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2022-12-31-accounts

Annual Parochial Meeting - Reports for 2022

Vicar’s Report

I was looking back through previous Church newsletters and what struck me was how much has changed in the very recent times. Two years ago at the start of 2021, I wrote how

‘#AloneTogether’ was the social media mantra. There was a sense that we were all in this pandemic together. We stayed home expecting everything to return to normal “soon.”’ But it didn't. Then the economic dominoes began to fall and the second wave came.

Many dreams and plans had to be redrafted. I was reminded at the time of the similarity to Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations;

In the novel, Pip has huge dreams above his station; he wants to go off to the big city, make his fame and fortune, and then marry Estella, an attractive heiress - not to mention, astound his home town who have low expectations of him. But one by one, Dickens’ novel destroys Pip's great expectations:

Every hope he ever had is eventually modified, but still he ends up in a much better place as he works through the obstacles and disappointments. And just as Magwitch tries to guide his ungrateful recipient, I wrote, so God will be with us leading and guiding through whatever life throws at us, hoping we too learn the lessons that fit us for eternity.

Then at the beginning of last year, our Tuesday prayer group had a series of words such as open goal, open heart and open book that indicated

opportunity if we wish to take it. One specific picture was of a blank diary, waiting to be written upon. Psalm37:4 ‘Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart’ was quoted and I suggested that we should perhaps examine the desires in our own hearts, to find God’s call on us for the coming year.

But rather like Great Expectations, the backdrop continued to change, perhaps even more quickly. The outbreak of conflict in Ukraine and the wave of refugees to our shores. The Platinum Jubilee was followed swiftly by the sad news of the Queen’s death and the end of the Elizabethan Age. The price of petrol, gas and electricity, along with the inflation rate, grabbed our financial attention. TLG announced it was going to close its education centres from Easter due to monetary constraints. Then just recently we witnessed the aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. And much has happened in our own families and close circles too.

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Against this background the church has been busy. In a recent survey, 34% of non-christians now say they think the church is making a difference - before the pandemic this number was way down at 20%. Hardly surprising we might think;

However the world tends not to notice all that the church does, partially as we don’t do it primarily to be noticed.

European wide surveys show that people of faith are twice as likely to volunteer to do charitable work as those of no faith, and the stronger the faith, empirically the higher the level of engagement. Also a recent report on resilience points to the local church providing a ‘nexus of people (social capital), places (physical capital) and purpose (spiritual capital)’ that sustains all our communities.

The opportunities are still there to serve one another and our community. I expect the recent turmoil has created even greater needs and openings. However the temptation is always just to pull the duvet higher and close our eyes to it all, hoping if we don’t see it, it isn’t happening, it will go away. Novelist Erica Jong once wrote: “take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame .” But actually the Gospel and God tell us, we are accountable and eventually we all have to give account. I’m sure most of you will have heard me quote Charles Osgood‘s

poem: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody, (if not Google it). Jesus summed up the imperative in the command, love your neighbour.

We also need to be Good News. In church this last year I have endeavoured to continually return to biblical themes such as hope, joy, peace and love. They are the treasure that we really have to offer to the world around us, inspired by the presence of God within us. An intimate relationship with God, through prayer, scripture, fellowship and personal renewal are something we want everyone to experience, and if we don’t neglect them ourselves, they will be the bedrock of our resilience in uncertain times.

I have more than a vague suspicion that, as we race towards the 2000[th] anniversary of the cross, the backdrop will continue to change quickly, rather like one of those old black and white comedies where you glimpse someone winding the scenery off camera, faster and faster. We may wish to shout, “stop the train, I want to get off”, but we are the only hope for our fellow passengers. We are Plan A, and God has no Plan B.

I still think we need to heed the words of Jesus to the church in Philadelphia, that though even God states they have little strength, there is huge opportunity to be Good News in these times of upheaval:

See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. Rev 3:8

Thank you for all you have done and contributed over the last year, but today the world needs us more than ever.

Alan

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All Saints Normanton Parish Church MEETING OF PARISHIONERS 24 April 2022

Minutes of the previous meeting 25 April 2021

The minutes were accepted as a true and accurate record of the previous meeting.

Election of Church Wardens

Two nominations were received for Church Wardens

As there were no other nominations Andy Vanstan and Virginia Hashimi were duly elected as Church Wardens for the ensuing year.

It had been thought that Andy Vanstan would be unable to stand again this year as in 2015 there was a change to the Church Warden’s Measure limiting their service to six consecutive years. Andy however had some time off while he was finishing his Reader’s training therefore this does not apply. The rules currently advocate a two-year gap before re-standing although this can be changed by the Meeting of Parishioners (starting 2023). Rev Alan Murray proposed to change this to one year rather than two years. All present agreed to this change.

All Saints Normanton Parish Church ANNUAL PAROCHIAL MEETING 24 April 2022

Present:

38 Church members were present at the meeting.

Minutes of the previous APM 25 April 2021

The minutes from the previous meeting were accepted as a true and accurate record.

Matters Arising: None.

Apologies: Andy Vanstan Michelle West Ginny Camponi Doris Haywood Jennifer Sanderson Joy Geldard-Smith Judith Townsend Amy Stone John Penrose

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Electoral Roll

Roll in 2021: 106. There have been two new enrolments, four deceased, two no longer attend and live outside the area and none requested to be removed from Roll; the new Electoral Roll is 102.

Election of PCC Representatives

There were three vacancies for PCC Representatives; Derek Howell, Marianne Fernandez and June Townend have come to the end of their three years as PCC Representatives. Two nominations were received therefore, there was no need for a vote; Derek and Marianne have been nominated again and are happy to stand. There is one vacancy should anyone wish to stand; this will be carried forward. There is also a vacancy for PCC Secretary. Those duly elected were:

Elected to PCC: Proposed by: Seconded by: Marianne Fernandez Ann Preston Sue Hodgson Derek Howell Judith Howell Leah Huddlestone

Election of Deanery Representatives

The number of representatives for Deanery was increased from three to four. The fourth vacancy has never been filled. There is currently one vacancy for Deanery; if anyone would like to stand please speak to Rev Alan Murray.

Vicar’s Report

Rev Alan Murray spoke of there being in most Churches a ‘golden age’ and ever since then it wasn’t like that when so and so was Vicar. Our society has recently gone/going through covid, war, mental health problems among young people and many other issues. Things are never going to be as they once were and we must be wary of making it a golden age and wishing things were back to normal. The world has changed. If we do acknowledge reality, we can then do something about it i.e. by recognizing that reality isn’t always the way we want it, we can focus on solving the problem instead of repeating a cycle of frustration and anger. Instead of dwelling on what you can’t change, focus on what you can. We have been given the chance to reassess our lives in the light of the future and been reminded of our ability to respond creatively to a challenge.

Rev Alan Murray thanked Andy Vanstan, Diane Brennan, Derek Howell, PCC Members, Baptism Team, Worship Team, Paul Haworth, Readers, School, Governors, TLG, Michelle Newton and The Well, Children’s/Youth Ministries and all Church members for going above and beyond in these difficult times.

