Page 3 - Abberley Adventures - April 2022

ABBERLEY ADVENTURES
3
Pastoral
With the weather starting to warm up in the build-up to Easter, it was fantastic to see the pupils continuing to mix and play together during break times! It was a busy end to term and the message to all pupils is to relax and get outside... if the weather allows! Next term, the older children will be focussing on assessments and subsequently both tutors and teachers are primed to support and guide, as necessary.
Current affairs have been on the agenda in recent weeks, and we would encourage all families to talk about feelings and thoughts regarding what is happening in Ukraine as this has been a real concern for many children around the world. There are lots of brilliant resources available online and we encourage you to take a look.
Sport
It has been an enjoyable and busy second half of term for the boys and girls on the sporting front despite illness leading to a few cancelled matches. The boys enjoyed transferring their skills onto the hockey pitches, with every boy in the school having multiple opportunities to play in fixtures. All of our coaches have been impressed with the progress that our pupils have made, with particularly spectacular performances coming from those playing in goal! The U11 and U10 boys finished the term by switching back to football for the King’s Hawford and RGS tournaments and both Mr Smith and Mr Bedford were impressed with the huge improvement in their play.
The girls finished their netball term also showing huge improvements. They have done incredibly well to adapt this term, especially the senior girls; to have done all their training on the 5-a-side court in the Sports Hall and then transferred onto 7-a-side courts for matches has been a challenge they have handled very well. Their final matches against The Downs showed just how much they have progressed.
All of the children should be proud of their achievements and we are looking forward to seeing them on the cricket pitches in a few weeks! Our amazing grounds team are busy cutting, spraying, scarifying, rolling and marking our wickets and we can’t wait for the cricket season to begin and to see parents watching from the boundaries. We have some great fixtures lined up so please do have a look at the school calendar online and make a note of key dates.
The provision of excellent pastoral care at Abberley is our top priority and we understand that when children are happy and able to discuss any worries or problems that they may have, they are in the best position to learn and to achieve their full potential. We had an ISI inspection earlier in the term and, although the written report is rather bland and just confirms that we meet the standards required, the inspectors were able to be far more effusive verbally and they made it clear that they were exceptionally impressed with the pastoral care and safeguarding provision here at Abberley! As ever, if you have any concerns about your child or if you would like to discuss any aspect of their wellbeing then your first ‘port of call’ should be the Tutor. You are also welcome to go directly to Mr Bennett-Tomlin, our Deputy Head, Pastoral who can be emailed on matt.bennett-tomlin@abberleyhall.co.uk.