Week 7

Subject: Weekly Update & Thank You for Bedtime Stories Evening

Dear Parents and Carers,

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our Bedtime Stories evening – it was another fantastic success! The children (and parents!) absolutely loved it. A special thank you to Miss Simmonds for organising the event so brilliantly.

A few reminders and updates for the week ahead:

· School in Action Sessions:
These begin this week for Reception and Year 1. We’re looking forward to welcoming you into classrooms to see our learning in action. A reminder that no younger siblings can attend due to the small sizes of our classrooms and mobiles MUST be switched off for the duration of your visit. Rec G 2-3 Monday and YR1 G 11-12 Monday, Rec B Tuesday 2-3, YR 1 B Thursday 11-12

· PTA Autumn Disco – Thursday 23rd October:
We’re really looking forward to this fun event!

· INSET Day – Friday 24th October: A reminder that school will be closed to pupils for staff training.

· A reminder again about the road closures affecting Lower Way that will be in place once we return after the half term. Please consider how you will get to and from school if you drive - there will be diversions.

Harvest time: as we did last year, rather than have a specific Harvest celebration, we’d like each family to donate something for our food bank box in the front office that we can then pass on to a local larger food bank. Tinned and dried foods are more appropriate than fresh please. Thank you for your support with this.

Thank you all for your continued support, enthusiasm, and positivity – it really does make such a difference.

Warm regards,
Miss Harris
Headteacher

Week 6

Subject: Weekly Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you, as always, for your continued support — it’s greatly appreciated.

A few reminders for the coming weeks:

• Bedtime Stories Evening – Tuesday 15th October. We’re looking forward to seeing lots of children (in their pyjamas!) enjoying stories with their families.
• School in Action Sessions – These will begin the following week for Reception and Year 1. Details of dates and times were sent out last week.
• Staff Training Day – Thursday 24th October. Please note that school will be closed to pupils on this day.

We are really desperate for a group of green fingered individuals who may be able to help keep our paddock and pond area more user friendly for the children. If you are interested and could spare some time, either during the week or on the weekend, can you let me know via the school office?

Advance notice: some of you who are residents of Chickerell may already be aware that from October 27^th, there will be some considerable disruption to the roads around the school for at least a month. In effect, you will not be able to access Lower Way from Glennie Avenue/School Hill- it will be completely closed to all cars. There will be diversion signs to reroute you, however, inevitably, this will cause more congestion on other parts of the village- I am most worried about the impact on Rashley Road and roads leading to it, plus the roads by the shops. Please can I urge you to consider how you might manage to make the journey - can more of you walk or cycle for this interim period?

From the Town Council: 

Delighted to let you know about a new community initiative now live on our website - Chickerell Remembers: Community Poppy Display

We’re inviting residents of all ages to knit, crochet, or craft fabric poppies to help create a growing display at Willowbed in honour of Remembrance.  Poppies donated by 29 October will be included in this year’s tribute, with the aim of building on it year after year.

I’d love to know if your school or any of your parents might be interested in getting involved - whether by making poppies, spreading the word, or helping with the display.  Free patterns and full details are available on our website https://www.chickerell-tc.gov.uk/our-community/remembrance/, and poppies can be dropped off at the Town Council Offices during opening hours.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Best wishes,
Miss Harris

Headteacher

Week 5

Subject: Weekly Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. A few updates for the week ahead:

• Monday 8th – staff will be meeting with specific parents to discuss PLPs.
• Thursday 9th – individual and sibling photographs will be taking place. Please note there may be some disruption to our usual timetable
• Friday 10th –  our weekly enrichment session restarts for Yrs 1-5. [ Reception and YR 6 will start their ‘buddying time’ soon] .Children will find out their groups and activities at the start of the week.
• KS2 Assembly –  some of our pupils will be joining a live session with professional footballers, focusing on mental health and wellbeing.

Thank you for your support in helping us make these events a success. We are looking forward to another busy and exciting week.

Wishing you a lovely weekend,
Miss Harris

WEEK 4 

Subject: Weekly Update

Dear Parents and Carers,

A few updates and reminders for the coming weeks:

• School Photos – Wednesday 9th October
  Individual and class photos will be taking place. Please be aware there may be some disruption to lessons, as the school hall will be in use throughout the day. Proper uniform is required that day- no PE Kits.
• School in Action Sessions
  The rota for these sessions is attached to the weekly email. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to see first-hand what your children experience in a lesson. A few gentle reminders:
  • Please ensure mobile phones are on silent.
  • We kindly ask that younger siblings do not attend.
  • Be ready to join in — the children love seeing parents and carers take part!
• Reception – Bedtime Stories Evening
  For our Reception families, there is a small change to the schedule. Due to the children’s age and attention span, the session will now take place straight after school, from 3:15–4:00pm on the 15th.

Thank you, as always, for your support and encouragement.

