18 October 2024

Headmaster's Letter 18th October 2024

Dear Parents

Next week, you will all get the opportunity to sit down face to face with your child’s form tutor. As well as getting a sense of how your child has settled into the school year, and a chance to share notes with the teacher who has the overall pastoral responsibility for your child’s wellbeing and happiness each day here at Dumpton, I hope the time you spend together reassures you about something so important about Dumpton: that we really get to know your children.

Obviously there are immense benefits, both academically and pastorally, of our small class sizes and excellent adult to child ratios in terms of the individual support we can give the children here at Dumpton. But children being truly known and understood is first and foremost about creating a powerful sense of belonging. Study after study has shown the transformative effect that a feeling of acceptance, inclusion and security in a school can have on pupils' academic outcomes, mental health, and overall wellbeing.
In fact, based on my two decades working in schools, I would go so far as to argue that of everything we work towards at Dumpton, a sense of belonging has THE biggest effect on pupils. A child who belongs is a child who knows they are safe to try their best, safe to share their worries or anxieties, safe to give something a go, and crucially, safe to truly be themselves.

I hope we do a pretty good job at this at Dumpton – but that doesn’t stop us wanting this to be even better. So next week, in your Parents Evening chats, my plea to you is to help us get to know your child like you do. What really makes them tick? What are their hidden insecurities? When do you see them at their very best? The better we understand your child, the better our chance of ensuring that we can understand them and support them, and help them feel that powerful sense of belonging here at Dumpton, each and every day.

Parents Evenings
If you haven’t yet booked your slot for these meetings please do refer to Mr Morgan’s emails and do so soon. Whilst only short meetings, we hope they’ll prove to be a really useful chance to touch base and reflect on your child’s start to the year. I would remind parents that tutors or subject teachers can always make time for more detailed discussions about your child at a time to suit you – you only need to ask.

Y8 Prefects
We are proud that every single child in Y8 takes part in a leadership programme as part of the Dumpton Diploma, taking responsibility for different areas of school life and benefiting from the rich rewards that leadership brings. However, each year, a small number of prefects are elected. The question posed is as follows: which children best live the values of Dumpton School? The current Year 8 is full of fantastic role models who do this in spades – but a particular well done to Georgie R, Jasmine W, Kitto S, Charlotte W-S and Thomas P for securing the most votes from their Y8 peers and staff.

Year 4 Trip to Monkey World – from Mrs Brass
Year 4 had a fantastic day at Monkey World on Thursday and got to see all of the primates enjoying the sunshine. After a talk from one of the Keepers on how to classify monkeys and apes, the children explored the rescue centre and gathered information which we'll use to write non-chronological reports about some of the species in English. The orangutan nursery was a highlight, as were the acrobatic gibbons and the baby woolly monkey and we all enjoyed monkeying around at the Great Ape Play area at lunchtime.

Sport
It was a muddy experience on the sports pitches this week with the last boys’ football and girls’ hockey fixtures of the half term. A big well done to all our muddy cross-country runners too. Our match reports are attached. We look forward to the house matches which take place next week.

Dumpton Talks with Mrs Shaw – Managing Puberty in Girls 8.30am on Thursday 7 November
This talk will focus primarily on dealing with periods and how to open up conversations with your daughters...and sons. Everybody is welcome and we encourage even parents of much younger children to start thinking about this topic. They grow up quickly! It will take place at 8.30am on Thursday 7 November in the Recital Room. Tea and coffee will be served.

From Dumpton Friends
Christmas Party - Thursday 28th November at The Alpine Bar in Wimborne. Tickets selling fast, so head to Classlist to purchase yours! Drink on arrival, dinner and DJ all included. Plenty of parents are flying solo due to childcare, so come and join us for a relaxed festive evening with friends. Christmas Wreath Making Workshops - Tuesday 3rd December (morning and evening sessions) at The Old Thatch. Come and make a beautiful Christmas wreath with us! You will be guided through the process of building the base and adding flourishes of your choosing. Hot drinks and mince pies included.

Individual School Photographs (Fraser Portraits)
The photograph orders have arrived from Fraser Portraits today. If you have placed an order, please can you pop into the office to collect your photographs over the next week or so.

Affordability Survey and VAT Response
A huge thank you to all those parents who took time to complete this survey for us. We had 75% response rate, which has allowed us to form a really accurate picture of the parent body. A lot of work is currently taking place behind the scenes, and I am grateful to Justin Perry, but also the superb Dumpton Governing Body, for their time and expertise. We all now await the budget on 30th October – and as previously communicated, we will do our best to ensure we can update you as quickly as possible about our plans for the introduction of VAT on school fees, and decisions about our fee structure for September 2025.

Vacancies – School Secretary
With our wonderful Mrs Miller heading off on maternity leave soon, we are advertising for a new School Secretary. This role could not be more important to the school, and we hope we’ll attract some brilliant candidates. Do please spread the word to anyone who you know who might be interested. Details can be found on the school website: https://www.dumpton.com/vacancies

Road Closure – from the Bursar
We have been made aware of a local road closure (to carry out gas main replacement works) starting next week which may well impact some of our parents and their journeys to and from school. All vehicles will be prohibited from proceeding along Wimborne Road, Corfe Mullen between Higher Merley Lane and 55 Wimborne Road, a distance of approximately 110 metres. A locally signed diversion route will be put in place to enable traffic to travel around the closed sections. Full details can be found here https://publicnoticeportal.uk/notice/traffic-and-roads/6707a35cd3088db5038974b4

Finally, may I just remind you that next week is a short week with school finishing on Wednesday afternoon at the usual times.