Life and Learning at Mr Noah’s

We were inspected by OFSTED in January, as recorded in an earlier blog post. Now the report has arrived by email. It is gratifying to be judged ‘Outstanding’, but there is so much more than could be observed on one cold winter’s day.

The inspector missed most of the normal activities on the plat because we sought the warmth of the sunshine on the field.

Then there are the log stepping stones in the woods which are so good for the development of balance, strength and awareness of the body. But we hadn’t constructed it in time.

And there has been the processing and spreading of compost – all that potential knowledge of the world.

This activity deserves a blog post in its own right.

Never mind, we are grateful that the inspector liked what could be seen on the day in question. Well done, staff! Thank you, parents for your generous support, and all those who pray for us.

Monday, the rain fell, and the temperature was freezing. It was all a bit of a challenge, but the children coped wonderfully. They are not afraid of being outdoors. The rest of the week, every day was cold, with children arriving on site in minus degrees centigrade.

On Wednesday, we had the dreaded phone call from an OFSTED inspector to say that we were to have an inspection on Thursday. It would be the first full inspection since we moved to Tarly Pit.

We were blessed that day with sunshine and a fire that lit so easily. Between the two we were kept warm on a day when the temperature ranged from -2 to +6 degrees centigrade. All went very well and we were so grateful.

Most memorable will be the boy who was squealing from a tree he had attempted to climb, with another already on a favoured perch. We all assumed that the fuss was a dispute about rights to that branch, until the distraught lad demanded, “Get me down!” It then became apparent that the problem was nothing to do with territory. Unseen even standing immediately in front of him, the boy had caught his hood on a broken branch and could not move an inch. It could only happen in view of an inspector.

All went well. The tree climber was rescued, and the day ended happily. The children went home; the inspector offered feed-back; the staff felt proud.

On Friday, we were doing it all over again, but only under the gaze of heaven.

That was the ultimate week.

In our second year at Tarly Pit, it seemed as if we had sorted many of the teething troubles and had taken off. Of course, we benefited from the country having come through Covid. And so we were able to put on sports day and the end of school year celebration with a graduation ceremony.

Parents mounted a fundraiser which generaated enough for the purchase of four super wheelbarrows.

As ever, children were rising to the physical challenges of over, under and through.

Crops were ripe for harvesting. Garlic and onions were lifted, and tomatoes ripened faster than in years.

There was evidence of children’s enthusiasm for literacy, including what might be labelled graffiti.

But eventually, it was time for just one more hug before farewell for the last time.

Now the silence until September when everything begins again.

We were all prepared for sports day a few weeks ago. Then the threatening clouds began to gather, and we knew we would have to postpone the event.

The intended seed exchange table evolved into a fundraising plant sale, which has proved popular and successful.

The white lines had been washed away and had to be repainted. It is an expensive business at half an hour for each line,

Now we are back on track (if you can forgive the pun) and almost ready for the second attempt at the sports event.

Conclusion

It is evening before the sports and we are set to go.

On the evening of Thursday 24th March, we welcomed parents to a consultation evening at Tarly Pit. For eighteen months, the pandemic prevented us from having these trembly events. The November meeting was held at the Iden Green Pavilion because of inclement weather.

This was the first opportunity for some to enter the plat and see inside the yurt. It was encouraging to have 65% of our parents involved in the process.