An Outstanding Year

What an exciting school year we have had! In December, our school was the first in Havering to be graded ‘outstanding’ in all areas under a much more rigorous Ofsted framework. Our pupils have really risen to the challenges of the new national curriculum, with so many making accelerated progress in the last 12 months. At both KS1 and KS2 they have achieved results well above the national average. We know that Hacton has had a truly brilliant year because we have seen our beautifully behaved, happy pupils demonstrating their love of learning. They are a credit to their parents and our school.

As children and staff gathered in the hall for the final assembly of the year, there were mixed emotions. Amongst laughter as our pupils reminisced about life at Hacton, there were tears of sadness and pride as our Year 6 leavers received certificates and awards in recognition of their achievements. They have made fantastic progress both academically and socially and we feel confident that they are ready for the next exciting chapter of their school life.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank parents and carers for their ongoing support. We hope that the sun continues to shine throughout the holidays and that pupils, parents and staff enjoy a safe and relaxing summer. Whilst we wish our Year 6 children every success as they venture on to secondary school, we look forward to welcoming back our pupils in September. Enjoy the holiday everyone!

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Annual Caring and Achievement Awards

Proud parents and teachers joined our pupils in the hall for Hacton's annual caring and achievement assembly. Carefully selected children were presented with awards for their academic achievement, their handwriting and their kindness throughout the year. At Hacton, we are incredibly proud of each and every one of our pupils and the way in which they represent the values of our school in the classroom, around the school and in our local community. It was an almost impossible task to select the winners, but all of the children chosen have displayed outstanding kindness or impressive progress throughout the year. Congratulations to the wonderful children who were presented with this year's caring, achievement and handwriting awards.

Outstanding SATs Results

Congratulations to our Year 6 pupils for a fantastic set of SATs results. Despite the high expectations of the new national curriculum and the rigorous testing arrangements, our Hacton pupils rose to the challenge and gave it their all.

Determination to succeed, a motivation to learn and plenty of perspiration have resulted in 98% of our pupils meeting the required standard in each of the 3 tested areas. This compares very favourably with the national picture where 66% achieved the standard in Reading, 70% in Mathematics and 72% in SPaG. Overall 88% of our pupils achieved the expected standard in all 3 areas of Reading, Writing (teacher assessed) and Mathematics. This is 35% higher than the national average of 53%.

We are incredibly proud of all that our Year 6 pupils have achieved this year and these results are affirmation of the outstanding progress each child has made. Well done Year 6!

Quad Kids

Teams from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 successfully represented our school at the borough Quad Kids event this half term. The competition, in which the children have to participate in four events - a throw, jump, sprint and long distance run - saw Hacton competing against 34 other Havering schools. Managing to successfully avoid the rainy weather, our 16 Year 5 and 6 children were the first to compete. Notable performances came in the throwing with first, second and third place finishes - Maddie winning by a clear 1.5 metres in a field of 85 athletes! Our Year 5 girls also shone with top 10 sprinting performances. The following week was the turn of our Year 3 and 4 team. Our team got off to a fantastic start with top 10 sprints in a larger field of 135 children, and one of our Year 4 boys secured an impressive Top 10 finish in both running events. Finally, our top team was the Year 3 boys. Fantastic individual performances led to a third place team finish - an incredible achievement. Well done Team Hacton!

Hacton Summer Fayre

With looming grey clouds and spontaneous showers, fingers were crossed that the weather would be kind for this year's summer fayre. With the field out of bounds, we managed to spread ourselves through the halls and playground. The popcorn popping, the cocktails bubbling, a bit of Wimbledon with strawberries and cream; what more could we ask for but the sun! Our regular in-house face painter Kerry Gray delighted the children with her colourful designs. Raffle prizes included a PS Vita, there were donations from the Hacton gardening club as well as the yummy cakes to buy from the nursery. From the thrill of seeing the macho teachers battling on the gladiator duel to the joyous giggles of toddlers on the bouncy castle, the summer fayre had something for everyone.

Thanks to the support from pupils and parents/carers, in total the school and nursery made over £1500. Such an achievement yet again and a big thank you to all the volunteers that made this year's fayre another huge success. The PA thank you all for a fantastic year of support and we hope to see you all with your input and support in 2016/2017 and beyond.

Chas
Chair of PA

Nursery Reading Workshop

We were thrilled to welcome children's author and former Headteacher Neil Griffiths for an Importance of Reading workshop for parents. He shared with us his passion for literature and the significance of sharing stories with young children. As well as engaging parents from Hacton and our cluster schools and preschools, he delighted our afternoon nursery children with an interactive and fun story time. It was clear from our children's faces that they were enthralled by Neil's expert storytelling skills: his humour and characterisation really brought the stories to life. Thank you Neil for a wonderfully entertaining workshop.

E for Effort

Every week, teachers recognise pupils in their class who have made an extra effort. These pupils are awarded the E for Effort cup in front of the whole school during our Friday morning assembly. This week's winners include the whole of Year 6 who were presented with the cup for their outstanding achievements at Sealyham and their impeccable behaviour during Activity Week.

Congratulations to all the wonderful children who made an extra effort.