindfulness and Massage

Last week Sema Aydin attended a mindfulness session held for parents at the school. The session was very useful and informative and was well attended. Feedback from other parents has been very positive.

In October 2014 Sema had observed mindfulness and massage lessons in both year 6 and year 5.

The years 6 session was about awareness - noticing and being aware of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and anything that is around the individual and happening right at that moment.

The expectations of the session are to feel calmer, less anxious, perform better and learn more effectively. Mindfulness is used in the school to enhance wellbeing and learning.

The children followed Ms Afzal’s instructions and guidance very gently, as best as they could, showing genuine interest and enthusiasm.

The yr 5 class was a massage class. During this session the children gave a gentle massage to their partner. They followed Ms Afzal’s demonstrations and listened carefully to her instructions.  The children seemed to enjoy the session and were telling the teacher how much they liked giving and receiving massage.

The massage sessions are used in the school to enhance the children’s relaxation and wellbeing.


Federation Meeting

16th January 2015
Paul Cotter, along with Governors (JT, BW, KP, SA, TV and AS) held a Q&A session in the school hall to answer questions around the proposed Federation between Fox and Ashburnham. The meeting was well attended.
Kezia Pearce started off with an update around the building project. The contractor, Soilfix, who will be removing the bank have asked to have a meeting with the parents at Fox to talk them through all of the safety and other precautions that will be taken during the works. The date for this will be agreed this week and communicated to parents.
Fox will also be meeting with the contractors this week to have initial discussions around phasing.
Paul Cotter did a presentation on the Federation proposal and then answered questions. Minutes were taken and these will be sent out in due course. Answers to the most frequently asked questions will be on the Fox website.
The consultation document was distributed on Monday 19th January, starting off a six week consultation period.
Parents will have the opportunity to ask more questions this Friday 23rd at the FSA meeting as well as at another consultation meeting in the school hall, date to be confirmed.
JT