Accounts

The report was contained in the APM booklet. No questions were forthcoming.

It was proposed that Derek Howell be appointed again as Treasurer. Sue Hodgson proposed this, Marianne Fernandez seconded this.

Appointment of Examiner of Accounts

Derek Howell asked that the meeting agree to appoint John Penrose again as the Independent Certifier of the accounts. Rendel Murray proposed this, Marianne Fernandez seconded this. All present agreed.

Reports

All reports were contained in the APM booklet. No questions were forthcoming.

AOB

Elaine Wells thanked Rev Alan Murray for his work on a Sunday and the work he does which isn’t seen.

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The Annual Parochial Church Council Report 2022

The Church and Church Office are situated on the B6133 in Normanton.

The Council is required, as stated in the Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956, to co-operate with the ministers in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical.

Membership

Members of the PCC are either ex-officio or elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.

During the year, the following served as members of the PCC:

Incumbent: Alan Murray
Wardens: Andy Vanstan (APCM 2022) Training
Virginia Hashimi (APCM 2022)
Treasurer: Derek Howell (APCM 2022) Giving Officer
Secretary: Rachel Budby (co-opted 2022)
Deanery Synod: Sue Hodgson (APCM 2020)
Michelle West (APCM 2020) Disability
2 positions vacant
Elected Members: Stewart Drury (APCM 2021)
Derek Howell (APCM 2022 - 2nd term)
Judith Howell (APCM 2021) Children/Safeguard
Marianne Fernandez (APCM 2022 - 2nd term)
Leah Huddlestone (APCM 2020) Young People
Ann Preston (APCM 2020 - 2nd term)
Elaine Wells (APCM 2020 - 2nd term) Environment
Vacant Position (2021 - 2 year)
Vacant Positon (2022 - 3 year)

The Standing Committee

The Standing Committee is a statutory committee which deals with anything that arises in between PCC meetings. The committee consists of the Incumbent, Churchwardens, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and two elected PCC members.

The retiring members of the PCC are Leah Huddlestone, Ann Preston, Elaine Wells. The retiring members of Deanery Synod are Sue Hodgson, Michelle West.

There are 105 parishioners on the Electoral Roll, 29 of whom are not resident within the parish. 8 names were added to the Roll, 1 has moved out of the area and 4 deceased.

The full PCC met 6 times during the year. The Standing Committee has the power to deal with any emergency which arises, subject to any directions given by the council. There are also three subcommittees: Estates and Mission & Ministry meet 3 times a year and Governance meet twice a year, to further discuss their areas of ministry.

As an Anglican church in the parish of Normanton, West Yorkshire, our intention is to meet the spiritual, physical and pastoral needs of all the people who live within our parochial boundary. We seek to minister pastoral care to all age groups and cultural backgrounds within a Christian context.

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Parochial Church Council Annual Review of Meetings in 2022

All meetings during the year were chaired by Rev’d Alan Murray. Regular items on the agenda include: Matters arising, correspondence received, Vicar’s items, Warden’s items, Finance, and also reports from The Well, TLG, Church School Governors, Deanery & Churches Together.

JANUARY

JULY

SEPTEMBER

MARCH

NOVEMBER

MAY

Rev Alan Murray Chairman

Rachel Budby PCC Secretary

All Saints Parish Church

All Saints Parish Church Bank: Independent Examiner: High Street CAF Bank Ltd Mr John Penrose Normanton 25 Kings Hill Avenue 2 Park Avenue West Yorkshire Kings Hill Normanton WF6 1NR West Malling West Yorkshire Registered Charity Kent WF6 2DR ME19 4JQ

Registered Charity

No: 1135324

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Church Warden’s Report

It's hard to believe that a year has passed since I last sat down to write the Warden's report for the APCM. It's equally hard to believe that this is to be my last as Church Warden as the rules stipulate that, having been in post for six consecutive years, I must stand down for at least one year.

Having been the only warden for a while, this past year it's been a real blessing to have Virginia as my fellow Warden.

Virginia has been extremely busy in sorting out and updating our property inventory and logging records of works carried out in recent years.

As ever it's been a busy year for the Church with our regular Sunday and Wednesday services, as well as our regular seasonal services such as Remembrance Sunday, the Memorial service, Lent and Holy Week, Advent and Christmas. Not forgetting, Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals.

There have also been a number of extra services and events; we've hosted community events, the Town Council used the Church building for their meetings whilst the Town Hall was being refurbished and of course the Church was the focal point for the community following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; we opened our doors for the local community to sign the Book of Condolence, light a candle and have time and space to pray or reflect on a life of faith and Service.

During the year we've carried out various repairs to both the Church building and the Parish Rooms as well as the surrounding grounds. Some of the repairs we've been able to deal with in-house; our thanks go to Stewart Drury and Ian Rogers and everyone who has given up their time either on "Work for Church Days" or as when required basis. As a result both the Church building and Parish Rooms are structurally safe, sound and watertight. However, should you spot anything that you think needs attention, please do let us know.

We are also extremely grateful to Derek Howell who, as well as his Treasurer’s role, has (perhaps inadvertently?!) taken on the mantle of lead in discussions with our Architects, Contractors, as well as submitting planning applications and applying for grants. Thank you Derek!

As ever, we are grateful to the team of Deputy Wardens; Ann, Ian, Michelle, Sue, Marianne and Stewart, who assist with opening and closing the

church, ushering, and doing lots of little things behind the scenes, which help us in running the services.

Thanks also go to the PCC and the subcommittees for all their efforts and support throughout the year.

Finally, our thanks go to Diane Brennan, in the office for all her organisational skills and hard work in doing all the admin, rota's and much, much more.

Andy Vanstan & Virginia Hashimi, Churchwardens

Electoral Roll Report

Electoral Roll Report Electoral Roll Report
Afer the APM 2022 the Electoral Roll stood at
102. The total for this year is 102, (please see
breakdown below):
1) Deceased 4
2) No longer atend and live outside area 1
3) Requested to be removed from Roll 0
4) New Enrolments 8
2022 102
+ 3
105
Andy Vanstan, Electoral Roll Ofcer

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Finance Report 2022

The Accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Receipts and Payments Method required under the 'The Charities Act 2011’.

Despite all the external turbulence of finances during 2022, we have remained close to our budget throughout in both Expenditure and Income, although overall Income fell slightly short.

Despite this we can say that it has been another year where finances have allowed All Saints’ to continue its planned Mission and Ministry in Normanton and beyond. New community facing events such as the fashion show and craft fair have not only expanded this but have also contributed to income.

Fabric has been maintained, if not yet improved and at last we have signed off on the first phase of the Reordering Project, with repairs to the lighting system completed.

The detailed accounts follow, both in summary and published form. I have drawn out the following points:

Giving and Overall Income Levels:

Our estimated levels of direct and planned giving have not fully materialised, falling short by over 7%. The dramatic rise in the cost of living for everyone in 2022 is likely the reason for this, which was not fully anticipated when last year’s estimate was approved.