Warm regards,
Miss Harris

Week 3

v

^{Subject: Weekly Update}

^{Dear Parents and Carers,}

^{We’ve had a good and busy week in school, and I’d like to thank you all for your continued support.}

^{A special thank you to those who have encouraged your children to join one of our clubs – it’s wonderful to see so many pupils taking part. We do still have a few spaces available, so please let us know if your child would like to join Circus skills [ Yr 2], netball [ Yrs 5/6], Girls football or girls table tennis [ Yrs 3/4/5/6] and sports for fun [ [Yrs 1 / 2].}

^{I’ll soon be sharing our first “School in Action” rota. This will be a chance for you to visit and see your child in class, experiencing a typical lesson. Full details and protocols for these visits will follow shortly.}

^{A reminder too that children must come to school dressed appropriately for the weather. On PE days, they should wear shorts of a reasonable length, or preferably leggings/tracksuit bottoms with a sweatshirt or school hoodie. Every day, please also ensure they have a filled water bottle and a snack for breaktime.}

^{COVID: As some of you are probably aware, COVID is rearing its head in many schools and we are no exception. We will always inform you if a positive case is confirmed within your child’s class and then we are asking you to keep a close eye on your child for symptoms. Unfortunately, this particular strain spreads very quickly and if teaching staff contract it and are unable to come into work, we may find it difficult to have all of the children in - which obviously we want to avoid at all costs.}

^{I would like to take a moment to explain how pastoral support works in our school, as we know how important it is for many of our families.}

^{Pastoral support can take different forms depending on a child’s needs, but it is always provided for a set period of time rather than as an ongoing provision. This is partly due to the nature of that work and, also because our staffing resources are limited, despite the exceptional commitment of Mrs Smith, Mrs Penn and Miss Jolliffe, who all work extremely hard in this area alongside their other roles within school.}

^{The demand for pastoral support has increased significantly in recent years and now far exceeds the capacity we are able to provide. For this reason, we must prioritise children with the highest levels of vulnerability. This includes children subject to Child Protection plans, those with other external agency involvement, and those experiencing severe emotional-based behaviours in school that are preventing them from learning.}

^{It is important to note that while we can offer support in school, we are not able to resolve issues that arise within the home—those are matters that fall to parents, carers, or in some cases a GP or other professional. Additionally, we cannot see every child at once, so at times there will be a waiting list. We ask for your understanding and patience in this regard.}

^{Until the wider funding crisis in schools is addressed, all schools will need to make difficult decisions about prioritising the services we are able to offer, and this is unfortunately beyond our control.}

^{Thank you for your continued support and for working with us to ensure that we can help the children who are most in need.}

^{Kind regards,
Mis Harris
Headteacher}

Week 2

Subject: Weekly Update – Thank You & Looking Ahead

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to all who were able to attend our Meet the Teacher sessions this week. It was a pleasure to see so many of you in school. These opportunities are a great way to begin building strong home–school partnerships, which are so important for your child’s success.

Looking ahead, we are hoping that clubs will begin the week of the 22nd. We encourage every child to take part if they can — these activities often provide some of the most memorable and rewarding experiences of primary school.

A gentle reminder about contact protocols:

• In the first instance, please speak with your child’s class teacher regarding any classroom or day-to-day matters.
• For more significant concerns, a member of the senior leadership team will be happy to help. Their contact details are on our website.
• The school office remains your first point of contact for general queries or practical information.
• Our teachers are also available for email communication with parents and carers. To help in managing expectations, we wish to be clear with parents and carers that teachers are expected to respond to correspondence from parents and carers within 48 hours, when working; however, we have numerous teachers that work part-time, therefore emails might not be responded to within 48 hours of being originally sent.

As a school, our core business is to provide high quality teaching and learning. Whilst this seems an obvious thing to say, it is a reminder that we are an education institution first and foremost; whilst we wholeheartedly support other functions, such as in welfare, financial support and healthcare (including mental healthcare), please remember that we are a school. We will always endeavour to support our families where appropriate and possible, however there are limits to what we can do and what should be expected of us. Please remember, our main function, energy and time is concentrated on providing the best quality teaching and learning. 

Supporting Us on Facebook: We remind all of our community that the use of our Facebook page is to share the workings and approach within our school. Our social media provides a window into our world, for parents, carers and our community to see our progress, achievements, and to offer genuine advice. We do not publicly criticise anyone; we hope for the same respect in return from our community when sharing our hard work.

Children Using Social Media: As we work to keep our students safe online whilst at school, we need your support in keeping our children safe online when not in school, especially with regards to mobile phones. We strongly recommend that if parents/carers wish for their child to have a mobile phone for safety walking to and from school, that it is not a ‘smartphone’. We   suggest an ‘old style’ phone that can only make calls and send text messages to be able to keep in contact with you; no wider internet access.

One of the many difficulties that come from children and young people having such smartphones is their significant, often unregulated exposure to social media and the connections between their peers; this is often done without parent/ carer supervision. We (the school) must be very clear that we will not become involved in issues involving anti-social and/or toxic social media which occur outside of school. This is for parents to manage and resolve.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We look forward to an exciting, productive term ahead.

Warm regards,
Miss Harris

WEEK 1