Regular Giving is the life-blood of any church and I want to thank everyone of you who supports the church in this way and especially those who have responded so positively in this most uncertain of years.

I will however repeat the very important point I continue to make concerning us regularly reviewing our planned giving, in the following quote from The Church of England:

‘Regular giving is of course good and we thank everyone who is committed to supporting the church in that way. However, before all of us who do so feel smug - one aspect of regular giving which is of concern throughout the Church of England is what has become known as ‘static giving’.

Basically, giving the same amount regularly, year on year (i.e. but not increasing it).

If we do not increase our giving by at least the rate of inflation each year how can even existing things continue, when all costs are rising by at least that rate?’

We all recognise, because of our home situation, that the cost of essentials and especially fuel costs continue to rise. Unfortunately, the church building is not immune to any of that and rising costs have to be found and that can only be found from our giving.

I would ask all regular givers to All Saints’ to think about this and, if possible to consider a 5% increase in their giving in 2023.

Other areas of income have compensated to some extent for this fall in giving but some of these sources are temporary eg:

Grants:

The major increase in grant income results from receipt of a substantial grant late in the year passed on by the Diocese from the Church Commissioners, as a result of the Government’s energy cost support policies.

Most of this remains in the Cash in hand balance as it is deemed to cover rising energy costs this winter, which means until April 2023. The majority of that amount therefore will offset the anticipated large increase in energy costs in the first part of 2023, and will be reflected in the Budget for next year.

Parish Room Lettings:

This also shows well above the original estimate. When first made this estimate prudently reflected the unknown outcome of the new rental arrangement with TLG, which is based on TLG paying over 5% of student fees received. Greater student usage of the Centre has meant increased fees and therefore a proportionately increased rental income for the use of the Parish Rooms by TLG.

Expenditure

The majority of expenditure is unavoidable and on items of necessity for the ongoing running of all aspects of the church. Many of these are subject to negotiated contracts, e.g. Heat, Light, Water, Insurance, Security, Telephone and Internet, Wages which are reviewed regularly to ensure the most economic and value for money options are obtained. Other elements of expenditure are relatively small and there is little room for reduction in any of them. The only aspects of major expenditure within the PCC’s control falls

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within the category of Church Mission and Parish Share (which, although treated separately, is really ‘Mission’ in our Diocese).

As stated earlier all planned levels of mission and ministry have been financed in accordance with the budget, including meeting in full, for the first time, our Baseline Parish Share. PCC also agreed to respond to 2 emergency appeals with one off donations which explains the above budget spending in Overseas Mission Giving.

Re-ordering & Fabric Fund:

After more than 3 years from the completion of the Re-ordering Project the most long-term and persistent issue regarding the random failure of the lighting systems, has finally been resolved and the PCC approved the payment of the final retention payment, finally completing the entire contract.

The Reordering Fund has now been renamed the Reordering and Fabric Fund in order that wider fabric issues on both church and Parish Rooms can now be considered under its future usage. It also means this remains a ‘restricted fund’ meaning donations to it and expenditure from it will only be for those purposes named and will mainly be project based.

During the year, in addition to the final retention payment, other amounts have been paid from this fund:

As you might expect when maintaining a Grade 2* listed building, parts of which are over 500 years old with some glass which is 800 years old, the reports referred to above, by our Architects, show that work is needed, some imminently and some ongoing into the future.

The Architects recommend to PCC that work should be thought of as in projects, of a financial size which are seen as achievable, even if some of these projects are over 10 years or more.

Such projects CANNOT be financed by church members alone and therefore other sources of funding has to be sought, e.g. grants. However, as the regular users and beneficiaries of the building, we must be prepared to bear some of the cost and certainly we must be the ones to plan the work and pursue possibilities for its completion.

Some members of the congregation have continued donating to the Reordering and Fabric Fund for which we are extremely grateful. If any other members of the congregation wish to commence or recommence donations to the Reordering and Fabric fund, additional to their regular giving, whether monthly or by one off donations, that would be greatly appreciated. Please have a word with me (Derek Howell) if you might wish to do so.

In Conclusion:

May I reiterate my thanks to you all for your support throughout the year. My special thanks go to our Church Administrator, Diane Brennan, for all her work in maintaining the day to day financial processes and record keeping and to John Penrose for undertaking the role as our Independent Examiner for these accounts.

Derek Howell

Treasurer & Giving Officer

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Summarised Annual Accounts 2022 - All Saints Parish Church, Normanton

Budget £ EXPENDITURE Actual £ Budget £ INCOME Actual £
CHURCH SERVICES VOLUNTARY INCOME
£49,570 Parish Share £49,568 £65,700 Direct Giving £60,628
£1,500 ClergyExps £1,637 £7,700 Planned GivingEnvelope £5,220
£1,800 Service Resources £2,478 £16,500 Income Tax & GASDS Reclaimed £17,347
£4,000 Funeral/Weddings Fees £2,773 £7,500 Plate Collecton £9,188
£0 AwayDays,Confs. £327 £400 Weddings & Funerals collecton £410
£0 Parish Weekend £0 £500 SundryDonatons £210
£1,000 General Sundries £1,202
CHURCH BUILDINGS INCOME FROM CHURCH ACTIVITIES
£6,600 Insurance Premiums £6,650 £9,600 Wedding /Funerals Fees £6,626
£10,000 Heat & Light & Water £9,264 £0 Away Days, Conferences,
Books & Media		 £309
£2,800 Fire & Security £3,298 Parish Weekend £0
£1,000 Church Fabric £620 £5,500 Parish Room Letngs £9,098
£1,000 Church Equipment £291 £50 Photocopying £65
£4,100 Church Cleaning £3,655 £0 Social Functons £0
£1,500 Parish Rooms Equipment £282 £0 Insurance Claims £0
£2,500 Parish Rooms Fabric £693 £1,400 Grants £4,090
£2,800 Parish Rooms Cleaning £2,666 £1,500 Misc £1,981
CHURCH MISSION INCOME FOR MISSION
£2,400 Overseas Mission Giving £3,450 £100 Restricted Missions/Charites £56
£6,000 UK Mission Giving £6,420 INVESTMENT INCOME
£100 Collectons Overseas £1,179 £10 Bank Interest £123
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION £230 Investment income £223
£18,500 Admin Wages & NI £18,159
£1,400 Repro rental & materials £1,252
£300 General £1,338
£2,500 Telephone Software & Internet £4,102
£450 Ofce Statonery £578
CHURCH SCHOOL
£1,500 School Governors £1,500
£123,320 Total excl TLG £123,382 £116,690 Total excl TLG £115,574
£0 TLG £270 £0 TLG £220
£123,320 MONTHLY TOTAL
(Exc Reordering)		 £123,652 £116,690 MONTHLY TOTAL
(Excl Reordering)		 £115,794
Reordering & Fabric
Expenditure		 £17,970 Reordering & Fabric Income £13,440
FULL TOTAL EXPENDITURE £141,622 FULL TOTAL INCOME £129,234
Cash at Bank No1 & No2
Accounts & Pety cash		 £24,585
Cash at Bank No 3 Reordering
& Fabric A/c		 £58,180

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Baptism

During 2022 we continued to combine the Thanksgiving and Baptism service together. We carried out 21 services and welcomed 25 children into our Church family.

My grateful thanks go to the Baptism Team who ensure that each family have a memorable time at their child’s Baptism service and take away some lovely memories, especially the naming and blessing prayer – thank you Ann Preston for continuing to write these. Also ‘thank you’ to Diane for her work in preparing the paperwork for these services.

It’s great that people also feel comfortable to stay about after the service ends, chatting and sharing time with friends old and new.

Again we are grateful to the teams who get the coffee/tea organised and served really well and also to those who have baked or been prepared to take part when needed.

Thanks also to those who help to clear up and put the Church back to normal.

Please continue to pray for this developing area of our Church Ministry.

Leah Huddlestone & Judith Howell

Sue Hodgson

Café Church

We restarted a programme of bi-monthly Café Church gatherings in April. We had decided to keep to a strong and straightforward theme, using a variety of methods of presentation and activities.

Together we have explored:

We are pleased to welcome a good mix of people each time, including those who haven’t been to Church before, those who haven’t been for a while and our regulars. We also have a few people who at the moment only come to Café Church.

Everyone seems happy to engage with the theme and join in well with table talk, singing, prayer and crafts.

Churches Together

In 2022 our face to face meetings restarted, it was good to get back together. We have lost a few members and have some lovely new faces who have joined us.

We meet regularly to discuss upcoming events and also meet every 5[th] Sunday and hold a joint service together.

In 2022 churches together organised:

Marianne Fernandez

Wakefield Deanery

Deanery Synod

This year’s meetings were all face to face.

March 16[th] – took place at St Paul’s Church, Alverthorpe. Rev’d Jude Smith, Director of Church Revitalisation was the speaker and encouraged us to think about our Church after Covid – how we can revitalise our services, encourage people to attend, what can we do differently.

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June 29[th] – took place at St Luke the Evangelist Church, Sharlston. At this meeting the speaker was Theo Sheridan-Watts, Chief Officer from The Wellsprings Together Project. He gave a presentation on how they can support Churches to make a difference in their local community.

November 22[nd] – took place at St James the Great Church, Chapelthorpe. The speaker was Liz Morton, Children, Young People and Families Team Leader. She gave a presentation on encouraging families to attend church, what we can do to make Church more appealing. Sue Hodgson & Michelle West Deanery Synod Reps

Health Walks from The Well

In 2022 we had 48 weekly walks (up from 22 in 2021) with from 2 to 10 walkers each week with a total of 285 attendances over the year (not counting ducks).

We meet at 10am in the Well building in Haw Hill Park and use the mini bus or cars to enable us to walk in a variety of locations near Normanton, returning for a snack of soup and bread after a walk lasting about an hour and of 2 to 2½ miles in length.

John Penrose

Men’s Group

Men's group has seen more men coming together this year, which is fantastic news. It has been great to see the support for each other growing in each man's

journey with the Lord. This year we have had lots of breakfasts, chats, laughs, tea and coffees, and a couple of curry nights. Gav was able to arrange and invite the men's group to a special event with a very famous clandestine person .... Is that an oxymoron? ..... Andy McNab, which I heard great things about. I pray for more men to come together to support each other through life with

Christ over the following year. We welcome all men to come to vent off in confidence, chat, breakfast, tea, coffee, and importantly have a laugh in God's presence. Scott Hodgson

Messy Church

We have been pleased to return to Church for our Messy Church gatherings this year.

In April we arranged an

Easter Trail of 10 stations around the churchyard, each one telling part of the ”Cool Story of Jesus.” Each station provided fun activities for the children to complete. We had produced bags with some take home activities in, and the children took them around the trail with them to collect the different things they made. Each child who completed the trail came back for a sticker, a card, a chocolate egg and an Easter story book. 92 children and their families attended and enjoyed, fortunately, a sunny afternoon. Feedback was really positive and there was lots of enthusiasm for coming back!

Messy Church Champions was the Sports based theme for our event in July. Inspired by the lead up to the Commonwealth Games, we planned games, challenges and activities outside and crafts inside. Lots of families arrived!! Everyone joined in with great enthusiasm and excitement even though it was an incredibly hot and sunny afternoon. We cooled down by enjoying a story in the shade and a picnic tea, sharing time with family and friends.

Again our Advent gathering was really well attended. I counted 145 people in Church (not including volunteers) once the session was underway! Our Messy Church families were pleased to be back in Church and enjoyed a variety of Advent/Light crafts and activities. There was a great atmosphere throughout the session and really positive feedback from families and helpers alike.

The response to our Messy Church gatherings is amazing. Families are really enthusiastic and grateful for all the opportunities we provide. We are greatly encouraged by the links we are continuing to develop with families in the community.

We are really grateful for those from the Church family who come to help the families at each session. Messy Church couldn’t happen without

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your amazing support and encouragement! Thank you everyone!

Please continue to pray for our Messy Church “Congregation” for the children and their families and for the opportunities we have to share fellowship and faith, as we witness to our community in this exciting way.

Judith Howell & Leah Huddlestone

Mums, Dads & Tots

At the moment we have an average of 20/25 preschoolers, toddlers and babies each week. Some weeks are busier than others, but always very different.

We were very lucky last year receiving a £1000 grant from The Well. It came from UKCRF and Emma Farnell is the family support worker, who comes along most weeks to help and support and talk to our families. With this grant we were able to buy some new toys, books and games and also some craft supplies.

We now have a large range of toys, for all ages and we have a craft every week, depending on the time of the year. We also have a dressing up corner. We had our usual Christmas party with a visit from Father Christmas himself, all children get a gift, although some are more eager than others to go and collect it. Usually the gifts are paid for from funds but this year the gifts were bought with some of the grant money which also helped pay for Christmas party bags. On party weeks parents are asked to bring a plate of food instead of the normal £1.50 donation for each child. This helps cover snacks, drinks for children and adults.

Due to rising prices and food waste, we have now gone back to the pre-Covid way of serving refreshments. Buying individual packets of crisps, biscuits and fruit was taking up most of the weekly contributions, therefore it was either to cut back on food spending or increasing the weekly contributions, adults are happy with this decision. A big thank you as always goes to June and Denise who come every week to prepare and serve adults and children alike with drinks and snacks, and look after the kitchen.

Our lovely mum Vikki Nix is still running and sets up each week, arranges craft and activities for the children. I continue to support Vikki, I help out with crafts and getting supplies when needed. When Vikki is unable to come for any reason, I set up the room with my husband, and we have a lovely bunch of parents who are excellent at helping to tidy up at the end of the session.

I would also like to thank church administrator Diane who is always willing to help when needed especially in letting Vikki in to the hall each week. Wendy Smith

Open Doors Prayer Group

Online prayer meetings are held by Zoom on the first Saturday of the month, from 11am to 12 noon.

Holding meetings by Zoom means we can watch prayer news videos together. Seeing a person and hearing their story first hand is powerful and helps us connect with them, and pray with more power.

BI-monthly prayer news videos begin with the latest news on persecuted believers and the work of Open Doors, and often end with good news stories of answered prayers, with an encouragement to keep on praying. One of the stories on the November/December 2022 prayer video was on a re-visit by Open Doors Partners to Jina and Apo, a mother and son, supported by the Centre of Hope in Aleppo, Northern Syria. Open Doors first visited Jina in 2019 whose husband Rober had been kidnapped in the civilian war. Watching Jina and Apo, felt like seeing old friends again.

Prayer meetings are often a time of blessing, and encouragement, seeing how God is at work in

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peoples’ lives. An email with a link to join the prayer meeting is sent from the church office the day before (with thanks to Diane). If you were able to join us on any of the Saturday mornings, we would be pleased to see you.

An item on our persecuted church family, and how to pray is included in the monthly Church Newsletters.

If anyone would like to know more, please do not hesitate to contact us. There will be no obligation to join the meetings.

Stephanie Woodhead & Ginny Camponi

Pastoral Support

During 2022, the Pastoral Team, (Marianne, Deb and Rendel), has been supporting many members of the church family and others, in practical ways and through emotional and spiritual support. This has been done by visiting or taking home communion, as well as supporting by phone, text and email. This work may happen under the radar, but it does happen! We are also very aware that many of our church family also provide much needed care and support to others, and we are very thankful for that. Let us continue to care for one another as a response to God’s love for us.

Looking ahead, Deb has decided to look for opportunities to serve the community nearer to where they have moved. We would like to thank her for her love and support and for all she has done for our church.

If anyone knows of anyone who might benefit from pastoral support or who would like to receive support themselves, please contact Alan, Marianne or Rendel.

Marianne Fernandez & Rendel Murray

Rock Solid/Young Saints

Rock Solid and Young Saints continue to work with a small group of young people and is proving to be a great platform for the further development of All Saints Youth. Since September 2022, we have seen Rock Solid become a small family and it is a pleasure to work with this group. We have now subscribed to the Rock-Solid Youth

for Christ resource and we hope to bring back a little more structure to our Wednesday evenings in the near future.

Our Sunday morning group Young Saints began also in September and we covered subjects that were inline with what was been taught in Small Saints. These groups have being well attended but it became evident that our young people needed a lot more teaching at an age appropriate level to allow the team to deliver the resources aimed at the 11 to 14 age range. It was at this point we felt a weekly Youth Alpha course would benefit our young people and this was launched in January 2023 with an increase in the number of Sunday morning sessions on offer. We are also hoping to introduce further ideas, events and groups that will further develop what we can do with ‘our’ young people. Like anything in church, none of the above would be possible without our great team of volunteers. Thank you to Stewart, Joy, Rendel and Mel for your commitment and support over the past year.

Gavin Budby All Saints Youth Leader

Safeguarding

On behalf of the PCC, I continue to work to ensure that we comply with the National Safeguarding

requirements and have due regard to the House of Bishops’ Guidance on Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults.

Judith Howell, Safeguarding Officer

Small Saints

Our Small Saints ran successfully as a single group for the first part of this year.

Plans to create a separate group for our older children were delayed from May until September, which meant that we were able to finish the school year off as planned giving our Young Saints a good send off, launching the new arrangements in a new term.

Small Saints continues to run well. We have a small core group of 4 who attend every month with others who come occasionally. We also have several ‘tots’ attending with parents at the moment, and have made provision with appropriate activities and play opportunities

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linked to the theme of the session. This means that we still have a wide age range (2 - 11) and planning for themes and activities is challenging!

This year we have learnt about Jonah, People that met Jesus, Moses and Zechariah and Elizabeth. We also found out about Queen Elizabeth as we celebrated her Jubilee and reflected on her reign when she died.

The children have enjoyed taking part in Café Church and we all had fun with our joint presentation for the Carol Service!

We enjoy being together and our Small Saints are enthusiastic and full of fun!

They are really patient, helpful and supportive of each other which is a great example to us all. They are always attentive and keen to learn more about following Jesus and developing their role as members of the Church family. They are growing in faith and understanding and as witnesses to their friends.

Thank you for all your encouragement and prayers. Please continue to pray for our children and for us all as we plan the way forward. Judith Howell & Leah Huddlestone

Sports Chaplaincy – Wakefield Trinity

I think it’s safe to say that being involved with a team like Wakefield Trinity is certainly not dull. I continue to pray (so does Rachel) for a season where the word relegation becomes irrelevant. The 2022 season was a lot more positive than 2021, but things did once again come down to the wire.

My role with the first-team once again increased but sadly my access with key staff was limited due to the continued Covid-19 protocols and also the change in coaching staff. Though I was made welcome by the new coach, there is always a period of building a relationship that takes time and chaplaincy in sport is a role where you often feel like you’re starting over and over again.

Encouragingly, the welcome received from the players once I could access them was positive and I was surprised that my presence had been so greatly missed.

Sports Chaplaincy UK continues to support me and Glen (Rugby Lead/Wigan Warriors Chaplain)

is doing a great job in ensuring all Super League clubs have a chaplain in post. Sadly, there are some financial shortfalls for the charity and there needs to be a lot of money raised in 2023 in to ensure Sports Chaplaincy UK can continue. In November, the UK were the host nations for the Rugby League World Cup 2021 (Delayed due to Covid). I had the privilege of being asked to be chaplain for New Zealand, but outside of email communication, the role was very much a nonstarter. Around this time, Wakefield also changed their coach and coaching staff. It was a blessing that the coach appointed was someone I had worked with previously when I was chaplain and talent scout for the Academy/Scholarship and I have now been brought into the first team coaching staff, and in turn increasing my role to work with players at both home and away fixtures.

I know I say this every year but my chaplaincy role is an extension of our church ministry, I am the churches representative when I’m working alongside staff and players at Wakefield Trinity. Please do remember this role in your prayers and ask God to give me the right words to say in what can be some tough situations. Gavin Budby Wakefield Trinity Chaplain

TLG Wakefield

It’s both strange and sad to be writing TLG Wakefield’s final report at a time when our provision is currently so

successful. I always thought that any report that mentions closure would be because we no longer had the finances to continue or that education and society had improved to such a degree that we were no longer required.

Unfortunately, neither is the reason and though we will continue under the ownership of a new charity, all at TLG Wakefield continue to be puzzled by the decision TLG have made.

In January 2022 we began the year over subscribed and with four members of staff. Rendel had sadly retired in December 2021 but we were able to recruit Shane Budby in the role of Teaching Assistant. The Spring and Summer term were positive and our partnership with seven schools enabled more students to access TLG and receive the help they needed. I was particularly proud to see all our students pass Functional Skills exams and in turn all year 11’s were able to access college courses of their choice.

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Though the above is always encouraging for anyone who is working with young people, I have to say that student behaviour since Covid-19 has declined greatly and the gaps in our students learning is now having a major impact on the level of education they can access. Prior to the pandemic, schools were already struggling to cope with the ever-increasing needs of SEN students, but the two years these students spent out of their mainstream setting is now causing a major concern. In previous years we would expect to work with students who have lower than expected levels of education but to see students arrive who cannot read, tell the time or even recite the alphabet is becoming the norm and is worrying.

After the Summer holidays, we began the new school year with a positive feel and the fact I personally won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the TLG Conference certainly made me feel proud of what we have achieved over our long history. Sadly, this positive feeling was to be short-lived and, on the 31st October 2022, (Halloween), TLG announced to all Heads of Centre that they would be closing down all education centres and that a redundancy period had begun for all staff.

Though we have continued to work to our usual high standards, the pressure has proven to be difficult and I feel I need to give credit to all involved with TLG Wakefield for the way they have persevered in a very unsettled environment. Sadly, due to the current situation relating to the closure of TLG Wakefield, we will lose two members of staff in Ciara and Steph. Both have served TLG Wakefield extremely well and though there were potential opportunities for both to continue with our new provision, both have decided to move on in March 2023. I am unable to find the words to show the gratitude I have for these two brilliant educators

and I hope that when the dust settles, both will continue to pursue a career in working with young people.

Over the next year, its encouraging to know that we will continue to offer alternative education to the students and families in our town and city who are truly crying out for support. Though all the above changes mean we will need to deregister from the DfE, the freedom that this will bring means we can not only focus on a child’s academic progress but can now give much more time to working on the emotional and behavioural issues that have led to them needing alternative provision in the first place.

In closing I would like to thank Alan, Derek, Diane, and the PCC for their encouragement and for their kind support during a tough time for TLG Wakefield. Thank you to Racheal Allan and Rendel Murray for committing their own time to volunteer and for being a massive help to me and the team. I know this will embarrass her but thank you to my wife Rachel, who has experienced every minute of the highs and lows that the TLG journey offered and has been a rock in the many times of challenge.

Gavin Budby, TLG Wakefield Centre Manager

Tuesday Prayer Meeting

The Tuesday Prayer Group consists of a small group of people who have been meeting on a weekly basis throughout 2022 (with

only the occasional missed meeting). We continued to meet via zoom as this has been the preference of those who regularly attend the meeting. Much of our meeting is spent in a time of listening to God and then sharing what we believe we have received. We are constantly amazed that what we share so often echoes or expands on what another has said. If there is something that we believe is of importance to the wider church community, we will pass it on to Alan. We also spend some time praying for those in the church community who need prayer (either passed on to us in person or picked up from the All Saints WhatsApp group). We also pray for our community, our country and for world issues. If anyone feels called to join us and would like to know more, please speak to Rendel.

Rendel Murray

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Worship Team

Despite limited numbers and members having responsibility for other areas of ministry, the Worship Team has continued to support all the services of Worship.

Terry, Mark and Derek continue to take leadership responsibility supported by our 2 pianists, 3 guitarists, 2 brass players and numerous singers, all working on a rota basis. We are also grateful for the use of recorded music on occasion and thank the PA and VA teams for their assistance with that.

The agreed basis of the rota recognises the other responsibilities of all Worship Team members, e.g. both our pianists, Judith and Leah take responsibility for leading Small Saints and Messy Church, as well as major input to Café Church. In addition, most Worship Team members are also part of other functioning rotas on Sundays e.g. readers, prayers, leading and preaching and refreshments.

Limited resources and the involvement of Worship Team members in other ministries, as stated, mean that there can be no piano and sometimes no guitar played in some services. If anyone not currently involved in the music ministry has those skills and would like to consider being part of the team, please have a word with one of us.

All of us in Worship Team would like to thank you for your words of thanks, encouragement and support throughout the year and to Diane, our Church Administrator, who works with us every month in planning the rota, as well as producing service sheets, copying music and inputting the service on the church computer.

Derek Howell, on behalf of all Worship Team members

WoW -

Women On Wednesdays

Women on Wednesdays meet around every six weeks and enjoy time together doing various, activities at various homes or restaurants!! We go out for meals, laugh through white elephant nights, watch dvds, hold quizzes, chatter nights, picnics or BBQs. Whatever we are doing, we are laughing.

Our ever popular white elephant evening has continued to grow, however this year it has been overtaken by the meal out, attended by 30 plus people. We are looking for an alterative restaurant for 2023, so if you like somewhere local please let us know and we could try it out.

We have had a few new faces join us this year which is lovely. Don’t be shy, join us, we are a friendly bunch. See you there!

Marianne Fernandez & Sue Hodgson

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Wednesday Communion Coffee Morning Donations

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£ 110
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The Well Project £ 50

Christian Aid £ 50

Mara Water Tank project £ 50 Candlelighters £ 50 Saint Oswald’s Community £ 50

DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal £ 50

The Children`s Society £ 50 BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal St Martins in the Fields Charity £ 50

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A more normal beginning to the year than 2021, no lockdowns, but we are still continuing some of the hub work with a couple of our volunteers. A war in the Ukraine shifted our focus a little to helping Ukranians, with donations of clothes/ money being collected for the cause. We started even more support groups and gained a few lovely volunteers this year too.

Working with UKCRF, Ijomah Ugbomah started his three-month work experience through Huddersfield University as Consultancy Project Assistant. Ijomah was a welcome addition to the team and interviewed Trustees, staff and Volunteers about their role and their needs in terms of training if required. Through this partnership, we were successful in gaining funding from them to employ a part time Family Support Worker for 12 hours per week from April to June 2022 as part of a pilot scheme. Emma Farnell was recruited into this role alongside her Community Navigator role. Ijomah left in June and had nothing but positive things to say about the Well Project as a whole.

brunch club (feeding over 300 children on this day) was a huge success with over 350 young people taking part. Each child received a free Easter Egg. The only feedback was the trail was too easy. We raised £312 which isn’t bad for a free event.

In October, working in partnership with Normanton Town Council, the towns Halloween event was moved to the park complete with dance show and best costume competition. The Well raised £517.67 at this event selling refreshments. Again, we had over 350 young people attend the event and complete the trail.

Youth Clubs and Outreach

Our youth club provision continues to run the weekly sessions for young people aged 6 to 19 years. Normanton Town Council allow us to use the Woodhouse Community Centre on Monday’s free of charge to be able to run the youth club there. We moved the low attended Monday Woodhouse older session back to Haw Hill and immediately had around 30 young people attend weekly.

Halfway through the year, we changed the outreach provision, working with the Wakefield Youth Hub (Normanton, Featherstone and the South East) Vicki and a member of the WYH team now run the outreach session with Neil and Darcie remaining at the Well for a youth drop in session every Wednesday.

The Easter Egg Hunt ran alongside our

We extended our Friday boxing session from once a week to three times a week as the young people thought once a week was not enough. Boxing is for young people aged 11+ to train with Danny, our boxing coach and Vicki. Working with the Police who started this project with funding (Dec21 to Dec 22) Vicki has opened this session to all rather than just referrals from the police and this has proved to be a success. PCSO Pete drops in regularly to build a positive relationship with the young people. Pete unfortunately left the police late 2022 (soon followed by PCSO Paige and PCSO Amy).

Funding for the teenage sessions was secured for 12 months from October 2022 from WYH. Friday’s Boxing session, equipment and some activities - funding received from the Police. Two sessions per week of Boxing, dance and other youth club sessions are all provided by the Well Project.

In December 2022 we secured some gifts from Mission Christmas, but this year we did have to buy ‘teen’ gifts for the young people. Again, every young person attending the youth club and their siblings received a gift as did all food bank clients (young people).

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Jenny J, with Irene too, raising funds for the Well Project with donations from the community. The support has always been overwhelming. The shop is great for raising funds for the Well Project and all that we do, but first and foremost, it is there as a ‘Clothing Bank’ to help those in need for free when required.

Food Bank

Trussell Trust funding for the Food Bank Manager P/T role ended in June 2022. This position is now funded by the Well Project, by fundraising, donations and the occasional funding grant.

The Food Bank has continued to run through the lockdown in January to March offering a delivery service too. The delivery service has continued throughout the year offering the service to those isolating or unable to get to the food bank due to illness/disability. We were lucky enough to continue to receive funding from Novus Health for fuel for the food bank van throughout the year which has been a great help.

From 1[st] January to 31[st] December the Normanton Food Bank provided over 21,300 meals, which is double the amount provided in 2021. All through referrals only. In addition to these emergency food parcels, we continued to provide meals to the hostel and hotel housing vulnerable people each week. During all school holidays (apart from February half term) brunch clubs welcomed around 30 young people per session each receiving a packed lunch.

We continue to work together with other local foodbanks donating and receiving food/toiletries.

During 2022 we received 30,574kg of donations in and gave out 35,826kg of food and toiletries.

Well Loved Shop

In January we received the fantastic news that Wakefield Council would provide us with a shop on the high street (previously known as the Gentry Barbers) on a peppercorn rent lease agreement. We met with the Council Leader, Cllr Denise Jeffery who has kindly agreed this. Given a date for the current shop to be vacated of August 2022, we had hoped we’d be in the new shop by Christmas 2022, sadly that was not to be. We vacated our little shop in the market place on the 1[st] September 2022 so that the council could demolish it and improve the market area as a whole. Unfortunately, the work required on the new shop exceeded expectations, so the new shop was delayed.

We now hope to be in it by March/April 2023.

Hilary continued to run the shop with Jenny B and

With both the Well Loved Shop and the Normanton School Uniform Exchange being ‘homeless’, AMEY helped us out with free storage space for our stock until the new shop opens.

The Community really missed the shop especially at Christmas time as we helped a lot of people keep the cost of Christmas low. We are also struggling to provide items free of charge to families/people in need as we did before, it takes longer to source items, arrange collection/ delivery and therefore help people when needed.

The Normanton School Uniform Exchange

Tracy continued to run the uniform exchange from our little shop unit in Normanton Market up to being ‘evicted’ in September. Tracy now runs the project from the store at AMEY by email/ facebook messenger, but this obviously isn’t accessible to all which is concerning. Hopefully we will be in our new premises on the High Street soon which will help.

Tracy raised an amazing £1798.77 in donations for the Well Project.

Community Navigator

Working in schools, Emma, our Community Navigator met all of the targets required by the funders and feedback from schools, parents and young people remains very positive and it is clear, through all 7 Community Navigator reports that this service in schools is much needed.

In December 2022 we were told the Young Lives did not win the contract for CN and therefore Emma’s contract with the Well Project will end in

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Health Walks, Coffee Mornings, Beetle Drive, Meet n Eat’s Diner

Health Walks, Coffee Morning, Beetle Drive all recommenced this year. Unfortunately, due to the sad passing of Jean Fearnley, the Beetle Drive group has now finished running. Jean was one of the original people to help set the youth clubs up at the Well Project and we will be forever grateful to her for her help and support over the years.

The Meet n Eat’s Diner, started back up in June 2022 with a full house of volunteers and 45 – 55 diners all enjoying a three-course hot meal for free every week. We are appealing for more cook volunteers that can help with this. The feedback we receive for the meals and service is always very positive.

March 2023. We await further details on possible transfer/TUPE to the successful company.

In April 2022, with the funding, Emma accepted the role of Family Worker with the Well Project for 12 hours per week. Helping people with application forms, financial concerns such as benefit applications etc, signposting and much more. In June 2022 hours were reduced to 9 hours per week and the contract extended to January 2023 so that we can reassess the need/ hours and funding. This has turned out to be a beneficial role in the community with more and more people needing help, especially with the cost of living crisis. Emma not only helps families, but people from all backgrounds in all situations so we may need to re-think the title of ‘Family Worker’.

Christmas Dinner took place 15[th] December at the Woodhouse Community Centre this year and was a huge success. We will look at holding the dinner on Christmas day next year as we did before, but this will depend on volunteers/ availability and commitment etc. The general consensus is that this year worked well.

We have a fantastic team of volunteers with some new additions and some leaving, and we are busier than ever with various activities most days supporting our community. Of course, we couldn’t do any of it without funding and support from local people, local businesses and churches. We are so grateful for all of the support we receive from tins of beans, monetary donations, help and advice and everything in between. All Saints Parish Church and congregation has continued to support The Well Project in all areas and we remain very grateful and committed to continue helping our community. Thank you to everyone!

The Well Maintained Bike Library

We continue to receive donations of bikes into the bike library and people continue to ‘hire’ bikes from us, free of charge and for as long as they want. Terry works very hard fixing up and checking the bikes to ensure they are roadworthy before giving them to people in the community. Terry is also able to carry out maintenance on owned bikes for people to make them roadworthy again. We still have some funds available for small repairs and equipment.

Michelle Newton & Ash Samuels

Walking Football, Walking Cricket, Gardening Group, Craft Group, Seated Exercise, Litter Picks These groups are all run in partnership with Coalfields/Five Towns Active and take place weekly. Gardening group and litter picks could be better attended. The Gardening group was put on hold in October until the warmer months/ Spring 2023. Matt who helped set up the relationship and all of the new groups changed roles in October, Eddie took over most sessions and all continue to run weekly.

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The Dw¢ese of Leeds.. City of W4kefteld Metroptrlttdn DistrKt CowKiI Normanton All Saints CE (A) Infant School HKJh Street. Normttnton. We51 ¥ork5hire WF6 1 Tel£phonEIFox- 1019241894309 Headleacher". Mrs A Stone emoil..headieacher@allsaints-normantQn.WGkefield.sch.uk w￿.all5aIntsInfant511ornl0rtt1￿.cO.Uk Twttrer 'An outstandiw exaWE of ll $chool' SIAS 2CQ3 'All Soints Infant Sch4ol is on wtstandirg $Ch￿r OFSTED 20)7 'The schoofs performonce hos been sus104￿ Interim oss¢ssment OFSTED 2010 'The school's disti￿1¥¢￿ ond etfecltwwss os o Ch￿h scho¢1 is outttondirvj. 5fAS 2012 This is outstortdiry schoDf OFSTED 2013 'Outstthdiry' SIAMS 2017 Our Christian Values.. To the ¢hurch famlly and the members of the PCC Firstly, a warm welcome to our church members and the PCC. I hope you are all well and I would like to thank you for your sUPPOrt and the care you continue to Show toward5 our school. I hope you enjoy reading the report to provide you with a flavour of our school and its urrent journev. Forgivenes Our School Vision I would like to begin by reflecting on our school vision and sharin8 this with you all. Our vision is deep rooted in biblical teaching and is based around the verse.. 'Equip you with everything good- moy he work us wh(3t Is pleosing to him. Hebrews 13.-21 Perseverance It is centred on three principal foundational Christian teachings of ResPttt- Love one another Empower- Equip and strengthen us Grow- Enhance the Bifts God 8ave us All our children are special and we recognise the importance of celebrating our uniqueness and the need to work collaboratively in the diverse cultural world that we live in. It is our hope that all children will be respectful, caring and tolerant towards others, our world and themselves. We seek to empower and equip children to have high aspirations and hopes for the future. Our staff seek to inspire and celebrate a deep love of learninÈ and act as rolè models who shine the light of Christ. We believe that our Christian Values highlight that no matter what we go through we will always have hope. thankfulness, forgiveness. friendship. respect and perseverance. We are proud of our school. our children and their families and our staff. It is a joy to see our young children living out our vision and values in their work, their conduct and through thè strong relationshÈps they have formed. After many vears in headship. I continue to be the proud headteacher of our wonderful school. Team Awesomel We continue to call ourselves Team Awesome, a5 we aim to achieve the very best for every child who 5tep5 through our door5. Here are Some of our recent achievement5, which I wanted to share with you all.. Reudlng- We afe in our second year of our phonics scheme and every member of our school team continues to receive training to be the very best reading teacher. We work tirelessly to make sure that our young children receive high quality daily phonics teachin8 and are listened to read by an adult re8ularly. Any child who we find are struÉgling with their reading receive daily keep up sessions. We are determined that all children will leave our school as a ￿ader and that they have a love for books and an enthusiasm for reading. Last yea¥ 90% of our Year I children met the expected standard Of above in their phonics screening check and this year we aim for at least the same. Mastering number- We are currently ifnplementing the NCETM (National Centre for Excellen￿ in the Teaching of Mathematics) MasterinÉ Number programme. We have 3 teachers who lead on this in school to make sure that all children get an additional number session which focuses on securing a deeper understanding of the number system in mathematics. Stoff- Our Staff are keen to develop profe55ionally. We ¢urrently have 4 members of our teaching team who work for the English Reading Hub as literacy specialists to provide support to other schools with phonics and reading. Mrs Lewis is also a moderator for the Local Authority and Mrs Anderson and Mrs Bond are completing a National Professional Qualification, one in Early Years and the other in Literacy. Our nursery teacher, Mrs Belli5, is also leading on the Cracking communication training for the Wakefield Local Authority. Our team of food life 7rxX chi,dre,:s

Ixi

t5*￿dIng )UIJ6 2007 International S¢hool Award 24

Higher Level Teaching Assistants is growing and we now have 6 members of our support staff team who have gained the status and two of our teaching assistants are also training to be teachersl Mentul heulth ¢7nd well-beinq- Mi55 Hargrave is our Senior Mental Health Lead. She ha5 recently updated our School website to provide resources and information to parÈnt5 and continues to suppoit Staff, pupils are families across the school. She has also organised a range of staff workshops and events. We also have a Erotjp of children who take on the role as our Happiness Ambassadors. They recently helped to organise our'LeYs connect, day linked to Children's Mental Health week and have raised nearly £3W for our playground buddy bench shelter. Incluslon ondhlgh standordsforoll. We have a growing number of children in school with an Education Health and Care Plan for Special Educational Needs. We often receive excellent feedback from professionals about the inclusive environment and support we provide for all. Pupil group5- Our children are keen to volunteer to take on additional roles and responsibilities. Our pupil groups include our Reading Amba55adors, Playground Buddies, Dining Hall Helpers, Collective Worship Crew, School Committee and Happine55 Ambassador5. Educational visits- We enhance the curriculum with a range of educational visits throughout the year. This week our Year 2 childrer visited Wakefield Cathedral and a Mosque in Leeds, our Reception children enjoyed a day in the woods at Thi5 Green Moon and our Year l Children will be soon busy planning their trip to the seaside. Afterschoolclubs- OLtr staff provide free after school clubs ranging from science club, hockey, football, storytelling and art. We also have after school maths tutoring which takes place for some children. Breukfvstscheme- We provide every child across main school a free breakfast bagel each day to make sure they have a good start to their day and are ready to learn. As you can imagine cooking bagels for over 250 pupils each day isn't an easy task but thanks to Mrs Huskins and Mrs Balance this is donel The list could go on I Our Church and Local Community Our school continues to be proud of its link5 With the local community and is especially proud of the c105e relationship we have with our church. Our children enjoy visiting church for many celebrations and 5ervice5 a5 well as to learn about the Christian faith. Our Reception children thoroughly enjoyed the mock wedding and our Year One learners have found out all about baptism. Our Year 2 children enjoyed exploring church as a place of worship and loved listening to Reverend Murray as he shared the history and amazing facts about our church. The children continue to look forward to Judith Howell visiting to lead worship and enjoy working with volunteers during our Hand to Mouth days. We also continue to use and support our local community well. For example, we currently have a food trolley in school where food donations can be place for The Well and the local police and fire service have re￿ntlY visited our Reception children as part of their people who help us topic. The School Committee enjoyed attending a joint school local council meeting where member5 of the Town Council were present. During thi5 meeting our children su88ested improving the road safety 5ign5 Outside of our school. We continue to be proud of the local area and community in which we serve and are keen for all our children to become well regarded, respectful and tolerate citizen5. As we continue to keep the children at the heart of the school's vision. I would like to once again say a huge thank you to the staff. families. members of the Church and the Governing Body for their continued support. care and commitment. Our Governing Body continue to make decisions in the be51 interest of children whilst making sure the well-being of Staff is paramount. Thank you to Mrs Leah Huddlestone and Mr David Sander50n for their absolute deditation, hard work and passion in leading our team of Governors and the cère and support they show towards myself as Headteacher of the school. As we continue to move through this school year we aim to provide a high- quality education within a caring Christian environment which will help all learners to succeed and grow. Please can I continue to ask that you continue to keep the school, its staff, children and families in your thoughts and prayers. Best wishes, Mrs Amy Stone, Headteacher W4kef food lifÉ chi,dre,;s Lt's (￿tstandry Intef national S¢hool Awa4 20ffi 2007 25

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